The shadowed queen, p.3
The Shadowed Queen, page 3
“Of course dear.”
I take Oberon's hand and we walk through a portal into Asphelia. We drop our bags in the living room of the house and put on our winter gear, each piece chosen with care to protect us from the harsh elements of winter. The room hums with anticipation as we pull on our gloves and lace up sturdy boots. Oberon smiles at me across the room. Now that I think about it, I don’t think he's ever experienced true winter. The Shadow Realm, it seems, only gets a little warmer in the summer, and a little cooler in the winter, but it's not directly affected by the seasons. This will unfortunately be a harsh trip for him.
Ivy and Moss don't feel cold the way we do, so luckily for them, they don't need to gear up quite like we do.
“Does everyone have their pins?” I ask, looking over everyone.
The biggest issue we came across with the ravens and Oberon traveling to the other realms, is that they speak an entirely different language, and Oberon doesn’t know Eour language at all. So I took a trip to Liri, Dot’s friend in Nesta Valley, and had her make a bunch of pins that I could give to whoever we needed. The pins are embued with the same magic that my bangle is, they translate any language, and make it so you speak the same language as the person that you're talking to. I'm sure I'll end up doing most of the talking, but it can't hurt to take precautions.
I look over everyone, making sure they have their pins attached and are ready to go.
“I have the portal as far north as I've been in the Spring realm, we can fly from there and when it gets too cold to fly we’ll have to walk. I hope the winter storm hasn't gone past the mountains, it will be much easier to go over them than under.” I say, checking over everyone. They all nod in response. We have no idea how bad the storm is until we get going.
I take a deep breath and we step out into the spring realm. The salty breeze rolls in and caresses my face. I look at our surroundings, we are at the top of a cliff by the ocean, we had an assignment here a few years ago and we camped here on this cliff. We hadn't been here long, but I remember Aspen being nervous sleeping so out in the open, we always had taverns or cabins to stay in, but for this specific mission, we needed to sleep outside. The creatures we were hunting were targeting campers and hikers. Aspen ended up getting a rash, and sunburnt, attacked by bugs, all the worst things that can happen when camping, poor thing. I chuckle at the memory. I look around at my friends. Moss looks nervous, Ivy looks curious, this is a new realm for both of them.
“Alright let's get going,” I say and turn us all into ravens.
“It feels oddly good to have wings again,” Moss says and flexes hers.
“Honestly I prefer arms.” Ivy mumbles. Oberon looks between the two, smugly shaking his head.
“You'll be a human again soon, the quicker we go the quicker we’ll be back on land,” I say and we take off.
As we soar higher and higher, I look down at the islands below. The Realm of Spring is just a large group of islands with bridges connecting them. I've only ever been here the one time, and we didn’t get to explore. I really have no idea what the culture is like, or what towns fill the islands. As we fly higher I can see almost all of the land masses. The towns look like ants dotting the landscape, the people as small as dust to us.
I can tell we’ve crossed the border as soon as we do, the wind instantly turns crisper, biting into us. The farther north we go, the stronger the wind is and the colder it gets. I look to the others, I can see their breath, everyone is shivering slightly against the pressure of the wind.
“We all okay?” I ask shouting over the howling winds.
Everyone says they're okay for now. We push on.
I can see the mountains ahead of us finally after flying for what feels like forever. The wind is making it almost impossible to see now. I'm shaking and the ice is sticking to my feathers and weighing me down. I see Moss start to slow down from exhaustion, we’re going to need to stop soon. I sigh and close my eyes, we aren't going to make it over these damn mountains.
We fly a little longer until we’re in a small town. I turn us back into our regular forms and look to Oberon, making sure my magic worked through his curse. He looks like normal, I’ll have to keep an eye on that I'm not sure how long it will last.
“This is Frostwood. We are still a day hike from the mountain pass. And we will probably have to sneak in, since the storms they're not allowing anyone through the tunnels.” I say.
