The Ice Storm
Chapter Seven
"Good morning Scarlett" Virginia said as the door to her suite swung open. The tall blond woman, Queen of the Northern Second Kingdom, paused just momentarily at the entrance. Just long enough for her to scan the room for Wolf, thought Virginia with a hidden smile. He had gone out already, as she knew, but she gave no sign to Scarlett to indicate it. After a second the Queen came further into the room, evidently satisfied that no one was about to jump out from behind a door and frighten her, as Wolf had done more than once. Virginia was often amused at the developing relationship between Wolf and Scarlett. Wolf too often hid his disdain of her in exhuberant displays of either playfulness or barbing commentry. Scarlett, in turn, did her best to try and pretend that his behaviour didn't bother her one bit. Both served only to make each others reactions worse, of course. Virginia felt that surely one day they'd be at each other, and then they might be able to work together afterwards. Maybe they both knew that as well, but so far they seemed determined to avoid saying what they really wanted to say.
Scarlett returned Virginia's smile. "Good morning to you, Virginia. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, much better since my father got those generators up and running. Pretty much the whole Castle is heated now, he says, although it's going to take constant maintenance to keep them running. He's been back and forth from New York fetching fuel and heaters all week"
"It's quite amazing, this technology you have. I think it will save many many lives this winter, Virginia. And you say that Lord Antony can get more of these, machines, is that the word?" Scarlett replied. Virginia did not miss the point. Scarlett was worried about her home, her own people. If snow was indeed falling even as far south as the First Kingdom, Virginia could only imagine what it would be like in the north, so close to the centre of the storm. She nodded at Scarlett to reassure her.
"Oh yes, definately we can get more. All we need is some way of getting them to the people who need them" Virginia said, but in reality she knew that that could prove to be the most difficult aspect. The snow and freezing ice had scarcely stopped for weeks now. All of the smaller roads were blocked, and many of the larger travelways were becoming harder and harder to traverse. In not much time at all, the Kingdoms would be cut off, both internally, and from each other. Of Wendell's invitations, only Scarlett and Cinderella had so far attended. The elf that Wolf had found had indeed been carrying a baton with a message from Leaf-fall. The Fairy Kingdom itself was beseiged by the killing cold, and none of their usually magically gifted folk had been able to lift the Ice Queen's spell. Since it was too cold for flying, they would attempt to send a party to Castle White overland, but as yet no one had arrived. Queen Gretchen, Scarlett's co-ruler, had also sent an emmisary, as well as a private letter for Scarlett.
"She wants to know what's going on up in Red Riding Hood Forest" Scarlett said, proffering the letter. "She's had 'interesting' rumours come her way in recent weeks. Something about the City now being open to wolf people. Many wolf packs have taken up the invitation, apparently, she says" Scarlett continued. Virginia looked at her closely. Though she was well aware of the changes that Scarlett had put in place before coming down here, she was curious to see if Scarlett still had misgivings over them. As the woman stood there fidgeting with the paper, it seemed that she did.
"You did the right thing, Scarlett"
"Oh, I know so, in my heart, but, I have to worry. The people, my people, it's too soon for them to accept it fully...I worry that they will ignore the ruling, that I won't have a Kingdom to return to. I have many relatives who would be happy enough to step into my shoes"
"I think your people will have enough to worry about, Scarlett, if this ice storm continues. It's all very well to keep the peoples from freezing if they then starve afterwards. How will Gretchen and her people fare, do you think? It's a pity that she couldn't come here to Castle White. I would have liked to meet her"
"Oh I doubt she would have come here even in high summer. Gretchen, as with all in her family, have an ingrained fear of leaving home, like they'll become lost and never find it again. As for her towns and villages, well, normally the autumn harvest would have filled the warehouses by now. But all the fields are covered and the grain frozen in the fields. They'll just have to go without their beloved gingerbread for a while, I fear" Scarlett replied, rubbing at her forehead. She sank rather ungraciously into one of the lounge chairs. Wolf's favourite too, thought Virginia with amusement. Both of them turned at a small tap on the door. It was Wendell. Virginia thought he had not wasted a second of decent time before following Scarlett to here. Probably had advisors and spies watching her every move and planning small moments when they could be alone together. Well, almost alone, if Virginia and the two cubs who had just appeared could be discounted. Caelum toddled over to Wendell, but Virginia noticed that Alice withdrew into the drapes along the window, hiding herself. Virginia smiled at the girl to reassure her, but she did not leave her shadowy corner.
