The third lesson I learned after reincarnating as a dragon prince was simple.
Power has consequences.
Especially when that power is as old as—if not older than—the universe. At first, surviving on the frozen planet wasn't impossible. Hard, yes. But manageable.
The pearl I had coughed up during my first day radiated enough warmth to keep the worst of the cold away. With it I could melt snow, carve small caves into glaciers, and create thin barriers against the endless blizzards raging across the planet.
Nothing impressive. Just enough to stay alive. But every time I used the power, something inside me strained. The warmth in my chest—what should have been a dragon's blazing fire—flickered weakly. And the cold inside me grew stronger.
At first it was just physical. Then I started noticing it in my thoughts. My emotions dulled. Reactions slowed. Everything became… sharper. More logical. More distant. When the fox who had been following me brought me a rabbit she hunted in the snowfields, I thanked her.
But the gratitude felt muted. Like it belonged to someone else. That was when I realized the truth. The pearl I was using wasn't my real power. My true power was the Dragon Pearl bound to my soul. The original one. The primordial one. The one born from The Dragon, creator of the Dragon Flame.
And my body couldn't handle it. Trying to channel even a fraction of that power felt like forcing a star through a drinking straw. So instead my body did the only thing it could. It vented power. And that power condensed into smaller pearls.
Which I discovered the hard way.
One morning I woke up coughing violently.
"Ugh—"
Hack.
Something struck the ice floor. Then again.
Hack.
And once more.
Hack
Three glowing spheres rolled across the cave. With me prone on the ground like a cat that just coughed out a hairball. I blinked down at the pearls.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Three pearls.
Each one different.
One glowed pale blue.
Another shimmered silver with drifting frost.
The third had a tiny golden core burning at its centre.
Dragon pearls.
Real ones. Not the half assed powerful yet impure magic gems from earlier. But true-blue divine grade dragon pearls just smaller and more conducive to the human hand.
And they were formed from just fragments of power leaking from the true Dragon Pearl resting inside me. Behind me, the fox watched curiously. She had stayed with me since the day I woke up on this frozen planet. A white fox whose fur blended perfectly with the endless snow.
The magic around her felt… wrong still in my perception, twisted, bent. The curse.
"Alright Sapphire," I sighed.
"If you're cursed, we're probably stuck dealing with magical nonsense together."
She barked softly.
Then sat beside me.
Over the next few days, I experimented more seriously, yet carefully. These pearls reacted more to instinct than conscious spellcasting.
Wind.
Frost.
Heat.
Each pearl carried a slightly different elemental trait. Which meant they could do far more than keep us warm.And if my theory about Sapphires curse was right…
They might help her too.
One evening I knelt in front of her. "Let's test something." She didn't move. Just watched calmly. I held up a pale blue pearl with silver and gold streaks. A combination of the three purest ones I've made so far.
"This might hurt." She still didn't move. "…I'm taking that as consent." I pressed the pearl gently against her forehead. Light exploded outward.
Cold wind spiralled through the cave. Her body flickered.
For a moment—
Fox.
Girl.
Fox again.
Then the light faded. She collapsed in the snow breathing heavily. "Sapphire!" I rushed forward. She slowly lifted her head. The curse remained.
But weaker.
Much weaker.
Then a voice echoed softly inside my mind. Young, quiet.
[Thank you… Theo.]
I froze.
"…You can talk?"
[Only to you.]
Her voice sounded like a young girl. Maybe around my age. Maybe a little younger. She sat up slowly.
[The pearls weakened the curse.]
Then she hesitated.
[My sister… would be angry if she saw this.]
I frowned.
"Your sister?"
The fox lowered her ears slightly.
[Her name is Icy. She should have left by now.]
My brain immediately connected the dots.
'That Icy?, when did she have a sister.' I think to myself.
Giving a slow nod. I leaned back against the cave wall.
"…Well."
"That explains a lot actually."
Unfortunately…
That was when the storm stopped. Completely. The wind vanished. Snow froze in the air.
The silence felt unnatural, unnervingly so. Sapphire stiffened beside me.
[She's here.]
My stomach dropped. "…Who?" Then a voice echoed across the frozen wasteland.
Cold.
Amused.
"Well now."
The sky split open above us. A woman descended slowly from the clouds. Her skin was pale white. Her lips were deep purple, revealing sharp fangs when she smiled. Long braided red hair hung down the front of her face, partially covering her eyes. A deer skull with antlers and feathers rested atop her head like a crown. Around her neck hung a necklace of purple crystals.
She wore a black dress fading into dark red near the bottom, the hem torn and riddled with holes. Black gloves covered her hands. Pale purple ribbons wrapped around her arms. In one hand she carried a gnarled wooden staff, its top branching outward like twisted antlers. Ice spiralled lazily around it.
She smiled.
"The little dragon prince lives."
"That's surprising considering those who went after you."
My blood ran cold.
"…The Shaman Witch." I murmur remembering one of my mothers lessons. She chuckled.
"So you recognize me." Her gaze shifted to the fox. Then her smile widened.
"Well now."
"My little frozen Princess of Dyamond still breathes."
My head snapped toward Foxxy. "…Princess?" Sapphire avoided my gaze.
The witch laughed softly.
"Yes."
"The youngest princess of Dyamond."
"And the little sister of a very ambitious girl named Icy."
Sapphire growled quietly. The witch tilted her head.
"You should be grateful, child."
"If not for your sister's ambitions…"
She paused.
"…you would have frozen with the rest of your kingdom."
Her attention snapped back to me. She sniffed the air slowly. "…Oh." Her smile vanished. "That's interesting." She stepped closer. "That power…" Another slow inhale.
"You carry a Dragon Pearl." My chest tightened. That was very bad. Sapphire suddenly shoved me. Hard.
[Run.]
"What—"
[RUN.]
Reality tore open behind us. A glowing portal formed in a burst of rainbow light. "You opened that?!" I shouted.
[Leave!]
The witch slammed her staff into the ice. Ice spears erupted from the ground. Golems began forming from the surrounding snow. "You cannot escape me, child!" Sapphire bit my sleeve and dragged me toward the portal.
"But you—"
[I will hide.]
The portal flickered violently. The witch's magic surged like a tidal wave. The portal began collapsing. Sapphire turned toward me. And for a single moment—
The curse around her flared. Light burst outward. Her body shifted.
Fox.
Girl.
Fox again.
But this time something else appeared. Multiple ghostlike tails made of ice and frost fanned out behind her. Her eyes glowed bright blue.
Ancient.
Wild.
For a brief instant—
She looked less like a fox…
…and more like a young ice kitsune spirit.
Even the Shaman Witch paused.
"…Interesting."
Then Sapphire shoved me through the portal. Hard.
[Live.]
The last thing I saw was her standing in the blizzard. Three glowing dragon pearls hanging around her neck. Ice tails flickering behind her like fading starlight. Facing the Shaman Witch alone.
Then the portal closed. The frozen world of Dyamond vanished behind me.
And somewhere inside that endless storm…
A cursed princess began her long wait in hiding.