Love. That's how I was going to help the Winter Realm. I knew that all the way to my spirit and back.
I was hurting right now because Konig hadn't fallen in line with my plans like a good little boy. What had I expected? That one kiss from me would cure all his darkness?
Sort of. Yeah.
I'd also thought that the Land of Sweets and the Land of Flowers sounded like nice places filled with nice people. Not spies, intrigue, and poisoned arrows.
God, I hoped Leb, Zucker, and Tau were alright. I could survive anything if they were alive. At least I had Nuss. It was entirely my fault we were in this situation, but I was above telling him I was sorry. He'd gone awfully quiet back there. I hoped he was working on an escape plan.
"Hold on to something. I've never landed a flying sleigh pulled by eight reindeer before." The ground rose closer and closer, and I considered jumping at the last minute and mad dashing off to find Fritz... and beat him senseless with the cage after I freed my pixies. What did he want with them anyway?
There was the small matter of my not having any clothes or shoes one. The blankets Konig gave me were fine while we were sitting in the sleigh, but no doubt I'd leave them strewn along the snow the second I tried to run from him.
Not to mention, I'd seen him move. He was faster than a flea. I'd get all of ten steps before he caught up to me, and then I knew there would be hell to pay.
In spankings.
Dammit. I shouldn't still be turned on by him. I was blaming Zucker's sex magic for that.
Sigh. No, I was not. I had a connection with Konig, just like I did with the others. No matter how wrong it might be, I already had feelings for him that I couldn't deny.
That meant to me that he couldn't be all bad. I just needed to be more careful about what I let him get away with from now on.
The sleigh bumped down into the snow and the reindeer didn't miss a beat. They just kept on running, dragging us along behind them. The trees in this part of the forest were even more dense and getting thicker by the moment.
A branch smacked me in the face. "Ouch. Can't we slow down?"
"No, we're getting close." Konig growled and focused entirely on the path ahead. The sun had finally fully set, and the forest was dark. Darker than where I'd first landed with Nuss. None of the trees here were lit up and there certainly weren't any marzipan pixies to make the place joyful.
I peered into the darkness, trying to see anything. I felt it before I saw it. Tingles of magic danced across my skin and the little red crown charm my mother had left me lit up, glowing from within.
But there was something wrong. The sparks of magic didn't feel anything like I'd experienced before. They flickered and fritzed out before I could truly feel their warmth. A lump formed in my throat and when I tried to swallow it down, I got a boulder sitting at the bottom of my stomach.
"What happened here?" My words were barely more than a whisper.
"This won't be easy for you, but I need you to suck it up." The sleigh finally slowed to a stop and Konig jumped out. The animals were restless and jumpy. He unclipped their harnesses, and one by one, they dashed off into the forest. They were getting far away from here as fast as possible.
I wanted to do the same. My chest literally ached like I was having a heart attack. But I knew that's not what it was. Whatever was tearing up my heart was coming from the other side of that darkness. "I can't go in there."
Nuss jumped up behind me, holding one of Zucker's daggers at the ready in his good hand. "And you won't have to, ever. No one should be subjected to the atrocities in there. Now get behind me, princess. Konig and I have an old score to settle."
I knew he was too quiet back there. I climbed over the seat, but I didn't miss the anger flashing in Konig's eyes as I did so. I shook my head at him and looked away. "I can't, Konig. There's something terribly wrong in there. I thought you said you were taking me home."
"I have. Welcome to what's left of the Land of Spirit and Magic, Princess Clara." Konig bowed and behind him a gash of burning red rent the darkness open from the tops of the trees to the ground.
From inside, a melody played, a tune I almost remembered. It softly called to me, and I stepped from the sleigh. Men and women danced gracefully through my memory, and someone held me safe, but far away and long ago. I could almost remember, but the images faded like embers in this fiery gash.
My heart yearned to remember even as it ached. I had to know.
"Clara, no. You don't know what's in there. Stop." Nuss reached for me, but I pushed his arm away.
My legs didn't heed Nuss any mind. Where once I was scared, now I was mesmerized. It didn't matter that I was in bare feet in the snow, I felt no cold. I walked right past Konig and toward the gash. The closer I got the hotter my own crown charm burned as if it was an important part of that fire but coming from inside of me. It was glowing as bright as the tear in the world in front of me.
I reached my hand out and the magic inside of me swirled up. It had been a beautiful blue color when I'd been with my men, but now it matched the red light of this strange place. "Is this a portal? Like the one I came through to get here?"
Konig stepped up beside me on my right, and Nuss on my left. "No, Clara, it isn't. This shouldn't even exist. You mustn't go in there."
"She needs to see what happened to our world. Let her go." Konig's voice still carried his anger, but the magic here seemed to suck it up.