“Are we going to take the horses?” Ivy asks, tightening the strings on his coat and pulling his hood in closer.
“I’ll make some, I'm not going to subject those poor things to this,” I reply.
I turn and look around us, ensuring we’re alone. I create four shadow horses. From a distance, they would just look like black horses, but up close you can see through them to the snow on the other side, and their skin swirls and glimmers like the rest of my shadow creations do. The horses are only shadows, they have no souls, and they are not sentient. They are just another extension of me. I smile with the sudden appreciation of my powers, creating creatures from nothing. Oberon and I help Ivy and Moss onto their horses and we get on our own. We turn and go back to the path that leads through town, towards the mountain, and ride.
The wind bites through my coat and ice sticks to my eyelashes. Snowflakes, large and delicate descend from the ashen sky. With each stride, we forge our way through the treacherous terrain, the snow-covered path is almost completely obscured by the wind and snow. The air is frigid, numbing my exposed skin and causing my breath to feel heavy, my chest is tight as the cold air rips its way down my throat.
The wind howls like a banshee, whipping the snow around us, it is a complete whiteout. I'm running on pure instinct now, hoping we’re still on a path.
Hopefully, we don’t have to do things like this in the other Realms.
Finally, we make it through the mountain pass and into the capital of the realm, Snowlight. The city is nestled deep in a valley of mountains, so luckily the wind and snow from the storm aren't as bad here. We get off our horses and look up into the city. I let the shadows fall and the horses disappear.
“Where do we go from here Anna?” Moss asks, coming to stand next to me. I point up the wide road to the massive castle on the other side of the city. The peaks of the roof just barely stick up above the houses and buildings in front of us. The city is quiet, with only a few people shuffling around in the snow. There's music playing somewhere, but that’s about the only noise in the street. I can’t hear any birds, or children playing.
“Follow me, I guess,” I say and make my way down the street. We stick close to each other, hoods up, sticking as close to buildings as we could to stay out of the wind as much as possible. Looking ahead, I can see the front of the castle, with several guards standing in front. I walk up to them, the others close behind me.
“State your business.” One man says. I look him up and down. He's wearing armor over thick clothes, and mittoned hands hold onto a large spear.
“My name is Annabelle Daeno, I'm here as an emissary from the Autumn Court. I'm seeking an audience with the Lord and Lady.” I say, squaring my shoulders. I try to hide the shiver in my voice and my teeth chattering together. There are only a handful of people who are approved by the Realms to be emissaries, the Colossus has to gauge your worthiness to the cause, and there's a lot of work that goes into being approved. Being an emissary is an open pass to all of the realms, an immediate audience to the High Lady or Lord of the realm, in times of emergency, and access to the mortal realm. It makes me wonder if all along I was ushered towards this path, what are the chances that I met Dot, made it into the academy, and were chosen to be an emissary, knowing that I would need this access to save the realms?
The guard turns and walks towards the front doors. Oberon puts a hand on my shoulder, “Hey are you alright? You spaced out again.”
“Yeah, sorry let's go.”
As I approach the imposing castle in the Court of Winter, a sense of apprehension washes over me. Situated atop a small snow-covered hill, the castle stands as a testament of the splendor and majesty of the winter realm. We step inside and immediately feel worlds better. The air inside is warm, with scents of freshly baked bread wafting through the halls. The grand walls, constructed from a bone-white stone, gleam like ice and are adorned with intricate frost patterns. The entryway is a grand arched doorway, framed with elaborate ice sculptures that depict scenes from winter myths and tales. As we follow the guard, our footsteps echo on the cobblestone.
In every corner of the room we walk into, the presence of winter is felt. Frost-covered tapestries adorn the walls, depicting Lords and Ladies, the Colossus, and varying winter spirits. The furniture is adorned with luxurious fur throws, inviting one to seek warmth and comfort amidst the cushions.
