The Unwanted Princess

Rules are the first to go

"Have you ever heard of the Sky Prince?" Avery asked as they huffed up the stones stairs carved out of the cliff face. The fitness test included running to the lookout tower at the top of the cirque and then descending back to the training arena under a certain amount of time.

"No talking, save your breath for running," Rena ordered, clutching a cramp in her side.

Avery had to work twice as hard at these exercises now that she carried iron weights around with her everywhere. But she enjoyed the run and it reminded her of running through the frozen streets of Corinth the previous winter. Rena's constant encouragement/beratement also reminded her of Arctos's teaching style.

"I read this book...last night...that talked about a human prince...borne of the sky gods... He was gifted... with the power...of...the gods... to defend humans against evil and stuff... and return them...to...a promised land... or something."

" 'Or something'? That's a complex plot line."

"Details later."

Avery sucked in the thin air willing the oxygen to her aching leg muscles. A cold wind bit at her face as they neared the top, whipping her hair loose. They were far enough away from the heat of the crater that the true impact of winter hit her. As they crested the ridge the sight took her breath away. The volcano was surrounded by rugged, snow packed peaks. Glaciers tumbled off mountain sides, the ice breaking and collapsing in a treacherous maze of crevasses. Mountains blocked out any other view; they were completely isolated.

"It's no wonder the sapiens never knew of this place," Avery whispered to no one.

"And if they did, how would they get an army here?" Rena answered.

Surprised she had heard, Avery looked over to see Rena matching her stunned gaze. 

The heat of the volcano kept some things from freezing. A river flowed around the edge of the mountain, fed by the glaciers above. Avery suspected the ground was heated from below keeping the water from freezing solid in this harsh winter. It was a tiny ribbon of glacial blue, twisting its way through the canyon walls and out of sight.

They gave their names to the tower watchman and started back down, already shivering as their sweat froze to their skin.

"Is the Sky Prince the same as the Stone Prince?" Cedar asked, carefully picking his way down the steps behind them.

Avery glanced over her shoulder at him and slipped on a step. Rena caught her arm before she could tumble down the stairs and they all kept moving.

"What's the Stone Prince?" she asked.

"It was a game we used to play. Though we called it Sorcerers and Sapiens, as a disguise. If you had the magic rock you could transfer magic to someone else and tag the sapiens."

Avery shrugged. "Maybe. The story did say that if the Sky Prince was killed, his spirit would be born again in someone else."

Rena kept her eyes down. "Sounds like a bunch of fairytales oppressed people tell each other so they don't despair."

Avery's breathing picked up again as they increased their pace. "Maybe so, but there was a drawing in the book. A symbol. I saw the same symbol at the centre of the Elder's Circle."

Rena urged them faster, hoping they could still make it back to the arena on time.

"The book said that we would know the prince from the symbol on his flesh."

"How convenient," Rena mumbled. She started running ahead, leaving Cedar and Avery behind.

"How is she not tired?" Cedar panted, struggling to keep up.