Chapter 45
Monday 21st September, 2020 (Continued)
Star’s POVExclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.
When I came to, I was greeted by the anxious faces of my Dad and my twin brother along with the calm face of my cousin.
“She’s fine,” Asriel announced as he finished sprinkling me with a shimmery dust that made me sneeze a shower of glitter.
Asriel wiped some glitter sneeze spray from his shirt.
“Hannah, how’re you feeling?” Asked Dad, patting me delicately on the head.
“I’m ok,” I mumbled.
I sat up slowly. Harper tried to help me but I scooted away from him. I was lying down in a bed in an unfamiliar but welcoming setting. It was a spacious bedroom with cream-coloured walls and a hard-wood floor. The drapes were a chocolate brown and the bedding was lily-white. The room was simple yet luxurious. Where was I? Harper guessed what I was wondering.
“We’re at my house again,” said Harper.
“How is she feeling?” Whispered Mia as she peaked into the room. Marco was just behind her.
“I’m ok, thank you,” I said to her. “Sorry to alarm everyone,” I added.
“Will she be ok enough to go to the castle?” Asked Dad.
He was looking at Asriel who nodded.
“The castle?” Said Harper incredulously. “But we need to confront Angie’s Mom first! She stole Hannah’s inheritance!” He said indignantly.
Asriel stroked his chin, thinking it over. The earrings were quiet. In fact, they appeared to be sleeping. I leant a bit closer to Asriel to observe them. Erin was sleeping soundly and Rein was snoring softly.
“Shouldn’t a lawyer handle that? Look at the will,” grumbled Dad in his deep voice.
Everything Dad said sounded gruff even if he did not mean it in such a way. It was the bass of his voice and his entire demeanour. He was intimidating without even trying.
Marco agreed with his best friend. “Your father is right! Don’t worry, Harper, I’ll have my lawyer look at the will and make an inquiry,” he said firmly.
Harper reluctantly agreed. “Ok,” was all he said. He was looking to me to object further.
“Ok,” I said.
I was still so upset over Harper’s history with Angie. I wasn’t sure how to process it. When had he been planning on telling me? Would he have ever told me? I knew it was before he had even met me but it was so frustrating that Angie seemed to have marred every aspect of my life in some way.
“We’re going to the castle right away?” I asked as the butler set a tray with a bowl of soup on it in front of me. Steam rose from the spicy-smelling liquid. I sipped a few spoonfuls carefully after blowing on them. The warmth filled my tummy. I began to feel better.
“We’ll go within the hour. Better to go as soon as possible,” said Dad.
He was in such a hurry for us to claim our birthrights. I supposed he had already waited eighteen years so he was entitled to be a bit impatient now. I was eager to claim my Fae powers. They could be of great use against the curse. Surely, a magical luna would not be as susceptible to a curse. I hastily drank the soup and used the accompanying glass of water to take some painkillers. I had a throbbing headache. I got to my feet and put on my shoes.
“Let’s go!” I said.
Harper looked at me disapprovingly but did not object. Dad and Asriel grinned at each other. It dawned on me that I should alert my mates before I left the pack lands.
“Take these!” Instead Marco, handing a coat to each of us.
“Oh, wait I-,” I began but Asriel had already muttered a few words whilst holding the snow globe portal.
This method of travel was smoother than the previous one. We seemed to glide through a kaleidoscope of colours for less than a second. After the whirlwind of colours, I found myself in a wintry landscape surrounded by blindingly white snow. The blast of cold air prompted me to put on my coat. Everyone else donned theirs also. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the light and the glare. My shoes crunched through the fresh snow. Snowflakes were falling from above steadily thickening the white blanket of snow beneath us. The castle could be seen in the distance. Asriel put another invisibility spell on all of us. I took a deep breath. I couldn’t believe how my life had changed so suddenly. I was about to meet the Winter Faerie Queen, my own great-grandmother.
Dad held my hand and helped me meander through the rocky, snowy expanse. Harper kept holding out his hand to me also but I refused it each time until he gave up. I felt a pang of guilt for being so hard on him but I pushed that aside. My mind was already swirling with dozens of thoughts. What would the Fae Queen think of me? What would she think of Harper? Would she relinquish the pack to him? Would the pack members themselves accept us? Would Angie’s Mom be found guilty for anything regarding the will? Would the money actually come to me? How would the Quads react to the news of my inheritance being stolen by the Plastique family? Particularly Jonah! How would they react to me being a Princess?
