Winter Queen

by Erica Marie Hogan

  “Do not worry so, Krow.” Navaria forced a smile, stepping behind him to shield herself in his shadow as the crowds of the marketplace tried to close in around her. “We are guided by a great power. All will go according to plan ... it must.”

  Adlae’s staff clicked softly against the stone steps as she entered the barracks. The children poked their heads out of the little apartment doors, their eyes sparkling when they saw her passing. She smiled, looking over her shoulder at Brecken as he followed silently. His face was stony; his eyes narrowing on any of the other soldiers who looked at her twice. Adlae shook her head, raising her staff to the sky. The glass bulb at the top glistened as she twirled it round and round, the clouds responding to her magic as they gathered high above the barracks, darkening to a dull gray.

  The children stepped cautiously from the barrack’s doors, gathering near her as they tilted their little heads back to stare at the sky. Powdery flakes began to fall all around them. Adlae laughed when the children shrieked, trying to catch the snowflakes. The little ice flakes disappeared before they reached the ground, falling only over the barracks. Adlae knew she couldn’t bring the first snow yet; the snow that would expand across the entire country of Nfaros to encompass the land in layers of thick white sleet brought down from the Ice Mountains by the Frostlings. This was meant only to bring the children joy, to bless them and strengthen them for the coming storm. Sunkai would fall under a dark cloud soon—one Adlae could not and would not stop.

  Adlae glanced back at Brecken once again. Still, his face remained expressionless, even as he glanced around at the children running about and laughing, their hands raised toward the sky. Adlae sighed, wondering if the man ever smiled, wondering if her sister brought a smile to his face at least. Damari told her they were happy; they seemed to love each other very much.

  “Brecken Jandry.” Adlae cleared her throat, drawing him to her side. “May I see your quarters?”

  “If you wish, Your Highness. My wife will not be there.” Brecken led the way, frowning at the little children until they scattered. “She has taken our daughter to the marketplace.”

  “I understand.” Adlae nodded.

  She expected as much. Brae never could be kept from the market on a day like this. Even if she returned home with nothing, she had to go. She had to be among the people, to listen to the bustle and hustle, to the shouts and laughter filling the streets. Adlae smiled at the thought, knowing she would see her sister soon. Damari promised to bring her to the barracks in the evening when Brecken was on duty. The princess hadn’t questioned Adlae’s desire to see her sister alone. Adlae didn’t even know if Brae would recognize her, but she had to try. The safest way to discover this knowledge was if they were alone, without Brae’s loyal husband looking over her shoulder.

  Brecken stopped at one of the doors at the top of the steps, lifting the latch with ease before he stepped inside. Adlae followed slowly, her stomach tightening at the sight of the small apartments. There were only two rooms. A little cot in the corner of the room near the hearth and a table in the center surrounded by three simple stools.

  Adlae shuddered, walking carefully across the room to the second door. Peeking inside, she saw a simple wooden bed, the feather mattress lumpy beneath the thin blanket which covered the bedclothes. She closed the door, leaning back against the wood as she realized this had become her sister’s life. This was where a woman who had once been a princess had been relegated.

  If she has become content, you should not hold the situation in such contempt, Winter scolded. She is married to the man who watches over us with such diligence. She has married well, and there is a child. You must now turn your thoughts to protecting them.

  “I know,” Adlae whispered, closing her eyes so she wouldn’t have to endure Brecken’s curious glances. “But this is too hard.”

  Brae does not complain.

  “How do you know?”

  Because I have your memories as you have mine. I know Brae as well as you, and you know she would not complain. Not if she loves her husband and child as Damari has told us. Adlae felt Winter smiling, a tingling sensation rushing over her skin as a swirl of flurries surrounded her, not of her making. Winter often did this to remind her to smile, to remind her she was always with her to help her.

  “Is this standard for all the soldiers?” Adlae addressed Brecken. “I do not remember these barracks when last I was in Sunkai.”

