Chapter 11 Neve #2
She reaches up, touching her cheek, caressing the frosty skin. “My curse… it slowed my movement for a long time.”
“I see that’s been cured,” I say, the sarcasm in my voice surprising me.
“Much to my surprise, it seems to have all but stunted my aging over the century, too,” Mother goes on, dropping her hand.
“I had to do something to keep the kingdom from falling. Much has changed in the past century, Neve. With you asleep yet alive, but with no signs of waking, I felt it was wrong to give the chance for anyone else to take over the throne, your throne. I made the allies I had to and carved a path for the Frostlands to thrive and survive.”
There’s a lot to unpack there, and I’m not quite sure where to start.
Gesturing toward the table, I focus on what I’m most mad about.
“Telling me about some upcoming ball like it’s the only problem we have won’t help.
I need to understand our political agenda.
What the people think of you, me, us. I need to make a formal statement to the civilians here and make it known that I’ve returned. ”
“What about the matter of the spell?” Mother goes on, tilting her head. “There will be questions. The Queen risen from a frozen sleep? This will not simply be rumors that circulate among the nobility and our royal court. This will make its way throughout all of Mystica.”
“And who will hear it?” I challenge. “Is the Court of Cards still a concern? Swan Lake or all of Wonderland? Perhaps a map would do me more good than dinner invitations.”
She purses her lips, and I can feel the rejection burning on her tongue. She surprises me, giving into one of my questions for the first time. “Come. We’ll go to the study and look at the maps, if you please.”
“Yes,” I say, before she can say much more. “Now. And I’ll be addressing the citizens tomorrow. Enough is enough. There’s no way we’re putting on a ball in the palace without me addressing the people who live here. They depend on us, Mother.”
Something flashes in her pale eyes, and the chill that brushes across my shoulder blades is almost comforting. I don’t need Ban knowing more about the Frostlands than he already does, but I have no idea how to shoo him away without drawing Mother’s attention.
Curling her lip, she turns away quickly. This meeting room used to be the room Father would occupy to address his army. I don’t think a ball should be discussed within the same walls, but times have clearly changed.
Mother’s shoulders are stiff as we walk through the palace. There are a few guards stationed in the halls, ensuring that visitors do not stray past the guestrooms; it appears that some things have stayed the same at least, and the path Mother leads me down is a familiar one.
A pang hits me in the chest as we step through the doors of Father’s study. It looks like it hasn’t been used in quite some time’ the room in need of a good dusting. The curtains are mostly drawn, open enough to let in glimmers of afternoon sun.
It’s like stepping back in time to the first place that makes me feel like I’m home.
“We were cleaning this room for a while after Andor’s passing, but in recent years, things have become more difficult to manage, and I haven’t kept up with this room.
The map is up to date, though.” There’s a stab of disbelief as I carry myself across the room.
The map has always hung in the same place, and I yank open the curtains to give the room more light.
The map is nothing like I remember.
Moving closer, I drag my fingers across the parchment in wonder, leaving little paths through the dust. Some of the places are familiar, but Wonderland used to be such a small place, and Camelot had more land, if I remember right.
Tressa was a new kingdom a century ago, and now a hard line separates it from the rest of Mystica, like there’s a divide.
Thornton. I don’t recognize that name at all.
One thing sticks out above all else. “This is just Mystica. What about Ander Son’s Way and Neverland? There are more continents than this, Mother. Where are those maps?”
She thins her lips again, an action that seems to happen every time I ask a question that displeases her. “We no longer speak with the other continents. Travel was cut off long ago from any kingdom. Perhaps some of the other kingdoms have allies afar, but the Frostlands do not.”
Turning to her, one hand presses over my heart. “Even Icelandia?”
Mother’s face hardens at the mention of the kingdom she once called home. “We do not speak anymore. Anyone I once knew is long gone.”
Just as you and I should be, I think, but I bite my tongue to keep from saying so, staring at the map again.
How have things turned so horrible in such a short time?
A century is barely four generations, and had my father lived, I would have ruled for maybe half that.
