Snow Maiden

by Amanda V Shane

Genres: Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology; Fantasy Romance; Ancient World Romance; Paranormal Romance; fairy tale retelling; fantasy romance; fairy tale romance

Synopsis

A commoner and the outcast of her village...Nika is forced to flee her home to keep the dark secret of her birth. When she is hunted by a rugged Northman, she finds herself lost in a land of spells and curses. His kisses start to melt her cold, lonely heart, her secrets are laid bare and she finds herself in a magic war for the man and the kingdom she loves.

King of a cursed and ravaged kingdom...when Vasilli first lays eyes on Nika stealing bread at a fair, he knows he has to have the fair haired beauty. The legends surrounding his lands tell of a snow maiden who will break the curse of the Northern Kingdom but he wants Nika for his own.

From a land of winter, ice and snow comes a tale of enchantment and romance. Mages and sorceresses, omens and curses - this spellbinding grownup fairytale is a story of magic in an ancient land and a legendary love that will heat up even the coldest winter night.

Snow Maiden is a stand alone, fantasy romance novella inspired by the Russian fairytale, The Snow Maiden and characters from the Nutcracker Ballet.

An Enchanted Lands Romance

18 and up. This story involves some intimate scenes and adult situations, sex and some violence. If such material offends you, please don't buy this book.

Release date: December 1, 2017

Publisher: Amanda V Shane

Print pages: 195

Content advisory: 18 and up. This story involves some intimate scenes and adult situations, sex and some violence. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Sample

 

Prologue

It was long ago…

… that in a land of winter’s tales, beyond the forest and the world we mortals know as ordinary, a maiden lived with hair of gold and snowy white, eyes of shining blue and lips to shame the blood red rose. The daughter of a powerful sorceress and a human man, she was her mother’s heart after her father went the way all men do into eternal sleep. The girl, being just half mortal, only grew to be a maiden. It was the sorceress’s wish that she never leave and that she never know about the human world.

And so a winter land of wonder’s beauty was created by the mother to delight her child and keep her content. But as all girls do, the maid became curious about what was outside of her beautiful home. She wished to see beyond the glitter of the diamond snow.

She snuck away one night from under her mother’s watchful eye. It was wonderful to her—the world and its people. Being young and very beautiful, she soon caught the eye of a handsome young man and fell in love with him. When this occurred, her fragile heart, made out of magic and cold, began to melt.

Before the sorceress could do anything to save her fair daughter, the girl was gone.

Heartbroken, the sorceress cursed the land that had taken her only child. No game were seen there from that day forward and the kingdom was always at war. Even still more harrowing, no fair-haired children were ever born there again.

It became legend that no one should wander too close to the sorceress’s enchanted forest or she would send forth a blizzard, causing them to lose their way and be trapped in the land of ice and snow for all time.

Chapter One

Nika had to leave her grandmother’s home. She’d barely had time to mourn her deceased guardian, who was her soul protector and her only friend. Now the villagers had come.

Grandmother had held the townspeople at bay and shielded the illegitimate child of her only daughter. When Nika’s mother, Elaini, died, there had been rumors whispered that Nika’s father had caused it.

It was said that Elaini had fornicated with a warlock—a demon of the forest—and born him a child, thus cursing the village. It hadn’t helped that the child had the flaxen down hair, fair skin and bright blue eyes associated with that particular spirit of the woods. Nor did it bode well for her that, that very same year, the land had been beset with a freezing winter and a pack of hungry, savage wolves from the North Country.

Elaini had died that winter.

Nika was just an infant and the town elders had come to her grandmother’s door for her.

“This curse must be broken Yula,” their leader had said. “The child is unnatural.”

“There is nothing unnatural about my granddaughter!” Yula had told them.

As the village healer, the elders respected her, so they didn’t press the matter. But Nika was an outcast growing up. She’d had no friends besides Yula. Anytime she was outside, she could hear taunts from the other children as they dared each other to run passed her home.

“Witch,” they’d say, “warlock’s daughter, devil’s spawn!”

It had been a lonely existence for the girl with the corn silk hair. But she’d had her grandmother’s love and had learned herbs and healing at Yula’s knee. Some of her happiest times had been listening to her grandmother tell the old stories of the land—the tales of the gods and of magic. Yula was a master at storytelling, sometimes reciting, sometimes singing ballads. Little girl Nika would get carried away to a world of adventure while hearing them. Now the old woman was gone and Nika had no more protection.

They’d come for her again now, the men from her village. The lights from their torches had awakened her. She’d only had time to dress before they were yelling outside her door.

“Come out, witch!” They demanded.

Their din of voices grew to a clamor as they pounded on her door.

Nika slipped out the back, running into the woods to escape. By the stream that ran behind her grandmother’s hut, she watched as the only home she’d ever known and all of her belongings went up in a smoke-filled blaze.

