Wildest Dreams

Chapter Twenty-Six

The Measure of a Princess

Three weeks later…

With our usual posse of Frey’s men, Tyr galloped through Snowdon as I sat on the steed held tight to my husband’s front, watched the city go by and realized I was wrong.

Bellebryn was not the most beautiful place I’d ever seen.

Snowdon was.

Snowdon, the capital of Lunwyn and where my mother and father lived, was a city like Sudvic, huge and sprawling. But it was not skirting a bay and nestled in hills, it spread across a valley and up the sides of white, snowy mountains. Its tall, densely built buildings were made of white stone capped with snow covered roofs dripping sparkling icicles, their doors painted in dove grays, creams or the lightest blues or lilacs. Its winding roads were cobbled in creamy stones that, like Sudvic, had been cleared of snow. As we rode through the city, we passed many snow-blanketed parks from large and rambling, to small and square in which there were twinkling fountains, white monuments, grand cream-colored statues of the gods, dragons or past kings, queens, Drakkars or Freys and in one I saw an iced over pond where people were skating.

Frey told me (and I noted he was right as we rode over four bridges) there were three rivers snaking through the city. And as we rode over them or beside them I saw their water was glistening and clear, their banks shimmering with ice, their rock beds glittering as if covered in fairy dust. Over these rivers were arched, ornate, cream-colored bridges with tall white-painted streetlamps rising from the balustrades. One river was much larger than the other two and flowed from a valley between two mountains fed from, Frey also told me, the Winter Sea.

Unlike Sudvic, which seemed working class from what I had seen, and Fyngaard, which was entirely cosmopolitan, Snowdon had working class areas and the pubs, shops and businesses that tended to those classes as well as posh areas with the cafés, restaurants and shops that catered to the more affluent. You could easily assess the status of those who lived in the dwellings in the different areas, the tall, narrow buildings that were likely apartments or row houses of the lower classes and then, as we rode from the outskirts to the more elite inner city, the stately, extensive homes and even mansions with the crystalline frost on their windows and window boxes filled with carefully tended miniature evergreens.

And best of all, built into the side of the mountain and overlooking the entirety of the city was Rimée Keep, a frost-colored castle that somehow shimmered in the sun. It had an abundance of conical roofs that had long, thin, red and gold diamond-patterned pennants drifting across the sky attached to short flagpoles. These were over circular turrets of which there was also an abundance. The façade had stone-balustrade balconies and blinking, diamond-paned windows with shutters painted a gray so light it was almost indecipherable from white. The front of the Keep was landscaped with tall white-painted lanterns and taller, lush, long-needled fir trees. Leading up to what had to be three-story, arched, double doors was a sweeping staircase that looked to be carved from ice and up both sides were green, tapered miniature pine trees. And at the front of it all, even from far away I could see the massive, twinkling, five-tiered fountain with flowing, crystal clear waters.

The whole city with its white and cream stone, muted colors and evergreens all coated with glimmering snow and dripping with icicles looked like it had sprung up magically from the snow.

It was bloody fantastic.

We made it to the Keep (me, with my lips parted in shock at its beauty, Frey, probably not noticing it) and Frey led Tyr around the fountain as his men on their horses positioned themselves around the drive. It was then I stopped looking at the Keep and instead saw Mother and Father emerging from the double doors followed by my girls.

My heart squeezed and my mouth smiled huge.

Frey stopped Tyr and dismounted. Reaching up to grab hold of my waist, he pulled me down and the minute my feet touched the ground I dashed up the icy steps which were not, by the way, ice, I just didn’t know what they were.

Two steps down from my parents, I dropped into a full on curtsy and waited to hear my father mutter, “Rise, daughter,” then I shot to my feet, ran up the last two steps and threw my arms around him.

On impact, he rocked back on a foot and I knew he was surprised because he hesitated before his arms closed around me. But when they did, they did it tight.

“Missed you,” I whispered into his neck, holding on just as tight.

“And I you, my Finnie,” he whispered back on a light squeeze.

Then, still whispering, I told him, “I got a bulls-eye.”

His body stilled for a moment then he pulled back slightly, I did too and I looked up in his surprised but delighted eyes and felt my belly warm.

“Indeed?” he asked.

I nodded then leaned in and said quietly, “From thirty feet.” His eyes widened and I grinned then went on, “I only got the one but I’m definitely better. I can’t wait to show you.”

I saw a shadow pass over his face before he hid it, I felt a corresponding shadow pass through my mind but he quickly said, “And I cannot wait to see, daughter.”

Before I could ask after the shadow, I heard “Finnie,” and turned my head to Mother who was watching us with an expressionless face but soft eyes.

I moved from Atticus’s arms to Aurora’s as I heard the murmured greetings between Frey and Father.

Mother’s hug was not as tight but it was just as warm. I couldn’t say how she pulled that off; I could just say that she did.

“From what I could tell riding in,” I whispered in her ear, “we’ve got tons of shopping to do.”

Her arms went from around me but she didn’t let me go. Holding my biceps in a firm grip, she caught my eyes, her lips tipped up and her fingers squeezed.

“There is much I wish to show you,” she said softly. “And I look forward to doing it.”

I grinned at her, her lips tipped up more then her eyes flitted to Atticus and Frey and I saw a shadow pass over her face too as she let me go and I moved out of the way for Frey to lean in and touch her cheek with his bearded lips.

“We must go in, get you warm,” Father muttered, Mother nodded and they wasted no time turning and heading up the steps. And when I say wasted no time, I mean they looked to be hurrying.

Frey slid an arm along my shoulders and guided me up the steps. I glanced at his profile and saw his gaze was locked on the king and queen’s backs and I knew he, too, thought something was up. Then I looked away as we alighted the top of the steps because Jocelyn, Bess, Alyssa and Esther were all standing to the side of the two, tall double doors and they were all grinning at me.

