The Frost Giant & The Wolf

Prologue: Storming The Palace

As Einar grabs the Gjallarhorn attached to his belt, he fumbles with his spear in a panic. The alarm is sounded throughout the palace as he places the horn to his lips and blows hard.

In the blink of an eye, the marauder's sword strikes Einar in the neck, causing blood to gush out and his dying body to drop to the terrace floor.

~~~~~~

The Queen is startled awake by the sound of the horn. As soon as she removes the bed covers from her body, she runs to the balcony to catch a glimpse of what's going on below.

The moment she sees the marauders swarming the terrace, she quickly closes the balcony doors and locks them tightly before running back to the bed to wake up the King.

"Njord, my love, wake up! The palace has been overrun by marauders! We must protect our people!" She taps her husband desperately with her hand as he quickly awakens.

"Marauders?! Get our daughter and get to safety. I'll meet you at the cavern when our people are evacuated. Be safe, my love." King Njord kisses his Queen before the two bolt out of their bedroom, each heading in a different direction. But the Queen has a slightly different plan.

Upon reaching the first chamber on her right, she runs inside, waking the sleeping nursemaid.

"Hilda, take my daughter and run. Go through the hidden passage in the East Wing beside the library, then go to the cavern hidden behind the tree, and hide inside. Do not leave or return to the Palace until I can confirm the safety of our guests and staff. Now go, and be safe." The Queen commands firmly.

"Yes, my Queen." Hilda obeys.

Taking the newborn baby from the crib, Hilda wraps her in blankets and holds the baby close to herself as she runs out of the chamber.

The sound of fighting grows closer. Hilda hurriedly hides around the corner as a handful of marauders dart past her. As the group passed, she lets out a heavy sigh of relief and continues making her way to the East Wing.

Once she's past the library, she finds the corridor the Queen showed her on her first day at the palace.

Using her magic, Hilda opens the wall panel and disappears into the dark corridor after securing the wall panel back in place. She carefully makes her way through the narrow corridor. Each time her feet hit the semi-wet floor, her footsteps echo through the eerie, cold stone halls.

At the end of the passage lies the main river, which flows into the waterfall behind the Palace. The waterfall beckons Hilda towards it, and every few moments, she glances over her shoulder to make sure she isn't being followed.

Hilda watches as the stream of water speeds up and the crashing of water signals that she is nearing the waterfall. Finally, she reaches the tree she was told about, the one whose roots cover thick stone walls.

Hilda's magic flows through the roots as she touches the trunk of the tree and closes her eyes. The roots move to reveal the cavern's mouth. After looking around one last time, Hilda enters. Once again using her magic to cover the cavern's entrance and conceal its location, Hilda is relieved that she was not followed.

~~~~~

Several hours have passed and Hilda has fallen asleep with the baby close to her body to keep her warm in this frigid cavern. Fortunately, the baby has been sleeping through all the commotion, which allowed Hilda to rest a little.

Hilda is startled awake once again by the root movement, but soon relaxes when she sees the Queen and her three handmaidens entering. One of the handmaidens stays at the entrance to close the roots once more.