The palace is humming with activity when we arrive.
Jalokiviä, the drooling hairy yeti shifter my sister made captain of her guard, is waiting for us in the livery. He’s short and squat for his kind, with an unearned air of importance and questionable hygiene. His association with the queen gives him carte blanche to act as though he’s important, and that’s why he’s glaring at Jackie and I imperiously. His eyes skim over us with disgustingly obvious intent and he licks his lips salaciously.
Someone as repugnant and dim-witted as Jalokiviä has as much chance of attracting women like us as he does completing a Times Sunday crossword—zero.
Jackie clears her throat, giving me an amused expression, and I realize I fixed my face in an uncharacteristic sneer. I’ve never questioned or responded to how most of the castle staff treat me, but I also didn’t know my sister sanctioned their contempt. The way they behave can only result from Chelle weaving lies and half-truths to make herself seem appealing, and me look like a monster. Having seen my past through clear eyes, I cannot go back to pretending the current queen is the persona she’s crafted so carefully.
“You two will enter through the staff tunnels. Her Majesty will have you inspected before you may enter areas not relegated to servants. I will escort you to ensure you cannot do anything that will embarrass Her Highness during this important holiday celebration,” the yeti says in a flat tone.
I arch a brow and open my mouth, but Jackie is the one who steps forward. “Jalokiviä, you should be proud! You recited an entire script full of words with more than one syllable and your brain didn’t leak out of your nostrils. It truly is a Yule miracle!”
Coughing to hide my snicker, I gaze at him with wide eyes. Men, even shifters, will always choose to believe women are clueless if presented with the right visual cues. “Oh, Jackie, you’re so funny! The Captain will be a wonderful companion to us while we wait for the queen’s assistant to give us a once over.”
He looks at us suspiciously, but finally nods. “Go sit on the benches over there. Mikkeline will be here shortly.”
Jackie rolls her eyes before walking me over to the benches outside of the main staff prep area. I can feel her disdain for the oafish lout who has been serving my family since I was a girl. “Traitorous fool,” she hisses under her breath as we sit. “He and the elders who allowed your sister to isolate and ostracize you based on nothing more than her word deserve to be tied to the mountain and left for the eagles to feast on.”
I believe she’d do it if we were staying.
Since our talk, Jackie’s anger at the people who orchestrated my eventual surrender of my throne has only increased. I’ve tried to help her see that fear and self-preservation were likely the reasons no one ever questioned Chelle, but she refuses to accept it. In her mind, anyone who knew and stayed quiet or simply chose not to see us was guilty as anyone who was complicit. She looked me dead in the eye and quoted a human, of all things.
“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is for good men to do nothing, Queenie. Someday, they’ll all pay for their cowardice.”
I had to look it up on her phone—I’ve never been allowed much access to the real world—but a man named Edmund Burke was supposed to have said it, but that was proven false. The trail I followed led to a similar attribution by John Stuart Mill, and he believed in social reform. Since we’re trapped in a monarchy where the queen has gone quite mad, I understood why she’d say it. The Ice Kingdom desperately needs a leader who is not so power hungry that she’d abuse her own family in the name of fame and money.
But I doubt we’ll ever return to right the wrongs—once I leave, we will have to stay hidden forever or I’m certain Chelle will use every weapon she has to extort our return. Her political sway is quite far-reaching. Since we’ve been exporting the pure glacier water from our land, that pressure could easily sway politicians around the globe.
My presence has been required in diplomatic functions for years and I pay attention despite the prevailing opinion that I’m merely a pretty set piece.
“We only need to get through tonight, love. After that, the Ice Kingdom will have to fend for itself.” A flash of guilt crosses her face and I lean in to whisper in her ear. “The people will eventually rise against my sister if she continues her nasty ways. They outnumber her greatly, even with her guards and rich friends.”
“I’m sure they will,” she murmurs as she looks at her hands. “That’s a tale as old as time.”
Chuckling softly, I bump her shoulder with mine. “That line belongs to another of my Princess brethren. You’re in the wrong fairy tale.”
Her smile is fleeting, but she wraps an arm around me and squeezes me to her side. “True. Do you remember the protocols we went over?”
My eyes dart to Jalokiviä and I nod, choosing my response carefully. “I do. Everything before the procession and after the lighting of the candles.”
“Good,” she replies. “It’s imperative we follow the steps to the letter or there will be consequences.”
The yeti snorts, letting me know she was right to be cautious of his hearing. He may not have caught our low tones, but our normal voices carried enough for him to eavesdrop. “I’m well aware of what will happen if we do not follow protocol.”
The last time I misbehaved, I paid the price and I won’t have it happen again.
“Jacqueline! Elle!”
