Although Thorne didn't expect a warm welcome when he arrived in the foreign kingdom, he did expect happier faces after a day of travel with only Ram's insensitive mug to stare at.
Three bleak guards greeted him after the landing of his ship in a hidden cave on the sea's edge. Eyes downcast and grim, their instructions were mostly one worded and sounded as if they were processions for a funeral. When he mentioned the thought to Ram, he was met with a slap for 'making that sort of joke at a time like this'.
Through the secret tunnels under Iceland's capital, the guards remained silent as they led Thorne and Ram through what felt to him like an endless maze. Darkness stretched out before them until the faint light of where they entered wasn't strong enough to keep visual. After a moment of complete blackness, Thorne realized the guards would not be turning on any lights.
He leaned over to where he heard Ram's footsteps, who he knew could see with his artificial sight. His eyes might have automatically switched to night vision as the space darkened over time, for all Thorne knew. "What are they doing?" he asked, motioning to the uniformed men.
"They know these tunnels like the back of their hands," Ram replied calmly. "There's no need for light. And I assume they also do not trust you with the secret way through their passages left."
Thorne scoffed as Ram moved to walk behind him, occasionally pushing him in the right direction. "If it bothers you that much," he added. "They'll probably show you the way once you're king."
The bleak words made Thorne scowl to himself, hating the thought more than the silence deafening him. King of Iceland, Cinder's husband, political pawn; the names whispered by the servants in the palace halls. What happened to Lady Killer, or Captain Sexy?
He remembered his mother once asking his eight-year-old self what he wanted to be when he grew up. The obvious answer was King of Greenland, something he did want to be, but what he choose was different. Even as a child he wanted to be a pilot in his own military, commanding his own crew on a shiny, space ship. When his mother allowed him to attend flight school, he thought it was her way of showing him he could choose his future.
But even then he was engaged to Cinder.
Ram set a hand on his shoulder, preventing him from ramming into the stopped guards. They didn't say a word, unable to speak over the loud creaking of ancient metal being pried open. A blinding whiteness burned Throne's eyeballs as he turned away, a headache forming in between his temples. Clutching the upper bridge of his nose, two hands behind him pushed him forward into what he could only imagine was the surface.
Once his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in lighting, a world appeared around him. First he spotted the walls, papered in blue designs like the patterned drawings of Vikings that led to the red carpeted floor. A table centered the room, swamped by an endless collection of papers that flooded onto the floor. A map of the world – the entire world, even the parts frozen over in ice – filled one of the walls next to chess pieces spread over a list of battle strategies. When Thorne caught the royal Iceland crest hanging over the door he realized the room must have been the study of the late King Garan.
The guards continued out of the room closely followed by Ram, leaving Thorne behind as he lingered by the desk covered in ink-blotted papers. A small box on the desk caught his eye, one locked tighter than Greenland's own vault where the crown jewels were kept. A crest decorated the cover, but not the golden crown and glass accents Thorne always thought looked like shoes of the Lihn Family Crest.
The crest was a sparkling snowflake with a silver crescent moon in its center.
Thorne had seen that crest once before, the time it appeared on every screen across the planet just before screams rang out into the streets. It appeared a split second before the Snow Queen appeared in her veiled garb to warn the planet that more would die, killing themselves by her order, unless the world surrendered. He was sure the only place one could find it was Artemisia, the kingdom on the moon.
And yet, the greatest enemy of the Snow Queen had the crest in his study.
"Prince Thorne." He jumped at his own name, looking up to find Ram hitching an eyebrow in a manner that seemed too human for him. "It is rude to dawdle."
Not trusting his own voice at the spine-crawling discovery, Thorne only nodded and ran out of the room as fast as he could. Somehow he couldn't see anything with the Luna Family Crest not bringing death to whoever neared it.
On their way to what the guards mentioned was the dining room, Ram made sure to right the minor disturbances on Thorne's uniform. He insisted on wearing military clothing, no matter how much the tailor adorned it with more princely decorations. Thorne could only assume it meant his boring bride-to-be would be waiting to greet him with her plastered smile and false kindness. In private, they would return to their blatant ignoring of each other until he would comment on her deep frown and start the exchange of insults.
