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shaelashaela · 1 year ago

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The King's Curse, ch. 7

[cw] drug use [reading time] 9 mins.

A howling wind whipped the snow into a frenzy all around me, buffeting my body despite my best efforts to pull my cloak tight around me. Lines of citrine threads ran along the thick cloth, and an alchemical invocation upon them helped to keep me warm, but I wondered for how much longer. I lost the means to recharge it along with my satchel. I pulled the hood tight around my face to keep the cold out, but I really should’ve brought a scarf. Even with thick gloves and boots, my hands and feet were numb.

I expected to spend more time scaling the mountain’s slopes, but the land at the top of the cliff featured a gentle grade instead, with a clear path cut through the rocks. Despite the pleasant surprise, I immediately fretted over the Queen’s words. Would the next challenge be another physical one? Or would I face something more sinister? The snowstorm already felt unnatural to me, and I supposed the Winter Court could and would set up just about any sort of trap on the side of the mountain.

The intense climb left my arms and legs exhausted. With each step, my feet sank into the snow, and I had to exert considerable effort to pull them back out again. I wasn��t certain that I would make it much farther, especially if the storm refused to break.

My hand drifted to the pouch on my belt, fingers lightly caressing the leather. Dare I…?

I shook the thought from my head. No, I simply needed to persevere. I wasn’t exactly athletic, but I could make my way through this. How much further could it be? Surely this black crocus didn’t grow on the very summit, right?

Come to think of it, there was little in the way of vegetation outside of some scrubby evergreens. No signs of wildlife, either. I wondered if this area ever saw a season that resembled spring. Doubtful.

The path suddenly cut in two directions, one to the left that led further up the mountain, and the other to the right. I looked over with some disbelief. Not far down the righthand fork was a little cave opening. Shelter and a bit of rest were just what I needed! I all but dove headfirst into the cave, though that was likely unwise. Briefly I hoped I wouldn’t wake a hibernating bear, but it was a bit late for that.

Thankfully, there were no bears to be found. The cave itself was really more of a nook in the mountain, barely large enough for two or three people to huddle in. It was enclosed, however, and protected from the wind. I was also not the first person to shelter there. I walked in and sat down at the remains of a campfire.

Whomever made this certainly would have brought the wood with them; there were no trees outside. I sifted through the black ash. It was long cold, maybe even years old, but I discovered that a few small chips of unburnt wood remained. My heart jumped with excitement. If I piled them up, I might be able to start a small fire.

I removed my gloves and reached in my pocket for my flint—luckily, it was not in my satchel. My striker, however, was. Gathering a handful of dead plants from the mouth of the cave, I attempted to use my belt buckle as a makeshift striker to light them. After a dozen fumbling attempts with my rimed hands, I almost gave up, but finally a small spark flew, and a flame ignited.

I let out a heavy sigh that coiled in the cold air like smoky dragon’s breath. The little bits of glowing coal would never be enough to warm me up completely, but maybe I could get some blood flowing to my hands again. I held them close to it, soaking up what little warmth could be had, and I wiggled my fingers, working out the stiffness. Looking at them made me wish I had put on Papa’s rings earlier instead of leaving them in my bag. I had a feeling that I would need whatever alchemical tools I could get my hands on.

Something glinted at me in the afternoon light, nestled in the ashes around the campfire. I didn’t really want to dig in the dirt as it would freeze my fingers again, but I was curious. Carefully, I pried a small object out of the dirt and ash with my fingernails.

I turned it over in my palm and brushed the grime away with a thumb. It was a little golden locket. The leather cord threaded through it disintegrated in my hand. How long had it been here? Despite my icy, protesting fingertips, I pried it open. Inside was a tiny, hand-painted portrait of an elven girl. It was faded and worn, but I could see she had long, blonde hair and a beautiful white gown. I could’ve mistaken her for me if it weren’t that she had blue eyes instead of green. Someone dropped a precious memory here. Perhaps they failed to overcome the mountain and died here. I shuddered at the thought. Would I meet a similar fate?

I pursed my lips. I couldn’t say for certain if I could actually achieve what the Queen asked of me or not. My eyes fell upon a delicate silver bracelet with little crow charms dangling from my left wrist. It was a gift from Rayna. I chided her for spending money on such a gift when I knew she didn’t have much, unintentionally embarrassing her. Humans could be just as proud as elves, I learned. Now I wore it as much out of guilt as appreciation.

If I lived through this, hopefully she would understand. If not, then maybe it would serve as a reminder that I existed to the next person who stopped to rest in this alcove. I unclasped the bracelet and let it fall to the ground, and I placed the locket next to it. A graveyard of precious memories. Tears welled up in my eyes. I was so exhausted. My body gave out, and I fell back upon the stony wall to get as comfortable as I might.

