“You are Christopher Hawks?”

The words that had started it all.

Winter had found him a day after he’d moved back into the dorms and pulled him towards a fairly empty part of the snow-covered campus. She had told him that she was there under the pretence to sort out a few post-graduation documents and retrieve things she’d forgotten, but, really, she’d wanted to speak to him.

Then, Winter had asked about the Stone and had been quiet since he’d told her it was his.

“You know what that Stone is, do you not, Hawks?”

“Uh... well...” Chris hesitated. Did she know? The situation seemed suspicious either way.

She said, “It unlocks the Jakkovost’s power.”

“Ah.” Then she did know. Chris decided to play it safe. “Maybe.”

“And the Jakkovost gives its bearer the right to fight for the crown.”

“I know...?”

“Since when do you have it?”

Chris mused over his answer for a bit. “It’s a memento from, er, someone. Didn’t think it was the real deal, though...?” That was a lie, and she didn’t seem to believe that even he believed it.

She thought for a moment, nodded to herself and gave him a stern look. “It is an important item, Christopher Hawks.”

Chris smiled and looked away. “Northland has a Queen, doesn’t it? If she wants it, she’ll come and get it.”

There was a tense silence. Winter seemed to be studying his face. Snow started to fall around them.

Finally, Winter said, “Christopher, the Jakkovost… I need it. Give me the Stone. Please, I will pay you” she added after a small pause, as if concluding it might sell her case better. There wasn't much urgency in her tone, but if Chris had to guess, she was probably in more need for it than she seemed. She pulled out a thick envelope, supposedly full of money.

“You... want to unlock the Jakkovost?”

“Yes.”

“How will you even get to it? Isn’t it in the Castle?”

“It is not. That is a copy.”

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Sorry? Wasn’t the Crimsondawn one a copy for tourists?"

She ignored his question. “Will you allow me to have the Stone or will you not?”

Chris gave up on that and asked, “Why do you need it? If you—if you don’t mind my asking...” Winter’s eyes narrowed in a frown, and Chris hurried to add, “Look, how did you even know the Stone was on me?”

Winter looked at the ground, thinking.

“Very well,” she answered. “Let us talk.”

She gestured to a bench nearby.

When seated, she said:

“When Northland’s King died twenty years ago, a civil war broke out. You know that, I presume.”

Chris nodded. “Yeah.”

“The war started because the two royal families could not decide who should be the next ruler. You see, the children of the previous King were Jak XV and Tatiana Mraz. They were both married to another brother and sister pair. The names of their spouses were Anna and Lazar Bureíssni.”

(Pause)

“If they followed the usual naming scheme, a prince or princess would have both the names of their parents and might end up with the wrong family name. As you know, one of the princesses’ names was Nephrite Lazar Tatiana Bureíssna Mraz,” she counted on her fingers, “which would make her Nephrite Mraz for short, which follows the usual scheme and is despite her being the daughter of the second born. One of the daughters of Jak and Anna was named Anna II Jak XV Anna Mraz Bureíssna, but would be written as Anna II Mraz anyway due to her being the child of the first born royalty, and not Anna II Bureíssna as the scheme would dictate. Otherwise there would be a problem of the child of the rightful heir not bearing the name Mraz.”

Feeling overwhelmed, Chris asked cautiously, “So... a problem was inevitable?”

Winter shook her head. “Weren’t you listening to me? The Throne belonged to the firstborn’s family. In this case, Jak XV, his spouse, and their daughters, even if some of them were younger than the other daughters in the family. The conflict came from the fact that Tatiana couldn’t accept that, given that she and her brother Jak XV were twins, although she was born an hour later, not to mention that according to her, one of the Jak XV children was a prince by birth, and not a princess. Northland was split in half – those who sided with Anna and Jak and those who sided with Lazar and Tatiana. Do you know what happened, Christopher?”

(Continue)

“A-Ah, well...” Chris swallowed. He’d studied this... “Weren’t all of them assassinated three or so months into the civil war? All of them except... except the current Queen, Nephrite. And the children of Jak XV and Anna both died, didn’t they? At least, that’s what I know…”

“The public history states that the younger was assassinated by word of the Valkoformeni. But that’s a lie. The Valkoformeni helped the child flee.” Winter fixed her eyes on the snow nestled on the naked tree branches around them.

