Fantasmic Tales: Poppy Rider And The Glass Shards

by Adrianna Dane

  "Well, here we are," said Foxx. He held out his furry hand-slash-paw and Poppy saw that he held a small purple pouch. "Take this, you'll need it to cross the lake. Forged papers and coin to get you inside." Poppy took it from him. He stepped back. "And now I'll be off. I cannot afford to incur the ice queen's wrath, particularly once she finds out what you're up to." With that, Foxx took off at a run on all fours and disappeared into the landscape before any of them could utter a protest.

  "That's it?" Poppy asked. "Now what?"

  Poppy climbed the last few feet to the top of the ridge and then caught her breath at the sight that met her. The orange sun made the landscape look like it had caught fire as a burnished vista exploded in front of her. A broad stretch of bluish-black water surrounded a huge structure of ice at its center, free-floating, isolated. Quite breathtaking. A ridge of ice coiled around the rough exterior, going from top to bottom like curls of white chocolate decorating a sinful dessert. Poppy could vaguely make out dots of activity along the spiraled pathway. The top of the structure looked like a volcano that had erupted, jagged edges and open as a deep bowl hiding a surprise inside. It indicated nothing about what they would find contained within that huge mass of ice that looked particularly solid and quite impenetrable. Wisps of white smoke rose into the air from the hollowed core.

  "Wonder how we cross that?" Will murmured.

  "We won't be able to take the sled with us," Gray said.

  "No," Will said. "We'll have to hide it here. Just take what we can carry."

  Then Poppy saw a sight she never expected. White polar bears ambled along like tame mounts at the rim of the wide lake. The fact that they were harnessed and saddled, and men with blue-tinged skin and wearing blue and silver uniforms were mounted on the bears was what shocked her.

  The three of them ducked. When they finally looked around again, the bears were lumbering on around the curve of the lake and lost to sight behind mountains of jagged ice.

  "I guess that was the queen's guard," Will said. "I don't think I'd want to be tangling with them if we can manage not to. This isn't going to be easy. Tell me again--why did we agree to do this?"

  "I'll put this little adventure down to bewitched. Because I know when I walked into that witch's mansion," Poppy said, "I was not intending to do this."

  "Yeah, it's like this compulsion thing that won't let us turn back. It's pretty eerie. I've come to the conclusion that your grandmother is in with some very strange types," Will said.

  "You'll get no argument from me," Poppy responded. He was right though. It did seem like they were under some type of compulsion and no matter what they did, they could not shake it--would not be able to until the job was done.

  Will pulled out a pair of binoculars to get a closer view. "It appears there's a boat landing on the other side. There are people coming and going. And some sort of dock there. It looks like the rest of this place is made out of ice, not wood. Can't tell if there's something beneath all that ice though. Not until we get closer."

  Gray had already begun to dig into the ice, trying to carve out a niche in which to secure the sled. He'd pulled out a pickaxe from the supplies and was digging into the ice and snow at a horizontal angle rather than vertical which could take him down to the surging ice-cold water below.

  Will lowered his binoculars. "Hold on, Gray. I'll give you a hand."

  It took a bit of time and a lot of manual labor to safely carve into the land. Most of the gear finally stowed, Poppy, Will, and Gray headed down the other side of the ridge. Surprisingly, there was a ferry landing on this side of the ice and a serpentine, ridged pathway leading down to it which made things a whole lot easier.

  "Ferry service. Huh," said Will. "That's going to help."

  When they got to the bottom, Poppy saw a small igloo off to the side. A dwarf with blue skin dressed in thick leggings and fur coat came out to greet them. There was a book lodged beneath one arm, a pencil in the other hand. He eyed them closely.

  "I don't recognize you. You have business in Shivadeen? Or are you here for the Queen's Ball? Papers please."

  Poppy stepped forward. "Here to see the queen. I don't know that we'll have time for socializing." She dug into the pouch that Foxx had given her, hoping that the papers the dwarf wanted were in there. Her hand encountered a small folded square of paper and she pulled it out and handed it to the dwarf. He slowly unfolded the ivory-colored document and studied it closely for long moments.

