Of Snow and Blood

by Kris Black

  It seemed like she had sometimes. Like the life she’d lived while in exile was a different world. So much changed in such a short time, yet memories of the ramshackle farmhouse where she’d been raised faded even now.

  “Then,” the king continued, “as though fate stepped in, Edward showed back up in the city for his prodigal ship. By the time word got to me, the news was weeks old but, I had riders go out and track his path. When they reached the decrepit farmhouse they forced you into, you’d gone.”

  Sold by my father, Alina thought. Or rather, not my father. Perhaps he’d known deep down that she wasn’t his? Was that the reason he’d been willing to give her to Christian? To trade her life for his, and wealth along with it? So he and his true children could live in comfort once more?

  It was too much to process. Too much to try to comprehend. Alina laid her face in her hand for a moment, rubbing her forehead to keep such thoughts away.

  “No one knew where you went or what happened to you, only that you weren’t with your family. My spies asked your siblings without their knowledge, but they were tight-lipped. It was reported to me that your father came into sudden wealth again and they bought and moved into the manor they now live in - without you. I was furious. You’ll never know the possibilities that swam through my mind. I left the men with orders to retrieve you when and if they received word you returned, lest you slip from me once again.”

  Alina looked closely at the king. Despite his weariness, she could see the resemblance. His brown hair, peppered with salt, matched her own. There was something familiar in the shape of their eyes and the curve of the upper lip. They were sitting in an identical position, a haphazard relaxed pose, ready to jump up at any moment. His eyes were a deep umber which means her emerald ones must have come from Breena.

  Breena - her mother. A queen. A faerie. Another mother, but still a dead one that she would never know.

  “So… I am your daughter?” Alina asked a while after he finished his story. “You’re sure?”

  “You are.” He was solid as a wall in his response. The king harbored no doubts.

  “Do-do I look like her?”

  The king’s face crumpled. “More so than I ever could have imagined.” His voice cracked. “You’re beautiful. If your hair was lighter, I could almost mistake you for her.”

  Alina studied the king - her father. The man who would have done whatever it took to protect her, according to his tales of the past. A man that, perhaps, would have died rather than give her to a man he called a beast. A man who searched for her for over a decade. “What should I call you?”

  Your Majesty seemed too formal; Father too informal - too much like Edward. Edward, who was Father to her. Edward who she still wasn’t sure she could forgive for his transgressions against her, no matter what the outcome.

  “Well…” the king cleared his throat. “I would like it if you can call me Father or Papa. I understand if you can’t, however. If not, Belmont will do for now.”

  Somehow that seemed impossible to fathom, calling the king Belmont.

  “I understand that this is a lot to digest,” he mumbled. “Perhaps you would like to go back to your quarters? You are welcome to call me anytime you like. Lord Felix will also be at your disposal, he is the son of one of my most trusted dukes and a ward of mine, whom I took at a young age.”

  “Yes, I’d like to retire if that isn’t too much? I’ve had quite a shock.”

  “Yes, I believe the whole court has.” He chuckled and walked over to the door, speaking with someone to the right. He opened the door wide to allow two of the guards that had accompanied her to the castle - Henry and Thomas, the King’s Guard.

  “Your Majesty, Your Highness.” They bowed low.

  Right, she was a princess now.

  “Return Princess Alina to her room,” Belmont instructed. “See that she has everything she needs.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  They bowed again, and Alina followed them out of the room and towards the chamber she’d stayed in.

  “We’ll be here if you need anything.” Thomas, the fairer one, said as he stood to the right of her door. Henry took the left.

  “Are you going to stand outside my door all night?”

  Henry nodded. “We’re the first rotation of your guard. We will station someone at your door at all times to ensure your safety.”

  “Surely that isn’t necessary.” She was within her supposed father’s castle. Was he worried that something would happen to her?

  “It’s as His Majesty commands, Your Highness.”

  Sensing there was no point arguing, she entered her bedroom. One guard shut the door behind her.

  The same maidservants she had prior waited for her. They undid her gown, provided her with a nightgown and undid her hair, resting the tiara on her nightstand before Alina waved them out of the room and collapsed onto her bed and threw her arm over her face.

  Alina couldn’t believe anything that was happening. She wasn’t the long-lost, cursed princess. It couldn’t be the heir to the kingdom. Not the heir to the kingdom that fought against Christian’s. Had Christian’s mother been fighting her father when he met her mother? What did that mean for them? What did that mean for the kingdoms?

  Did that make them enemies?

  Alina pulled her arm off her face and stared at the ring adorning her finger. It caught the light of the candles and glimmered like a star. Everything had become so complicated. She and Christian only just found their way to each other. If she only stayed at the castle with the pack, none of this would have happened. She would never know her true identity and everything would be the way it was when she accepted the ring.

  Her eyes burned and stung. Closing them, a few tears escaped from the sides and ran down her face, her comforter catching the drops like a bucket in the rain.

  What was she supposed to do?

  Chapter Four

  A Royal Family Dinner

  The sun’s rays in her eyes, almost blinding her, that woke the next morning. It took her a moment to get her bearings - to remember that she was no longer in her gilded, golden room. Instead, she was in her quarters at the capital. In her father’s castle.

