The Ice Storm
Chapter Ten
After the events of the afternoon, Alice settled back into sleep as though nothing had happened. Wolf pressed his ear to the cub's bedroom door, listening. Just the soft breaths and fluttering hearts of the little ones. It was fully dark now, and the moon called him fiercely. He went to stare at Her through the window, taking note that Virginia had retreated well into the room, away from the rays of light that spilled fitfully from breaks in the clouds. She and Scarlett were finishing a light dinner of smoked fish and pickled vegetables. Wolf was hungry enough to eat the curtains, but he held his appetite in check, knowing he'd be hunting later on this night. Fresh blood and life spurting was what he craved. Maybe there were other wolfen folk who roamed nearby tonight. He could join them perhaps, pooling their skills and craft to bring down larger game.
He wanted Scarlett gone from the room at the very least! But the infernal woman seemed quite happy to settle on their couch for the evening. She seemed edgy. The tension in her was quite apparent to Wolf. He thought about what he had surmised about her and half smiled at her blossoming awareness. Well, it was more than time enough. Were she not a Queen, Wolf knew he would have delighted in awakening her to her potential. But royalty were different. Born and bred to power and command. To Wolf she was both an equal and an underling. Then she rose from her seat and suprised him utterly.
"I will go" she said. Wolf glanced at Virginia curiously. Go where? Scarlett seemed to be addressing a whole room full of people instead of just the two of them. "To...Zaphira. The one the child spoke of" she added. Wolf watched Virginia carefully. Her face seemed to relax all of sudden, and Wolf felt a sudden surge of gratitude to Scarlett. Of course Virginia would have been planning to go there herself! Wolf felt foolish for not seeing it sooner. At no matter the risk to herself and their child, she would have gone. But now things had changed. Virginia reached to tug on Scarlett's hand, pulling her back down to the lounge they were sitting on.
"Are you sure, Scarlett?" she asked.
"Oh yes Virginia. And yes, I know that you were planning to do this very thing yourself. I saw the look on your face straight away. But you cannot risk yourself or your child in this"
"Really obvious huh?" Virginia replied with a rueful smile, and Wolf calmed the sudden fear he had of her making such an arduous journey to rescue what might not even be a real dragon. Or even a live one.
"And so why do you wish to go there Scarlett?" he asked her from his spot on the windowsill.
The blond haired Queen stared at him levelly. "Coven Lake is in my Kingdom, of course. I can command men and assistence there that no one else could. And help will be needed if anyone is to reach this place in good time" she answered, and Wolf heard the sudden doubts in her voice. So, she had fears over her rule? Virginia had told him the measures and changes that Scarlett had put into place before coming here. An open royal proclaimation, no less. Starting immediately, wolf's and wolf descendant folk were to be given a place in Second Kingdom affairs. It would be a gradual assimilation, a breaking down of the long held barriers. Wolf could only imagine the uproar such a thing would have caused. The folk of the Second Kingdom were fiercely loyal to their royalty, he knew. And Scarlett had many relatives, including younger sisters and brothers, any of whom could prove themselves eager to take the throne in her absence. Not unlike a wolf pack in many ways, he saw. Opportunitism played a key role in leadership battles. Scarlett had been a guest of Wendell for nearly two months now.
His wish for her to be gone from the room just so he could ravish Virginia seemed trivial now. Wolf stood and proferred Scarlett the tiniest of bows, a gesture that was not lost on anyone.
"Wendell won't be happy" Virginia mused aloud.
"No, but his place is here, with his people. I hope I can convince him of this. It'd be just like him to want to come after me. Thinks I need protecting all the time he does. Typical man" Scarlett answered, though Wolf could tell she wasn't really angry, but touched by his devotion to her.
"Still, he has a point of sorts. These are dangerous times Scarlett. Quite apart from the cold and snow, who knows what other manner of dangers now prowl the Kingdoms? Every creature is desperate for survival"
"I agree. Though I still have my few soldiers who escorted me here, and Wendell may lend me a few of his own men"
"He will I'm sure. But I'd still feel better if you had some...local help. You know, the kind who knows things that men may not" Virginia answered. Wolf felt another thrill of fear rush through him. Darn it, but he knew exactly what she was hinting at! For a second the two women stared at each other, communing silently on a single thought. Wolf could barely meet their dual gazes when they turned to face him. His wolf mind howled in protest as his human mind formed the words.
"Very well my love" he sighed. "If Scarlett is determined to go to this dragon, then yes, I'll go with her"
"I'm not asking Wolf..."
