by RA Lewis
“I’m glad to hear you are settling in. Glad to see you here, Captain Higgs.” She said. Captain Higgs was a tall man, lean and only in his late twenties if Kalina was any judge. His light auburn hair stood out among the dark-haired Askorians like a flame. He smiled warmly at her and bowed.
“Glad to be of service, your Majesty.”
Kalina smiled to them both, and said her goodbyes, and then turned away, wandering over to an archery target. Prince Simen followed, turning back once or twice to look at Talon and Captain Higgs who continued their conversation, now joined by Runa and Kari.
“Your men seem very loyal to you.”
“Of course they are. I am their Queen.” Kalina said as she pulled a beautifully made recurve bow from a display near the target. It was already strung, which struck Kalina as strange since usually you didn’t want to leave a bow strung for storage, but she shrugged and grabbed a small quiver of arrows from a nearby table.
“No, I mean, they treat you like a friend.”
“How so? All I saw was them being formal.” She carefully notched an arrow to the string and brought the bow up to shoulder height, using three fingers to draw back on the string until her thumb was aligned with her jaw bone.
“They were formal because of me, not you.”
He didn’t seem to miss anything. Perhaps this young prince wasn’t an enemy after all. Perhaps he could be used to her advantage. Perhaps they would make a better match than she’d originally thought. That thought stopped her short. Was she actually considering following through with the marriage? She shook her head and looked back to the target. Kari would come up with a solution before it was over. She knew it.
“Talon knew me before I was Queen,” she remarked as she notched a second arrow, drew, and then released a breath along with the arrow which found the center of the target. “And I’ve spent hours training with him and Captain Higgs in the practice yards of Ravenhelm.”
The prince’s eyebrows shot up. Clearly, he wasn’t used to women being fighters, warriors.
“Do all women fight as you do, or your two women guards do?” He asked, coming to stand beside her and eyeing the target. He snagged up his own bow and nocked an arrow, drew and let fly. His arrow thudded into the target a mere hair’s breadth from her own. Kalina gave him a rueful smile, which he returned.
“Not all, but many Valdir women fight, and I am encouraging more and more Ethean women to fight. My cousin, Kari,” she nodded in her cousin’s direction, “started a Queen’s Guard made up entirely of women.”
Prince Simen ran a hand through his short-cropped dark hair, his head tilted sideways as he appraised her.
“You are perhaps, more interesting than I thought.”
“And you are, perhaps, not as dull as I thought.”
He smiled broadly at her then.
Chapter 22
The throne room of the castle was decorated like a winter wonderland: every inch covered in white. White florals wound around stairway banisters, adorned tables and chair backs, and hung from the ceiling. Long swaths of white and sheer fabric covered the granite walls, hung from the ceiling, and covered tables, making the space feel both warmer and colder at the same time. Crystalline glasses with a sparkling white wine were being served, each dish white and sparkling. Even the delicacies were dusted with white sugar.
Kalina stood with Kari by the buffet table sampling the strange fare that Askor had to offer. She was dressed in a pale blue dress that flowed over her shoulders and spilled out around her on the floor. It was made of a diaphanous material that seemed to both float like a cloud and flow like water. It felt luxurious to wear and she immediately knew she’d be commissioning more dresses like it in the future. It wrapped her body and clung to her hips before flowing to the ground, a deep-v neckline and gathered fabric at the shoulders that spilled over her back made her feel like some sort of fairy queen from legends.
Kari was in an equally flowing pale purple dress. She kept self-consciously tugging at the neckline, trying to cover herself. Kalina hid a smile behind her hand as she watched her cousin awkwardly decline a dance with a young Askorian nobleman who only had eyes for her chest. When the man had retreated with a lecherous grin on his face, Kari scowled over at Kalina who was hard-pressed to hide her laughter.
“You don’t know how beautiful you look, do you cousin?” Kalina asked, setting her nearly empty plate aside. Kari crossed her arms over her chest.
“They wouldn’t like me so much if I was facing them in battle,” she grumbled. Kalina laughed out loud at that, and finally she saw the corner of Kari’s mouth twitch in amusement.
“That they wouldn’t. You are the fiercest woman I know.” Kalina put an arm around her cousin’s waist and gave her a small squeeze. Although physical affection was rare for Kalina, after a few drinks of that sparkling wine she was feeling very friendly indeed. She might even give the King a hug if he didn’t watch himself.
“You better be careful too, my Queen. The nobles may be too intimidated to approach you but the royals seem to have eyes only for you.”
Kalina followed Kari’s look across the ballroom and saw that the royals were clustered by the dais. Prince Simen was watching her, a small smile on his lips. His older brothers and sisters were mostly looking at her with slight scowls and an emotion she had trouble naming. She wasn’t sure if it was hatred or hunger, but either way, she felt like a piece of meat on display.
She turned and found Leif a few feet away, a half-filled plate of food in his hands. He was watching her with such intensity that the breath caught in her throat. She looked into his grey eyes and wished that the room would melt away, that they could be alone together once again. But he blinked suddenly and looked away, turning back to the food table. Kalina watched a blush spread up his neck, his ears turning red as he studiously ignored her.
