“But as the Black King was reaching a cupped hand into the river, his eyes were met with an impossible sight: reposing there, just beneath the surface of the poisonous river, was the most beautiful woman the King had ever seen. She was willowy and as pale as snow. She reached up and took his hand. He pulled the woman up from the river.

“She explained to the Black King that she had come to drown herself to alleviate her loneliness. The King confessed his reason for coming there, and the two fell deeply in love right there on the bank. Together they walked to the temple of the Hierophant so they could be married that very day.

“The Hierophant was delighted to perform the ceremony, but the moment he declared them the Black King and the White Queen, the Hierophant shocked everyone by uttering a magic spell that caused the White Queen to instantly vanish.

“The Black King was infuriated and ordered the Hierophant arrested. The guards dragged him into the royal dungeon and the Black King demanded a thorough search of the lands. But before the parties could even begin their hunt for the White Queen, winter fell heavy. Every corner of the kingdom was plagued with snow and wailing winds. The blizzard raged for so long that the kingdom began to run low on rations. Distraught and feeling helpless, the Black King ordered that the Hierophant be tortured until he confessed what he’d done with the White Queen.

“The Hierophant did not resist the torture chamber, but his confession was not believed by anyone. He claimed that he had cast the White Queen to a deep grave on the Moon. This sudden, unnatural winter was the result of the White Queen trying to dig her way out of her grave, which sent Moon dust down onto the Earth. The howling winds were her cries of distress. The Hierophant assured the Black King that this separation was necessary, that the Black King and the White Queen had to be apart so that they could eventually know the bliss of reunion.

“The Black King did not believe the Hierophant and decreed that he should be executed at dawn. The next morning, just as the royal executioner was about to deliver the fatal stroke, the Black King announced that he’d had a change of heart. He said he’d had a dream where the White Queen and he found one another again and that peace and happiness were restored in the land. So he decided to spare the life of the Hierophant and allow him to go free.

“Immediately upon showing mercy, the blizzard ceased. The sun broke through the dark clouds and began to shine across the kingdom, melting the snows. And then, the White Queen returned. She came rushing through the gates of the kingdom and she and the Black King knew the bliss of reunion.