But that couldn’t be true. If it was, then why did her sister look so sad as she said those horrible things? Everything just seemed so wrong, and Anna couldn’t comprehend any of it. She felt a cold, metal hand on her shoulder. Anna’s knight had brought her a rag to wipe her face clean. Without saying a word, he grabbed her by her hand and led them back to the party. Her friends were waiting for her, and each tried to make her feel better in their own unique ways.
“You guys, I’m really grateful, but I just think—”
“Hey, leave the thinking to me. I mean, I am the smart one of the group,” Bart said with a smile.
“Smart? You have a brain made of monkey feces,” Shel said, smiling a little herself.
Anna’s knight said in a strangely warm tone, “Come on. We have the rest of our lives to figure out this whole mess. Why don’t we enjoy the night?”
Anna was silent for a moment, finally saying, “All right. I suppose we can have fun tonight, but not too much because we have school two days from now.”
Everyone groaned at how lame she sounded, and they went to go get some drinks. Anna just smiled and went on after them.
Chapter 7
When Anna woke up mornings later, she felt a chill in the air. It seemed that winter had come early this year, as she could see snow flurries falling past her window. Excited, Anna told her knight to grab her a pair of fuzzy slippers and a morning robe to keep warm. From what she could see, it looked as if it had snowed all night long, and that could only mean one thing.
“Oh, it’s going to be a snow day!”
Her knight peeked outside and said, “I don’t know. They probably already got the magic users out there melting all the snow.”
“Don’t be so negative. Just feel how cold it is out…there…”
Letting the slipup slide, her knight said, “Yeah, it must be pretty cold what with all the icicles over the window. Still, I don’t think it’s that cold to warrant a snow day.”
“Come on. We’ll go down to the dining room and see if there are any messages for me.”
So, all bundled up, Anna and her knight went to breakfast and were pleasantly surprised to find a message boy waiting there. Taking the letter from him, Anna opened it up. It said that she did indeed have a snow day. Anna practically jumped for joy as she called for one of her message boys to go and deliver invitations to Bart and Shel so they could enjoy the day together. Eating her breakfast, a little less ladylike than usual, Anna hurried back to her room and had the servants ready her snow gear. It was a thick, purple dress with earmuffs and mittens to match that, once donned, had Anna ready to face the elements.
Feeling energetic, Anna waited at the main door for her friends to arrive, and after a half an hour, they did. Shel was the first to arrive, being that she was the closest to the castle. She had on attire similar to Anna’s—only her dress was white with black mittens and earmuffs. Anna gave Shel a quick hug and welcomed her, offering some warm drinks and cookies.
“Hmm…I have to say the royal castle is rather impressive. Oh, and I guess I should do the formal thing and say that I am honored you invited me,” Shel said, shaking the snow off her boots at the door.
“I’m just glad you could make it. I’ve never had a friend over before.”
“Isn’t that because you’ve never had friends before us?” Shel said.
“Nice one,” Anna’s knight said at the insult.
“You know, guests usually don’t insult their hosts right after they arrive,” Anna said with a taut smile.
“Speaking of insult, where’s that turd? I’m guessing you invited him as well.”
“I don’t know. He should have been here by now—what was that?” Anna said, hearing a knock at the door.
Her knight opened the door and they all looked outside, only to find knives lying on the ground. “What are these doing here?” Anna asked.
The knight studied them for a moment and said, “Someone was throwing these at the door to get us to open it. The only person with these kinds of knives is—”
“Hyah!” Bart screamed as he jumped out from behind a snowdrift.
He and his knight began launching snowballs at the girls at an alarming rate. Anna’s knight threw his cloak around her and stopped the volley from hitting her. Shel’s knight, however, was stuck behind the pair, unable to push past them without bodily throwing Anna and her knight, and could only watch in horror as his master was pelted with snowballs. After their ammo was gone, Bart and his knight came up to them laughing, until they saw the look on Shel’s face.
“Hey there, Shel. Pretty funny prank, am I right?” Bart chuckled.
“Oh, I’ll show you something funny,” she said, raising her hands.
At first, the others couldn’t tell what she planned on doing. Then they heard the wind pick up behind them. When Bart and his knight turned around, they saw all the snow around them swirling into one gigantic ball, growing until it blotted out the sun. Shel’s knight finally got around the girls and pushed the pranksters away from them out into the cold. Shel let the snowball drop right on top of them. She must have meant it as a joke because it wasn’t packed tightly enough to hurt the pair, not much anyway. Walking up to the disoriented jokesters, Shel smiled and made a bone-chilling threat.
“If you ever do that again, I’ll force you to eat all the yellow snow my dogs were so kind enough to make. Understand?” she said, wiping something from her mouth.
“Yes, ma’am,” Bart said, the jester knight nodding his agreement.
Anna came up next to them and said, “Shel, are you all right?”