She swallowed hard before turning back to the dance floor. Guests twirled around in a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors. She let her eyes go unfocused for a moment, the colors swirling and smudging together before her. She jumped slightly when a cool hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up into the kind face of Lord Illeron. He gave her a bow and held his hand out.
“May I have this dance, your Majesty?”
Kalina took his hand with a small curtsey, still slightly flustered, and followed him onto the dance floor, looking back apologetically at Kari who scowled alone by the edge of the crowd. As Lord Illeron placed his hand gently on her waist and began pulling her into unfamiliar dance steps, she watched Leif and Jormungand join Kari. She sighed. At least her cousin wasn’t standing alone anymore.
The next person to snag her hand was Prince Simen. His easy manner and smile put her instantly at ease. She was surprised that after only a day she had grown to like this young man so much, but found she did. She may not want to marry him, but perhaps he could at least be an ally, a friend. As they spun to the music, they talked of little things. After their archery practice the day before she had taken him to the eyrie to meet Maska. He had been full of genuine awe and joy at meeting a dragon, and began asking Maska many questions. Kalina had sat down on a nearby hay bale and laughed until Prince Simen had stopped his questioning sheepishly. Tonight, he was still full of questions but this time about her.
“How did you find the Valdir? I understand you were raised in an abbey as an orphan and you didn’t know who your parents were?”
Kalina sighed before giving him the bare bones of her story. He nodded along eagerly. He was genuinely interested in her.
“What was it like meeting your father?” he inquired.
“It was like coming home. I felt in my bones that it was right, that he was my family. I only wish I’d known him longer-” she trailed off, as memories of her father, Hakon, swam before her eyes. “I learned so much about the Valdir from him.”
“What are the Valdir like?”
“Tribal, warriors, fiercely loyal,” Kalina said, her eyes drifting back to Kari, Leif, and Jormung
and who still stood by the buffet, alone in a sea of strangers. “They are unlike any other people I’ve ever met. I’m proud to be one of them, to be their Queen.”
Prince Simen smiled as he too watched her friends across the room.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know them. You know, there is a story about dragon riders here in Askor as well.”
She perked up at his words and turned to look up into his amber eyes.
“What is the story?”
“It is said that in the wilds of northern Askor, near the Snowcap Glacier, north of Icewell and the Riverlands, in the forest, live a race of dragon riders, not unlike your own Valdir. But no one has seen them in centuries. Stories still occasionally float around, about people going missing in the wilderness and claims that they were taken by giant white dragons, or people coming out of the woods raving mad, talking about white-clad people who hunted them. It’s all rather silly, but interesting, considering.” He smiled down at her, and Kalina’s mind began churning.
“I wonder if we are distantly related,” she murmured, half to herself. She could imagine a giant white dragon with a white-clad, silver-haired rider atop its back. There were no legends among the Valdir about other dragon riders, but perhaps those stories were lost to time.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. But if they ever did exist, they are long gone.”
Kalina nodded absently in agreement as the song came to a close and they slowly stopped dancing. Prince Simen stepped back from her and she had to focus back on the moment. She felt a little off-balance as he bowed to her, begging her to save him a dance later in the night. She agreed with a smile and began to wander back to her friends when another hand snagged hers. It was Prince Endre, the eldest prince, and heir to the throne. He bowed over her hand regally and she was forced to give him a small curtsey in response.
“May I have the honor of this dance, your Majesty?”
She nodded her assent and then settled into a stiff rhythm as the music began anew. After a few turns around the dance floor, Kalina’s mind was beginning to wander when the Prince spoke.
“I knew your father, you know.”
The statement caught Kalina so completely off guard that she tripped over her own feet and stumbled. After she had righted herself with the prince’s help, she looked up into the Crown Prince’s dark eyes. He and her father would have been the same age, had her father still lived.
“Oh? You knew him?” She tried to feign nonchalance but knew she was failing to keep her emotions from her face and voice.
“Yes, I faced him in battle many times over the years towards the end of the war, including that final battle before he fled with his people.”
Kalina’s heart clenched in her chest.
“I admired him. He was a fierce fighter. I can tell that you possess that same fire.”
“Thank you, your Highness.” Kalina barely forced the words out. Feelings swam through her and she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to feel. As the song wound down, Prince Endre bent to kiss her hand. When he straightened he said something that turned her veins to ice.
“I hear your baby brother, my nephew, is missing. I do hope he is found soon.”
He smiled at her and walked away. She had to resist the urge to run after him and stick one of the knives she had hidden in her bodice into his back. She hadn’t forgotten her little brother. In fact, the moment her ships had entered the harbor she’d ordered Lord Illeron to seek out his informants and see if any new information could be gleaned. So far he had reported nothing. Her brother wasn’t in the castle or the city of Winterreach. But then where was he? Kalina knew she needed to ask the King himself.
She’d just snagged a new glass of bubbly wine when she felt someone at her back. She turned, her dress swirling around her. The Queen, her fiery red hair a flame among dull candles, stood behind her, her face plastered in a kind smile.
