The Princess of Ice

Chaoter 3

    Cass hummed to herself as she played with the water in her tub. She leaned back into the warm water which was not made for frost giants. She smiled to herself when she remembered her servants face when she asked for her nightly bath to be warm. She was curious as to what it's like to be on the other side of the border. Not fun. When she first stepped into the water steam rose up. It took a few moments for her body to stop steaming but she noticed she grew shorter in size after about 10 minutes in the bath.

    Cass was drawn out of her trance when there was a knock on the door. "Your highness," a female voice started. "Your father requests your presence." it ended. Cass sighed "send in my maidens then to get me ready." there was fading footsteps as cass got out of the bath and dried herself off. The door eventually opened and the handmaidens walked in and showed cass a dress. She refused it and they decided to put her armor on her. Cass grabbed her cloak then walked out to her father's throne room. The guards quickly opened the doors and cass knelt down in front of her father.

    Laufey looked at cass then stood. "Rise." he ordered and cass quickly got to her feet. She didn't meet her father's eyes so he walked down to join her. "Walk with me daughter." he said and cass nodded, following the order. Cass and laufey walked down the hallway in silence. Laufey turned and looked out a window at the ruins of their once beloved kingdom. Cass's face turned grim when she remembered how laufey told her the war between the giants and the asgardians. Then how odin's son and best warriors attacked jotunheim. Cass looked at her father who held the same grim face.

    "We were once great people. Our kingdom prospered." he said and cass looked at the floor. Laufey looked at her "cassandra... we are not gods. That means one day my time will come. I will leave the throne and by the next sunrise, you will be sitting on it." he moved so he stood in front of his daughter and put a hand on her shoulder. Cass looked up at laufey with sad eyes that almost had tears. Laufey moved his hand to her cheek "my daughter... i am so sorry." he said before he hugged her. Cass hesitantly hugged him back and hid her face in his leather clad chest. Laufey held his child close to him, almost protectively as when she was born. Cass quickly pulled away from laufey and his arms fell to his sides. Laufey watched his daughter walk away.

    Cass quickly went to her room and grabbed a bow and quiver full of arrows in her wardrobe. She put on her belt which had her sword and a few packs of medicine and necessities. She walked out of her room and sprinted to the stables. The stable boy was washing one horse but once he saw the princess he quickly went to saddling her's up. Cass gave a silent grateful nod to the boy and mounted her horse. Cass quickly rode out of stable and into the ruins of a once prosperous village. Frost giants still resided there but most have moved on to other parts of their land. The ones that remained were shop owners and farmers.

    As cass rode through she looked at all her people. One caught her eye. It was bersi. She rode up to him and got his attention by clicking her tongue which made her horse almost lunge off into a gallop. Bersi looked up and smiled at the princess. "You have a horse, correct?" she asked before bersi could even give her a greeting. "Yes i do your highness." he said and cass pointed to his home. "Get it ready. Were going hunting." she stated. Bersi's cheek's quickly turned pink "just us?' he questioned and cass nodded. He turned and walked to the back of his home and quickly put the tack on his horse and grabbed his own bow and arrows. He joined cass back in front of his house and they rode out of the village together.