Chapter 6 Miria: Party Crashers

By the time the party actually started, I was exhausted from the set-up work. I couldn’t wait for Ylvana to show up so I could yell at her for skipping out on me. She probably won’t even come to the ball; she’s told me before how boring it was, and at the moment I couldn’t disagree.

Slow violin music flowed off the stage into a crowd that wandered around like cattle. People exchanged meaningless small talk, and the older women stood in circles, throwing judgemental looks over their shoulders and gossiping about everything. Of course, it wasn’t their fault they were trapped between these dismal walls.

The Spring Equinox was supposed to be celebrated in the fresh air of spring. Bright ribbons were hung between the buildings, and people danced and played music in the streets. But the threat of Crows had chased away all urge to celebrate, so the only safe place to celebrate was the castle halls.

With no one to talk to and nothing to do, I lingered by the buffet table, until my mother hooked her arm around mine and pulled me away.

“You need to socialize more,” she said to me.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. She was always saying this to me despite my attempts to explain social anxiety was beyond just a phase. I wanted to overcome it, as I needed to make public addresses when I became Queen, but her method of throwing me into a crowd was only making things worse.

“Ah, and here’s my daughter!” my father announced, forcing all the attention from the old men he was talking to on me.

I sent a prayer to the gods. If anyone of you has a shred of mercy, please kill me now.

A short, balding man held out his hand for me to shake. “Pleasure to meet you, Princess.”

I dared to meet his eyes as I reached out for his hand, but I felt nothing. The men around me tilted their heads back and roared with laughter. My cheeks turned hot enough to make fire cool.

Another man gently touched my shoulder, increasing my uncomfortableness. “Don’t worry dear, he plays that trick on everyone!”

The balding man pulled back his sleeve to reveal he was missing his hand. “Lost it forty years ago in the war thanks to some b*****d with Coal Dust on his sword.”

“Exquisite young girl you have, Albin!” another one said. “Makes me wish I was young again so I could snatch her before some other lucky boy!”

The group, including my parents, laughed at this. Was I the only one to realize how creepy that actually was? I wanted to correct them by saying I preferred girls just to watch their dumb smiles fall off their faces, but saying such a thing would only bring punishment from my parents. They didn’t want me to mention it in public.

The adults continued talking, allowing me to sneak back to the buffet table, where a beautiful piece of chocolate cake awaited me. I was halfway through it when Gwen, Ylvana’s mother, hurriedly approached me.

“Miria, have you seen Ylvana?” she asked.

“Yes, this morning. She had her owl with her and said she was putting her outside, but I haven’t seen her since. She was supposed to help me decorate.”

Gwen swept a hand through her blonde hair. “I’ve looked all over the castle, and she’s nowhere around. I’m afraid she went to the village.”

“Well, she isn’t stupid enough to go alone. Firyali’s probably with her.”

Just as I said her name, she walked into the room. I loved seeing that girl stride towards me with her chin up and brown eyes absorbing the light around her, but not at that moment, especially since Ylvana wasn’t with her and her expression was layered with dread.

“We have a problem,” she said to us.

A chorus of screams interrupted the young warrior, dotted with the raking calls of crows. Firyali spread her arms to shelter Gwen and I as she watched the birds rise into the rafters, cackling. I couldn’t believe what was happening: somehow Crows had infiltrated the ball.

Guards raced into the room, guiding guests out under the protection of their raised shields.

The Crow’s jabbering pounded against my head as Firyali pulled us to safety:

“Kiss your kingdom goodbye, mutts!”

“The princess is ours now!”

The wooden doors slammed together when the rest of the guests were cleared, leaving the Crows trapped among Wolves with loaded bows. It was the closest to a fight I’d ever been, and it terrified me. The cackles turned into strangles squawks, and I could even here the light flop of bodies hitting the floor. The absolute worse was the cries of the Crows who had turned back to into humans form, and the sound of crunching bones and splattering blood.

“The Crows have Ylvana,” Firyali told us, although it was unnecessary since Gwen and I had already assumed the worse.  

My knee bounced as I waited for everyone to get situated around the oval table of the meeting room. It was filled with all the usual people: Royals, advisors, and guards, but tonight I noticed some newcomers: two teenagers stood against the wall, hiding behind Firyali, casting anxious glances around the room.

Sigurd, leader of the Wolves, silenced the room. “I regret to inform you all that Princess Ylvana Mikkelson has been abducted by Crows.”

Besides me, Gwen buried her face in her hands. My mother let out a quiet gasp, but my father seemed oddly unaffected, rubbing the inside of his wrist as he stared downwards.

“I had accompanied Ylvana to the village,” Firyali said, “and left her in the company of friends. An hour or so later, her friends found me saying Ylvana was being chased by Crows. With the help of two Wolves, we followed the princess’s trail and found signs of a struggle. The trail ended mixed with the scent of pegasi, so we can assume they carried her away.”

One of the advisors crossed their arms. “You left the girl alone?”

Firyali glared at them. “I admit I used poor judgment. This attack came without warning. The guards on duty were killed, and their uniforms were used by the Crows as a disguise.”