I smiled back, gave them a low wave and whispered, “Hey ladies,” as we approached and their grins got broader. Then they dropped down in curtsies as we walked passed.

We made it through the double doors which were closed by a footman against the cold the minute my girls swept through. Then I took a look around and tried not to react to the beauty of the inside of Rimée Keep which impossibly rivaled the outside.

There was no dark wood here. There was no darkness at all. There were tons of windows through which the sun shone through. The walls and floors of the inside were made of the same frosted stone that strangely and magnificently glittered but inside there were carvings of pine boughs and cones in the stone, these could be seen around arched beams and at the casements of the windows. The vast slabs of stone that made up the floors were cut with thick pile carpets in mellow, muted colors all of which had a low sheen that I knew meant they were made of silk. Many of the walls were covered in enormous, intricate tapestries depicting mountain scenes or views of Snowdon or the Keep. The furniture was not heavy and dark like at the Palace but it was lacquered in an eggshell white, dripping carved lacework looking elegant and refined. And there was a wide stone staircase with a muted carpet runner and a carved stone balustrade, all of it curving up the side of a circular turret that rose right in the middle of the Keep.

I didn’t get a chance to take much in, however, for Atticus and Aurora were walking swiftly through the vast entry hall that seemed to sweep the Keep from side to side (and I was right about the front doors, the ceiling was at least three stories tall and vaulted with carved arches and latticework that were extraordinary, even at a glance). At the end of the hall, my parents turned and walked through another set of double doors.

Frey and I followed and then we were in a massive, elegant sitting room decorated in whites, creams and the palest of pale yellows. There was a fireplace with an elaborately carved exterior that was so big that I could lie inside with arms stretched over my head and toes pointed and my fingertips nor toes would touch the walls and I could surely stand in it without my head brushing the top. An enormous fire roared there as well as three space heaters having been dotted around the room, these made of iron, like the ones in Frey’s cabin on The Finnie, except they were enameled in cream, they were bigger and they were far more ornate. Between the heaters and the fireplace the entire room was cozy warm.

People entered with us and Mother and Father’s cloaks were taken by servants and Jocelyn and Bess had followed me to take my wool cloak, hat and gloves. The gentleman who took Atticus’s cloak waited beside Frey as he unstrapped the one he didn’t need to ward off the chill and handed it to the man.

“Coffee, please, and cakes,” Mother ordered, her servant nodded then she went on, “Close the door as you leave.”

I looked from a grinning Jocelyn and Bess who heard this, their smiles faltered and then they started to back out of the room and turned my eyes to Atticus and Aurora who both appeared tense. Then I looked up at Frey who I felt had tensed at my side. Then I felt his hand in the small of my back propelling me toward the two sweep-lined, graceful sofas upholstered in pale yellow damask that faced each other but ran perpendicular to the fireplace and were separated by a low, gleaming eggshell lacquered oval table.

“Is something amiss?” Frey asked quietly after we heard the doors close.

“Please, sit,” Father muttered and I looked back up to Frey who was studying my father.

Then he guided me to a sofa and we sat close together, Frey’s arm around my shoulders pulling me even closer and tucking me to his side. I leaned into him as he sat back and crossed one booted ankle on the other knee and Mother and Father sank into the sofa opposite us. But even close to my husband’s solid warmth, my parents’ behavior was beginning to freak me out.

“You’re anxious, Atticus,” Frey stated the obvious, “and your unease is causing the same in my bride. Tell us what’s happening.”

“You made haste from Sudvic,” Father replied strangely and Frey nodded.

“Indeed,” he confirmed. “We docked just late yesterday afternoon and rode swiftly, spending the night in Dalehavre and leaving early. Finnie was keen to see her parents.”

Father’s eyes moved to me so he could give me a warm smile before they went back to Frey, the warmth fled and he studied him a moment before he said, “We received word only this morning from the messenger you sent ahead that you were to arrive in Snowdon imminently. As you have actually arrived, I can see our return messenger did not meet you.”

Frey’s body got tighter when he returned, “We took the forest trails; they’re swifter.”

This was true. Frey, I was getting, didn’t bother with roads. He was not a man to waste time that didn’t need to be wasted and, unless there were sleighs involved, he always took the more direct routes. And our journey didn’t involve sleighs. Frey and my belongings would follow and likely not arrive for hours if not take until the next morning. Though, Kell had charge of the sleighs so, I figured, that man on land, anything went.

“This is unfortunate,” Aurora murmured.

I felt Frey’s impatience mount and my anxiety increased.

“Perhaps we can dispense with the mystery and you can explain why,” Frey suggested in his way where it was clear his suggestion was not a suggestion, as such.

Father looked Frey directly in the eyes and he did it in a way where I could tell he was avoiding mine which, obviously, made my anxiety increase even more.

Then he announced, “The executions commence at nightfall.”

I blinked and Frey’s body went solid.

Then he muttered, “Bloody hell.”

“Executions?” I whispered and felt Aurora’s eyes on me so I looked at her.

“The traitors, my dear,” she said softly. “Berg Enger, Hernod Greig and Viola Milstrom. In your absence, they were tried, found guilty and are sentenced to hang this eve.”

Oh shit.

“Our messenger rode out to warn you this was imminent and suggest you delay your arrival for a few days,” she went on. “It is unfortunate he did not succeed in this task.”

Unfortunate was not exactly the word I’d use. Still, I wasn’t quite certain why this was such dire news. Of course, executions were dire news seeing as they were executions but considering I wasn’t scheduled for the noose, I was a little concerned why they were being so careful with me.