Chapter Two

She woke to sounds just beyond the tree line, amazed she hadn’t frozen in the night. Nika had slept hunched in a ball, against a tree trunk. Miraculously, no hungry bear or wolf had found her.  Winter was imminent, and the nights were growing colder. The smell of snow was in the air. It was no time to be sleeping out alone in the woods, Nika thought. She uncurled her sore body then tried to rub some warmth back into her extremities.

Voices and movement were what had roused her. She followed the sounds across the stream. When she emerged from the forest, it was to the sight of a village fair, just beginning to set up.

The smell of baked bread filled her nose and her stomach clenched. She had nothing, no coin, but perhaps she could work for it. Cleaning or sewing—something.

She trudged into the open area on her numb feet to see what she could find. It looked as though the merchants were just getting there so Nika followed her nose to the baker’s booth where a handsome young man smiled at her.

“Hungry miss?” He asked.

Nika looked down. She hated to be thought a beggar.

“Y-yes sir,” she said.

“Here now, don’t be shy, devushka,” he said, as he handed her a roll.

Nika reached for it. His hand covered hers.

“No coin?” He asked. “That’s fine. We’ll find another way for you to pay for it.”

Instantly, she wished she hadn’t come to his cart. He looked her up and down, a leer on his features. Then he gave her a lascivious grin. Suddenly, she didn’t find him handsome anymore. She tried to pull out of his grip, but before she could, his other hand came up and squeezed her breast.

“Sasha!”

A high-pitched woman’s screech sounded from around the corner of the cart.

“What are you doing?”

The woman’s sharp, hawkish gaze swung to Nika. The baker pushed her away, but Nika ended up with the bread in her hand.

“You thieving tramp!” The woman shouted.

Nika shook her head furiously, saying nothing. The whole situation had come up so quickly that it left her tongue-tied.

“Is there trouble over here?”

A group had formed around the cart. Several of the men from the fair stepped forward to see what was the matter.

“That tart is stealing from the vendors,” the woman accused. “You see the bun in her hand?”

A big man, who seemed to be in charge, looked at Nika.

“There, girl, now what have you to say for yourself? The penalty’s steep for stealing around here.”

Probably the same as anywhere else in the North Country—she could be locked away or even lose a hand. It depended on the villagers.

Nika backed away.

“No… I… he gave it to me,” she tried, but the baker was nowhere in sight by now.

“She probably tricked my poor Sasha,” the baker’s wife said, “whores and thieves, they’re all the same.”

At that moment, a thundering of hooves came down from the top of the road and everyone turned to look. Nika took the opportunity to flee from the crowd.

“Here, she’s getting away!” She heard somebody say, but she didn’t turn.

“She’s probably from one of the thieves’ forests, lordship,” another voice said, “the bands have been growing worse and worse.”

The horses turned her way. She could hear them close in just as she made it to the trees. A bush tore her headscarf off, but she kept running as fast as she could, deeper and deeper into the woods.

The men on horses pursued her, gaining ground. They could have been soldiers or hunters maybe, but the people at the fair had convinced them she was a criminal. Now Nika didn’t know what she would do. Her tired legs burned as she ran, her vision blurring from the exertion and hunger. The only thing keeping her sharp was the cold air in her face as she went on.

She darted into a thick growth of brush, hunching down under an endless maze of branches. Dried leaves fell all around and twigs scratched at her face as she struggled through the overgrowth.

“There, in the bushes,” a man’s voice called, “shall we let the dogs loose?”

Horror gripped her. Northern dogs were as big as bears and as strong too.

Finally, she broke free of the bushes and ran once more. Brisk air hit her chest as she heaved, the stitch in her side growing worse than the hunger pains in her stomach. For a time, she couldn’t hear anything but her own labored breathing. Maybe the hunters had stopped chasing her when she’d jumped through the brush. Stopping just short of the frozen creek, she listened. Everything was still, in a cold pregnant quiet, until a raven shrieked overhead and spooked her into jumping.

“There she is!” A voice yelled from the far end of the creek.

They’d gone around. Now they were on the clear side of the path. Men, horses, dogs—all came for her. Nika bolted into action then started across the creek, slipping over the ice as she went.

“Stop, girl!” One of the men on horseback shouted at her. She’d made it to the center of the creek but they’d all stopped.

She looked back just as her foot broke through the ice. Freezing water swallowed her leg. All around her, the ice started to crack. The water was deeper than she’d thought. It was so cold it was paralyzing, but she managed to pull herself free just as one of the largest dogs Nika had ever seen in her life sprang forward and started across the creek for her. The animal was as grey as a wolf with sharp features and a thick ruff around its neck like a lion’s mane. All that aside, the only other thing she noticed about it were its enormous teeth.

