Royal Rebellion {on hold}

Chapter 13

My skull was trying to strangle my brain. I reached a hand up and rubbed my temple. As my consciousness returned, I realized the stiff, chushy surface I was lying on was rocking back and forth in a way that was not helping my headache. I peeled my eyes open. The ceiling was rocking and swaying and I heard the sound of horses hooves outside. Wait. Horses?!?

I bolted up, nearly falling off the bench. My vision swam for a moment as the blood rushed through my body. I shuffled to the carriage window and pulled back the curtain. Deep green obscured my vision, the trees so thick, pale streams of sunlight struggled to reach the forest floor.

What the heck?! Where was I?

I jiggled the carriages door handle. Nothing, it was locked! Trying to get the guards attention proved also to be futile. I tried to find a way out, but there was none. Frustrated, I sat back down and tried to sort my thoughts. 

After a while, my stomach grumbled with hunger. I dug around in the cubbies under the seats and found a basket of food and water. I don't know how long we travelled but we stopped quite a few times. The only difference was the change of temperature. It slowly became colder. 

My breath became visible and after digging around some more, I found a thick fur cloak under my seat. 

It was light blue with soft, white fur. Where were we going?! Regardless, I wrapped the cloak around my shoulders, grateful for the warmth. 

After what felt like eternity, we stopped for what seemed like the final time. The carriage handle rattled and I jumped in surprise. The guard who opened the door had a stony expression on his face. 

"Where are we?" I asked. He didn't answer. "You are under order of your prince. Answer me!"

"Sorry, your highness. I am under order of the king." He bowed shallowly. I sighed. I wasn't getting any more answers out of him. 

Stepping out of the carriage, my entire body seized a bit at the cold air. My breaths puffed out in front of me and my ears were instantly cold. The sharp, howling wind was not helping, slicing through the gap in my cloak and chilling me to the bone. There was only one place that could be this cold in August. The Barren Lands. 

It was a wasteland so cold, no civilizations had survived here. It was edged everywhere with mountains. 

The only building that still stood was the ruins of a stone castle nicknamed the Stronghold. And I was standing right in front of it. 

It rose from the snow like a stone giant. People were sometimes exiled here, to the cold ruins of a past civilization. The geography had been different before and now, the broken castle lay buried in 10 feet of snow. Half of it looked to be crushed and most if not all of the  towers had collapsed. 

I turned to the guard, panic rising. "I cannot be here. My frie-I mean, people need me." The guard stayed silent. "Take me back." Still nothing. 

I made a noise of impatience. I would go back myself if I had to. I started towards the horses but the guard pulled me back, roughly. I shook him off but this time he grabbed me and hauled me closer to the castle.

"Let go of me!" I yelled but it fell on deaf ears. The guard wrestled me away from the carriage. His grip was strong and sure and I regretted not training more. He was not letting go anytime soon. The least I could do was save my dignity. 

"Let go of me, I can walk on my own!" I snapped. The guard loosened his grip and I wretched my arm away. Glaring, I dusted myself off and turned, heading for the castle. 

The inside was not much better. The howling wind found its way in through the broken windows and collapsed walls of the west wing. The hall was decorated meagerly with a simple, fraying red carpet leading up the stairs and the chandeliers hung with icicles. The tapestries were long gone.