The Frost Kingdom

by C S Patra

  The crowd fell silent and looked over at her. She strode over to the middle of the square and went to the cage where a young man was bounded. One look into his eyes told her that this wasn’t the thief. He had brown eyes, which automatically made him innocent. “I can assure you that this is not the thief you are looking for. I’m not sure if he has stolen anything else but I know it’s not enough to warrant a death sentence. I demand you release him at once!”

  “Is that so?” The captain of the guards sneered at her. “And who are you to give me such orders?”

  “Well, I would think you would treat me a little better than this, Captain. Given the fact that I have your fate in my hands, you would be wise to speak to me with respect.” Lavinia pulled off her hood and revealed herself. A gasp filled the air, but she continued “However, if it’ll make it easier on us, then let me give a formal order. I, Princess Lavinia of Themasa, demand you release this man immediately. I can tell you for certain he is not the thief you are after.”

  “Your Highness!” The captain bowed his head followed by the rest of the guards. “Forgive me. I did not expect to see you.”

  “No one ever does,” Lavinia admitted, motioning him to rise. “Anyway, this man is guilty of nothing more than stealing bread. It’s not a reason to put him to death. I want him out of that cage and the search for the thief to continue. I know he is out there somewhere.”

  The rest of the people were stunned to see their princess, so she faced them. “People of Themasa, this is not your thief! I know because I came across him myself recently. I have evidence that this isn’t him. I want you all to stay alert. Lock up your valuables. If you notice anything suspicious, let the royal guards know immediately. Above all else, do not confront this thief alone. He is crafty and escapes very quickly from your grasp. Who knows what else he is capable of?” She turned to the guards. “Release him.”

  The crowd fell quiet when she spoke, but they believed every word. The man was freed, and he immediately ran away to disappear with the people. Lavinia looked at all the people who now knew of her existence. This was supposed to have been kept a secret until her eighteenth birthday, but she couldn’t help herself. She was not going to let an innocent man be put to death for crimes he never committed.

  “As you were, everyone,” she told them. “Go about your day as normal. As soon as we do find the real thief, I will make sure he is given a fair trial and that justice is served. Until then, keep yourselves alert as you go about your normal lives. Is that understood?”

  There were murmurs of ‘Yes, Your Highness’ as people began to move away from the scene. Lavinia turned to the guards and noticed that they were waiting for some orders. All of them were now scared of her and the power that she held over others. “You have nothing to worry about. I know you were acting on your orders. Still, I do not want to have a public hanging unless there is solid proof someone is guilty. Even if my mother and father tell you to do it, I want to hear from the accused first. From now on, I want you to stay vigilant. If you see anything suspicious, I want you to go after it. Do not kill this thief, but capture him. I have my own score to settle with him.”

  “Your own score, Your Highness?” The captain asked. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  “It’s complicated. Trust me on this. Now go about your day and continue your search. Don’t worry about my mother and father. I will handle them.”

  “Yes, Your Highness.”

  Once everyone was gone, Lavinia began to wonder how she could explain this to others. Now everyone knew that she existed. They knew what she looked like. Worst of all, that thief was probably walking amongst the people and he knew who she was. At that moment, he could have revealed her secret, but it also meant revealing himself. If he was watching this, he owed her his life.

  Hopefully, the guards will be able to bring him to me. I can ask him a little favor.

  Then she remembered Alice and the favor she wanted to ask her. Alice was still in the bakery, but she would probably hear about this news too. She would realize that she was baking things for a princess and that particular princess had been visiting her at the bakery. Not only that, the princess had a favor to ask of her.

  That’s provided she’ll want to do the favor. Lavinia realized. I can force the thief into helping me but not her. I have to be honest with Alice when I meet her. I have to let her know the truth.

  She looked down at her hands, thankful she hadn’t hurt anyone during this. Soon, she would be rid of this curse. She just needed the right amount of help for this adventure. Only then would she be comfortable with ruling the kingdom she was born to rule.

  I just need to do a few more things. I need to gather my helpers, starting with Alice. I know she doesn’t know it but we’re going to do something that’ll change us both forever.

  ~ ~ ~

  Alice had gone to get the nuts and came back with them, but she couldn’t back to the bakery right away. She had been in the back of the crowd when Vinnie had stepped up to the guards and revealed herself as Princess Lavinia. A million thoughts ran through her head during the entire moment. She wanted to kick herself for not knowing that the girl she spoke to, the girl that she liked so much, happened to be the princess of this kingdom. Princess Lavinia was the one who kept visiting the bakery. Princess Lavinia loved her cookies and had taken them home, which was back to the castle.

  “I cannot believe it,” she whispered to herself as she walked back to the bakery, holding tightly onto the bag of nuts. Suddenly, she couldn’t focus on her job. She wanted to see more of Princess Lavinia. “She’s real. She does exist.”