"You don't need to my beauty. You never need to"
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The carriage springs creaked as footmen and soldiers leapt on and off, securing the luggage and other necessities. Every creak felt like it was being echoed in Wendell's heart. She was leaving. Driving off into the worst weather anyone had ever known. Wendell had offered to send his whole beleagured army as an escort for her, but she had refused just as he'd known she would. Only her own men would she risk, she had said. And Wolf. How Virginia had persuaded him to undertake this mysterious journey he could not even guess. They had no friendship between them, Wolf and Scarlett. Wendell looked for his friend, but he had not yet appeared. Most likely still upstairs bidding Virginia farewell in the very manner Wendell wanted to do to Scarlett. He blushed at his traitorous thoughts, both cursing and welcoming the fact that they even existed in his life. He tried to picture in his mind Scarlett wearing a lavish wedding gown, walking down the aisle to meet him. Would she wear white, or red? But thinking about wedding days of course led his mind back to wedding nights...and darn it, here came the woman herself!
He knew he was entranced and probably rather dim witted looking as he stood at the base of the grand staircase watching her descend. She was graceful, no exaggerated moves, no glitches or stumbles. He admired her composure. She was wearing her traditional red, but it was a new style cloak that he'd not seen before. Scarlett saw him looking at it.
"Do you like it? It's a gift from Virginia and Lord Antony. Some strange fabric from their Kingdom, they say" she said as she reached the end of the stairs. Her maids bustled ahead of her, taking the last of her personal belongings out to the carriage. For a blessed minute, they were alone.
"Scarlett, my Queen...don't go" he whispered, feeling his voice catch. Lord but he must look like some lovelorn oaf!
"I have to, Wendell"
"No, you don't. You can stay with me. You can send someone else to do this, whatever you mean to do..." he stammered uncertainly. Partly the uncertainty lay in the fact that he knew, he could sense that Scarlett had more on her mind than simply returning to her own lands. She was full of secrets, but the gentleman in him refused to bully them from her.
"I need to go. I need to return to my lands. I don't trust my siblings, I don't like the rumours that have made their way here" she said softly but firmly.
"This can be your Kingdom now, my love" Wendell continued, daring to take her delicate hand in his own. But it was a foolish statement, as they both knew. Scarlett was, and forever would be, the Queen of the North Second Kingdom. Regardless of who she married, or even where she lived her days. The problems with ambitious relatives was not one that Wendell had ever had to deal with, but he believed her fears. Her brave changes and new laws would not have been welcomed by most, just as his hadn't been. Annoyingly, he was counselling himself with her own arguements, the same ones she had used when she had first told him of her plans a week ago. Someone brushed past them roughly.
"Come on then, lets get moving" Wolf said as he stomped out to the front doors. "We'll be lucky to make it ten miles before it starts dumping again" he added brusquely, peering up at the gray sky. Scarlett's maids were already ensconsed within the carriage, their solemn faces betraying their dismay at setting out in such horrid weather. Wendell wanted to cuss the silly women suddenly. Didn't they understand that this could be the weather for the rest of eternity? Wolf tossed his small satchel up onto the roof, where it landed with a much louder thunk than it's size indicated. Wendell wondered what he'd stowed in it. Probably food pilfered from the kitchens. He looked back enquiringly at Wendell and Scarlett.
"I'm going now" Scarlett whispered, her voice finally betraying her upset. Part of Wendell was crushed by her sudden tears, but another part of him responded with a strange brand of happiness. She weeps for us! Forgetting all their stifling royal customs, he took her in his arms, right there on the steps in full view of many. He kissed her mouth, not at all chastely, and she responded willingly. When he pulled back, they were both ruddy cheeked and gasping. Most of the passing courtiers and servants forgot to pretend they weren't looking. Wendell found that Scarlett's tear streaked grin matched his own.
"Be my..."
"...Happy Ever After" she finished for him. Then, in a great swirl of ruby cloak, she was gone from his arms. She took her seat in the carriage without a backwards glance and pulled her hood close over her face. Still on the ground, Wolf huffed and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'silly humans', but Wendell saw his friends face was also darkened with emotion. For a moment, anger crossed his features, bringing the lupine feralness to his stance. Wendell shivered involuntarily in response.
"Take...care of her, Wolf" he said softly. Wolf's woodland eyes bored into his as he turned to leap up to sit near the driver.
"As you will care for mine" he said shortly. He looked up to the windows above, mouthing a silent farewell to someone who undoubtedly stood there. Then the driver took up the reins and with a lurch the carriage moved off, leaving great trails from it's wheels as it rolled down the drive. Wendell ignored the biting cold until it was out of sight.
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Upstairs Virginia also stood watching the carriage disappear behind the curve of the road. Wolf's hidden anger and dismay seemed to trail after it like a thin wisp of steam to tug at her conscience. The truth was, Virginia would never have asked him outright to go with Scarlett. But totally observant creature that he was, she'd been unable to hide her thoughts from him. That didn't change that fact that he had still been unhappy about it. In the few days it had taken to get the expedition organised, he had wavered between an almost desperate need to be close to her, and a curious detachment. More than once Virginia had caught him staring at her with a vacant expression on his beautiful face. Others might have thought him cold and dangerous when he looked like that, but Virginia knew him better. It was a pragmatic side to him, a lupine mind at work behind his human visage.
