Chapter 1 Ylvana: Last Day

Sølvefalske

When I woke on that last day in my own room, I tried to go back to sleep. My naive thirteen-year-old self thought maybe staying in bed would cancel the plans. This lasted for an hour until my stomach groaned for food, and I dragged myself to the kitchen where mom was cooking breakfast.

Mom loved to sing while she cooked, but today the only sound in the room was sizzling pancake batter. “Are all your clothes packed?” she asked.

The chair creaked as I slumped into it. “Yes.”

“Good girl.”

I looked around our little cabin, trying to memorize every detail.

“It won’t be forever,” mom said, setting my plate in front of me. “We’ll probably only be gone for a few months at most.”

I poked the pancakes with my fork. “Can you at least tell me why?”

She bent her head. “I’ve told you all I know, Ylvana. Your uncle is worried we’ll be targeted.”

I nodded, not only listening to her words, but to her steady heartbeat that told me she was telling the truth. Yet, I could sense there was more to the truth than she let on.

After eating, I wandered outside to watch the mist curl off the surface of the lake in our backyard. A rough mile down the road, horse hooves and squeaky wheels were coming closer, easy to notice because few carriages ever came down this way. I tried distracting myself by watching the loons float across the glassy water.

The driver made friendly small talk as he helped load our luggage, which my mother engaged in but I ignored. As the horses hauled us away, I kept my eyes on our home, noticing a tawny barn owl on the roof. The bird gave me a reassuring nod of her round head, and I returned a weak smile. I hoped she’d be able to visit me.

We rolled down the main village road, passing school kids, farmers, and vendors who continued with their day as usual, like I did not long ago. Music poured from inside the restaurants and bars, and the smell of the bakery enticed my nose as we passed by. The urge to jump out of the carriage and hide in the woods grew stronger.

My eyes flickered to a crow on one of the rooftops, which made a growl rumble up from my throat. Mom placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, and I immediately stopped. I couldn’t help my aggression: Crows were the reason we were in this mess.

            The castle towers in the distance slowly grew taller as the carriage snaked through the woods. When we arrived, I almost fell over trying to look straight up at the castle walls. The inside was covered in polished wood floors and giant carpets with impossible designs. But none of the intricate designs felt homey.

Mom strolled through the halls to the throne room, just another grand space with tall ceilings. The windows along the wall gave a beautiful view of the woods, though. At the other side of the room were two wooden thrones, where my uncle sat, waiting for us.

There was no greeting in the King’s blank, hooded eyes. He might as well have been a corpse. “Gwen,” he said with a nod.

My mother forced a smile. “Albin, you look… well.”

When he turned to me, I shrank away from his cold gaze. “You’ve aged since I last saw you, child.”

That made sense, considering I was an infant the last time he saw me.

“Ylvana may need some time to adjust to this,” my mother said.

“Of course.” He looked down a hall. “Miria!”

Seeing my cousin for the first time, I was surprised that she looked nothing like her father, with deeply tanned skin and wavy raven hair.

Albin put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Would you mind showing Ylvana to your room to help her get settled?”

She nodded, looking sideways at me. “Um… it’s this way.”

Great; she was an introvert like me. I learned from experience that when two introverts are stuck in a room together, nothing happens. I depended on the social energy of others to lead me into a conversation. If no one had that, it meant a long, awkward day.

As I followed Miria up the curved stairway to the second floor, my ears picked up my mom and Albin talking back in the throne room, and curiosity overcame me.

“Hey, I gotta ask my mom something real quick,” I said to Miria. “Keep going. I’ll catch up.”

I sneaked back down and pressed my ears up against the door.

“I thought I specifically requested you to tell no one about her powers,” my mom said. “And now the whole castle knows!”

“She has a gift that could save this kingdom, and you want me to keep it from the people?”

“She’s a child!”

Albin sighed. “The dangers of this world will find her soon enough. It’s better if she’s prepared for it.”

“What if she doesn’t have to?”

“What do you mean? Skoll told you himself!”

My eyes widened at the name of the wolf deity who had created this island. My mother had been visited by the Wolf of the Sun himself?
“He also told me that it was Ylvana’s choice in the end.”

“You don’t want her to choose this, do you?”

There was a pause, and my mother’s voice broke. “I want to have a daughter. I want to watch her grow and find her own life. If she chooses this…”

“Her sacrifice will be for the good of a nation.”

I pull my ear away from the door and ascend the steps, confused and a bit hurt about being left in the dark. Their mention of a ‘sacrifice’ made it even worse. With my mind preoccupied I almost walked into Miria.

“Oh, there you are, I was worried you had gotten lost.” She opened a door to a tower and led me up a spiraling staircase. At the very top was a round room with two beds.

“We’re sharing a room?” I asked.

“It was my mom’s idea.” Miria picked at her fingernails. “If you really don’t want to-”

“It’s alright,” I said, hoping I hadn’t hurt her feelings. “I’m just not used to sharing a room.”

There must’ve been hundreds of rooms in this castle, and the Queen couldn’t spare one? I could have at least shared a room with my mom.

Whatever; I could handle this. It was only supposed to last for a couple months.