THE CAPTAIN’S STORY
The next trio of stories are probably my favorite out of the bunch. They all examine Rakel’s life before the events of Heart of Ice, but they do so from different perspectives. This story is from Halvor’s.
Halvor—arelatively newly instated captain of the Verglas Army—glanced uneasily at the saddlebag that held his orders.I hope I have made the right decision.He turned his horse in a circle and studied his men—who marched on foot or drove the supply wagons—as they climbed Ensom Peak.
They were about to embark upon one of the most dreaded assignments in the army: guard duty to the feared Princess Rakel.
Though the princess was the oldest child of King Ingolfr and Queen Runa and would have been the heir to the throne, she possessed magic. She had been exiled on Ensom Peak at the age of ten, and the royal family carried on as if she didn’t exist. They took precautions, however, and kept a large squad of guards on the mountain peak. Most would assume it was to keep the princess safe from anyone who might mean to harm her. Halvor’s orders stated otherwise.
His duty—and the duty of his men—was to keep the princess on Ensom Peak, by any means necessary.
Guarding the princess was dangerous. No one knew how much magic she had, though Halvor suspected she was powerful. His orders reported that she had been building and tearing down castle walls constructed with ice as thick as a man is tall, and she was onlyseventeen. To possess the power and intelligence to construct things made her formidable indeed.
And Halvor hadvolunteeredhis squad to guard the possibly dangerous and very likely demented princess.
Halvor felt a frown settle on his lips. He nodded at the soldiers who saluted him when they marched past, and he nudged his horse forward. They were only a few minutes from Fyran—the village that served as an outpost to keep the Princess and her guards fed and clothed.
Knut—one of the younger soldiers in Halvor’s squad—gave Halvor a shaky smile and a polished salute when Halvor’s horse picked its way past him. The soldier had been horrified when he was told of their new assignment—magic terrified him.
Halvor nodded to him. “Steady, soldier,” he said gruffly.
Knut set his shoulders. “Yes, sir.”
Aleifr—one of Knut’s common companions—slapped him on the shoulder with a reassuring smile.
“Sir,” Snorri—the soldier Halvor commonly used for scouting—ghosted out of the forest like a shadow. “A mounted soldier approaches.”
Moments later, a soldier—riding a sturdy mountain pony—trotted down the path. “Captain Halvor?” he called, squinting at the group.
Halvor, the only rider of his squad, adjusted his horse’s reins. “Aye?”
“Captain Sten requests your presence at the wall. I am to stay behind and show your men to their barracks,” the rider said.
“The wall?” Halvor asked.
“Yes, the wooden wall surrounding the princess’s enclosure,” the soldier said. “To reach it, take the road that forks left.”
Halvor frowned at the sloppiness—if Captain Sten wanted to meet with him, he should have sent more than one soldier—but until he assumed command of the outpost, he needed to follow orders.
“Unpack the supplies and take inventory,” Halvor told one of the older soldiers of his squad. The man saluted, and Halvor squeezed his horse into a trot.
The road led almost all the way to Fyran. He could see the village through the trees when the trail finally split. Fyran churned with activity. There were wagons—packed and waiting in an orderly line—and soldiers stood in organized formations.
He frowned.They cannot mean to leave today.Shaking his head, Halvor turned his horse down the left fork. After a short ride, a massive wooden wall breeched the forest. It was built better than most Verglas fortifications, and stones were stacked at the base.
“Captain Halvor—I expected you to arrive earlier.” A man wearing the Verglas uniform of a captain, a traveling cloak, and a helm strode away from the giant gates that divided the impressive structure. A gray beard leaked out of his helm, and he held the reins of a horse that was tacked up for a long journey.
Halvor dismounted. “I apologize for the delay; a wagon wheel broke in transit and had to be replaced.”
The older man waved a hand through the air. “No matter. I am Captain Sten—I wanted to walk you through the defenses before I leave.”
“Before you leave?”
“Indeed, we will set out as soon as your men can assume guard duties. That will be within an hour or two—yes?”
Unable to reply otherwise, Halvor said, “Yes.”
“Good. Your duties will be fairly straightforward. You can post your men as you see fit, but traditionally we keep four soldiers at the gates and three pairs patrolling up and down the wall. The doors open three times a day so Oskar—he’s the attendant, a braver man I’ve never met—may deliver food. It has never attempted escape, but one must remain alert and prepared.”