This morning he'd been withdrawn, not even really taking an interest when she made those physical signals for him to lovemate with her. He sighed and fussed with the bedclothes, his eye fixed on his small satchel that he'd hung over the bedpost the night before in readiness. Virginia followed his gaze, wondering what he'd stowed in it. It was small but sturdy, and Wolf had politely refused to let her near it for days. She hesitated over asking about it but decided to let him keep his secrets. What manner of things could a half-wolf truly need anyway? Totally self sufficient as he was, he could either hunt down or steal whatever he needed. But Virginia had carefully stowed a light scarf of her own in the pocket of his long coat, a little something with her scent on it to lead him home again.
She rapped her knuckles against the glass, a reminder to herself not to dwell on such thoughts. Of course he would return. A little hand tugged on her skirts.
"Mama". Virginia reached down to pick Caelum up and balanced him on her hip. His fingers made grubby trails on the window glass as they stared out togther. Caelum's profile as she looked sideways at him was looking more like Wolf's by the day. He was growing quickly too, already a few inches taller than he had been at the beginning of winter. She watched his snubby nose twitch and turned to see another small shape flit past behind her.
"Alice, stay inside please" she said to the figure. Alice paused midstep and Virginia wondered whether she would challenge the request. Virginia recalled overhearing Wolf and the girl-cub arguing fiercely in their own language in the previous few days.
"She wants to come with me, to the Lake" Wolf had told her later.
"You can't possibly let her Wolf. This is no holiday for children or cubs"
"Yes, I know that, Virginia" Wolf had answered with a barely detectable note of annoyance. "But she's not my cub and she knows it. I've...impressed on her the need to follow her father's will in all matters, and since he is not here, she has little choice but to follow mine"
"And me?"
"Maybe. I don't know"
"But she's not a pure half-wolf. Surely the human gypsy blood will play some role in her life. As a human guardian, surely she will listen to me in some regard"
"It's the gypsy blood that's part of the problem, Virginia. Damned stubborn people, and smart too. She'll outwit you if she can. A half-wolf cub should not even begin to argue with her alphas" Wolf had concluded, his hand running over Virginia's hair and shoulders. Now, Virginia watched as Alice contemplated her with solemn eyes. She had claimed to have little memory of her strange dream, but Virginia now suspected otherwise. The girl blinked, withdrawing her gaze to the floor, and Virginia felt a moment of relief, knowing it to be a concession of sorts. Caelum twisted restlessly in her arms to be put down and Virginia sighed. Yet another charge who would need watching. Wendell had told her of his escapades when she and Wolf had left in search of a cure for her werewolf curse. She had feared the moon then, and now, as her hands caressed the bulge of her new child, she knew that she feared the Goddess again.
"Lucine" she whispered, "don't take my daughter".
Peace, child. All will be well.
Virginia half startled at the whisper, looking involuntarily around the room as if expecting the Goddess to materialise. There was no one there, of course. Only Wendell, who stood now at the door. His empty expression was the mirror of her own. He crossed to the window and fumbled for her hand. His own grip was icy.
"She'll be okay Wendell. Wolf will look after her" Virginia heard herself say.
"I hope so. But I just can't get the thought out of my head that my darling Queen has something more planned than a visit to straighten out her relatives. And it's such a dangerous time to be travelling. Who knows what might happen? I shouldn't have let her her go..." Wendell muttered, fussing at the curtains and wrinking them under his clenched fists. Virginia felt a pang of guilt at his ignorance, but it had been Scarletts call to make. Now, as she watched Wendell, she was glad he didn't know about the dragon. He would be out of the palace in a second if he knew.
"You could not have stopped her Wendell. Besides, would you have a weakling woman as your Queen? Isn't her strength of will what you admire in her? Besides, many things may happen that need not be bad things. Who knows, she might even stumble across some long dead legend driven out by the cold" Virginia said carefully, watching his expression. "Like a dragon or something" she added. Wendell merely smiled sadly at the sky.
"Then it would probably be the last of it's kind. No dragon-folk have flown over the Kingdom's since long before my father was born. I can't imagine my Scarlett ever finding one, or even if she believes in them"
Not the last.
"No, not the last" Virginia echoed the words unconsciously.
"Sorry? What was that you said?" Wendell asked her.
"I...I don't know, Wendell"
"Ah well, it would be a sight to see to be sure. My grandfather used to tell me tales that his father told to him, all about the dragon-folk and their wind dance amongst the clouds. And something about their firey breath..."
The Sacred Fire. A warm gust of air followed the words through the room.
"Well, those fine machines your father brought us from your Kingdom certainly seem to be working well today" Wendell said as he turned to go. He would go straight to the Mirror Room, Virginia guessed, to beg, plead or threaten the Mirrors to show him his Scarlett.
Later in the night, that warm air, man made or not gave her little comfort as she stared hard into the small room ajoining her own. Caelum snuffled in his blankets, his small hands reaching out in his sleep for another cub who was no longer there.