by Amber Jaeger
“Me. My men.”
“Well too bad for you I have no wish to impress any of you. And why do you care?”
“You are under the protection of my liege, the impression you make will reflect on him.”
“Is that why you do not like me? I make your king look bad?”
He glanced over at her and she could read the answer in her eyes. Yes.
“He came after me,” she said defensively. “And he does not do much to make his own best impression. Perhaps you should stop worrying about my hair and more about your duties.”
She stalked away, her hopes for bacon dashed. Alma was just exiting her own small tent and she raised her hand to cover her mouth but a giggle escaped. She brought a finger up to point at Katiyana. “Your hair,” she said, another giggle escaping.
“I know,” Katiyana groused. “Will you fix it?”
They left just after dawn. Lian wordlessly helped her up onto the front bench and they rode in silence for miles. What she had mistaken for low clouds revealed themselves to be a mountain range, spanning almost the entire horizon. One mount loomed over all the others.
Lian lifted a hand to point. “That is our destination.”
Fear froze her queasy belly. “That is the home of the Cold King?” she squeaked out.
He frowned at her. “I beg of you, do not call him that to his face.”
“No,” she said, distracted by her mounting discomfort. “I am sure he does not like his nickname any better than you like yours.”
He said something after that but she was lost in her own thoughts. She had spent so long hiding, so long surviving, so long protecting the secret of her identity and now she was about to reveal it to the entire world. The queen would hear of it soon and then…
Katiyana wondered if she would send assassins or an army. Could the king truly protect her? Would Bennet even want to?
She shivered and Lian pulled the carriage to a stop, breaking her from her thoughts. “What are you doing?” she asked, hoping he was turning around but knowing that would not be it.
He hopped down gracefully and pulled out another blanket. “You are cold,” he said.
She looked down to the blanket in her lap. “No, I am fine.”
He tossed the blanket to her and climbed back up. “You were shivering and your face is even whiter than usual. Cover up. And do not worry, we will be there soon.”
His words caused her to shiver again and he pulled the blanket up under her chin before starting the horses again.
Doom and foreboding pressed down on her as they continued and her thoughts drifted back to memories of her father. She wondered what he would look like if he had not had his life taken so young. She wondered what she would be like. Would she be the proper lady everyone wanted her to be? Or perhaps a simpering idiot like Wilemina?
The air grew colder and the sky darker as they made their way into the foothills and so did Katiyana’s thoughts. She had foolishly dreamed she could hide forever and had planned on it. Even as the outside world had called to her, she had always imagined returning home to Cidra and Adora and the girl with no name. Slowly she realized she was feeling a different sort of grief as she finally accepted that it would never happen, she would never get to go back to the hut and her life there. Once again, she had no idea what would happen to her.
When they stopped for lunch Katiyana ate what Alma pressed into her hands. When they stopped for dinner, she refused mutely, only shaking her head.
So lost in her fear and grief over her previous lives, she did not notice the kings concern.
“No, we ride through the night until we arrive,” he argued with Bennet.
“We cannot arrive in the middle of the night with you driving the carriage and that messy urchin at your side,” Bennet shot back, not bothering to lower his voice.
Anger made the king swell and he suddenly look twice the size of the captain. His eyes were nearly black and the other man backed away. “I will ride wherever I please and she will be at my side. And you will never refer to her in that way again.”
After a long moment, Bennet gave a terse nod before turning on his heel and stomping over to his horse. Alma went to the king and brushed a hand down his shaking arm. “We will arrive soon, she will be fine.”
That seemed to deflate him a bit but he said nothing. Once he had Katiyana situated under several blankets, they took off, traveling faster than they had. She watched the stars come out overhead, oblivious to the king’s worried glances. It got much colder but she did not notice that either. There was only one thought in her head, I cannot do this.
The sky had been fully dark for an hour before they drove into a small town. All the windows were shuttered and there were no lights lit anywhere to be seen. Bennet sped off to alert the servants at the palace that the king was on his way.
The climb up the mountain was freezing and bumpy and Katiyana was jostled on the bench. Lian reached over to pull her closer, tucking her tight against his side. When she turned her face into his chest, his heart clenched. He thought over every illness he had ever heard of and wondered which one she had.
Torches were lit in the courtyard when he pulled the carriage in. An older man with a dark swath of hair was rushing out the door, his snow white shirt tails trailing behind him. If he was surprised by the king driving, he was too disciplined to show it. “Abelina has the room prepared, my lord,” he said, reaching up for the small, pale girl.
Lian pulled her closer and jumped down with her in his arms. “Lead, Marchello,” he commanded.
The warmth of the castle roused her and she opened her bleary eyes for a second before snapping them shut again. The walls, the floors, everything was white and gleaming and too bright.
