Chapter 10

Reacquainted

Vanessa sat against the wall, with her legs spread, staring blankly at her best friend's frozen body. Derek stood on the other side, gazing out the window. The two did not speak for about an hour. Vanessa did not even see Derek turn around to look at Aria. She herself, was not sure what to think. If she cried, she felt that would mean Aria was gone for good. Vanessa refused to let herself cry.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Vanessa barely turned her head to see the queen enter the room. Vanessa had been wondering when this queen would kick her and Derek out of the castle. That seemed inevitable.

"Um…" Queen Sahrissa began, hesitantly. "The king and queen of Galatia have requested that their daughter's body be returned to their kingdom."

Her body? She's not dead! Vanessa wanted to scream, but instead she merely nodded and asked quietly, "What's going to happen to us?"

"If you wish to return home, I can provide you transportation to the lake," Sahrissa suggested. "I would suggest you keep torches around you at all times for safety. Of course, you can stay here as long as you need…"

"My queen," a guard entered the room and announced, "Galatia has officially declared war on this Ice Queen. The king asks if you wish to form an alliance."

"We can't fight her." Sahrissa looked at him and sighed dolefully. "Tell the guards anyone who wants to join the fight is welcome to."

Derek turned around with a stoic expression. "I'm going to fight."

Vanessa gasped. "Have you lost your mind? You're likely end up frozen too! I think we should just go home and get help. Maybe the fairies…"

"What good are the fairies going to do?" Derek demanded, hotheadedly. "Have you not seen Myrtle lately?"

Vanessa walked over towards him. "And you think you can defeat her by fighting? Derek, you're not thinking clearly. We need a plan."

Derek pounded his fist to the wall and glanced at Aria. "Who's usually the one that comes up with the rescue plans?"

Vanessa sighed sadly, but then had a sudden thought. "Well, if not Aria then what about Kendal?"

Derek snorted. "Kendal already declared an alliance with the Ice Queen. She's not going to help us against her."

"That was before the Ice Queen attacked Aria!" Vanessa shouted back. "She'll see things differently now. I know she will!"

"Have you forgotten Kendal was on the way to becoming the next Evil Queen?" He glanced at Sahrissa and added, awkwardly, "No offense."

"She hasn't done anything evil yet," Vanessa argued.

Derek flung his hands up. "We still don't even know if she really killed that Becket guy!"

"She didn't," Sahrissa interjected before Vanessa could say anything. "I was the one that killed Becket." She looked down and explained more quietly, "I was hoping you all would think Kendal did it so…"

Vanessa actually felt a sudden hope from what the queen said. "See? We haven't completely lost her. I'm going to Bellaire."

Derek shrugged. "If you want to waste your time that's fine. I'm going to Galatia."

Derek mumbled a goodbye to Vanessa before taking his leave. She did not want to think about whether she would ever see him again anytime soon. Vanessa knew she had to try and focus for Aria's sake.

Sahrissa strolled over towards the window and gazed outside. Vanessa cautiously stepped towards her and asked, "You were willing to provide me transportation back to the lake. Is it possible you can get me to Bellaire instead?"

The queen turned to face her but did not answer.

Vanessa held her hands up and said quickly, "I promise I'm not trying to form some alliance against you. I just want to save my friend."

Sahrissa looked at her and sighed. "I'll give you transportation to Bellaire if you desire, but I would not count on your friend, Kendal, to fight against an enemy of mine."

"She will," Vanessa insured her. "She cares about Aria more than she hates you. I'm sure of that."

Sahrissa nodded and said. "Our carriages all now have torches attached to the outside. Make sure your driver keeps them lit the entire journey. Also, do not step foot outside the carriage until you are safely inside the kingdom. If the Ice Queen herself happens to be there, I suggest you do your best in fooling her to thinking you're there to support Queen Kendal."

"Okay." Vanessa took all this in and then looked up at the queen. "Thank you. I really appreciate this. Why are you being so nice all of the sudden?"