I cried and wished that I could be in her arms.

My pathetic little fire still glowed orange when I awoke, but outside the cave, day had given way to twilight. Blast! I’d slept too long. I had no idea how far the journey was, so I was not of a mind to waste daylight hours. Pushing myself into an upright position proved difficult, and I faltered. Every muscle in my body protested against going further.

“I don’t have time for rest,” I growled at myself.

I gave myself another push and hauled my tired excuse for a body to its feet. I took two steps toward the entrance, but I wavered. Maybe I didn’t have the strength to go on tonight. Would I dare waste time sleeping until morning?

My cheeks stung from a few well-placed slaps to wake myself up. I would continue on no matter what. Rayna depended on me. Every step toward my goal was worth taking. I gathered a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Okay, maybe it was time.

My freezing fingers unclasped my father’s pouch. It contained mostly alchemical reagents for a variety of purposes, but there was one vial that could help me right now. Carefully, I plucked it from the band that held it fast and lifted it up to the dwindling light. The glass tube contained a bit of purple-grey powder that sparkled in the firelight. I didn’t like to abuse glitterdust, but right now I was low on options. I popped off the tiny cork and put the vial to my nostril, inhaling deeply.

A bolt of lightning shot through my face, and then it spread quickly through my eyes and ears, followed by the rest of my body. Within seconds, I felt clearer, more focused, and the nagging pain I felt across the whole of me faded into the background.

I pulled my gloves back on and stepped out onto the mountainside. Ice and snow pelted my face, but it would not hinder me now. I focused my eyes up the path and pushed through, one heavy footstep at a time.

Enough evening light remained that I could see my destination in the distance. The trail I followed continued onwards for maybe a hundred metres more, and then it crested a small hill. The terrain looked like it might be more flat beyond that. With that goal in my brain, I found it easier to push my way up the slope.

After a couple minutes of steady progress, I reached the top of the hill. Just as I suspected, the rocky outcroppings gave way to a small valley nestled in the bosom of the mountain. More shocking to me, however, was that I saw light. The storm threatened to obscure everything with snow, but I could clearly see square lights, as if from the windows of a home. Eagerly, I ran through snow as fast as I could between my weak muscles and the shin-deep powder.

I laughed. It wasn’t an illusion! As I grew closer, the outline of a tiny cabin emerged from the dark and snowy backdrop. Light streamed forth from glass panes. Maybe the occupant would let me shelter there. They might even share some supplies with me. I brimmed over with hope.

The front door rattled with strikes from my fist. I waited. One breath, two breaths, three breaths. I heard nothing within. Was anyone actually home? I knocked again. One breath, two breaths, three breaths. Still nothing. Surely they wouldn’t mind if I stepped inside while they were away? I tried the handle, and it turned without resistance. Shameless, I pushed my way inside the tiny cabin and slammed the door shut behind me to keep the cold out. I turned to face the interior.

“Sorry, it wasn’t locked—what the hell?”

I looked around, mouth agape. The light was much warmer than it appeared from outside, dim and cozy. My nostrils immediately filled with the smell of burning, acrid chemicals, and I could hear the bubbling of a beaker. Tools and papers filled every wooden table and shelf. I knew this place. I knew it well.

A deep, male voice filled my ears. “Sylvie?”

Slowly, I turned to my left to face the man who addressed me. He was taller than me, with closed-cropped dark hair. His musky cologne smelled familiar to me. Tears fell down my face without hesitation.

“Papa?”

He strode forward in a swirl of brown silken robes, and he placed his hands on my shoulders briefly before placing a kiss on my forehead. “Good morning! You slept in. I was afraid you might miss your lesson.”

My eyes darted back and forth. Was this really happening? “Lesson?”

“Yes. We were to pick up where we left off yesterday, with the powdered sulphur compound I showed you.” He wiped the tears from my cheeks with one knuckle. “Are you feeling well?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure. Just a little disoriented is all.” I grabbed him about the waist and squeezed him tight. “Papa, I love you.”

His hand touched the top of my head, and he tousled my hair. “I love you, too, Evening Star. What has gotten into you?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I laughed. “I’d love to learn more from you.”

There was a soft knock on the door. Was someone else out here on the mountain? The door opened, and I let Papa go so I could see who entered. My jaw dropped again. It was Mama! She wore her usual dark pantsuit and had her long hair tied up with a ribbon. Mama always tried her best to blend in with human society, unlike my father. She held a tray of tea and biscuits in her hands, and she used it to push some clutter out of the way so she could set it down next to me.

“Good morning, Shaela-Shaela,” she cooed. “I knew you would both be very busy today, so I brought you some tea.”