Possibly less. There could be a new ruler on the throne, ideally a descendant of mine.
Things should change, and hopefully get better, with the passage of time.
This almost feels dismantled from the pivotal connections we once had when I was a princess.
Back then, Mother often spoke to her family in Icelandia.
What could have happened to cause such a rift? Even Meria, the mermaid kingdom, seems almost detached from the Mystica borders. Are alliances cut off with the sea dwellers too?
A chill dances past me, and for the first time, Mother’s head snaps around. I felt the chill move in her direction. Her eyes dart around as she tries to see something neither of us can.
What is he playing at?
I don’t know if she can sense Ban, or if it’s just a feeling. I’m not too sure how any of this works. And given the state of the world right now, it looks like I have a lot to learn in a short time.
~~~
Mother leaves me in the study, and although I have plans today to get things rolling, I find myself simply sitting on the bench near the windows.
There’s dust everywhere, probably coating my dress that seemingly appeared from nowhere this morning in my closet.
I’ve had a new dress each day. Considering I woke up wearing the same thing I remember falling asleep in, I think my mother's got some poor seamstress crafting something for me each day.
I had a fitting with the royal tailor on my first morning here, but I had assumed the dresses would be designed over a matter of weeks.
I could wear something else in the meantime without any trouble.
I keep staring at the map, at a world that is now unfamiliar to me, and wonder how time tricked me into this life.
“Times have changed.”
I jump up from the bench, raising my hands in defense as my ice springs to life, and glare across the space. Unsurprisingly, it’s Ban. I thought I felt someone watching me, not just today, but since I returned to the castle.
I know he was here the first night I returned. And two days ago, when I forced myself to pop my shoulder back into place, I thought I felt that cooling chill, a sign he was in the room while I struggled. I don’t know what to make of that.
And right now, that bastard’s sitting at Father’s desk. Something inside me snaps at the sight, watching his killer sprawl behind the desk with folded hands. “How dare you?”
Ban raises a brow, not moving an inch. “You’re going to have to elaborate, Your Majesty."
I scream, throwing ice at him. It flies from my hands, shooting viciously across the short distance between us to impale into the wall. Ban disappears before they can touch him, fading into a dark mist.
Tears threaten my eyes, and I spin away just as quickly to survey the room. I’m frustrated, not weak. Leaders don’t cry.
“Is this our standard greeting now?” Ban asks dryly, appearing near the map, leaning against the wall. “I thought we already covered this.”
Baring my teeth, I resist the urge to throw ice at him again.
If anyone in the palace wanted to be near me, I’d worry about someone coming to check on us.
But the guards are leery of me, any visiting nobility are scared of me, and the Icebound spirits Mother seems to have at her beck and call creep me out.
The two of us could circle each other like this all night and not get anywhere. “Why were you following me?”
His eyes spark with interest. “So you can sense me. Usually only people who can glimpse the dead can spot me in the shadows.”
“I can’t see you when you’re hiding,” I say immediately.
“But you can sense me,” he counters, twisting his fingers so a little snowfall appears, the flakes fading before they reach the floor. He takes a step closer, putting his life in danger, and immediately steps to one side.
There it is, a cool breeze. A chill. I stare at my own hands, brows furrowed. “It’s the magic.”
“Winter magic,” Ban agrees, dropping his hand. “Like calls to like. Your magic senses me.”
“And my mother’s magic too.”
He frowns, shaking his head. “I’ve walked through the palace before, Queen Neve, while you were in the mountains sleeping. I’ve stood near your mother. She’s never indicated that she senses me.”
“But earlier–”
“She was watching you like a hawk,” he interrupts. “She studied every muscle in your face while you were in that dreadful meeting, and again when you came in here. The loyal Icebound seem attached to her. As spirits, they are more attuned to me than the living.”
“How long were you in the meeting uninvited?” I ask. We didn’t talk about anything important like I wanted to, but if we had, it could have been a security problem.
He smirks. “The entire time. You can’t see me when I’m in the shadows, but I watch you. I wanted to observe what the Snow Queen was up to.”
I scoff. “You heard her. She’s planning a ball.”