To Melt A Frozen Heart | ONC 2024

Chapter 3 | A Very Frosty Arrival

Not legend, Aure. Nightmares.

Wrynn's words echoed through my mind as the ground beneath the carriage gradually merged into paving slabs, thankfully making the journey slightly less turbulent. We began to leave the forest behind, snow-covered trees becoming sparser and further spread apart as we emerged into yet another grassland – or snow-land in this case.

As I watched the endless white flowing past the window, my mind drifted.

What could he possibly have meant? Nightmares. Surely, that had to mean something...

And yet, if I forgot for a moment why I was actually there, Evenspire seemed to be a delightful place, like something out of a storybook.

Granted, I hadn't actually seen more than a few minutes' worth, but—

My thoughts were cut off.

Wrynn began speaking, "Now, when we get to the High Palace, you will need to go straight up to your chambers. It will be dark. I am sure your lady's maid will be there to assist you."

Nodding slowly, I met his gaze.

He continued, "I would also tell you that the way we do things. May be a little different to the way you do them at home. For instance, you will be expected..."

I was indignant. I knew what was expected of me in a palace, thank you very much. Id spent my whole life practicing how to curtesy and carry on a conversation and act in a way befitting of a princess. How different could Evenspire be?

The words slipped out before I could stop them. "Are you insinuating that I do not know how to behave in a royal setting?"

My tone was harsh, I knew that, but he spoke to me as if I were merely a petulant child – Wrynn could hardly be older by a few years.

He seemed shocked at my outburst, and I wondered silently, guiltily if maybe I had been too hasty.

"No. No, I am not. I was merely suggesting that the way we do things here, our customs, may be a little different to how you do things in your home. In fact, I know that they are different having seen what little of your home that I have."

I sighed, leaning back against the soft cushioned wall of the carriage.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to be so... I should not have spoken to you like that. It's just that this is all very sudden. And at the end of it all, I have to marry a man whom I have never even met..." I trailed off, not being able to meet his gaze.

He was silent for a moment as if considering my words.

I continued, more softly, "What did you mean? In what way are your customs different to ours in Geldery?"

Casting my eyes finally upward, I looked to Wrynn. He was watching after a large boulder that slowly disappeared from view, one arm casually resting on the ledge. His piercing blue eyes met mine.

And then, as I watched, he seemed to change before my very eyes. Not completely but...

Pressing my back into the furthest corner of the cabin, I stared at him. Wrynn's hair, which had once been a dark brown, now shone a brilliant silver. His skin too was paler, matching the cool brilliance of the snow outside.

He was different and yet the same.

"You... your hair..." I managed to get out, unable to remove my eyes from him.

He sighed, almost as if he had expected this very reaction. As if this were a common occurrence.

"It's changed, has it? I was wondering when it would. That's closer to the border than last time, the radius appears to be expanding, then." He mumbled the last bit seemingly to himself, almost forgetting I was there.