  "Hmm. Unusual, but it appears to be legitimate. Says here you're emissaries from the Southern Quadrant's Polar court. We don't get too many of them crossing to see the queen. Relations with them haven't been all that great since that last ambassador sort of disappeared." He handed the document back to Poppy.

  Poppy quickly glanced at it. It didn't indicate specifics, just that the three bearers of the document should be considered representatives of the Southern Quadrant on a delicate mission and it was signed by someone with the title "Royal Secretary." She then re-folded it and stuffed it back into the pouch.

  "Business. Hmm." He pulled out the book and opened it. Poppy could see a list of names written across the page. "You'll have to sign here," he said. "No one goes across without signing my ledger." He turned and headed toward the ice wall near the igloo. Poppy saw that a desk had been sculpted out of the ice. The dwarf set the open book on the flat surface. He looked at her over his shoulder, an expression of impatience on his ruddy face.

  "Well, come on. Let's get on with it, sign your name. The ferry will be leaving shortly and it won't be returning for several hours. Best be quick about it."

  Poppy considered first about how to sign the book. She didn't think it would be a good idea to provide her real name. If at all possible they wanted to get out without being tracked down later resulting in more difficulties down the road. She glanced at the other signatures and had to suppress a relieved smile. Apparently, no one used last names in this realm. "Sebastian from the North on business with the queen," was an entry about halfway down the page.

  She took the pencil from the dwarf and turned to the ledger. She wrote, "Alice from the Southern Quadrant and her two companions, Ralph and Jeff, on business with the queen." Will leaned over her shoulder to see what she'd written, shook his head and then drew back without comment.

  The dwarf took the pencil from her, looked at his pocket watch, and then scratched down the time and some oddly primitive figures next to her name.

  "When you return, you'll have to sign in again. I monitor all arrivals and departures to the island. May your business be profitable, Alice. Now payment please."

  Again, she dipped into the pouch and came out with a handful of something sparkly that looked like small, uncut diamonds. She handed them to the dwarf.

  "Is this enough? I-I'm not familiar with your monetary system."

  The dwarf took the offering from her, weighed it in his hands. "It will do."

  "Thanks." Poppy tied the pouch to her belt and then turned away. The three of them walked to the end of the dock where the ferry awaited.

  "So which one am I? Ralph or Jeff?" Will asked as they stepped aboard.

  Poppy grinned. "Take your pick." The crossing on the ferry was uneventful. On the other side a dwarf who seemed a twin to the one they had just left greeted them. Again, they went though the same procedure as he looked at the paper, Poppy signed a book and handed over a handful of stones from the pouch.

  But the dwarf then walked over to a solid ice wall and pressed a red button embedded into the facade. A round door slid upward, revealing a dark tunnel.

  "Follow it all the way to the end. It will bring you into the outer ward. You'll have to cross the town square to reach the gate that will take you into the castle yard. Lots of people traveling in and out due to the queen's festivities tonight."

  "What festivities would that be?"

  "Why, she's got herself a new lover. The old one will be sent to the rink to see if he's man enough to join her warrior guard
." The dwarf chuckled. "Not many of her ex-lovers survive the rink. Off with the old, on with the new. Changing of the lovers takes place at midnight with a costume ball before. If you have time, you might want to attend. Quite a sight to be seen."

  Poppy eyed the dark tunnel distrustfully. She fought the urge to flee that frightening claustrophobic feeling. She twisted around, saw Will and Gray watching her, then immediately spun back toward the entrance to the tunnel.

  "There's no other way in?" she asked the dwarf.

  He shook his head. "Nope, this is the only way."

  Will moved up beside her. He put an arm around her shoulders. "It will be okay. Or if you prefer, you can wait here, return on the ferry, and set up a camp on the ridge and wait for our return."