The young magic user went to tell Anna to shut up but was interrupted by her knight turning her to face him. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that it was blood Shel had wiped away. Shel was a powerful magic user, but the power she had was not all powerful. Using magic, any kind at all, took away a person’s life force. It could happen in a number of ways. The weakest forms were shortness of breath or a sore body. Next was nausea and vertigo, and if the toll got higher than that, internal and external bleeding. Finally, if one were to go completely over their limit, they would die. Of course, it wasn’t a simple passing. No, it would be as if every fiber of their being was set ablaze, and once that happened, there was nothing but death.
“Shel, you shouldn’t be using magic so carelessly,” Anna said.
“I’m fine. The effects just seem worse because of my illness.”
Unwavering, Anna said, “Promise you won’t go overboard. You have your knight to fight for you.”
“I am not some weak, simpleminded girl who is content to sit back and let others fight her battles.”
Bart brushed the snow off himself and said, “A simpleminded person is exactly what you are. If you were thinking clearly, you’d use more effective means to achieve victory. No one faults a knight for wearing armor into battle or carrying a dagger at his side.”
Mouth slightly agape, the girls stared at him until he finally said, “But hey, I’m just the funny one of our group. So what do I really know, anyway?”
“Okay…” Anna said before continuing. “Let’s get going to the garden. It should have plenty for us to do.”
The group went inside and made their way to where the garden was. When they got there, even Shel had to admit she was amazed at the scene before them. The garden was blanketed with pure white snow, giving it a holy atmosphere. The leafless trees that had come from all over the world were powdered with flurries and shimmered in the sunlight. But as enchanting as the view was, they were going to have some fun, not stand around freezing their butts off. Anna led them to the garden’s shed, really a small house, and pulled out three spruce sleds.
“Wow, I really want to test that thing out,” Bart said, practically salivating.
Shel shook her head and said, “No, me and Anna will play with them first. Y
ou can watch along with the knights.”
With puppy dog eyes, Bart said, “Oh, please, Anna, I’ll do anything. Just let me ride that sled one time.”
“Of course, you can ride the sled. You can even join us when we go down the hill. Shel’s just being her usual poop-head self,” Anna said, handing him a sled.
Bart yahooed and ran to the biggest hill he could find, while Shel just sighed and went on after him. Anna and her knight followed, running to the top of the hill where they set up for a run back down. Bart’s knight was down at the bottom as a finish line. Shel’s was busy fussing over her, making sure she would be completely safe.
“You oaf,” she said, pushing him away. “I don’t need you picking at me every second of the day.”
Her knight just lifted up his helmet and pulled out a bright pink scarf. He tried to wrap it around her neck. Shel grabbed it from him and tossed it as far as her little arms could. Turning on him, she said, “I told you I don’t need a scarf. I’ve taken my medicine, and it’s not even that cold out.”
Anna giggled and said to her knight, “Never turn into a mother hen like that on me, will you?”
“Ha, as if I’d ever be that lame,” he said, the pair giving a laugh at Shel’s expense.
“Shut up! I don’t care if you are the royal princess, I will have the respect that I deserve. Hey!”
While she was demanding respect, Shel’s knight had snuck up behind her and tightly wrapped the scarf around her neck. Everyone laughed at how her cheeks turned a rosy pink. She just huffed at them and got into position to go down the hill while the others finished their merriment. Once they were all in position, Anna’s knight counted down to zero. Once he did, they all pushed off, but not before Anna’s knight put his foot on the back of her sled and pushed with all of his might. Her friends went down the hill fairly quickly. Anna sped downward at lightning speed.
In fact, Anna was going so fast that she wasn’t able to stop at Bart’s knight like the other two. The princess just kept on going until she was so far away from the race that she couldn’t see her friends anymore. The only reason Anna was able to stop at all was because she ran into a bush. Dazed, she got up and tried untangling herself from the shrubbery. Anna heard voices. Thinking that it was her friends, Anna was about to get up and say something when she heard them better.
“Sister, please, I just need you to do this one thing.”
It was her brother, Cornelius, talking to their sister. Curious, Anna kept hidden behind the bush and listened in.
“No, I’ve told you a thousand times that I won’t do it,” Coraline said.
“If you were to help me, I promise my plan would be a success.”
“Yes, and how many people would get hurt, even die for it?”
“I admit some will die, but if you help me, the causalities can be kept to a minimum. Remember, people will die for this no matter what we do. Why not make their sacrifices meaningful?”
“I don’t know…”
“Don’t press yourself at the moment. My plan is still developing and will take some time to come to fruition. Mull it over, and I swear you will come to see my way of doing things is the only way to keep us alive.”
Anna waited until she was sure they had gone away. She jumped up, grabbed her sled, and ran back to her friends. Anna met everyone halfway back and tried telling them what she had heard but couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
“Guys…guys…I just heard…something really suspicious.”
“All right, all right, just calm down. Why don’t we go back inside and have some hot cocoa with marshmallows?” her knight said, picking up the sled for Anna.
Anna took him up on that suggestion, and they all headed back inside to the dining room. She waited until they were all settled down and had their cocoa. Anna then told them what she had heard.
