Claus

Fifty Two

Court was held in what should have been a ballroom—and maybe it was; though, the idea of most of this Court dancing was laughable. The room was an exact rectangle with columns placed parallel along the two longest sides. What was most impressive though was that the floor somehow managed to hurt Faryn's brain. Unlike the floor she had seen elsewhere in the palace where it only looked as if either the tile or wood had been covered by ice, the floor here looked like that of a frozen lake, and yet whenever Faryn had to move, it wasn't slippery at all. Despite that, she kept bracing herself for the slide.

            She'd been deposited in the center of the room with the Winter Court surrounding her. Her nerves were threatening to choke her, and the only thing stopping them was Cassian's hand on the small of her back. He'd hardly stopped touching her since she'd entered Court. It was comforting and distracting all at once because she really just wanted to drag him away from here and forget that he would be leaving. Peter and Clíodhna stood on her other side, Peter dressed in a pastel green coat and Clíodhna in a shimmering gold dress, a clover wreath resting on her head. Neither looked as if they belonged, but not in a way that said they shouldn't have been there. Rather, the two of them stared out at the room as if they saw everyone else beneath them.

It was the expression her mother would give the Court if she were present. Faryn's nerves were too powerful for her to even attempt such a thing.

Nick stood a few feet to the side of Cassian. Beside him was her uncle, chains cuffing his wrists together.

Across the room her cousin faced her though his eyes hadn't seemed to have left his father. Did he blame Faryn? Did he still think she was guilty? 

On either side of Jack were Gryla and her husband Leppaludi. Their thirteen sons, the Yule Lads, were scattered throughout the Court. Out of everyone, Gryla had done the most talking so far. Klaus stood beside Leppaludi rather than near Nick. Her half brother hadn't look their way once.

            Both Moroz and the Snow Maiden were present. There was little doubt Harumi would hear every little detail after Court ended. Behind them was Befana, with Perchta beside her. Maybe Befana felt guilty for attacking Faryn, but that seemed doubtful.

            The last Court member present was Aurelius. His gaze burned into the back of her neck as if begging her to turn and look at him. If he was going to stare, it should be at Clíodhna. She was the niece he still didn't know he had. For her part, Clíodhna hadn't looked in his direction once.

            The only members not present were Mrs. Claus and Father Winter, and though Faryn had never attended Winter's Court, their absence felt like a physical thing.

Gryla raised her hand, and the guards gathered around the outskirts of the Court came forward. "Escort the former Jack Frost to his new cell." Her tone was cold, like that of the wind extinguishing a campfire on a mountain side at night. She was closer to one thousand than five hundred years old, but still if a Human laid eyes on the Laihr, they'd think she was only in her forties or early fifties. Her long wavy hair that was like straw turned to gold showed no gray. Her white skin only bore a few wrinkles, mainly in her hands and around her eyes.

The guards took hold of her uncle, but he offered no form of protest. Her cousin stepped forward, and Leppaludi grabbed hold of his arm. Leppaludi's hazel eyes met Faryn's for a brief moment before he looked at Nick as her uncle was dragged away.

On the train, Faryn had overheard Nick say to Klaus that he didn't think any of them would spend much time locked away. She didn't like to think of her mother behind bars, but she also wasn't ready to face her again yet.

Her cousin's body trembled, brimming with enough rage that he might have exploded in an icy storm, but he managed to keep his mouth shut and turned his eyes away from his father as he was led past him.

"Are you well, Nick?" Leppaludi asked once her uncle was out of the room. The Laihr's black hair was shorn short, his beard close cut to his brown sepia skin. It was a well-known fact he and his wife were enemies of Nick, so it was surprising to hear him inquire after Nick's health.

"As well as I can given the circumstances."

Faryn resisted rolling her eyes.

"It appears you have been misjudged, Faryn," Befana said. Her tone held no emotion, not any guilt or shame for attacking her. "We offer our sincerest apologies." A rock could have sounded more apologetic. If the two ever had an actual conversation, would Befana act as if their encounter in Eiraacia had never happened?

Beside her, Perchta folded her hands. "We will do our best to make sure our world knows you are innocent." It was difficult to believe they would do anything to clear her name. The least they could do was to make sure Oxford would let her continue her studies, so she could leave the Acurial world in the case Winter never actually started a PR campaign on her behalf.

Faryn shifted closer to Cassian, her arm pressing against his side. "As well as Cassian and Peter. They're just as innocent as I am. And Clíodhna."

"No one suspected her to begin with," one of the Yule Lads said. He was dressed in brown, his brother beside him in silver.

"Still." Faryn lifted her chin. "Our world will know Nick is safe and I and my friends are innocent."

Befana and Perchta inclined their heads.

"There is a contingency though." Moroz's voice came from behind her, and it felt as if cold wind had hit her neck. She turned, facing Father Frost. He crossed his arms. His gray coat reached almost to the floor, fur curling around the collar.

"What is that?" There should be no contingency, but she wasn't in a place to make demands.

Cassian's fingers pressed into her back, and goosebumps ran up her arms. The temperature in the room felt as if it had dropped twenty degrees. It was enough to make even her feel cold.

Moroz titled his head, some of his brown hair falling to the side, the white streak that ran through it seeming to gleam. "With your grandfather locked away, we find ourselves with a vacancy."

Faryn felt something stir inside her. Ice crept down both of her hands, and it was by her own doing, though unintentional.

She twisted to see her cousin who glared openly at Moroz.

            "Your cousin must continue fulfilling his role as Jack Frost," Moroz continued. "With both your mother and uncle locked away, there leaves no one else."

            She grasped Cassian's jacket. They wouldn't actually ask . . . No. Her lack of control over her powers was laughable, pitiful. Ice and sleet would not be enough. They wouldn't. "Father Frost—"

            "You're needed to fulfill the role of Mother Winter."

The end . . . for now.

I can't believe we're here at the end of Claus. Though you might can tell that it's definitely not the end of Faryn's story. I've started working on book 2 since the holidays are inspiring me. I'm not sure when I will start posting it. I still need to figure out more of the plot, but I am really excited about where it's going. I also at some point want to write stories featuring other characters in Claus. The main one I've been thinking about is Krampus and Perchta. I might do a few more bonus chapters in the meantime from Cassian's POV. If you're unable to purchase coins but want to read the bonus chapters I've posted, I've heard that some users have a way to watch ads to earn free coins.

Thank you all so much for reading. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and Happy Holidays. It's really been such a gift to me to have you all come on Faryn's journey. I hope you're excited to see her take on the role of Mother Winter.