“That can’t be true! The younger-- princess, right?--”

Winter nodded. “Correct.”

“Well, she had a public assassination, didn’t she? It happened in front of all those people! And, the Valkoformeni have had a grudge against the Crown for centuries, they--”

“Rumours,” Winter snarled. “The Valkoformeni liked Jak Mraz XV, as well as Anna. I would know. I’m their daughter.”

It took Chris some time to process this. A second later, it clicked.

Well, not quite.

“No way.”

“Yes. The Throne belongs to me, the second daughter of the firstborn Mraz.” Winter’s fists clenched. “Me. And Nephrite... she was the one who...” she stopped, short of breath. “… ordered the assassination.”

“But Winter Mraz’s death was a public one!”

“It was staged!”

Chris felt as if he had stepped into one of the spinning cups at an amusement park, and the spinning was only getting faster.

“You staged your own death?” he asked carefully.

“No, the people who wanted to kill me did.”

His confusion deepened. “Why didn’t they just... I mean, let’s say I believe that you’re—who you say, I mean, why not just… why not actually kill the princess… you?”

“They didn’t catch me on time,” hissed Winter. “Nephrite didn’t plan well enough, I suppose. She had to make it look like I died. She wanted the Throne.”

“Are… you sure?” asked Chris, startled. “She... her own parents, too?”

She clicked her tongue. “Do you really think I haven’t had the time to make sure, Chrstopher?”

Chris felt his ears go red. “S-sorry...”

Her voice was calmer when she said, “Lednite are also a threat.”

“The ... what?”

In a hurry, as if she had thought the name would bring a different result than it had, Winter changed gears, “It doesn’t matter who they are as of now. But, Hawks, if they take over Northland... it will not be good for anyone. And the kingdom right now is certainly not in a good condition. I’ve been there, I know. Something needs to be done.” Her blue eyes found his and she stared long and hard. “I don’t know how to convince you of the truth; I need the Stone. Please, just give it to me, or sell it to me, and this will all be over. I won’t involve you any further and you will not see me again.”

Chris bit his lip. “So what you want to do is get revenge for your family by taking down Nephrite? And… something about some Ledni?”

A brief pause. “Yes, that is my general plan.”

Chris hummed quietly, thinking things over. Then he smiled.

This was coming at a perfect time.

“I won’t just give you the Stone.” He grinned. “I’ll tag along!”

“Excuse me?” Winter frowned, shoulders tensing.

Chris realized that this probably didn't sound very appealing from her perspective.

“You want to unlock the Jakkovost sword, right? Well, then, I’ll come with you. I’ll help! I mean, I’m not good for much, but I think I can do something. Um, I prefer that over giving you the Stone, at least. Or selling it or whatever.”

She seemed more surprised than anything. “You... wish to travel, and fight? By my side? You'll trust me with that?”

“I don’t… uh, well. I just don't think you're lying, since you didn’t try to trick me into coming with you, and if I come I'll find out soon enough anyway.” He paused. “Um… I don’t know much about Northland, but I think you have good intentions. You can tell me the details later, if you want to.”

Winter pursed her lips together. “This is going to be dangerous, Christopher. It’s not a walk in the park to the nearest grocery store. You have to be sure that... you can do it.”

Chris felt his smile waver at the thought. Of course, he knew it would be dangerous. That was the point.

“I can’t be scared of the gun forever, right?”

It took Winter a few seconds to catch on, and she opened her mouth. Chris thought that he’d embarrassed himself enough for now, and, in an attempt to avoid the upcoming question, he hurried to add:

“I'm not as weak as the advertising I just made for myself. Um... it's just... if you want the Stone, I'm coming too. That's my condition. You can pay me by taking me along.”

His words seemed to make her tense again, and he waited patiently; his own boldness surprised him – but he was determined not to let this chance slip away. He’d been building his strength against that fear for years now, and at last came the time to see if that had any real results. An adventure, and with Winter no less...

Besides, he really did believe her. He wasn’t sure why, but he did.

Well, this was Winter. If it was her, he had even less reasons to hesitate.

After a drawn out pause, she said, “Would you reconsider?”

“Nope.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

Winter sighed.