The Ice Storm
Chapter Sixteen
They left the darkened city well before dawn. Two sweating horses with three riders crunching through the ice crusted fields that once provided all the bustling township needed. But no more. Wolf glanced aside at Scarlett as he led them off the main road. It was the most obvious route to take, given their unofficial 'escort'. The moon hung low, obscured by clouds, but still to Wolf's mind they were like sitting targets as they crossed the fields. Too visible, even for the dull eyed human followers. A dark smudge on the horizon drew him to kick the thin boned horse into a canter. Scarlett's horse stumbled but she kept her seat, ploughing along in his wake.
Wolf's horse was doubly burdened tonight. Across the front of the saddle hunched the old woman. Wolf had a strong arm around her waist, his small but sharp belt knife pointed into her scrawny belly. He'd been ready to use it on more than one occasion as they'd fled the Hooded City. Expecting an arrow in the back he'd been ready to honour his threat. The old woman whined and thrashed weakly. She stank, of fear and sweat and urine. Her heart was thudding so wildly that Wolf thought that she might expire on her own with no help from him needed.
A part of him was human enough to register the shame of so terrorising an old woman, enemy or not. But as always in times of stress and escape, he relied on those traits that would ensure his survival. His wolf mind, cool and calculating, listening under the keening of the wind for the proper functioning of his hostage's heart and lungs. Just a few more miles, he told himself, and then...what? Let the old crone go? Miss his chance to wipe a cancerous lesion from his people's existence in this land?
He looked back to Scarlett again. She was swathed in a great dark cloak, so unlike her usual bright reds that she seemed almost a stranger, not the famed Queen she was. Or had been. A gust of wind caught her robes then, causing the hem to flap loosely and Wolf smiled to see the rich ruby lining that shone in the dim moonlight. He nodded to himself at the timely reminder. Born a queen, this one, regardless of the descent of that birth.
The trees swallowed them almost without warning. Wolf felt some of the tension leave him at being under some cover from the trees. This well tended and tame forest was not quite what he was used to, but it was better than being in the open. He drew them to a halt and slipped down from his horse. Giving the reins to Scarlett, he backtracked down their trail. Half way across the field, their pusuers cast back forth, seeking their quarry. Wolf snorted as the inexpert riders lost the line time and time again. But it was inevitable that they would eventually be discovered. He was sure that Auburn was counting on it, at least.
"We need to leave the horses behind" he said quietly to Scarlett as he returned. "They leave a trail that even the stupidest tracker could find".
"We'll go the slower, and be unable to escape without them" Scarlett replied, but she was sliding down even as she spoke, rummaging through her saddlebag for the small kit of supplies her maids had thrown together. "Shouldn't we keep her with us a while longer?" she added. Wolf felt his insides chill at the coldness of the way she addressed her mother. Even the crone seemed to hear it, hunching down further into the saddle.
"No. Her journey ends here" Wolf said calmly, half dragging Auburn down into the snow. She glared at him defiantly despite her fear. She thinks I'm going to kill her, thought Wolf. It would be a fair enough assumption on most days. Scarlett came to stand next to him, peering over his shoulder at the withered queen.
"I want to kill her" she said simply.
"The old make way for the young, in wolf and man alike" Wolf said evenly.
"She would have stood by, you know, even if Vermilion (curse him) had killed me. Once she discovered the truth that I have come to, I was nothing more to her than a thing to be discarded. An imperfect mistake, just like...just like...my sister Rose". Scarlett moved up to cup her mother's chin in one hand. "Tell me, mother mine, did you weep that night, at all? Did you hear that baby scream with the cold as you left it on the windowsill to die?" The old woman swayed as Scarlett shook her, back and forth. Her head wobbled violently and a rictus of a smile broke over it.
"Oh yes! I wept...I wept! How dare you suggest that I would not"
"But it didn't move your hand, did it? You never even thought to save her" Scarlett's voice was breaking now, hot tears steaming in the cold night.
"How could I? That child was wrong, it was deformed...it had..a tail! All those things my own mother admonished me for, all those horrid temptations I avoided, and still I birthed this monster! How could I live with the shame?"
