Elodie rushed down the hall, anxious and also nervous to find out why she had been summoned to the banquet hall. She heard the sound of voices when she neared the massive double doors. She listened for a moment until there was a silent pause. She chose that moment to enter.
Elodie entered to four people sitting around the huge banquet table. They all turned as she entered, causing her discomfort. She glanced around uneasily with wide eyes, wondering if she'd done something wrong. North sat at the far end of the table, giving her a kind smile. That made her feel better. She recognized only two others. Amaryllis and Augusto. The other woman, she hadn't seen before. Her golden eyes were contemplative and they seemed to see right through Elodie. Her skin was a darker shade and her hair was a mane of long, frizzy, dark-brown hair atop her oval-shaped head. She wore a dress of fallen autumn leaves and a crown fashioned from tree bark on her head. She had smooth skin and high cheekbones. She was beautiful like the rest. Even short, stout Augusto with his gruff nature had beauty of his own. Perhaps it was in the way his kind, brown eyes fell upon one as if they had been friends forever. Or how his warm smile made you feel immediately welcomed. Whatever it was, Elodie didn't doubt him. Not for a moment.
North gestured for her to sit at the other end of the table. There were many tables in the banquet hall. They were used when the kingdom gathered together for feasts and celebrations. Elodie sat down, feeling small among the ever-regal leaders.
"Elodie," Amaryllis greeted with a friendly smile, lighting up her angelic features. Elodie smiled politely. "You must be rather courageous to enter the Condemned Forest," Amaryllis complimented.
"Or rather foolish," Willow put in gruffly. Amaryllis shot Willow a glare. Elodie remained silent. Augusto took over, fearing that the bickering between the Spring and Autumn queens would begin before long. It usually did.
"We are here to discuss an important matter with you, Miss Elodie," Augusto began in his low, warm voice. Amaryllis and Willow tore their gazes apart and focused in on Augusto. "Well, I suppose there is no use in beating about the bush." He let out a heavy sigh before continuing. "War has been declared on this land." Elodie's eyes widened. Was this it? Was her time to defend this hidden kingdom approaching?
"That was not meant to bring you concern, Elodie," Amaryllis added, glancing from Augusto to Elodie worriedly. "We thought it best that you know. So that you may begin to train harder."
"Much harder," Willow added.
"I guess you could call my little adventure through the Condemned Forest 'training'." There was a pause where they all looked at her, wondering what she meant by that. "The wolves. The whole pack attacked us and I had to use my bow to keep them back. Lark also had her daggers but-"
"Lark?" Amaryllis interrupted. "Lark Woodshade?" Elodie nodded slowly, remembering that Lark had been from Fonsia.
"She came in rather handy. I don't know if I would be alive had she not known a shortcut back to Talvimora." Amaryllis slowly nodded, lowered her violet gaze, and fell back in her seat.
"Lark is a rogue. Banished for murder." Elodie's eyes shot up to meet the Spring queen's.
YOU ARE READING
Winter's Child
FantasyElodie Remley grows up believing that she is just like any other girl. She goes through her childhood containing special powers that no one else has. She isn't able to use them, however, until she turns eighteen. She discovers that she is unlike oth...
