A Crown of Snow and Ice: A Retelling of The Snow Queen (Beyond the Four Kingdoms Book 3)

by Melanie Cellier

  For a brief moment I thought longingly of just leaving them behind. But I knew I couldn’t really do it—not unless I had no other choice.

  “I suppose we’d better go back for them, then.”

  “I can’t just let you out right now anyway,” said Cassandra. “My uncle was right about one thing, at least. You wouldn’t get far in the cold and on foot.”

  “What exactly do you suggest then?” I asked, not quite keeping the acid tone out of my voice.

  “We’ll also need to free your carriage, horses, and coachman. And do it quietly enough that you can get far enough away before anyone realizes you’re gone.”

  “Oh, just that, hey?” I smiled at her matter-of-fact manner.

  “As I said, it will need some planning.”

  As much as I wanted immediate action, I could see she was right.

  So together we made a plan.

  Emmeline and Giselle were sitting at the little table when I re-emerged from the secret passage. Had they even moved while I’d been gone? Cassandra also popped out to show me the trick to opening the concealed door from inside the room—just in case—but she disappeared quickly to carry out her more complicated role.

  “We’re escaping,” I announced to the sisters.

  It was a good thing I wasn’t expecting any dramatic reaction since I certainly didn’t get one. At least they didn’t put up any protest. Our plan had purposely kept their roles to a minimum, but I still explained them carefully. Again, neither protested, so I could only hope they didn’t put up any fuss when the time came.

  After that, we had merely to wait until our evening meal was served. Sitting down calmly to eat took some exercise of willpower on my behalf, but I managed it in the end, summoning a maid to clear away the dishes as imperiously as I had done the night before.

  When I finally heard the creak of the passageway opening, I was more than ready for action. Cassandra poked her head around and waved us in, disappearing without bothering to check that we were actually coming. I ushered Emmeline and Giselle ahead of me, giving a last scan of the room to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind.

  Nobody spoke as we followed Cassandra through the walls of the castle. I slipped past the other girls and sidled up to the youngster to give her a questioning look. She smiled reassuringly, so I could only assume everything had so far gone to plan.

  It felt like we’d been walking far longer than possible given the small size of the castle before she stopped, holding up a hand to halt us as well. Nothing about this stretch of wall looked different to me, but she felt around for something I couldn’t see, and several large stones shifted. I gazed at the opening—much smaller than a normal doorway—and then down at my dress. With a sigh, I got down onto my hands and knees. If the dress wasn’t already ruined, it would be now.

  Icy air hit me as I squeezed through the space and out into the night. I moved away from the opening to allow the others to follow but stayed low to the ground. When Emmeline appeared, she opened her mouth as if to speak, and I quickly put my finger to my lips. We had emerged behind the stables, but we were still inside the courtyard of the castle.

  Thankfully she merely shook her head and moved to join me without speaking. Once all four of us had gathered, Cassandra touched another hidden mechanism, and the opening disappeared. I shook my head. I couldn’t imagine the hours it must have taken her to find all these doors and openings.

  Clambering to her feet, but bending low, Cassandra led us around the back of the stables, keeping to the shadows. This time I waited to bring up the rear, rubbing my arms and wishing again I could conjure magical warmth at will. I had forgotten just how cold it was outside.

  As we crept from shadow to shadow, every sense tense and alert, I thought I saw something move against the closest wall. I blinked and looked again, but this time could see nothing. It had been a mere shadow, but I could have sworn I saw the flicker of movement. I bit my lip but had no choice except to keep moving and hope it had been nothing but my imagination.

  On second thought, I removed one of the daggers from my boot. Better prepared than not.

  My hesitation had put me behind the others, so I had to hurry to catch up. By the time I reached them, the other two princesses were clambering into our carriage. It stood in the deep shadows between the far side of the stable and the wall. Cassandra had managed even better than I had dared hope.

  A tall figure stepped forward, and I jumped, stifling an exclamation as the form of one of our coachmen appeared. We had originally left the port with two coachmen, so I could only assume one had been left behind by our abductors. They must have thought one enough to drive us here, and the fewer people to imprison the better.

  The man in front of me nodded before disappearing after Cassandra. I followed, wondering if he had been the shadow I saw earlier. But that one had been behind us…

  A carriage could be hidden silently, but horses were another matter. Our only choice had been to bring them out at the last minute. After some debate, we had decided that we would sacrifice the extra speed of four horses in the interest of keeping this step as quick and simple as possible.

  I had been taught how to care for and saddle my own horse, but I’d never attached one to a carriage before, so I was only able to follow simple directions whispered by the coachman. He worked quickly and efficiently, but still it felt as if it took forever for everything to be ready. At every moment I expected a shout of discovery, and every sound seemed to ring through the night air.

  We would never have gotten away with any of it in a larger castle, the type of place with guards posted at regular intervals around the wall. But Lord Treestone’s small domain had only the simplest of walls and two guards posted at the gate. And Cassandra had assured me they were occupied watching for a rescue attempt from outside. Over and over I reminded myself that no one was paying attention to what was happening in the shadows of the courtyard.

