Linnea: A tale of the Snow Queen

Chapter 7, The King

Each of us would have time for the king to spend time with us. Ingrid was first because she was a good candidate for his son’s wife. The prince was eighteen, she was seventeen. The king still thought it would be nice to introduce us all to him just in case he didn’t like Ingrid. It was going to be her though. It had to be. Ingrid was charming, sincere, and beautiful. The prince would surely choose her. Ingrid and the king had tea in the morning room. I was waiting in the drawing room. I liked to sketch things. There was a truly beautiful view from any of the windows in our home.

Astrid was second and she chose to dance with the king. Emil was an old man but he didn’t mind. The prince was his only child and he never had a daughter to dance with. He had always wanted one though. I saw the way he looked at me with my father. I even read the letters sometimes. I could never keep my nose out of any one’s business. I knew everything about everyone in this house. No one ever knew anything about me.

I was sitting in the drawing room, waiting. I sketched so many things over the hours of waiting. They were all over the floor. Birds, landscapes, people, all over the floor. That’s when I heard the door creek open. Emil showed his face “Hello Linnea. I do believe over the years that we’ve known each other. You've never actually talked to me.” he said
“I was told as a child by my father to not speak to you unless spoken to.”
“You have always been a shy child.”
“I’m not a child anymore.”
“Did you draw all of these?”
“Yes. Some from memory, some from reference.”
“Could you draw one of me?”
“Sure.” I replied. Emil sat down in a chair. I was on the couch. I started sketching him among the dozens of drawings on the floor. He talked as I sketched. I listened to his every word. I would only respond when he asked me a question which was slightly rare.

This was one of if not the best sketch I’d ever done of a human. The attention to detail was perfect. I remember that I saw Markus’s little face watching through the door. He was watching me, “Markus, do you want to come see?” I asked
“Yes.” he replied
“It’s a picture of the king.”
“How did you get that?”
“I drew this.”
“You’re really good Linnie. Did you draw all of these?”
“She did.” Emil replied
“Should I do one of you?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll get to work on that one as soon as I’m done with the king.”
“Yay!” Markus exclaimed and he ran out of the room. Emil watched my behavior towards my siblings. Then he gave me a strange look.

Was he looking at me? Was he looking at something else? I don’t know if he realized that it had caught my attention. I looked up at him multiple times and then I finally asked “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You just seem a bit different from the last time I saw you.”
“Well I was six. That was ten years ago.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Your hair looks lighter and so do your eyes. Linnea, are you ill?”
“No. I’m fine. The picture is almost done.”
“It just seems colder than  usual in this house.” As he said that I started to panic. The room got colder and Emil took notice. I quickly finished the sketch and told him to go to the dining room for lunch. I would be there momentarily and gave him the drawing. As soon as he left the room it started to snow inside the room. It was me, I was doing this. A part of me knew it was wrong but another part loved it. I could bring my favorite thing with me year round.

After I figured out how to get rid of the snow in the drawing room, I went to the dining room. I was the last one there. Agnes was sitting there, waiting. She watched me enter and sit down next to Ingrid and the king. As soon as I sat down she spoke, “Nice of you to join us Linnea. We were just about to eat.”
“She insisted that I go before her, don’t scold her for that. She was just being polite.”
“Linnea, is this true?”
“Yes mother.” I replied
“I’m sorry then. I just want things to go well for your visit, your majesty.”
“Please you all are practically my family too, call me Emil. I’ve known your father since I was a boy. Why, he’s practically my brother.” he replied. Then our lunch was served. Ingrid and I both behaved like propper ladies during lunch. Emil had told me that he didn’t really care how we behaved around him. Agnes was the one who cared. I whispered this into Ingrid’s ear and told her to behave well in front of Agnes and then be ourselves around the king.

After lunch Ingrid and I took the king for a walk in the woods. This way no one would distract the king from us. The king seemed to like the two of us. His son would decide who to marry though. The king thought Ingrid would be his perfect match. The two would be a great couple. If she was queen, who knows what would happen. I wanted nothing to do with the throne. I thought it was terrible that she wanted to marry the prince for the throne instead of love. I wanted a man who would love me regardless of how cold it got in the house. He wouldn’t mind my ice and snow. If we had kids what would even happen there. Would they inherit my burden? I didn’t want that for my possible children. Who knows how long I would live due to my power. In my opinion Ingrid was a much better candidate than I could ever be. I loved my sister and would continue to adore her but she had quite the ego problem. If people didn’t hold her in high regards then she would get a tiny bit upset.

We returned to the house after our walk and bid farewell to the king. It would be a month until we saw him again. We had heard many details about the prince from the king. The prince was quite the charmer from how he was described. I didn’t care though. I could honestly care less about him. Seeking his approval was pointless, being a princess and or a queen sounded over rated. They were all fake with their painted faces and gilded dresses. The only way I would marry royalty was if I fell in love with him.