"I'm not." The queen turned back to face the window and let out a hefty breath. "I just don't believe there is anything anyone can do to stop my stepmo… the Ice Queen from getting what she wants."

"What is that?" Vanessa asked, taking a moment to consider what Sahrissa almost called this woman.

Sahrissa turned and met her eyes, answering simply, "Me."

xXx

Kendal sat in a small room in the castle, she used for private meetings, with Tatia. The maiden sat with her hands properly folded on her lap. Her frozen eyes gazed blankly passed Kendal. A faint crying occurred in the background.

"So what exactly does the Ice Queen want me to do?" Kendal asked her.

The crying grew louder.

"My mother needs to get close to Sahrissa," Tatia explained, "but Sahrissa always seems to suspect when she is coming and has her defenses prepared. If you can get her close enough to Sahrissa, then she can finish her off."

The wailing grew even louder. Kendal found it difficult to think of how. It's not as though Sahrissa would let her anywhere near her presence.

"I can imagine it's rather hard to think with that incessant wailing going on," Tatia commented, taking a sip of her tea.

"I'm sorry," Kendal said. "It's the princess. I think she misses her father."

"She's just like her mother," Tatia pointed out. "When she was that age, she would never stop crying either. Sometimes it would go on throughout the night. Rather bothersome, really."

Kendal looked at her for a moment but was not sure what to say. How could someone speak so coldly of her own sister who passed away?

She instead, got up and said, "I'm going to try to see if I can calm her. I'll be right back."

Kendal went into the princess's room and found the little infant wailing in her cradle. Her face had turned bright red. Kendal scooped her up.

"There, there," she said, gently, rocking the baby. "I know you miss your father but I promise I'll find a way to wake him up soon."

As the sobbing lessoned, Kendal set Princess Annabelle back in the cradle. She lifted her hand and formed a white ball, letting it float above the princess. She playfully reached for it.

"You see?" Kendal said with a smile. "It's snow, not ice. I even made it so it's not cold."

The princess batted the snowball with both hands and giggled. Kendal smiled and stroked her forehead.

"You're skin's so fair, almost like snow," Kendal commented and then gasped a heavy breath as a sharp realization struck her. She knew how stories in this fairy tale world worked. It hit her just who this princess could be the next Snow White, and that would make her…

Kendal ran out of the room. She felt her breaths tightening by each moment.

Tatia had stepped out in the hallway and asked, "Are you coming back?"

"In a moment," Kendal panted, not even bothering to stop. "I just need some air."

"It's really cold out there," Tatia called, but Kendal barely heard her.

Once Kendal got outside, she tore her cloak off. The cold did not bother her the least. Kendal leaned against the wall, still breathing heavily. Her dress felt as though it were suffocating her. Despite the cold weather, Kendal felt as though she were starting to sweat.

"My queen." One of her counselors approached her and said, "You have a visitor."

"No," Kendal stammered in short breaths, shaking her head. "No visitors… Not now."

"She claims it's urgent," he insisted.

"I said not…" Kendal tried to say, but she felt her chest tightening. "Just …get rid…"

"Kendal!"

Kendal's short breaths stopped for a moment as she saw the visitor was Vanessa. Though she did not appear happy, Kendal did not care. She rushed over to give her friend a hug.

"I'm so glad you're here," Kendal said, as she pulled out of the embrace.

"Were you having a panic attack?" Vanessa asked, looking concerned.

Kendal waved her hand, trying to appear perfectly calm. "What? No, of course not. I'm fine." She sighed realizing she was not all that convincing and added in a whisper, "I'll tell you more inside, when we're alone."

Vanessa nodded but did not say anything.

"So why did you come here?" Kendal asked, looking past her. "Where's Aria?"

Vanessa sighed, her head falling down. "Aria is actually the reason I came." She looked up and met her friend's eyes. "Kendal, something terrible has happened."