Frost Burn

by K T Munson

  Thea and Coor pressed their lips together and glanced at each other. Thea nodded at the men in the boats behind her. They all returned their weapons and extinguished their magic.

  “That is my fault, Queen Darha,” Queen Vesna interjected. Darha looked at her and saw the deep, genuine regret and a bit of fear in her eyes. “Our people don’t do very well with the heat, and it is very hot for us out here, so I’m keeping us cold.” Darha saw her touch a set of glowing pearls around her throat. “We thought Sir Kirill’s gloves would be thick enough to protect you.”

  Darha gazed in hidden astonishment at the old Queen. She was taking responsibility for the mistake and being kind and apologetic about it. Not only that, but she had taken measures to protect Darha from the Knight’s coldness. Kindness? From the Frost Queen?

  Recovering from her amazement, Darha nodded once. “Everything is well, Queen Vesna.” She held her hand out to Coor, who took it and helped her out of the boat. She looked at her brother. “Keep the boats off the shore. They are not to set foot on land and become a threat here.” Darha did not like talking to her brother like that, but she was so desperate to prevent war that she couldn’t bring herself to be affected by it right now. Coor didn’t argue; he just nodded once and quietly gave orders to the men remaining in the boat from which she had disembarked.

  Darha approached the Queen with Coor and Thea at her side. She saw the older woman struggling to get up out of her chair out of respect. Another amazing thing. “No no,” Darha said quickly, holding her hands up. “Please don’t stand. It’s quite all right.”

  Vesna smiled, the wrinkles in her cheeks deepening in a charming, grandmotherly way. “Sweet girl. Thank you,” she said as she sat back down. “Can I offer you a seat, Queen Darha?”

  Darha smiled and shook her head. “No, thank you, madam. It was a long boat ride and my legs wouldn’t mind a stretch for a moment.”

  Vesna nodded as the blonde girl and the Knight that she had called Kirill—who pulled off his thick gloves and put them in his belt—approached her side. They weren’t giants or monsters; their appearance was hardly different from her people. They were all paler and had elegant features, and many had the strange silvery hair, but they were similar.

  “I imagine we are not alone in our difficulties as of late,” Queen Vesna said, her voice that of a caring grandmother, and Darha felt herself relax a little. This woman appeared to be reasonable.

  “No,” Darha answered, making her voice sound strong, though she felt weak.

  “I believe this widespread disaster is affecting both of our nations,” Queen Vesna said, the glow of the pearls reflecting off her face as she gestured behind her. “I wanted to take the initiative and offer you a gesture of peace.”

  Behind her were several large cubes of ice. They were still frozen despite the warmth of the day, but she imagined that wouldn’t last. Darha felt like crying again; this water was exactly what they needed.

  “Thank you,” Darha responded, keeping her face carefully neutral.

  “Sir Kirill will stay with the ice until you have put it in the boats and carried it off.” Her eyes swept over the river. “Although it seems you have more men than boats.”

  Darha felt her face burn at the remark. She had brought two hundred and twenty-five men, and here this old woman sat with fifteen young women and one Knight. There was something to be said for caution and something perhaps better for restraint. At least she had kept them off the shore, a sign that she wasn’t completely useless.

  “A precaution,” she countered carefully.

  Vesna turned her ancient eyes to Thea. “Your idea, I presume, but assure you it is unwarranted. We were both hurt by this tragedy, and though my people want someone besides the planet to blame, this meeting is to show that we do not blame you.”

  Darha knew her people, too, felt the need to blame someone. But blaming the Frost Nation hadn’t been logical from the beginning. The Frost Nation had no power over volcanoes, or storms, or the ocean which had washed away the Fire Island. Darha glanced at Thea, who still had deep suspicion in her eyes. She glared at the old woman, and Darha worried she intended to say something that would ruin this moment.

  “Who is ‘we’?” Thea asked, staring at the young women behind the chair.