“Leave your weapons and coats here please, I’ll ask if they're seeing anyone right now. Stay here,” he says, walking down the hall. We do as we were asked, putting our obvious weapons on the table. I chuckle to myself at the thought, that I could reach into a shadow and pull out a hundred swords before they even knew what was happening. That's the reason only emissaries are allowed to meet with the Lords and Ladies like this, safety. Any magic-wielding fae could come in here and cause havoc. They think that closing themselves off like this, it keeps them safe. I shake my head at the thought, I leave my smaller knives on me, I never take those off. I’m sure Oberon has some on him as well. We take off our coats and hang them up on the rack next to the table, it's far too warm in here to keep them on anyway.
We stand by the fireplace, warming our hands. The others had taken their gloves off, I chose to keep mine on. While those close to me knew about my scars, others may not be so calm about my mottled, fragmented skin. To someone who doesn’t know me, I don’t know what they would think at first. Burns, plague, rogue magic, any number of things. I had decided to keep them as hidden as possible.
The guard finally comes back, waving a hand towards himself saying, “Lady Inixia will see you now.”
We are escorted into the throne room. The High Lord and Lady sit up on their white quartz thrones.
“Welcome Annabelle. We’ve heard a lot about you from Lord Petyr.” Lady Inixia says to me, with a smile that doesn’t quite meet her eyes.
“Thank you for granting us an audience, it was quite a trek up here. I’ll make this quick, m’lady. We would like to offer assistance to the winter storm plaguing your lands, and request an audience with your Colossus.” I say bowing my head slightly.
“How do you propose to help with the storm dear? Your powers are shadow based are they not? And our Colossus hasn't taken visitors in a very very long time, I'm not sure if she will see you.” She replies sternly.
“I can create a safe haven from the storms. I'm not allowed to go into too great of detail, forgive me. But I'm offering shelter to anyone who needs it until the storm resolves.”
The Lord and Lady look at eachother, no doubt speaking internally. I can see very clearly their bond through their auras. They are soul-bonded. Their souls are connected by the same tiny threads I see connecting Oberon and I.
“We would like to see this safe haven first. Then we can talk about the rest,” Lord Elodris says, standing. Again the absurdity of trust makes me want to laugh, because Lord Petyr decided I was trustworthy, they'll allow us to teleport them to another realm. For a closed-off realm, they are very open to this idea.
“Of course,” I say and nod again, creating a doorway next to us. The guards that stand next to the thrones enter first, then come out and say they believe it’s safe. So we all enter the doorway.
“This is Asphelia,” I say, waving a hand towards the courtyard. We are in the center of the city. Calia and Jane smile from the garden they are tending to. It is light here, but the sky almost looks like sunset, shades of red and grey fill the sky. Stars twinkle and shine, small wispy clouds float by, and birds chirp in the trees above us.
“Where is this? This is beautiful.” Lady Inixia says, taking a few steps ahead of the group, her eyes shining with curiosity.
“This is a city of my creation. If your people would feel more comfortable in a colder climate I can accommodate them. But anyone is welcome here. I was tasked with helping figure out the source of the storm, and I thought I’d offer shelter as well.” I say, smiling at them. Inixia and Elodris exchange glances, they look like they don’t want to get their hopes up... like this offer is too good to be true.
“Forgive me dear if I’m not completely comfortable with this without a contract that everyone will be safe.” Lord Elodris says.
“I am prepared to give one, no hesitation. I ask for nothing in return other than the visit with the Colossus, I only wish to help.”
They look at each other again, then back at the city. The streets glimmer and shine under the lights above.
“Okay, make the contract. We appreciate this more than words can convey. You’re sure you can accommodate anyone who wishes to enter?” Lord Elodris says, disbelief written clearly on his face.
“Yes, I can create portals in every one of your towns, if you have sick or injured I can create a hospital.”
“You said you can’t go into detail but I’m so curious, how you're able to create all of this on your own.” Lady Inixia says eyeing me. Something in her gaze tells me she knows something, something more than she's letting on other than being suspicious of me.