Scampering off the ice, she urged her frozen legs as fast as they would go up onto a rocky wall on the other side of the creek bed. When a small opening appeared up on a ledge, she dove for it. Instantly, she was shrouded in darkness and blind to the terrain. Caves in this part of the country were dangerous. They were also known to be haunted places. But her only hope was to hide from the hunters and the dog that had been loosed on her.

Feeling in front of her, Nika crept on her hands and knees into the blackness, hoping the whole time she hadn’t just found a wolves' den or a bear’s. She would have just traded one beast for another. Just as she thought that, her hands slipped out from under her and she hurtled through the air into nothing.

Chapter Three

“Have you seen her?”

“Alina, come look over here.”

“Oh, she’s so fair.”

“Just like an angel with all of that golden hair.”

“What do we do with her? If we keep her, she’ll be found.”

“Keep her hidden, don’t let the queen know about her.”

Nika woke to a chorus of hushed voices. Her eyelashes were heavy with cold crystals. She fluttered them open and a small hand brushed away the tiny ice fragments that broke then fell on her cheeks. Beautiful feminine faces met her eyes when she opened them and she gazed up, bewildered by the crowd that looked down on her.

“So blue…” a small voice gasped, “… her eyes!”

Whispering, further back could be heard.

Nika pushed herself up to find that the ground where she lay was covered in snow. She shivered, wondering how long she’d been asleep.

“Where am I,” she asked. “and who are all of you?”

They brought forth a thick long pelt of white fur to wrap around her. It warmed her instantly.

All the women she saw were young, around her own age, but they were white as the snow on the ground. They wore frosted head wreaths, some of fir pins and others of branches with berries. Some of their crowns even looked to be made entirely of silvery icicles that shined and glinted like diamonds. To a one, their skin was milky white, shimmering in the moonlight as though they’d all been sifted with fairy dust.

Their dresses were beautiful, some long, some short, but all were a gleaming white decorated with furs and gemstones of silver, gray and blue. Nika looked around wide-eyed at the place she had come to. She had no idea how she’d come to be here. She remembered finding the little cave and crawling in. After that, she could recall falling but then nothing else.

It was full on winter here. A pristine layer of snow covered everything and sparkled the way snow will do in the sun even though it was night. All of the snowflake girls stood around her in a small clearing of an otherwise dense forest of fir trees covered in silver frost.

It was incredibly beautiful. What was even more incredible, Nika thought, was that she didn’t feel nearly so cold anymore. She sank her fingers into the soft fur on her shoulders.

One of the girls turned her head to reveal a faint pattern, like the markings one might have seen on a native of the warm South Lands, up high on her cheek and forehead. It looked like a snowflake or the spars of a cracked sheet of ice. When Nika looked closer, she could see that all the girls had similar markings on their skin, in various patterns.

“Don’t be afraid, fair one,” one girl came forward, “we found you here sleeping and sheltered you.”

“H-how did I get here?” Nika asked, not at all sure about these people.

“You must have fallen,” the same one said. “We all came to watch over you and kept you hidden.”  Nika looked at the Snowflake Fairies because that was, surely, who they were.

“Thank you,” she said, “but keep me hidden from who?”

A gust of wind blew through the clearing, stirring a swill of fine snow off the trees. Nika hugged the fur tighter and the fairy women closed in around her.

“We have to move her, Anna,” one of them whispered to the leader of the group, “Sleya will find her soon. Then we won’t be able to send her back.”

They helped Nika to stand then ushered her into the trees.

“Wait, who is Sleya? Why wouldn’t I be able to get back if she finds me? What is this place?”

“Shh,” Anna said as they moved, “you must be quiet, fairling. You are in the Frozen Forest, an enchanted place. You have heard the tales, yes?”

Nika nodded.

“Yes,” she said, “my grandmother told me stories when I was a little girl. Sometimes she would sing,” her voice started to sound far away in her own ears, “but they were legends, bedtime stories… fairytales.”

The Snowflake Fairies all smiled at her, forming a tunnel around her as her vision started to blur.

“And so we are,” Anna said, “the story fairies of the Frozen Forest, all changelings, stolen by the sorceress, Sleya.”

It wasn’t long before they’d led her to a nook carved into a wall of stone and ice by a lake.

“In here,” one of the fairy girls said then pulled aside a curtain of pine branches.

Nika went into the enclosure. It was warmer there, away from the wind.

“I remember now,” Nika said, after she sat, “the legend of this place. A witch from the North winds cursed a kingdom I think,” she tried to recall the story that Yula had told her. She’d heard so many. That was one of her few joys, sitting and listening to the old woman recall tale after tale from memory. ‘Another, grandmother, another story’, little girl Nika would say, hungry for every drop of love she could squeeze from the magic of those moments.

