The Ice Storm

Chapter Twenty-nine

Virginia reached out just as Rhoswen and Scarlett's hands met and touched. The baby came easily into her arms, slipping into the safety of her grip as if she'd never left it. To Virginia it felt like a great void had been filled that she hadn't been aware of, or perhaps she was picking up on the welter of emotion going on around her. Either way, it didn't matter one jot. She had her baby back, safe and sound. She bent to kiss the soft skin of her daughter's forehead.

"She looks like you Virginia" someone whispered in her ear. Virginia smiled at Scarlett in agreement. Next to her friend, Rhoswen trembled and fought back tears as she clung to her sister. Virginia tried to meet her eyes, but the other woman turned her face away as if in shame. Virginia longed for a long quiet spell in some warm and friendly place, where all three of them could sit down and spend an afternoon talking. But as the pounding racket on the doors increased, she knew that time might never come. They had minutes, at best and someone else was demanding her attention. Her Wolf, still standing back as she'd told him to do lest the Princess be threatened into harming the child. Now the babe was safe, he still looked for all the world like he was frozen to the spot. Next to him, Wendell also hung back in confusion. It made Virginia laugh suddenly. Did they think they were intruding on secret women's business?

Well, perhaps they are! The disembodied voice floated though her mind, but Virginia did not startle at it. It was one she had heard before.

She got to her feet with effort, reminded of just how tired she was. Wolf met her halfway across the floor. Cold wind blew in through the hole in the hall roof, but there was something different about it. It was still bitingly chill, but the lethal magic that had been in it was gone, leaving only the normal weather of the season. It was mid-winter still, but all through the Kingdoms, people and animals were pausing, to stare at the sky and clouds and murmur to themselves. Yes, spring would indeed come again. Somehow, in their bones and hearts, they knew. All would be well.

Despite their predicament, Virginia couldn't help but beam her happiness, and all around she knew that others felt the same. Even her father was grinning as he went back to helping the wounded soldiers. A few wolfs even began to sing, their musical howls filling the hall and nearly drowning out the thousands of soldiers that even now began to pour through, weapons drawn.

Virginia felt Wolf draw her into the protective circle of his arms. Wendell had run to scoop Scarlett from her sisters embrace, pulling the three of them into the centre of the room. Doggedly, what men who remained of his guard formed a circle around them, spears and swords outward, bristling and ready to fight to the death. Fear warred with her elation finally, and Virginia found herself being pulled backwards by Wolf, further into the circle of fighters. A part of her wanted to just close her eyes and wait for the inevitable, and yet another part of her was completely calm, detached and waiting.

Metal clashed on metal. Rhoswen's voice was muffled. She was shouting aloud, trying to get the attacking armies attention. Stop, stop, she called, but none heeded her commands. It that sense, it was true, Virginia realised. Rhoswen really had been an outsider in her own home, a stranger who had been tolerated because of she who raised and taught her. But they would not follow her. They might not kill her now, but that would be little help to Virginia and her friends.

As the fighting pressed closer to them, Virginia became aware of yet another familiar voice. She craned her neck, trying to spot him in the crowd, and sure enough his shock of white hair gave his position away. Her heart leapt to find that Yacobe still lived in spite of what Rhoswen had said otherwise. He too was shouting at the top of his lungs, in both wolfen and the human tongue. He had found an unbroken chair from somewhere and Virginia watched as he clambered up on it. He made a tempting target for those few of Wendell's men who had arrows, but it didn't stop him from trying to get everyones attention.

Dimly his words filtered through the crowd. Moonshadow child, moonshadow child! Was he pointing at her?

Moonshadow child? Virginia wondered. There he went again with that superstitious nonsense! There was no moonshadow child, especially not here in her arms...

Virginia looked down at her daughter as if to reassure herself, but found herself gaping in shock. Her daughter was gone!

Instead, a tiny wolf cub lay quietly in her arms. Not a half wolf cub, nor even a quarter, but a whole and full bred cub! The cub mewed and squirmed, little clawed feet kneading the fabric of Virginia's shirt. The cubs lids opened a fraction, staring upwards with eyes that were the exact same shape and shade as...

Mother?

Virginia tore her gaze away for a moment, seeing that they stood directly under the hole in the roof of the hall now, down into which the full moon was shining. Virginia stared at the moon, then back at her...daughter...then back to the moon again. Was that laughter she heard? We couldn't remove the taint from the child, Virginia. Instinctively, Virginia drew her cloak tightly around herself, in effect forming a heavy shadow that shielded the baby from the moonlight. And, just as she suspected, when she peered down into the shadow, there was her daughter once more, looking all too human again.