  Poppy pulled herself together. She would not let this stupid fear debilitate her. She shrugged off Will's comforting arm. "No, I can do this." Then she strode toward the black entrance of ice, determined not to shrink away from what needed to be done. Will and Gray followed as she strode quickly toward what she hoped was the entrance to the town. Poppy did not halt until she saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Only then did she let out a long sigh of relief as she stepped into the courtyard of the outer ward. She saw a sign that said, "Shivereen General Store," so figured Shivereen must be the name of the town. Vaguely she recalled Foxx mentioning that name as well.

  And then she saw the castle, rising tall above the city looking like an ice sculpture at a formal dinner, a majestic confection of sparkling crystal, dripping with icicles as decoration, shining with orbs like stars. The sharp-tipped spiral roof at the top made it look like a rocket ready to blast into the heavens.

  "Wow. I thought Moira's place was overwhelming." She shook herself from her awed reverie and turned to Will and Gray. "I don't know how we'll find him, but it doesn't sound good for Ashon. I think we got here just in time."

  "No disagreeing with you there," Will said. "Let's go.

  For a time they stood and watched, gauging the difficulty of achieving access to the inner courtyard of the castle itself. The snow-covered streets were busy and an air of excitement clung to the streets. From what Poppy could see, the guards simply made a cursory inspection and passed people on. A dwarf driving a caribou-drawn sled filled with what looked like kegs of beer or wine slowly ambled along and passed through an open side gate. Elegantly appointed coaches drawn by long-haired white beasts entered through the scrolled walls of the main entrance.

  Poppy, Will, and Gray made their way to the smaller gate and blended in with the cooks and dancers, craftsmen, and musicians. Once past this gate and standing at the fringes of the inner courtyard, they stopped once again to get their bearings and were met with an odd and unusual sight. Ice statues were scattered around the whole area much like a garden in Seattle might have flowering bushes and trees, except the depictions looked like a scene more from a horror film. Men on their knees, women with screams on their lips and just looking at them--forget that they were ice solid--but in the throes of some agony, perhaps pleading for their lives--made Poppy shudder at the thought of what had occurred here.

  "Hey," she called to a lovely faery-winged woman dressed in a white dress with black trim passing by. "What are they?" She pointed to the ice statues.

  "Those who displeased the queen over some trifle or other. New here are you? Careful how you step and what you say. It won't take much to anger the queen." Then she quickly moved on.

  "Let's head over this way," Will said, pointing toward a door through which people carrying baskets of goods were going. "We need to find a way inside, something that won't draw attention. One thing we don't want right at this moment is to be herded to an audience with the queen."

  Halfway there, trumpets blared and everyone rushed to make way. Poppy, Will, and Gray did the same, standing back against the wall of the palace, just as a magnificent open gold sleigh drawn by a team of what looked like ten of those nasty beasts that had attacked Gray came into view.

  "Is that her?" Poppy asked.

  The sleigh was accompanied by guard mounted on large strange-looking creatures with white furry features. A woman with the ice-cold regal beauty of someone from another world sat in the sleigh. She acknowledged none of the people who offered good wishes as the sleigh passed by. Poppy peered closer because the queen was accompanied by a man. Bundled in thick dark blue robes, his face pale as snow, eyes deep-set--one oddly blue, the other brown. Poppy thought it might be Moira's son.

  "Looks to me like he might not last much longer," Gray remarked.

  Ashon looked ill, cheekbones high and prominent--too prominent. But a look in his eyes of ravaging lust as he stared at the queen. On the queen's blue lips was a cold smile that did not reach her frosty eyes. As the sleigh rounded the turn, she leaned forward and kissed the young man. It lasted a long time, and a tinge of pale blue started to creep into Ashon's pale skin. When the queen pulled away, his lips had turned a dark blue that match the frigid waters surrounding the palace grounds and the veneer of lust in his eyes had only deepened. It was only then that Poppy noticed the ring of men moving on foot surrounding the sleigh. Were these then her warrior guards? Stony-faced gorgeous men, all with the most beautiful faces Poppy had ever seen. Carrying pointed, deadly weapons. Poppy stepped forward to get a closer look, mesmerized by the parade of odd and unusual creatures.