“She stole all the young girls, the fair-haired ones, from the land, but I can’t recall why. There was a wizard too or was it a bear? I-I can’t remember…”

She was suddenly very drowsy, even though she’d only just awakened.

“Yes,” Anna said, her voice getting distant, “the fair-haired ones.”

“Rest now dear one,” one of the other girls whispered and Nika’s eyes became heavier than she ever thought they could.

She stretched out on the ground. Then the fairies covered her in more furs as she drifted off to sleep again. 

Chapter Four

“We’ll have to go soon. We’ve searched nearly all day and haven’t found her, Vasilli.”

Ilya, was King Vasilli’s best and most loyal friend.  If he was getting restless, it was a sure guess that others were as well.

“We haven’t found any game either,” another voice grumbled.

Bors, the king’s advisor was 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. It was well known that their kingdom was cursed.

Vasilli didn’t know if he believed in the curse or if it was just circumstances of geography. He did know that very powerful, dark magic surrounded his territory, the worst of which came from the 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 was to get her out of the clutches of the villagers there and let her go. If she had stolen the 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 with a dire enough tale to keep her friends away from the fair for its duration.

But then she’d run and her head covering had been torn away. What had been 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 had been 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 or not that was true, he didn’t know, but Vasilli was struck by the tow headed female enough to have his whole hunting party out searching for her until well past the time they should have already started back for their home.

He ignored the men’s grumblings though he knew what a fool he was being. But the girl intrigued him and he had to see her again.

There was a legend in his family line that said, “If a maiden is found with hair of snow and sun, and that has 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 the curse is embodied in and the game will come back into the kingdom and the war will stop.”

“She probably knows these mountains as well as any goat or hare.” Bors said. “We could raze the thieves’ camps until they give her up if she’s there. There would be no honor among any of them, to be sure. For a coin…”

“No,” Vasilli cut his advisor off. Bors was a good man and skilled in court politics, but sometimes his mouth raised the king’s hackles. “We should be heading back to our own land. You all are right. We’ve wasted enough time. We’ll camp in the mountains again then see if we can find any game before leaving in the morning.”

This seemed to satisfy the men. They all turned their horses to the hills. 

Chapter Five

A strange sort of restlessness afflicted Vasilli that night. Though he’d never had a hard time sleeping in camp before, he tossed and turned on his bedroll then finally got up. His horse, the war stallion Bellani, was in the same state as his master when Vasilli walked down to where the horses were tied. The stallion nickered softly at his approach, but lifted his head to sniff at the air. A soft rustling in the trees alerted Vasilli to a presence. When he looked into the darkness, he could have sworn that he saw the glimmer of a pair of eyes staring back at him.

Smiling, he untied Bellani’s reins then swung up onto the animal’s back.

“Come friend,” he whispered over Bellani’s neck. “Perhaps we’ll have better luck with the hunt at night.”

Horse and rider headed into the woods blind because although there was a full moon, a misting fog had rolled down from the mountaintop almost as soon as Vasilli had sighted the deer. At least he thought it a deer, but maybe it was a girl—a peasant girl with pale hair and shining blue eyes.

His heart jumped at the idea.

He’d tried to tell himself that he hadn’t secretly been entertaining the idea that the little bread thief was spying on him from the trees. Surely, it would be a more worthy venture for him to hunt down a deer tonight to take back to his people than a waif from a thieves’ camp. But as he and Bellani waded into the shadowy fog, an excitement filled his spirit that had nothing to do with food or hides.

***

“Does he come?”

“Shh, yes Rayna. Now be quiet or the sorceress’s minions will hear us. She has spies in these woods.”

The snow fairy nodded then said no more as they went about their task. Anna, their brave little troupe’s leader had come up with the idea to find the king and lead him to their foundling. They didn’t want to see another young woman taken from the world to be transformed into a member of Sleya’s menagerie as all of them had been. The sorceress lured young girls into the woods with her magic then covered their memories over with a spell of forgetting until they couldn’t remember their homes. Then she turned them fae and added them to her collection. They didn’t want to see that happen to the girl who’d fallen into the Frozen Forest today.

Anna had snuck to the edge of the forest and seen the hunters. They were human, but she could tell that they were from the Northern Kingdom. Everyone knew their land was under a curse. She’d seen them before, moving around the enchanted lands to hunt and gather supplies to keep their kingdom from dying.

The plan was to convince the men to take the girl back to the outside world, to her home, before Sleya’s magic had a chance to work and she forgot.

They’d taken her to the snow wolves’ den. Then they had used their magic just a bit to make her sleep and left her with the canines to watch over her while they sought the king.

The plan worked perfectly. The fairies had brought a snow mist into the woods to obscure their presence, but they worked together now at leading King Vasilli of the Northern Kingdom to where the girl slept.

