Wizards of Ice
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The world was a cold place. The air had been chilled by the wind, and it felt like ice in his lungs as he breathed. He could see nothing but white snow all around him – the sky above was clear blue with only wisps of cloud here and there to break up its immensity.
It looked so peaceful from where he stood that it almost made him feel guilty for what he’d done. But then again, if he hadn’t killed those men they would have come looking for revenge against him anyway…
He turned away from the scene behind him and walked on through the whiteness. His feet were numb after being exposed to the elements for too long, but he didn’t dare stop walking until he reached a small copse of trees ahead of him. When he finally came out into their sheltering shade, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath before continuing along the path.
His journey wasn’t going well; he knew that much already. He’d tried to kill Dannyl once more, only to be caught by the guards at the palace gates. They weren’t stupid enough to let him go without questioning him first, though, which meant that he couldn’t get back inside and find another way to reach his target.
So instead, he had decided to leave the city behind and try to make it across the mountains to the north of the capital. That was probably why he’d ended up here: he must have taken a wrong turn somewhere.
But even if he did manage to escape the city, how would he ever find Dannyl? There were hundreds of towns and villages scattered throughout the country, each one having its own name, and no two of them were likely to look exactly alike. And there were thousands of people living in every town and village, not just wizards. How could he hope to track down Dannyl among all these strangers?
It seemed hopeless. He might as well give up now, return to the palace and face whatever punishment they chose to mete out. At least that way he wouldn’t have to worry about getting himself killed trying to hunt down Dannyl.
And yet, despite everything, a tiny spark of determination flared deep within his mind. If he gave up now, he would never know whether or not he really could save Dannyl’s life. He might be able to do it, but he would never know unless he tried.
So he continued on towards the mountains. The path grew steeper, forcing him to climb over rocks and boulders, sometimes slipping and falling when the ground became treacherous underfoot.
Even so, he kept moving forward, determined to keep going until he found some sort of sign that he was heading in the right direction. After an hour or so, he began to hear voices calling to him from far off in the distance. He recognized the language immediately.
“Dannyl!” he called out. “I’m coming! I’ve escaped from the palace.”
There was silence for a few moments, then someone replied, this time speaking in Elantran. “You’re lucky you didn’t end up dead,” said a voice he knew very well indeed.
Dannyl. Of course. He should have realized straight away who it was. He hurriedly stepped aside from the path and waited for Dannyl to approach. As soon as he appeared, he ran to meet him.
“Where are we?” asked Dannyl.
“We’re in the mountains, near the border between Elantra and Alon Rhist,” said Tarnel. “I don’t suppose you recognize the area.”
Dannyl shook his head. “No. Why am I here?”
Tarnel smiled slightly. “Because your father sent me to bring you home. You may remember that he wanted to talk to you about something important, but he didn’t want to tell you where you were going. Well, he told me to take you to the mountains and wait for you there. I thought it best to leave you alone for a while, so I hid and went to sleep. Then, when I woke up, I saw you walking along the path.”
Dannyl nodded slowly. “That makes sense. My father doesn’t trust me. I think he thinks that I’ll run away again if given the chance. So he has to punish me somehow, just in case I decide to disobey him.”
“Well, I can understand that,” said Tarnel. “But I still don’t believe that you would actually do such a thing.”
“Yes, of course, you would. You’re my friend. Besides, I haven’t run away since I was twelve years old. I’ve always obeyed my father’s orders.”
“I know,” said Tarnel softly. “But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a little fun now and then, does it? Just because you obey your father doesn’t mean that you have to become a boring person.”
Dannyl laughed. “I guess not. But what happens now? Do we go back to the palace together?”
Tarnel shook his head. “No, I’m afraid I have to stay with you. Your father wants to see both of us, and I doubt he’d like it if I left without bringing you back.”
“Oh…” Dannyl sighed. “Then I guess we’d better hurry.”
They walked back down the mountain path, talking quietly as they went. When they reached the bottom, Dannyl turned to Tarnel. “Thank you for helping me. I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”
“Don’t mention it,” said Tarnel. “Now, let’s get you home before your father sends another wizard after you.”
***
“What’s wrong with her?” asked Dannyl, looking at the woman lying motionless on the bed. She looked pale and drawn, and she had been sleeping fitfully for most of the night.
“She’s sick,” said Jaseel. “The healers say that it’s probably a mild fever.”
“Is that all?”
Jaseel shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re treating her anyway, though.”
“Good. What happened?”
“A few days ago, one of the servants noticed that the queen wasn’t feeling quite herself. We took her to the Healers’ Hall, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with her. That’s why we brought her here.”