  “They were built by our king,” Brecken answered. “The army grew so large, he felt the need to build these and appointed this apartment to my wife and me. The largest in the buildings.”

  “Largest?” Adlae repeated softly, running her hand along the thin wooden wall. “Your king is ... generous?”

  “He is. Much better than living in the Lower Village, Winter Queen.”

  “I cannot argue.” Adlae nodded, shaking off the tremors being in this place provoked before she quickly walked across the room. “I have seen enough, Captain.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” He bowed, closing the door firmly after them.

  “Return me now to the Blood Keep. The sun will set soon, and I do not wish to be on the streets when darkness falls upon the city.”

  Do you sense it? Winter murmured in her ear as Brecken led her down the steps. The first chill of our storm is approaching the city. The Frostlings are coming, Adlae Sundragon. The Frostlings are coming!

  Brae frowned as she stood in the doorway of the tavern. Noelle was hanging on her back, her little legs wrapped tight around Brae’s waist and her arms clinging to her neck. Reaching back, Brae stroked her daughter’s thick red curls. Noelle had inherited those locks from her, and Brae was grateful. There had always been something fascinating about their family’s red hair. They were unique; some even said Brae’s mother had been from across the sea. Little was known about Zelaria Sundragon before her death mere days after Mirae’s birth, but Brae had known she was no foreigner. Her people had hailed from the Shadow Lands, under the hovering mass of the Ice Mountains. Among the people of the Shadow Lands, her mother was a princess; in Sunkai, she had been an outsider.

  Her eyes strayed to the two men in the corner, playing the Game of Wars. The red and white stones clicked along the board that encompassed the expanse of the Nfaros map within two feet width and a foot height. A small smile twitched on her lips when she saw the frustration on the face of the one man. He looked to be a Kaldoner with his white-blonde hair twisted into multiple braids on his scalp and his pale green eyes glaring at his opponent as he watched the man scoop up five of his white stones.

  Kaldon had been in loyal trades with Sunkai since before Brae was born; a town loyal to its Mother City. Most likely the man came to do trade in the marketplace, and a local had dragged him into the game, partly against his will. The streetwalkers of Sunkai were well known throughout Nfaros for their sweet talk and gambling skills, yet somehow travelers still managed to lose their entire purse to them.

  Brae hoisted Noelle against her back, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the tavern owner to come out of the kitchens. Glaring at anyone who looked at the baskets at her feet, Brae reached carefully for the dagger at her belt beneath the large poncho she wore. She maneuvered her hand beneath her daughter’s little leg, turning her head to gently kiss Noelle’s soft cheek as she pulled the dagger halfway from its sheath.

  This was the part of her day she despised the most, no matter how she loved the tavern owner and his wife—no matter how they respected her, for they remembered who she really was. Coming in here and enduring the leers of strange men without Brecken at her shoulder to scare them away, had driven Brae to do something she never thought she’d have to do in her city. Never had she imagined she would have to carry a dagger down the market streets of Sunkai.

  Finally, she saw Master Rufus emerge from the kitchens, his wife Analli following close on his heels as she chattered at him. Ru
fus rolled his eyes before quickening his pace, his pot belly jiggling from side to side as he reached out his hands. Brae let her dagger fall back into its sheath before she took hold of the man’s fingers, squeezing gently. She bent to pick up one of the baskets.

  “If there is anything amiss with them, return them to me, and I will fix them.” Brae sighed heavily as she handed over the load of laundry.

  “We are most grateful to you.” Analli smiled, her lilting accent hinting at her Quintaria origins. She tweaked Noelle’s cheek. “You have brought your little sunshine to visit! So, she must have tea!”

  Brae laughed softly as Noelle launched herself into Analli’s arms with a squeal, the woman bustling the child away without another word.

  “Quintarians and their tea,” Rufus mumbled under his breath as he dug in his purse. He dropped five gold coins in her hand. “If you need to leave the little princess with us so you may finish your shopping, you may. Analli has been despondent since our boys joined the king’s army, so it’ll be good for her.”

