Chapter 1
In 1971, Pearl Whitman, a wealthy young lady, set off for the distant and frigid Frostvale. However, an avalanche struck as she was entering the village. Fortunately, she was rescued by Gabriel Wolfson, the heir of a monastery.
At first sight of him, Pearl was smitten.
Gabriel combined the chivalrous sense of responsibility of a knight with the compassion of a clergyman.
Two years later, in 1973, Pearl finally got the courage to take Gabriel's hand. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed his lips gently.
"Gabriel, with God as my witness. I, Pearl, vow my whole heart to you for this lifetime."
Gabriel's gaze stayed steady and unruffled, and that quiet calm only made Pearl fall even harder for him.
In 1975, without a backward glance, Pearl boarded the train home, leaving behind everything in Frostvale.
*****
Seven days before her departure, fresh from a brutal flogging, Pearl stumbled into Frostvale Sanctuary, the sacred haven passed down through Gabriel's lineage.
As she neared the final corridor, a muffled groan sliced through the silence.
The woolen curtain of the room hung askew, and a heady, intoxicating musk seeped out, thick enough to drown thought. Pearl peeked through the gap—there was Gabriel, his upper body bare, his broad back crisscrossed with bleeding lash wounds. A heavy robe clung to his waist, and around his wrist, the colorful braided cord she'd woven for him still dangled.
His usual bracelet lay shattered on the stone floor, its string snapped.
Yet he moved with a rhythmic urgency, a choked roar escaping him at last. Beneath him lay Alice Meadows.
Pearl stumbled back, her hand instinctively pulling the curtain shut, smothering the sounds of their coupling.
This was not the first time.
But still, she fled—afraid that if Gabriel caught her, he'd cast her aside, stop loving her, vanish from her life forever.
She ran from Frostvale Sanctuary, her breath ragged, into the midnight forest.
She slipped down a steep cliff crevice, her chest heaving, and ran until her legs gave out—finally reaching the Volunteer Affairs Office on the Frostvale Plains.
Banging frantically on the door, she gasped for icy, stagnant air, forcing herself to sound calm.
A guard answered the door.
Pearl forced out the words, her voice shaking. "I'm sorry to disturb you so late. After thinking it over, I've decided—I want to go back. Please, let me return. I'm asking for permission."
"Didn't you say you wanted to stay in Frostvale forever and give your spot back to someone else? And what about you and that Gabriel..." The investigator holding a pen stared at her, his expression odd.
After sizing her up for minutes, he muttered, "Fine," and turned to fetch her travel papers and ticket, handing them over with a sigh.
Pearl tucked the documents safely away and let out a shaky breath of relief.
All the strength seemed to drain out of her, and only then did the pain slowly begin to gnaw at her nerves.
"Ah!"
Her feet slipped, and she braced for the fall—only to be caught by a strong arm. Pearl looked up, her heart lurching: it was Gabriel.
He wore no expression, just steadied her before lifting her into his arms, bridal-style.
Their eyes locked. For a long moment, the only sounds were their ragged breaths and the wild, whistling wind outside.
Gabriel shrugged off his coat and wrapped it around Pearl. As he did, she glimpsed the bloody, crisscrossed wounds slashed across his back beneath his robes.
"You..." Pearl managed, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry, Pearl," Gabriel said quietly.
He kept walking, not pausing for a moment.
"You hurt Alice. I couldn't spare you from punishment. All I could do was bear it with you," he said, his voice low and steady.
Pearl couldn't hold it in anymore.
"I told you, I didn't push her off that cliff! She tricked me into going out to the snowfields to pick herbs that help you heal! She jumped into the ravine herself, just to set me up!" Pearl's voice shook with anger and desperation.
But Gabriel didn't respond. He just kept walking, like her words meant nothing to him.
Pearl's voice cracked as she demanded, "What were you and Alice doing in that room?"
Though her demand echoed through the storm, Gabriel's silence remained unbroken, a wall against the raging wind.
He walked fast, and soon the Frostvale Sanctuary came into view—carved into the cliffside, a thousand butter lamps burning day and night, piles of boulders scattered like offerings. In the dark, it was a mountain, temple, and the very heart of Frostvale's faith, all in one.
"Gabriel! Where have you been?" someone shouted.
"Something's wrong! Alice's fever won't go down! We're out of penicillin!" another voice cried.
Gabriel's face went tense in an instant, and Pearl could feel his muscles go rigid.
He didn't even look back—just rushed into the sanctuary, leaving Pearl stranded outside in the biting wind and swirling snow.
"Grab that jinx! She's nothing but trouble!" someone yelled.
"She seduced the Guardian and hurt Alice! She needs to be punished!" another voice shouted.
Before she could utter a word, Pearl spun to flee—only to be tackled by several devout followers, their hands pinning her limbs as they dragged her roughly into the sanctuary's courtyard.
Lash after lash descended.
Blood spurted from her lips with each strike. Through blurred vision, she lifted her head—and froze at the sight of a silhouette on the white curtain: Gabriel and Alice, locked in an embrace.
Alice slid off his outer robe, pressing her cheek firmly against his wounded back before he turned to gather her close.
"Gabriel!" Pearl called his name, clinging to the last flicker of hope in her shattered heart.
She saw his back twitch, saw him start to stand—then watched as he blew out the candle on the table.
That single breath snuffed out the last flicker of hope in her heart.
With a loud crack, the rod came crashing down on her spine—she passed out from the pain.
For some reason, lost in that endless darkness, she kept replaying those five years she'd spent sent down to Frostvale.
It felt like she was back on her very first day—Gabriel was like a angel who'd descended to earth just for her, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her away from the raging storm.
From that moment, he became her whole world.
She'd invented excuses to be near him: working in his sanctuary to earn service credits, teaching the orphaned children he sheltered to read, studying Frostvale's scriptures night and day under the pretense of learning the culture.
All of it, just to catch another glimpse of him, just to steal a few more moments together.
She remembered her confession beneath the sanctuary's ancient thousand-year-old tree, the way his eyes had faltered as she spoke.
But between them stood Alice—the sanctuary's beloved darling, showered with adoration by all.
Gabriel had told her the truth once: Alice's father, a local noble, had died alongside his wife in battle. With his last breath, he'd entrusted Alice to Gabriel's parents, who'd made him swear to protect her as a vine clings to a tree, never to part.
For the sake of that promise, he'd vowed to keep her safe, no matter what.
Her mind flashed back to that moment, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed, "And me? What do I mean to you?"
Gabriel's expression was unreadable, his gaze locked on the flags whipping in the wind.
"Maybe you were only an unforeseen turn that entered my world," he said, his voice flat and emotionless.
*****
When Pearl woke up, the blinding white light made her squint, her eyes stinging.
She tried moving her fingers, only to realize she was wrapped in bandages from head to toe.
"Pearl! You're finally awake!" chirped a little girl in a Frostvale robe, her face bright with joy.
It was one of the girls Pearl had taught while volunteering here.
"But the doctor who came by earlier said you need surgery, and the Guardian has to sign off on it," the girl said, her voice full of concern.
Pearl hesitated, then glanced at her coat on the table. The letter of introduction and train ticket were still tucked safely in the pocket, and she felt a bit more at ease.
"It's fine. I'm leaving Frostvale soon. Me and him... we're nothing now," she said, her voice flat.
Just then, the door to the hospital room swung open.
Gabriel stood in the doorway, his expression as calm and immutable as a sacred statue carved from stone.
"You're leaving Frostvale?" he asked, his voice flat.