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

by Melanie Cellier

  We probably shouldn’t be surprised that at the end of the day some of the locals might want to make use of the bathhouse. And this might be a good opportunity to try to get friendly with some of them.

  A group of girls entered, with two older matrons following close behind. They all stopped short at the sight of us, before one of the older ladies prodded the others to keep moving and get on with it.

  “The water will be clean again soon enough, I suppose,” she said, glancing disapprovingly down into the pool.

  I gaped at her and then down into the water. We had been here long enough that our dirt had long since washed away, and the clear water of the pool contained only us.

  The girls entered one by one, giving us looks of such disgust that I concluded our earlier state of unwash had not been the source of the couple’s distaste. It seemed this village did not like outsiders.

  But as I quickly finished my bath, eager to be gone now that we were no longer alone, my confusion grew. These people didn’t seem the least lethargic or disconnected. But I had never met such an unpleasant bunch, so eager to see only faults. The way they poked and prodded at each other with their words, pointing out various perceived negatives in each other’s appearance, made my teeth ache. I desperately wanted to tell them to stop, but I didn’t think it would do our cause any good to get involved.

  Still, by the time we had dried and dressed in clean layers, my jaw felt like it had set in position, so tightly was I clenching it. And the older women had been no better. The only words out of their mouths had been complaints. For their day, their work, the girls, each other…

  As we walked back toward Sterling’s house, I frowned into the sunset. “When you said earlier that these people didn’t seem normal, I don’t suppose you meant they seemed excessively unpleasant?”

  Giselle frowned. “They definitely don’t seem normal, do they?”

  “What was it Sterling said back at the palace?” I muttered to myself. “That his village isn’t like other villages.” I was starting to wonder if there was something actually wrong with these people. If that’s why they had fled up here. But I had no idea what could turn people like this.

  I took a sudden detour, Giselle trailing behind me, to take us close enough to overhear a conversation between several men who stood outside what looked like some sort of small tavern. They each clasped a flagon and appeared to be relaxing after a day’s work. And yet just a slow walk past was enough to hear that nothing but complaints issued from their mouths as well.

  Giselle and I exchanged glances but refrained from commenting until we were safely back inside Sterling’s log walls. Oliver had beaten us back, as had Sterling, who looked less than pleased with our unsanctioned outing. Or maybe the villagers were just rubbing off on him.

  “Nice bath?” Oliver grinned at us which made me think he must have completed his wash undisturbed.

  “The bath itself was delightful.” I eyed Sterling. “But I can see why you were anxious to leave.”

  Our guide raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Oh, don’t you?” But I muttered the words quietly enough not to provoke a confrontation. I was still on edge with the loss of my powers, but turning our only potential ally in this place against us didn’t seem like a helpful way to let out my frustration.

  Sterling had apparently returned with a hot meal because bowls had already been laid out for us on his small table. We descended on them with nearly as much enthusiasm as the bath, and silence briefly reigned. Only when he had wiped his bowl clean with a large piece of fluffy bread, did Sterling speak again.

  “I mentioned something of your situation to a couple of the elders, and they agreed that you can have an audience tomorrow. But they also said that the village will never agree to release the object that keeps them all safe.” He glanced up at us, his face hard to read. “Just so you know not to get your hopes up.”

  Chapter 21

  Of course Sterling refused to say any more about who he had spoken to or exactly what they had said. Meaning none of us slept well. We couldn’t even properly talk strategy since Sterling didn’t leave again.

  By the time we found ourselves standing in the morning sunlight in a grassy clearing at the center of the village, I knew Oliver’s nerves were stretched tight. But you wouldn’t have guessed it from looking at him. He stood tall, his shoulders back and his bearing every inch the confident prince.

  Unfortunately, the group of village elders looked less than impressed. Their expressions reminded me all too forcefully of the girls in the baths the night before. At least they listened silently while Oliver outlined the magical attack on Eldon and our hope that their godmother object could save the kingdom. At the mention of the object, several of them exchanged quick glances, but no one interrupted.

  He pleaded with them to let him borrow the object to save the kingdom and promised to return it as soon as possible. I noticed no softening in their faces. Even when he carefully pointed out the consequences to their own village if the rest of the kingdom should fall, they remained impassive.

  Any hope I had still clung to faded away as I examined them. I had expected a hardy—and possibly hard—folk to inhabit such a remote location. At worst I had feared that they might have already succumbed as the rest of the kingdom had done. But I had not expected this. Could the entire village really be full of people who saw no good in anything and had no interest in others at all? Who could bear to live in such a way? And surely it could not be natural. But if it wasn’t, what exactly was sickening their minds? It certainly wasn’t whatever was destroying the rest of the kingdom.

  “It is not we who bear responsibility for your kingdom, prince,” said the oldest of them when Oliver at last finished pleading his case.

  Oliver didn’t flinch, although I could see the statement cut him.

  “We can offer you no assistance,” agreed another of the elders.

  “But your object…” said Giselle, stepping forward.

  The woman shook her head, her expression cold.

