by Alison Pensy
Faedra scooted herself off the bed, turned and took Faen's hand. "Well, Husband," she said as Faen scooted himself off the bed after her. "Want to help me get dressed?"
Faen raked his eyes down the length of Faedra's body before grabbing a handful of satin nightdress on either side of Faedra's hips. "Got to get you out of this first."
***
"You wished to see us, Father." Faedra said, as she and Faen strode into the king's study dressed in their official engagement finery.
Her father looked up from where he was pouring over some paperwork on his desk and smiled.
"Ah, my dear. You look radiant this morning. Marriage obviously suits you."
Faedra felt her cheeks burn. She could hear Faen shuffle his feet beside her, his energy letting her know he felt suddenly disquieted by her father's statement. She gave his hand a squeeze and turned to look at him, giving her husband a supportive smile.
When she turned back to face her father, the knowing grin on his face almost caused her to burst into flames. It might be a well-known fact around the castle that she had done what every other woman in history had done on her wedding night, but did everyone really have to blatantly flaunt the knowledge in front of her? It was embarrassing, for goodness sakes. She took in a deep breath and faced her father with the blankest expression she could plaster across her face.
After a moment of quiet, the king broke the oppressive silence in his study by putting his fist to his mouth and clearing his throat. "Sorry I had to disturb you this morning, but I wish for you to accompany me when we greet the Alsian contingent for the tournament. They will be arriving any time now, so we should make our way to the lake post haste."
Faedra scrunched her eyebrows.
"You will see when we get there," the king said, noting his daughter's confusion over their destination.
The king stepped out from behind his desk and swept past his daughter and new son-in-law. "If you would be so kind as to follow me," he said.
"Well, here goes our first royal engagement together," Faedra whispered to Faen as they turned and followed the king out of the study.
When they arrived at the expansive body of water that nestled just outside the castle walls, Faedra noticed an eerie mist hovering above the water. Ambassador Zaven was already standing at the water's edge. He turned and greeted them with a polite incline of his head.
"Ah, Prince and Princess. I am glad you could make it," Zaven said.
Faedra bit back a sarcastic retort about not having a choice in the matter and being dragged out of her bed the morning after her wedding night, but thought better of it and offered the Ambassador a sickly sweet smile instead.
The sound of cracking distracted the new arrivals to the lake and they all turned their attention to the water. Faedra watched as the edges of the lake crusted over with ice. The ice spread inward, quickly glazing over the liquid surface of the water until the entire lake more resembled a perfectly smooth skating rink. She looked up at Faen, who returned her confounded expression with one of his own. Obviously, he hadn't seen this before, either.
A crack like lightning made Faedra jump almost out of her skin.
"It's quite all right, Your Highness," Zaven said with obvious glee at her discomfiture. "This is all perfectly normal."
To whom? Faedra thought. It certainly wasn't normal in her realm of imagination. But then again, she decided, a re-evaluation of her realm of imagination was probably way overdue.
A crack appeared in the center of the lake and created a deep fissure that extended to the shoreline in front of where the welcoming party was standing. As it got wider, Faedra could swear she saw steps forming deep into the belly of the lake. She craned her neck forward allowing her to look into the deep frozen opaque pit of what was once, just a few moments ago, a crystalline clear pool of water.
She could see the steps continue to form, until the darkness at the bottom of the newly formed chasm swallowed them up. Then she heard it. No, surely not. Footsteps? Lots and lots of footsteps all resounding off the ice in uniformed synchronicity. Who exactly was down there?
She didn't have to wait long to find out.
Twinkling lights bounced off the frozen walls at the bottom of the staircase. Faedra craned her neck even further. So much so, she felt Faen's grip on her hand tighten, holding her back so that she wouldn't inadvertently fall down the gaping hole.
