Princess Rainy's Arc

Chapter 8 of 12

Dawn came gray and cold. Rainy dressed in her sky-blue outfit and pulled on her pale boots. When she opened her door, Rowan waited in the hall. He carried a heavy pack. She saw food wrapped in cloth, a box of matches, and folded blankets stacked at the top. "For the ice shelf," he said. "We take what keeps us alive." Her lynx pressed against her leg, ears turning toward the cold light. "We should go before the sun climbs," Rowan said. He shifted the pack on his shoulder. His pale green eyes were steady now, none of the sickness left from the passes. Rainy nodded. But her chest tightened. She looked down the hall toward the great stairs. "Wait," she said. "There is one thing I have to do first." She ran. Her boots struck the pale stone floor. Rowan followed with the lynx, both slower, letting her go ahead. She burst into the throne room. Her parents were not on the high seats. They stood among villagers, King Anthony steadying an old man's basket, Queen Della bent over a child with a torn cloak. They were helping, hands busy with small daily work. Rainy did not slow. She crossed the room and threw her arms around them both. The basket dropped. Her mother's arms closed around her at once. Rainy cleared her throat against the tightness there. "Sorry," she said. "I just could not leave without giving you a hug." King Anthony looked at the villagers and the guards near the doors. "Leave us," he said, his voice low. They filed out. The great room emptied until only family remained. Queen Della held Rainy close and did not let go. Her curls brushed Rainy's white hair. "You do not need to be sorry," the queen said. "Not for this." Rowan stood in the doorway, the pack still on his back. The lynx sat beside him, tail curled over its paws. He watched the three of them without a word. King Anthony rested a hand on Rainy's shoulder. "The ice shelf is hard," he said. "Harder than the passes. But you carry more strength than you know. Come back to us and tell us who you are." Rainy pulled back and looked at their faces. She fixed them in her mind, the scruffy beard, the soft curls, the crown and the tiara. "I will," she said. She kissed her mother's cheek. She gripped her father's hand once, hard. Then she turned. Rowan held out the second strap of the pack. She took her share of the weight onto her own shoulder. The lynx rose and stretched. "Now," Rainy said. "Before I lose my nerve." They walked out of the warm hall together.