Cabin of the Tundra

Prince Zentik of the Winter Nation Shezen

----

Zentik was… certainly not on a horse.

He was wrapped in a blanket with a warm towel on his forehead and a woman collapsed asleep in a chair by the couch he was on.

"Prince, you're awake," the voice of a guard - zir name was Kaink, if Zentik remembered correctly - said. Zentik lifted his head and saw Kaink standing at the foot of the couch.

"Where am I?"

"The childhood home of Noka. They brought us here after you passed out."

"I passed out?"

"Yes. Do you not remember?"

"No. How long?"

"About half a day. We came in the afternoon, and it's nearly sunrise."

Zentik nodded and tried to sit up. Kaink launched forward, grabbing Zentik's hand.

"Careful."

"What?"

Kaink helped Zentik sit up, then sighed.

"Your hand was turning to ice," ze explained. "Debubae fears… She believes you won't ever bend your fingers properly again."

"What?"

Zentik looked at his hands. Under a pair of thick gloves, they were wrapped in a cotton softer than silk and much warmer. His hands were shaking.

"Can we heal them?"

Kaink shook zir head.

"This is because of your magic. Magical wounds can never be healed."

Zentik wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly becoming very aware of how stiff his hands were. He felt cold - not in his body, but in his heart.

Ever since his brother disappeared, he hid his magic. Everyone around him said that his brother's powerful magic was what got him kidnapped. If, at three years old, a child can visibly be powerful, imagine how much more powerful an older brother at five years old would be. For thirteen years, Zentik hid his magic. But, in the end, he still suffered from it.

Behind him, Zentik heard a door open. He turned his head and saw Noka walk in. They were covered in snow and held a blood-covered knife in their hands.

The dream.

Zentik had to get to Ekitabae Tari.

He stood on shaky legs and almost immediately fell. Kaink caught him.

"Is something wrong?" ze asked.

"I have to get to Ekitabae Tari. We've already wasted a night. Noka, come on."

Noka stayed still in the doorway.

"Noka?"

"You're awake."

"Of course I'm awake! Come on, let's go."

Noka shook their head.

"Debubae says that you need more time to heal. There's also another blizzard heading in, and we can't have you passing out again."

"I won't pass out if we hurry. I don't know who Debubae is, but we can ignore them and go right to Ekitabae Tari. A warm inn will be just fine to keep us safe. Kaink, don't sit me back down."

Kaink - who was slowly guiding Zentik back to the couch - stopped moving and stepped back. Ze bowed slightly.

"Apologies, Your Highness."

"Apology taken. Come on, let's go."

Zentik went to take Kaink's wrist and lead zir outside. He forgot about his current hand situation and let it fall to his side.

"Are you okay?" Kaink asked. Ze was obviously the Mom Friend of the Guards.

"I'm fine. Let's just go. Noka, where are the other guards?"

"Debubae had them go hunt for food," Noka said, walking to where the kitchen of the cabin seemed to be. They put the bloody knife in the water bucket.

"Who in the frozen sky's name is Debubae?"

"My sister."

"Oh."

Great. Zentik insulted Noka's sister who Zentik didn't even know existed. Perfect.

"Is she the dead one in the chair?"

"She's not dead, Your Highness. She's just an idiot who stayed up all night to make sure you didn't die," the guard named Bell said, walking in from another door. He held three dead squirrels in each hand. He had the accent of the far eastern parts of Shezen. He rolled his Rs and sounded like he was always shouting.

"Well, we're all idiots here, so we can leave."

Zentik went to the door, but was stopped by Noka speeding across the room to put an arm in front of Zentik.

"Do you appreciate the idea of dying, Prince?" they asked.

"No."

"Great. We're staying here."

"We need to get to Zadu!"

"We will. Right now, though, you need rest. I promise that we'll go to Ekitabae Tari the second Debubae lets us."

"If I could move my fingers, I'd have you pinky promise."

Noka smiled and pointed towards the couch. Zentik sat back on the couch and crossed his arms.

He stared at the Debubae person. She definitely looked like Noka's sister. She had thinner eyebrows, though. And she had way fewer scars on her face - that was probably because Noka was a Shezen Guard and she… wasn't.

He gently kicked Debubae's foot.

"What are you doing?" Noka asked.

"Is she human?"

"Of course she's human."

"She looks like somebody remixed your gender."

"What… is a remix?"

"A change from the original - for better or worse."

"Is this a new young people word?"

"Yeah."

"I feel old, and I'm only eight years older than you."

"You are old."

"I'm not."

"You should be all crumbled and dead by now."

"I'm twenty-six."

"Six-twenties? Isn't that just a weird way to say 120?"

Noka rolled their eyes. Zentik kicked Debubae's foot again.

"Stop kicking her."

"I'm testing if she's human!"

"I am human."

Zentik jumped up onto the backside of the couch. He pretended it was on purpose and tried to cross his legs. He almost fell, and Noka had to pick him up and move him back to the main part of the couch. Zentik sat criss-cross and stared at a now-awake Debubae.

"You and Noka have the same eyes."

"Is that a compliment?" Debubae asked.

"To Noka, yes. To you, no."

Debubae snorted in laughter. Zentik couldn't see Noka's face, but he was sure that they were frowning. Good. Zentik didn't appreciate their idea to change the plan.

——

As Noka and Bell went out the back door to skin the squirrels, Zentik found himself back on the couch by the fireplace, lying as though he couldn't walk. Debubae had insisted that he stayed inside, even when most of the guards went to scout out the slowly-fading blizzard.