"And so you put it around that the princess was stillborn, and you had the midwife executed, the father banished and never to be seen again, and took for yourself another husband, and oh how relieved you must have been when I was born. A perfect looking replacement, and you could go about your life ignoring that most obvious thing, that it was from you, from your own great ancestor that this blood came into our family". Scarlett let go of Auburn so suddenly that the old woman tumbled into the snow. Under the huddled figure, Wolf knew she wept the most bitter of tears, but it was little comfort to Scarlett now. Wolf watched as bit by bit the young woman gathered herself together, a masterful display of wolfishness that made him want to howl with delight in spite of the ugly secrets that had just been laid bare to the world. He put his hand out to grip hers.
"We should go. What do you want to do?" he asked, gesturing to Auburn who had not moved from the ground. Scarlett nodded once and turned on her heel.
"Leave her. She is all but a corpse already". She slung her small bag over her shoulder and looked back at Wolf almost impatiently, eager now to be gone. But as Wolf gathered up his own supplies and cast around for the right direction, she turned back momentarily at address the weeping figure in the tattered robes.
"Farewell, mother. One day, I hope my lost sister will stand before you, and I behind her. Your tears will not serve you then, I fear"
"I do not fear the afterlife. And your sister is long dead" Auburn croaked, raising her head finally. From behind, Wolf could almost feel the smile that Scarlett sent her way.
"Ah no, my mother, in that you are wrong. She is not"
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"You've got to be kidding me" Virginia exclaimed angrily. Yacobe stood calmly as ever under her ire. In one hand he held the long lead attached to a fat mule. Where he had gotten said mule in this wilderness, Virginia had no idea. It hadn't been far, obviously, for he hadn't even bothered to restrain her before he's left on his little side mission. It made Virginia realise how far she was from help if he'd expected to have no trouble in recapturing her. The mule chomped on it's bit, making a grating sound that set her teeth on edge.
"You cannot walk as fast as I need you to, Virginia. You've become exhausted quicker than I had planned" Yacobe said evenly.
"What's the hurry?"
"You don't really want to birth out here do you?" he replied, eyes running over her form. Virginia felt a moments panic at the thought. But surely, even big as she was, there was many weeks to go before that time. It was true though, she no more wanted to give birth out in the wilderness than she wanted Yacobe to be the only one attending it. Something he's counting on, no doubt, she thought unhappily. The lands they were travelling through were harsh and unforgiving, not unlike her ghost wolf captor.
The mule grumbled as she silently mounted, a difficult task given her size. She was reminded of the old adage that pregnant women should not ride, but then the mule looked most unlikely to go anything faster than a plodding walk, and she had to admit it was nice to be off the cold ground. She had been sure her toes were getting more frostbitten by the day. They moved off slowly, Yacobe leading the mule through the sparse woodland. Virginia swayed with the motion of the beast, vaguely daydreaming of snatching the rein and hoping the creature would bolt back to whatever warm stable it had been stolen from.
"Where are we going?" she asked eventually. Yacobe looked back over his shoulder.
"I told you. To my people"
"The Ice Queen is not part of your people then?"
"Yes and no. She is not born of our Kingdom, but if one were to step forward and be our next Queen, then she would want to be that one. But she is young, and yet to come into her full potential. And her step-mother feels threatened by her now" he replied. Virginia tried to puzzle out what he meant. Her glimpse into Coventina's mirror gave her some clue as to who he referred to, but obviously the woman in question was still under the rule of the older Ice Queen. To Virginia this seemed both a bonus and a further complication. And yet Yacobe so plainly referred to her as the Queen. Perhaps the older Neva was not such a player in the game as she thought. All the unknowns were making her head ache.
"Tell me about your people"
"We are the oldest of packs in this Kingdom. We were the first to cross the mountains and escape the cruelty and superstition of the Second Kingdom folk. We found a harsh land here, with equally harsh human folk, but they welcomed us. Perhaps they saw in us a strength and versatility that they so cherish amongst themselves. Our strongest males were offered their most promising females as mates, and several mixed clans have grown up as a result. Along with our bloodlines, our stories and beliefs we incorporated with theirs, and in reverse also. Nowadays, no one particularly worries overmuch about whether he or she is a descendant of the original humans or the wolf"
"That's not something you see in other lands"
"No indeed. We often laugh to ourselves over the fearful humans and the mistrusting wolf's of the other Kingdoms. They have missed a great opportunity to enrich both races"
"Strength and versatility are not the only measures of a successful people"
"In the southern lands, where the weather is mild and sustenance plentiful, yes, perhaps that is true. But in the Eigth Kingdom, only the strong survive" Yacobe replied, but he was smiling as he strode through the drifts. Looking at his capability, Virginia could see that what he said made sense, but it also worried her terribly. When the Ice Kingdom's mid-winter deadline had passed and these people were unleashed upon the other Kingdoms, there would be little to stop them. They had been defeated before, but only with the combined effort of the Kingdoms, and without the all important freezing spell that had been cast by their monarch. More than ever, Virginia hoped that the mission Scarlett and Wolf were on would yield results. Only with the killing snow gone from the lands would the Kingdoms have any chance against the push from the north.