“Almost there,” Lian murmured against her hair. He did not know that was the worst possible thing to say.
The butler led them up a set of grand stairs and ushered them into smaller, not so bright room. Lian gently set her on the bed and sat next to her. The sound of running water shut off in an attached room and a kind looking older woman came out. Her brows furrowed in concern as she took in the small form on the bed.
“My lord,” she murmured, almost an afterthought.
“Abelina,” he said, not looking away from Katiyana. “Where is your healer?”
“Iago is on his way, he needed his bag.” He nodded and brushed her hair back from her brow.
Katiyana opened her eyes to take him in. “This is it?” she asked in a small voice.
“It is, we are here now. I must speak with King Valanka, but the healer will be in to see you. I will return as soon as I can.”
She nodded and he opened his mouth to say something more but after a moment’s consideration shut it again.
When he left, the room seemed colder and bigger and she shivered on the bed. Abelina sat down next to her and placed a hand on her forehead. “You do not feel feverish,” she murmured.
There was a soft knock at the door and a slight man let himself in. He was much shorter than the king and his wispy hair made him appear almost whimsical. He approached the bed with a kind smile and a large bag in his hand. “My name is Iago, I am the king’s healer. May I help you?”
Katiyana looked fearfully to Abelina who took her hand. “You have nothing to fear, Iago is a seventh son. Here, sit up, my dear.”
Katiyana struggled to sit and Abelina wrapped an arm around her shoulders to help. Iago watched, his smile fading with concern. He touched her brow and her cheeks, peered into her eyes and had her open her mouth.
He touched around her throat and listened to her breath. He sat back after a moment, puzzled. “You certainly need more to drink, and I could hear your stomach rumbling from out in the hall, but…”
Another knock came and a beautiful woman swept into the room. Her royal blue dress complimented her pale skin and chestnut hair perfectly. She was small but was unmistakably strong and confident. “Iago, that is not necessary.”
He looked back to t
he woman and his smile returned faintly. “Calia. How do you mean?”
The woman sat on the edge of her bed and gave a kind smile. “She is not ill, she is frightened.” Katiyana wondered how she knew that and then the woman leaned in to whisper in her ear, “I know who you are. Please do not be afraid, you will be safe here.”
To the healer she said, “Leave the calming tea but nothing else is needed. I will stay with her until the king returns.”
Katiyana warily watched the man leave the room. The woman, Calia, began preparing the tea. “Who are you?” she finally asked. “And how do you know who I am?”
“I hear King Lian tell Valanka.”
Katiyana did not miss the casualness in her voice. “You are the one who is to marry the Cold King?” She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth and she winced.
But Calia surprised her with a laugh. “Yes, I am to marry the Cold King. Although you will find he is not very cold anymore.” She came to the bed with two steaming cups and Katiyana sat up to accept hers. “I am surprised you know of him. I understand you have been… away for many years.”
“Everybody knows about the Cold King,” Katiyana said, relaxing in other woman’s presence. She did not know what she had expected but it was not someone kind and calm and gentle. “When I was little, I remember parents would threaten to send you off to be a slave to the Cold King if you did not behave.” Her words came out much harsher than she intended and she winced. “I am sorry. That is not how I meant it.”
Calia shrugged and sat in the chair next to the bed, tucking her feet up under the hem of her dress. “Do not be. And truly, that is how it was for me, for most of the others.”
Katiyana spun the cup on the saucer. “And now you are going to marry him?”
“It was not quite as simple as you make it sound, but yes.” She looked up with wide sparkling eyes. “Tell me, did you ever think you would fall in love with the Fire King?”
Tea burned the back of her hand as she bolted upright. “I am not—I do not—”
“Calm down, I was only asking,” Calia chided, pressing a cloth to her hand. After a moment she took her seat again and looked up at her over the edge of her cup. “I was only asking because the king seems quite taken with you. I have never seen him have even the remotest interest in anyone before.”
Unwilling to continue the strange conversation with a cup of deadly hot tea in her hand, Katiyana set it on the stand and got up to curl in the chair next Calia’s.
“His only interest is using me to bring Sula down. Although I fear he will be very disappointed when his plan fails,” she said, staring into the fire.
“You think it will fail?” Calia asked, her voice surprised.
Katiyana snorted. “How could it not?”
She could feel the burn of the other woman’s eyes and turned to meet them. The shock and power in them surprised her.
“Princess Katiyana, if you no faith in your own strength then you most certainly will fail. How is it you managed to survive in the wild for so long but are terrified to meet a few nobles and champion your cause?” she demanded. Katiyana’s mouth had gone dry and she had no answer. “Do you not believe in it, in yourself? You have an entire kingdom filled with innocents who have no hope if you cannot stand up for yourself and for them.”