  Finally the horses were in place, and the coachman stood ready for the next part of the plan.

  I turned to say farewell to Cassandra, who would have to disappear at this point or risk having her involvement discovered, and was surprised with a tight hug around my waist. She hadn’t struck me as the sentimental type, an impression confirmed when I looked down into her face. She looked positively fierce.

  “Don’t let me down, Celine,” she whispered. “Find out what’s trying to kill us all. And then you kill it, instead.”

  I nodded. “I will.” If I can, I added silently in my head, unsure how I had managed to inspire such faith in her, but glad she had trusted me enough to help us.

  As she slipped away, my smile disappeared. The next part was the hardest. With a grim nod to the coachman, I led him forward through the shadows. I had returned my dagger to my boot while helping with the horses, but I gripped it in my hand again now. The coachman held a short wooden club—from Cassandra or the carriage I didn’t know. We didn’t want to kill anyone if we could possibly avoid it. I still believed Lord Treestone that our own people were safe, and even that he didn’t intend us any immediate harm. But that didn’t mean harm wouldn’t come to us—and possibly a great many other people—if we remained as captives. I just hoped the harm didn’t start now.

  Stepping forward into the light, I called softly to the guards. They both swung around, their expressions shifting to surprise and then suspicion.

  “What are you doing here?” asked one, at the same moment as the second asked, “Who are you?”

  But their questions had given me the chance to close the remaining distance between us, and my dagger flashed out from where I had hidden it in my skirts. The guard in front of me didn’t even have time to draw his sword before my hilt found his head. As he crumpled to the ground, his companion dropped beside him, thanks to the ministrations of the coachman.

  Well, not too great a harm, at any rate.

  I stooped to check their pulses. Both beat steadily.

  I picked the smaller one
and lifted his head and torso off the ground, gripping him beneath his arms. The coachman took the other, and we dragged them back toward the shadows next to the gate. Cassandra had promised we would find gags and rope there. With any luck, we would be well gone before any alarm could be raised.

  I had nearly reached the darkness when a gasp of surprise split the night. I looked up and into the eyes of a third guard, frozen mid-stride halfway across the courtyard.

  Chapter 5

  I froze as well, and for an endless-seeming second we both stood there in silence, our eyes locked. My back was still bowed from the weight of the unconscious guard, and I noticed the new guard’s hands were also occupied—with cups and a flagon. What terrible timing for refreshments to arrive!

  The man was too far for me to have any hope of reaching him before he called an alarm. Only his shock had prevented him doing so already. Plus I had nothing but my daggers against his sword, and this time I wouldn’t have the element of surprise.

  I remained in place as I tried desperately to produce an unnatural warmth inside me that I might be able to send across the impossible distance between us. But the cold air had leached into every part of me. My gift—if that’s what it had been—remained far from reach.

  While I watched, still motionless, the guard shook off his paralysis and opened his mouth to call for reinforcements. I closed my eyes. We were so close!

  When I opened them a second later, I barely registered a blur racing across the courtyard. For a brief moment I imagined my mind was playing tricks on me, conjuring up the shadow I had seen earlier.

  But this time the dark figure didn’t disappear. The guard swung to face him, his cry lost as the newcomer’s fist connected with his middle, violently expelling the air from his lungs. A moment later a second blow to the head felled him. The cups and flagon hit the ground with a thud and rolled against his motionless body.

  The shadow stooped to lift the man, dragging him across the courtyard toward me. I shook off my own surprise and resumed pulling at my load. But it was slow going, and when the coachman appeared to assist me, I let him take the guard, preferring to feel the solid hilt of a dagger in my hand once again.

  It looked as if the shadow was on our side, but I didn’t intend to let down my guard until I knew who he was. Or she. Although their build and gait gave me the strong impression of a male. Still, my sister had taught me not to trust to appearances.

  As soon as the coachman had deposited the second of the gate guards in the shadows, he disappeared. Reluctantly I knelt, feeling around for the promised rope. My hand fell on it quickly, tucked up against the wall, and I set to work, starting with the gags. The coachman would be back with the carriage at any moment, and I didn’t want any more delays.

  The shadow had reached me now with the third man, and I was grateful Cassandra had left an abundance of supplies. I shifted to keep my front toward the newcomer as he followed my lead, binding the man he had knocked down. At least that must mean the man was still alive.

  We worked in silence, the shadow not looking up once to meet my constant wary glances. Only once we had finished did he stand and offer a hand to help me to my feet.

  I ignored it.

  His eyes, the only part of his face I could see given the dark material wrapped around his head, flashed to the dagger nestled back into my palm. When they returned to my face, I could have sworn they looked quizzical. But any words were interrupted by the sound of carriage wheels against cobblestones.

  “Quick!” I gasped, realizing my mistake. I’d been distracted by our unknown assistant and forgotten my next task. “We need to get the gates open.”

  Together we wrestled with them, pushing them wide enough for the carriage to pass through. The coachman led the horses through at a slow walk, shushing them with quiet murmurs. As soon as the back of the carriage had passed through, he swung up onto the front box, gripping the reins.