"Virginia...umm, Scarl...I mean, Queen Scarlett, of course..." began Wendell awkwardly. He blushed furiously whilst the two women laughed at him.
"Oh, I think you can dispense with the courtly manners in here, Wendell. It's not as though we're on public display" Virginia said to him.
"Oh sure, for now maybe, but I know that even now some little tattle tale is on their way to Scarlett's people, telling them that the King has sought to be alone with their Queen...again!" he retorted. Scarlett laughed again from her chair.
"Probably true, my love, but you of all people must know how these things work!" she said airily. Virginia watched as her mind caught up with what she had just said. My love, of all things! Wendell just stood gaping at her. Virginia smiled and snapped her fingers under his nose.
"Did you have a real reason for coming to see me this morning?" she asked the spellbound King.
"Oh...oh yes, a real reason, actually. Queen Cinderella wants to speak with you, Virginia. With Scarlett and myself as well. I have had tidings today from some of the other Kingdoms as well. We should sit down together, you know. Something, some plan, will have to be formed. We can't just sit idle whilst the Ice Queen tightens her death hold on us". Wendell's blue eyes bored into Virginia's as he spoke. Virginia found that she did not really like the trust she saw there. What on earth was he expecting her to be able to do? Were they all? For a moment the panic crested. I'm not the one. I can't work any magic. I can't be trusted with power.
The door clicked shut and Virginia came back to the present. They had left, Scarlett and Wendell. Caelum played on the rug, pulling apart the loose threads with his deft little fingers. Virginia went to sit with him, mussing his dark curls, so like Wolf's. A rustling of the drapes revealed Alice. Virginia looked her over thoughtfully.
"What have you seen, little Alice?" she asked quietly, more to herself than the cub. A corner of the girl's mouth slid upwards.
"It doesn't matter, Lady. What matters now is what she has seen"
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Wolf dropped the reins of his horse as he reached the outskirts of the disenchanted forest. It had been hard going for the horse, with deep drifts and treacherous ice, but as much as he disliked riding, Wolf knew he needed to be prudent. On foot, he have scarcely been half way there by now. At least under the eaves of the treeline, the snow was much less, though it was no warmer. A few birds twittered from high branches. Hungry, hungry, worms all gone, they seemed to say. Within an hour of traversing the forest, the trees became too thick for the horse to continue, so Wolf doubled back to the forest road to tether it there and continue on foot. Though he had no particular destination in mind, Wolf found himself unconciously seeking those invisible wolf boundaries that made up the half-wolf packs territories who lived in the forest. The scents of many stranger wolf's lay over and across the boundaries, he soon discovered. It was not unexpected, given the rough conditions, but he hoped that the human aspects of charity to those in need would prevail. The last thing he wanted was fighting and possible killings within the wolfen people as they felt the pinch of the long winter. Thankfully, the disenchanted forest was typically well stocked with game, and wolfs knew how to manage with little to live on.
A rustling, a polite way of letting on he was being approached stirred the close air. A soft voice in wolfen.
"Warden" The speaker was the half she-wolf Wendy, who had attended Caelum's blooding two months ago. Wolf turned to greet her as she stepped from behind a tree. She looked tired, and overly wary too. She stroked her throat softly, an unconcious gesture used between half wolfs who knew each other. It was an acknowledgement of status and Wolf accepted it seriously, even though it made him uneasy suddenly. His hand moved to grip her jaw lightly before releasing it.
"You look well" he lied.
"I do not, Lucian. But I am as well as I can be, given the world as it is"
"What has been happening in here?" Wolf asked, gesturing to the surrounding trees. All of a sudden, he felt ashamed that he had not come here sooner. He was their Warden, was he not?
"The killing snow has driven many into places they would not normally go, and many think that they should not go there. You know the places I mean?" she responded. Wolf did know where she meant. Dark, magic places, where the rules of the world did not often apply. Trees walked and spoke, stars rested in pools, gods and goddesses danced. So it was said. Dangerous places. It made his skin crawl to think of ignorant humans and others blundering through these forbidden places. He said a silent prayer to the forest, bidding it to have tolerance of these incursions, at least until someone could figure out how to stop the Ice Queen. Not that anyone had come up with a plausible idea yet.
"I'm sorry. I haven't been doing a good job here, have I?" he asked, knowing the truth of it.
"Nay, do not take it all upon yourself. Who can stop the very seasons? Can anyone?"
