Snow Maiden
Chapter Four
To read from the beginning, start here: Snow Maiden, Prologue
“We have to go soon. We’ve searched nearly all day and haven’t found her, Vasilli.”
Ilya, served as King Vasilli’s right-hand man. He was also his best and most loyal friend. If he was growing restless, surely the others were as well.
“And we haven’t found any game in all this time, either,” another voice grumbled.
Bors, the king’s advisor, looked about at the end of his tether. They all were, with this famine. They’d travelled far from their homeland to hunt because their own land had been barren of game for many years. All in the region knew their kingdom bore the weight of a terrible curse.
Vasilli didn’t know if he believed in the curse or if the sorry state of his lands was just a circumstance of geography. He did know that very powerful, dark magic surrounded his territory, the worst of which came from the evil mage, Lord Zrago, and his Eastern Army. He also knew that warring constantly made it harder to feed his people. They had to do something quickly or the Kingdom of Northland would soon be no more.
When he’d seen the young girl at the market earlier, his first inclination had been to get her out of the clutches of the angry villagers there and let her go. If she had stolen bread, she must have been hungry. They’d have given her something from their supplies, then sent her on her way with a stern warning. That should have been enough to send her back to the thieves’ forest supplies,a dire enough tale to keep her friends away from the fair for its duration.
But she’d run and her head covering had been torn away. What the grasp of tree branches revealed was fall after fall of white-gold hair. He’d ordered his men to give chase.
For many centuries, Northland had been barren of more than deer. No fair-haired children were born in Vasilli’s kingdom for many generations. All the people any of the Northlanders had ever seen were dark of feature. Dark-haired and sometimes light eyed like Vasilli himself, but no blondes had lived in Northland since a time beyond remembering.
This, too, was said to be the curse of his people. Whether that held any truth to it or not, he didn’t know. What did get Vasilli’s attention was the sight of the tow headed female as she ran. She made enough of an impression for to him to keep his whole hunting party out searching for her until well past the time they should have started traveling back to their home.
He ignored the men’s grumblings, even if it made him a fool. The girl intrigued him, and he had to see her again.
An old legend existed in his family line that stated, “If a maiden is found with hair of snow and sun, shining sapphire eyes, and lips as red as cherries from the summer lands, then the curse of the Winter Witch will be ended. For the Snow Maiden’s magic will thaw the icy seal that holds the curse. The game will return to the kingdom, and the war will stop.”
“She probably knows these mountains as well as any goat or hare.” Bors groused. “Better we raze the thieves’ camps. Force them to give her up if she’s hiding there. You can rest assured no honor exists among their kind. For a coin…”
“No,” Vasilli cut his advisor off. Bors was a good man, skilled in court politics, but sometimes his mouth raised the king’s hackles. “We need to head back to our own lands. You all are right. We’ve wasted enough time. We’ll camp in the mountains tonight, then see if we can find any game before leaving in the morning.”
This seemed to satisfy his men. They turned their horses toward the hills.
*Author's Note: We get a better look at our hero-to-be in this scene. Do you have a favorite hero from a fairy tale or myth? If so, do share.
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