The Cold King(21)

He turned back towards the fire and took a long drink of wine. "I had  just turned twelve and already my heart was a stone in my chest. My  father began trying to teach me everything there was to know about being  a successful king and I ignored him or rebelled at every turn. I hated  him and everything he stood for. Thankfully he was usually too busy to  notice my disdain or lack of character. But as I grew older it grew  worse. I threw parties, drank too much, got into fights and had more  lady friends than I could count."



Calia shifted uncomfortably at that but he did not seem to notice.

"I knew he was growing tired of my childish antics but I did not care.  Why should I have? So I could grow up to abandon my spouse and send my  children to a purgatory? No. So instead I partied and reveled and  everyone liked me because I was just so much fun," he said in a tired,  bitter voice.

"What happened?" Calia whispered.

"He left to meet with a neighboring kingdom and I threw a party to top  all the other parties. Everyone was invited. The castle, the old castle,  was filled to the brim. Wine literally flowed and we celebrated  whatever it was we celebrating until well into the night." He leaned  forward in his chair and rubbed at his temples. Calia wondered how many  times he had had to tell his painful story. After a moment he continued.  "I never figured out how the fire started but when it sparked it spread  in an instant. The old castle had been built mostly of wood. It was  much smaller than this one but was filled to the brim with people. Most  everyone was so drunk they could not have found their way out of a  barrel."                       
       
           



       

"Did they all die?" Calia whispered.

"Not all but a lot. There were members of our elitist families, our  staff and villagers. It seemed every family was touched by death, except  for mine of course. My father was away when I threw the party and  obviously I did not die.'

‘When he returned and saw how I had laid to waste everything he had  worked so hard to build he was devastated. His kingdom was not just  riches and a castle. He truly was a leader to our people and I knew he  was heartbroken to have lost so many of them. But he was also very, very  angry. As his only heir, he could not have me killed or imprisoned and  he could not leave his kingdom to anyone but me."



Calia bit her lip. "So he cursed you?"

The king nodded. "Back then there was much more magic in the land. He  paid a wise old woman a small fortune for her services. So yes, he had  me cursed with immortality. But first he had me bound to this land and  to my role as king. I can never die and I can never leave. He knew I  would never strive to be the leader he was because it wasn't in my best  interest. But if I was bound, and had to live here forever … "

Calia shook her head. "So if you had let everything go to ruins you would have been stuck in ruins?"

"Yes. His way of making sure I would be the best king I could be was to  make sure I had to live with all the consequences of my actions.  Forever."

"But all curses have cures, do they not? I mean, you run things pretty  well around here. Maybe if you become a good enough king the curse will  break?"

He rolled his head back over to face her. "And how could I possibly improve on the land and lives of my subjects?"

"Perhaps you could not enslave some of them," Calia hinted.

"Is that how it feels to you?" he asked.

She hesitated. "Sometimes. Not always. But that's what this is, isn't it?"

The king sighed. "I take in the people who are the least wanted in the  town, or who want to be there the least, and give them a home, a  purpose. I put a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. In  order to run this country I need to have absolutely loyal servants. I  think that's very little to ask of my people in exchange for freedom  from war and famine."



"I have no freedom, I can never leave," Calia said bluntly.

"You will come to feel differently," he promised her.

She did not think so.

"So that is my story," he said and gulped down the last of his wine.

"Wait, that cannot be all. How is the curse broken? If not by realizing your mistakes and correcting them, then how? True love?"

The king waved a hand and gave a rueful grin. "I've tried that-several times. It definitely doesn't work."

Calia rolled her eyes. "Somehow I think if you tried ‘true' love several times none of them could have been very true."

The king laughed but it died quickly. "There is no breaking this curse.  And truly, I've gotten used to it. I have a meaningful job, a purpose, a  roof over my own head."

She looked at him doubtfully. "You do not have your freedom either," she finally said.

"Correct. And it took me a while, but I finally realized it wasn't such  as an important thing as I thought." He stood from his chair just as the  tenth bell sounded. "And now, if you will excuse me."

"Of course," Calia murmured. She wished she had something comforting to  say but could think of nothing. All she had were more questions.



She walked over to her room as if in a fog and shut the door before  leaning back against it. She felt so sad for her king. She thought about  his sister and mother and wondered if he had loved them as much as she  had loved her father.

She thought about all the people that had died in the fire and wondered  about the king. Perhaps what she had thought to be merely coldness was  something more; perhaps it was grief and consuming guilt. If she had  been able to see his face while he told his story maybe she would have  been able to tell. Her thoughts drifted and Calia wondered if one day  she would be allowed to see his face and what it looked like. She  wondered if it was as handsome as the rest of him.

A noise in the hallway caught her attention and she pressed an ear  against the door. She heard the king's door snick shut and she eased her  own open to peek her head out. The king was walking down the hall with a  thick towel roped over his shoulders. Curiosity burned but she ducked  back into her room before she was caught spying.

Calia crawled into her bed but could not get comfortable. She tried to  imagine living forever, cursed, immortal, a king, but could not. Surely  there was a way to break the curse. As she finally drifted off she  promised herself she would help him find a way.                       
       
           



       





Chapter Ten


In the morning she knocked hesitantly on his door. There was no answer as usual so she slowly pushed it open.

She inched towards the king and carefully set his tray down. The silence  was uncomfortable and she struggled to find something to say that would  convey her sympathy. She bit her lip and shifted from foot to foot. His  mask sparked in the morning light and caught her eye.

The king looked up to find her staring at him. "Is there a problem?"

She shook her head, mouth dry. "No. I just wanted to say … I don't think you are so bad."

One corner of his mouth twitched up for a second. "I don't care how you  feel about me one way or the other but I will thank you for your kind  sentiments all the same."

Calia nodded stupidly and stood at his desk until he took a small amount of pity on her.

"Fine. Then we will meet the king in the throne room and hear out his  request." He looked up again, taking her in. She had fixed her hair and  selected her second favorite gown. The Cold King nodded his approval and  stood.

Like the previous day she followed him like a severe ghost. In the  throne room he picked up one silver tray with a perfect rose on it and  instructed her to carry it. "But I thought-" she gasped.



He shook his head as the doors opened.

King William swept in merrily but Calia could see the dark rings under  his eyes and the slight way his fingers shook. He grinned at her king  before bowing and Calia wondered that his nose could appear even redder  than it had the night before.

He rose, a little unsteadily, and his eyes caught on the silver tray  Calia held. They grew bright and he flashed a smile over his shoulder to  his younger daughter. She answered with her own vicious twist of the  lips and stood straighter to force her barely concealed chest out  further.

Calia tamped down a sudden burst of fury. How dare they think her king  would be won over to some ridiculous marriage scheme because of a  tasteless dress worn by a crass girl! She glanced down at the rose she  held and grimaced. Well, she did not think he would be.

"King Valanka, I trust you slept well?" King William asked.

"I did," the Cold King rumbled. "Please forgive me, but I wish to see  you off before poor weather sets in. What is it you wished to see me  about?"