  “These are my queen elects,” Queen Vesna said with a general wave of her hand. “They are here to see the terrifying Queen of the Fire Nation in the flesh.” She chuckled and Darha nearly choked at the unexpected comment. “I believe they are disappointed that you don’t have hair made of fire and a dress made of lava.”

  The sudden turn of conversation had thrown Darha completely off. What in the world was this little old woman doing? Regarding her curiously, Darha shifted from one leg to the other as she considered what could be gained by this line of conversation. Darha wanted to ask Coor and Thea, but she dared not look at them and make it appear she was unable to making her own decisions. If she remembered correctly, the Queen’s elects were the most powerful women in the Frost Nation. Realizing that, Darha considered that perhaps her two hundred and twenty-five men at her back were not such an exaggerated precaution.

  “I am sorry to be a disappointment,” Darha responded.

  “On the contrary,” Queen Vesna replied with a simple smile, while the rest of the women stayed still and stony-faced. “You are exactly what I expected, and I believe we shall foster in a new age of peace because of this trying time.”

  At the word “peace” Darha felt relief flood through her. She observed the women. All of them seemed to regard her with suspicion, save the one. Her gaze was simple curiosity, like a child inspecting a new toy, but she alone among the fifteen girls seemed to lack any sense of reservation. The Queen of the Frost Nation waited, and Darha glanced back, observing the small army she had brought, her brother and sister, and then faced the old queen.

  “Peace is all we desire,” Darha answered. The elderly Queen nodded. “Please tell me what you know of the quake.”

  “Very little,” Queen Vesna replied, holding up a hand, in which one of the girls placed a parchment. “My temple has been researching past occurrences of earlier springs that are joined by quakes, and so far, we have found nothing. What have you discovered?”

  Carefully phrasing her response, Darha said, “The Derser Rects, our planetary religious sect, took samples of the soil, water, and air along the flooded river and different parts in the Fire Nation. They have been analyzing them for days. They have also been studying weather and ocean current charts and volcanic activity in the north for the past one hundred years.”

  “We can provide samples of our own for comparison,” Queen Vesna replied. “Send a messenger hawk with what samples your Derser Rects require and we shall provide them. For now, our focus should remain on finding a solution.”

  “Yes,” Darha said, although she felt a little lost under the confidence of this long-lived queen. “I shall send the message as soon as possible.”

  “We have moved our merchants closer to The Wall for now, but they are still available to provide fresh water from our mountains if you desire. I imagine your water has already begun to turn sulfuric due to the enhanced volcanic activity in your northern islands.”

  Darha swallowed heavily holding back tears again. “Yes.”

  Vesna nodded deeply. “We lost many trees when the quake happened, but the wood is being processed for your consumption, and the making of boats has been commissioned so we may cross the River Gora to continue trade. When they are ready, the merchants intend to use them in place of the bridges.” Darha felt a bolt of pride go through her because she had also thought of repairing the boats to be used for trade. “Expect them to be operational in the coming days.”

  “That will be good,” Darha responded. She glanced behind her toward the river. “We will give these boats to our merchants as well.”

  “Wonderful,” Queen Vesna said with a soft friendly smile. “If there is nothing else, I believe this meeting
is concluded.”

  “Yes,” Darha said. She gave a small curtsy to the elderly Queen and then turned and headed back to the boats.

  “Queen Darha,” Vesna called, making Darha turn. The old woman began to push herself up into a standing position, swatting away any hands offered to aid her. She met Darha’s eyes kindly and dipped her head in a gesture of respect. “It has been an unexpected pleasure.”

  Darha dipped her head in response. “Likewise.”

  They climbed back into the boat, and Darha watched the gifts of ice get loaded into several of them. When they shoved off, Darha kept her eyes on the shore until it vanished in the fog. She glanced up at Thea, who continued to stare to the south long after the mist had swallowed any view of the Frost Nation. Darha looked at Coor, who was staring warily between his wife and the shoreline.

  “That went better than expected,” Darha said steadily, even with excitement bubbling in her chest. They could commence trade, she hadn’t made a total fool of herself at this incredibly important meeting, and Queen Vesna was not a monster.

