The Ice Storm

Chapter Nine

Wendell stood at the entrance to the darkened room and tried not to show his apprehension. It was early in the morning. Rupert, his closest advisor, Cinderella and her maid, Antony and Wolf were standing behind him. And there, right on his heels, was Scarlett. Wendell could smell her perfume. They had stolen a kiss last night, a brief moment having slipped their various advisors and chaperones for less than a minute. Wendell had cursed the stiff formality that had kept them so far at arms length from each other, even though he understood it well enough. Had the Ice Queen not sent her storm down upon them, Wendell knew they would undoubtedly be man and wife by now, and probably still in bed at this hour too! He waited until his blush had faded before he turned his attention back to the others.

Wolf had that rumpled, just got out of bed after hours of love-play look that he so often had. Wendell envied him his freedom to come and go from his lover's bed whenever and wherever he chose. Wendell had been relieved though when Virginia had told him about Wolf's proposal and her acceptance of it. No plans had been made though, not when the world was being covered inch by inch in snow and ice. And wolfen marriages were made in the spring, apparently, though Wendell couldn't even begin to imagine what one would be like. Wolf smiled at him when he caught the half-wolf's eye, but Wendell detected an unusual hesitancy, as though his wild friend had many other things on his mind this morning. And there was no sign of Virginia as yet. Wendell hoped she was not unwell with the child again although he doubted Wolf would be here if she was. Maybe she was just tired. Wolf had gotten back late last evening. His horse had run off somewhere, apparently. The stablemaster would be fuming when he found out, thought Wendell.

Cinderella, as immaculate as always, cleared her throat loudly, breaking the silence. "Well, are you going to do this Wendell?" she asked in that ever so direct way she had. Having agreed to try the mirrors, Wendell had found that he had gained some respect from the old Queen, especially since she had been so obvious in her unwillingness to try it herself. But then she had lived two hundred years and was a good deal wiser in the ways of magic than he was, which was not a comforting thought.

Wendell turned back to the room and strode over the threshold without giving himself time to think about it. One by one, his hand found the masses of black velvet that covered the mirrors, drawing them away to expose the ornate frames and dark glass. As the others entered the room, Wendell saw Wolf boldly put his hand up to some of the frames.

"Pity they don't have anything on them that might tell you which is which" he said, peering closely at a half length mirror in the corner. Wendell agreed with him. The only mirror that any of them knew for sure was the Travelling Mirror, through which Tony and Virginia had first arriving in the Kingdoms. Wendell had seen it activated several times and had used it once himself when he'd been a dog. Tony had been going back and forth for weeks now, bringing back many of the noisy and smelly generator things that had so far saved many lives with their endless warmth. But they wouldn't last forever, Tony kept cautioning him, and nor would they feed the people. The first reports of food riots had started to filter through and Wendell suspected that many more were going unreported. Trolls had been raiding villages in the south again, seemingly content just to carry off food instead of simply ravaging and destroying like they usually did. Nothing had been heard from the Fifth Kingdom for weeks now. Of all the Kingdoms, they were the softest and most exhuberant in their lifestyles and they would be hit hard now. Maybe even the Naked Emperor had had to put some clothes on at last, thought Wendell with a suppressed giggle at the sight.

"Well, I think I can recall at least some of what they can do" spoke Rupert now. "When the Queen brought them here, I heard her talking about them on many occasions. There is a mirror that Reveals, a mirror that Remembers, one that Forgets, a mirror that Summons and the Travelling Mirror, of course"

"We should try and find the Summoning Mirror first. Then we can talk to the other Rulers of the Kingdoms" Cinderella said.

"Yes, that one might not seem so...dangerous" Wendell replied. "Anyone want to have a guess?"

"Try this one Wendell" said Wolf, pointing to a smaller mirror with a diamond frame. "It's large enough that the face of the speaker can be seen, but it's too small to travel through, if you see what I mean"

"Hmm, sort of. Oh well, here goes nothing" Wendell said, stepping up to the dark glass. He could not see his own reflection in it. He cleared his throat. "Ahh, Mirror?". There was no response that Wendell could see. "Hello, Mirror? Are you there?" he added lamely, feeling stupid all of a sudden. He didn't want to look silly in front of Scarlett. But she just shrugged her shoulders when he stole a glance at her. Wolf scratched his head.

"We could be here all day with this"

"Yes we could. Maybe, maybe they respond only to...her?"

"No, that's silly. They were around long before her. I'm sure there's just a certain phrase, or word, or something, that turns them active"

"A dwarf might know" said Scarlett.

"There are none in the castle right now, my dear. I sent them back to their mountain" Wendell said to her. She smiled faintly at his 'my dear'. At the door then appeared a familiar small figure. Wolf bounded over to her.

