At dawn, while Queen Annysha was deep in slumber, a chilling voice pierced through her dreams.
"Vindicta! Vindicta Nostrum Mea!! te criminis reus erit! Vindicta!"
In her nightmare, a woman cloaked in shadows intoned repeatedly with a cold, frightening voice. The Queen awoke with a start, her heart pounding.
"The Dagger!" she gasped, sitting upright.
"Annysha!" King Barton Vale stirred beside her, alarmed by her sudden awakening.
The Queen hurriedly rose from bed, grabbing a lamp, and dashed towards Wun’s room. The door swung open with a loud slam.
Wun, shocked awake, looked at her with wide eyes. "Where did you get my dagger?" she demanded, grabbing his chin.
"A... Aah! The woman! The white-haired and pale-skinned woman!" Wun stammered, visibly shaken.
"An Arevaean lady?" Queen Annysha questioned, her brows furrowing in concern.
The Queen abruptly released Wun’s chin. "I’ll fly to Thorns later," she said curtly before leaving the room.
By morning, in the grand hall of Verdeen, the Thornish royals—King Barton Vale, King Syantus, and Queen Annysha—were present with their children and Wun.
"King Erin Damon White Verdeen! The Lord of the Nine Kingdoms! Lord of the Kings and Queens! Lord of the Three Continents! Lord of the Green Land of the South! Lord of the Winter Land of the North! Lord of the Desert Land of the West! Lord of Verdeen the Capital!" announced the Highest King's Hand, standing beside King Erin, who sat upon the highest throne.
"My Lord! We need your help!" King Barton Vale implored, standing before the High Throne.
"And how may I assist you, Lord Vale?" High King Erin inquired.
"My city, Nix, was attacked when Mt. Voshkai erupted!" King Barton explained.
"The Kingdom of Thorns should handle it! What is Castle Rose doing? Lord Syantus?" the High King replied with a hint of reproach.
"A Mermenian attacked Nix! A woman from Mermentos!" Queen Annysha interjected.
"I apologize for the misunderstanding, my Queen. Mermentos vanished with its walls into the sea long ago!" High King Erin said.
"An old woman named Gerylda Mermea. She spoke of it before!" King Barton said urgently.
The Maester beside the High King spoke up. "Excuse me, my Lords. According to the Book of History of the Nine Kingdoms, King Abharon Frost Mermea, a grandchild of the Frozen Queen’s brother, and his water-blooded wife, Queen Yvonne Waters Mermea, had a daughter named Gerylda Mermea. The Pure Waters family can breathe underwater, and the Pure Mermea family can become half-fish and half-man beneath the sea. Only the pure-blooded Mermea and Waters could perform such feats," the old Maester explained.
"Maesters are the learned men from the far cold islands. They are healers and historians," the Maester added.
"Sir Joffer Leaveshire! Lend three hundred men to King Barton Vale! Guide them through the high city of Nix!" commanded High King Erin to his army's Lord Commander, Sir Joffer Leaveshire from the Leaves Island in the south of Thorns.
"He's amazing!" Wun interjected enthusiastically while standing with the children of Queen Annysha and King Syantus.
"My Lord, it’s Wun Claws!" Queen Annysha announced.
"Wun Claws, the King of the Bear Land, King of the Capital of the North, Lord of the Winterlands, and the only son of Kreedah and Yorde Claws!" Wun declared proudly.
"How dare you state your poor name to the High King!" Princess Lyria Rose, daughter of King Syantus and Queen Annysha, scolded him.
"You’re too small to call yourself a king!" the High King remarked to Wun.
"Her parents died, killed by the Fronders!" Queen Annysha said, defending Wun.
"But the Fronders died yesterday!" Wun retorted.
"Who killed them?" the High King asked.
"Me!" Wun declared with pride.
"The King of Harenae will prepare for us!" High King Erin stated.
"You've just started a war, kid!" he added, his tone stern. "Send him back to Bear Land! We'll lend him three hundred men. Talk with the northern castles to help protect the child. Secure gold from the Voshkians!"
With that, they prepared to return to Thorns, and King Barton Vale organized his three hundred Verdeenian soldiers for their return to Castle Nix.
Before leaving, Wun visited the old Maester's room.
"Maester!" Wun called as he entered the room filled with books and artifacts.
"The Claws’s child! Such a mighty family name!" the old Maester noted.
"What do you need?" the Maester asked.
"Are you familiar with the tale of the Frozen Queen?" Wun asked.
"Oh! The Frozen Queen! The Family of Frost has a very rare bloodline—they are said to be undying, simply immortal! Unless, of course, someone brings them to fire. The Frozen Queen conquered a land called Unknown. They had dragons that breathed fire. Only one man of that Frozen Queen was said to survive the Ice and Fire War. No one knows if she won and conquered the Greenland’s Continent. If she did, you wouldn’t see blooming flowers here anymore, for her eyes and hands are wild!" the old Maester explained.
"Aa..aa..I saw her!" Wun said, astonished.
"Oh, boy! Go to your guards," the old Maester laughed.
Wun then traveled back to Thorns with King Syantus and Queen Annysha.
Meanwhile, in the North Winterlands Continent, at the Castle of Pines, three brothers embarked on a hunt in the Pines Forest.
"I think we’re too far from Pines!" Fredrick Pines, the eldest prince, said.
"Fred, this is a large flat land!" Kadrick Pines, the elder prince, observed, noting the vast snowy expanse beyond the forest.
"Woah! This is new land for Pines!" Ronrick Pines, the youngest prince, exclaimed.
"Let’s go! I think there’s a bear out there!" Fredrick urged.
As they walked across the frozen sea and ventured into the unknown land, Ronrick paused, sensing something amiss.
"Wait! I feel something!" he called out to his brothers.
"The ice is cracking!" Kadrick warned.
Suddenly, the ice broke beneath Ronrick’s feet, and he fell into a hole.
"Aaaaahhhhhh!!!" Ronrick screamed as he descended.
His brothers quickly followed, jumping into the hole to find Ronrick lying in a bed of snow.
"Fred! Kadrick! Get down here!" Ronrick called from beneath the icy surface.
They climbed down and discovered an astonishing underground world with icy houses.
"Is there anyone here?" Fredrick shouted as he entered a frozen house, his voice echoing.
Kadrick kicked open the door of another icy structure.
"Wooooh!" Kadrick exclaimed in shock as he saw an ice statue resembling a frozen man.
"It looks like a frozen man!" Ronrick observed, touching the statue.
The statue’s icy eyes suddenly opened, glowing blue.
"Icy whore!" Ronrick shouted, retreating in fear.
The frozen man moaned eerily, and the sound echoed around them.
"We need to get out of here!" Fredrick shouted, panicking.
The moans of hundreds of frozen humans filled the air.
"We’re trapped!" Fredrick cried out.
"AaaaaaaaaAAaAaaaaaahhh!!!!!" Kadrick screamed in terror as the brothers desperately tried to escape.
YOU ARE READING
Crowns And The Nine Kingdoms
Fiksi UmumNine Kingdoms of Sin, Nine Kingdoms of the World-A Fictional World Reflecting the Faults of Reality It was believed that the world is flat and only has three continents... Winterlands to the North. Greenlands to the East. Desertlands to the West. Ni...