  “So you mean you won’t offer assistance,” muttered Giselle, glancing hopelessly at her brother.

  “I refuse to believe that you speak for your whole village when you profess so little care for the lives and livelihood of so many,” said Oliver, his back still straight and his eyes burning. “I request permission to remain in the village, and to speak with both you and your people again. I believe that with time and consideration, you will see the value of my cause.”

  Several of the elders narrowed their eyes as if disgusted, but the oldest spoke again. “You may stay for as long as you wish. You will not change our minds, but we have no interest in driving you from here.”

  Oliver’s shoulders slumped the slightest bit, and I could read the subtle signs of relief in his bearing. He had obviously feared we would be unceremoniously kicked back down the mountain the moment this meeting concluded. And he obviously wanted to give us an opportunity to find the object on our own.

  “We also request permission to search your village,” he said, confirming my thoughts.

  I hadn’t expected such a brazen approach, but his next words explained it.

  “We have reason to believe there may be a stolen royal object here in your village, and we would like to search for it.”

  One of the elders raised his eyebrows. “A stolen royal object? What sort of object?”

  “A mirror.”

  Sterling shifted beside us, and I wondered if he was merely surprised or if he was offended at the suggestion. The elders all exchanged looks, before the speaker shrugged.

  “We know nothing of a stolen mirror. But feel free to ask our people about it. Perhaps one of them has heard something. We won’t give you permission to invade their homes, however. If you wish to search any homes, you must receive permission from the owner.

  I barely suppressed an eye roll at that. If the thief lived here, he was hardly likely to agree to a search
of his home. But Oliver managed to thank them in a voice that almost sounded sincere.

  Giselle, who had been watching with a blank face, turned to leave, but the elder spoke again, his words stopping her.

  “But know this, princeling.”

  Oliver’s eyes whipped up to meet his, but the older man didn’t back down. In fact he leaned forward.

  “Valley View does not fall under the sovereignty of your family. Here you are not a prince or princesses, you are merely guests like any other. Guests who are expected to abide by our laws.”

  Oliver stiffened, and Giselle sucked in an audible breath. Did the man mean to speak treason, or was this village truly so isolated that they no longer saw themselves as part of their own kingdom?

  I recognized the fire in Oliver’s eyes and could only imagine how one of my brothers would react to such a challenge. I laid a hand on his arm, gripping hard enough to pull his attention from the elders. He glanced down at me, and I glared up at him.

  “Planning on getting caught breaking laws, are you?” I whispered at him.

  He frowned at me, saying nothing, but I could read the answer in his eyes. Of course not.

  “Then let it go. Unless you want to find yourself sent straight back down to the capital. We have no power here to back up your authority, remember?” I let my eyes stray down to where my hand still rested on his arm.

  I felt the release of tension before I heard his sigh. When he turned back to the elders, his stance held the same regal bearing, but his eyes no longer burned.

  “We have no desire to break laws—either yours or anyone else’s. We will conduct ourselves with honor while we remain your guests.”

  Yes, because we have no other choice, I thought guiltily, remembering that we had certainly contemplated forcing the villagers to assist us. Back when we thought we would have the power to do so.

  The elder accepted Oliver’s words with a curt nod of his head, before turning to talk quietly with his colleagues. Clearly we were dismissed. I grabbed both Oliver and Giselle and dragged them away before either of them decided to take exception to their reception and treatment.

  When we found a quiet spot between houses, I dropped both of their arms and put my hands on my hips. “Well, that went well. What do we do next?”

  Giselle frowned, shooting an angry look back in the direction of the now hidden elders. “What, have they ceded from Eldon and just never bothered to inform us? What do they think they’re playing at?”

  I gestured around our small circle. “Take a look at us, Giselle. We don’t exactly have the might of a crown to back us up, now, do we?”

  “Still, that’s treason,” said Oliver, his voice tight. “And this is exactly why we rule. Not for our own gain.” He gave a rough laugh with no trace of humor. “I certainly took no pleasure from our hike up here. Did either of you?” He didn’t wait for us to reply. “We rule to ensure that the entire kingdom is cared for and preserved. So no one small group can choose to sit back and watch the rest burn.” He turned and punched the wooden wall beside him.

  I sighed. “I don’t think burning is anyone’s problem at this point.” I couldn’t quite keep the bitterness from my voice.

  Oliver looked over at me, a frown crossing his face, and I turned away. I didn’t need his disappointment adding to the weight of my own.

  “Still, their treason does add weight to the idea that they might be harboring the thief,” he said.

  “I don’t know,” I said reluctantly. “To me they looked genuinely surprised by your question.”

  Neither of the other two said anything, and I wondered if they were thinking of the same thing I was. The thought I had tried to push away the whole way up the mountain. What if our trip yielded neither the protective object nor the mirror?

  But as I stared at the ground, I felt a sliver of steel creep up my spine. I would not sit around and be useless because I no longer had powers. I would prove my worth.