"Virginia! Are you all right this morning? You were so tired last night, I thought you'd never wake from your sleep!" he rushed out as he bent to kiss her. Wendell was about to greet her himself when he heard a very faint cracking sound. No one else in the room seemed to have heard it. He turned back to the mirror he'd been addressing before. A tiny yet noticeable crack ran across it's surface. Wendell puzzled over it. What? Virginia appears, and all of a sudden the mirror wakes up? He felt a chill run down his spine at the thought. He didn't want to believe it. So he thought some more, watching as the other's made their greetings to her. Even Cinderella bade her good morning. Then he made the connection. It wasn't Virginia, but something Wolf had said to her. Surely that was it.

He turned back to glass. Very softly he spoke to it now. "Mirror. Wake from your sleep"

Very quietly the Mirror came to wakefulness, and it laughed and laughed and laughed.

Later that week, on yet another snowbound day indoors, Wolf was trying hard to control his fidgeting. Virginia was singing softly in the other room of their suite, a lullaby for human children that didn't seem to be having much effect on wolf cubs. They'd been tearing around the castle for most of the day, feeling the effects of the moon just as he did. Wolf peered through the ajoining door. Virginia's sillouette was framed against the dull light from the window. Now that he looked at her, he knew he could no longer ignore the obvious. At just two months into the pregnancy, she was a great deal larger than she should be. Wolf blotted out the sounds of the room and the castle to focus his hearing on Virginia. Under her own steady heartbeat lay another, but no matter how hard he listened, he knew it was only one. Even twins with synchronised pulses could be detected. So, a single cub, a daughter, as Virginia had said. One growing at an accelerated rate. Maybe she was just in a hurry? More likely the Goblin Underland had affected her. Of course that didn't explain why she had made her mother suddenly allergic to moonlight. He found himself wishing that some of the older, wiser half-wolf's like Elsie were still around to talk to. Maybe they knew things that he, growing up mostly isolated from his kin, did not. Wolf suddenly found that he just didn't want to think, or worry about it anymore. What mattered most to Wolf was Virginia. As the cubs settled, she dropped her hand to rub absently at her stomach. At least there had been no more pain or blood loss. Wolf knew well that a woman could die from a troublesome preganancy. Briefly he perused the idea of returning her to New York and placing her under the care of Dr Natalie Green, who at least would not faint at the sight of a baby with a tail. Virginia tiptoed out of the cub's bedroom.

"They would be able to hear you even if you were as light as a fairy, you know" Wolf said to her as she went to stretch out on their bed.

"I know, but I can't get out of the habit" she sighed. Wolf crossed the room to lay down beside her.

"Virginia...I'd like you to go back to New York. Let Dr Natalie look after you, and the cub"

"There's nothing she'd be able to do, Wolf, not at this stage anyway. And I don't want to go back there. This is my home now"

"But..."

"No, Wolf". He heard the finality in her voice, though it was both a curse and a strength he admired in her.

"I could bring her here. She'd probably come if I asked her"

"You mean you'd ask, instead of trick and kidnap?" Virginia said, rolling over to pinch the base of his tail which had worked itself loose again.

"Don't joke about it, please. You could die, Virginia. I mean really die. Quickly and painfully. I've seen it happen to other women" he responded seriously, letting his inner fears show on his face. Virginia propped herself up on her elbows to stare into his face. There was a knock on the door before she could respond. Wolf snuffed deeply, learning the identity of the knocker.

"It's Scarlett"

"Don't frown so much when you say her name, Wolf. She's trying, really" Virginia said as she went to open the door. The tall blond Queen paused at the entrance before coming in and closing the door behind her. Wolf could see her pale blue eyes picking him out in the dim lit room. He made his tail wag, hoping it would make Virginia happy with him that at least he was making an effort to be friendly with Scarlett. But it only seemed to entrance the young Queen. Her eyes followed it as it swung back and forth. On impulse, he spoke softly to her in wolfen.

"Don't you like it, woman? Does it make you want to touch it? Does a part of you want to move in response?". Though it would have been barely audible, Scarlett cocked her head to one side. For less than a second, Wolf was sure she'd understood. The she blinked, and the moment was gone as if he'd never spoken to her. He made his human face smile widely at her, a signal she could read with more ease, at least. Virginia glanced at him curiously. She undoubtedly knew that he'd spoken in his native tongue, and Wolf was glad suddenly that she no longer had the capacity to decipher the words.

"Is Wendell still trying to talk to the Summoning Mirror?" Virginia asked Scarlett as the two women settled on the lounge.

"Yes, he and Cinderella have been in there for days now, but it still keeps laughing and saying rude things to them. The dratted thing ought to be tossed out of the nearest window! I asked him if he would come down to lunch, but he said no"

"What is it saying to them?"

"It says that neither of them has the 'strength of spirit' to address such a mighty creation as it seems to think it is" Scarlett said with a huff of annoyance. "Perhaps you could..."