“You rode through the city, I assume?” Atticus asked and to this, Frey grunted, “Of course,” which caused Father to pull in a breath and let it out in his own curse of, “Bloody hell.”

“What?” I asked but no one seemed to want to answer, even Frey which I did not take as good. Mother and Father were avoiding my eyes and when I glanced up at Frey I saw his jaw was tight like he was clenching his teeth. So I repeated, “What?”

Father finally looked at me and his face went soft before he lowered the boom. “It is our responsibility, my daughter, as sovereigns, to attend the executions of traitors to the crown.”

It was my turn to suck in breath and go solid as I stared at the king.

One could say this was not, in any way, the next adventure I had hoped for. Shopping with Mother in a new city, yes. Attending a play in one of the acclaimed theaters Snowdon had that Frey told me about, certainly. Taking Gunner up on his offer to teach me advanced maneuvers on a horse, definitely. And skating on that pond in that park was one I’d just added.

Witnessing an execution, uh… no.

“They conspired against the crown,” Mother put in gently and my horrified eyes slid to her, “we wear those crowns, Finnie, and every breath we take is a breath taken for Lunwyn. They collaborated against you which means they collaborated against their country. The crown survived and it is our duty to sit and watch as a symbol of their failure and the strength of Lunwyn as they hang.”

Oh God. I did not like this.

“If you had been away with your husband, this would have been excuse for you not to attend,” Father stated at this point, his eyes on Frey. “But you are now here and, as you rode through the city, it is without doubt that news is spreading like fire. With the people knowing Finnie is here, she will be expected to attend, indeed, many will assume that she’s here just in order to do so.”

Frey’s arm squeezed my shoulders as he muttered, “Gods damn it.”

“There is more you must know,” Aurora said quietly, Frey and I both got still again and the door opened, a servant bustling forward with an ornate, silver coffee service, exquisite china and a plate of beautifully decorated, delicious looking petite fours which I would have tucked into without delay at any other time but, obviously, not after I’d received the news that I’d have to watch three people hung from their necks until dead.

We all waited for the coffee and cakes to be arranged on the table and the servant to move out of the room and shut the door before Aurora leaned forward and started pouring at the same time talking.

“In your absence, especially considering that absence was just after a heinous plot unfolded that caused a woman to lose her life rather gruesomely, and that woman was supposed to be Finnie, talk has been sweeping all of Lunwyn.”

“What talk?” Frey asked and Aurora lifted her eyes to him as she handed him a cup and saucer.

“You and Finnie,” she answered, went back to pouring but said no more.

“Aurora,” Frey growled, clearly not happy to need to prompt her.

She sighed then replied, “As you know, Drakkar, it started with your wedding kiss then you dragging Finnie away only to disappear for weeks. Then, your reappearance for the Gales and your behavior there.” Her eyes moved to me as she started listing examples. “Finnie greeting you with such open enthusiasm after the hunt.” Her eyes moved back to Frey. “Your closeness at the Gales. And you disappearing again after the attempt was made on Finnie’s life, a clear indication you care deeply for her and will not hesitate to ensure her safety. All of this, every moment you both were together with an audience, was noted avidly and then passed on to any ear that would hear it even more avidly.”

“It is not unheard of for such gossip to spread about the royals,” Frey noted. “Indeed, it’s commonplace for such talk.”

“You are correct,” she nodded and handed my cup to me after pouring in a splash of milk. “But considering the dramatics of assassination attempts and your forthrightness about your regard for one another, this talk has become extreme.”

“Extreme how?” I asked and Mother handed Atticus his coffee then turned back to pouring and answering.

“Minstrels sing of you, storytellers weave tales, it is not just the talk that is sweeping the land. This is all building to extremes, creating legend.”

Ho boy.

“I do not understand why this would cause you both alarm,” Frey remarked. “This, too, is not unusual.”

Mother sat back with her coffee and Father took it from there.

“You are correct, Drakkar,” he stated. “But you are The Frey, The Drakkar and therefore revered. Your union with Finnie heralds continued peace and prosperity for Lunwyn and was already anticipated greatly. The fact that your match appears a splendid one founded in deep affection has served in a short time to romanticize your story to extremes. And…” he paused and held Frey’s eyes, “it makes those who would conspire against you and Finnie, not so much Lunwyn, but instead a love match that is already, even after only a few short months of you being wed, nearing legend, it makes them individuals that inspire more than disgust and anger but extreme loathing.”

“The inns are full,” Aurora put in and I looked to her. “Those citizens with empty rooms have let them out and it is reported there is a large camp that has formed around the gallows just outside Snowdon filled with people who have travelled far but who could not find accommodation within the city.”

“Bloody hell,” Frey growled, taking his arm from around me, his ankle from his knee and leaning forward to set his cup and saucer down with a clatter.

“I don’t get it,” I said quietly and Father looked to me.

“Executions are public, daughter,” he replied just as quietly.

I stared at him as I got it.

“Ho boy,” I whispered.

“Indeed,” Aurora stated, lifted her cup and took a sip, her eyes on me over the rim. Then she dropped her hand and kept hold of my gaze. “Your father has called in extra guard. There are concerns that things will get out of hand. And, my dear, you will be on display to a great number of people.” She hesitated then went on gently as she lowered the boom. “It is estimated to be thousands.”

Great.

Just great.

“Finnie won’t go,” Frey stated and both Aurora and Atticus looked at him.

“I’m sorry, Drakkar, but she must go,” Atticus replied.

Frey shook his head and returned, “Make an announcement that she’s indisposed.”