  “Thank you, Rufus.” Brae sighed with relief, glad they’d offered. “Better if Noelle doesn’t walk the streets. The market is more crowded than it has ever been this time of year.”

  “That is the Winter Queen’s doing.” Rufus rolled his eyes again, shifting the basket of clothing from one hip to the other. “She was seen walking the streets today, and they say she caused quite a ruckus down at the docks with two foreigners. I don’t know why those Mountain People come here if they only wish to cause trouble.”

  “Their hot stones keep us warm when winter comes, and news of the Keeper of Winter’s arrival has spread far and wide across Nfaros already,” Brae answered, a shiver rushing through her blood at the mention of the queen. “They will be here to trade.”

  “I’ve not seen the docks so full of ships in five years.” Rufus scuffed the toe of his boot against the dusty floor. “Not since your father sat on the throne.”

  “We are not to speak of the Sundragon,” Brae hissed, her spine ramrod straight. “Winter may have blessed him every year with great snows and a sweet Spring but those times are gone. We must live in this new world as best we can and pray the Winter Queen’s coming brings a new age for our people.”

  “And it is words like those that make the people search for a way to put you on the throne,” Rufus whispered, bending close so only she could hear. “It will happen one day, Brae.”

  “Not unless the Creator wills.” Brae patted his thick arm lightly. “I have to go. Brecken will expect Noelle and I back before sunset, and I must finish my shopping today.”

  “Be careful on the streets, I do not like the look of all these outsiders.” Rufus glared over his shoulder at the Kaldoner. “There are too many sly ones. Too many in dark cloaks.”

  “I do not think the color of their cloaks determines who they are.” Brae grinned, picking up her other basket before she turned her back. “I will be back for Noelle in an hour.”

  “No rush!” Analli called across the room as she backed out of the kitchen carrying a tray with teacups and a steaming pot of tea; the mint leaves filling the air with their soothing scent. “We are lovely together! Just lovely! No worries, young madam, no worries!”

  “Quintarians,” Rufus mumbled again, but the sparkle of affection in his eye could not be missed.

  “I’ll be back.” Brae smiled over her shoulder before stepping out into the warm sunlight.

  Brae weaved in and out among the people, none of them giving her a second glance. Long ago, when she walked these streets, the people used to stop and stare. For she would walk them with her sisters, wearing their household garb and their arms linked, keeping them forever tied to each other. These people once said something magical happened when they walked the streets of Sunkai. They said a glow surrounded them, embracing them in its warmth. Brae had felt that magic once. A strength which flowed through them when they were together. More than anything Brae wanted to feel that way again.

  Rumors were spreading wildly about her youngest sister through Nfaros, ever since the little Woodland Village had been overrun and the king’s soldiers driven out. They insisted the woman had declared herself to be Mirae Sundragon, the only rightful heir to the throne of Nfaros. Brae took a deep breath, trying to stamp down the excitement—if only the story were true! If her sister had survived the Gracian Wood those years ago, if she was out there declaring herself the rightful heir with an army at her back, then perhaps Brae truly had reason to hope a Sundragon would return to the throne.

  But if Mirae survived, then where is Adlae? Mirae would not declare herself the rightful heir if ... if Adlae were still alive. Brae paused at the thought, her hands tightening around the basket. Just thinking her older sister had perished in those woods sickened her. In a matter of days, she’d lost her father and both her sisters. That sort of grief was something she never wanted to feel again.

  Brae moved from market stall to market stall, using the coin Rufus had paid her to buy the food she’d need to provide meals for her family for the next few days. The more decent wares wouldn’t be on display for a few days yet after the last ship came in this week. The merchants always withheld the most foreign and delicious fruit until they were certain nothing new was going to emerge in the crates that came off the ships.

