The Summer King and His Winter Bride-Chapter 30: Answers

Caroline was frantic for answers to the dozen questions that consumed her thoughts. She paced the length of her chambers, the cool stone floors offering little comfort to the soles of her feet.

She felt like she was caged in despite the beauty of the walls in her chambers that were decorated with symbols, curling vines and blooming flowers. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

In fact the very imagery mocked her there was nothing peaceful about this place.

Cyrus’s words echoed in the halls of her mind. With you on our side. He had said. We shall see, she thought with contempt.

He was deluded if he thought she would side with him and betray her own court and the Summer Court. If there’s one good lesson she had learned from court life was that power always came at a price. Right now, she felt like a pawn that was being bartered between forces beyond her control.

The silence in her room was not the quiet she was accustomed to so she moved to the balcony, where the stone railing overlooked the Spring Court’s capital. It was breathtaking the view, she noted the rolling green meadows, dotted with groves of apple trees and shimmering rivers. The birds sang here and the wind blew past the flowers making the petals get up and dance in the air.

But she was not easily beguiled by outer beauty.

Beneath the beauty lay the cunningness of the Spring Court. They had stolen her from the Summer Palace, away from Casimir her newly wed husband.

How long before rumors spread? How long before her enemies would use this against her?

What would Casimir do?

She took a deep calming breath to still her mind for a moment and reach for the connection she had newly begun to understand, the fragile thread of magic between them. Could the Spring Court’s magic be strong enough to block it? She wondered.

Her breath hitched. There was something faint, distant, like a heartbeat drumming in her ears. A whisper of warmth, of fire. Casimir.

Then a knock sounded at her door.

Caroline turned towards the door, her pulse beating faster for a moment later the door creaked open and a woman entered.

She was tall and willowy dressed in flowing green silks of the Spring Court her hair was gold like sunlight through leaves. Her gaze was sharp and calculating though her lips curved in a polite smile.

"Good evening, Your Highness," the woman said inclining her head.

"Who are you?" Caroline asked her voice steady despite the nervousness that flooded her system.

"Lady Edith, personal advisor to King Cyrus."

Her smile did not reach her eyes.

"I have been sent to ensure you are comfortable and answer any questions you might have."

"Then tell me why am I here?"

Her smile widened further as though amused by Caroline’s directness and impatience.

"His Majesty will explain in due time. For now, you must be patient."

"Patience is a luxury I cannot afford at the moment." Caroline stepped forward drawing closer to the advisor.

"Your king has taken me from my husband under the pretense of protection. This is an act of war. Do you think I will sit idly by while he plots and plans whatever game he intends to play?"

Edith’s gaze flickered with something. It was hard to tell.

"You are every bit the queen the Winter Court needs," she murmured.

"But tell me, Your Majesty are you the queen the Summerlands need?"

Caroline’s breath caught in her chest.

What does she know? She wondered to herself.

"I will send for your attendants to bring you proper attire," Edith continued as if she had not just tried to shake Caroline’s resolve.

"Dinner will be served in the grand hall this evening. King Cyrus expects you to join him."

She turned gracefully, heading for the door, but Caroline called after her saying, "tell your king that I expect answers."

"Then you best be prepared for them." Edith replied curtly.

The door closed, leaving Caroline alone once more.

She inhaled slowly, she needed to think, to plan and to strategize a way to turn this situation in her favor and she needed to find a way to reach Casimir.

She knew he would not take her abduction lightly.

The grand banquet hall of the Spring Court was an opulent display of nature’s splendor. Towering pillars entwined with blossoming floral vines supported by a ceiling carved of gold.

The long dining table was laden with fresh fruits, roasted meats and goblets of honeyed wine, which gleamed beneath the candlelight.

Yet despite its beauty the air was tensed with unspoken motives and hidden agendas.

Queen Caroline entered with measured grace dressed in a simple silver gown and wearing a silver snow flake head piece like declaration that she was still queen despite the circumstance she was currently in.

King Cyrus sat at the head of the table and gestured for her to take the seat beside him.

"I trust you found your chambers to your liking?"