Then she saw them. Surprised, she stood up straight, as row upon row of Alsian men marched up the frozen staircase towards them. All of them perfectly shaped like their Ambassador with only an opaque ice cloth protecting their modesty. As they reached the top of the steps they split in two and marched across the frozen lake, forming regimented lines as they came to a stop.
Faedra rubbed her arm as the temperature around them plummeted several degrees. She sent fire throughout her veins, instantly warming her skin. Her breath misted in front of her face. She scanned the rest of her party. Faen and her father's breath did the same. Unsurprisingly, Ambassador Zaven's did not. Faedra turned a wary look to her husband. Something in the pit of her stomach told her these people could not be trusted. And on a bone deep level, she just didn't like them.
Faen cast her a warm smile and squeezed her hand again. The supportive gesture did nothing to allay her fears. She glanced at her father. His expression was stoic, unreadable. Inexplicably, at that moment, Faedra wanted to throw all of her fire at the lake and melt it... reduce it back to what it should be. She flexed her fingers, pushing the thought back.
Row upon row, Alsians emerged from the depths of the frozen lake.
"This is beginning to look more like an army than a tournament contingent," Faedra whispered to Faen.
Faedra noticed Zaven tense. Crap, he heard me. Well, that's just great, Faedra, she chastised herself. Way to go. Insult the Ambassador on your first royal engagement out of the gate.
To her surprise, the Ambassador turned and offered her a smile. "It does look that way, doesn't it, Your Highness. We encourage all of our young warriors to compete in the tournament. It just so happens, we tend to have quite a few more than the other realms."
Like that was supposed to make her feel better? Faedra offered the Ambassador a tight smile but kept her mouth shut.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Faedra carried on watching as the Alsian contingent continued to emerge from the depths of the frozen lake. Finally, when the last one had joined his 'teammates', the surface of the lake cracked and groaned as the fissure closed in on itself, covering the steps until the surface was smooth once more. In one fluid movement, the gathered participants moved forward. They came to a stop a few feet from the shoreline. In another fluid movement, they all bowed towards the welcoming party lined up on the shore. Faedra inclined her head, then inwardly smiled at how quickly she had become accustomed to the idiosyncrasies of this realm. She would never have thought to incline her head in greeting before. If she did that in the World of Men, her friends would take the mickey mercilessly.
A single member of the group stepped forward and looked toward the king. "With your permission, Your Majesty. We would like to commence the construction of our camp."
"Permission granted."
The single member stepped back and joined the rest of the contingent. When he was in line with the others, they all backed up a few steps and dispersed. Faedra watched as they gathered into groups, standing in separate circles across the surface of the lake. Loud cracking noises ensued moments later. Faedra's mouth dropped as she saw gaping holes appear in the middle of each circle. An Alsian from each group held their hands over the hole, then drew water up from beneath the ice with whatever power it was they possessed.
As the water came up through the hole, the person controlling it, sent it out towards the others standing in the group. Each member of the group took hold of the water, molding it as they worked it into various ice sculptures. Before long, an entire camp had been molded from ice. There were accommodations, complete with fu
rnishings, now covering the entire lake.
Zaven looked down at the princess who was finding it hard to hide the wonderment she felt at having witnessed an entire village built from ice in a matter of minutes.
"Impressive, is it not?" Zaven asked.
Faedra dragged her gaze away from the camp and looked up at the Ambassador...speechless.
"We make our camp on the lake because to live on the land would kill anything that grows on it," Zaven explained. "We are, essentially, made of ice, and ice kills most living things. Or, at least, will make it dormant for a long time."
Faedra gave the Ambassador another tight smile. No wonder the people of Umor considered them dangerous, if that's what they could do with water. Faedra made a note to keep a very close eye on their newest guests to the realm. She remembered Jalia's words. Fire melts ice. Faedra sure hoped she would never have to use that card.
***
"Where's father? Shouldn't he be opening the tournament?" Faedra whispered to Faen as they presided over the opening ceremony for the Seven Realms Tournament. They were seated in the royal box that overlooked the spectators seated around the tournament stadium. The participants had not yet entered the grounds.