“Thank you, Mama.” I didn’t know what else to say.

She smiled and turned back to the door. “I am off to take care of some things for the day. Good luck!”

I watched her exit, and beyond the door was not a snowstorm but a hallway, one I’d seen thousands of times. I was back in the house I’d grown up in, far from the fey realms and the Winter Court. Was it all a bad dream? Did I imagine the ugly business with Ixion and King Oberon?

But then, maybe that meant I imagined Rayna as well…

Before I could put more thought into it, there was another knock at the door, this one more firm than my mother’s. Who else was with us? The three of us were the only ones who lived here.

Papa fussed with one of his apparatuses, not even removing his eyes from it. “Sylvie, darling, get the door, would you?”

I nodded dumbly, both curious and dreadful. What if I walked back out into the snow and lost it all again? I swallowed my fear and reached for the handle, then pulled it as slowly as possible. The door swung inward, and there stood an elf who nearly made me jump out of my skin. He was tall and had an angled face, not unlike my father’s, but his dark hair was still long and spilled over his shoulders like a cascade of water.

He smiled, but to my surprise, his teeth were unsharpened and normal. “Good morning, Shaela-Shaela! Certainly taking your time.”

Without a word, Ixion—or was it Nox?—strode into the workshop, and my father grunted a friendly greeting at him.

My voice shook. “What are you doing here?”

They both looked at me with incredulity in their eyes. Nox spoke for them. “Is this a jest, Sylvie? I work with your father, you know that.” An uncomfortable laugh escaped his throat.

I touched one hand to the back of my head and blushed. “Oh, yes, sorry.”

My father and uncle proceeded to discuss some sort of alchemical minutiae, ignoring me for the time being. Maybe this was real, after all? Maybe this was how it was supposed to be all along? I looked down at my left wrist. The silver bracelet with crows was gone. Maybe I just made up Rayna? Maybe it was all a dream?

I watched them work. They definitely looked like brothers, and, to my relief, Nox wasn’t trying to kill Papa. Papa was still alive! What a horrible nightmare I had lived! And yet… something felt off.

No, this was very wrong. Papa was dead. I knew that for certain. I held his ashes at his funeral and placed them in the family tomb. No matter how much I wanted it to be a bad dream, it wasn’t. Nox was gone too, and there was something important I needed to do. This was all fantasy, another challenge conjured by the mountain to stop me.

I reached for the door one more time, and I put my hand on the latch.

Nox’s voice carried across the workshop, clear and bright. “Where are you going?”

Papa chimed in as well. “Did you forget something?”

Briefly, I looked over my shoulder at my father. Oh, how it broke my heart to leave him. “Yeah, I think I did. I love you, Papa.”

I opened the door, and once more the snow raged in front of me. Bitter cold stung my nose and lips. I took one step outside, and behind me I heard a more characteristic roar of anger from Ixion. Something slammed into my back and shoved me out into the cold.

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torentialtribute · 5 years ago

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The 10 biggest Championship transfers this summer

The new championship season starts on Friday, with the unpredictability of the competition, meaning that many of the 24 teams will be hopeful to push for Premier League promotion of this term

Some will have more hope than others, although they follow the transfer activities of the summer, ranging from ambitious spending projects to trying to close gaps left by vultures from the Premier League who have made their choice of talent.

With that in mind, Sportsmail looks at the 10 largest transfers over the championship for the new season.

Tomas Kalas (Bristol City from Chelsea, £ 8m)

Perhaps Tomas Kalas' best match occurred during his Premier League debut Chelsea – when he helped a free score title haunting Liverpool side on Anfield in one of the most recent famous meetings of the top flight.

That was in April 2014 and despite his impressive display that he would never play for the Blues beyond that campaign.

Since then he has had loan spells in Cologne and in the championship with Middlesbrough, Fulham and Bristol City. The latter have now taken the plunge and cut back the center in the joint largest transfer this summer.

Tomas Kalas made a stunning Premier League debut for Chelsea, but never stepped on prior to his permanent move to Bristol City this summer for £ 8m

Kenneth Zohore (West Brom van Cardiff, £ 8m)

West Brom had a great need for strikers this summer after losing Salomon Rondon and Jay Rodriguez.

But the £ 20 million that came into The Hawthorns as a result of their deals, the Baggy has to spend a lot of money to find a replacement.

Kenneth Zohore's tack for this season is previous Premier League experience with Cardiff. Although he scored only one goal in the top flight, he has a good record in the championship and dropped 21 goals in his two previous seasons.