“What do you guys think it means?” Anna asked.
“Maybe they’re throwing a surprise birthday party for someone,” Bart suggested.
“Shel,” Anna’s knight said with a nod.
Shel smacked Bart in the back of the head and took away his hot cocoa, saying, “It must have something to do with getting the crown.”
“But they said something about people dying,” Anna said.
Shel flicked Anna on the forehead. “Didn’t the sister in question already explain to you that you siblings have to kill each other? Now the only questions are what their plan is, and which one of them is going to betray the other?”
“No, they wouldn’t…”
“Anna, wise up before I smack some sense into you. They plan on taking the crown, and soon. We need to get you ready to fight for your life,” Shel said, slamming her hand onto the table.
Anna didn’t know what to do, but she did know that something bad was going to happen. She was completely unprepared for it.
Chapter 8
Curled up into a tight ball, Anna pulled the covers up over her head and settled in. It was the second day of their week off from school for yuletide holidays, and she was thoroughly enjoying sleeping in. Tonight was the eve of the holiday, and she had much to do before tomorrow came. Still, that didn’t mean Anna had to be in such a big hurry. She had plenty of time to do everything. So she lay there for a few more minutes, savoring the feeling of comfort.
Anna decided she could push the day off no longer. Getting up, she was about to tell her knight to bring her things, but he had already done so. Slipping on her morning robe and slippers, she went down to the dining hall and had a quick breakfast. Pushing her plate away, Anna rushed back upstairs to get ready. Once she was in her winter clothes, Anna grabbed the money that she’d need and headed out.
“What’s on today’s agenda?” her knight said as they walked out the door.
“Not much, but it is all very important. First, we need to go buy presents for Shel and Bart.”
“And why are you waiting until the last minute?”
“Because I couldn’t figure out what to get them until now. After that we’ll be attending various parties of other nobles.”
Her knight groaned at this. “Why do we have to go to all these parties? Can’t we just stay home and ignore everyone?”
“No. It’s my duty as a princess to at least show up to all of the most important events of today and tomorrow.”
“Urgh…so boring and tedious.”
Reaching the gate, they were greeted by her chauffeur, Bill. “Why, hello, Princess, how are you today?”
“I’m doing fine, thank you,” she said, stepping into the carriage.
“And, uh…how about you, Mr. Knight?” he said, still not sure how to act around Anna’s knight.
“Hmm. Well, at least I can say I’m not cold. But it is a pain in the butt having to be dragged around to all the shops looking for presents.”
“Oh, yeah, having to pick between all those gifts must be really difficult,” Bill said, adjusting his hat.
While Anna’s knight was content to ignore Bill’s silent agony, she was not and said, “Bill, you don’t get paid much, do you?”
“Oh, uh…no, I get paid just fine compared to some people.” He dodged the question.
“Great, then let’s get going—” Anna’s knight started before she cut him off.
“Yes, maybe compared to the poorest of commoners, but I know my father doesn’t think the servants are very deserving of his money.”
“Oh, well,” Bill said in whisper. “Everyone knows that, but there’s not much we can do about it, now, is there?”
Back at normal volume, he said, “Princess, I assure you that I get the greatest pleasure from working for your father and would do it for free if he did not offer me such a generous pay.”
Anna and her knight exchanged looks, then he said, “How’s the king’s butt tasting, brown nose?”
Anna ig
nored him and said, “Bill, my father assigned you to me as my chauffer, not his.”
“While that’s true—”
“That being the case, I really should be the one in charge of paying you.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“From now on, I’ll be paying you quadruple what my father pays you out of my allowance.”
“Princess, I—”
“No ifs, ands, or buts about it, Bill. As your mistress, you have to do as I say, and I command you to accept this pay raise.”
Anna had wanted to do this for some time. However, she never had the confidence as a young girl dependent on her family to do it. After the duel with Coraline, though, having finally gotten the better of someone, Anna felt unstoppable. Of course, she still felt sick thinking of how her knight had hurt Coraline. So Anna settled with helping her friend as a way to keep her confidence up.
Bill stared at the ground, and when he looked up, he was smiling. “You really are a special little girl, aren’t you, Princess? Thank you.”
Bill got up onto his seat, and they were off to the shopping district. This district consisted of only one long street and a little square at the end but housed all of the nobles’ favorite shops. The first one that Anna was heading to was a toy shop called Toys ’R’ Yours, and she was certain to find something for Bart in there. To get inside, she had to push through a bunch of little kids and their servants who were staring into the store’s window display.
It was set up with a holiday theme. The whole shopping district was shown in miniature. There were little enchanted people walking about, riding in carriages along with their knights. When Anna looked closer, she could actually see herself standing at the toy store along with her knight and Bill. As she was looking there, it began to snow, and so too did it begin to snow in the replica. Anna stood there entranced by the sight for a while longer, until finally, she went inside to look for Bart’s present.
“Wow, this place is amazing,” Anna said in awe, having always had her servants come and pick up the presents from here.
A Knight of Contradictions Page 6