“Unfortunately, when royal duty calls, indisposed is not an excuse. She’s not missing a state breakfast or a royal hunt but an execution of traitors,” Atticus said quietly, his eyes came to me and he continued to speak quietly. “I’m sorry, Finnie, but as princess of this land, future mother of the king and the target of these plots, now that people know you’re here, you will be expected to attend. There is no way around it. It is a show of the strength of the crown.” As I held his gaze and held my breath, he continued, “We had hoped to waylay you but since this has not happened, it is your duty to attend.” He pulled in breath and finished, “I’m so sorry, my daughter.”

I sat back, looked at the fire, took a sip of my coffee and tried to pull my shit together.

Okay, well, I was princess now and maybe forever. This was the gig. It was a shitty gig, but it was the gig. Apparently being princess wasn’t all about beautiful palaces, fantastic castles, shopping, archery lessons, wearing awesome crowns and kickass underwear and being married to a hot guy who named his ship after you. Apparently there were drawbacks.

And this was a big one.

Hells bells.

Aurora spoke and my eyes went to her as she did. “You will need to be strong, my dear. If she were here, Sjofn would not blink. You will need to look on, show strength and no reaction.” She paused then her eyes got soft before she finished, “It does not take long and we will soon be away.”

“Right,” I whispered, Frey’s arm again slid around my shoulders and he pulled me into his side.

Then he somewhat changed the subject.

“Explain why Grieg is amongst today’s condemned,” Frey demanded and I knew who Hernod Grieg was and Berg Enger. Frey had filled me in.

Atticus’s eyes moved between Frey and me swiftly, clearly catching on that Frey had shared before he asked, “The messenger did not reach you in Hawkvale?” At Frey’s shaking head, Father went on, “And, at your return, you did not received a briefing?”

Frey kept shaking his head. “Ruben arrived in Hawkvale with the news Grieg had been incarcerated and was being interrogated but not tried and condemned. And, as I explained, we made haste to Snowdon for Finnie wished to see you, news of this did not reach us prior to our leaving The Vale and no one met The Finnie with a report.”

Father’s lips tightened before he replied, “Your men picked him up, worked with him and he has confessed to being the man behind the plots.”

“Simple as that?” Frey asked, sounding disbelieving.

“Apparently,” Father answered cautiously, communicating to Frey with his eyes something I could not read but I could tell he didn’t believe it either.

“I’ll want to speak to Balthazar and Quincy,” Frey stated.

“Quincy is not far,” Father told him. “Once we received your message, I sent word to both of them you would be arriving and learned your man Balthazar is away, I do not know where. When the messenger arrived, I had assumed he’d heard word you were back in Lunwyn and rode to you. But Quincy is close. I’ll have him brought to you.” He paused a moment before continuing, “But, Drakkar, Grieg’s name is on the proclamation. The people will expect him to be there. There is no circumventing that. He will be hanged tonight.” Atticus leaned forward slightly, his eyes intense and said quietly, “Therefore, if you wish to have a word, your time is short.”

I had a feeling something was going on here I didn’t get but I also didn’t get the opportunity to ask.

Frey didn’t hesitate to stand, saying, “Then I have little time so I should make haste.”

Father nodded and stood too, setting down his coffee before he straightened. It was then I heard my cup clatter in its saucer and I looked down at my hand to see it shaking.

At about the same time, my cup and saucer were swept away by Frey. I watched vaguely as he set it on the table and then I saw nothing but his face for he had bent close to me and lifted his hand to my jaw.

“I will be with you,” he whispered and I nodded, knowing he meant at the executions and his eyes moved over my face before he noted, “They do not do this in your world.”

I shook my head and said softly, “They do, it’s just not public and criminals aren’t hanged. They’re injected with poison and, well… whatever, but it’s private and it happening at all is controversial. Many of my world do not believe in the death penalty and some are vehemently opposed to it.”

“And your opinion on that?” he prompted and I bit my lip.

Then I replied, “I’m not a big fan.”

Frey’s eyes softened before he assured me, “It is rare here, my love, and the only times this sentence is carried out is for traitors, rapists and murderers. And your attendance would only be expected at the executions of traitors.”

Well, this was good news except for the fact that there just happened to be three traitors who needed hanging.

“Fabulous,” I muttered.

“That is rarer still, my Finnie,” Frey whispered, his fingers tensing at my jaw briefly. “I only remember one other in my lifetime and that was decades ago.”

I nodded and that made me feel better, just not much.

Frey leaned in, touched his mouth to mine and that made me feel better too, this time a lot more.

“It will be swift and we will be away,” he said gently.

I nodded again and he again tensed his fingers on my jaw.

Then he said, “I must make haste to talk to the conspirator.”

I nodded yet again.

Frey went on, “I will return as soon as I can.”

That was when I realized that he was keen to get away but he was worried about me and staying to make sure I was okay before he went.

So that was when I lifted my hand, curled my fingers around his wrist, squeezed and gave him a small smile.

“I’ll be all right,” I assured him.

He still didn’t move as he replied, “I do not like the light I see in your eyes.”

“Well, honey, you probably won’t for awhile because this is an adventure, if given the choice, I would say a big, fat no to but I’ll get through it then I’ll get over it.” I gave his wrist another squeeze and finished, “Promise.”

His thumb stroked my cheekbone then he leaned in and slid his nose along mine as I pulled in a fortifying breath.

Then he must have been assured I wasn’t going to fall apart for he straightened, nodded at Mother, jerked his chin at Father, Father smiled his approval at me briefly (and that made me feel better too) and they moved out of the room.

Mother regarded me over the rim of her coffee cup through another sip before we heard the doors close behind Father and Frey.

Then she dropped the cup again and drily observed, “It upsets me to note that it appears your husband doesn’t like you much at all, my daughter.”

I blinked at her then saw her mouth twitch as I watched her eyes light.