So much to look forward to for the next few weeks.
Eyes narrowing in irritation, Thorne sighed as the double doors opened into the grand room. Across his face he plastered a sympathetic smile, false in nearly every way possible. He wasn't unsympathetic to her situation – the girl had just lost her parents, how could he not feel bad for her? – but somehow the thought of living under the same roof as her didn't allow real empathy on his face.
It did, however, allow genuine surprise.
Besides the guards lining the ways and entrances, only three people were present in the room. Advisor Torin stood as wound up as the grandfather clock in the back of the room, spewing tweets from a vexingly high-pitched bird. A woman who could not sit still from worry looked like a familiar presence in the castle, though Thorne could not place her name. Sitting with her head nearly resting on the table was Princess Winter.
The two Lihn sisters looked nothing alike, from Princess Winter's darker hair and eyes to Cinder's taller build. Dressed in a frilly gown Thorne realized, to his embarrassment, was a nightgown, Princess Winter stared blankly at the designs on the tablecloth. Dark half-circles ringed her red, puffy eyes as she sniffled every so often. Occasionally, a tear would drip down the birthmark across her cheek.
Cinder was nowhere to be found.
Ram noticed it as well. "Where is Princess Cinder?"
Princess Winter closed her eyes as another wave of tears slid from under her eyelids. While Thorne would rather marry a broom than her sister, he had no qualms about Princess Winter herself. His memories of her only included the times she was attached to Cinder's leg when they were younger. Though usually he considered himself indifferent to the girl, seeing her torn apart by grief was a sight that made even him feel uncomfortable.
"Princess Cinder is missing," Advisor Torin answered with a sigh. Somehow he managed to contain both anger and concern into it. "She was gone when Princess Winter woke up this morning."
Thorne gave a dry laugh, "I'm sure there's a compliment for me in this somewhere."
Advisor Torin did not even have the energy to cast his a disapproving glance, nor did Ram. His own Advisor was too busy being furious, "Do you realize what a great insult this is to the Greenland Royal Family?! If she was expressing such childish aversion to marrying my prince, could you not have contained her in some way?!"
Eyes flaring for the insult both to himself and his princess, Advisor Torin opened his mouth to fling a regrettable statement back. Princess Winter's meek voice saved him from it, "Something is wrong with Cinder. I'm not sure what it is, but she wasn't herself. And it wasn't just the death of our parents getting to her. Something else is going on."
Ram contained himself, realizing he was in the presence of the acting royalty of Iceland. He also must have come to the awareness that whatever drove away Cinder, it was not by fault of anyone in the room.
Despite everyone else's obvious disdain, Thorne could barely contain the smile fighting its way onto his face. She had left – she had run away to avoid marrying him, or for some other reason that Princess Winter mentioned. And although his ego took a stab from her adamant evasion of their marriage, at least he was not chained to her like he originally thought.
"Then why not relay this to us on our way here?" Ram asked, displeased. "We could have turned around half-way over the Frozen Straight."
"Because we need your help." Advisor Torin's serious tone brought Thorne out of his dream-like state with dismay building in his stomach. He had a feeling he knew where the conversation was going. "Princess Winter must stay in the palace to rule over the country. Iko and I must stay by her side in order to guide her decisions while she is still young. However, that leaves one vital task we are unable to complete."
And then it came, the ball and chain to Cinder he was dreading.
"You have to find Princess Cinder."
A certain red-hooded girl will be making an appearance in the next chapter. It's already finished! But I may not be able to get it up until next week.
Banana Kisses: You, my friend, are an excellent guesser :) I love your reviews! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Malika DaughterOfWisdom: This update is for you! Thank you!
lunartic: I cannot thank you enough! Knowing you are anxiously awaiting another update gives me inexplicable joy that you like the story that much and stomach-churning guilt that I don't have a chapter ready.(Does that count as sadistic? :)) Scarlet is coming! Next week! I promise! And no, she isn't the shop keeper, but she might have worked for him . . . As for Cinder she is connected to the Lunar Throne. That's all I can say!
Lady Jo: You are seriously making me blush. Thank you so much!
Reviews really give a writer motivation to post a chapter sooner, so this update is for you guys!
Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing!