Fantasyland 01 Wildest Dreams (25 page)

Atticus’s jaw got tight. “I did
not
raise her as a boy. She simply
enjoys those things, it’s her nature, and she enjoys being with her
father doing them. But even so, that has nothing to do with it and
you know it.”

“
It doesn’t?” Aurora shot back and crossed
her arms on her chest, turning fully to face her husband. “You
always wanted a son. Always. And not having one, all her life she’s
been taught as you would have taught a son, a future king. And that
is to be headstrong and do whatever she can to get her own way,
when, of course, she doesn’t naturally
expect
her own way. These, my love, are not traits of a
girl. These are most assuredly the traits of a boy.”

“Aurora –” Atticus started, color rising in
his face as his anger did the same but Drakkar was done.

“
Does your conversation, at this point,
have any meaning?” he asked and his king and queen turned eyes to
him. “Princess Sjofn has done it and in so doing she betrayed her
parents, which means she betrayed her king, queen and country, the
House of Wilde
and
she
betrayed
me
. I’m sure
we’re all agreed that this action is unforgiveable.”

Both king and queen stared at him and
Drakkar was surprised to see the flash of pain in his king’s eyes
was mirrored, though hidden far more quickly, in his queen’s.

They loved their daughter. Although everyone
knew this to be true of Atticus, that flash in Aurora’s eyes and
the fact she had not been able to hide it meant she, too, cared
deeply for her girl.

Atticus lifted his chin to Drakkar in
assent. Aurora’s eyes drifted to the floor, her way to show she,
too, agreed.

Drakkar went on. “There is more.”

Aurora’s eyes moved back to him. Atticus
moved closer to his wife and stood beside her in front of his desk.
Once there, he leaned into a hand.

“More?” Atticus prompted.

Drakkar nodded. “I have had a message from
the elves.”

Both husband and wife’s gazes grew sharper
and the tension in the room, already wound tight, stretched
taut.

“I assume they are even less happy you’ve
wed a Sjofn from another world,” Atticus guessed wrongly and
Drakkar knew his king was concerned about the elves being troubled
or, worse, angered by this occurrence. This could mean another
century of retreat.

And they most definitely did not want the
elves, again, to retreat.

Not now.

Not with a Frey and The Drakkar both
embodied in one man and what that occurrence might mean for
Lunwyn.

Atticus knew, for Drakkar had used it on
numerous occasions to refuse the arranged marriage with Atticus’s
daughter, that the elves were against the match. And he was not
wrong to assume they would be violently opposed to his union to a
soul from another world.

“On the contrary,” Drakkar stated, “they are
well-pleased.”

Atticus blinked. Aurora’s gaze grew even
more intense.

“Well-pleased?” she asked quietly.

“
The elves told me the Sjofn upstairs is my
true Ice Bride. They were against the match to your daughter but
they are delighted I am bound to her twin. Apparently, Keer’s
wishes for me have come true through my Finnie.
She
is my destiny.”

“By the gods, man, how can that be?” Atticus
asked incredulously. “She isn’t even of our world.”

“She carries the blood of the elves, as do
I,” Drakkar informed him. “They are the elves of her world but she
inherits her eyes and hair from those of that realm. Because of
this, we will mate, create a child and fulfill Keer’s demands that
the blood of the elves and the blood of the dragon unite and sit
yet again on Lunwyn’s throne throughout eternity.”

“
This is… this is…
shocking,
” Atticus breathed.

“This is destiny,” Drakkar returned.

“So, clearly, it was destiny for our Sjofn
to make her decision and then take her action,” Aurora put in
smoothly, as she often did in an attempt to soften the
circumstances her daughter’s actions caused and Drakkar looked to
her.

“She had no idea her leaving would be to the
will of the gods,” Drakkar retorted. “She had no thought for anyone
but herself. She also did not explain to my Finnie why she was
leaving or what Finnie would be facing the very moment of her
arrival. As I told you, the switch was accomplished right before
she left this Palace to ride to the Dwelling of the Gods to be
bound to me. Sjofn orchestrated it that way, throwing my Finnie
into what I know was a frightening situation for, not knowing who
she was, I behaved in ways that terrified her but Sjofn would take
as a matter of course. I know this because Finnie admitted this to
me.”

