FROST- Jotun Chronicles #1

The Ice Palace

 

            It felt strange to just walk right out of the sandwich shop and into the parking lot with Erik. Charlotte and I followed him to his car, a bright blue PT cruiser. He clicked the key fob to unlock the doors, looking a little embarrassed, “The Queen just assigns us cars,” he explained to us, “I swear I must have insulted her at some point, because I barely fit into this damn thing.”

            Charlotte climbed into the back seat and I took the front, snickering a little when Erik got in. He was right, he had to hunch down a little in his chair, and even then the blonde tips of his hair brushed the roof when he moved his head.

            Charlotte was practically vibrating with excitement, “I can’t believe I get to see an ice castle, and a Queen!”

            “Well it’s a bit of a drive,” Erik laughed, “so just cool your jets there.”

            It turns out he wasn’t exaggerating. It’s a bit of a drive, it’s more than a bit. Two hours later my butt was completely numb, and the only noise in the car was the murmur of the radio DJ. Charlotte’s excitement was exhausted after the first hour, after that she just looked out the window watching snow covered fields pass by.

            “Watch this,” Erik’s voice jerked me out of my stupor. “Watch the road up ahead.”

            I squinted at the dull grey pavement in front of us, and at the surrounding fields blanketed in white. What was I supposed to be looking at?

Up ahead there was a sudden shimmer in the air, a faint blurring of the scenery in one spot. We were approaching it fast, and I tried to squint harder at it. Was that light reflecting off the snow? Or….

We passed through the shimmer, and the effect was instantaneous. The fields were gone, replaced by huge pine trees. We were driving down a dirt road surrounded by a deep green forest.

Charlotte and I both gasped at the same time, and I turned to see Erik’s huge grin, “Cool huh?”

“Did we just drive…into…through…” I couldn’t say it.

“Another dimension?” Erik grinned at me, “yup. Cool, huh? Welcome to the realm of the Frost Jotun.”

Charlotte squealed, “This is so totally exciting! How long till we get there?”

“Only another few minutes.” Erik nodded, eyes fixed on the road up ahead, “she’s pretty close to the border.”

I was leaning forward in my seat now, stomach twisting with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. Erik shot me a sideways look, as if he somehow knew what I must be feeling right now. “Don’t worry, she’ll be ecstatic to see you.”

I nodded and bit my lip. It wasn’t that. What if I’d made the wrong decision? Maybe I should have just kept running. Maybe I should be in California now, laying low. It was too late for second thoughts now though. I forced a smile, “Well, I hope so.”

The rode was winding up a hill now, and the cruiser was slowing down a little, tires slipping and squeaking from time to time on the packed snow. It was still climbing steadily though, and after several more minutes of driving we crested the hill and Erik said,

“And this ladies….is the palace.”

My jaw practically dropped to my knees. Looming in the distance was a fortress made of ice, a full on fairy tale castle with all the towers and peaks. The sunlight reflected off its surface, sending white light dancing across the smooth snow all around it. It was impossibly tall, the peaks of its towers seemed to scrape the clouds.

Charlotte’s voice was awed, “there’s even a moat.”

There was too. A wide expanse of dark blue water capped with floating ice burgs circled the huge palace. There would be no getting in unless they wanted you to. Erik was talking on his cell phone, telling someone that we were arriving. The palace only seemed to get taller as we neared it and I craned my neck, tipping my head back, pressing the side of my face to the cold glass of the car window to continue looking at it. I'd never seen anything so huge. It could have fit my school a hundred times over inside it, even my “big” school in California had nothing on this.

“It’s like an ice sculpture,” Charlotte said in a hushed voice, “it’s beautiful.”

A section in the center of the castle wall shifted, dropping down slowly, sunlight glistening off the ice as it moved, reflecting across my skin. I shielded my eyes with one hand so I could continue to watch, struck dumb. The drawbridge was being lowered on two thick silver chains. It bridged the expanse of the water, settling down onto the snow on the other side with a crunch and a rumble that shook the earth. Erik moved the car forward slowly, and before long we were bumping across the bridge, tires rumbling over the thick ice. I dared to lower the window and look down into the deep blue waters of the moat. A wash of cool air drifted past me. The water below danced and shone, and I could hear the gentle shushing sound of the river sliding past the ice burgs and washing up against the frozen banks.

Then we were over the bridge, passing the palace gate. We drove into a large, snow covered court yard, in the center of which was a massive, multi level fountain decorated with blue lights.  It lit up the surroundings, and the cheerful trickle echoed off the icy walls. Stone pathways criss crossed through the open space, cleared of ice. Holly bushes grew all around the courtyard, red berries bright against the snow. There were people here, tall beautiful blonde people dressed in heavy furs. They strolled down the pathways arm in arm, laughing and chattering.  We drove by slowly, and I watched a couple walk down one of the pathways, obviously deeply engrossed in one another. He, tall and broad-shouldered in chainmail and leather, and she is silver grey furs, gazing up at him as she talked, her cherry red lips contrasting with her proclaim skin.

Nobody looked up as we drove by. I craned my neck to look back over my shoulder, reluctant to let the beautiful courtyard out of my sight. Erik gave me a smile,

“Don’t worry, Amora. This is your home now.  You’ll have plenty of time to look around.”

My heart lurched. This place was gorgeous, but would I ever be able to call it home? It was all so regal and stately. I wasn’t a regal type of person at all. I was a snort- milk- out- of- my- nose- if- I- laughed- too- hard  type of person. My stomach churned uncomfortably and my palms felt clammy. What if I did something horribly embarrassing in front of all these majestic looking people? I would probably make a total ass of myself. We pulled into a spacious parking lot on the far side of the palace, and Erik parked between two shiny new BMWs.

“I almost expected you guys to ride in ice chariots or something,” I surveyed the parking lot critically, “you know, like Narnia.”

Erik grinned, “That would be highly impractical.” He hopped out and came around to open the door for Charlotte and I. “Ladies, are you ready to meet Queen Eria?”

I swallowed hard, squared my shoulders and tilted my head back to take in the huge, frozen palace that stretched up to brush the clouds above us. “Yup.” I wished I was as confident as I sounded.

Erik led the way forward, and I trailed behind him. Charlotte was hopping around in the snow, babbling excitedly, asking him a million questions, but I was quiet. What would this Queen be like?