“Your Majesty, I wonder, would you do my husband the honor of a dance? He is old and needs someone to escort him down to the dance floor. Would you be so kind?” She gestured to the dais a few dozen feet away. The King atop his throne was eyeing her as she followed the queen up the steps. She offered her arm to him and he took it.
“I’d be honored to dance with you, your Majesty,” Kalina said, giving him a small curtsey before helping him down the stairs. He was old, but by the force of his grip on her arm, she knew he was anything but helpless.
“The pleasure is all mine, your Majesty,” he said with a grin. He was missing quite a few teeth and the grin made him seem more than a little mad. He put an arm around her waist, pulling her in tight against him and she had to fight every nerve in her body to keep from pulling away and sticking a knife in his side. Diplomacy had not been a part of her training with the Valdir and it was something she was fast learning since coming to Ravenhelm. She couldn’t solve all her problems with violence, and sometimes she had to endure unwanted touches, something she’d never dealt with before.
He spun her around the dance floor, his hand slipping ever lower on her back until he was practically cupping her bottom. She kept moving his hand higher as politely as she could. She supposed she wasn’t much younger than his current queen, so clearly he had eyes for younger women, but the way he was acting felt possessive and it made her skin crawl.
“Your Majesty,” she said as the song began to wind down. “Have you heard anything more about my brother, Osian?”
The King’s dark eyes snapped to hers. His body may have been frail, but his mind was sharp, his eyes clear and black, the iris’ nearly indistinguishable from the pupils. He studied her for a moment before responding.
“No. I haven’t heard a thing because you are keeping him hidden in that castle of yours. He is as much our prince as he is your brother. I would suggest you consider giving him to us to raise. But we will speak on that tomorrow. For now, enjoy the ball.”
He stepped away from her, leaving her more frustrated than ever, her skin feeling dirty where he’d touched her. She wiped her hand on her dress, looking around for Kari. A soft hand on her lower back made her spin but she stopped short when she saw it was Leif. He was watching the retreating back of the King with a mixture of hatred and suspicion. He took her hand and spun her around and into his arms as the music changed.
“I don’t trust him,” he whispered into her ear.
Kalina’s heart leapt. Was Leif back to being her friend? Was he willing to be her confidant again, not just her general? Or was he just strategizing? This hot and cold routine of his was wearing on her. But she tried to calm her racing heart as they danced, doing her best to ignore his nearness and the leather and wind scent of him.
“I don’t either. I never have.”
He looked down at her, and, for a moment, she saw something else in his eyes. The same thing she’d seen a hundred times before when he’d been someone who’d cared for her. But then his eyes went distant and he looked away, back up into the swirling crowd around them.
“You look beautiful tonight, your Majesty.” His voice held no emotion as he spoke. There he went with the formality again. She rolled her eyes in response but didn’t deny it.
“Do you really think so?” Her voice held the edge of a blade. She was so tired of tiptoeing around each other. She wanted to get the truth from him. “Did you ever really care for me, Leif?” She asked in a harsh whisper. His grey eyes flicked to hers for an instant, his back stiffening.
“That’s not-” he hesitated, “I don’t-”. He let out a long sigh. “I don’t know what that has to do with anything. You are marrying a foreign Prince. What more do I need to know?”
She wanted to scream at him that she wanted to marry him, that she wanted only him. She wanted to tell him she was in love with him. That she had been for months. But she couldn’t. Not surrounded by strangers and nobles from Askor. Not with her brother’s life and the fate of her kingdom lying in the balance. She let out a long sigh as she dropped her hands and stepped away. The music fa
ding around them.
“Just forget I asked. Thank you for the dance, Leif.” Then she turned and walked away, leaving the hall, Kari trailing behind.
Chapter 23
The council chambers were chilly and Kalina pulled her cloak higher, snuggling into the wolf fur for warmth. She looked around at the gathered people, a mixture of Etheans, Valdir, and Askorians. King Blackbourne sat in an imposing oak chair, his slightly hunched form brooding over the gathered nobles. Lord Illeron and Lord Averil sat beside her, and Kari stood behind her, her arms crossed over her chest as if she was trying to intimidate anyone that looked at her. Leif sat on the other side of Lord Illeron, studiously ignoring Kalina’s glances.
Prince Julian sat rather stiffly to the left of his father, while Prince Endre sat on his father’s right-hand side. Prince Endre seemed more at ease, and as Kalina watched the two brothers she realized that Prince Julian hated his elder brother. The younger prince kept throwing scowls at his brother. She didn’t doubt that they had been in competition all their lives, and Julian was always second to the crown prince. She wondered what it had been like, growing up with King Blackbourne for a father. No wonder they were all so cold and distant. Prince Simen was a strange outlier among them.
A few other Askorian nobles, many of whom Kalina had been introduced to but had promptly forgotten their names, rounded off the table. It was hard enough keeping her own nobles’ names straight, let alone those of another country. Kalina had met more people in the last year than she had in her entire life growing up at the Abbey. She sighed as the last noble finished talking about meager crop yields and bickering farmers until it seemed it was finally her turn. She straightened as the King spoke.
