Present Time
There was a new ruler of Legend, but she wasn’t from the Ice People, so the Ice People’s monarch was still situated in Invierno. The Palace was at the northwest, scooping a half-mile of snowy tundra out of the city to make room for the gardens of evergreen plants and the sprawling, gleaming white castle. The dawn sun shone dimly on the fresh-fallen snow, and Holly felt a little better in the natural chill, rather than the manufactured hospital one.
She strode up the road that led to the front of the Palace. No one was up at this time of day, but the Queen was probably up and around already, taking care of royal business.
After fifteen minutes of walking, Holly finally hopped up the broad steps and approached the two guards standing watch at the front gate. “Yo,” she panted, resting her palms against her knees briefly. Someone had to fix that Olympic race track of a driveway. “Let me in.”
The guards, dressed in white plate armor that probably wouldn’t stop a hail ball the size of a fly, looked over Holly at the same time. “Name, please,” one said.
“Holly.”
“Holly what?” the other drawled.
Holly glared at him. “Just Holly. Haven’t you ever read your history?”
The two men blinked.
“I’m a free woman, okay? I’ve done my time, and all that. Just let me in.”
“The Queen is well-guarded,” the man on the right said, maintaining a lazy stance as he opened his side of the door. “Any assassination attempt will be thwarted.”
“Oh, for the love of—“ Holly shot the two men another dirty look as the other door opened. She strode through the gate. “It’s not about the Queen, I need Bia—“
The weight hit her hard between her shoulder blades. Holly hit the ground, her chin cracking against the floor. She felt her teeth dig into the sides of her cheeks and lip and tasted blood. The guard on her back grasped at her wrists and yanked them behind her.
Holly squealed and brought one leg up, smacking the man’s back. He grunted and fell forward onto her. Holly choked, bucked, managed to kick him off. “You lunatic!” she gasped out. She managed to get to a sitting position before a foot landed in her ribs.
“Oof!” Holly skidded back, her head now hitting the marble floor. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she gritted her teeth. “You are so, so dead.”
Ice crusted over one guard’s head. His eyes widened, and his lips worked feverishly as he tried to get a breath. The second man stared at his companion, then whirled around to Holly, but ice shot up from the ground, twisted around his legs, and held him in place. When he started shouting and swearing, Holly, still sprawled on the floor, willed a sheet of ice to shut his mouth.
“It’s not polite to curse before a lady,” she said, picking herself up and dusting her clothes daintily.
“What is going on here?”
Holly whipped around. The beautiful foyer of the Palace greeted her, all glowing blue lights and wintergreen walls. Two staircases curved from the opposite side of the room, cradling a set of double doors. It was from the double doors that the shouter stormed.
“Oh, great,” muttered.
Bianca marched out, her high-heeled white boots clacking against the floor. As soon as she saw Holly, the pixie’s pointed features fell. “I thought you were gone for good,” she said.
The sound of ice shattering told Holly that the first man had succeeded in breaking the leg braces. “We tried to keep her out, Lady Bianca,” he said. “But she’s an ice witch – we couldn’t stop her.”
“Just leave off the ‘ice,’ and it would be accurate.” Bianca didn’t even look at her employees. She stalked up to Holly and stood with her hands on her hips. “What do you want here? Why are you out of Prison?”
“Thousand year marker’s up.” Holly folded her arms. “Now look. If I had any other chance at help – if there was a lunatic newt that lived in the center of an active volcano that could help me, I’d go to it before I’d go to you. But there aren’t any lunatic newts around that I know of, so you’re second-best.”
“Flattered, I’m sure,” Bianca said. “You’re charming as always. Just spit out what you want. Help fleeing police? Money to bribe a Manipulator to get you to another Reality?”
Holly wanted to grab the woman by her dressy-dress collar and shake her. “It’s Jack, all right?” she said. “He’s... he’s sick. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
Bianca frowned. “Really.”
“He passed out screaming last night,” Holly said, then corrected herself, “It was more like this morning. Early. Probably midnight. I need help.”
“And why did you come to me for help, pray tell?”
“Because you have connections with some of the ice doctors,” Holly said. “The royal physicians will know how not to mess up Jack’s blood like some of the others won’t. And you’re head over heels for Jack.” Bianca tried to protest, but Holly wouldn’t let her. “You’ll help him, even if you don’t trust me farther than you could throw me.” She paused. “And you have a brutal throw.”
Bianca narrowed her eyes. “Show me Jack, and then I’ll see if I can help you.”
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