“I had made it clear that there was to be no traveling to the village these next couple of days,” my father said in a calm voice that surprised me.

Firyali bowed her head. “I understand, your Highness, but if I were to refuse to accompany the Princess, she would have gone alone.”

“I don’t think she would have been much safer within the castle, sir,” Sigurd said. “My personal intuition suspects the infiltrators from tonight’s ball were waiting for their own chance to take the princess. After all, they had a clear shot and the Royal family yet they did nothing. They were planted here, but when they got the tip that the princess had already been taken, they revealed themselves to the crowd to spur panic in the civilians. If this scheme is as elaborate as it looks, then Fenrir is putting all he has into getting his hands on miss Mikkelson, and I suggest we take immediate action.”

My father waved his hand. “That won’t be possible.”

The room went silent. All eyes fell on my father.

“But… my King, if we don’t act now, the girl could be lost to us forever.”

“Without the Wolf Princess,” an advisor added, “we cannot hope to win this war.”

“Which is why I tried to avoid this situation at all costs. With Fenrir now possessing the girl, he will try to bargain. Our kingdom is far too weak to engage; we cannot spend our energy trying to rescue her.”

“Albin, please,” Gwen said, tears running down her cheeks. “You must do something!”

“That is my final decision,” he said without looking at her. “Meeting adjourned.”

People whispered to each other as they left the room, but those who remained, myself included, sat dead silent. I feared Gwen would have a complete breakdown by the way she stared blankly at the wall, probably wondering the same thing as me. How could my father completely turn his back on his own niece?

“There must be something ye can do!” said the teenage girl to Firyali. “We can’t just leave her to the Crows!”

“She’s right, Firyali,” I said, approaching them. “My father isn’t using proper judgment.”

She looked at me sadly. “Perhaps not, but his word was final.”

“Screw the King!” the boy spat. “Can’t you organize an unofficial rescue mission or something?”

“Unauthorized military action. I’d be arrested for that.”

The girl shrugged. “Then I guess we’ll have to go ourselves.”

Firyali huffed. “That’s not illegal, but it’s incredibly stupid. Those woods are packed with Crows. Even if you found Ylvana, how would you free her?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“The last thing we need is two more missing people,” Firyali said, crossing her arms. “But at the end of the day, I can only ask you to watch yourselves.”

“Ylvana must mean a lot to you,” I said to the girl, picking at my fingernails. “For you to want to go out into those woods.”

She gave a small smile. “We’ve known Ylvana since… I can’t even remember. You’re Princess Miria, yea? I’m Caoimhe, and this is Chris,” she said, nodding to the boy behind her.

The boy nodded. “Must suck having a douchebag for a father.”

Firyali unfolded her arms and took a step forward, but I stopped her before she planted his face into a table. Normally, I would have let her, but that night I was secretly just as upset as Chris. I looked up to my parents, knowing one day I’d have to take their place, but there was no way I could support my father in leaving Ylvana to die.

“Ylvana’s a tough girl. For all we know she might have already escaped. Lykke til, anyway,” I said before leaving.

I thought of how brave they were, willing to rescue their friend straight from Crow claws, and here I was about to put on my nightgown and go to sleep. But what else could I do? Being the sole heir to the throne, no way could I risk my life like Caoimhe and Chris, and convincing my father to change his mind was also out of question, so I was stuck on the sidelines.

The emptiness in my room was almost too depressing to bear. Ylvana should have been sitting on the windowsill, sketching, or strumming notes on her guitar, or even singing into her hairbrush. Instead, her messy bed sat empty. Looking at her drawings on the wall, I shivered at the thought of them being the only things I had left of her.

My mother appeared in the doorway. “Are you alright?”

“Please tell me you’ve managed to change father’s mind.”

She shook her head.

“This is ridiculous! He’s sent out search parties for less important people!”

“Your father has reasons behind everything he does,” my mother said in a calm voice.

“A reason for leaving my cousin to die in the wilderness?”

Her eyes went cold as she walked away. “You better calm your attitude down and start approaching this like a Queen.”

It was like a needle was jabbed into my arm, deflating me. I quietly shrunk down onto my bed.

“Miria, horrible things happen in this world. People get lost, kidnapped, and killed. You can sit around and whine about it, but it won’t help anyone. Especially not the people looking to you to lead them.”

I fought back the tears forming in my eyes, as that would only prove her point further.

“As a ruler, who have to make choices based on what’s good for most people. You can’t save everyone.” She grabbed my chin. “Do you understand”

I didn’t want to respond. I didn’t even want to look at her, but I forced my head to move.

“Good. Tomorrow, especially around other people, I better not see you crying. Weakness has no place on a throne.”

Without another word, she left, and I was finally free to sob. What kind of superhuman does she think we are? Crying wasn’t a weakness, it was an expression. That night, I realized I could no longer look up to my parents for guidance. They were nothing but reflections of what royalty should be, and I needed more than that. Whatever being a good ruler meant, they weren’t the answer, so I was going to have to find out for myself.