The Ice Storm
Chapter Three.
With much whispering and worried stares, Scarlett's welcome feast had finally broken up. Upstairs, in their suite of rooms, Virginia was watching Wolf pace back and forth across the carpet. He was still bristling, all the hair on his neck and hackles standing to attention. He'd left the hall shortly after the emissary had departed and had only just returned. Clearly he had been outside, probably making sure the stranger had really left, Virginia thought. She put out a hand to stop his pacing, drawing him down to sit with her on the sofa.
"Wolf, stop to-ing and fro-ing. You're making me dizzy!" she said, patting down his back crest. He smiled at her, but his thoughts were far away.
"Sorry, lamb"
"It's okay. Tell me about this 'messenger' that's gotten you so worked up. He was a wolf, wasn't he?"
"Oh yes, he is a wolf certainly, but a ghost wolf, Virginia"
"A ghost wolf?"
"Yes. It's been many many generations since one has been seen outside of the Eigth Kingdom"
"Tell me about them"
"Well, they are a northern kindred to what most folk would call my people. They broke away from the main family lines and disappeared into the snowy wastes. This is a thing that has happened before amongst our kind, that's why wolf's from the south might look and behave a little different from wolf's of the northern or eastern Kingdoms. But we're all still wolf's together, you know?"
"Yes, I understand. In the Tenth Kingdom, wolf's live on two different continents, Europe and North America. They have been so long apart that they have some differences, but they're still the same species"
"Thats it, just the same with us. Anyway, as I said, very little contact has been made with those who went to live in the snow. They all have this white fur, like other creatures of that landscape. They are very strong, capable, fierce fighters. After a few generations, we began to call them 'ghost wolf's' because of the fur and the way they could suddenly seem to appear from nowhere"
"And now it seems they have allied themselves with the Ice Queen"
"That's the strangest part, Virginia. I can't imagine why they would do that. No wolf community would form itself into such a unified front, especially for the human cause of world domination!" Wolf replied with heat. Virginia almost laughed. Well, he was right on one account. World domination was indeed a very human cause. She reached to caress the worry line between his brows and she felt him relax under her touch.
"You didn't like him being here, did you? As a wolf, I mean. Was it like he was invading your territory? Even if he had come on good terms, would it have been that way?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so my dear. I suppose I've come to think of this great pile of stone as my patch. Huh, who would have guessed it? Besides, I didn't like the way he looked at you, Virginia"
"He just glanced at me"
"With his eyes maybe, but with his whole body and all his other senses, he stared at you"
"I think you imagined it, Wolf" Virginia responded, but she was unsure suddenly. Wolf shook his head, with a great yawn settling over him. He looked tired, Virginia thought.
"Go to sleep. Tomorrow, if the snow stops, I want to go see Hera again" she said, kissing his stubble covered cheek.
"Very well love" Wolf said, pulling off his boots and tossing clothes all over the floor. Soon, he stood naked in front of their small fireplace. He lifted his grey flecked tail to comb out the knots and kinks in it. "Hope my winter coat grows in soon. I actually felt cold out there today!" His eyes ran over her suggestively.
"I'll join you later Wolf. I want to go for a walk. All that rich food has upset my stomach I think" Virginia said, knowing it to be true. She did feel ill. Silently she wondered if the pregnancy could be making her sick, but it was too soon yet. Besides, she'd hardly felt any morning sickness with Caelum. Wolf raised his eyebrows at her, but did not comment as he slid into their giant feather stuffed bed. Virginia doubted that he would be asleep when she returned, no matter how tired he was.
On the way back downstairs she passed both Wendell's and Scarlett's doors, both well attended by guards and servants. At this late hour, the common rooms and corridors were all but deserted, dim torchlight flickering over the walls graced with portraits. Virginia stopped to look at a painting of Snow-white holding her son on her lap. A passing maid stopped to enquire if Virginia needed anything.