  She was a princess now, half-fae.

  Life would not go back to how it was before. Alina needed to learn to navigate this newfound information and life and yet somehow reconcile it with the life she had before. How would she accomplish that? There were a million thoughts running through her head and grasping onto any of them was impossible.

  The knock on the door that jarred her from her sleep sounded again.

  “Your Highness?” Henry’s voice called through the door.

  “You can enter.”

  Henry peaked his head through the door. “We’re just checking on you before the guard changes. Is there anything you need? Breakfast, perhaps?”

  “Breakfast sounds lovely.”

  “I’ll send for it immediately.” Henry nodded his head in a bow before turning and shutting the door.

  Alina needed to focus. She needed to sort priorities.

  First things first, she decided. She had to find out about Charles.

  That was it. She’d work on one problem at a time. She would write to her family and inquire about Charles and see if he stayed or left. That would take one item off her growing plate of worries, fears, and anxieties.

  Alina sat down at the desk provided in her new bedroom and drafted a letter, not to her father but to George, her eldest brother. Long ago he assumed the mantle of head of the family, despite their father being alive. Now that they secured their wealth again, it would not surprise Alina if the siblings still deferred to George. He had raised her himself.

  After drafting the letter, she set it to dry as a knock came at her door. “Your Highness, I have breakfast here for you.”

  Alina bid them enter and Henry, carrying a tray, set it down on the small table in front of her fireplace.

  “I would like to post a
letter,” Alina commented, startling the guard. “To whom do I give it?”

  “I’ll take care of it for you, Your Highness.” Henry took the envelope after Alina sealed it, bowed and exited the room and Alina sat to eat the food set out for her. The food during their journey to the palace had been lacking, and she was glad to have a proper meal. She placed a large piece of bacon into her mouth when another knock came.

  “May I enter, Princess?” Felix called.

  Alina got out an affirmative through her mouthful. Felix let himself in and Alina motioned towards him to sit in the seat across from her should he choose. He sat down and Alina swallowed, wiping the grease from her fingers onto the provided linen napkin.

  “What can I help you with?”

  “I hoped that you would allow me to accompany you on a tour of the castle.”

  “Oh?” Alina raised an eyebrow and grabbed another piece of bacon. “On top of your duties as a viscount, Ward of the King and royal envoy, are you also now a tour guide?”

  Felix scowled at the jest and Alina took another bite of her strip. “If you think you’re the surliest man I have ever dealt with, you are vastly mistaken.”

  “I beg your pardon, Your Highness. I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot and I was hoping to show you around,” Felix stated. “After all the events of yesterday, I don’t believe that you had the pleasure of seeing the castle.”

  Alina moved the food around on her plate. She wanted to learn her surroundings, to understand where her mother and… father existed. But she also didn’t want to have courtiers gawking at her like an animal performing in a circus. She didn’t have the heart to get attached to the place when she intended to return to Christian at the first opportunity.

  “What else have you to do?” Felix inserted, sensing her hesitation.

  “Fine,” Alina agreed because the only other activity presenting itself to her was to sit in her room all alone all day.

  “Shall we go now, or when you have finished your breakfast?”

  Alina looked down at her half-finished plate and stood.

  “After you.” She motioned for him to lead before grabbing another piece of bacon from her plate. “You’re the guide.”

  King Belmont’s castle was impressive, to say the very least. By the end of the tour, she knew more about her illustrious ancestry than she ever cared to. As the daughter of a merchant, she was lucky to know the names of her grandparents. As the daughter of the king, she could trace her lineage for centuries.

  Her mind drew back to the family tree in the faerie lore book. The faeries also kept lineages, and she’d seen the one for the royalty. Perhaps somewhere, her mother’s family recorded theirs.

  Felix was a gracious tour guide who didn’t mind answering her questions and did his best to make the whole thing as entertaining as possible. It was a welcomed change from his dourness during the journey. When they finished, Alina was glad she wouldn’t get lost in this new castle.

  “There is one more thing I want to show you,” Felix said as he dropped her off by her door. “But I want it to be a special surprise. Join me for a picnic in three days?”

  “A picnic?” Alina glanced out her window towards the snow-covered hills surrounding the castle. “Lord Felix, it’s the dead of winter.”

  “I promise I won’t disappoint you. And it won’t be cold.”

  “Well, how can I say no to such a mystery?”

  The next day King Belmont sent Alina a letter with a request to join him and the queen for dinner. Unsure of how to approach the situation, Alina sent for Ella.

  “I’m glad you called for me.” Ella stormed into the room and towards Alina’s wardrobe. She rummaged through the variety of dresses in an assortment of sizes. They measured Alina yesterday, and the seamstress said she would be back today to gather and alter the gowns to fit. “Queen Calista is a traditionalist for royal protocol. You can’t make a mistake during this first meeting.”

  “But the king didn’t seem that way when I met with him,” Alina remembered Belmont taking off the heavy crown and tossing it onto a table. Could he have remarried to someone the complete opposite?

