Chapter One
As Thomas walked down the snowy road the air nipped at any exposed skin. He pulled his thin brown cloak closer around him in an attempt to shield himself from the bitter wind. The cloak did little, but it did provide a small barrier in between himself and his icy surroundings. The more he walked the more his frozen feet pained him, but he could not stop his journey because he still had at least a half a day of walking before he reached his destination.
He knew the area well and he knew that he would soon pass from underneath the shelter of the barren trees. Beyond the trees he knew that he would be able to rest for a few moments by a pool of spring water. He would have to break the ice to reach the cold water beneath it, but the effort would be worth it for a drink. He had not had anything to eat or drink since early in the morning when he had set out on his final day of walking.
He passed from under the trees as he had predicted, and saw the pool under the rocks from which the water sprang. Nothing was unexpected about the sight. The water was frozen, the banks were snow-covered, and the sky was gray overhead just as Thomas knew they would be. There was only one thing out of place amongst the scene, just one thing that was not supposed to be there. There was a girl in a cloak of a deep blue color wrapped around her standing on the ice a little ways from the bank. Thomas knew that if she took another two steps the ice would crack under her weight because that was where the water was deepest and the ice was not thick there as it was in the shallower areas on which she stood. The girl took one more step before Thomas could get a warning out of his mouth.
"Stop! Get off the ice!" he shouted. He had gained the girl's attention, but too late to stop her from taking another step further onto the ice. The ice gave a terrible cracking sound and a look of terror crossed the girl's face as she came to realize what was happening. She tried to scramble back to the bank, but instead disappeared beneath the ice with a shriek. Thomas ran forward, casting away his leather satchel in the process. He tore his cloak off and left it beside his satchel.
He quickly worked his way on the ice, and was terrified that the ice would crack under his weight sooner than it would have the girl's. When he reached as far out as he dared, he dropped onto his belly and slithered to the hole left by the girl's disappearance. He looked into the gap in the ice and could see the girl's pale face below him. Her eyes were wide with fear and she did not move, but only blew frantic bubbles of air from her small nose and her lips that now looked blue. Her brown eyes closed lethargically and he knew that he did not have much time before she left this world for the next. He wished he had time to make a bigger area so he was less likely to become trapped beneath the ice, but he had no time.
Thomas took a deep breath and prepared himself for the pain that would follow. Not once did he consider letting the girl drown. It would have been a lot easier. He could have left and no one would have even known he had been there. He didn't have to put himself through the pain of the freezing water. There was already a good chance that the girl would die anyway, but there was also the chance that she wouldn't. Thomas dove into the water without a second thought.
The pain that enveloped his body was a kind that he had felt only once in his lifetime when he had fallen into a frozen lake near his village. That time he had his brother to pull him out, this time he didn't. The feeling of one thousand red-hot knives poking and prodding him was almost enough for his body to give up the entire endeavor. There was the little part of him that told him that the girl would certainly die, along with himself, if he didn't move at that very moment. He plunged deeper into the water and wrapped his hand around the girl's skinny arm and pulled her body so he could hold her waist. He had one arm wrapped around her tiny waist and the other was pulling towards the surface. He fought the urge to stop fighting and just let the water consume him. His lungs were screaming for oxygen when his head broke the surface of the water.
Thomas sucked in a huge gulp of air and ensured that the girl's head was above the water. She wasn't breathing as Thomas hauled her onto the ice. With her weight more distributed there was less of a risk of the ice breaking again. He pulled her over to the bank where he knew the ice was solid and put his hands in the center of her chest. He pushed down slowly on her ribcage several times in an attempt to pump the water from her lungs. He was almost convinced that there was no hope when the girl coughed. She sat up and coughed water onto the ice before collapsing once again.
Reassured now that she would survive because of the shallow rise and fall of her chest, Thomas picked her up and carried her off the ice and to a clear spot where there was little snow. He retrieved his cloak and satchel and built a fire using some dry wood he had been able to find in the woods. He removed the girl's soaking wet cloak from her body and draped his own dry cloak over her. He removed her boots and stockings and set them with her cloak beside the fire where they could dry. He wrapped her feet in his blanket to keep them warm.
He then took a rag from his satchel and cleaned the blood off of a cut on her head. He wasn't sure how it had gotten there, but resolved that it had most likely happened when she fell through initially. The cut went from her hairline and disappeared into her dark brown hair that was now slightly matted with blood. It looked fairly deep, but not very wide. Thomas left the rag on her head even after it had stopped bleeding, and then set to making camp.