  “Yes,” Thea said, but her voice wasn’t filled with excitement; it was full of hard suspicion. “Yes, it did.”

  Frost: Chapter Nine

  Aradel stared at the brown ground at her feet, an arrow shape that spread from the fracture in The Wall. The heat from beyond their protective barrier was spreading and melting snow and ice alike. They were fortunate that, for now, the damage seemed contained here. She didn’t want to imagine the devastation creeping further inland, yet she had a bad feeling it would. All this area was melting, and land that had been eternally frozen, was thawing. Flooding would soon become an issue at the break, and before long, further beyond The Wall.

  Since they had met with the Fire Nation, a peace of some sort had been formed. Aradel had remained at The Wall while Kirill had returned to the mountains to begin moving sleds of snow and ice to reinforce it. Yet even Aradel’s magic, and the snow, did not seem to be enough to heal their wounded barrier. Very few of their people were still in the Outlands, most having taken shelter within their boards to keep themselves safe from the heat.

  She watched as men lifted the ice and snow onto The Wall, and lowered it into the crevice. When the ice was nearly settled in its spot, Aradel lifted her arms and magically filled the gaps around it. The frustrating thing about this task was that it required old snow and ice from the Lonely Mountains, the same mixture that had been used when The Wall had first been built, hundreds of years ago. As she watched the blue and silver of her magic interlace with the block of snow and ice, she wondered if using the old ice would be enough. The details of how the ancient Wall had been constructed, after all, had been lost with time. She lowered her arms, and another small portion of the wall became whole.

  Queen Vesna believed the Fire Nation intended to keep their word about wanting peace, but she was not foolish enough to leave such a noticeable fissure in The Wall untended. The western outpost was now a full garrison, and would remain that way until The Wall was fixed. Something nagged at Aradel, though, telling her that the work here was only a temporary fix, because the heat was getting in no matter what she did.

  Hearing a gentle bell ring behind her, she turned to see a team of wolves pulling a large sled filled with old ice for repairs. A second set of wolves, and then a third, quickly appeared at the tree line following the first. The fine wooden parts of the sleds were made by their people, but for the metal of the skis they had to trade goods—a reminder of how important the Fire Nation was to them. Without the Fire Nation, their farmers in the Outlands wouldn’t have tools to farm either. Those without magic would be cast into the elements with no weapons to defend themselves—no swords, no arrows. Without the Fire Nation, they could not cut wood, nor have metal ships, and they would have no harpoons for whaling; without which they would lack oil for light. Although they mostly used wax candles, oil was always burned in the temples, and it was also a product they sold to the Fire Nation. It hurt her to realize how reliant they were on the Fire Nation for their metal, but the frost people had no way to harness heat without worry of injury. Even those who were less affected by heat would not last long standing by pits of fire to melt the metal down.

  With a call from the driver, the wolves slowed down, though many strained to reach her. Wading into the pack of fur, she petted their heads as they licked her fingers and threw their bodies against her legs. Unlike the wolves of the Outlands, the mountain wolves stood as tall as her hip, and were beasts that could compete with bears.

  She looked up to the old man driving the sled, who had made many trips that day. “Yorten,” she said with a smile, “your pups are getting faster.”

  “You are too kind Lady Aradel,” the old man said as the other two sleds stopped as well. “I’d like to introduce you to my youngest son, Tallus.”

  “A pleasure, Tallus,” she said with a polite curtsy as he bowed to her.

  “Lady Aradel,” he replied, and she was surprised to discover he had a voice nearly as deep as Kirill’s. She missed her dear friend. She had seen less and less of him in the past days and worried that this trend would continue.

  “How many sons do you have? Are there not two already working on The Wall?” she asked, gesturing behind her to the ant-like men lowering another block of ice down into the crack.

  “Just the three,” Yorten admitted with a proud laugh. “But I have two daughters at home.”

  “I do not envy you,” she replied with a soft laugh. “Given how much trouble Kirill and I caused growing up, I can only assume five children must have been a handful.”

