Banished from the lands of Turia, Agnes and Gerda try to start a new life in the nearby Kingdom of Agraunia. They share a small garret room with Agnes’s widowed mother, Matilda. There, Gerda befriends her neighbour’s son, Kai, who is an apprentice to a Blacksmith. Their close friendship eventually blossoms into love. Their short-lived happiness comes to a halt with Kai’s cold, distance demeanour. After he disappears after being seen with a strange woman in white, rumours persist that he is dead. Only Gerda knows he is still alive. The place he touched deepest in her heart makes it hard for her to accept any other truth but her instincts scream at her that he is in danger. With no one willing to help, Gerda sets out alone to rescue him, unaware of the dangers outside of her sheltered life as the nursemaid’s daughter.
Kingdom of Ice, book 1 of A Dark Faerie Tale, is a blended retelling of Snow White, the Snow Queen and other fairy tales, with action/adventure and a magical touch of romance.
It was mid-winter in Turia, and large flakes of snow had fallen to the ground, covering the earth with a glistening blanket of white. Queen Eleanor sat on a window seat looking out at the wintry scene before her. The well-thumbed book in her hand had remained on the same page for the last half hour. Bright orange flames of a roaring fire crackled in the fireplace. Eleanor’s cheeks flushed, as she felt far too warm and wished for a walk outside to take in some fresh air. She left the window seat and requested her lady-in-waiting to bring her cloak.
“Your Majesty, it
is freezing outside, would it not be better to sit on the far side of the room
away from the fire?” she suggested.
Eleanor did not agree.
“Hurry and fetch it as the heat in this chamber stifles me. The cool air will
revive me. My nausea has now passed, so you have no need to be concerned for
me.” Her rose-pink lips curled into a warm smile and her grey eyes twinkled
with humour. “Would you rather I fetch it myself?”
“Certainly not,” said
her lady-in-waiting, who hurried to bring the cloak. The queen had a kind and
compassionate nature. She proved this to her subjects with her charity to the
poor and needy and treating her servants with respect. All loved and respected
her in return. With her husband King Eldwin, she ruled the kingdom of Turia
with wisdom and justice.
Her
lady-in-waiting returned with a blue velvet cloak lined with black silk. She
placed it around Eleanor’s shoulders and closed its silver fastener, and then
both made their way along the stone-flagged corridors to the garden. Ruhan
Castle had beautiful gardens, and Eleanor spent many hours there. Colourful
shrubs and flowers of every kind adorned the garden’s borders. They walked
along the snow-cleared path towards the scented herb garden, which served a
culinary and medicinal purpose. Although many of the herbs lay dormant
throughout the winter, a few herbs prevailed: rosemary, thyme and mint. Eleanor
stooped down and picked a few green sprigs of each. Gently crushing them in the
palm of her hand, she inhaled their sweet, earthy fragrance. Instructing her
lady-in-waiting to leave her until she called for her, she headed towards her
favourite part of the gardens: the rose garden.
A hardy bush of
blood-red roses still bloomed within the bare garden. She brushed away the
sprinkling of crystallised snow from the crimson petals with her fingers and
inhaled the heady fragrance of the largest of the blooms. In doing so, she
pricked her forefinger on a rose thorn. Three drops of ruby-red blood fell from
her finger onto the white covered ground below. She gazed at the stark contrast
of the red blood against the white of the snow. She then ran her hands along
her swollen stomach and smiled as her thoughts turned to the infant she
carried: I wish to have a daughter whose skin will be as fair as snow,
lips as red as blood and hair as black as a raven’s wings
This child had been a
long time in coming. Eleanor’s pregnancy had not been an easy one. The King
worried about her health and surrounded her with physicians and servants. She
loved her husband but felt overwhelmed by so much fuss and attention and often
took refuge in her beloved rose garden.
The intensity of the
breeze that wafted around the garden increased. Eleanor felt icy-cold and
pulled the hood of her cloak over her ebony-black hair. Suddenly, the breeze
turned into a fierce gust of wind and Eleanor started as she felt a sharp,
stabbing sensation in her chest. She doubled over and cried out in pain. When
she straightened, her blissful mood had vanished, only to be replaced with
feelings of anger and hostility. The warmth in her eyes faded and an unfamiliar
rage rose within her as she tore at the rose blooms. She plucked them from the
bush and crushed them in her hands. As the petals crumbled, she threw the
remains onto the ground. To her the roses were imperfect and their scent
repulsed her.
A very different Queen
Eleanor returned to the castle that day.
©Paula M. Hunter
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