  “I know,” Kian spoke up from behind. Alice shuddered as she turned around and found him. He blushed when he realized he scared her. “I’m sorry, Miss Alice. I heard the commotion outside and I had to see what it was. Everyone went to see it.”

  “Do you understand what this means?!” Alice exclaimed, nearly throwing the nuts into the air. “The princess has been visiting us! Not only is she real, she likes everything we make! I just don’t understand why we never saw her sooner than this.”

  “Maybe she’s got a reason,” Kian murmured. “Maybe it’s a secret that no one is supposed to know about.”

  “A secret?”

  Kian opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself. “Ah, I’m just coming up with random theories, Miss Alice! I don’t see a reason for the king and queen to keep her locked away from us. She doesn’t seem like an awful person. After all, she did save that man from death earlier.”

  “That’s true. If she has a secret, she just risked herself to save someone,” Alice realized. “I just don’t understand. She also wanted a favor from me but what could that be? It had nothing to do with the bakery.”

  “Maybe she wanted to reveal herself to you.”

  It made sense, but Alice didn’t think that was it. “No, I don’t see her pulling me aside for that. I think she wants to show me something.” Alice turned to face him. “You know, I think you might be onto something. She must have a secret.”

  Kian grinned. “She’s not the only one who does, Miss Alice.”

  “Shh!” Alice put her finger to her lips. “We can’t let others know about this. I’m trying my best not to make flowers and leaves appear from random places.”

  “Of course,” he nodded. “I promise your secret is still safe with me. If the princess does return, we can keep her secret as well. We’ll act like she is one of us, but we’ll still treat her with respect. That’s how we treat everyone who comes to the bakery.”

  “Very good.” Alice was pleased by this. “Well, something tells me she’s probably not going to show up to tell me the favor. She’s a princess, after all. She must have better things to do.”

  “That might be true, but she did ask to see you in private. If she can’t see you today, she’ll see you soon. I don’t think she’d be the type to break promises.”

  “I doubt it either. Whatev
er she wants, I hope it’s nothing that’s going to get us in trouble.” Alice bit her lip. “I don’t think we did anything wrong. Still, I wonder what she wants.”

  That thought followed her throughout the day as she tried to work. Lavinia was the princess and she had made contact with her. She wanted to talk to her and she enjoyed everything that Alice made. Still, there was something else that Alice could not pinpoint about her. Lavinia had a secret that no one knew about. She was hiding something.

  What is it that you really want from me, Princess? She thought. What do you know that I don’t? And more important of all, am I ever going to find out?

  She went back to work, thinking about Lavinia the whole time through. The mystery behind their princess hadn’t been solved yet. If anything, she was left more questions than before.

  Chapter 6

  Lavinia knew she was going to be in trouble for revealing herself to the public. Her mother and father wanted her home right away so that meant she couldn’t meet up with Alice. The only thing she could do was leave a note at the bakery and say that she would come see her tomorrow. That way, Alice would know she didn’t forget about this. Certain circumstances had come up and she needed to go home right away.

  She had left the note with Tamara who agreed to tell Alice about it. From the looks of it, Tamara hadn’t left the bakery, so she still didn’t know who Lavinia really was. This was good because she didn’t really want people fawning over her right now. This secret favor would have to wait ‘til tomorrow. Alice would understand.

  “I’ll tell her,” Tamara promised, holding up the note. “I’ll let her know that you are unable to see her. She has a lot of orders to work on anyway. I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

  “Understood. I promise I will see her tomorrow morning, one way or another.”

  As she walked out, she walked past Kian who was blushing furiously and looking away from her. She couldn’t understand why he was being so quiet now. He wasn’t in the crowd when she revealed herself, so he couldn’t know the truth. Had he found out anyway? Was he scared because he found out that she was the princess? She pretended that she wasn’t offended and tried to be friendly. “Bye, Kian! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Bye.” He spoke barely above a whisper as he went back to work. Lavinia looked over at Tamara who just shrugged. The boy was acting very strange, but she tried not to think about it. Maybe he was just shy around her.

  Lavinia didn’t get a chance to see Alice again that day and she had no time to think about it. As soon as she came back to the castle, her mother beckoned to see her. She stepped into the throne room where her parents were waiting for her and held her breath. The news about what happened in the town square had reached their ears and they were not happy at all by what she had done.

  “Come forward, Lavinia.” Her mother motioned her to step forward. Lavinia did as told, and bowed before them. “I think you know why you were asked to come home.”

  “I wasn’t trying to cause trouble, Mother. You can’t tell me you thought this was the right thing to do! They were going to kill an innocent man!”

  “You were supposed to keep to yourself, Lavinia,” her father sighed. “Your revelation wouldn’t take place ‘til your eighteenth birthday. Now most of the townsfolk know who you are. Do you know what will happen if they find out the truth?”

  “I never touched anyone!” Lavinia insisted, holding out her gloved hands. “I wouldn’t dare try to hurt them! All I wanted to do was to save someone. That man is not the thief!”