  Before Yorten could respond, Tallus replied, “There is a reason my father’s hair has turned gray prematurely.”

  Aradel laughed loudly before she could help herself. She was momentarily embarrassed by her outburst, but she had found his joke quite clever. She stifled herself a little too late, but was pleased to see Tallus and Yorten grinning widely.

  Tallus was handsome to be sure. It was impossible not to notice. Yet she had seen his brothers. Their bright blond hair was like their father’s, while Tallus had dark brown hair. It was rare in the Frost Nation, but not unheard of, and she was having a difficult time keeping her eyes off it. Not only was his hair dark, but stranger still, it curled. How unbelievably rare.

  Straightening her spine, she decided it was time she returned to her post. “We had better return to work,” she said with an amused smile. “There is a wall to fix.”

  Yorten, his son, and the third man whistled to the wolves. They strained against their lines, the rope going taut as they pulled the sleighs forward. Snow swirled behind them in the sudden movement, and Aradel felt her hair dance in the breeze they produced. When Tallus passed her bringing up the rear, their eyes met. With a gentle smile, she picked her way along the line of snow and headed back toward The Wall.

  The heat was spreading like a sickness, and she had to suppress it. As the next block of ice was lowered into place, she raised her arms to secure it. She had hardly started when a second massive block suddenly slid off the edge of the ice scaffold. The men above her cry out as it crashed against the side of the fissure, sending an avalanche of snow and ice hurdling down from the top of The Wall. She let out a startled cry as she split the falling block of ice in two and then tried to secure the first block that was in the wall before stopping the coming avalanche. She quickly secured the first block, but the snow and ice still rushed toward her. “Cut the lines!” she heard someone yell. The wolves howled, and she hoped they were being cut free from the sleds to get to safety.

  Thinking of Queen Vesna during the quake, Aradel focused her power on the falling ice and snow. The ice turned to snow instantly, but the snow continued to fall. Suddenly she felt an arm wrap around her waist and she was pulled to the ground. She barely had time to snap an ice shield up before she and whoever had grabbed her were buried in snow. The pile on her blocked out all light and sound.

  Taking in a sharp breath, she
opened her eyes. They immediately shot over to whoever was buried under the snow with her. The edge of her ice shield hummed with a soft blue light allowing her to see, and she was surprised to see Tallus raise his head. He gazed around in surprise at the bubble of space surrounding them.

  “Amazing,” he whispered and turned toward her. He looked like he wanted to say more, but their noses nearly touched, and he froze. Aradel felt her breath catch. Never had she been so close to a man other than Kirill.

  “Thank you,” Aradel said after a moment, trying to seem unmoved. “But you can let me go now.”

  “Oh,” he replied, blinking before glancing down at her waist. “Oh!” he added as though suddenly coming to his senses and pulled his arm off her waist like his skin had suddenly caught fire. She couldn’t see his face very well, but she imagined he was just as embarrassed as she was.

  She swallowed her embarrassment and focused. This was not a time to lose her calm or her head. She soothed herself as she started to expand her ice shield out through the snow. She sat up, and soon the shield was tall enough for her to stand in. Getting to her feet, she smoothed out her dress. It slowly became brighter, and the soft magical glow of her shield was replaced with blue tinted sunlight when it reached the surface of the pile of snow they were under. She was conscious of Tallus watching her, and of the sense of awe he had at her power. Glancing over at him, she expecting him to be a little afraid of her, but instead he was looking around in complete wonderment.

  When the top of the snow fell back away from her shield, she dispersed it and could hear shouting. She turned back to Tallus as he stared at her with the same unflinching astonishment, and held out her hand to him.

  “Come with me,” she said boldly before she knew what she was saying.

  He didn’t hesitate to step forward and take her hand. She pulled him along as she waved a hand in front of her. The ice and snow in front of her shifted, forming steps. As she stepped on the bottom one, her magic molded into an escape route, and she pulled Tallus behind her.