by S R Ahuja
Once the very last crumb of Jade’s gorgeous pink-flowered cake was eaten, the plates were cleared away and everyone retired to the sitting room, the one with the enormous fireplace.
The grownups sat on the couches and chairs and talked about boring stuff like how good the meal was and how they couldn’t believe that King Henry was such an amazing chef, where did he learn it from? The kids on the other hand sat by the fire with a deck of cards.
“So, is this all that Winter Solstice is?” Sylvi asked Jade timidly. “I thought it was going to be like a party or something.”
“Oh, I’m sure there’s a party going on,” Jade assured her, playing a spade to trump Freyr’s heart. “Only, it’s outside, probably in the Fairy Grove, and we’re not allowed to go out. The only real party I get to go to is the one on Halloween.”
“Halloween?” Sylvi asked. “Isn’t that the Middle World holiday where children are rewarded with candy for dressing up like the scariest monster?”
“Oh no, Sylvi.” Freyr said.
He set down his cards to focus his attention on his sister. “That’s just what little girls like you are supposed to think. That’s how the werewolves draw children out of their homes, with the promise of candy. Then, the second their mother isn’t looking, they grab the children and the candy and run with them all the way back to their cave where they eat the children alive.”
Sylvi whimpered and hid her face behind her hands.
“Don’t tell her stuff like that,” Jade scolded the little prince. “You’re going to give her nightmares.”
“Believe me; she’s heard worse than that living in the Olympian castle.”
Jade ignored him and gently pulled Sylvi’s hands away from her face. “Don’t worry about him, Sylvi. You know that werewolves really only go after selfish brothers who scare their sisters.”
Freyr snorted, but Sylvi looked up at Jade with wide eyes. “Is that true?”
“No way,” Freyr spat out.
“Who knows,” Jade said, shrugging. “But I’d believe that way before I believe anything that comes out of his mouth.” She smiled sweetly at the prince just in case one of the parents was watching.
Freyr rolled his eyes, and then spoke again, changing the subject, “All right, whatever. So, when are we going to the party?”
“I told you. We’re not allowed to leave the castle after dark, so we can’t go,” Jade reminded him.
“I think what you mean is we shouldn’t go. Can’t is another matter entirely.” Freyr raised an eyebrow. “I don’t believe that you’ve never been outside of this castle after dark.”
Jade sat up a little straighter and looked down at him. “Yes, I have… didn’t I just tell you I went to the Halloween party?”
“Oh, come on. You’ve never snuck out of here? Not even once? This kingdom is so big and I’ll bet your precious daddy over there doesn’t let you see half of it and probably none of it, on your own.”
“I’m not allowed to leave the castle after dark,” Jade repeated, careful not to say anything that wasn’t strictly true in case Freyr might catch her in the lie.
“All right, all right,” Freyr whispered, moving in closer to her until he was only a few inches away. “You don’t have to tell me you did anything bad, Miss Perfect Princess, but what if I told you that I would consider apologizing for what I said earlier if you can figure out a way to get us to the Solstice party tonight.”
“What did he say?” Sylvi asked excitedly.
Jade ignored Sylvi’s question and stared at Freyr, perplexed. “You will apologize and take it back? You’ll admit you were wrong?”
“I said I’d think about it, but if you knew me at all, you’d know I’m a ‘pompous little asni.’ I don’t apologize to anyone.”
“It’s true,” Sylvi broke in. “The only person I’ve ever heard him apologize to is Mother, and that’s because he…”
“Sylvi!” Freyr whispered harshly, “Just shut up, ok?”
Jade believed that he didn’t apologize to anyone, and this was probably her best shot at getting that apology, and wouldn’t it sound so sweet coming from his pompous little mouth. Plus, she herself actually did want to see the party. She had heard kids from school talking about it, and it sounded truly amazing.
“What’s so fascinating over there?” Queen Liselotte asked.
All three children turned to look at their parents, silently watching them from across the room.
“Nothing,” Sylvi said hurriedly.
“Amalthea was just telling us some stories,” Freyr said coolly, the lie rolling off his tongue like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Why don’t you share it with us?” the King suggested.
“Oh, I do love a good story,” Queen Liselotte said happily. “Tell us, Princess.”
Jade glanced at Freyr momentarily while she searched her memory for a story she could easily and quickly tell to this group. Freyr was smiling smugly at her, clearly pleased with himself for both rescuing them and putting her in an uncomfortable situation.
“Well,” Jade began slowly. “I was just trying to explain to Freyr and Sylvi where the magic in Avalon comes from.”
She proceeded to tell the King and Queen the story she had learned her very first week at school. When she was finished, the King and Queen exchanged a look, and King Vidar laughed. His cheeks seemed flushed, and Jade noticed that his wine goblet was once again empty.
“I always find it fascinating what the civilians will believe. But really, to believe that your magic comes from the dirt and that the dirt comes from your long dead deity? It’s laughable,” King Vidar said, seemingly unable to control his laughter.
Jade felt her face burn red again.
“Your magic cannot be any different from ours,” King Vidar said, waving his hand and pulling a pure white rose out of thin air. He handed the rose to Queen Liselotte and kissed her hand. “The magic comes from within, that is, if you are one of the chosen ones.”
