Page 16 of Winter Goddess
I run my hands through my long hair, wishing there was a simple answer. Why can't life be simple, just once? I think I've dealt with my share fair of heartache and trouble, why can't it be someone else's turn now?
No, that's not a way a Princess should think. I should be happy to take on the responsibility and suffering that comes with my role, as long as it means my people are safe. But am I ready to be that person? Can I put all my own worries to one side and completely focus on what's good for my Realm?
Already, I don't have enough time to spend with my Guardians. I bet that as Queen, I'd have even less. I miss them, I miss our closeness, our banter. I can feel them through our bond, but that's no substitute for having them in the room with me.
Urgh. My head hurts with all the thoughts swirling around my mind.
The balance... I remember what my mother told me when I'd first arrived in the Realm. How she and Angus share their rule of the world, how he makes plants grow and thrive in the summer, and how Beira give them their well-earned rest during the winter months. Nature has got used to the rhythm that they've maintained over millennia, and if that balance was to be disturbed, all of creation might be affected. She'd said that magic might no longer exist in a world without the precarious balance that she'd fought for despite Angus trying to extend his powers. She's fought him before, many times, and each time, she won, but she never took away his Realm and his powers. He's needed for the balance, and even now, I know that we can't defeat him completely, only drive him back. Who we need to defeat is the Morrigan, who doesn't seem to care about the damage this war between Winter and Summer could cause. She'd probably enjoy it. If she lives in the Demon Realms now, I bet she'd be happy with a world of darkness and despair.
I look at Beira again. Her lover, my father, was killed by Angus's soldiers, and yet she still tried to keep the peace. I'm not sure I'd be able to do that if someone killed my men. Scratch that, I certainly wouldn't. I'd want to make Angus suffer in the worst possible way.
Yet another reason why I'd make a terrible Queen. I'm too emotional, too human. Maybe if I'd grown up here in the Realms, it could have been different, but I didn't.
To Queen or not to Queen... I smirk at my own bad joke. Everybody is telling me to do it. The Council, Tamara, even my father. And my Guardians. This is the first time they're not supporting my decision. Storm is particularly adamant that I should take my mother's place. But they're part of this Realm, no wonder they think like everybody here. Am I the only one who can see what a bad idea it is?
I'm not the right person for the job.
I sigh. Sitting here lamenting my fate won't do any good. I better get going, there's a Council to inform about the dragons, and I'm pretty sure there's a mountain of documents to sign waiting for me on my desk.
Chapter Six
Before I can even get to my office, Tamara waylays me.
"There's something you should see," she tells me, the urgency in her voice surprising me. She's usually very well composed and while she likes to laugh, she very rarely shows any other emotions.
"What's going on?"
"It's the unicorn. He's having... I don't know, it looks like he's having a seizure. He's saying strange things and his body is twitching. I've sent for Theodore and Zephyr, but you know the unicorn better than any of us.
"Where is he?" I ask, fear filling my stomach. I can't deal with another loss.
"Practice courtyard. He went there to..."
I'm already gone, teleporting there before Tamara can finish her sentence.
It'schaos in the courtyard. A crowd has assembled, surrounding Blaze as he writhes on the ground. His beautiful white coat is dirty all over. He must have been rolling around on the gravel for a while.
"What happened?" I ask loudly and the crowd falls silent, quickly opening a passage so I can reach the unicorn.
A Guardian steps forward, only wearing a pair of loose trousers. His chest is sleek with sweat; he must have been training here when it happened.
"He was eating, or at least that's what he said he was doing, when he suddenly whinnied and collapsed. We tried to help him up, but then he started convulsing. Whenever he stops moving, he says the same words."
"Which are?" I ask sharply when he doesn't continue immediately.
"Spring dies, Summer falls, betrayed by darkness. Autumn's missing. Winter's called to help." He shrugs as if that doesn't make sense at all.
"That's all?"
"At the beginning, he muttered something about balances, but maybe I misheard him."
That's all too much of a coincidence. My mother tells me that the balance needs to be kept intact, and a moment later, Blaze does the same thing? Maybe this is just an elaborate plot to make me accept the crown.
The unicorn whinnies in pain and I immediately know how wrong I am. This isn't a plot. This is real.
I approach him, staying out of reach of his twitching hooves.
"Blaze? Can you hear me?"