"Thank you, but I can fetch for myself. But I am thirsty. Is there any juice still in the kitchens?". After following the maid to the vast kitchen, Virginia took her tall glass to the back doorway to look out on the night. Snow covered gardens and pathways led in all directions, broken up only by hedges and stone walls. For the first time in weeks, the moon shone down from breaks in the cloud cover. Virginia found herself wandering the paths. Wendell's rose arbour was one of her favourite places, but now the long stems groaned under the weight of the ice clinging to them. Putting down her empty glass, Virginia brushed away the snow from the roses, looking on with pleasure as the great blooms sprang back to colour and life under her touch. It was strangely symbolic, Virginia thought. Let the Ice Queen dump as much killing snow as she liked. Underneath there would always be survivors, even if they were only humble roses.
The near silent crunch betrayed him, or perhaps he had meant for her to hear it. In the corner of her vision, only the pale gleam of his eyes gave his position away. He was close enough that Virginia could feel the warm gusts of his breath. Virginia saw that he had shed his long cloak and hood, along with his boots. Instead, he wore barely anything at all, just a simple loincloth of leather into which were stowed several implements. The white hair that had stood out so starkly in Wendell's ballroom flowed down to mingle with white fur that covered his whole back and most of his legs and arms. As she looked into his all too human face, Virginia saw that the blue irises of his eyes were bordered by a bright gold circle. In many ways, he looked more 'wolf' than her Wolf. Yacobe inclined his head towards her, breaking the almost hypnotic trance Virginia had fallen into.
"So, it is true" he said, so quietly that Virginia barely heard him. Virginia herself was beyond words. He reached for her hand, catching it easily despite her trying to pull away. He brought it close to his face and Virginia wondered if he would bite her. But he only held it to his nose. When he released her hand, Virginia sprang backwards as though released by a catapult. She stumbled into the rose bushes, felt them catch her fall. A stray beam of moonlight, escaping the clouds, shone down into the garden. Virginia was sorely tempted to scream as sudden bands of pain encircled her, but her breath was being constricted to tiny gasps. Yacobe stepped back himself now, his eye's narrowing in what looked like alarm. "Ah..sss...get you inside, at once!" he spoke rapidly, gesturing at the ground. Virginia followed his gaze, seeing then the blood. Great fat drops of blood steaming in the snow.
"Wha..." she gasped finally. Yacobe shook his head. Then he stepped back again and lifted his head to howl. There was instant commotion from within the Castle. Across the gardens, lights suddenly came on in many windows. Yacobe came forward to kneel in the slush before her. He reached to touch her brow lightly.
"Farewell, beloved of Lucine" he said, simply and yet with many hidden undertones. Virginia, breathing around the pain, managed to nod her head at the strange wolf. Then, he was simply gone, melting away into the darkness, barely a trace to show his passage. Running feet came towards her, men with torches hurrying to and fro. A dark figure sprang out. Virginia had been lifted before she had time to recognize Willem as her rescuer. He bore her away towards the Castle. Looking back over his shoulder, Virginia saw the trail of blood she left behind them.
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Wendell tied the belt of his nightrobe tightly around his waist one more time. His fingers found a stray thread and pulled it loose absently. Not for the first time in an hour, he cursed the fact that he had been born a man. But behind those closed doors, no man, not even a King, would ever be admitted. Wolf, sitting crosslegged on the floor directly opposite the doors had been surprisingly mute through the whole unpleasant ordeal. But then he could likely hear all the conversation anyway. Beside Wendell, his castellan Rupert shifted his weight from foot to foot. Wendell had dismissed all but Rupert from his side once it was known Virginia had been found. Tony sat slumped in a chair a little way up the hall.
That howl an hour ago had woken all the wolfen people in the Castle. Wendell had sat up in his bed in alarm. Someone had been pounding on his door. Virginia was outside. Virginia was in trouble! Guards had roused themselves, but it was a wolf that had found her. Willem, running through the dim corridors, the small form of Virginia in his arms.
