Chapter 15 Ban #2
“Can you help me?” Anastasia repeats, her hands clasped in front of her once more. “I don’t want to see the Queen of Hearts again. She’s scary.”
That we can agree on, but there’s one more thing I need to know from Anastasia. Something I personally want to see too. “Do you know where you died in the palace, little one? I can find your body and ensure you are buried properly. If your mom has a grave, I can lay you to rest beside her.”
She gives me a sad look, dropping her arms. “It’s going to be where Momma’s is, left behind in the mountains.”
Left behind? “You were in the mountains? Just this morning?”
I didn’t see the Snow Queen leave all night, and Neve was too worked up to even try to sleep so she spoke with the Dowager Queen late in the evening. If Ronnie didn’t leave overnight, it happened this morning, or sometime before.
Anastasia hisses, grabbing for my hand. It’s strange when a spirit tries to touch you.
She’s able to almost put pressure on my palm, but it’s barely recognizable.
That doesn’t deter her as she tries to cling to me anyway.
“Lady Nyra took me away. When my body was empty, she looked right at me! She looked right at me and said a new attendant would take my place.”
Creepy. I’m not surprised Nyra, a spirit, can see another soul, but her words left a lasting impression. “What did you do for the royal family?”
“I bring the queens their meals,” she says, and there’s a note of pride in her voice. “I got to have a nicer dress and bring them food any time of day. Sometimes I get to eat with them, too. Queen Neve is nice.”
Yes, Neve is a lot nicer than her mother. I seriously doubt Ronnie invited a servant girl to eat with her. “I hate to ask, Anastasia, but do you know why they took your body?”
She nods quickly. “Queen Snedronningen’s attendants need a form to take.”
Dread washes over me when she points, and I peer down from the ledge as the massive ship floats closer to the docks.
They are nearly at port, and Ronnie is walking quickly toward the approaching vessel.
The two figures following her stiff figure must be Kael and Nyra.
The others are too far off to distinguish.
“Lady Nyra said someone would take my place. Someone bound to the ice.”
Shit. That’s got to be an Icebound. But I’ve never known them to congregate among the living. For the first time, keeping the Icebound from the other Reapers feels like a mistake. It was never their problem to bear in the southern kingdoms and forests, but now, it could pose a very real threat.
As I stare down at the people below, I notice someone short, standing apart from the few guardsmen who accompanied Ronnie out here. I can’t see the person’s face, but I’m confident it’s a child.
Probably whoever is pretending to be Anastasia.
“Do you think I’ll see my momma?” she asks, and I turn my attention back to her.
She’s focusing on the tear behind me, the next life where the spirits are meant to step into, so they can pass on from this world.
The fear from before isn’t as strong, and there’s mild curiosity in its place. “Wherever that goes?”
“You’ll see her again,” I say, but to be honest, I don’t know what happens beyond the veil. Both times I’ve died, I end up among the living again. “But it’s not somewhere I can go with you. From here, you walk the path on your own.”
Anastasia continues staring at me. I can’t imagine what she’s trying to figure out. “Are you alone then? I’ve never seen someone like you.”
I assume she means the shadows, and I offer her a little smile. The old stories that existed about me a century ago are gone, buried behind the rumors and gossip surrounding Neve’s disappearance. “I have a few friends who are like me. We keep each other company.”
Satisfied, she grins. “Good. It’s not a happy thing to be lonely.”
My cold heart twists at that, and when she holds out her hand to me, I accept it. We cross the short distance again, and she smiles up at me when we reach the rip once more.
“Go on,” I tell her, nodding to the space. “I know it looks scary, but you’ll find yourself someplace better. This place won’t matter anymore.”
Anastasia hesitates, her eyes finding mine. “I hope I get to remember you, Ban. You’re nice.”
She steps through the tear bravely before I can respond, and many moments pass until I close the space.
If Anastasia wasn’t killed this morning, her soul hanging around the palace, we might not have had such an involved conversation.
I would have collected her ghost when I was making my rounds, passing her soul along through the void without talking to her for so long.
I would have no idea, like with most spirits, what her story was.
Yet she was drawn to me, her soul following the call of death. After closing the tear again with a drag of my staff, I turn back to continue watching the scene unfold.
The ship is docked now, but that’s not what draws my focus. Of all the people waiting down there, one is turned, looking up at the cliffs where I’m standing.
Kael.
I don’t know whether he sensed me or spotted me, but I haven’t been hiding in the shadows. Anastasia would have found me whether I was hidden or not. And even if the living cannot see the tear I create to siphon spirits on, an Icebound could.
Glaring down from the cliff, I refuse to look away first. Come what may, Ronnie’s lackeys don’t frighten me. They are Icebound, twisted or not, and eventually, their spirits will have to pass on. The only problem is figuring out how to detach them from her hold.
“Presenting her Royal Majesty from Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts!”
The voice carries just enough to cause my heart to freeze in place as I focus on the ship again.
Black hull. Maybe that should have been a hint, but to be honest, I didn’t realize Wonderland had a vessel this size. So few kingdoms bother with ships these days, since Mystica is cut off from other countries.
The herald steps back as four guards descend from the ship. If Kael’s eyes weren’t still locked on me, I would move closer. I suppose the shadows are a good option, but I don’t want anything to distract from what’s going on.
The last time I saw the Mad Queen was beneath Swan Lake when Odette’s blood opened a looking glass between Wonderland and a hidden entry point.
I think between myself, Raymundo, and Odette, we destroyed that side of the looking glass.
