The Queen With The Frozen Heart 7

 This is the seventh part of the story.

If you want to read the first part of the story go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 1  

To read the second part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 2 

To read the third part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 3. 

To read the fourth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 4. 

To read the fifth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 5.

 To read the sixth part of the story, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 6.

The two weeks were torture to the prince. He travelled as fast as he could to his mother’s castle where he tried to say goodbye to his mother. But he was too old, too big, too grown-up, her mother didn’t even recognize him.

In her mind the time stood still, and so in the castle and around it, everything was in a standstill. Even the sun and the moon moved slower and seasons of the rains had changed to accommodate her magic.

But her enchantment only reached the area around the castle. And the prince had treaded the outlying forests and the distant mountains. He had reached the peaks that almost touched the sky and the rivers that were born in faraway lands.

For him, the time never stood still. It moved its steady course with the rains and dry seasons, just like it always had. And through the change of the rainy seasons to dry seasons and back, the prince had grown and become an adult himself. He was no longer the little boy that the queen remembered.

- Farewell, mother, the prince whispered and a single tear slid from his eye to his cheek and fell to the ground.

Where the tear fell grew a bush of chili pepper with tiny little peppers, the strongest ones. Without saying a word, the bear took a handful of the peppers and hid them in his chikra.

From a far, prince stood looking at her mother and said his goodbyes. It almost broke his heart but he was determined to go. He buried his hands to the bear’s fur, loyally it had followed him to the castle and loyally it stood next to him while he said his goodbyes.

- Are you sure you want to go, it asked him and looked him straight to the eyes; the queen will go mad from grief and loss if you will perish also. She cannot lose both of you, you know?

- I am sure, friend, prince answered; I cannot stay here and watch her destroy herself. And I cannot be the small boy he wants me to be.

Now the whole kingdom and its future depended on his journey and its success. The queen’s magic was changing everyone and little by little this corner of the world would be separated from everything else. And who could know what would happen then?

Prince could feel the land’s dissatisfaction and knew how dangerous that was. It would not let this go too far. And when that would happen, he knew that his mother’s life would be in danger.

Fast he ran, as fast as he could. Around the castle that was not fast. It was more like treading molasses, he fought against the wind and his feet could not find a good hold on the earth. He knew that in reality he was fighting against his mother’s will.

Finally he came to a standstill. He stood next to a calm little lake where his parents had used to bring him when he was little. Prince looked at his image in the lake and stood as still as he could. Little by little he could feel the grip of the queen around him, letting go. And he could his mother’s deep sadness that lingered around the lake.

He remembered the good moments that they had had at the lake, the laughter and the play. How his father had taught him to swim and her mother how to jump. How they had spent the days in the water to dry themselves in the sand later on, basking in the heat of the sun. He remember how they would have sat under the trees, eating maitos and drinking chicha, his mother herself had made and served them.

The queen wrapped herself in these memories and let go of her sadness. It was good, she told herself, everything was good. Her son had just gone to the lake to swim and play, like he always did. And she moved on, letting go, letting the prince free.

- Goodbye mother, the prince whispered again and jumped into action.

He ran and ran, his feet flying over the forest path. For him it had been only two days but when he finally passed the area surrounding her mother’s castle and the limits of her spell, he could see that the fortnight had almost passed. It would be a close call to reach the spot where he had agreed to meet with Iluku.

So the prince ran, without stopping to eat, or drink, without taking even a slightest nap. He carried a bit of food with leaves wrapped around to it, to keep it fresh and a little bottle of chicha that his mother had given to him while welcoming the stranger that she thought he was, to the castle. From this he took sips while he ran, and felt fortified by her love. The food he saved for later.

 

To be continued...

This is the seventh part of the story.

If you want to read the first part of the story go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 1

To read the second part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 2 

To read the third part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 3

To read the fourth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 4

To read the fifth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 5

To read the sixth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 6

 To read the eight part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 8

To read the ninth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 9

To read the tenth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 10

To read the eleventh part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 11

To read the twelth part, go to The Queen With The Frozen Heart 12