***

Vasilli chided himself a fool as he continued on through the obscuring fog. Surely, he must be mad. He kept seeing glimpses of shadows move and hearing rustles in the bushes so he stayed with the chase. When the loud howl of a wolf sounded from somewhere nearby though, Bellani reared.

“Whoa,” Vasilli said, gripping the reins tighter, “whoa boy, easy now.”

As the eerie call died, Bellani settled somewhat. Vasilli pulled his sword from its sheath and slid to the ground. A noise like whispering voices came through the fog, first to his right then to his left.

“Who’s there?” He called out, holding his weapon in front of him.

He waited, straining to hear.

After a moment’s silence, he heard it again.

“This way,” it said, soft as a breeze.

He swung around in a circle, making Bellani sidestep. Then, through the mist, he thought he saw the shape of a woman.

“Show yourself!” He commanded.

Wind blew through the space, clearing it somewhat. Then he started to be able to see trees and a narrow path through them. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out rows of feminine bodies lining the way down either side of the path. Their pale skin glowed, illuminating the snow where they stood. They wanted him to see.

“What is all this?” Vasilli asked.

Magical spirits abounded in the mountains. One had to keep their wits about them when they were encountered. Before him, was a whole river of enchantresses to be suspicious of though they smiled up at him. Their eyes were bright with curiosity, maybe even playfulness. Yes, he’d do well to stay wary.

“Great King Vasilli,” one of the fairy women said, “we know that you come from the Northern Kingdom. We’ve seen you and your men journey through here before to the lands outside. This night we found a wayward traveler.”

Just then, he saw up ahead at the end of the trail, a stand of trees bent the way pines do in a strong winter wind. From behind them, four huge white animals walked through the opening.

Vasilli held out his sword.

What trick was this? These wicked fae spirits had led him out into the night and straight into a den of wolves! He backed up. He knew better than to run, for the beasts would only give chase. Even if he could find his way to camp through the fog, he had no wish to lead the wolves to his men.

The animals’ keen eyes stared at him, but they only sniffed the air then seemed to lose interest in him and Bellani. They walked among the fairy women, winding their way down the line before resting in the midst of the enchantresses.

“Look there, King,” the fairy that had spoken to him before said.

She stepped to the side to reveal the glowing space of the cave that the snow wolves had come from. It was illuminated though there was no fire—another trick of the Frozen Forest. Now, Vasilli knew where he was. As he looked ahead, he could see that, in the middle of the den, someone slept.

Covered in the furs of winter animals, lay the maid with the pale gold hair. The leader of the snow fairies nodded to him that he should enter. After another look at the wolves, who were at ease with their mistresses now, he walked into the cave.

It was the girl from the fair. Instead of the den of thieves he’d thought he’d find her in, she slept peacefully in an entirely different den altogether. If it hadn’t been for the cold ride and the brisk air on his face and hands, Vasilli might have thought this all a dream, for the maid looked a vision to him. The soft rise and fall of her chest moved the furs she lay under and one delicate arm rested atop the pelts. A small hand with slim, tapered fingers fell across her hip.

Her long hair spread out around her in a halo. It probably fell to her waist when she was standing. It shimmered like spun silk, only a shade beyond some of the furs she lay under and looked just as soft. Vasilli reached out, grabbing a length of it to test the idea and found his assessment to be true. He let it slip through his fingers.

 The girl sighed in her sleep. The shape of her mouth turned up slightly at the corners, tantalizing him with her full, sweet lips. They hinted at the lushness he might find elsewhere on her body.

The cave was warm inside, despite the cold of the forest and, though the scene was a languorous one, he’d heard of the dark magic of this place. In the Northern Kingdom, even the smallest child knew the tales of Sleya the Sorceress. This wasn’t a place he wished to linger. He’d come near here many times since it bordered his lands, but he’d always maintained a safe distance from the area. He had to get the girl away from here.

“She doesn’t know about the maid,” the fairies’ leader said.

“Sorry?” Vasilli started to ask.

 It was unnerving that she seemed to know his thoughts.

“The sorceress—she doesn’t know. We hid the maid where we found her before,” she said looking at the girl, “we think she must have fallen from the mountain.”

“That’s curious, mistress,” Vasilli said, “I didn’t have to fall.”

The fairy woman smiled slightly and may have even blushed.

“No, we brought you another way. There isn’t much time, your highness,” she said, looking worried now. “We obscured the way as best we could, but it’s only a matter of time before Sleya finds her and then she’ll change her.”

“Change her?”

“Into one of us,” the fairy mistress looked at all the others.

Vasilli frowned.

“We thought she might have a home to get back to, someone who’ll miss her. We’ve heard of such things. She mentioned a grandmother.”