Then I leaned forward, nabbed my own cup, sat back and remarked, “It’s terrible. We simply do not get along,” then I took a sip.

“I see this,” Aurora murmured.

“He’s insufferable,” I added.

“Mm.” This she murmured into her cup while her eyes danced.

“And he thinks I’m a shrew,” I informed her.

“He made that quite clear,” she replied.

“The last few months have been a nightmare,” I shared.

She lifted her chin slightly. “My profound sympathy, my dear, that you are suffering so greatly,” she returned and I couldn’t help it, I grinned, that grin grew to a smile then I burst out laughing.

Aurora of the House of Wilde did not laugh with me but she did smile.

And when I stopped laughing, she leaned forward, picked up the delicate, china plate of petite fours and extended it to me while inviting, “Tell me all about your adventures with your Raider, my Finnie.”

And therefore Mother deftly took my mind off the coming events and to better places, something I not only let her do but was extremely grateful for and we sat, drank coffee, ate cakes and had a long, fabulous mother daughter chat in a beautiful room next to a roaring fire.

I would have preferred our welcome home not to include news of my required presence at a triple execution.

But it ended up great.

And, by the way, the petite fours tasted even better than they looked.

* * * * *

“Don’t be cross, Penelope,” I whispered as I cuddled my cat who I’d been reunited with a few hours earlier and who, I had found, was holding a pretty mean grudge for being left behind.

She stretched her neck over my arm and looked to the side, clearly wishing to be put down and not receive snuggles and soft words from her Momma who she considered abandoned her.

“You told me you didn’t want to go on a ship,” I reminded her.

“Mrrrr that was before you, mrrr went away for, mrrr ages,” she retorted.

“Next time, I’ll take you with us,” I promised.

“Mrrr, let me down,” she demanded.

“You cannot tell me my girls didn’t take care of you,” I stated.

“Mrrr, they didn’t let me go, mrrr outside,” she replied.

“No, you mean they didn’t let you go outside every ten minutes and then jump to let you back in ten minutes after,” I amended.

She blinked at the distance, granting this point with ill-grace by repeating, “Mrrrr, let me down.”

“Just give Momma a cuddle before I do,” I urged, she turned her head and blinked at me then she turned it away again to look over my arm.

She was being ornery and I knew she wasn’t going to give in (just yet) so I moved her to the bed and dropped her on it. She waddled to the pillows throwing a disdainful look down her fat body at me then she collapsed on the comforter at the edge of the pillows and glared at me a second before she curled into herself and started to clean her big belly.

I sighed. Then I looked around the room which was more elegant furniture, tapestries, glittery stone walls and floors but it was decorated in whites and the palest of pale greens and lavenders. It was fantastic.

The other thing that was fantastic was that the sleighs with our things, as driven by Kell, arrived about an hour ago. They included our trunks and much more precious cargo, Skylar.

And lastly Skylar had taken Frey’s spun glass dragon down and now it was sitting on its feet, its wings spread wide, on a bed of silk on a dresser. My girls had been called close after the message was received that Frey and I would be arriving, they’d packed for themselves and me and made haste from the Winter Palace to Rimée Keep, arriving, Alyssa told me, just twenty minutes before Frey and I did. Therefore, next to the dragon, Esther had set my wedding bundle in a beautiful, crystal vase.

I studied the beauty of the adela twigs and Frey’s glass beast and decided in that moment that wherever we went, those two things would be with us. No matter where we were, they would always be with us.

Always.

Then the door opened and Frey walked through followed by Alyssa and Bess.

The girls went to the wardrobe, Frey came to me and I could tell by the look on his face it was time.

He stopped close, both his hands came to my neck and he bent so his face was near mine before he whispered, “We must be away.”

I knew it therefore I nodded.

He pulled in breath. Then he stated, “Finnie, the last traitor to be hanged was hanged when Sjofn was a young lass. She did not attend due to her youth. Although you are princess and the people think you have been trained thus since birth and much is known about Sjofn, no one can know how anyone would react to what you will see this eve.” His fingers gave me a squeeze before he whispered, “It will be difficult, love, and therefore you must not add to that difficulty by feeling the responsibility of guarding your reaction and displaying one that is not your own.”

Uh… what?

“Sorry?” I asked.

“What I’m telling you is not to worry about what people see, Finnie,” he said softly, “just be yourself.”

I closed my eyes because I loved that he knew me so well and therefore knew that would be weighing on my mind (or, one of the things) then I opened them, looked in his eyes and shared, “I don’t want to disappoint Mother and Father.”

“I know you don’t but I’m also not certain you could do that,” Frey replied, I closed my eyes again because his words felt nice and then I felt his lips on my forehead which felt nicer so I opened my eyes and he looked back down at me. “We must be away,” he repeated on a whisper.

I nodded.

Alyssa and Bess were waiting outside the door holding a pair of dove gray, suede gloves and a fur cloak made of fluffy white pelts dusted in dove gray hairs and they gave me understanding glances before Frey led me down the hall, down the curving stairs and into the great hall where Aurora and Atticus were having their outer garments arranged on their shoulders.

Both of them were wearing crowns and I saw Jocelyn and Esther rush to me as we made it to Mother and Father, Jocelyn carrying a wooden box. Bess and Alyssa settled my cloak on my shoulders and shoved the gloves on my hands as Jocelyn unveiled my fabulous icicle crown in its bed of ice blue silk which Esther took out and brought forward, settling it low on my forehead.

“You are ready, Finnie,” she whispered before she stepped back, I nodded and Bess squeezed my hand before all four girls stepped away.

Frey put his hand in my back and we followed Mother and Father out the front doors. Once outside, at the foot of the steps I saw two sleighs, each one fronted by teams of four horses and around the fountain there were a number of royal guards and what seemed like all of Frey’s men on mounts and this included Kell and Skylar.