“It must be terrible for her,” said Dannyl. “To lose her husband, and then to fall ill just a few weeks later.”
“Yes,” said Jaseel. “I hope she gets better soon.”
Dannyl nodded and left the room. He wandered through the palace corridors, thinking about what he had seen earlier. It seemed strange that the queen should suddenly begin to feel unwell just a few weeks after losing her husband. And yet, he supposed, there was no need for her to worry about illness or death anymore; she was already dead.
He stopped outside the door to the queen’s private chambers. The guards standing outside opened the doors as soon as he knocked. He entered, and the two guards closed the doors behind him. A moment later, Queen Merecea came into view. She was sitting up in bed, watching Dannyl nervously.
“My dear boy,” she said, smiling weakly. “How nice of you to visit me.”
“I wouldn’t call it visiting,” said Dannyl. “More like spying. Where is your daughter?”
Merecea frowned. “She’s out somewhere. I don’t know where. Probably playing with some friends.”
“Didn’t you send someone to look for her?”
“Of course I did. But she’s only ten years old, and she likes to explore.”
“And you never thought to keep an eye on her yourself?”
“Why bother?” said Merecea. “She’s perfectly safe. There are plenty of people around who will protect her from harm.”
Dannyl stared at the queen blankly. “You really don’t care about her safety at all, do you?”
“Of course I do!” snapped Merecea. “I just don’t think it’s right to make her sit inside all day long, waiting for Prince Rolan to come and rescue her.”
“So you’re happy to put your own child’s life at risk by letting her wander around the city alone?”
“Well…no,” admitted Merecea. “But I suppose I don’t mind too much if something bad happens to her. After all, she’ll be dead when the Darkakin attack.”
Dannyl felt his heart sink. “That isn’t funny, Mother.”
“No, I’m sorry,” said Merecea. “I didn’t mean it to sound so cruel. But it’s true. If the Darkakin succeeds in destroying the kingdom, then we won’t have any more children to worry about. Sooner or later, everyone dies, and my daughter will die sooner rather than later.”
Dannyl shook his head angrily. “That’s not how it works! You can’t just decide that you’re going to kill off your own family.”
“Why not?” said Merecea. “It’s what the Darkakin want, isn’t it? To wipe out every last human being on this planet?”
“Not exactly,” said Dannyl. “They’ve promised to leave us alive if we give them the throne.”
“So you’re saying that you would prefer to see the whole country destroyed, just because you don’t trust the Darkakin?”
“No,” said Dannyl. “I’m not saying that at all.”
“Then why are you trying to stop me?”
“Because it’s wrong!” shouted Dannyl. “Do you understand that? It’s wrong to murder innocent people simply because they happen to share the same blood as you. All humans deserve respect, even those who were born into royalty. And you, Mother, are a murderer.”
Merecea stared at him coldly. “What makes you think I murdered anyone?”
“You poisoned the king, remember?”
“Oh, yes, I forgot about that,” said Merecea. “I suppose I did poison him. I wanted to get rid of Rolan, and I knew that he wouldn’t go away until I gave him what he wanted. So I killed him, and made sure that he died painfully.”
“You could have asked him to leave instead.”
“No,” said Merecea. “I couldn’t do that. I’d always known that I wasn’t good enough to marry Rolan. In fact, I didn’t want to marry him at all. But I had no choice. I was desperate to save myself and my daughter from the fate that awaited us if Rolan married another woman.”
“So you decided to poison him?”
“Yes,” said Merecea. “I did it because I love my daughter, and I didn’t want her to end up like me. I wanted her to live a better life than I ever managed to lead.”
“You should have told her the truth.”
“If I had, she might have tried to kill herself,” said Merecea. “Or worse still, she might have ended up marrying Rolan after all. I couldn’t take that chance.”
“So you killed him, knowing full well that he loved you very much.”
“He did,” said Merecea. “At least, he used to. He’s changed now. I think he hates me.”
“Hates you?” said Dannyl. “How can he hate you? You haven’t done anything to him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Merecea. “The moment he realized that I’d murdered his father, he hated me. That’s why I poisoned him. Now there will never be any hope of our marriage working out.”
“Mother—”
“Please, Dannyl,” said Merecea. “Let’s not argue about this anymore. I know you feel strongly about it, but I really don’t want to talk about it any more.”
“All right,” said Dannyl, reluctantly. “But promise me one thing.”
“Anything,” said Merecea.
“Promise me that you’ll try to find a way to get rid of the Darkakin without killing any more innocent people.”
“Of course,” said Merecea. “I promise.”
“Good,” said Dannyl. “Now, let’s go home.”
The End