Moon...shadow...child. Against all her better judgement, Virginia laughed. If this was some great cosmic joke, then she ought to be joining in on it, shouldn't she? She muscled out of Wolf's grip to move into the moonlight again. Sure enough, with a faintly detectable tremor and a visually disturbing twist of the air, the child morphed from human babe to wolf cub. Virginia stared at the perfectly formed paws, wincing at the remembered pain she'd felt whenever she'd stepped into the moonlight during her preganancy.

"Well, no wonder" she mused quietly. Wolf heard her murmuring though, and let his attention drift over to them for a second. Virginia thought the expression on his face priceless.

"What the..." he muttered, scratching furiously at his temple.

"Watch" said Virginia, drawing the cloak back over the infant, folding a small piece of it aside to reveal the little human foot peeping out.

"Huff puff!" said Wolf into the sudden stillness that seemed to envelope the room.

It was such a change in the noise level that it took a few seconds for Virginia's ears to stop ringing. All around her, men stood gasping for breath and wolves panted, and the half wolfs did both. All were exhausted, most were wounded, but all were staring in silence at her daughter. Men with the livery of the Ice Kingdom stood side by side with men from the Fourth Kingdom, weapons forgotten. They seemed frozen in a parody of what the Ice Storm would have done had it been unleashed. But someone was moving, pushing through the ranks of soldiers one by one. His gold rimmed blue eyes were fixed on Virginia's as he approached.

Right to within an arms reach Yacobe came to stand before her. There was a look of both wonder and pride on his face as to her surprise he knelt suddenly at her feet. But no, not at her feet, surely. At those of her daughter, her werewolf tainted, Goddess born child. The moonshadow child.

One by one, the Eighth Kingdom soldiers followed his example. Those wolfs and half wolfs in Wendell's troops also lowered their heads or knelt in deference. Glancing over at Wendell himself, Virginia saw him with something of a muddled expression on his face, but then he just shrugged and joined Scarlett and Rhoswen who were on their knees, hand in hand all the while. With a pang, Virginia knew just how Wendell felt. In this Kingdom, where humans were the minority, she simply had no insight into what her child meant to the people. But she had a feeling she would be learning all those things very soon, and more.

Someone was speaking or were they singing? Yacobe reached out to run a gentle finger across the cheek of the baby, and Virginia could tell that Wolf was still in shock because he let him do so with barely a growl.

"Behold, the Moonshadow child" said Yacobe. "The one long promised us from the Goddess Lucine, the one who will at last bring peace between the wolf and man, a thing that many have attempted but none have so far succeeded. Your daughter is truly blessed by the Goddess, Virginia. We would honour both you and her, as the Goddess wishes it." Then he paused to stand once more. There was a note of half command, half mystical plea in his voice. "We are your people now"

There was a low chorus of agreement from the crowd. Virginia stood, dumbfounded at the reaction. We are your people? What did they mean? Virginia was afraid she understood exactly what they meant. Wolf was at her side, his arm curled protectively around her, a comforting prescence that she wanted to cling to. Me? No, I can't be trusted with any power. Look at what happened to my mother, surely you can't mean what you say. All those thoughts and more whirled through her head.

You are destined for great things, Virginia. Snow-white spoke softly in her ear.

She'll do very well indeed. This was Ruby Riding Hood now.

I was but a peasant girl before I became a Queen. Gretel patted her arm.

Virginia knew better than to look for them, and she knew that she alone heard their words. The Circle of Sisters surrounded her with warmth and love.

We've kept a seat here for you, you know.

Her daughters eyes caught her own, mesmerizing almost with their depth and innocence. The curve of a dimpled cheek suggested a smile. Just for a while, mother? Will you help my people, and become who you were destined to be, as I will? A great calm swept the room as Virginia agreed. Weapons were cast aside, those who were once enemies turned to help one another. Gradually, movement and speech returned, softly as the wounded were tended, the dead reclaimed and bourn away with honour. Wolves howled from high battlements, spreading the word. By daybreak, all lupine folk would know that their long awaited child had been born and the promise fulfilled.

But amid the activity stood a small circle of friends and family, and within them Virginia stood in a circle of her own. The moon shone down from the ruined roof and Lucine bathed the mother and child with silver, and as Virginia gathered her daughter close to her breast, a light rain of sparkling stars rained down on them from the night sky above.

And so the long and celebrated reign of the Moonshadow Child began.