Vasilli looked up from the blonde girl where his gaze had wandered as he listened. His eyes pierced the night with the thought that she might have somewhere desirable to get back to… or a man, a husband maybe. He stroked his bearded chin and frowned again.

“Did she tell you her name?” He asked.

“Oh sire,” a meek little voice from one of the rows chimed. Vasilli looked at the petite snow fairy. “She did, just before she fell asleep again. I asked her and she said she was called Nika by anyone who’d ever noticed.”

Her face took on a confused look that Vasilli might have been charmed by at any other time. But he didn’t like the sound of the words that the little runaway maid had spoken. He didn’t know why, but he felt very protective of her already.

In the next moment, two of the fairies wrapped the furs around Nika. Then Vasilli swept the whole small bundle she made up in his arms. He stalked out into the cold with her and mounted Bellani. After he did, he made to leave. As he turned Bellani around, he could see that the cave was already being hidden by trees and fog again.

“We cannot go with you,” the head fairy said, “but we will clear a path and they will take you to the forest’s edge.”

Two of the snow wolves rose at these words and flanked Bellani’s sides.

“Go quickly, King Vasilli. Be sure to steer clear of Silver Lake and this forest altogether.”

Vasilli nodded to her, then she and the other fairies faded into the mist. With the giant wolves on either side of them, he and Bellani rode through the trees. A strong wind picked up the closer they got to the edge of the forest, then it started to snow. Vasilli hugged Nika tighter to him, driving the horse forward as the storm worsened. It had turned fierce in a mere instant.

Sleya, Vasilli thought, the Winter Witch.

At one point, the snow blew at them so fiercely that Vasilli couldn’t see the path. The girl slept on in his arms, despite the howling of the winds and the shards of hard snow that pelted them. The wolves took the lead in front of Bellani and Vasilli followed until finally, they passed through the last thick stand of trees.

As soon as they cleared the forest, the storm abated like magic. And that was what it was—the dark magic of an angry sorceress denied her prey. The wolves vanished back into the trees the same way the snow fairies had then Vasilli made his way back to camp just as the sun began to come up over the mountains. 

Chapter Six

“What have you there Vasilli?”

Ilya was the first one up at camp.

“Take her,” Vasilli handed Nika down to his friend when he walked over to them, then took her again after he’d dismounted.

“And where did you come from?” Ilya asked as he brushed at the layer of snow that covered the girl.

Still she didn’t wake, but she did turn her face into Vasilli’s chest and snuggle closer to him in a way that made him loathe to put her down. Snow crystals sparkled on her cheeks and eyelashes. Vasilli felt an urgency to get her into the shelter of his tent. It worried him that she hadn’t stirred at all during their mad dash out of the woods.

“I found her in the forest last night,” he said, turning her away from Ilya’s hands.

“Through there?” Ilya pointed behind them at the trees. His eyes rounded with surprise. “Isn’t that…”

“Yes,” Vasilli answered, “the place is enchanted.”

“The haunted forest,” Ilya said in awe, “we’ve always avoided it.”

“Believe me, it was only through happenstance I found myself there.”

“Is it true what they say about the women?”

Ilya wagged his eyebrows.

Vasilli gave him a dark look.

“You know… the Winter Witch’s band of enchantresses? It is said they lure men into their lair, fuck them senseless then leave them to wander the woods, blind for the rest of their days.”

He smiled wide, the jesting fool. Then he stroked his brown beard and looked at his friend as though he were pondering. Vasilli just shook his head as he turned to go into his tent. Any other time, he might have engaged his friend’s humor, made up some story of naked women, but he was too tired at the moment and he had to see to the little peasant girl.

“How is your eyesight Vasilli?” Ilya shouted then laughed.

Ignoring the question, Vasilli stopped at the entrance to his tent and turned back to him.

“Send food and wine,” he said, “and tell the others to be ready to leave once the sun is fully up. We’ll go the long way home. Wouldn’t want any seducing wood nymphs to spirit you away, my friend.”

Once he was in his tent, he laid Nika down on his pallet, arranging the furs over her and drying the melted snow from her face and hair with his hands. Her skin was warm to the touch. That pleased him. He wondered where she was from. For all that he’d found her stealing bread at a fair, she didn’t have the look of a usual thieves’ camp urchin. She was clean for one thing. Her fair skin was as smooth and soft as ivory.

He thought on what the leader of the snowflake fairies had said about taking the girl home. She moaned a little in her sleep then twisted on the pallet, moving the furs and catching the neck of her dress underneath her as she rolled onto her side. The woolen fabric pulled, revealing the top of her shoulder where it gaped a bit to bare her upper back. Vasilli grabbed at it and gently pulled.

Just then, the tent flap opened. One of the younger men from their group carried a plate and a skein of wine inside. Bors followed.

“My lord,” he said.