"Send for the midwife!" was all that he had said to Wendell. For a moment, Wendell had stood confused. A midwife? But Virginia was not due for many months yet. Then he realised, but wished he had not. Suddenly, Willem had been swarmed by women from all sides. Midwives, old crones, maids and even Queens. Scarlett had looked at him blankly as the doors swung closed behind her. That had been an hour ago. Wolf had appeared, all his teeth showing and half dressed, but he had quieted at his brother's soft words. Now he sat, mostly silent but for his lips moving from time to time. Wendell wondered if he prayed, and to whom.
Suddenly Wolf sat foward intently. The door swung back and an old midwife, the very one who had delivered Wendell, in fact, came out hestitantly. She bobbed her head to Wendell.
"She has lost some blood, your Majesty. It happens sometimes"
"And the...?" Wendell couldn't say it aloud all of a sudden.
"I feel the babe is safe, your Majesty. The bleeding and the pain have stopped, quite quickly, so she has a good chance of delivering a healthy infant come summer time. But we will have to wait out the next few days to be sure, your Majesty" she continued. Wendell felt the tingle of warmth coming back into his cheeks at the news. So, all was not lost, just yet. Wolf was on his feet now, but he waited for the midwife's nod before he pushed past her into the room. Wendell spoke to the old woman.
"My thanks to you, good woman"
"Nay, in truth I could have done little for her had the time come, your Majesty. But I will certainly advise her and care for her. There are many things that can help a woman with a hasty babe in the womb. I will stay close by, if you wish it"
"I do, and thank you again. Ah, please, was the Lady Virginia injured in some way? You know, that might have caused this? I understand that she was accosted in the garden by that so called 'emissary' of the Ice Queen. Did he...do anything to her?"
"No, your Majesty. She seems unhurt, just a few scratches from the roses. He didn't harm her, and she has said as much to me" the woman said, yawning and rubbing her wrinkled hands. Wendell dismissed her with a bow, making her blush with pleasure. When she had gone, he turned to Will, who had remained outside the room.
"Hmm, what do you make of this?"
"The way's of ghost wolf's are strange, Wendell. I cannot presume to guess what he might have wanted, nor why he would risk so much to approach her. We can only be glad that he did not harm her, as he could so easily have done"
"Is he gone from here, do you think?"
"Yes, I would say so. He has delivered his 'messages'. I had to get Virginia back to the Castle, so I could not spend the time to track him, and now he has a good lead, even for a wolf" Will replied. Wendell glanced over at Tony, meeting his eyes, then back to Wolf's brother.
"Do you think you could track such a creature?" he asked Will.
"Certainly. He has a way to go before he reaches his home territory, and I can move just as swiftly"
"Good. Then, if you feel up to it, I think you should do just that. I want to know more about these white wolf's. If the Ice Queen is seeking to use them as her army, then the more we know about their habits and numbers the better for us. And yet, if they are her soldiers, surely Virginia would be lying torn to pieces tonight, and I don't why that is. I cannot doubt that the Ice Queen knows about Virginia and her status in the Kingdoms. To lose her would be a blow to us, and not just because we love her".
"I will do it. It will only take a short while to prepare. I think I should go alone, but I am concerned to leave my cub alone"
"I'm sure Wolf and Virginia will look after her, and I'll see to it personally that she is protected. But I don't like to send you into danger Willem. I don't like sending anyone, and you're only recently recovered from that arrow wound". Will raised the bandaged hand and waved it around. Wendell felt sure that Wolf's older brother had a certain mischievious gleam in his eyes and he was reminded of the well documented wolfish love of adventure and sneakiness. No doubt the ghost wolf Yacobe had enjoyed his role in the escapade just as much.
Wendell nodded briefly and stepped back as Will hurried away to make his preparations. Interesting questions indeed. And perhaps the Ice Queen had just as many questions for her servant Yacobe.