Linnea: A tale of the Snow Queen

Chapter 16, The Ice Princess

I will admit, the castle was a nice change from our house. I loved my home but now it was our vacation home. I kept my room and shared it with Filip, Ingrid then moved into Astrid’s room. Sharing a room with an eleven year old wasn’t ideal for Ingrid but she would enjoy it during our getaways. FIlip and I never had a honeymoon. That was the one thing I wanted to do but we had royal duties to uphold. So for the greater good I let that one thing slide. Emil had been the one mostly planning our wedding. I don’t know why but he was. My father in law was the king, I couldn’t really argue with him. I just made compromises.

I remember waking up to Filip the day after we got married. He brought me breakfast in bed that morning. All of my favorites, “I made it myself.” he said
“Did you really?”
“Yes my angel.”
“I didn’t know that you knew how to cook.”
“I know how to do a lot of things. How did you sleep last night?”
“I slept better than normal. I think it was because of your presence.”
“I must tell you something. We’ve had multiple dresses and accessories made for you. I made sure I oversaw all of them so that you would be more comfortable.”
“Thank you FilipI knew this had to be done eventually.”
“I knew you would understand my princess.” he replied. He kissed me on the forehead and stole one of my strawberries. I sat and ate my breakfast. That’s when Ida came in and started to fill a closet full of my new dresses and outfits. One side was mine and the other was Filip’s. Only some of them required a hoop skirt. I liked most of them. After she left I got up and used my magic on all of my clothing. Filip knew I was going to do that. He actually loved what I had done to them.

Ida and a bunch of other women came in once I had finished putting ice on my clothes. They liked it too. They helped me get ready and I barely did anything myself. I insisted that I only needed Ida to help me. They did as I said and left me with Ida. I was sitting there with her doing my hair the way I liked it and I saw it there. A tiara, it seemed quite bland. I gently took it and changed it with my ice. The top now had a snowflake made of ice and it seemed to shimmer more. Ida watched as I changed it, her eyes focused on both my hands and my hair. I looked back at her, “Do you like it?” I asked
“It’s incredible miss. How would you like your hair done dear?”
“You just need to brush it. I want to leave it down today.”
“Yes your highness…”
“Ida don’t do that. Just call me Linnea. I am still the same person.”
“Yes Linnea. Now run along dear I’ll take care of your tray.”
“Thank you Ida.” I replied. The dress Ida chose for me was a velvet blue. There was no hoop skirt so it was relatively easy to wear. I had changed it a bit though making the white pieces of fabric more reflective with my ice and added embellishments. I immediately went to find Filip and show him.

I searched the castle for my husband. Then I looked in the library and found Aksel with his nose buried in a book like always. I looked over his shoulder at what he was reading, “You know most thirteen year old boys would have their eyes focused on women.” I said
“Linnea! Don’t scare me like that.” he exclaimed
“How do you like the library?”
“It’s quite nice when people don’t try to give me a heart attack.”
“Come on now you know it’s just a joke.”
“I’m sorry your highness but what are you going to do for your next practical joke, chop off my head?”
“Aksel…”
“Can I just get back to reading my book?”
“Not until you tell me which one it is.”
“It’s a fairy tale, I don’t think you’d be interested.”
“What’s it about?”
“It’s about a mermaid who wants to become human.”
“That sounds quite lovely.”
“She dies in the end because she can’t kill a man that betrayed her.”
“Dear god.”
“I told you.” he replied. I sat down in the chair in front of him and looked at the title. I remembered reading that about two years ago. I always wanted to know more about the sea witch. She had to have done things for a reason. I wondered if the story was true though. I had heard of the prince and his princess from Filip. It couldn’t have been real though. There are no such things as mermaids, but yet again my sister and I had magical powers which made me rethink the situation.

I then sat there with Aksel in the silence. I had no clue where my husband was. I don’t even know if he was looking for me. I didn’t even know what duties I needed to fulfill. I was basically doing the job of the queen since there wasn’t one. Then I saw Astrid walk in with Markus. They were looking for me, “Linnie, can we play a game?” he asked
“Of course. Astrid and Aksel will join us.”
“Why do I have to join?” asked Aksel
“Because we’re all family.”
“What shall we play?” Astrid asked
“What about hide and seek?”
“I love hide and seek!” Markus exclaimed
“Okay, I’ll count to twenty and you three go hide. Ready?” I asked. I started counting and they ran out of the library. I could hear their shoes on the tile. I opened my eyes and started looking for them.

I first looked for Aksel. Finding him would be easy. He was still in the library. I climbed up the ladder to the second floor. I then found him sitting behind a plant continuing to read his book, “You do realize there’s more to life than just books?” I asked
“I find it easier to live in fantasy worlds rather than the real one.”
“You do realize your sisters have magical powers right? One just got married to a prince. You are in a fantasy world.”
“You might be but I’m not.”
“Get up and help me find Astrid and Markus.”
“Yes, your highness.” he replied. I still wasn’t used to that. Being called your highness. Yes I was a princess and I never actually got used to it. No matter what I did, that strange feeling never shook. I wondered how I would eventually adjust to your majesty. We then continued our game and found Astrid and Markus hiding together in the kitchen. The chefs and servants liked having them around. Sure they weren’t princes or princesses but they loved having my siblings around. The king even liked that my father moved in, he now had one of his closest friends around him at all times.