Zentik was more bored that he ever remembered being before.

"Prince, would you like to help?" Debubae asked from where she was placing the skinned squirrels in a pot of water. It had been boiled, but was left out to cool down.

"What are you doing?"

"Soaking the squirrel."

Zentik got up and went to stand by Debubae.

"I boiled the water, then mixed in salt when it cooled down," Debubae explained, dropping one of four squirrels into the pot. "Now I'm soaking the squirrels in the water to get rid of the blood. Pick one up and drop it in."

Zentik scooped up a squirrel in his hands and dropped it in the pot, trying and failing to not make water splash out. Debubae picked up a tool that clicked together and swirled the four squirrels around. She used the tool to pick one up.

"See? No blood. Now, over there I have a bag of flour. That cup next to it - use it to put flour on that clay platter over there."

"Where?"

"Right next to the icebox."

"Oh."

Zentik awkwardly picked up the cup and scooped it in the flour. He dumped it in the platter, which was rectangle-shaped and more like a really short box than the fancy plates Zentik was used to.

"Use your hand to spread the flour around. See that blue line on the inside of the platter? Fill the flour up to there."

Zentik nodded and followed Debubae's instructions. Once he was done, Debubae dropped a squirrel on the platter.

"Roll it around until you've covered the whole thing."

It was hard to get used to, but Zentik was eventually able to handle the squirrel well enough to cover it in the flour.

As he rolled the squirrel, Debubae filled another platter with oil. She took Zentik's squirrel and placed it on the platter. She took another squirrel and handed it to Zentik before bringing her own platter to the fireplace.

Zentik finally realized what Debubae was making: steamed squirrel.

Squirrels were one of the few animals that could survive Shezen's cold climate, so they were a staple in nearly every meal. Steamed squirrel was easy to make, so the common people of Shezen ate it. Zentik was used to squirrel soup, which required the use of chickens brought from Shabo, making it a high-class food.

Debubae took the second squirrel from Zentik and brought it to the platter over the fireplace. It was then that Zentik noticed a rack built into the stone, where the platter rested. He assumed that the pot of water had hung from it as well.

Debubae took another squirrel and dropped it on Zentik's platter. After that, she picked up a block of salt.

Salt was far from a luxury in Shezen. A native flower called the icebloom grew only on its northern shores. The icebloom had seeds of salt. The flower was plentiful all year, so it wasn't surprising that a low-class cabin was able to have an entire block of it.

Debubae used a knife to shave off a part of the solid block. She then used a mortar and pestle to grind it to a fine powder. She dumped the salt powder into another small bowl, then replaced the block of salt with a block of pepper. She cut off part of the block, ground it to a powder, then placed it into the bowl with the salt.

Pepper was rarer than salt, but it was easier to grow in warmer areas than Shezen. It came from the red rose's seeds, and was grown as a houseplant even outside of Shezen.

Debubae mixed the two seasonings, then put the bowl to the side. She replaced Zentik's third squirrel.

She flipped the first two squirrels over before disappearing upstairs. She soon came back with a thin rectangle of fabric large enough to be worn as a shawl. She placed it on the wooden table that separated the kitchen from the main room.

"A cloth is easy to soak the dirt out of," she explained. "Wood just rots."

Zentik nodded as Debubae took the fourth squirrel and placed it on the platter over the fire. She flipped the third squirrel and took the first squirrel back to the counter, where she sprinkled the salt-and-pepper mix on either side of the squirrel.

Noka walked in with four more skinned squirrels. They placed the squirrels right into the pot of salt water, then went back outside.

——

Of the eighteen squirrels that Noka and Bell skinned, fifteen were prepared to eat. Debubae tightly wrapped the others and put them in the icebox.

Zentik was seated at the table with Debubae and the guards. He wondered why Noka and Debubae's father didn't join them - Debubae brought two squirrels up to him before the rest of the guards came back.

Zentik was the highest-ranked person in the room. Although it wasn't a formal situation, he was still expected to lead the meal.

He didn't want to lead the meal.

The food looked delicious, and Zentik was certainly starving, but he couldn't get over the fact that it was still in the shape of a squirrel.

Everyone was watching him.

Zentik awkwardly picked up the squirrel by pressing his palms on either end of it, and took a bite.

It was delicious.

The guards waited for Zentik to start, but he had barely gotten used to holding the squirrel by the time most of them had finished. He knew that they couldn't leave unless he finished, so he tried to speed up.

He dropped the squirrel onto the table. He was glad that low-ranked households didn't have plates, because no sound of clinking glass came.

"Here, Your Highness," Kaink said, holding the squirrel in zir own hands. "This should be easier."

Zentik felt his ears burn in embarrassment, but he gladly took the offer (mostly so the moment would end as quickly as possible).

"Thank you," he said when he finished.

The guards were trying not to stare at him, but Zentik felt their watchful eyes. He felt their pity, sensed their guilt…

Zentik stood and went to the couch, where he threw the blanket over him and closed his eyes. The shuffling of chairs told him that the guards were now standing. The creaking of the door told him that they were going outside.

Zentik hadn't been allowed outside. What if he froze again? Zentik hadn't been allowed upstairs. What if he tripled and couldn't grab onto anything to stop his fall? He was lucky to be allowed in the kitchen.

He covered his face with the blanket and let silent tears fall.

Why was he suddenly so useless?