"No" Virginia said shortly. Wolf heard the fear in her voice. He couldn't blame her. In many ways, she was just like her mother. Strong, determined, ready to do what was right. No matter the fact that their ideas of what was 'right' varied so greatly.

"We've had more tidings of the traditional type anyway, haven't we? No need for Virginia to try the Mirrors. Perhaps you could toss the thing out sooner than you think" he said. Virginia smiled at his attempts to defend her.

"Yes, it's true, though the tidings are weeks old at best"

"Who did we hear from?" Virginia asked.

"Leaf-fall ranted on for quite a while in her missive. Elves and fairies don't suffer spells against them lightly, it seems. And none of them have been able to break the hold the Eigth Kingdom has placed on their lands, invisible or not. They sent their emmisary back to the Ice Queen in several pieces, I believe. The Fifth Kingdom is in chaos. They've always been the most liberal of people. The Naked Emporer has refused to leave his bed and has his silly tailors trying under pain of death to come up with a warmer outfit for him. And Old King Cole the Third is at a loss without his pipe-weed and his fiddlers can no longer play because their fingers are frozen to their instruments"

"Merry no longer" said Wolf from the bed. Scarlett glanced over at him and joined his rueful smile guardedly.

"No indeed! From the Sixth Kingdom there is no response, of course. They'll probably miss the whole thing, as usual"

"When's that curse due to run out?" Virginia asked. Wolf answered her.

"Umm, no one's really sure, but most people think it'll be within ten years. We have to wait for the right 'prince', of course"

"Hmm, wonder what they'll wake up to" Virginia said, her face pensive.

"Do you remember, Wolf, years ago when the rumour went round that Wendell was 'the' Prince?" Scarlett said, laughing into her hands. Wolf nodded at her, recalling the whispers when he was a young cub. But he was more surprised that Scarlett had actually just addressed him, albeit with only a touch of friendliness. Yet it was more than she usually used, and Wolf found himself reappraising her, despite his own misgivings. If only the taint of wolf blood on the hands of her family could be erased. Wolf knew well that the majority of wolfen people would not sit at ease with this Queen as he was doing. The setting sun outside was giving way to the rising of the full moon. For a moment, his vision blurred, his wolfish instincts cresting. Queen or not, she's just meat. Lets make her run? His wolf mind nudged, wanting control. He jumped awkwardly as one of his sharp canines pierced his tongue.

"Wolf? Are you alright?" It was Virginia, bending over him. The pulses in her throat throbbed with life. For a moment, she was so close...

"Ahh, yes, fine" he said, a little too lightly. "Just the moon" he added in a whisper. She touched his cheek, her fingers coming away damp from the sweat there. She went back over to the lounge. Scarlett was sitting rather rigidly now. Wolf sighed inwardly. Now he'd gone and scared her again. Goodness knows what he'd looked like just now. He knew he should go out, and soon. There was a muffled yelp from the other room. Wolf identified Alice's whimperings and was on his feet before Virginia had even turned her head. Inside the cub's room, Alice lay twisting and turning in agitation, her eyes wide and vacant as they stared at the ceiling.

"Alice, wake up honey. You're dreaming" Wolf said in their language, touching her sweating brow. The little girl-cub did not seem to respond to his words. He shook her shoulder gently, repeating himself.

"What's happening?" Virginia spoke from behind him. Scarlett went to the other side of the bed and Wolf was suprised when she reached to retrieve Caelum, who had edged backwards in confusion and was about to topple out onto the floor. Still tossing amid the covers, Alice's mouth moved silently as if she was talking to someone in her dream-state. It was an eerie sight, making his neck hairs stand up. Suddenly her back arched off the mattress and the pitcher of water in the corner of the room shattered, spraying everywhere.

"Zaphira! Zaphira! The cursed Arrow! Zaphira!". The small child's voice roared with effort, far beyond it's normal volume. Alice collapsed back into the covers, her eyes now roving this way and that. Wolf reached to grip her throat firmly.

"Alice, wake" he said, using his full measure of status to force her body to obey. She went limp in his arms as she woke. Wolf held her close, crooning the soft wolfish lullabies that his mother had once sung to him. He paced the room until she came back to her senses. Her brown eyes focussed on him with difficulty. Virginia came to stand close and Alice peered at her from under her damp hair.

"Mother?" she asked timidly and Wolf felt his heart clench in sympathetic pain. Virginia reached to smooth back the cub's curls.

"No, Alice. I'm your Aunt Virginia"

"I want...I want my mother"

"I know sweetheart"

"Alice?"

"Yes?"

"What's wrong with Zaphira?"

"She needs help, right now. We need to go there and help her"

"And then what, Alice?" asked Virginia, a strange smile on her face that Wolf could not place. He looked at the shattered pitcher.

The girl-cub and Virginia were locked in their gazes on one another. Wolf felt chilled, and sadly, excluded. Alice smiled widely.

"Then, she will help us" she said.