Faen quirked his lips and cast his eyes skyward. Faedra followed his line of sight and sucked in a breath. High above the stadium, Draconis was circling, his wings flapping with graceful ease. A roar of fire shot from his mouth, which prompted 'oohs and ahhs' from the spectators below. This scene alone would not have had Faedra gaping open mouthed. The fact that her father--the royal one--was sitting astride the powerful beast was what had her mouth agape.
"You may want to shut that," her dad, who was sitting the other side of her said. "There's a train coming."
Faedra pulled her eyes from the scene unfolding above her and closed her mouth, narrowing her eyes at her dad as she did. She turned back to Faen. "What the heck is he doing on the back of Draconis?"
Faen leaned in. "He decided if your Queen was going to drop out of a helicopter to open your tournament, he thought he would go one better and drop in off the back of a dragon."
Faedra put her hand over her eyes. "Oh, good Lord."
"I think it's pretty darned exciting," Henry said.
Faedra shot her dad a withering look.
"Or not, as the case may be," Henry continued, trying hard to suppress a cheeky grin.
Faedra cast her eyes skyward again just in time to see her father stand up on the back of Draconis and hold his arms wide in a show of theatrics.
The audience 'oohed and ahhed' again as Draconis did one more circle above the stadium.
What on earth had gotten into him? Faedra had never seen this side of him. She wasn't sure if she was comfortable with him messing about so far above the ground. Then it hit her why this was niggling at her the way it was. She didn't want to see him hurt, and it wasn't entirely an unselfish thought either. If he got hurt, or, God forbid, killed, she would be left to run the realm. Not a thought she wanted to contemplate at this stage in her life. Even though, rationally, she knew her father had wings and could fly, so the likelihood of him getting hurt on this particular escapade was reaching a little. That didn't stop her heart lurching to her throat when the king swan dived off the dragon's back and plummeted straight for the center of the stadium. He pulled up short a few feet from the ground and lowered himself the rest of the way with grace. A raucous applause exploded around the stadium. The king took a sweeping bow before announcing the Seven Realms Tournament officially open.
Trumpets blared, heralding the entrance of the competitors.
Faedra turned to Henry. "You better get down there, Dad," she said. "Fly our flag with pride."
Henry stood, smoothing down his jacket. "Right you are, then," he said, a grin almost splitting his face in half. He rested his palm against Faedra's cheek. "Don't you worry, love. I'll do us proud."
Faedra gave her dad a warm smile. "I don't doubt it for a minute." She stood and wrapped her arms around him. "Love you, Dad. Thanks for representing us."
After hugging the life out of his daughter, Henry pulled back, holding Faedra by her upper arms. "Love you, too, darling."
Faen stood and offered Henry his hand. "Good luck, Sir...I mean, Henry."
"Faen, I know it has taken you a while to call me by my name, but I have to throw another spanner in the works."
Faen's brow wrinkled.
Henry winked and slapped his son-in-law on the back. "You get to call me Dad, now."
Faedra closed her eyes and shook her head, her lips curving at his words. She looked up at her husband and giggled at his flummoxed expression.
"Another World of Men custom?" Faen asked.
"Yep," Faedra and Henry replied.
Another burst of applause distracted the three. They turned to see what had prompted the appreciative cheers of the crowd. Henry's face paled. "Well, I'm afraid my entrance won't be that impressive," he mumbled.
The Alsians were first to make their way into the stadium, and they were going to make sure their presence was noticed. The contestants up front were shooting 'rails' of ice in front of them, creating something that resembled a mini roller coaster track, complete with loops and turns. As each of the Alsians took their turn sliding along the 'track' spinning and looping, the crowd roared their approval of the unique entrance.
