Yukiko
Yukiko's fingers grazed over the frosted glass of the windows on the small cottage. She looked inside at the family inside, basking in the warmth of a fire. The two children happily playing and chasing each other, the mother in the kitchen portion of the tiny home, focused on cooking and occasionally saying something to her young ones. The father was sitting near the fire in the living room carving a small forest creature out of a chunk of wood. Yukiko's eyes refocused on the paths her fingers left in the intricate lacing of the frost on the glass. She brought her hand back to her chest and turned away from the cottage. Her gaze which had softened while looking at the tender scene within, now hardened as she moved back toward the forest she knew as home.
With each passing foot fall her hand clasped tighter and tighter around the teardrop necklace the hung around her neck. She felt it hit against something metallic and held her hand out in front of her. The ring. She felt her lower lip begin to tremble as she gazed at the tiny circle of metal that had meant so much to her five years prior. She glanced back at the cottage before tugging the ring off of her finger and letting it fall into the snow by her feet.
"Kokuzoku..." the name escaped her lips before she could stop it. She drew in a deep breath and glanced down one last time at the ring that was quickly being buried in the falling snow. "I will never forgive you." she whispered as she continued her slow and steady walk.
She glanced at the ground and smiled gently as she saw the beginnings of snow drops appearing out of the snow. More sprang up as she approached the waterfall turned ice-wall she called home. She waved her hand gently as the glass cracked and shattered in front of her. Stepping through and into the cave that had been hidden by the frozen water. She sighed softly, her feet moving over the cold rock ground.
When she came to the end of the tunnel she stepped into a large circular room, lit by thousands of candles. In the middle of the room a throne of ice stood, patterns of Snow Drops carved into it. She slowly moved over to it and took a seat. Her shoulders, suddenly sank, her cold outter exterior started to crack as she felt a tear that had been five years in coming slowly slide down her pale cheek.