Vasilli covered Nika with the furs again. The youth’s eyes went straight to her hair, widening at the novelty of it now that the snow had melted and it was fully revealed.

“Just set it over there, Pytor,” Vasilli indicated the one small table in the tent.

Their hunting party travelled light, but he was king after all. He had a few spare luxuries and the extra men to carry them.

Pytor stole one more glance at Nika then left the tent.

“Bors?” Vasilli asked.

The gruff man seemed at a loss for words for a moment but he recovered.

“My king,” he said, “when do you wish to move out?”

“Soon, Bors,” Vasilli answered. “Have the men pack up the camp.”

Bors nodded then left and Vasilli was alone again with the sleeping girl. The sun was now fully up, its bright rays coming into the space settled on her face.

Her lashes fluttered as she rolled to her back, bringing her soft body to press against Vasilli’s thigh on the pallet. When her eyes opened, they were a clear and a brilliant blue. Darker than Vasilli’s own, hers were the color of jewels or a deep mountain lake. He was enchanted for the second time in the space of a day.

She moaned as she tried to sit up, but Vasilli placed his hand on her middle, staying her.

“Slowly, don’t try to sit up too quickly. You’ve been through an ordeal.”

***

Nika’s eyes were bleary. Really the only thing she could tell about her state was that she wasn’t cold or uncomfortable. When things finally came into focus, she thought an angel looked down on her with ice-blue eyes in a face as handsome as any tale of the old heroes. Dark brown hair with hints of mahogany framed a square bearded jaw and fell to the shoulders of the one who touched her. She might have thought she’d died and entered the afterlife if it hadn’t been for the unbearable emptiness of her stomach.

Under the man’s large hand, her stomach growled loudly.

He chuckled as he stood up.

“The stolen bread was not enough for you, little one?”

Nika watched as he moved across the space they were in to a table and realized that she was inside a tent. The man was very tall. He had to bow his head while he walked around. His shoulders seemed like they took up all the room inside the space, they were so broad. He picked up a plate then came back to her.

“I wasn’t stealing,” she said, as she eased up into a sitting position.

The man’s eyebrow lifted.

“No? Then what was the baker’s wife screeching about?”

Nika looked down at her lap.

“He offered it but… then he demanded a payment… other than coin.”

Nika was ashamed to talk about the encounter at the fair. She’d never been out of her village, had barely been beyond her grandmother’s cottage. Now she found herself in a world full of wolves. When she looked up, the large man wore a frown on his face and it made her feel even worse.

“If we had any time left,” he said, “I would go back to that fair and make quick work of the baker. But my men and I must get back to our own land. We’ve been gone too long already.”

He strode about the tent then started to pull on thicker clothing to wear outside. Nika took the opportunity to shove food into her mouth while his back was turned. Her stomach protested being crammed so suddenly after staying empty for so long, but once she began, she couldn’t stop. It was a simple meal of bread, cheese and a couple chunks of dried meat. After going without though, it felt like a feast.

Eating took all of her attention so she didn’t notice that her rescuer had turned back around to watch as she ravaged the food. Once she finished, she felt his eyes on her and looked up. She pressed her lips together, embarrassed. The man’s dark beard was cropped, so it was easy to see his mouth and the small smile on his soft looking lips. Why did that sight cause such strange feelings in her? A floating sensation had invaded her stomach and chest—it must be due to the food.

  He was older than she, though still a young man. As inexperienced as she was with other people, she couldn’t be considered a judge. But in her own estimation, she would call him handsome. Very handsome.

He crossed back to the pallet. Nika’s eyes widened when he reached for her. She tensed, her heart racing, but then his fingers brushed lightly over her lips at a crumb and fell away again.

“Thank you, my lord,” she said looking down, “for the food a-and for finding me.”

He straightened, nodding.

“Why were you out by yourself?” He asked.

She looked up again. What could she say? She couldn’t tell him the truth—that anyone who knew she existed thought she was a dark spirit… a curse.

“Are you from the camps in the hills like the villagers said?” He asked before she could speak.

She knew what he meant. The lower mountain camps were dotted with nomad tribes of thieves and swindlers. It was nowhere she wanted to go, but it could be a good place to hide. His light-colored eyes bore through her, they were so intense. He’d touched her twice now, just fleeting contacts, but both times, unnerving warmth had suffused her skin. Grandmother had spoken of a sixth sense she had for danger, maybe this was what she had meant. Nika was overwhelmed, she had to find a way out of this place and out from under his stare.

“Uh, I-I don’t live far from here,” she blurted out, setting the plate down beside her on the bedding, “I’ll just gather my things and be going.”

He didn’t move back though, just kept looming over her. Then one of his eyebrows lifted.

“On your own you mean?” He scoffed.