Our conversation halts as the blond woman dressed in a svelte, sparkling power suit claps her hands at us like we’re dogs. Mikkeline gives us a wide, phony smile as she waits for us to come to her. Jalokiviä laughs under his breath, clearly enjoying a lowly staffer treating me as if I’m a peasant. I stand, schooling my face into the cool glare of a royal before offering my hand to Jackie. She takes it and joins me, gripping my palm to calm me.
“How kind of you to make time for us on this important evening, Mikkeline. My sister is so gracious to lend her assistant to us.”
The haughty woman looks down her nose at me, sniffing before she replies. “The Queen asked me to verify you wouldn’t be an embarrassment to her at this auspicious occasion because I am her most trusted confidant. Do not mistake it for a favor, Elle; it is a statement of how little you matter.”
The gall of this glorified office manager is unmatched, but I cannot let her see my fury. Only small people take pleasure in tearing others down for their own personal fulfillment.
“I suggest you do your job and scurry off to put your nose back in the crack it lives in, Mikkeline. It wouldn’t do for the entire staff to see you showing your true colors,” Jack says with a bored look on her face. “I mean, it’s common knowledge you’re a yipping lap dog who is paid less than an intern—it’d be a shame if they all realize you’re also doing the queen’s dirty work.”
My lips curve briefly and I simply look at the parasitic assistant my sister chose because of her willingness to sacrifice her morals for a brush with fame. She stares back for a few moments before stepping back to examine our outfits and nods, furiously typing something into her phone. The Captain rolls his eyes, clearly less of a fan of the asskissing bitch than we are.
“You aren’t good enough for the procession—as usual—because I have already invited the Queen’s loyal fans, but you may attend as you are. However, if you step one foot out of line at my party, I’ll have you escorted out immediately.”
Of course, she considers planning a party for my sister and the other nobles as her invitation to the elite. This woman was only a bored homemaker a year ago, but now she fancies herself a powerbroker because my sister and her ilk allowed her to soak up some of their spotlight by being in their presence. Whether she’s good at what she does or not, she’s no more part of their world than I am, but here she is, looking down her nose at me.
Pathetic.
“Understood. We have no desire to take part in your ridiculous parade of privilege and nepotism, anyway. Queenie doesn’t need it to establish her identity—unlike the people you serve.” My girl crosses her arms over her chest, giving the assistant a sickly sweet smile as she shoos her. “Go reapply the brown to your nose and leave us in peace.”
The huff Mikkeline leaves in makes Jalokiviä snort, but I don’t react. He may not like her, but he won’t take our side if this comes to a confrontation with Chelle. The staff here are aware their livelihoods depend on the whims of the queen, and even if he is a tool, I wouldn’t want to put his position in jeopardy. I’m a far better person than the people who allowed her to exile me to the woods like a monster without proof.
“And now we wait,” I murmur.
“Indeed. The game is afoot,” Jackie whispers in my ear as we settle on the bench again.
Hopefully, our psychotic nemesis doesn’t drag us over a waterfall like Mr. Holmes.
* * *
Fairy lights glitter in the throne room as soft music plays and the lords and ladies mingle. An enormous spread of food is laid out on one side of the room and servants glide through the crowd with drinks and appetizers as groups chatter animatedly. One would never know the evil that lurks under this layer of shining elegance—every inch of the image is curated so the livestream appears perfect. They filled even the impeccably decorated tree and garlands with the results of my magic to help create a Winter Wonderland.
It makes me sick to know I had to play a role in making my sister look like a generous and beneficent leader.
But I’ve been doing it for a long time—I stood by her side and crowed about her accomplishments in public as directed, despite her lack of reciprocal respect or support. I didn’t have a choice; Chelle is my sister, and I willingly allowed her to usurp my identity to glorify herself. If I’d seen her true face sooner, perhaps I wouldn’t be forced to stay in the shadows as she flits about extolling her virtues to the world. My inability to see the glaring red flags in our relationship has made it impossible to expose the real queen in public without risking my freedom.
“Stop beating yourself up, Q. You didn’t know.”
Sighing, I glance at Jackie, then turn my eyes back to the doorway where the processional will enter momentarily. We can’t be seen as ignoring the Queen’s big entrance so I can’t face her for long. “I didn’t, but because of my naïveté, others are suffering and will continue to suffer after I’m gone. Knowing that I helped her ascend this throne of false notoriety is a tough pill to swallow. Without my vocal support, she would have remained a small-time royal with a kingdom who didn’t recognize her rule.”
“That’s true. Her personality would have been harder to disguise without the enthusiastic approval you gave her, but everyone makes mistakes with people they care about. Fuck knows, my cock-ups are well documented in the media. Take your own advice and let it go, Elle.”