"I find captivity despicable no matter how pretty the cage may be," she replied briskly.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Then allow me to ease your mind. You are not a prisoner here Caroline. You are here because you must be."

"Why?"

He poured a goblet of wine and held it towards her.

"Because forces move against you. Against Casimir and against the new kingdom both of you shall form."

She did not touch the goblet so he set it down in front of her.

"If you speak of Lady Daphne, I am well aware of her ambitions."

Cyrus gave a short humorless laugh.

"Daphne is the dagger yes. But someone else holds the hilt. Tell me Caroline has no one truly told you who Felix Gray is?"

Her brow furrowed. "A noble. A general. An ally."

"Whose ally, yours?" He asked her.

"Yes," she answered simply.

"This is worse than I thought," he remarked.

His smile faded, replaced by something colder. "He is the man who tried to seduce your mother. The man who fathered Lady Violet."

Caroline’s breath caught. "No. That’s impossible. My mother..."

"Queen Arabella was no fool," Cyrus said gently. "But even the most clever queens can be led astray by a charming liar with the right ambitions. Felix wanted a crown, and when Arabella refused to give him one, he made sure to leave her with a legacy. Violet."

The revelation hit like a blade to the chest. Caroline’s hand curled tightly against the table’s edge. "My mother never told me."

"Of course she didn’t. Queen Arabella tried to hide Violet away, marry her off quietly, erase the scandal. But Felix never forgot. And when Casimir rejected Violet, when he broke her heart, Felix vowed revenge."

Caroline’s voice was a whisper. "He wants Casimir dead."

"And you removed from his side," Cyrus added. "You represent the peace he despises. The unity he cannot control. And now, with Lady Daphne in his pocket and unrest stirring in the courts, he believes he has his chance."

Caroline looked down, her thoughts swirling. "My mother warned me once... she said, ’Never underestimate a man who feels the world owes him power.’"

Cyrus nodded. "And Felix thinks it owes him everything."

She slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. "And you? What do you want?"

His answer came easily. "Balance. Peace. And yes, influence. I’d be lying if I said otherwise. But I don’t want your throne, Caroline. I want to make sure there’s still a realm left to rule when all of this is done."

She studied him, eyes narrowed, weighing every word. Then, at last, she picked up the goblet. But before drinking, she held his gaze.

"Then prove it. Show me I’m not simply trading one traitor for another."

Cyrus raised his own goblet, his expression unreadable. "Then let us begin."

"Now we know that he has been scheming for some time. What we do not know is how he will plan to kill Casimir."

"Hold on Cyrus, how exactly does my abduction help solve matters here?"

"Ah yes the ultimate riddle to the puzzle," he remarked sarcastically.

"You don’t see it do you?"

"See what Cyrus? Be plain." She replied impatiently.

"If you consummate the marriage, we will all lose our powers and magical abilities, Caroline."

"Now you do the math and tell me how many enemies has Casimir made and just how many will survive once he loses all his fire?"

"Oh my God, he will be dead." Caroline replied in a whisper.

"Precisely the point." Cyrus remarked dryly.

"Now tell me exactly how do I persuade a man who is so besotted by you to give you up?"

"He is not besotted by me, Cyrus." She replied indignantly.

"Shall we test that theory?"

"No! What I mean is....was this the only way you could have "helped" matters?"

"From getting worse? Then, yes. This was the only way."

"And I had some pretty good help too. Can you guess from who?"

"Lady Miranda?" Caroline asked hesitantly.

"You are an intelligent woman, I’m impressed. But to put it simply, yes she helped."

"But I thought she agreed to our marriage." Caroline mused out loud.

"She did and still does, its just that the timing was a little off and she had to stop him from going all the way, should his enemies take advantage of him when he has lost his fire so to speak."

"I see," Caroline said realization dawning on her pretty face.

"He must never know this, at least for now, are we in agreement?" Cyrus asked her.

"You want me to keep things from my own husband?" Caroline asked in doubt.

"If it protects him for now, then yes, do it." Cyrus remarked casually.

Though what he asked of her was not going to be easy but for now she would have to settle for agreeing with him on the matter.