“It took some doing for your father to talk The Drakkar into this, as you well know. You give him reason, he’ll be gone. We can only hope he already hasn’t mounted his horse and rode away. Then what would we do?”

She turned and disappeared down a flight of steps and I followed.

“I should have known you would try something like this. Your father did know. He warned me. If you anger The Drakkar…” she trailed off, her tone dire, making it to the bottom of the stairs that had a banister the entirety of which was an elaborately carved hunt scene.

I made it to the bottom too to see Mom turn to me on a whirl of heavy skirts, another woman already with her, throwing over her shoulders a long, lustrous cloak made of dark brown pelts of some fur.

“Well!” she snapped. “If you anger The Drakkar, who knows what will happen to the realm?”

“Uh –” I started.

“I’ll have none of it!” she retorted sharply, having closed a frog at her throat, she tore a pair of gloves out of a hovering woman’s hand and whirled again, gliding quickly to the door while pulling them on. “To the sleigh!” she ordered.

Sleigh?

I felt something heavy settle on my shoulders and looked down.

The four girls were encasing me in a cloak of dazzling white, furry pelts that was so long, the bottom, which was a hem of what looked like tails tipped with dove gray fur, skimmed the floor. One girl stood in front of me and shoved the furred, tall collar of the cloak up my neck and it went so high, it covered my earlobes. She deftly and swiftly closed the frogs that went from chin to just below my br**sts as two girls at either side of her reached through some slits in the fur and pulled out my hands. Then they shoved a pair of elegant, winter white suede gloves on them, the inside of which was a soft, plush fur that felt like rabbit.

Then they started pushing me to the door.

“Sjofn,” one whispered to me as we went, “if that is you or if it isn’t, I must tell you that your trunks have been packed. They’ve been loaded on your sleigh. We did the best we could.” She stopped me for just a moment, looked up at me with what appeared to be sad but searching eyes then she whispered, “If you are our Sjofn, or not, but mostly if you are ours, please try, at least, to be happy. And if you are not, we wish you the best of luck on your adventure.”

I blinked at her then opened my mouth to ask a question but she shoved me out the door into the freezing cold air. I saw a deep red sleigh with a coat of arms painted on the back sides and curlicue trim. It had two black horses at the front. Mom was sitting in the back against a high, button-backed seat covered in what looked like black suede and a man in a cloak and furry hat was sitting on an elevated seat some ways in front of her.

Before I knew it, I was rushed down the steps of the building I was in and up the steps of the sleigh, the small door closed behind me and I hadn’t gotten my bearings yet when Mom’s hand snaked out, grabbed mine, she yanked me to sitting and threw a heavy, fur blanket over our laps.

“Go!” she snapped at the driver and off we went and we didn’t do it slowly.

I turned to her, taking in her beloved profile, gripping her hand in mine and opening my mouth to call to her name when she snatched her hand from mine and turned her head to look to the side.

“Atticus is likely livid,” she noted then, “Would that I’d given him a son.”

I blinked at the back of her head.

Uh… ow.

“Mom,” I whispered.

“Quiet, Sjofn, I must prepare in case The Drakkar has stormed out. I must try to plan what I will do to stop your father from throttling you.” Her head turned slowly to me and she pierced me with her ice blue eyes which were, even in the torchlight, icy. “Or, perhaps, this time I won’t bother,” she remarked frostily.

Ow again.

“Uh –” I mumbled and she lifted a gloved hand.

“Quiet!” she ordered and turned her head away. “The one time she can do something to help her father, help her mother, help her country instead, yet again, my Sjofn creates a nightmare.”

Oh jeez.

Something was not right. I really needed to read that note.

We swiftly slid through the town or city like place and then came to a bone-jarring stop in front of a big building. I was so wrapped up in what was happening, and the fact that it didn’t seem good, I didn’t pay much attention nor did I have the time to pay much attention. Without delay, Mom threw off the blanket, took my hand and dragged me from the sleigh and then we were out of the cold and in a somewhat warm building lit softly with a huge number of candles everywhere.

I looked around at what appeared to be some kind of vestibule as more women, different ones this time, came hurriedly toward Mom and I and Mom asked sharply, “The Drakkar?”

“He is still here, your grace,” one of the women taking her cloak and gloves mumbled.

Your grace?

Your grace?

Okay, I should have gotten it before, what with the crowns and all, but it appeared my mother might be royalty.

Which would mean I was too.

Holy moly!

Two women were divesting me of my gloves and cloak as my mother announced, “I will make haste in taking my seat. He will know we’ve arrived if I do. Prepare her instantly.”

Then she was off.

I blinked at her back.

Then I blinked when a bundle of long, delicate twigs was thrust into my arms and I stared down at them. Most of their length was straight with little knots in the wood but the ends were curved and twirly. That was weird but the bark was weirder. They looked like they’d been sprayed by glitter but on closer inspection they hadn’t.

They glittered naturally.

Whoa. Wow!

The ends of the twigs were bound tight with winter white and ice blue ribbons and there was no big bow to finish but the ends were tucked neatly away.

I hadn’t yet processed the bundle in my arms or why it was there when I was pushed gently to stand in front of two double doors and when I was, I looked up and around me.

“Good luck, my Winter Princess,” one of the girls whispered, giving my upper arm a reassuring squeeze then she took off.

What? Winter princess?

Oh my God!

I was royalty and apparently my mother and father were queen and king.

Holy moly!

I stood there, alone and stunned at this news when it hit me I was alone and maybe had a second to find out what the f**k was going on.

I held the twigs in the crook of one arm like a beauty pageant contestant and dug the paper out of my cle**age with the other hand. Awkwardly but quickly unfolding it with one hand, I opened it and saw with some shock, and not a little alarm, that not much was written on it.