Frozen Heart

Snow was falling from grey clouds as a small carriage advanced slowly on the lonely road. The carriage was surrounded by war horses—their riders looking battle worn and tired. The warrior in front, who seemed to be their leader, kept looking at the sky from time to time with a frown. Then he would look at the carriage as if he could see the young woman inside of it. Ice wolves howled in the forest, and the young woman shivered because of the cold. Or perhaps she was afraid of the wild beasts. When the howling stopped, she looked out the window while she pulled her cloak tight around her. In the distance, the tall peaks of the mountains were hiding between the dark clouds. The woman opened the window, stuck a gloved hand out, caught a snowflake in her hand, and studied it until it melted. ‘The snowflakes are quite pretty,’ she thought, ‘but I wish I could see something else.’ After almost three weeks of seeing snow all the time, she had grown tired of it. She sighed as she clo

After many attempts and failures, with the help of Milton, Ayla got on the horse. Her dress was not suitable for horse riding, and she had to ride sidesaddle. As Milton got on top of the other horse, Ayla gripped the saddle as hard as she could. In the forest, an ice wolf howled, and Ayla was sure her horse would start running and throw her off his back. When the horse didn’t move, Ayla prayed to Addanos, asking him to let her arrive at the Royal Castle in one piece. She tried to grip the reins, but her fingers were numb with cold. The journey and the cold had worn Ayla out. Despite the warm cloak covering her, she felt as though the endless cold had made its home in her bones. She doubted she would ever feel warm again. She shivered so badly that her entire body started hurting. “Grab the rein!” Milton instructed her. Ayla tried to do as Milton asked, but her hands wouldn’t listen to her. “I can’t grab it. My fingers are numb with cold,” Ayla said as another ice wolf ho

Ayla knew she shouldn’t waste the gift she received. If she didn’t eat the broth, it would probably be thrown away, and it would be such a waste. Besides, she was sure King Rhobart would make her pay for the dragon-root even if she didn’t eat the broth. ‘I hope the King chokes on his food and dies!’ Ayla thought. Left with no choice, Ayla ate while she told Milton about her books and her small garden. She told him how her mother and grandmother started teaching her about plants and herbs. Ayla’s mother, Queen Lavia, died when Ayla was nine years old, a month after the war began, while her grandmother died the following year, leaving her alone with her father and brother. When Ayla finished eating, she felt stronger. She wiggled her fingers, and joy filled her heart when she saw that the trembling had stopped. With each passing minute, Ayla felt better. Milton handed her a cup of tea. “Now drink this. It will help heal your body faster.” Ayla took the cup, smelled th

Ayla was fascinated by the bathroom. She had never seen one like that before. The stone floor was warm beneath her feet; in a corner, there was a bench, and under it, there were magical stones. She wondered what those stones did. And there was that bathtub. By Adanoss! The bathtub! It was much larger than the one she had in Myrthana, and it had magical stones on the edge that sent vibrations into her body, helping her muscles to relax. The maids led her back into the room. They helped her put on clean undergarments and long soft socks that reached her calves. Then the blue dress and a white belt around her waist. Lastly, a long cape was attached to her shoulder. She touched the dress’s fabric– it was so soft and warm. “Made from the wool of a woolly rhino. Or several of them,” a maid said. Once dressed, Ayla was forced to sit on a chair while the maids worked on her hair. She had never had a maid before to help her style her hair. It was her mother that taught Ayla how t

King Rhobart took a calming breath while he kept looking at Ayla. And his eyes turned an even darker shade of black, if that was possible. “You look….” he started saying but stopped mid-sentence. “Would you join these buffoons and me for dinner?” She blinked. He wanted her to dine with him and his men? She did not know how to reply, so she gave him a curt nod. After the King helped her with the chair, he sat next to her and grabbed her plate, and started putting food on it. The King was serving her? That couldn’t be right. She was supposed to serve them. Him. To her utter shock, the Paladins started filling their plates with food. Milton, who decided to sit at the head of the table, coughed, and Ayla thought she heard him say dress between coughs. King Rhobart paused for a moment. “The dress fits you nicely,” he mumbled before adding more meat to her plate. Ayla blushed, realizing for the first time that the dress came from the King. “Thank you for it! It