“Actually, Vidar,” Jade’s father began, unsmiling, “whether you believe it is the body of Avalon or just some silly superstition, there has never been an inhabitant of Avalon who could do magic outside of our limits without a little piece of our ‘dirt’ close to hold.”
Vidar just continued chuckling. “And look, darling, they even have their little king believing the story!”
The King’s face turned just a shade darker, but instead of responding with anger like Jade was hoping he would, to put that smug Vidar in his proper place, he simply changed the subject. Turning to Jade, he said, “Amalthea, would you distribute the gifts, please?”
Jade was momentarily stunned. This was not at all what she had expected, and that moment released some of her anger toward Vidar. “Yes, Father,” she said, standing and going to the lit tree in the corner.
“Gifts?” Queen Liselotte asked curiously.
“Yes,” the King said, recovering his normal tone and color. “It is a tradition in Avalon for every member of the family to receive a gift on the Winter Solstice. The tree was a tradition we borrowed from Jade’s time with her aunt.”
Jade went to each guest to hand out the presents. All were in boxes that had been wrapped in golden paper that shimmered in the light from the fireplace. She saved King Vidar’s gift for last, and, with her back to her father, she gave him a very brief look of pure loathing before she turned back. She had been facing away from the fire, and it was likely that the other king hadn’t even seen her face, but it gave her some pleasure to think he had glimpsed her total hatred of him.
“It is tradition for the youngest member to go first.” The King nodded toward Princess Sylvi.
Sylvi carefully pulled open the paper and opened the box within. She pulled out from the box a doll about the size of her arm with a soft body and soft hair falling from her head. The doll was dressed in a dark blue dress with yellow stars.
“Menelwen made it for you,” Jade told Sylvi. “I picked the colors. It’s lik
e the night sky, see?”
“Menelwen is Amalthea’s governess,” the King clarified for the adults.
Sylvi smiled, “She’s so pretty, Ammie. Thank you!” Sylvi threw her arms around Jade’s neck and hugged her tightly, squishing her new doll just slightly against Jade’s back.
At first Jade was shocked, but then she wrapped her arms around the little girl and hugged her back. “You’re welcome.”
“Amalthea, you’re next,” the King reminded her. “I picked out your present myself this time.”
Jade set her present on the floor in front of her. It was very long but rather skinny, and it was not very heavy when she lifted it. She ripped off the paper to get to the present quickly. As her fingers slid under the lid, she hoped with all her heart it would be a sword like the ones she had seen the knights’ sons playing with in the yard. Slowly, she lifted the lid off the box, and her heart fell.
“I know you wanted to train with swords like the boys, but I’m afraid that is just too dangerous for a young princess, but I thought you might like this as a substitute,” the King said. “It’s still adventurous for you, but less chance of you getting hurt. We’ll have one of the guards teach you outside come summer.”
Jade reached her hand into the box and wrapped her fingers around the wood. It was long, just a few inches shorter than she was, and it was already strung with one thick string. There was also a quiver of arrows waiting in the box. The feathers on the arrows were yellow with stripes of gold sewn in. She pulled one of the arrows out and examined it. The tip was blunt. This was not a tool. It was a toy. Jade looked at the King’s hopeful face, and she smiled. It was not the gift she wanted, but the King had clearly tried hard to find a good substitute, to make her happy.
“Thank you, Father. I love it,” Jade stood up and gave her father a hug before she tucked the bow and quiver back in the box and sat back down next to Freyr and Sylvi.
Freyr was next. He ripped into the gift vehemently to reveal a new knife in a jeweled scabbard. Queen Liselotte got a gold necklace; Vidar got a new pair of gloves. The King’s gift was something that Jade had made herself, and she waited breathlessly to see what he would say. He pulled out the violet cloak slowly.
“Menelwen’s been teaching me to sew. I’ve been working on it for forever,” Jade said. “Do you like it?”
“Amalthea, I love it,” the King said, fastening the golden clasp at his neck.
They spent the rest of the evening sitting around the fire. The adults told lots of stories. It turned out that Jade’s father knew King Vidar when they were kids, so they told all kinds of stories from when they were Jade’s age, the crazy things they did. Eventually Sylvi started to yawn and the King declared it bedtime for the children. Jade and Freyr let Sylvi walk ahead with Menelwen while they hung back.
“So, what’s your answer?” Freyr whispered to her.
Jade covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered back, “Meet me in the hall after the adults have gone to sleep.”
“How will I know they’re asleep?”
“I don’t know,” Jade whispered harshly, “but you better not get caught because then we’re both in trouble.”
They had made it to Sylvi’s room, so neither of them said a word as Menelwen walked with them to their rooms. Jade’s was first, and she bid Menelwen and Freyr goodnight. Just as she was closing her door, she swore that Freyr wink at her.
It was cold outside, and Jade knew from her previous adventures that she couldn’t go out in just her nightgown; she’d freeze. She pulled on a pair of riding pants and a long sleeved top. Then she pulled the nightgown on over top just in case anyone stopped to check in on her. Menelwen did once, but Jade pretended to be asleep.