  “How would you know that?”

  “I know. I saw a glimpse of him that night he stole from us,” she admitted. That much was true because she didn’t know who he truly was. “Unfortunately, it was dark, so I couldn’t see everything. I couldn’t get a better look at his face because it was covered up. I just know for a fact that the man they captured was not him.”

  “Is that so?” Her mother took a deep breath. “Maybe you were right about this, but you did take a big risk walking out of these castle walls.”

  “I can’t live like this forever, Mother!” Lavinia knew she was raising her voice, yet she didn’t want to stop. “I have asked you many times how I can rule this kingdom if I don’t know anyone in it! How can I rule if I’m not allowed to step out of the castle? I don’t know how big our kingdom is because I haven’t seen anything in it!”

  “Lavinia, please be reasonable.” Her father cut in. “We don’t want to keep you like this. We want you to be out there and to enjoy everything. That’s why we’ve been trying hard to find a cure for this curse. I want you to be free.”

  She turned away. “Well, I’m not free. I haven’t felt free in years because no one has found a cure. I don’t even think anyone’s looking hard enough for one.”

  “That’s not true. I don’t like this any more than you do, Vinnie. It pains me to keep you like this, but I also worry about the wellbeing of others. As king, I have to think of everyone and come up with the best solution.”

  “That can’t be the best solution, Father. Locking up someone is never a good solution.”

  “I’m not locking you up, Lavinia. I am only thinking about you and the rest of the kingdom. I want you to be able to touch someone and hold things again. However, until that cure is found, I do not want to risk anymore lives.”

  “But…”

  “That is enough, Vinnie. Until the day of your birthday comes, you are not to step foot out of the castle. I don’t want to see you get hurt or hurt anyone by accident. That is an order! Am I clear?”

  Lavinia lowered her gaze but didn’t agree with anything he said. Maybe he had good intentions and he was truly thinking of her wellbeing. However, she knew nothing would ever get done if she was left alone in this castle. She would never be able to go to the town square and mingle with people. She wouldn’t be able to talk to Alice.

  Alice. I have to talk to her. I need her help. She remembered. Out loud, she said. “I’m sorry but I don’t think I can agree to those orders. In fact, what I think you’re doing is cruel.”

  Her mother tensed up at that. “Lavinia, listen to me…”

  “No, I need you to listen to me! You haven’t done that in years! I understand where you are both coming from, but I can’t follow as you say. Nothing has been accomplished with me living in the castle all the time. I had to break your rules! I need to see things for myself! For the first time, I was able to see the people in this kingdom! I know what they look like. I know a little bit about their lives and I have seen things that we can improve on. I just want to spend more time there.”

  “Absolutely not!” Her father snapped. “Going out once was bad enough! What if they had found out the truth about you?! What if you accidentally touched someone? Do you know what could happen to you?”

  “But I didn’t touch anyone! I didn’t do anything but save a person! I did what I was supposed to do!” Lavinia felt like she was losing this battle and sighed. “I’m beginning to think that maybe the biggest problem with this kingdom isn’t me.”

  “And what is that supposed to mean?”

  He wanted her to say but Lavinia was not going to cave in so easily. “You know what I’m trying to say! You’re the reason I don’t know anything about my kingdom! I’ve been trapped in here because of you!”

  “Lavinia, that’s enough!”

  “No, it’s not! If this is what you think is the best solution, then maybe I don’t want to be a princess anymore!” She flung her crown to the ground and heard it clatter loudly as it hit the floor. “I want nothing to do with this!”

  That little temper tantrum was enough to set her father off. He didn’t get enraged or start screaming but he went cold on her. He sat back and gave her that look that she always feared. This was a look he gave her was the same one he gave criminals and his enemies. She stood her ground but inside she was trembling. His voice went low as he said three words. “Then get out.”

&n
bsp; “I can’t wait to go!” She snapped back, kicking aside her crown. It didn’t matter how many jewels were in that or how much it was worth. She hadn’t felt like a princess in years and she didn’t want to be one. Living like this wasn’t worth it.

  “Lavinia, wait!” Her mother called after her. Lavinia didn’t bother turning around. If her father wanted her to get out, she was going to get out. She was going to leave these castle walls and go somewhere that would accept her. She would find the cure alone. She would gather everyone she needed for the journey and find a way.

  I know they’re never going to approve so I shouldn’t wait for them to change their minds. I turn eighteen soon, but I need to remove my curse. I need all the help I can get with it.

  Sitting down on her bed, she threw off her gloves and tried to calm down. She needed to get away from people for the time being. She had to focus on her quest and pulling herself together. She could not run out without any focus or idea of what she was doing. She had to get some help. So far, she had not been able to ask Alice but that could be arranged tomorrow. If she had to escape through her window and sneak out of the castle, she would. The harder part would be trying to get a hold of that thief. He knew her secret. She could use that to her advantage.