  I began to tug the gates back closed. We wouldn’t be able to latch them, but at least we could keep from drawing immediate attention to the situation by leaving them open. But the shadow gestured for me to get into the carriage. I hesitated for a moment, but he began pulling at the gates himself, so I rushed over and threw myself into the carriage.

  “Go!” I hissed at the coachman, leaning out of the window to peer up at him. He twisted and glanced back at me, his eyes flicking toward our unknown accomplice. But when I glared at him, he shrugged once and straightened, the carriage lurching and beginning to move.

  I knelt on the seat and peered out of the tiny back window. The arrival of that third guard had put me on edge, and I didn’t want to waste a second putting distance between us and any pursuit. Certainly not for the sake of someone who wore a mask and had yet to identify himself.

  The gates had closed enough now to cut off the dim glow from inside the castle walls, and it was hard to make out much with only the moonlight. But I did see the second gate close into position, and then a moment later I made out a dark figure sprinting after us.

  We had only just begun to gather any speed, and reluctantly I stuck my head back out of the carriage to call quietly for the coachman to slow for a moment. The shadow had helped us, after all.

  As our momentum fell away, the figure reached us, and I swung the door open. The shadow gripped the frame, still running to keep pace with us, and swung himself in.

  I was still half-crouched in the doorway, so he collided with me, and we both fell back against the seat.

  “Oof.” I struggled to push him off as the door swung wide again, banging against the outside of the carriage as we regained the speed we had momentarily lost. For a moment the carriage seemed full of flailing limbs, and then I got my hands firmly against his chest and pushed him away. A small part of my mind noted that it was definitely a ‘him’ as I scrambled forward, leaning precariously out of the open door to pull it closed.

  Strong hands gripped my waist, steadying me as I hung half out of the moving vehicle. As soon as I had slammed the door closed, I wrenched myself out of his grip, throwing myself onto one of the seats. He paused briefly and then sat across from me.

  I took a deep breath and looked over at Emmeline and Giselle. I had nearly forgotten about them in all the chaos and could only be glad they had flattened themselves against the far side of the carriage, out of our way.

  But neither of them were looking at me, both of their gazes fixed on the man wrapped head-to-toe in black who sat across from me instead. I could hardly blame them.

  I opened my mouth to demand an explanation, along with his identity, but Giselle spoke before I could. And she had transferred her gaze to me.

  “I told you he would rescue us.”

  “Thanks for your faith, little sis,” said a familiar voice, as he unwound the strip of material from his head. “Although here I was thinking my disguise was rather good.”

  The fair hair and handsome face of Prince Oliver appeared. He wore a wry smile—an expression I had never seen on his usually impassive face before. And the blue eyes that swept from his sisters to me retained the animation I had thought I glimpsed in them in the moment before his escape.

  I sat back. Prince Oliver. I should have guessed. But then I hadn’t expected anything so daring, or…well…active from him. And I rather resented Giselle’s comment about our rescue.

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I raised an eyebrow at him. “You don’t look like a thirteen-year-old girl to me.”

  “Excuse me?” He looked confused, but I hadn’t really been aiming my comment at him.

  I looked over at the other two princesses. “We were rescued by a thirteen-year-old girl, remember?”

  Oliver looked intrigued, although he also shook his head at me. “I could have sworn you were in need of some rescuing when I intervened. My mistake.” A small grin twitched across his face, and I relented.

  “I will allow you credit for a partial rescue,” I said in my most gracious voice, accompanying it with a regal nod.
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  He snorted. “Very generous.” Then the grin returned. “Although you did seem to do rather well with those gate guards. I thought you must be mad when you called to them.”

  I shrugged. “Don’t worry, I’m used to being underestimated. Why do you think my tactic was so successful?” I glanced at him consideringly. “So you were already there watching us at that point? In that case, I’m guessing it was you I saw in the shadows by the wall when we first came outside.”

  I thought I caught a gleam of admiration in his eyes. “You saw me then? When you paused, I wondered. I’d come over the wall as soon as it got dark, but I hadn’t worked out a way into the castle yet when you all appeared. And then I thought I should watch and see what was happening. I didn’t want to upset any carefully laid plan.”

  “A good idea as things turned out,” I said, a little begrudgingly. It seemed Prince Oliver wasn’t the only one among us who had done some underestimating. I had never expected such sense and initiative from him, but he had well and truly proved me wrong.

  “I look forward to arriving home,” said Emmeline. “Cassandra seems to have supplied the carriage with blankets, and even warming pans, but a hot bath would not go astray.”

  I shivered as her words reminded me of the cold. A blanket appeared in front of me, held out by Oliver, and I took it gratefully, wrapping myself in it.

  “I wouldn’t say no to a hot bath myself,” I said. “But I want to hear your story first, Oliver.”

  “I have nothing exciting to tell, I assure you.” He lounged back against the seat. “After I managed to escape the attack, I thought it best to follow the abductors before returning to the palace for reinforcements. I didn’t want the trail to go cold. When I realized where you had been taken, I decided it should be safe enough to conduct a scouting trip before returning. The place wasn’t exactly teeming with guards. And then I found you all.”