Page 25 of Winter Goddess
"We did, but we can't bring her back." I lift a hand when they start to protest. "I've seen what's at stake. Now that we have Autumn on our side - that's the Dragon Goddess, Gwain, I'll explain later - Angus needs to have Spring. The balance is already disturbed enough, and we can't injure it any further."
"But she's our ally!" Gwain protests. "We promised her she'd be safe."
I nod sadly. "Yes, we did. I did, and it's my responsibility. Believe me, I feel just as bad about this as you do, if not worse. A lot worse." I get up from my chair and look them straight in the eyes - not that I can actually see them, but I hope they don't notice that.
"I know what I need to do to restore peace, starting with my coronation."
Tamara can't stifle a small gasp. "You've changed your mind? How?"
"I've seen what happens if I don't do it," I say, trying to keep the bitterness from my voice. "I still don't agree with it, but I know that I have to do it. I have to become Queen."
Gwain bows deeply. "Your Majesty."
"Not quite yet." I shake my head. "But I will have to be, soon. Tamara, I know you've been itching to organise the coronation. I assume you've already taken preparations without my knowledge?"
"Of course I have. I knew you'd change your mind."
She's not in the slightest apologetic, but I don't care. I like her for her enthusiasm and passion for what she believes.
"It needs to be soon. How long do you need?"
She thinks for a moment. "I can have the preparations done by tomorrow evening, but it might not be enough time to get invitations out to everyone. I'd suggest the day after tomorrow, that should give our allies the chance to attend. We really want them here for it to see your power and see the reason why they want to continue to be allied with our Realm."
That's later than I had hoped, but I get her reasoning. In this place, it's all about appearances, and this will be a prime occasion to get all our allies together. I might even be able to combine this with some battle preparation meetings. Multi-tasking, that's what I'm good at.
"Take whatever resources you need. The treasury is all yours, but please keep the dress simple." I shudder at the thought of yet another dress monstrosity I might be forced to wear.
Tamara chuckles. "Don't worry, it'll be spectacular."
That's exactly what I'm worried about. For her, spectacular means diamonds and a lot of unnecessary fabric. Or no fabric in all the important places. Neither is a very appealing prospect, but even I understand that I can't get crowned the Winter Queen in a t-shirt and jeans.
Gwain still doesn't look happy with the situation. "Flora is still alive and unharmed," I tell him reassuringly. "I can feel it and I think that once I'm crowned, I'll be able to talk to her."
"What? How?" he asks in confusion.
"Until now, the balance was kept by Summer and Winter, but now that Autumn has appeared, Spring has a bigger role to play. I believe that once all four of us are in position, things are going to start moving. The game hasn't begun yet, and I'm sure the Morrigan is aware of that. She's waiting for the final player to take her place. Well, I'm not going to disappoint her. I now know things she doesn't."
I smile, unwilling to tell them anymore. The fewer people know, the better.
"I better go and tell my men that they're going to be Royal consorts soon."
Chapter Nine
My father is fast asleep and my mother is too weak to even respond, which means that neither of my remaining parents can give me some sympathy for my impending coronation. I'm drowning in self-pity and I need an outlet for that.
The guys will probably try and be comforting, but they've all tried to persuade me to become Queen since the issue was first raised. Same with Tamara. Who else do I have to talk to? Ada perhaps? No, I should leave her to recover and spend some time with her men. That leaves only one person... ehm... unicorn.
I focus on my magic and let her run free. She purrs in happiness, jumping all around me, making the books on the shelves around me shake. I've not had the chance to use proper magic recently. Teleporting is different, and the bit of wind magic I did in the Dragon Realm didn't even dent the surface of my powers.Find Blaze, I tell her, confident that my magic will find a being more magical than anything else in the Palace. I mean, the unicorneatsmagic. It doesn't get more extreme than that.
She runs away and the further she goes, the more my awareness increases. I can hear people talk several corridors away, I can smell the sweat of some soldiers training outside, and I feel the breeze in the courtyard where Blaze is currently snoozing. Wow. I need to do this more often. If I wanted, I could probably eavesdrop on people on the other side of the Palace. No wonder my mother always knows everything.
My magic gallops around Blaze and I zone in on her energy, teleporting to her location a second later. Life is so easy when you're powerful. Too easy. I'm starting to be worried that I might become complacent soon.
"Hi Blaze," I greet the unicorn who's lying beneath a snow-covered tree. He lazily opens one eye.
"Good morning, my lady. Are you here for sparklies?" He grins widely and I smile at him.
"Nope, never again. Storm would kill me if I took any. I assume you haven't heard the way I behaved after your little incident yesterday?"