Aurora pressed her lips together and Atticus
was smart enough not to speak at all.

“The gods will has been done but it is not
Sjofn of the House of Wilde who assisted in seeing destiny
fulfilled,” Drakkar stated firmly and Aurora pulled in a delicate
breath. Drakkar continued, “And it is partly for that reason that
I’ve commanded the elves to bind my Finnie to this world which, in
turn, binds your Sjofn to the other. Neither will return to their
home world, not again. And this command is everlasting.”

Aurora shifted, her arms uncrossing so she
could lay her hand palm flat on the desk, a casual stance that many
would misread as thus but Drakkar did not. There was nothing casual
about it. She did it to hold herself up in her sudden grief for her
lost daughter.

Atticus did not hide his reaction. He
flinched and his face paled.

Drakkar felt for them but he did not feel
much. This was because Sjofn’s actions were, indeed, reprehensible
as treason always is. This was also because Sjofn was what they
created as any child always is. And lastly, this was because he was
still enraged at what their daughter had done to Finnie.

“Everlasting?” Atticus whispered.

“The elves explained that to bind Finnie
here, Sjofn would need to remain there, never to come back and
Finnie never to go home. This is my decision; it is made to fulfill
my destiny and that of Lunwyn. It is also made to punish Sjofn for
her treachery,” Drakkar declared.

“We’ll never see her again?” Atticus asked
quietly.

“Never again,” Drakkar confirmed.

Husband and wife glanced at each other then
they looked to The Drakkar. This time, both were smart enough to
stay silent on the subject for the decision of a Frey which led to
his command of the elves was never questioned.

But Aurora did speak.

“Your Finnie,” she said softly, “she pleases
you?”

“Indeed,” Drakkar again confirmed.

Atticus looked to the ceiling then to The
Drakkar before he asked quietly, “What is…” he hesitated, “your
Finnie like?”

“Nothing like your daughter,” Drakkar
replied, Atticus winced and Aurora pressed her lips together.
Drakkar carried on. “She is soft. She is sweet. She smiles often,
talks more and never has anything to say that isn’t interesting.
She teases and she jokes and she is good at both. She is an
excellent cook and has a strong spirit. People fall easily into her
life and like being there. And she enjoys living, immensely, and
does not hide it.”

“You care for her already,” Atticus
observed.

“It would be difficult not to but I wouldn’t
know for I have not tried,” Drakkar replied.

Atticus’s lips twitched and his eyes lit but
Aurora’s expression stayed closed.

“I am The Drakkar and you both know what
that means,” Drakkar said quietly. “But I cannot command your
emotions. However, I urge you to find it in your hearts, even as
you grieve the deeds and the loss of your daughter, to open them to
Finnie. Sjofn escaped this world for selfish reasons. Finnie sought
it for entirely different ones.”

“And will you share those?” Aurora asked
instantly.

Drakkar answered just as instantly. “Her
parents, your twins in her world, died when she was young.”

“Gods,” Atticus breathed, his torso rocking
back and even Aurora’s back straightened slightly.

Drakkar nodded. “She grieves them still.
She misses them. The elves told me she paid great treasure and we
all know she took grave risks simply in order to see them or…” he
paused then stressed, “
you
again.”

This moved them both. Drakkar knew it
because Aurora turned her face away to hide her expression and
Atticus dropped his eyes to look at his boots in an effort to do
the same.

Drakkar kept talking. “She enjoyed her time
with me at my hunting cabin and would have been happy to stay
there, this I know. But upon offering the opportunity to spend time
with you, she was eager to leave a place she liked and a village
where she had made friends. Nevertheless, she carries great anxiety
about seeing you. I can only assume, not knowing she was who she
is, and being impatient with your daughter, you may have acted on
this with Finnie in the brief time she was in your company and this
is what causes her unease. But if you cannot find it in your heart
to let her in, then I request you at least find it in your heart to
show her kindness. She paid dearly and risked much simply to spend
time with you. I wish for her to have this and to enjoy it and
would look upon it favorably if you do.”

