15 A King's will
While the Winterchild family is reunited with each other atop the mighty ice barrier, a commotion was going on underneath in the castle underneath.
The Frontier guards and the Snorc's alike were in turmoil at the sight of a dragon.
The best of both groups boarded the lift, the guard captain of Barrier leading the party.
The guard captain was a dour and leathery looking man, in his late thirties. He is armed to the teeth, with one sword on both sides of his legs, curved daggers in a cross hold on his back.
The chest belt has three hidden knives, and it seems both his arm guards and leather boots have hidden blades. Everything else about him is ordinary, brown hair, brown eyes, not too fair, not too dark.
It's just the kind of person who could get lost anywhere in a crowd, if not for the blades on his body.
The Snorc leader is a picture of an absolute contrast to him.
It was a beautiful lady, almost as tall as six feet, her curves generous, and her face an absolute vision of beauty.
She was wearing a white fur pants, with white fur tunic which doubled as armor, and a white fur cape.
Her silver gold hair is put together with bone pins, and she wore bone and wood made embellishments on both her neck, head and hands. She looked every bit a princess of a wild warrior country.
Sasha frowned imperceptibly.
The Barrier only ever housed males, thus, it is impossible for the woman could only be a snorc woman.
She thought Snorc's are ugly and had a bad hygiene.
This woman is far too pretty even if she were to be put in a royal ball in gold land, she would trump others with her beauty.
'Just how many lies did they teach me ?' Sasha wondered, as she looked at the woman.
However, Sasha did not get caught up in the matter, and observing the others, it looked like they were a fighting party ready to fight to their death.
Sasha rolled her eyes internally.
"Moon snow! Alight." She commanded the dragon.
The dragon immediately lifted off the icy cliff, and kept gliding in front of her on the winterland side.
" Go to the sea to hunt, that black spot you wanted to." Sasha told the dragon.
The black spot is a bit of a distant rock island full of seals, right around the coast of white beach.
It's very visible from the town, but it's too far for the sailors to accidentally approach.
Moreover, the place is teaming with seals.
It's more than enough to feed moon snow for days.
The approaching party slowed down at the turn of the events.
At this point, someone in the party noticed Dan.
"Dan Frost ??!!!" The guard captain asked in shock.
"Douge ! " Dan greeted the guard captain.
All the frontier guards lowered their weapons in a moment.
After a moment, Snorcs also did the same.
Dan strode forward to clasp his hands with Douge.
"Please tell me you are here to take command from me ! " Guard captain Douge said jokingly, as he bumped shoulders with Dan.
"Dream on ! " Dan refuted him jokingly.
Dudley silently stood besides Sasha, like a guardian.
They all looked at Sasha in askance, for she still was in her riding attire, a very expensive looking black trousers with mummers grown trimmed in gray, and the command chain she wore contained both Rushing and Winterchild emblems.
" This is Princess Sasha, my sister. This is prince Bran winterchild, my brother. The man standing behind is Dudley, our stable master." Dan introduced the party.
"Not a princess." A voice refuted him from inside the crowd, before the guard captain and the snorc leader could greet Sasha.
" Lady IceMount ? " Sasha said in surprise.
Icemount ruled an Island off the coast of the northern sea, on the other side of the barrier, called skyward island.
Their land is the closest to the Snorcs, it is even said all of Lady Icemount's children are fathered by a snorc.
However, no matter her personal history, IceMount are notoriously loyal to Winterchild family and Winterland itself.
If it were anyone else, Sasha would have sorted them out as traitors immediately, but since it's Lady IceMount, she decided to see where it goes.
"Perhaps we can speak elsewhere, Your Grace? " She and her companion asked, looking at Dan.
"I am just Dan." Dan answered, frowning at their address.
It's not just Dan who changed expressions with those words.
Sasha's expression froze over, as did Bran's.
" Perhaps performing guest rites first is best for all of us. Lord Douge ? " Sasha said, her voice brimming with a command.
Douge instantly snapped to attention as if he was called by his higher officer, and almost answered 'yes, my lady! Right away ! '.
He seemed to stop himself at the last moment.
" Maybe we should all go down first." captain Douge said, leading them to the lfit.
They all came down in three batches, one guard of the barrier accompanying each batch, to give instructions about the lift.
The men at the Barrier stared at Sasha, both shocked by her beauty, and her attire, which is far too light for the cold of Barrier.
Meanwhile, Sasha calmed down herself completely.
When they first started descending, she assumed this entire fiasco might be a ploy from the lord Gator.
However, how is lord Gator supposed to know Bran is in danger in a far off land ?
The distance between Frontier and Green castle is not small.
Other than that, Sasha did not sense much magic upon Lord Gator.
So, this 'my lady ' and 'your grace' are probably stemming from a far different place.
All the same, she will know soon.
Lady Icemount is not scheming for power, despite not liking Sasha. She would not skip her address as princess for no reason.
If they were traitors, they should have long joined Flayers, when they betrayed her eldest brother Raul.
Guard captain Douge had a small bowl of soup and bread brought to Sasha's party before they could settle.
He spoke the words of welcome, and Sasha said the words of acceptance, after eating a piece of bread with soup.
The entire formality seems to have added a few years to the already aging guard captain. One could tell he is very much not used to such formal occasions.
Sasha was given the king's tower to stay in, despite being only a lady.
Dan stayed in barracks that guarded the entrance to kings tower.
Bran stayed in the room below her, along with Dudley.
The castle underneath the barrier is called First Stop.
The barrier had castles looking after it, about twenty one of them.
They were named First to twenty first stop.
They might have other monikers within the Frontier guards, but the rest of the country called them first stop to twenty first stop, while the thirteenth stop is called lost stop.
The castle and it's entrances on either side were closed off, for that particular castle has been the abode of the sorceress for some time.
The entire castle is made of iron wood, a special type of hardwood that grows in winterland. It's known for its sturdiness.
The castle is made of far too many stark and simple rooms, as if they made boxes of wood, and then stuck them into the ice wall. These hanging ice boxes stuck on the wall were then connected through a wooden rampart and stairs.
For higher rooms, it's even weirder, it's as if a series of black steps made haphazardly on the blue ice wall, each leading to a hole in the ice.
However, the rooms themselves are more comfortable than expected, if a bit drafty.
Sasha refreshed herself, and joined the party waiting for her in the mess hall.
That is the only structure big enough to accommodate all the lords of winterland.
Lady Icemount stood after Sasha and Bran were seated.
"I, Lady Moiree Icemount, lordess of skyward Island present to you last will and testament of King Raul Winterchild, written in witness of myself, Lord John borland of bonfire, Lord Walter Merman of white beach, Lord Kyle Nettle of bogbase, Lord Elmer Fisher of dryrock, Lord .. "
She continued listing all the witnesses. They come from all corners of winterland, excluding flayers, and Ironfists, both of whom have a shaky relationship with the winterchild family. Former on account of them being strongest vassals, later on account of being farthest from strong fort, where influence of summerland is strongest.
" I, Raul Winterchild, sound of mind and body, legitimize the natural born son ' Dan Frost ' of my father Edward Winterchild, and declare him next in line to the elder throne of winterland.
Long may he reign.
I remove my sister Sasha Winterchild from the succession of the elder throne, and bestow upon her the title of 'Countess Winter', with all its powers and connotations from the time of great rift war. "
She finished reading, and handed over the will to Dan.
Dan shakily took the will, instead of reading it, he passed it to Sasha.
Sasha looked at the will.
It is indeed Raul's writing. There's no dispute of the will being false.