"Tell me about the Ice Queen. Neva, the old one" she asked, glad that for once Yacobe seemed happy to talk. Any information was a bonus. He glanced back at her, surprise on his face for a moment.
"You know her name" he said, eyes narrowing in thought.
"I know a great deal actually" Virginia retorted. It was mostly a bluff, of course, and she hoped he would buy it. He shrugged minutely before moving on, his voice floating back to her.
"Neva, she has been Queen of this Kingdom since long before I was born. She is ancient now, but many things grow in strength with age, and she is no different. To be in her prescence, well it's like you are made as insignificant as a fly. Her guards and servants compete to do her bidding. It's considered a great honour to be a part of her household, and I relished the opportunity when it came to me"
"You were part of her household"
"Well of course. How else would I have come to Castle White?" Yacobe replied. Virginia felt foolish as he continued. "I excelled, and soon came to be amongst her most trusted inner circle. When she assigned to me the task of protecting and tutoring the new Princess, I saw it as the ultimate honour, for amongst our own people, there are none more trusted than those who guard the cubs"
"Yes, I know. My son has been cared for on many occasions by Elsie. I don't know what I would have done without her"
"She's a wise one. An old line is hers"
"So, do you serve Neva now still, or the young Princess?"
"Both, and neither"
"How can that be?"
"It's not something that I can easily explain to you. You're not a wolf, no matter who shares your bed". Virginia, stung by the bluntness of his observation, was almost tempted to blurt out her werewolf heritage, but she held her tongue at the last minute.
"You're right. I'm not a wolf. I'm not even a princess. I'm a nobody. I have no idea what you or your people want with me".
Ahead of her, Yacobe stopped, turning back to wait as the mule closed the distance between them. His pale blue eyes gleamed with sudden emotion, and it made Virginia gasp inwardly. He stepped up to place a hand gently on her arm and she let it rest there.
"You are not nobody, Virginia. You are the Beloved of Lucine, a treasure box within which is hidden a great gift. But you are right in one respect. It is not you yourself that we want" he murmered, his hand sliding down to lay tentatively on her stomach. Within her, the child kicked and squirmed, and Virginia threw off his touch with sudden fear.
"You would take my child from me?" she gasped in horror.
"No, of course not. You will be as welcome amongst us as your daughter. But the moon-shadow child we will keep within our people, yes"
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Rhoswen stared hard into the silver orb, sure she must be mistaken. The orb never lied, but there it was anyway. The vision was clouded, as it always was when someone of strong will and mind wanted to go unseen. He had eluded her sight for many days now, this one and now the snippet of conversation that she had worked so hard to hear had given his motives away. She leaned dangerously close to the shining liquid, cursing the bitter fumes that engulfed her. Another thing she would punish him for when he next stood in her prescence.
The other figure in the vision was shrouded in a great heavy cloak, but her profile when she turned her face to the side was unmistakeable. Virginia. The great unknown player in all the mechanisms they had wrought, Neva and herself. Once more, Rhoswen cursed the fact that the woman yet lived, but still, were she to have been killed then so would the babe have been. The image of the strange infant shimmered and pulsed, twisting and morphing until it looked like some ghastly imp inside it's mother. But Rhoswen had studied her history well, and knew all about the prophecies surrounding such a child as this.
She rose finally, rubbing her aching knees and went to begin the long climb to the tower rooms. No servant nor guard would ever come down here of their own volition and so she must suffer the long stairs without assistance. But today, Rhoswen did not mind the aloneness. It gave her space to think and plan. Trying to keep one step ahead of her ailing step-mother, it had become far more than a game nowadays.
At the top she paused to catch her breath, pain in her lungs reminding her of the ultimate price she played with just to see the where and now of things. She beckoned her captain of guard, speaking in low tones that his part wolfen ears understood perfectly.
"We have been betrayed. Yacobe seeks to keep the prize for his own gain. Listen close, and I will tell you where to find them". The guard listened avidly. "And one more thing. Make sure the prisoner is prepared well. You know the one of which I speak. He may prove beneficial to our cause at last".