Erin and Rein snapped me out of my thoughts. They had woken up.
“It’s so cold! Where’s my coat? You selfish Fae you, Asriel!” Grumbled Rein.
“Wow, look at this winter wonderland! Isn’t it a dream come true, everyone! Who has watched the human movie Frozen? Shall I sing the song from it?” Asked Erin.
“Please don’t! I’m miserable enough as it is!” Yelped Rein.
“LET IT G-,” began Erin but Asriel promptly shushed him.
“The Fae can hear you two, remember?” He chastised them.
They were silent.
“There,” whispered Asriel.
I gasped. A huge grey stone castle loomed before us. Now that we were closer, I could see how magnificent it really was. It was a colossal maze of towers with pointed domed roofs and stained glass windows. The stained glass reflected their colours onto the nearby snow making the scene all the more brilliant. The castle was surrounded by a grey stone wall. There were walkways high up at the top of the wall like floating brides. I could see guards in full armour patrolling them. A piercingly loud and fierce screech almost made me fall over in shock. I looked further upwards until my eyes found it. At the highest tower was a dragon. He was curled around the dome like roof. His scales looked like they were made of ice. He was almost translucent and he sparkled brilliantly in the light. He seemed excited about something. He emitted another screeching sound as he stretched out his wide wings. He had to be at least one hundred feet long from snout to tail, perhaps larger.
He senses you two, said Dad over mind-link to Harper and me.
Dad seemed thrilled.
Shouldn’t we be worried? Won’t he attack us? Asked Harper.
No! He was your mother’s dragon! Said Dad.
My mother had kept a dragon for a pet!
If Mom had a dragon, how was anyone able to cross her and you, Dad? Demanded Harper.
Dad sighed.
That was eighteen years ago! He was a hatchling then! He is about the same age as you two!
What’s his name? I asked eagerly.
Haven, said Dad.
Haven raised his magnificent head, snout facing the sky. He opened his wide jaws and roared. A fountain of ice sprang from his mouth forming an icy curved bridge from just above the tallest tower descending outwards all the way down to the snow before us. I marvelled at it.
Haven is helping us! Exclaimed Dad. Hurry! The guards will be suspicious now but the bridge will be the fastest way! Shift! NOW!
I shifted without a single thought about my coat or clothes.I shredded through them as my form changed shape, growing. I looked down at my white furry paws, really noticing my coat properly for the first time. There were two other white wolves before me. Harper and Dad. Asriel motioned for us to follow him as he ran lightly up the ice bridge. We scampered after him. It was slippery but Harper and Dad grasped the scruff of my neck carefully with their jaws whenever I slipped. We were still invisible but a guard suddenly leapt onto the ice bridge midway, blocking our path. He peered into the thin air, swiping his hands out at nothing. He was onto us. Haven suddenly sent a blast of ice his way, knocking him off the bridge. Guards began to swarm the bridge but after a few more ice blasts from Haven, they became very reluctant to investigate the new bridge. Many scurried off of the bridge, clearing our path. We reached the very top where there was a jagged edge hanging in midair.
I could see the pointed tip of the domed roof below us. Asriel blew silver dust downwards forming a rope bridge that resembled a glistening silvery spider’s web. We gingerly crossed it. We crashed straight through the stained glass window of the highest tower, tumbling across the stone floor. We were in the castle! We had made it! I looked over at Harper’s white wolf, his fur dotted with pieces of coloured glass. He seemed ok. I couldn’t shift back without clothes. I looked at my father’s wolf and at Asriel who wore a wide triumphant grin on his face.
Before I could ask either of them what to do, a chill crept through me. My body was bathed in light as was Harper’s. A surge of energy coursed through me. I opened my mouth to scream but a howl escaped me instead. A tornado of shimmery dust swirled around my twin and me, faster and faster. Something was rushing through me, changing me. I was disoriented but I did not feel unwell. I felt…powerful.