  The sleigh moved past Poppy and now she could see why Moira was so distraught over her son being in Franceska's clutches. If they didn't do something about it soon, if he didn't end up as one of those wicked warriors, it was likely he'd end up as a part of the Ice Queen's deadly frozen court.

  Poppy turned to say something to Will and realized he wasn't standing next to her. She swung around and realized that Gray was missing as well. Where had they gone off to? She searched the perimeter of the wall for them, panic rising when she couldn't find them. Then she felt a pair of brawny arms curl around her from behind. One large paw covered her mouth as she was yanked up and back--and right through the wall she'd been standing in front of. She struggled but the barbaric arms anchored her firmly to a big burly body.

  Where the hell where Will and Gray? And then she bit hard, and tasted the warm metallic flavor of blood flooding her mouth.

  Chapter 8

  * * *

  Poppy clamped down hard, but still whoever had hold of her didn't let go. She heard a hiss, but no more. The passageway was dim and narrow. Poppy felt the walls closing in--just like when she was a child. She clawed at her captor's hands, trying to free herself from his clutches. It was useless and the hand over her mouth muffled her cries and practically suffocated her.

  Effortlessly he dragged her along the hallway. No matter how hard she twisted and kicked and squirmed she couldn't break loose of his grip. He tugged her into a tiny room. Only then did he release her, tossing her across the floor.

  "Fuck! She's a handful all right."

  Wasting no time, she jumped up, pushed her hair out of her face and immediately attempted to ram him. She had to get out, and if she had to go through him to do it, that's exactly what she was going to do.

  A familiar muscled arm wrapped around her waist and dragged her back. "Relax, Red. He's apparently a friend who's going to help us."

  Poppy still fought, trying to get free, beyond rational thought. She would not be locked away again, she would die first.

  "Poppy." Will gripped her shoulders, swung her around, and shook her gently. "You're safe," Will said. "Nobody's going to lock you in. Take a deep breath. You're safe."

  Finally, Poppy's common sense reasserted itself and she collapsed against Will.

  "She's damned feisty," the big man behind her said as he rubbed his hand. "I'm going to be black and blue in parts I don't even know I have."

  She turned her head and frowned at the big man. "Well, maybe you should have just said who you were and that you knew where my...companions...were."

  "I've learned with females it's best just to act first and tal
k later. I didn't have time to do the explaining. And I didn't want you sounding an alarm that would get us noticed. Is this all of you? Nobody else out there I need to round up? Moira said there were three."

  "No, we're it," Will said as he nursed a cut lip.

  "What happened to you?" Poppy said as she straightened to examine his injury.

  "It was just a reaction. He came up behind me and I did what came natural--so did he."

  She frowned at the stranger. "Who are you?"

  "My name's Simon and I'm attached to Moira's court. And as long as you're here, you'll do what Simon says--if you want to live, that is."

  "You're a spy?"

  He shrugged. "She sent me here to scout things out before you got here. Don't think Franceska doesn't have her spies in Moira's court as well, because she does."

  "She could have told us you were here. Might have made things a bit easier."

  "Well, she didn't know if either I or you would fall into the wrong hands. Anyway, you're here now, so we better get going."

  "Where are we exactly?"

  "There are lots of secret places within the walls of this castle. Places the queen uses to spy on her guests and her servants. This be a part of those places within places."

  "She won't find us here?"

  "Not during the day. Gets a bit trickier at night when she mostly wanders these inner corridors when all are supposed to be asleep or caught up in their intimate intrigues. And right now she's otherwise engaged, what with the ball tonight and all. Let's go. This will lead you right into her apartments in the tower without being seen. About the easiest way for us to get there unnoticed."

  "How did you find out about them? If you're not part of the Ice Queen's inner court?"

  "Not everyone in her inner court knows about these secret tunnels. Moira cooked me up a dose of her special brand of clarity drops. There are no secrets to me."