"This is not a normal season gone wrong. It's a magic, a spell set on us by someone who desires only death and dominion over others"
"She has tried it before, and always we have been able to repell her"
"Yes, that was because she has sent forth things that we can fight. Flesh and blood. Soldiers and those huge warrior peoples she controls. None of them have shown themselves yet"
"They wait until her snow has done it's work. Till we are weakened and scattered and defenceless"
"Aye"
"Pity we could not mount an offensive of our own"
"You mean wolfs, together? It's never been done, Wendy"
"No, not yet. But it might be worth thinking about, yes?" she responded. Wolf looked at her closely, thinking. Wolfs and half-wolf's working together as one unit. What an, unnatural idea. And yet his human sensibilities were jumping up and down with approval at the suggestion. A wolf army. The possibilities were endless, once you thought about it, he realised. Wolfen people had so many physical advantages over human soldiers, who made up the bulk of armed forces in the Kingdoms. His mind ran away with the visions of wolf's marching together, surrounding the Ice Palace and bringing it down. But there was one major hitch in the plan, one that Wendy and others were most likely ignorant of. Wolf gazed at her again, wondering. Should he tell what he knew? He chewed his upper lip, undecided.
"The humans are meeting today, in King Wendell's palace"
"Perhaps it's a thing that could be raised. Coming from the right person, they may like what they hear". Wolf nodded his head in agreement, though inwardly he doubted if any human would sanction the creation of such an army. Officially anyway.
"I will attend this meeting, at any rate. Maybe another solution will present itself. There is a great deal of magical ability and other resources that the other peoples can use, after all"
"True enough. But surely if there were such a counter-spell, it would have been used by now, don't you think?" Wendy said. Wolf found again that he agreed with her summation. And logically, if there was no solution to the freezing spell, then the only real option left was to destroy the one who cast it. Wendy turned her head back to the trees, and Wolf knew she sought her mate's scent. Her belly, swelling with the new life, caught his eye, making him think of his own new cub and the troubled world it would be born into. As she moved to go, he called out softly.
"Take care Wendy. Do your best. I will return as soon as I can, or send word of what is decided". Wendy paused and nodded back to him. "And, your idea...talk to others about it. Let me know what they think" Wolf added cautiously. Well, it wouldn't hurt to know how such a thing might be received. And it was a long way between thoughts and actually acting on something, usually.
Alone again, Wolf trudged back through the clumps of snow and ice, heading towards the road. The tree where he had tethered his horse was exactly where he had left it. Except for the missing horse. It's bridle lay twisted on the road. Wolf sighed. It didn't take much scouting around to discover the facts. The horse was gone, led away into the forest. Nose to the ground, it was easy to read the signs. To a human they might look just like the tracks of bare feet, but Wolf knew the differences. Half-wolf's had stolen his horse. Young ones, probably a loose knit pack of new fanged juveniles. Wolf stood up from the ground, scratching his head. Ordinarily, he should by rights follow them and give them a good thrashing for their temerity. They would certainly have been aware of who the rider of the horse was, yet they had taken the risk anyway. Wolf smiled softly. Well, he could remember doing similar things when he was a youngster. He had little doubts over the fate of the horse though.
"Don't you cubs waste a single scrap!" he called out. Turning aside from the road, the left it to plunge back into the forest, cutting across in what his instincts told him was the right direction back to Castle White. After a good couple of hours of cold ploughing through drifts, his indulgent manner with the naughty cubs was beginning to wear thin. At least on horseback, much as he disliked it, he'd be halfway home by now. Another hidden hole in the mushy snow opened, dragging his leg down into it. Wolf cursed loudly. He tried to kick his leg free, but the buckle on his boot snagged on something and wouldn't budge.
"Suck an Elf!" he growled. With his strong fingers, he managed to work his foot out of the boot. He stood staring into the hole, tempted to leave the thing there and go barefoot as he had done so many times before. Then he looked up the gray skies. Sighing, he bent to dig around the boot. Halfway down, his eyes were captured by an odd glint of metal. It wasn't a tree root his boot had snagged on, but something else. Something metallic, shining brightly despite the gloomy day. Wolf felt his blood chill as he looked at the thing. Though it had held his foot tightly, the object came easily into his hand when he reached for it. Too easily, really, when he though about it. Like it wanted to be held. It was lighter than it looked, well balanced. A work of great craftmanship. It whistled through the air when he swung it experimentally.