Nika sat up straight. She’d never been around a man long enough to be irritated by one. But she was certain that was what his tone did to her, no matter how handsome she found him.

“I’ve always been on my own, sir. I assure you, I will be fine.”

He took a half a step back from the bed and perused her with a thoughtful expression for a moment. Then he shook his head at her like she spoke nonsense.

“We will see you home,” he said. “I know you do not come from the thieves’ camps, but surely you cannot live far. A lone girl should not be out wandering alone. These are rough times myshka. There are predators about… of all different sorts.”

Nika bit at her lip. She did not want him to know where she’d come from. He’d probably hand her over to the village elders once he knew what they thought of her. She could tell by his clothes and his manner that he was powerful, whoever he was. Someone like him could, surely, do no good for one of her lowly station. It would be best for her to get away from him and his party as quickly as she could.

“Please sir, I-I do live in the hills, but I mean no one any harm and I can find my way back easily,” she lied. She was frantic now to get away. “I needn’t trouble you anymore. Thank you for your kindness.”

She pushed off the furs as she swung her legs to the side of the pallet and stood up. Immediately, her head swam with the sudden movement. She swayed on her feet. The man rushed forward and grabbed her round the waist, pulling her against him. When Nika’s blurry vision cleared, she dropped her head back to look up at his face.

He brushed the hair off of her forehead then ran the back of his thumb along her jaw. She inhaled sharply, but didn’t pull away. His eyes narrowed like he was assessing her, like he could read her every thought.

“If you will not tell me the truth, little one, then you will just have to remain with us.”

Nika opened her mouth to protest, but he shushed her with a firm press of his fingers to her lips. His hands on her made her feel funny again, like all the cells in her body suddenly rushed to those two areas so they could feel his touch.

“Finding you the way I did, in the enchanted forest, sleeping in a wolves’ den, I have no doubt that there is more to your story than you are telling. But that is a discussion for another time. The morning is getting on and we must go.”

Chapter Seven

That is how Nika found herself bundled in a man’s coat, out in the cold morning air amidst a group of hard Northmen. After she had stood there in the tent, dumbfounded by the commanding stranger, he’d stepped back, looked her up and down and frowned. Self conscious of her ragged attire, Nika had brushed at her skirt then folded her arms over her woolen peasant’s gown. In truth it was the only one she owned. He was dressed for the hunt, but she could still see that his clothes were fine. His cape and vest were trimmed with mink, matching the color of his hair. His boots were well crafted and made sturdy leather.

From her memory of the day before, she’d recalled that all of his men wore regal attire. It was one of the reasons she had tried so hard to run from them. A small peasant girl on her own with no one to speak in her favor was unlikely to fair well under the prosecution of men like that. She’d been in a panic to get away from the mob, but even more so, the band of noblemen.

As he’d looked at her in such a grim manner, fear had risen up Nika’s spine. To trip and fall into what had to be a dream was confusing enough. But to have the man who’d found her hold her and addle her senses, then look at her with such disapproval did not bode well. Instincts had made her want to dart past him and run again. She’d known the whole camp was outside the tent though. She wouldn’t stand a chance against them. Still, her eyes had flashed desperately between the flap of the tent and the one who watched her.

He’d smiled, then chuckled and stroked his bearded chin.

“You think to sneak by me, little snow hare?” His light eyes had danced. “You led the chase well yesterday, but I found you. It would not be so easy to slip by me again. You will ride with us now. That is my decision. Don’t  think to second guess me, you will only try my patience.”

Those last words may have been mild but Nika heard the bite behind them, the warning. Handsome or not she’d landed herself in the lair of a dangerous man.

But he’d soon changed the subject back to her clothes. He’d tugged at her sleeve, testing the weight of it and saying that it was purely unsatisfactory for travel. Nika had said nothing, not wishing to reveal that she’d run from her home with no time to plan for the weather. When he’d finished picking at her, he’d drug a long coat out of a trunk and dropped it around her shoulders. She’d sagged under the weight of the thing. It was a man’s garment, presumably his, made of leather and lined, fit for a king, with rabbit’s fur. It was the finest thing to have ever touched her person. It covered her neck and chest and swam all the way down to her ankles. Her hands completely disappeared beneath the long sleeves.

He’d smiled at her, not unkindly, then brushed his hand over her hair, stroking from the top of her head down to where a curl rested at the tip of her breast. Nika had trembled as she’d inhaled. A warm rush of sensations had prickled under her skin where he’d touched again.

His hand had dropped but his eyes had lingered on her. She’d shifted, nervous to be under his stare and even more startled at her body’s responses. Under the heavy coat, her nipple had tightened and scratched against the rough wool of her dress. Finally, he’d blinked and looked up.

“You have only moments before we leave. Meet me outside,” he’d said, then strode from the tent.