He pulled out the small amount of his provisions that were left. It was his second day of travelling and all that remained of his food stores was a piece of salted meat. He resolved to save it for the mystery girl for when she awakened; because she would most likely be hungry and she would need something to replenish her energy.
It was well after dark before her eyes opened again, but when they did she looked confused. She sat up and pulled the cloak closer around herself as she surveyed the area. When her eyes landed on Thomas, who was tending the fire, they widened in fear and anger.
"Who are you?" she asked loudly, gaining Thomas' attention. He had not yet noticed that she was awake.
"My name's Thomas. You fell through some ice several hours ago. Can you tell me what your name is?" he asked gently. He didn't want to startle her at all.
"How do you not know my name?" she asked haughtily. "And how dare you remove my cloak and shoes?"
"I thought you might rather wake up in a dry cloak than a wet one, and if you wear wet stockings you'll get sick. Now will you tell me what your name is?" Thomas was beginning to become annoyed at how ungrateful this girl was. He had saved her life and she was acting as if he had committed a crime.
"My name is known throughout all the land, so I do not appreciate your silly questions," the girl said with her nose stuck in the air.
"You name is known to all but me apparently. You're obviously someone of nobility, judging by your expensive cloak and gown, and attitude, but I never cared much for remembering the names of those I did not know personally. So if you will be so kind as to tell me your name we can begin again," said Thomas through gritted teeth.
"I am Kathleen, Princess of Wildor," she said with an air of pride and nobility around her. Thomas remembered a few years ago when he had come to Manten, the center of the kingdom, with his mother to sell some of their harvest. He had seen a mural of the royal family on one of the walls of the castle. The portrait matched the likeness of the girl before him perfectly.
"Well, Princess, if you don't mind my asking, what were you doing on the ice? And where are your guards?"
"What I do is no concern of yours, peasant," she said.
"Thomas. My name is Thomas. And I just thought that a person that has received years of tutoring would be smarter than to step onto thin ice with no one else around."
"How dare you speak to me in that tone? I am your princess and you will not speak to me in such a way! I could have you executed for such a thing!" she said in a tone that was pure disgust, but Thomas almost thought he glimpsed a look of fear in her eyes.
"Is that any way to repay someone for saving your life?" Thomas said, glaring at Kathleen.
"You hardly saved my life. I could have gotten myself out, thank you very much."
"Not from what I saw. You looked like you were getting sent to the Front Lines." The Front Lines were a place that was feared above any other. They were the front lines of the war against the fearsome kingdom to the north of Wildor. The war had been going on for as long as Thomas could remember and all those who were sent to the Front Lines never returned. It wasn't a large area, nor was it the only place of fighting; it was the most ruthless pace though. There were stories that the men there were torn to bits and tortured for months before they died at the hands of the men of King Volden, ruler of the Kingdom of Soladan, the kingdom with which Wildor was fighting. Every now and then the men of King Sebastian, ruler of Wildor, would come out to the villages and take young men at random to go to the Front Lines. It was a fate worse than death, and though most were lucky enough to achieve death, others were forced to live in agony for months on end. The worst criminals of the kingdom weren't executed or left in prison, they were sent to the Front Lines. It was the place of nightmares. It was the place mothers warned their children about.
"You have no right to tell me what I was feeling. I will be going now. The guards are probably looking everywhere for me." Kathleen stood up, but sank back to the ground almost immediately. Thomas let go of his anger at her ungratefulness for a moment and became concerned.
"You might want to rest. You've had quite a day. At first light we can walk to Manten." Kathleen nodded slowly and wrapped the cloak around her again. She seemed to suddenly realize that it was not her cloak that she was wrapped in.
"Whose cloak is this?" she asked.
"Mine," replied Thomas.
"But won't you be cold?" she asked. She sounded genuinely concerned about his well being. As irritated as Thomas was with the girl she needed to be taken care of. She was the princess and if anything happened to her on his account he would be sent to the Front Lines for sure.
"You need it more than a lowly peasant such as myself," he said.
"That's not what I meant," she growled. Her face softened and her head drooped to the ground and she murmured, "I apologize for treating you poorly. I owe you my life, and I thank you. You could have let me drown, but you didn't and I am grateful."
"What was that?" he teased. He had heard her perfectly, but he wanted to hear a royal apologize to him again.
"You heard me perfectly well, Thomas. Now I bid you goodnight." She rolled over so her back was to him and her breathing soon evened out. Thomas soon fell asleep on the opposite side of the fire, only he was quite cold and the Princess was quite warm.