Queen of Ice and Ruin

Chapter Five

The next morning, I was woken up before sunrise by one of Corrin's servants. "Miss," she whispered, gently shaking my shoulder.

I squinted my eyes, not sure how to respond to the interruption in my sleep. "Yes?" I croaked.

"Corrin has requested that you get ready to travel to the border," she informed me. "He and Telos intend to leave as soon as possible."

I shot up. "Wait, we're going today?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Apparently so, miss."

"Please, call me Annalise," I requested. "Miss sounds far too formal."

She smiled at me, and I saw the circles under her eyes. If I was exhausted being awake this early, I can't imagine how tired she must be. "What is your name?" I asked her, realizing how little I knew about the people who had been essentially my servants since my arrival.

Her smile grew wider. "My name is Valeska, but everyone just calls me Val. That includes you, now," she said with a wink.

I began getting out of bed. "What am I supposed to wear?" I asked, unsure of what attire would be best for travel.

Val pointed to the foot of the bed, where she had left clothes folded. "Janea brought these over for you to wear. Better for horseback riding than those dresses you have."

So we would be traveling by horse. I nodded and thanked Val for waking me and bringing my clothes. She left me to get ready for my day, and I wondered about her story. She seemed to be about my age (whatever that was), and I couldn't help but think about what circumstances could have led to her being a servant in this village. Was her family here as well, or was she alone like me?

I went into the bathroom and drew a bath for myself, washing up quickly. My heart was pounding as I combed through my wet hair with my fingers – whether it was excitement or nerves I could not tell. Once I was clean and dry, I went back into the bedroom and started to get dressed. Val had kindly lit a few candles around the room so I was able to see. My outfit for the day was a pair of tight black pants and a loose, olive green shirt with sleeves that came to my elbows. A pair of black boots waited for me on the floor. I tugged on a pair of socks before putting on the boots, which came just a few inches above my ankle. At this point, I felt sufficiently prepared, and made my way downstairs.

I didn't know where they would be waiting for me, so I decided to just go to the sitting room and wait. The room was empty when I arrived, but the fireplace was aglow. I sat on my spot on the couch and waited. And waited.

Until finally, I heard voices and footsteps approaching. "Hopefully we don't have to wait too long," I heard Corrin say with a laugh.

"Just because Viri and your sisters take forever to get ready doesn't mean she will too," Telos scolded, but he laughed as well.

They then came into the sitting room, and Corrin stopped abruptly when he saw me sitting on the couch. "It appears I was the one waiting on you," I smirked.

Telos laughed loudly and Corrin shot him a glare. "Shall we?" Telos said, offering me a hand.

I did not take it, instead rising from the couch on my own with a smile. "I heard we're riding horses?"

Telos nodded. "Though you'll ride with me," he told me. "We don't know if you know how to ride, after all."

"Or if she would try to escape us," Corrin said to Telos.

I wanted to scold him for talking to me, despite our deal, but realized that he'd found a loophole in talking to Telos instead. I glared at Corrin and he grinned in reply, clearly thinking about how clever he is. This was going to be a long day.