I see what she did there. When she first arrived, all I did was encourage her to let go of her past through song and it drove her insane.
“Hilarious, Jackie. But I see your point. I can’t control what the rest of the world does, even when I know they’re buying a load of horseshit. They have choices like I did.”
Her arms wrap around my waist and she sits her chin on my shoulder as the music stops abruptly and the sounds of the heralds fill the air. My sister never appears in public without a protracted introduction designed to lord her ‘success’ and power over everyone present. The Yule celebration will not be an exception. Every public appearance and event is about her in her mind and she can’t help but act as though the entire world is waiting for her with bated breath.
I watch as the members of her band of toadies and brown nosers glide by, waving and nodding at the crowd like their proximity to the queen makes them better than they are. On their own, they are little more than tiny fish in a sea of merchants and artisans. Despite that, they act as though they are at the top of the food chain.
When I ruled the Ice Kingdom, I did away with most of this nonsense purposefully. Every citizen has an important contribution to our ecosystem and these sullen twits don’t need the ego boost of being lauded like they work nearly as hard as the rest of my people. My sister was all for equality and giving everyone the recognition they deserved until she clawed her way to the throne. Now she preaches acceptance in public and privately denigrates everyone who doesn’t worship her like a snake in the tall weeds.
I should have known how she’d behave by the way she spent much of our ‘sister bonding’ time gossiping about the more successful monarchs and kingdoms.
Chelle was convinced they were out to make her look bad or conniving to steal from our kingdom. She pretended to admire the more powerful or wealthy kings and queens abroad, but when the cameras turned off, her harsh words revealed her jealousy. I’m ashamed to admit, even to myself, that I took part in her nasty rants because I was simply ecstatic she was including me. When her paranoia reached its peak, I pulled away, and that’s when I was exiled. Eventually, she burned the Enchanted Forest to the ground because I disagreed with her and wouldn’t relent. That should have been the moment I saw her for who she really was, but I didn’t. I was too afraid of the iron grip she’d cultivated on our people and the rest of the world.
I knew she could sway them to attack and possibly destroy me if she felt like it and if I made a stand, she definitely would.
“Here she comes,” Jackie whispers in my ear. Her words make my spine straighten and I refocus on the double doors as I wait for Chelle to enter.
The trumpets blare, and the orchestra plays the opening notes of her famous theme song, filling the air with the sweet notes of a love song that no longer applies. Ornate doors fly open and Chelle stands in between them, with Mikkeline and Jalokiviä a step behind her. Despite the holidays, she’s dressed in a long black dress with a mermaid tail held up by her ladies-in-waiting and they piled her red hair on top of her head. I blink when I see how sallow her skin looks and evidence of dark circles under her eyes despite the legions of makeup artists who no doubt had her in their chairs before dawn today.
Once she’s certain everyone’s eyes are on her, my sister strides into the room with her fake smile plastered on her countenance like a mask. Her head tilts as she gives her acolytes subtle smirks when she passes them until she finally alights the steps to the obnoxiously bejeweled throne she erected for herself when she took over. Servants rush to assist her with positioning the ridiculous dress in the perfect position for the cameras, and I roll my eyes internally. Her ego has grown so enormous; I’m surprised she can even fit in the seat with it on board. This is the epitome of being a dilettante, and it reeks of the ‘phony king of England’ style nonsense.
Jackie chuckles as my energy shifts to disgust, and she squeezes me. “Don’t let her bullshit affect you, darling. I know it irks you to see her behaving like this, but we have to maintain our calm. We’ll be far away from this, eventually.”
I nod, concentrating on evening out my breaths as my sister addresses the crowd in her usual imperious fashion. Her speech is full of vague insults and barbs that will only be recognized by those ‘in the know’ about her various enemies and nemeses—including me. Jackie tenses up every time she hears a potshot at me, but I pat her hand reassuringly. Chelle has been doing this to me for a long time and though I didn’t understand, she was purposely crushing my ego to keep me in line. Her slights and hissy fits—both public and private—were designed to prevent me from stepping out of her shadow because she couldn’t compete.
Lucky for her, I have no interest in stealing her minions. I’m headed for sunnier climes where I’m not shackled to a self-centered egomaniac.
My sister finally ends her typical rambling bout of emotional masturbation with hat tips to her cultish followers in the front rows and I let out a sigh of relief. Now that she’s shut up, the guests will eat and do their typical underhanded rich people's shady business shit until it’s time to light the candles. Once we get to that ceremony, Jackie and I execute our plan.
After that, I’ll be on the run until we get to the last stop, but then… freedom.
There’s no revenge sweeter than breaking the chains of oppression and leaving behind your abuser.