Wolf wavered uncertainly. Much as he wanted to just leave the thing lying, he knew the ways of the world well enough. He tore a section of his shirt off to wrap the thing in and stowed it carefully in his small leather backpack. Standing once more, he cast around for his bearings and set off again. He'd be late, and Virginia would be worrying. The trees shivered as he passed them, one by one, and the Magic Axe thrummed softly to itself, happily.
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If this is what it meant to be a royal personage in the Nine Kingdoms, thought Virginia ruefully, then no one need ever worry about her aspiring to the position. She felt like she'd been shut up in here for days. Even the most comfortable chair could turn to stone when all one had to listen to was the careful, overly polite posturing of Kings and Queens, Princesses and Noblemen. It had taken nearly an hour just to work out who would sit where, according to some ancient tradition of allocating status amongst royalty. Virginia wished they'd just take the wolfish approach. Whoever was the biggest and strongest got to sit wherever he or she liked, and the rest just had to fall in line. She glanced over towards Scarlett, sitting stiff backed in her own chair. Virginia thought she looked distracted, as only someone could be when in the same room as their true love. Wendell, at least, was doing a reasonable job of focussing on the conversation. Most of this conversing was being done by Queen Cinderella. Unlike the rest of the noble born people in the room, Virginia had quickly lost her awe for the aged Queen. Perhaps Cinderella was aware of this, for other than the polite acknowledgement when Virginia had entered the room, she had directed very little of the discussion towards her since.
Virginia decided early on not to be insulted at the lack of inclusion. Rather, it gave her a unique advantage of being able to observe how things worked. And rather than feeling ignored, she began to sense that Cinderella's attention really was focussed on her more than any of the others. Virginia had felt the Queen's eyes on her several times. What does she see when she looks at me? Does the shadow of my mother loom over me, like some gruesome ghost? Virginia felt her skin prickle as it often did when she thought about Christine. And ghost. Why that word again? Ghosts, or more specifically, ghost wolf's, had been flitting in and out of her mind for weeks now. The face of the Ice Queen's envoy, Yacobe, seemed to be burned into her memory. And his words. So, it is true. The reverence of them disturbed Virginia almost as much as his physical presence had. Though she didn't want to admit it, he had frightened her that night. She had scarcely been outside since, and never at night. Her hands fell subconciously to her stomach, rubbing at the swelling mound there. Yet another worry, this cub was becoming. Virginia knew she had the dates correct, yet the baby already protruded a good deal more than she should be. Perhaps the time spent in the Goblin Lands, with their strange altered time states, had advanced the gestation, she wondered uneasily. It wasn't twins, at least. Wolf had assured her that he could only hear one heartbeat.
"Virginia?". Wendell's voice intruded on her thoughts. Someone's hand shook her shoulder gently. Scarlett.
"Uh? Oh, sorry" she murmured. The room came back into focus.
"We were going to break for supper"
"Oh, good, yes, I am hungry" Virginia answered, feeling a now familiar gnawing in her stomach.
"And after supper, Virginia, we want to try the Summoning Mirror" Wendell continued.
"The what?" Virginia asked, although she had heard it the first time.
"The Summoning Mirror. The one that the Evil Qu...I mean, your mother used. We...need it. We need to contact the other rulers. The roads are blocked, the cold is too bitter to travel between the Kingdoms now. Soon, that mirror may be the only way we can keep in contact with each other. It's vital that one of us learns how to use it"
"Those mirrors have long been used by corrupted people, for ill ends and ill gain. How do you know they won't end up tainting you, Wendell?"
"Me? You want me to talk to them?"
"Well of course you. You are the grandson of Snow-white. Those mirrors go with that name. Of anyone in this room, it is you who has the right to try, at least"
"Not you, Lady Virginia? You don't want to speak to the mirrors?" Cinderella spoke suddenly. Virginia turned to look at the woman. Bird bright eyes glittered from beneath the gilded tiara and mass of red hair. It's a test, Virginia, she thought to herself. Briefly, she entertained the idea of calling the old Queen's bluff. Oh yes, why thank you! I've just been waiting for the opportunity to use my mother's power.
"No, Queen Cinderella. I do not. I want nothing to do with them" she answered coolly. There! Make of it what you will. She watched as Cinderella's expression gave not a thing away to indicate what she thought about Virginia's response. Years and years of training in that mask like face. A skill that Virginia knew she could never learn, not even after two hundred years. Coventina's words came back to her. You can deny it, Virginia, but they will not believe you.