“Maybe someday I can share that with you all. All I can say is that everything here is made of shadow. I can create anything you need. Just ask one of my little friends here.” I say, pointing to the ravens. They smile and bow to the Lord and Lady and go back to what they were doing.
We finish our tour with them and go back to the throne room. Lady Inixia comes and locks arms with me, murmuring magic into the air. Ice and shadow swirl together on our arms, awaiting the contract.
“I promise to shelter anyone in the winter realm that needs somewhere safe to be, and will attempt to resolve the storm, in return you will grant us an audience with the Colossus here. No harm will fall on those within the streets of Asphelia.”
“I accept these terms,” she replies coldly, and the magic solidifies into stains on our arms, a magic contract binding us. I'm not sure what will happen if I don't follow through on my end, normally contract breakers die instantly, but if I'm cursed to live, would it matter?
“We appreciate your assistance with this, we will send word to the other towns and have guards assist people into new homes if they wish to leave. We are a stubborn people, so I’m not sure how many will be willing to move.” Lord Elodris says, tapping his fingers on his chin. “In order to reach the Colossus, you will need an escort.” He waves over a guard. The man is tall, much taller than me or Oberon. I can’t see his face through his full armor but he gives off a very aggressive energy, his aura is a dark purple, which is usually found in vampires or werebeasts.
"Are we getting a tour to a giant ancient snake from a vampire, Annabelle?" Oberon thinks to me, chuckling.
"I think so. I've only ever met one, and it’s considered rude to ask."
"I’ve never met a vampire. He better stay away from us, I’m the only one allowed to bite you."
I glance over to him and see the devilish smirk he has on his stupid face. I roll my eyes and playfully elbow him in the side, he acts shocked.
“This is Gabic. He can take you to the tree.” Lord Elodris says.
“Follow me.” He says gruffly and turns to leave. I look at the group and Ivy nods, following our lead. I can always trust he will take the rear, watching our backs.
We follow Gabic down a long corridor and back into the room with our belongings. We put our gear back on and head back outside into the blinding light of the winter storm roaring outside. I lose my footing for a moment and almost fall into the deep snow. It’s well over my knees now. If Gabic weren’t here I’d turn us into moose or something, anything a little better equipped for deep snow travel.
We walk for a long while through the blizzard, Gabic seems to know where he's going just on instinct. The rest of us stumble through the snow and hold onto the person in front of us. The bitter wind rips through our coats and freezes our blood. I'm shaking and every movement takes significant effort. I run into Oberon as he stops in front of me.
“We’re here.” Gabic says, “This is where I leave you.”
“Thank you for walking us out here,” I say, bowing my head to him.
He gruffs in response and goes back towards the castle. I turn around and look above us, the Winter Realms ancient tree.
three
We push aside the creaky wooden door at the base of the tree, and quickly close it behind us. The inside of the tree suddenly lights up with magic, torches on the wall light the way into a circular room surrounded by doors. There is a pedestal in the middle of the room and Oberon walks up to it.
“There's a sign over here, instructions,” he says, turning back to us.
“Let me see.” I walk up to the sign and read what it says out loud.
"Harken, thou who dost seek audience with me, unravel my riddle, speak the solution aloud. One guess thou hast, then the right door shall illuminate. Thou shall not advance by mere chance. Choose the errant door, and meet thy doom."
“What the hell? She would kill us? Why didn’t they warn us?” Moss asks, her eyes wide in fear.
“All of the Colossus are like this, Eleni’s tree had a pitch black labyrinth with plenty of booby traps. This should be easy.” I say, and continue to read the sign. “I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and rivers but no water. What am I?”
“Forests but no trees...” Oberon thinks aloud to himself, pacing.
“Cities no houses, forests no trees, and rivers no water.” I repeat quietly to myself. I don’t know if it's from stress or the cold but I can’t think. It feels like my brain is mush. I watch Oberon pace around the platform in the middle of the room.