  Brae smiled, wishing she could go down to the docks to watch the ships come in, to welcome the foreigners who had come to see the great city of Sunkai. But the docks were forbidden to her, as were so many other things she used to enjoy. Perhaps the pretender was afraid she would leave on one of those ships and gather a foreign army, or perhaps he just enjoyed knowing she was under his control and would be for the rest of her life.

  Brae sighed, turning when she felt eyes watching her. At the corner, she saw the guard, his silver armor shimmering under the sunlight. Shaking her head, she moved on, knowing he would follow. She thought maybe today she and her daughter were alone. There had been no guard waiting for her at their door when she left that morning, there had been no thundering footsteps behind her as there always were. Too much to hope for. Roderick’s spies were everywhere, always.

  Watching me. Brae shifted her basket to her other hip and continued on her way.

  “Good afternoon, madam,” the deep voice resounded behind her, and Brae turned slowly.

  Her eyes widened as she arched her neck back, looking up at the tall stranger. He was obviously a foreigner with his darkened skin and half bare scalp. Brae blinked slowly, tilted her head as she observed the man’s half-nakedness, his muscled arms and, most importantly, the thick sword at his belt. One look at the weapon and Brae drew back cautiously, her fingers curling so tightly around her basket the blood drained from her knuckles.

  “Can you help us?” The timid voice at his side brought Brae’s eyes down. She blinked quickly, not having even noticed the small, veiled woman at his side. “You are a Sundragon, yes?”

  “Quiet!” Brae surged forward then, hunching close to the woman. “You mustn’t speak that name so openly on the streets!”

  Glancing hesitantly at the man, Brae took the woman’s arm in her hand and guided her from the market, taking her quickly into an empty alley. Rats scurried in the corners, squeaking their protest at being disturbed before they disappeared between crevices and cracks in the drains. Brae shuddered but quickly turned her attention back to the two Mountain People.

  “How do you know me?” Brae hissed.

  “How can one not know a Sundragon? The stories of the Three Sisters spread far and wide over Nfaros, even to our own lands,” the woman answered. “My companion and I need entrance to the Blood Keep, and we hoped you would help us.”

  “I am no longer a Sundragon and have no rights of entrance to the Blood Keep.” Brae winced at her own words.

  “Yet, you are joined to the king’s favored captain.” The man spoke again. “Surely you can sway him to
help us.”

  “I hold very little sway with my husband.” Brae’s brow arched. “Especially when the request comes to helping foreigners get into the Blood Keep. Besides, what business do you have with the royal family? Surely you have come from the ships to trade your wares, as all the others do?”

  The two companions shared a strange look before the woman turned back to her, resting a small, pale hand on Brae’s arm. Surprise filled her—such pale skin on a foreigner was strange.

  “We have important business with the royal family,” the little woman whispered. “It is imperative that we gain entrance to the Blood Keep. Will you help us, Brae Sundragon? As your father helped our people long ago?”

  Brae stiffened at the mention of her father, and she stepped back, out of the woman’s reach. What did they expect her to do? How did they expect her to gain them entrance to the greatest stronghold in the city? In the world? Brae bowed her head, taking deep breaths. Never in the past five years had anyone ever come to her, seeking help. None had come to her, naming her as one of the Sundragons, asking her to assist them in something as risky as this. Even if she got them inside, who was to say Roderick Kael would welcome them as guests? Or even see them? She could take this risk, and nothing come of it.

  But will I ever forgive myself if I let them go now when I know they are in need? Brae sighed, looking up at the man’s hardened face, and the woman’s trembling form as she tried to bury herself in the man’s side. Leaning forward, she took the woman’s hand.

  “Come with me.”

  Brecken took the steps two at a time, his blood running hot in his veins. The children rushed out of his way as he approached. Women bustled into their apartments, staring at him wide-eyed. None of them had ever seen him angry before; in fact, he didn’t think Brae had ever seen him angry before. He’d strived to be gentle with her throughout their marriage, holding his temper in check. But if she’d done what they said she had, then there was nothing in the world that could hold his temper at bay. She’d gone too far, and he could not let her actions pass without a word.