Faedra turned back to her dad. She hated to admit she was impressed by the entrance of the race she most distrusted, but she couldn't help but get caught up in the energy that was coming at her full force from the crowded stadium. Faedra offered her dad a reassuring smile.
"Pah," she said, waving her hand in dismissal. "Just wait til everyone witnesses your dart throwing skills."
Henry raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to make me feel better?"
"Yep. Did it work?" Faedra said, hopeful.
Henry shook his head slowly. "No."
Faedra sighed. "Dad, you're going to do just fine. Now get yourself down there, and fast. This tournament has never seen a contingent from the World of Men. I would hate to disappoint them."
"I don't know how I let you talk me into this, young lady," Henry said, putting his palm to his daughter's cheek.
"It's my irresistible charm," Faedra said with a wink.
"Hmm." Henry turned and followed the page who had been summoned to show him where to go.
Faedra turned to her husband and rested her head on his shoulder. "Maybe I shouldn't have gotten him involved in all this. It was just a stupid pride thing."
"Come now," Faen said. "He is honored that you asked him. I think he secretly enjoys being a part of this world."
Faedra looked up at Faen. "You think so?"
Faen smiled. "I know so."
"I love you," Faedra whispered, reaching up to plant a kiss to Faen's lips. She smiled as she felt his energy glow at her words.
"I love you, too."
"You know, I don't mind if you want to go and join your team. I'll be alright up here for a while. It seems a pity that you'll miss out on all that fun just because you married me."
Faen's eyebrows nearly took flight off his forehead. "Right at this moment, My Lady. There is nowhere else I would rather be. Besides, a Custodian must have a Guardian with her at all times, and since your new Guardian is participating, I told her I would stand in for her so she can enjoy this. It is her first experience competing in the tournament, and I didn't want her to miss out on anything."
"Aww, you big softie."
"I have my moments."
"Yes, you do."
Another roar distracted the couple. They turned their attention back to the stadium. Contestants from Zutherindal were entering next, following in behind the Alsians and melting the ice left in their wake with dragon fire.
"What is it?" Faen asked, noticing Faedra was chewing on her lip.
"The Alsians."
"What about them?"
"There's just so many of them. Look at them, Faen. They're like a small army d
own there."
Faen put his arm around his new wife. "I do admit, this is the largest contingent they have sent, but the Alsians have no quarrel with us. Try not to concern yourself, my love. Enjoy the games."
Faedra looked up into the reassuring eyes of her husband. "You're probably right, Faen. I guess I'm just a lot more paranoid these days. I don't trust them."
Faedra tried to tamp down her worry and enjoy the show the dragons were putting on as they entered the stadium.
When it came time for the contingent from Asgard to enter, Odin and the Valkyries flew in on their winged horses and landed gracefully behind the contestants from Drofoz.
A moment later, the roar of the crowd subsided, and a stillness descended over the stadium. Faedra's brow pinched at the suddenness of the silence that engulfed them. When she scanned the stadium, the cause of such quietude became apparent. Her father had just walked in behind the Valkyries. The solitary contestant from the World of Men walked alone into the lion's den. His cheerful wave faltered as curious whispers resonated around the stands.
Without thinking, Faedra leapt to her feet, cupped her hands around her mouth and whooped and hollered with all the noise her lungs could produce. Faen immediately supported his wife and followed suit. When this action garnered strange looks from the audience that were seated to either side of the royal box, Faedra encouraged the onlookers to join in. She was to be their next queen; it didn't take them long to realize it would be a wise move to join her in cheering on the stranger who was now entering the stadium, representing a realm that had never competed in the tournament before.
Within moments, the cheering had made its way around the stadium like a Mexican wave. Soon the crowd had gotten behind Faedra’s dad and was cheering him on as he marched along behind the winged horses. Faedra's grin spread across her face. She let out a giggle as she witnessed her dad getting caught up in the revelry. He jumped in the air, clicking his heels together. Yep, her dad was going to do just fine.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