Atticus immediately inclined his head.
Aurora slowly turned hers to face him again and she regally lifted
her chin.

“I will go on to share something else I know
to be true. That is, if you do open your hearts to her, she will
reward you,” Drakkar stated quietly and saw Atticus’s jaw clench
before he again inclined his head. Aurora nodded once. Drakkar
nodded back and then continued, “There is more you need to
know.”

Atticus pulled in a breath. Aurora patiently
waited.

Drakkar went on. “She does not know I know
she is not of this world. And she will not know until I tell her.
You will keep this secret and behave as if she is Sjofn of the
House of Wilde, however, obviously, you will naturally adapt your
behavior to her as she earns your regard.”

Drakkar accepted his king and queen’s keen
gazes as his mind moved to his request for this was something that
had started to concern him.

At first, he did not share his knowledge of
her coming from another world with Finnie because he was still
adjusting to it himself. Then he found her consistent blunders
endearing, her cover ups even more so and her reactions to things
that surprised her deeply amusing. He enjoyed them all… greatly.
Too greatly. Time had passed, not much, but enough that it had gone
beyond when he should have shared he held this knowledge. Now, it
seemed uncomfortably like he was keeping something from her, a
secret that was important, so important, keeping it from her was a
lie.

However, she’d just the night before
witnessed him and Thad taking lives, she had not reacted to that
well and took the news of her life being in danger even worse. With
the additional anxiety she carried at again spending time with her
parents, it was now not the time to discuss the knowledge he held
about her.

But he knew he must find the time to do it
and the words to explain why he didn’t do it earlier.

And he must do it soon.

“I don’t understand,” Atticus called
Drakkar’s attention to him, “why –?”

“An attempt was made on her life, Atticus,”
Drakkar explained. “She is not, to my knowledge, a princess in her
world and from observing her closely, seeing her immensely friendly
demeanor with others, this bears true unless royalty is vastly
different in her world. She has never had, nor foiled, an
assassination attempt on her life. She has not ever seen a life
taken and in one night, she saw three. She reacted to this
negatively and this reaction was fierce. She is not your daughter,
she does not hunt, she has not been trained in swordplay, knives or
archery. From what I understand from her speech, behavior and
reactions to things, her world is infinitely different from ours.
For instance, animals do not speak to humans.”

Both Atticus
and
Aurora’s eyes widened in surprise at this unusual
news but Drakkar carried on.

“She is getting used to a great deal, in
fact, with the frequency things surprise her, it would seem nearly
everything around her is new or unusual. After she settles and
hopefully after we uncover who is behind the plot to take her life,
and, it would seem, mine, for the first two assassins targeted me,
I will speak to her about what we know of where she comes from and
I will explain to her that she will be staying in this world with
us without return.”

The king nodded then stated, “It is good
you mention the plot, Drakkar, for we need to discuss it. Your...”
he again hesitated before again trying out the name,
“
Finnie
may be
from another world but in this world she is my daughter. And her
life has been targeted twice.”

“Yes,” Drakkar agreed unnecessarily and
impatiently to a statement he very well knew.

“Obviously, I do not like this no matter who
she is. My realm is in the balance,” Atticus pointed out.

“And my wife’s life, Atticus,” Drakkar
returned, Atticus glanced at his queen but she did not return her
husband’s look. Aurora’s gaze stayed steady on Drakkar.

“True,” Atticus agreed after he looked back
at Drakkar. “So what have you learned and what has been done?”

Drakkar answered swiftly, “Ruben
interrogated the man he captured last night. The man who hired him
is Lunwynian.” Drakkar watched both king and queen’s faces get
tight at the news the conspirator was a citizen not a foreigner but
he kept speaking. “I have sent Quincy and Balthazar to find him.
They will make short work of that, as you know. Once found, he will
be brought before us.” Atticus nodded and Drakkar continued
speaking. “In the meantime, those of my men who do not have to stay
to see to my ships will come to Fyngaard. I assume you increased
the guard at the Palace as I asked?”