House of Winter

Chapter 36, Part 1

ARI

Landing a dragon in Vulfholm turned out to be harder than she'd anticipated. Warrah came crashing into the snow, his tail flailing in the thick powder that had fallen overnight. Ari fell off him and landed, then looked up at the dragon.

"What was that for?" she said.

Warrah let out a huff of breath. He wanted to be in the ocean, not in the snow.

Ari pulled herself to her feet and then looked up at the palace behind her. The suns were just rising, lighting up the palace in a soft golden glow. This was Vulfholm, the city she had heard about from Katja and Sanna, but never seen. The capital of Norrlund, and the home to Katja's mother's throne.

Almost as soon as she landed, two women on wolfback approached her.

"State your business," one of them called out.

"I'm Ariane Domez. I'm here to see the queen," Ari said. She tried to dust snow off her clothes. She wished she looked a bit more presentable.

The guards glanced at each other, and then the other said, "Follow us."

Ari was surprised at how easy that was. Did they know her name? Were they waiting for her? She supposed that Katja had already told the story of everything that had happened at the midwinter championships. They knew who she was.

There was a snow-covered hill leading up to the palace, which was built at the highest point of the city. There were statues everywhere, and Ari imagined that these gardens would be full of flowers in the summer, but now they were covered in snow, as was everything in this cold land.

They arrived inside, and Ari tracked snow through the hall as she was led by the same two women on wolfback through walls lined with portraits and vases of dried flowers.

It amused Ari to see how much the palace reminded her of the Winter House at the school. From the paintings on the walls to the furniture and flowers, everything was decorated exactly as Katja's chamber was.

They took her to some kind of drawing room that looked over the snowy gardens. There were uncomfortable-looking sofas and a huge white bearskin in front of a mirror. Ari saw her reflection for the first time, and rubbed her hand over her head. She'd forgotten just how short her hair was.

"Please wait here."

"Wait," Ari said. "You're not going to put me in chains? Throw me in a jail?"

The women exchanged glances and then left the room without saying anything more.

Ari turned to Warrah, who was sniffing at the bearskin.

"Don't break anything," Ari said. And then she reconsidered it. Maybe she should break something, before she gave up everything.

She was here with one purpose. She would hand herself over to Lisbet Koningssen, the queen of Norrlund. Ari would be the sacrifice that would end the war. If Matthias Stone wanted Ari's head on a platter, then he would need to agree to the queen's terms - and Ari knew that the queen did not want another war.

Ari would be able to stop this war. It was what she had always meant to do. If she could save lives, her sacrifice would be worth it. If she could rejoin her sister, her whole family, then she would finally be at peace.

Ari sat down in one of the sofas, not caring if she got it dirty. What did it matter now, anyway? She was going to die. It didn't matter if she left a dirty stain on the sofa. It wouldn't be the only mark she left on the world.

She wouldn't die for nothing, like her family had. She would die to stop a war. It was the only thing that was worth doing.

It seemed to take a long time. The suns had risen a while ago, and since it was winter, the suns rose quite late in Norrlund anyway. Ari had no idea what time it was, but eventually someone came to the door and coughed, which made Ari jolt awake. She hadn't even realised that she'd fallen asleep.

"Her Majesty, Queen Lisbet of Norrlund," the man at the door said.

Ari rushed to her feet, just as Queen Lisbet swept into the room.

Ari had been around plenty of royals at the school, but never a queen. However, she hoped that all of her training from being Katja's ward would come in useful. She bowed low as the queen approached her.

Queen Lisbet sat down on the sofa opposite. Ari was surprised by this. She had expected the queen to demand that Ari be put in chains and dragged to the dungeons immediately, to wait for a ship to take her to Lombardia.

Instead, the queen looked back at her attendant and said, "We'll need a pot of tea. Ari, do you take milk and sugar?"

Ari was startled by this direct question, and she could only manage to shake her head.

"Very well," Queen Lisbet said.

In another instant, a tray with a teapot and two delicate teacups were placed on the table between them.

"We'll wait a few minutes before we pour it," Queen Lisbet said. "I like a strong brew."

Ari could only stare at the queen. Why were they wasting time having tea?

"So, Ari. I'm waiting eagerly on news of my daughter. Have you any?"

Suddenly it made sense. Of course the queen wanted to know about Katja's whereabouts, and maybe she suspected that Ari could help her.

"Of course, Ma'am," Ari said quickly. "She's only about a day's flight from here. She's safe. She's with Tomas Wilder."

"Is she now!" the queen said, her eyes lighting up. "Very well, very well."

Ari was surprised by this reaction, but she didn't comment anything. Perhaps the queen wanted her daughter to marry the famous kinncharging champion.

"Ma'am, I'm here to offer myself as your prisoner," Ari said firmly.

"That tea might be just about ready now," Queen Lisbet said.

Ari was used to serving Katja, so it was second nature to reach out and pour the tea for the queen.

"Oh, thank you, dear," Queen Lisbet said. Ari could see where her daughter got all of her charm.

"As I said," Ari went on, as the queen held up her teacup. "I'm here to offer myself..."

"Yes, well, that won't be necessary," Queen Lisbet said dismissively. "We'll just wait until Tomas is here."

"Tom?" Ari asked.

Queen Lisbet smiled. "Yes, Tom," she said sweetly.

Ari felt frustrated. "But that's... there's a war starting between Lombardia and Vastier, ma'am. And King Matthias believes that I'm the one who killed his son. You must know that! I'm here to offer myself as your prisoner! You can use me as a bargaining chip to stop the war!"

Queen Lisbet's eyes lit up, and she laughed in a way that was even more delicate than the teacup she held in her hand. "Oh, you sweet child," she said. "You're here to sacrifice yourself."

... to be continued

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elle