The minute I saw Skylar, my step faltered and my head shot back to look at Frey. “Honey, Sky… I don’t –”

Frey cut me off with a muttered, “He asked to come.”

I shook my head and grabbed his arm, dragging my feet and whispering, “He could ask to wrestle a rattlesnake for the fun of it but we wouldn’t let him do it.”

Frey looked down at me, brows raised, “A rattlesnake?”

“You don’t have those?” I asked back as he stopped us at the last step.

“We do but why on earth would he ask to wrestle a rattlesnake?”

“Exactly!” I cried, my voice rising.

“Finnie –”

“I don’t wish him to go.”

“Wee one –”

“Frey, tell him he can’t go. It’s macabre, this interest in death. It’s unhealthy. It’s even wrong. In my world we had public executions but they stopped ages ago. I mean, I think some lands may still do it but most of them don’t because it isn’t humane. And I feel Sky should learn he shouldn’t be that way.”

Frey got close as his brows knit and he bent his neck so he could hold my eyes, “My wee Finnie, he does not wish to go to see the condemned hanged. He wishes to be a part of your guard.”

I blinked up at him as my heart jolted.

“What?”

“All my men are here as your personal guard and Skylar requested to be amongst them. For this, their presence will be ceremonial only therefore I agreed.”

At this, my heart jumped.

“He wanted –?”

“Yes.”

I blinked then whispered, “Really?”

“I would ask why you find that so intensely surprising, my love, considering the fact he thinks the sun shines through you and you hang the moon but the longer we delay, the longer it takes for this to be done, for you and for them.”

Ho boy. He was so right.

Still, it was totally awesome Frey thought Skylar thought the sun shone through me and I hung the moon.

“Right,” I said on a nod, taking myself back to the (not so great) task at hand, Frey returned my nod back then looked over my head and nodded to someone else.

Then Tyr was brought to him, Frey lifted me up in the saddle then mounted behind me.

“Drakkar,” Atticus called from the back of a sleigh, “a sleigh has been prepared for you and Finnie.”

“She rides with me,” Frey called back.

“But, she’s the Winter –” Father started but Frey interrupted him.

“She is indeed. She is also my wife whose life is in danger. She rides close to my protection and on transport that will provide a much quicker getaway should it be required,” Frey returned and I sighed deeply at the reminder of another of the many things that had been weighing my thoughts since I left Mother to go with my girls and be prepared for this grisly event.

Father considered this then nodded.

And I reconsidered Frey’s long ago suggestion that we not leave his big, soft bed in his big, fancy-ass chateau in the sun-drenched fantasyland of Hawkvale.

But, alas, it was way too late for that.

Then Father commanded his driver, “Onward,” their sleigh moved forward, Frey steered Tyr behind it and the guard and Frey’s men surrounded us.

This, I found shortly after we rounded the fountain, was not going to be a stately, sedate royal procession. All the horses were prompted to a fast canter and it would become apparent why. This was because where we were going was not close to the city but far away.

At our pace, Snowdon was quickly left behind, we climbed and rounded the low swell of a mountain and came out on another valley, this one dotted liberally with dark tents that had open fires but the tent city was a ghost town for beyond that there was a sea of people edged by horses and sleighs all spread in front of a wooden platform. This was all lit against the falling night by an abundance of torches, especially around the platform. As we drew nearer then started to ride through an avenue of onlookers that was being forged by Father’s guard as well as members of the guard who met them who had already been there patrolling the crowds on horseback, I saw the platform was a scaffold and behind it an elevated dais on which there were three thrones that were only mildly ornate compared to King Baldur’s and if the events that were going to occur weren’t going to occur I would have thought they were way cool. Obviously, dreading what was to come, I didn’t give it a thought.

Then my thoughts were turned from the thrones (but mostly the scaffold with its three, dangling rope nooses) as a cheer started to ring the air which escalated to a shout which heightened to a deafening chant of, “The Dragon and The Ice!”

I started to look around as we rode through the mass of people and I saw a great number of salutes aimed Frey’s way, arms thrown in the air, huge beaming smiles and bigger shouting mouths as eyes stayed glued to Frey and I and the chant kept rising as we rode.

It was like we were rock stars arriving at a concert and it would be, I suspected, disconcerting normally. Considering that evening’s events, it was ghoulish.

To take my mind off of it, I twisted, looked up to Frey and asked, “The Ice?”

His eyes, which were pointed over my head, alert and scanning, came down to me. “I do not know, wee one. I’ve never heard it before but it would seem you’ve earned a nickname.”

“Great,” I muttered, looking ahead again.

I mean, “The Ice” was pretty cool, I suppose. I just didn’t feel it was fitting.

I didn’t have a chance to consider my new handle because it didn’t take long to make it to the platform and then no one hesitated to move swiftly to it including Atticus and Aurora who exited their sleigh almost the instant it stopped, Father not even waiting for someone to approach to open the little sleigh door. Frey swung down nearly before Tyr came to a halt then immediately reached up to pull me down. What made me feel a whole lot better was when the entirety of his men, including Kell and Skylar, also dismounted and ascended the platform with us to line up at the back of our thrones with Frey standing at my right side, Thad at my left, Skylar in front of Thad and Kell at my back.

Truth be told, it didn’t make me feel better… it made me feel great; their show of support was awesome.

That was until the crowd took this in, The Drakkar and his men flanking his bride, and they went totally freaking berserk.

Shit.

Sitting in my throne, I reached out to grab Frey’s hand, tugged on it and he bent so his ear was at my mouth which also caused a crushing wave of sound.

“Maybe the guys being here –” I started and Frey turned his head to catch my eyes.

