The Prince of Ice - The First Prince

In the Meadow of Eternal what...?

Kim Hiyori's P.O.V

Blue, purple, white and grey as far as the eye can see. White tree trunks with fluffy looking, dark purple leaves. The lightest shade of blue for grass, silvery balls of light flying up from the grey bushes surrounding the meadow I am now standing in. There is a dark blue snow falling, making the sight before me even more breathtaking. It looks like a wintery wonderland!

"Where... am I?" I whisper to myself, half excited and half terrified. "Am I dead? Is this heaven?" As soon as these words leave my lips, my eyes widen in shock. "NO! I can't be dead! I still have so much I need to do! Wake up Hiyori!!" I scream frantically, pinching my wrists in a painful attempt to wake up from this wonderful looking nightmare.

I hear laughing behind me, the sound almost giving me a heart attack. I whip around to come face to face with a group of fair skinned children with peculiar, light purple hair. They are wearing what appears to be winter style clothing with a strange crest over their hearts.

"You aren't dead miss!" The smallest girl in the group giggles, her dark blue eyes shining. "You're in the Meadow of Eternal Winter, our home!"

...

I stare at them blankly, my lips formed into a confused pout while my brows furrow. The Meadow of what now?

"I'm sorry, what?" I ask meekly, trying my hardest not to let my voice waver. I hadn't actually noticed how cold it was until she mentioned the strange name of this even stranger meadow. "I don't understand. I must be dead, because there is definitely NOT a place like this on Earth."

It was now their turn to stare at me weirdly. "You're not on Earth Miss..." The little girl says. "You're in Miridia." Miridia? That name sounds vaguely familiar... "Are you a human from Earth, miss?"

I nod slowly, not trusting myself to say something intelligent for the moment.

Miridia, Miridia, Miridia? Where have I heard that damn word before? And why is she asking me if I'm a human? I mean, she doesn't exactly look human but it's not like she's some elf or something, those types of things don't exist.

"Where exactly is Miridia? I've heard the name somewhere before but I don't think I've ever heard it being used in any geography class I've had." I finally ask, after moments of staring off into space.

The group laughs again, seeming to find my ignorance absolutely HILARIOUS. What the hell is so damn funny about what I'm saying?!

"Of course, you wouldn't have heard it in a 'geography' lesson, because Miridia isn't a place on Earth." Oh, okay... wait. WHAT?! They must have seen the panic in my eyes because they quickly wave their hands in an apologetic manner. "Sorry, sorry! Let us explain!"

Now I just feel stupid, I'm being taught by a bunch of frost children. Can I just go home already?!

"Miridia isn't actually a planet, like Earth. It's a... galaxy, I guess? There are 12 worlds in Miridia, each governed by one of the current princes. Before the planets were governed by the princes, there father – the king – oversaw all of the planets. You are on the planet ruled by the first prince, Kim Minseok."

My brain seems to have completely stopped working in this instant, not really understanding anything that's going on.

"I... I don't get it. How can I be here?" I rub my temples, trying to soothe my oncoming headache.

"Some humans have been able to get into Miridia through a dream, once they've gotten past the barrier of course. You're one of these people, miss! I've heard that only people from certain families are able to go through the barrier and enter Miridia from a dream. Once you've had a dream of Miridia, you're able to come back in whenever you want. Miss, you might even be able to come to Miridia without needing to be in a dream state! There are certain objects in your world that allow you to be able to enter this world in a physical form!" She seemed to be really excited about it.

So this is all just a dream? I don't have to come back? I can go home as soon as I wake up?

A smile tugs at the corners of my lips with these thoughts, before dropping again into a confused frown. What did she mean when she said I could come back in a 'physical form'?

"What do you mean I can come back in a 'physical form'?" The words fly out of my mouth quite quickly, probably a bit rudely as well. "Aren't I in one right now?"

The give me that weird look again, but this time some other emotion is swirling in their colourful eyes.

"No, miss. We can't touch you, and you can't touch anything here. We can barely even see you, only an outline of you. We can't see a single feature of your face, besides your eyes."

My eyes widen in surprise, my jaw dropping. I decide to test their explanation out, moving slowly and cautiously towards them. I reach out a delicate hand, I think. I can't even see my hand, or my arm. I try and touch the little girl that explained everything to me, but my hand just goes straight through her.

"I... I... I want to wake up now!"

And with that, my vision darkened and my invisible body fell limp. I was waking up, in my own world.