  “The King and Queen are as different as night and day,” Ella confirmed Alina’s thoughts. “It was not a loving union like his first marriage, to Queen Breena. This one was a political match to unify his kingdom. Her father is a wealthy duke in control of the western borders.”

  Ella found a lovely arctic blue dress with a navy sash and seemed to decide that was the one. She pulled the gown from the wardrobe and laid it on the bed before continuing on her mission before adding a pair of lovely satin slippers.

  “Here, come sit and I’ll do your hair.” Ella motioned for Alina to sit on the dressing table stool, and Alina complied. It was relaxing, having Ella brush through and place the strands of her hair into something pretty. “The only person in the castle who outranks you is the King. He is the only person you bow to; however, if Queen Calista is with him, she takes on his rank, so you must bow to both.”

  “Got it, bow to both of them. I would have done that, regardless. I know enough to bow to the king and queen.”

  “Without the king there you outrank Queen Calista. She must bow to you if your father isn’t present when you arrive. You’re a full-blooded royal, she only married in.” Ella pushed a few more pins into my hair. “So, keep that in mind; although, I’m sure she’ll hate it.”

  “That seems complicated.”

  “Just be glad you rank so high and only have to remember those two steps. When you go further down the hierarchy, it gets even more complicated.” Three raps on the door interrupted them. Ella put down her hair supplies to get the door. “Ah! Just in time.”

  Alina looked over her shoulder. Ella was now holding a small, delicate tiara in her hands. “I just ordered this brought up from the royal treasury. I heard it was a favorite of your mother.”

  The tiara was beautiful. Intricate and detailed, the gold looked like leaves set with opulent pearls and a few rounded sapphires. She said as much to Ella.

  “I’ll put it on then.” Ella secured the tiara in Alina’s hair.

  Alina stared at herself in the mirror, examining the creature before her. It looked like her, but with the hair and the tiara, she felt disconnected. How was this her own reflection? All she ever wanted was a home that was livable and an income modest enough that they didn’t have to worry about starving. Now, here she sat in a room with a priceless crown on her head and a dress laid out that most likely cost more than her family’s entire annual income.

  It was overwhelming. She tried to remember to breathe.

  “Okay, let’s get you dressed. The queen despises tardiness.”

  “What is she like, the queen?” Alina slipped into her dress and allowed Ella to help her fasten the back. Ella’s hands paused on the buttons.

  “She is popular among the court ladies,” she offered after a moment before continuing. “And beautiful. She is skilled in court intrigue and games. Some say she is cold, but she raised Lord Felix since he arrived when he was a boy and treats him well.”

  Alina frowned. “That all seems like a roundabout way of saying she isn’t very kind.”

  “I didn’t say that.” Ella finished up the buttons and tied the sash. Her voice was barely a whisper when she continued: “Though, I warn you to be careful of what you say. She has spies everywhere. Nothing in this castle doesn’t get reported back to her, even in closed rooms and in confidence.”

  “How is that possible? Surely someone is spilling secrets to her.”

  Ella shook her head. “You’ll find out soon enough. It is almost preternatural how much she knows about everyone. Some have suggested… well, I won’t say it aloud.”

  “You honestly think she can hear you?”

  “You’d be foolish not to.”

  Alina wasn’t late for dinner. In fact, she made it a point to arrive early, if only to appease Queen Calista. Ella said the queen detested tardiness
, so Alina determined she would not start out on the wrong foot.

  As Alina walked into the dining room, she realized that she made a mistake in arriving so early—the king hadn’t arrived yet. Alina’s guard for the night, Rhys, took his place beside another against the wall and out of the way. Alina assumed the unnamed man in the same stance was the queen’s guard. Queen Calista was standing, adjusting the cutlery that the butlers set, focused on the table. When Alina saw her, she hesitated. This was a situation she wanted to avoid.

  The queen was aware that Alina was there. There was no way she didn’t hear the noise Alina made as she shuffled into the room. However, the queen pretended not to notice as she continued her task. When she finally looked up at her step-daughter, there was a tense moment. Alina could see that she was expecting her to bow, to yield to her power and authority.

  But Alina was the crown princess. First in line to the throne, blood royal. She was the mate to an Alpha. She would not bow down. The queen knew the protocol, just as Ella did. Was she using stall tactics to make Alina yield?

  The queen’s cerulean eyes met Alina’s emerald ones before she averted them and curtsied. “Your Highness, Princess Alina.”

  As the queen rose, straightening her back, the door to the dining room opened. Two men walked in, one larger than the other. Belmont was wide shoulders, narrow hips, and pounds of muscle. The king had not been one to sit idly by. Felix strode in after him, tall and lean. He almost looked sickly compared to the king.

  “Oh good, you’ve both arrived.” Belmont strode into the room, all attention turning to him. Felix bowed to the two women before both Alina and Calista sank into a curtsy that Belmont waved off. “Sit, sit.”

  Belmont took his place at the head of the table and Queen Calista on the other end. Alina took a vacant seat near the middle. Felix took the remaining chair across from Alina. Everyone was silent as the footmen set the first course in front of them.