“They stand with you,” he stated implacably.

“But, all those people are –” I began again and Frey cut me off again.

“All those people are a mob of unknowns with unknown intents. You are exposed. My men stand with you.”

Oh. Right. That made sense.

So it wasn’t a show of support so much as protection.

That worked too.

“Okay,” I whispered, Frey’s lips twitched then he straightened, faced the crowd, squeezed my hand reassuringly once then let it go to cross his arms on his chest.

I took the hint, time to be a princess, so I put both hands in my lap, clutching them tight.

It was then a ripple filtered through the crowd, changing the euphoric excitement to something else that didn’t feel very good and my eyes shifted to back of the sea of people. There I saw a black, covered sleigh led by four black horses that had entered the avenue we’d left behind and this was guarded by a large phalanx of my father’s armed soldiers.

The condemned had arrived and almost immediately the crowd, already having started to whip themselves into a frenzy at seeing Frey and I, didn’t delay in shouting jeers and throwing snowballs that hit the side of the covered sleigh, the horses and even the guard who, luckily, carried large shields at their sides.

“Oh no,” I whispered as my body tensed and I felt, in two places, reassuring squeezes. One was my right shoulder and that was from Frey. The other was my left and that, to my surprise, was Kell reaching over the back of my throne to do it swiftly then removing his hand.

Father stood and strode purposefully across the platform and down the steps to the scaffold where he spoke with a guard there then he strode back, face stony, the guard peeling off and I understood his intent but it was too late. The sleigh was now being rocked back and forth by the number of snowballs hitting it and the jeers had escalated to the point the air felt laced with acid. Once the sleigh stopped at the gallows, more guards rode forward to form a shield of horses around it as well as further guards on foot marching down to stand in front of the horses, the men unsheathing their swords in warning.

But it was too late.

Much too late.

And the guards knew it so they wasted even less time.

The prisoners were led out of the sleigh and quickly moved across the scaffold to stand at their noose. The two men first with Viola, looking thin, pale and terrified, bringing up the rear.

It was Viola and perhaps the violent and public way her scheme had been carried out that caught the sheer force of the biting fervor of the crowd and the minute she became visible to onlookers, snowballs were hurled with such violence and quantity, her frame jerked with every missile that landed and it became clear very quickly that these projectiles had been prepared in advance and embedded with rocks or maybe worse as only snow would not rip through her coarse clothing or tear open her skin.

And it was when she slipped on the snow at her feet and fell to her hands and knees, her hair sodden and dripping, her clothing in tatters within seconds, the icy missiles coming fast even as guards stood in front of her, holding up shields attempting to shelter her and getting pelted in their attempt, the crowd going wild at her fall and a new wave of sound hit me that I lost it.

Without thinking, I shot out of my throne, shrieked, “Stop!” and dashed to the stairs that led to the scaffold.

I didn’t make it. Stephan caught me first and then I felt myself transferred to Frey’s arms but I continued to screech, “Stop! Stop right now! Stop right now!” as I struggled against his hold.

“Finnie, wee one,” he growled in my ear with a rough squeeze, “calm yourself.”

I totally ignored him, kept struggling and kept shouting, “Stop right now!”

And that was when I noticed it and Frey did as well for he stopped trying to pull me back to my throne. He stood still and stared as those closest to the platform heard me, saw me and stopped throwing their snowballs and started staring up at me in shock. This, too, shifted through the crowd with amazing speed and they all quickly become motionless and silent as I kept screaming, “Stop!”

It took only moments for the entirety of the crowd to stop and stare and I stood there, in the curve of Frey’s arm, my chest rising and falling and I returned their stare.

Then, I don’t know what came over me, I started yelling.

Or, more accurately, lecturing my subjects like I was an honest to God princess.

“It is a measure of a nation their cunning! It is a measure of a nation their strength! And it is a measure of a nation,” I leaned forward and screeched, “their mercy!” I leaned back and surveyed the crowd and for some bizarre reason kept right on shouting. “The condemned you see before you have been tried justly and meet their sentence fairly. They have done wrong and they will pay for it. But I am not the Winter Princess of a nation who does not see that even the condemned deserve to be treated with respect as they face death. You may think they do not deserve it but it is your duty as Lunwynians to rise above their actions not fall to their depths. They will hang for their crimes and you will watch this sentence carried out. How could that not be enough for you?”

I tore my eyes away from the now whispering crowd as those close sent my words far, feeling Frey’s arm still tight around my middle but I ignored it and looked down at the scaffold.

“Bring her to her feet,” I ordered the guard standing around Viola and they shifted and stared up at me in stupefaction so I snapped, “Bring her to her feet!”

They jumped toward Viola who I avoided looking at as they helped her up and moved her to her noose. Instead, I looked back to the crowd and, yep, you guessed it, kept right on shouting.

“Today, you witness something infinitely sad. Three people who have gone wrong somewhere in their lives, done wrong because of it and therefore are paying the ultimate price. Do not stand there shouting and jeering, demonstrating that they were right to move against this great nation, those fortunate enough to inhabit her ice-bound earth and those privileged to wear her crowns. Stand there and, as the Lunwynians I know you to be, stand strong, stand proud and stand filled with mercy.” Then I turned in Frey’s arm, looked up to him and snapped, “I’m done.”

He was staring down at me with an expression I wasn’t in any mood to read and luckily he didn’t give me time to do it. Swiftly, he guided me back to my throne and I went, sat and looked back out at the now silent crowd, hands clasped in my lap, trying to deep breathe.

“Commence without delay,” Atticus barked from my left side and I watched silently (as did the crowd) as each of the condemned were allowed their last words. Berg Enger and Viola Milstrom both declined, Enger clearly shaken by the events and Viola obviously so. Hernod Grieg strangely lifted a fist and shouted, “Unite Lunwyn!” and that was it from him.