Together with Kalas, Kenneth Zohore is the largest signing of the summer at £ 8 million

Ivan Sunjic (Birmingham from Dinamo Zagreb, £ 7.2 million)

In recent years, Birmingham City has been next to now to return to the Premier League, but has made a substantial release this summer to try to end their best exile.

There is room to increase the transfer budget and bring in an international Croatia, with Ivan Sunjic arriving from Dinamo Zagreb to strengthen the midfield.

The 22-year-old brings European experience to St. Andrew & # 39; s in the Euro pa League regularly final conditions as well as the Champions League qualification earlier in July.

Birmingham City has landed internationally in Croatia in the form of midfielder Ivan Sunjic

Pontus Jansson (Brentford from Leeds, £ 5.4m)

Favorite with supporters of Leeds United, Pontus Jansson & # 39; s exit from Elland Road raised a few eyebrows, but after the defender had fallen with manager Marcelo Bielsa.

Jansson has been an important part of Leeds & # 39; s past three seasons and also has international experience under his care as part of the Swedish Euro 2016 and World Cup teams 2018.

Hun loss is, however, the profit of Brentford will have been forced to sell again this summer a central defender in the form of Erzi Konsa to Aston Villa for £ 12m

Former Leeds United favorite Pontus Jansson will stand in line for Brentford this term

Sam Gallagher (Blackburn from Southampton, £ 5m) [1 9459007]

Sometimes you have to go back before you continue, and Blackburn has just done that by signing Sam Gallagher again.

The attacker was on loan to Ewood Park for the 2016-17 campaign and struck 11 goals in his 43 appearances, with Rovers now finding it suitable to bring him in for good.

Gallagher broke into the Southampton team during the 2013-14 season but found his game time in the Premier League reduced, resulting in less successful loan spells elsewhere There are MK Dons and Birmingham City both sides of his year on Blackburn.

Sam Gallagher could not hold a spot in the Southampton first-team attack

Aden Flint (Cardiff from Middlesbrough, £ 4m)

Cardiff & # 39; s rebuilding after relegation from the Premier League has seen them as Aden Flint as the main act of their summer company.

Flint arrives just a year after joining Middlesbrough for around £ 7 million from Bristol City. With City, he scored against Manchester City from Pep Guardiola after a semi-final clash in the League Cup in 2018.

He will replace Bruno Manga in the back, who previously left for Dijon, while the Bluebirds try to make an immediate return to the top flight.

Aden Flint has moved to Cardiff City to trying to help them return to the Premier League

Tommy Smith (Stoke from Huddersfield, £ 4m)

Smith, a former youth player in Manchester City, joined in 2012 Huddersfield and a year later became an important part of their side for the next six seasons with more than 200 performances.

The last two of those campaigns were in the Premier League, at which point he was named captain, but his game time tumbled last, as did the Terriers back in the championship.

Stoke now hopes the full-back can make the same performances that have helped Hudders earn field Premier League promotion in 2017.

Tommy Smith impressed in more than 200 games in Huddersfield Town before joining Stoke City

Mathias Jensen (Brentford from Celta Vigo, £ 3.4 million)

Brentford took a gamble on Jensen whose career in Celta Vigo came to a halt last season after an injury campaign.

Before that, he had played for Nordsjaelland during three seasons in Denmark, giving him the captaincy club and regular appearances for the Danish under 21.

The bees are very confident that the defending midfielder can rediscover the form that earned him a La Competition movement, giving him a four-year deal with an opt ion for another year. In a strong season he could be reconsidered for the Danish senior, as he was part of the provisional team for the 2018 World Cup

After an injured year at Celta Vigo, Maths Jensen loves a kickstart at Brentford

Christian Norgaard (Brentford from Fiorentina, £ 3 , 2 m)

The bees moved early to the land of Norgaard and sealed his move from Fiorentina in May after he had only made six appearances in series Last term

Before that, his midfielder made a name for himself Brondby after joining t ot in 2013 from Hamburg, which offered the platform to go and make 27 performances at the level of under 21 for Denmark.

Brentford also signed David Raya and Ethan Pinnock this summer for around £ 3 million trying to earn at least a play-off spot for the first time in five years.

Christian Norgaard is another continental import to Brentford after arriving from Fiorentina

Jay Dasilva (Bristol City from Chelsea, £ 2.6m)

Signing a defender from Chelsea in the form of Kalas was not enough for the Robins, who are also on the highly regarded land of Dasilva have punched.

Like Kalas, he was impressed by the loan given to Ashton Gate last term and seen as one of the most promising laggards in the country, despite never having a chance at Stamford Bridge.

Dasilva has since been an important part of England under 21 last year, at that time 18 gigs and, and this summer has been seen at the European Championship in Italy and San Marino.

England Under 21 international Jay Dasilva could not break into the first team of Chelsea

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