Then Jade just lay awake in bed, staring at the purple curtains overhead, waiting for the adults to go to sleep. It had been a long time since she had snuck out at night, and she was finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. Finally, she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and hushed voices. She waited until the voices had stopped and she heard two doors closing before she got up.
She slipped on her boots and threw her thick cloak about her shoulders. She also reached up to the very top shelf in her closet to pull down a thick, purple scarf, which she wrapped once around her neck, and a pair of purple mittens that she put on her hands. As quietly as she could, she pushed open her door and, finding Menelwen’s door closed completely, she hurried along the hall to the spare room she knew Freyr was sleeping in. Very lightly, she touched her knuckles to the doors three times.
Almost immediately, the door swung open to reveal Freyr, still fully dressed, and eager for the night’s adventure. Jade pressed one finger to her lips to signal not to speak, and then she turned and tiptoed down the staircase. She didn’t have to look to know that Freyr was following her. He was not quite as light on his feet. She shushed him a couple times, but he didn’t seem capable of being any quieter.
Within moments, they’d made it to the front doors. Normally, Jade never would have tried these at night when she should be in bed, but all of the guards would have snuck away to the party themselves by now, and she very much doubted that his royal highness would be able to squeeze himself through the window in the library.
She heaved the heavy lock back and pushed on the front doors, and just as she had thought, they swung open to reveal nothing but the snowy white landscape, no guards. They stepped out into the cold air, and Jade closed the doors behind them.
“Ok, now, where do you want to go?” Jade asked in her normal volume.
“To the party,” Freyr said, staring at her like she was crazy. “I thought that was decided.”
“Well,” Jade trailed off for just a moment before continuing, “You’re right. It’s probably best that we just go to the party.” She started walking away from him.
“Why, where else would we go?” Freyr asked.
Jade smiled to herself and then turned back to him. “Well, I was just thinking that you’ve probably been to a party before, and one party is pretty much just like all the others.” Jade was, of course, making this up. She had only ever been to the Halloween party in Avalon, but she didn’t like that one and she suspected she wouldn’t like this one either. Plus, two royal kids would stick out at that party like a sore thumb, and she really didn’t want to get caught again. “Besides, I know somewhere we could go that would be much more adventurous.”
“Where?”
“Have you ever heard of mermaids?” Jade asked.
“No, what are they?” he asked suspiciously.
“They are part woman, but they have a tail and fin for legs. They are very beautiful and they sing their songs to entrance boys to come to them, then they grab ahold of them and pull them deep under the water. They drown them and eat them!”
“You’re talking about Sirens,” Freyr insisted. “I’ve heard of them. Everyone has. Do you have some here?”
“Oh yes, and they’re bloodthirsty,” Jade said. “Have you ever seen one in person?”
“No, but they don’t sound that adventurous. They’re just a bunch of women stuck in a pool. What’s so exciting about that?”
“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I mean, we actually probably shouldn’t. No man or boy is strong enough to withstand their song. And it’s on the very edge of Lyonés, which is a very dangerous place for us to go,” Jade said, turning to walk back toward the Forest and the party. “We should probably just go to the party.”
“There is no creature I couldn’t withstand, especially one that’s just a fishy woman,” Freyr said hotly.
Jade smiled to herself again. Freyr was almost too predictable.
“Lyonés,” Freyr said, mulling over the word. “I’ve heard that word before. Isn’t that where your mother died?”
Jade turned and glared at him, but she said, “Yes, it is.”
“Ok, fine. We can go there,” Freyr said. “Lead the way.”
Jade did her best to let go of the anger he h
ad conjured by mentioning her mother, and she began to lead him toward the Fog Plains. Jade did not talk much on their way there; Freyr did enough talking for the both of them.
He told Jade about the many adventures he’d been on in his home, Olympus. Jade didn’t buy half of them, but she let him tell the stories because it made him happy, and she really didn’t think she had anything else to say to him anyway. His mindless prattling filled the void that would have been left without sound.
When they reached the edge of the Fog Plains was when Freyr stopped talking. For all his stories about facing monsters, he seemed almost a little scared just to step into the endless mist.
“It’s just water vapor,” Jade assured him. “It won’t hurt you.”
“I know that! I’m not stupid,” he snapped.
“I never said you were. You just looked…” Jade knew better to say he looked scared “…anxious.”
“Well, I’m not,” he said and strode into the fog.
“Wait!” Jade called, hurrying to catch up. “You don’t know where you’re going!”
She led him the rest of the way to the Waterfall. Jade had an overwhelming sense of de-ja-vu as she looked up at the top of the falls. There was a small figure standing amongst the mist. As they were watching, the figure leapt off of the cliff and dove, head first toward the water. He entered the water in one smooth motion, and his head was floating above it again in a matter of seconds. Right after his head popped up, so did several of the mermaid’s heads.
As Cadwr swam to the side of the lake, Jade called to him, “Have you made a habit of showing off for the mermaids?”
“It doesn’t look like they’re trying to drown him,” Freyr said under his breath.
“That’s because they know him. He’s their friend,” Jade explained in a hushed whisper.