Their heads were covered with black cloth sacks, the nooses were pulled over their heads and tightened around their necks, a man in a white robe with the band displaying all the gods’ colors dangling said a few words in the ancient tongue and then Father shouted, “Lunwyn!” and the hangman walked down the length of them kicking a high wooden lever behind each of the damned and down went Enger, down went Grieg and I couldn’t help it, I closed my eyes but it was bad enough just hearing her short, sharp, heartbreaking scream that stilled abruptly when down went Viola.

Then the hangman turned and shouted, “It is done, my king!” and Frey had me out of my throne so fast, I got lightheaded. Then we were down the platform, the soles of his men’s boots sounding behind us. Then I was on Tyr, Frey was behind me, his arm tight around my ribs, he leaned us to Tyr’s back, dug his heels into Tyr’s flank and shouted, “Yah!”

There was no avenue anymore and before us the crowd jumped away, parting on their own as Frey, me, Tyr and his men all galloped straight through them and away to Rimée Keep.

* * * * *

It took half the time to get back to the Keep than it did to get to the platform because Frey rode Tyr hard all the way there. Once we arrived, he dismounted and, while doing it, dragged me down right along with him.

Then he dragged me up the steps.

Then he dragged me through the doors that were opened by a footman before we arrived.

Then he dragged me right by my hovering girls who all rushed forward at the sight of me.

Then he dragged me down the hall and into the room we’d been in earlier with my parents.

The girls followed as did, by the sounds of the hustle and bustle, every one of his men as Frey pulled me inside then turned on me.

I took one look at his face, knew he was pissed and did not care.

So I yanked my hand free, lifted it palm up toward him and shouted, “Don’t start!”

He looked beyond me (and my hand) and barked, “Go!”

I looked over my shoulder and shouted, “Stay!”

Both men and women looked between Frey and I and Frey repeated, “Go!” so I fired out, “Do not dare go! Stay!”

“Gods damn it, Finnie,” Frey growled and I looked back at him.

“They were pelting her with snowballs, Frey, right before she was to hang from the neck until dead!” I shouted. “She’d done wrong but wasn’t her sentence as it stood bad enough? Did she have to endure –?”

I stopped talking because suddenly I was crushed in Frey’s arms and his mouth had slammed down on mine whereupon he laid a hot and heavy one on me.

I was clutching his shoulders and blinking up at him dazedly when he lifted his head and started speaking, “It would have been nice to have privacy when I told you how gods damned proud I was of my wife this eve but since you seem to wish a continued audience for your night’s performance, so be it.” I blinked again, realizing vaguely that he wasn’t pissed, the intensity of emotion I read on his face was something else altogether. He gave me a squeeze and stated, “I’m proud of you, Finnie Drakkar. What you did took courage and showed compassion and if your people didn’t already love you, witnessing that, they will.”

I blinked again then asked, “You think?”

“Absolutely,” he answered.

I felt my body melt in his arms.

“What’d she do?” I heard Jocelyn whisper from behind me.

Then I heard Thad answer, “I’ll tell you but I’ll do it outside.”

Then I heard the shuffling of bodies moving right before both Frey and I were rocked to the side as arms came around both of our thighs. I looked down to see it was Skylar giving our legs a hug and I melted even deeper in Frey’s arm as I moved a hand to touch Skylar’s hair. But Skylar, being Skylar, didn’t wait around for that. Without a word or look, he let go and raced out of the room. I twisted in Frey’s arms to watch him as he did it and saw the only one left was Kell.

He was standing, feet planted, arms crossed on his chest, eyes glued to Frey.

“Don’t know if it’s the spirit she’s got,” he remarked. “Don’t know what the bloody hell it is. Never seen the like from a woman.” His eyes shifted to me before he finished brusquely. “Only know whatever the bloody hell it is, it’s good.”

Then he uncrossed his arms, stomped out of the room like coming to this conclusion was beyond annoying and indeed rocked his world to its very foundations and he didn’t like that all that much and he slammed the door behind him.

I turned back to Frey feeling warm inside and out.

“I think Kell likes me,” I whispered.

“You would think correctly.” Frey didn’t whisper.

My eyes went to his chest as my fingers went there to fiddle with the strap of his cloak. “So, uh… you’re not mad at me for losing it, you’re, um… proud of me?”

He gave me a gentle shake and my fingers quit fiddling as my eyes lifted to his.

Then he stated, “You weren’t born princess, Finnie Drakkar, but that does not mean you’re not one.”

I closed my eyes and dropped my forehead to his chest as his words washed over me. And when I did my crown dug into my forehead so I immediately pulled it right back.

“I need to get rid of my crown,” I whispered.

He nodded but didn’t move. Instead, he asked, “Are you all right?”

I answered honestly, “No, that was heinous and I hope no one else tries to kill me because that isn’t much fun at all and watching them hang for it isn’t much better.”

His mouth twitched and he agreed, “I hope so too.”

I leaned into him and stated, “Now I need food and after that I need my husband to take me to bed and hold me so I can forget all this and think about where Mother is going to take me shopping tomorrow.”

His arms tightened and he replied, “My wee Finnie, if we’re in bed I would hope you’re not thinking about where your Mother is going to take you shopping.”

I grinned at him then challenged, “Well then, it seems you have your work cut out for you because some of the shops we passed today…” I shrugged and finished, “just saying.”

He grinned back, his body shaking with laughter and he accepted my challenge by dropping his head and kissing me.

Incidentally, several hours later, after dinner, when I was in Frey’s arms in our warm, soft bed in Rimée Keep, not once did I think of shopping.

Or executions.