Chastised and feeling slightly embarrassed, Katiyana ducked her head, hoping to hide her red cheeks. “And how would you know?” she mumbled.
The cup was set down sharply with crack. “I suffered just as miserable conditions as you did and even when I was forced into a new life I hated, I fought to make a place for myself. And because I fought, I won the kings trust and eventually he agreed to stop taking the outcasts from my village and making them slaves.”
“You are the one who made him stop?” Katiyana asked incredulously.
“I did not make him stop, I was able to make him see reason. Sometimes that is all you can do with a person, whether you care for them very much or very little.”
“Perhaps like Lian has been trying to do with me,” she said, picking at her stupid skirts.
A bell sounded somewhere deep in the castle and Calia looked up. “It is past time for both of us to be in bed. Will you think of what I said, and not think too harshly of me?”
Katiyana gave her a timid smile. “I like you. You remind me of a friend from my old life.” Thinking of Cidra made her heart twinge but she really did like Calia.
After the woman let herself out, Katiyana pawed through the luggage and pulled out the kings nightgown she had been sleeping in. With a sigh, she also pulled out the ridiculous nightgown she was meant to sleep in and changed into it. Feeling childish, she tucked the king’s night gown under her pillow before climbing into the bed.
She must have been asleep for a while, because the fire had died down. With fuzzy eyes she peered at it, wondering what had woken her. Was the girl with no name having another night terror?
The bed—bed?—dipped down from a great weight and Katiyana sprang up, her heart racing. A looming figure swooped at her and she opened her mouth to shriek. A large hand batted over her mouth and a strong arm pulled around her waist, forcing her back down. Panic was at the edges of her mind but determined to fight, she did not let it in.
“Stop, it is me,” a hushed voice commanded and not recognizing it, she fought harder, only to be pulled in tighter. Determined to be free, she opened her mouth wide and bit down on the hand covering it.
“Damn it all to hell, Katiyana!” the voice boomed and she almost wept with relief.
It was Lian.
She could feel he was shaking and she wondered how angry he was. Gently she reached up to touch his face, his hair, to be sure it was really him and she felt him relax against her. The hand slid away and she wiped her mouth, hoping there wasn’t any blood.
The weight on the bed lifted and a light bloomed on the stand, making her blink furiously. When her vision cleared, she saw Lian standing before the small table, inspecting his hand with a frown on his face. Satisfied there was no lasting damage, he turned back to her.
“Tree girl, what am I going to do with you? One minute you are so ill I fear for your life, the next you attack me with fury of ten men.”
“I thought you were attacking me,” she protested. “You came into my room in the dark and sat on my bed.”
He stared at her incredulously. “I said I would return to check on you. I thought you were near death.”
She flushed and looked away. “I was not, I was merely scared.”
Lian ran a hand through his hair and sat back on the edge of the bed, several feet away from her. “I told you, you have nothing to fear when you are with me. I will keep you safe.”
“I know you will try,” she said, and seeing his face harden, she scooted over to lay a hand on his arm. “I know you will. But Sula is evil and crafty and I must navigate a world I thought I was lost from forever.” She glanced down at her nightgown and sighed. “I do not even know if I have put this nightgown on properly.”
Lian frowned and fingered one of the many ribbons that had to be tied together. He looked over her shoulder and pointed. “Why do you not just wear the one I gave you?”
Heat rushed up her chest and into her cheeks. A glance showed her that sure enough, the garment was peeking out from under her pillow. “It is not proper,” she muttered.
He gave a low chuckle. “And since when did you care about such things?”
“I have to now. The fate of my entire kingdom rests on me and I must rest on the loyalty of the other kingdoms. No one is going to believe some ratty urchin in men’s clothing can rule from a throne.”
She jumped when he put a finger under her chin to lift her face. His eyes were dark but not angry. “You are not a ratty urchin. You are a princess and also a survivor. Just show them who you truly are and they will see in you what I do.”
Her heart banged painfully against her ribs, only slowing when he removed his finger. “You n
eed to get some rest,” he finally admonished. She nodded mutely.
Lian paused at the door before leaving. “Sweet dreams, Tree Girl.”
She gave him a faint smile and flopped back when she heard the door snick shut. The lamp was still lit and she watched it war with the weak fire to make shadows on the ceiling. She tried to tell herself they were merely shadows but they looked sinister in the unfamiliar room. Silently she crept from her bed to peer out the window, again only to see dark shadows and drifting snow. She would climb the roof if she was not so sure she would slip on the icy tiles and plunge to her death.
She paced the room, realizing sleep would be long in coming after dozing most of the day away, until her stomach began to growl. The tray from earlier was gone and a look in the drawers showed no snacks hidden away.