I haven’t heard anything about her since leaving Swan Lake, but up here in the Frostlands, that isn’t too unusual.
As the Mad Queen descends the steps, another figure takes up his place at the edge of the ship. I barely glance over the Queen, knowing what she looks like even with the details skewed by distance.
“And presenting his Royal Highness, King Lancelot of Wonderland.”
Kael spins around, and I use the opportunity to slide into the shadows. Once I’m hidden, I shadow hop closer, risking the Icebound sensing me to try and get a better look at the guests.
There shouldn't be a soul in Mystica who wants to marry the Mad Queen. Yet here he stands, a man with curly black hair and sun-kissed skin that contrasts with the white background of the Frostlands. He wears regal robes in a rich, emerald green.
Lancelot. I’ve heard his name before. That’s who Ronnie was speaking to yesterday. Strange though, I think I’ve heard it before, too.
It takes a moment for the pieces to click together. Lancelot hails from Camelot, where I know Arthur is from, too. But his face sticks out from a memory weeks ago, before I got myself trapped in Dima’s clutches.
This is the man who reamed Ysanna when I found her in the gardens of her home. If he spoke to someone from Swan Lake not long ago before Dima’s death, how connected is Lancelot in all this? He wears different hats for different roles, and I kind of hope he keeps secrets from fucking Davina.
I know enough about Camelot to recognize the emblem on the front of his tunic, even if nothing else is similar. He’s wearing a crown of bones too, a large emerald in the front, centered by gold.
This is just another nightmare in the making.
A king in Wonderland… I have to tell the other Reapers. This could change everything.
As Lancelot steps from the ship to join the Mad Queen, he stays in her shadow. She stands front and center, and he is two steps behind and to her right. Almost like a guard, though four stand close by.
Unease creeps over me. Each guard bears an emblem burned into the back of their hands: one spade, clover, heart and diamond. Just like the scars the Mad Queen once left on the four of us, but they are all easy to identify now and in the exact same place on each person.
Hopping closer, I get within earshot so I can eavesdrop.
None of the Icebound turn to acknowledge me, and when I glance toward the only child in the group, she has the same eerie white skin as Ronnie’s two helpers.
The profile of the little girl matches Anastasia, but whatever soul is attached to her Icebound form now has nothing to do with the servant girl I spoke to.
“Queen Sned,” the Mad Queen greets, stepping away from Lancelot to throw her arms around the Queen. It’s a warmer reception than I’ve ever seen the Mad Queen give anyone. Part of me hopes it will turn into a strangulation instead.
Ronnie hugs the Mad Queen back, and my hope diminishes. “Davina, it’s been too long.”
Davina? How the hell did I never learn that the Mad Queen’s name is Davina?
When they pull back, the queens share a grin that is downright evil. Davina turns away first to gesture to Lancelot. “My new husband.”
Lancelot steps forward, accepting Davina’s hand.
He’s an odd contrast to her; his eyes are sharp, focused, and dark.
Hers bounce around, the red-heart gemstones in her teeth shining against the light.
She looks absolutely unhinged, while he’s cold and calculated.
Perhaps they are a match after all. “Queen Snedronningen. It’s an honor. ”
I sense zero sincerity from the three of them; it’s as if they’re all masking their true feelings. It’s impossible to tell how any of them feel about each other, even the newlyweds.
Ronnie barely has time to bow before Davina reaches forward, grabbing her arm.
It looks like a tight grip, and I don’t miss the wince that flashes across Ronnie’s face.
For all the hardships she causes everyone else, it’s nice to see that the Mad Queen terrifies her, too.
“Let’s have a chat about your daughter.”
“Neve’s return is unprecedented,” Ronnie says quickly, her back straightening.
“And your magic is fading,” Davina replies, cocking her head to one side. “It is, it is, it is!”
As if to prove her point. Davina gives Ronnie a shove. She’s slow to catch herself, Kael and Nyra flying up to help steady their queen. She’s stiff, her movements too sharp as she straightens.
It’s a slight, without a doubt. There isn’t a large audience here, but the point is clear. Davina knows Ronnie’s weaknesses, and she is not above extorting them. It’s very Mad Queen of her.
“I want to see the girl,” she says, brushing past Ronnie.
Lancelot follows in her wake quietly, and Ronnie turns as quickly as she can to keep up.
The rest of the spectators, including the Icebound, stand there stupefied.
It’s a strange power exchange among the three.
“Do you think she’ll cry for me, Sned my dear?
Will she weep for my former husband’s death? ”
“He’s long gone, my love,” Lancelot says, his tone lacking emotion. It’s like he’s repeating something from memory. “There’s nothing to weep over.”
“Oh, Lance,” Davina gushes, pressing a hand to her chest before she hops ahead. There’s a wild smile on her face, and she spins as she goes. Her footprints are everywhere, her long, red dress dragging through the snow. If the cold bothers her, it’s impossible to tell.
As she skips, she appears to be dropping something along the ground.
I don’t get closer for fear that someone will sense me, but for all I know, it could be teeth.
It is the Mad Queen after all. “Neve will be so sad! She hasn’t seen me in so long, she probably remembers me as Lady Hartsell.
Let’s show your new queenie who I really am. ”
I shadow hop away before I listen to any more. The rest of what Davina says can wait. Right now, I need to find Neve before the Mad Queen and her entourage do.
She has to hear me out. If she doesn’t, there’s a chance she might walk straight into a trap. With my heart slamming hard against my ribs as I jump through the shadows in the palace, nightmares play out in my head over what the Mad Queen might do with Neve.