  I straightened and looked Oliver in the eye. “They gave us permission to stay and to speak to the villagers. So that’s what we should do. Just because the elders don’t know anything, doesn’t mean no one else does. And who knows, your ruse might even turn out to be right. Maybe we can find some villagers who don’t agree with the elders.”

  A reluctant smile crossed Oliver’s face. “I almost believe it’s possible when you say it like that.”

  I grinned back at him. “I’m good at saying things with feeling. I have a lifetime of experience making myself heard over six older siblings. But I do believe that if there is anything to learn from these villagers, you’ll be able to search it out.”

  “I fear you have too much faith in me,” said Oliver, so quietly I almost didn’t hear his words.

  Giselle grimaced sadly. “Normally I’d agree with Celine. Oliver knows our people well. But there’s something different about these people. And I didn’t notice anyone putting much weight in our so-called authority.” She sighed. “But I also don’t know what else we can do but try.”

  “Exactly,” I said, trying to put some bracing enthusiasm into my voice. “That’s the spirit.”

  She rolled her eyes at me but didn’t actually protest.

  “And what will you be doing while we’re convincing people to spill the truth?” asked Oliver.

  I looked around, my eyes narrowed. “I’m going to see if I can get a glimpse of this enchanted object of theirs. And maybe find out exactly how it works—if anyone even knows. It would be a pity to hang around here and put all this effort in only to discover it’s not going to help us after all. And if I happen upon the mirror in the meantime…” I shrugged. “They did give us permission to search outside of the homes.”

  I could see that Oliver would have preferred to join me searching for the object, but the same weight of duty which had driven him up the mountain drove him now. As crown prince it was up to him to tackle his people. To see if there was any way they would let him save his kingdom—their kingdom, even if they didn’t want to admit it.

  We split up, and I soon found myself wandering aimlessly around. For all my confident words, I didn’t actually have the least idea where to start searching for the object. I didn’t even know what sort of object it was. For all I knew, it could be something as small and mundane as a necklace.

  As I walked, I began to get a sense of the village. It all centered around the open, grassy space where we had met with the elders, the houses fanning out in circles from there. The outside ring seemed to hold bigger buildings, like the tavern we had passed the night before. Another seemed to be a school—at least that’s what it looked like when I peeked in the window and saw it filled with children and desks.

  The baths stood alone, their position dictated by the hot springs, and the back of the valley held the fields I had seen when we first arrived. Large barns formed a barrier between the rest of the village and the fields, an odd layout that suggested something of a communal nature to the work and property of Valley View.

  When I had snooped around the entire area, no one smiling at me, but no one challenging me either, I stopped to think. Godmother objects—especially ones with not only deep historical significance, but also current magical ability—didn’t tend to be kept at the back of a drawer or stuffed into a tray of jewelry. So regardless of the object’s size, it was likely kept somewhere in a place of honor.

  My eyes briefly skimmed the trees that surrounded the valley before I shook my head. No. Surely the nature of its magic necessitated it being kept in the village itself. I know I wouldn’t take a chance on placing it anywhere else if I were a local.

  I surveyed the village again. The elders had met us out in the open, suggesting they had nothing like a town hall. But that didn’t mean they didn’t have a ceremonial building of some kind. Perhaps even a small one built with the express purpose of protecting the object.

  My eyes scanned the buildings of the outer ring, skimming over the school, the tavern, and several others of obvi
ous purpose such as the blacksmith’s shed. Finally my eyes rested on one that looked smaller than the others. Smaller even than the houses.

  My view of it was partially obscured as it stood some distance across the village, but I vaguely remembered passing it before. Nothing about it had stood out to me, but now that I thought about it, I couldn’t remember seeing much in the way of windows. I had written it off as a storage shed of some type, but it stood on the opposite side of the village to the barns.

  Whether my purposeful gait attracted attention or whether it was my close examination of that particular building, this time a man I didn’t recognize approached me. He stood for a while just watching me as I circled the small structure. I had been wrong earlier. It didn’t have any windows at all. I finally stopped thoughtfully in front of the wooden door.

  Now that I looked at it closely, I could see intricate carvings on the door itself and around the lintel. Casting a bold look at the watching man, I strode up the three shallow steps and tried to push open the door. It didn’t budge.

  I looked back at the man again. “I don’t suppose you have a key on you?”

  The man finally stirred, narrowing his eyes, his face twisting in distaste.

  “That building is forbidden.”

  I looked at him measuringly. “To me? Or to everyone?”

  “To everyone. That building is forbidden.”

  “I heard you the first time,” I muttered, traipsing back down the stairs. As I made my slow way back to Sterling’s house, I could feel his eyes burning into my back. Only when I shut the door behind me did I feel his eyes leave me.

  The house was empty. I sat inside by the constantly burning fire while I considered what to do about what I had found. No immediate ideas occurred to me.

  When Oliver and Giselle finally joined me, I could see by their faces that their efforts had been discouraging.

  I winced sympathetically. “Don’t tell me. The villagers are all as unpleasant as the few we’ve had the great joy to meet?”