Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George Page B

I’m going to figure out this enchantment.”
    “No!” He reeled back and his claws and teeth flashed at her. The lass shrank back in her chair, and the
isbjørn
relaxed. Slightly. “Be careful,” he said, his voice rough. “It would be better if you just waited.”
    “Waited for what?”
    “For the year to end.”
    “And then will you tell me where this palace came from?”
    “Yes.” He nodded gravely.
    “Who carved the mantel in the great hall?”
    The bear blinked at her change in subject. “I don’t know.”
    “So you didn’t build this palace? Who did?”
    Silence. The bear slowly shook his head at her, as though her endless questions disappointed him.
    Nevertheless she forged on. “Can
you
read the carving on the pillars?”
    “Sometimes.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Bear eyes are not good for reading,” he said, his reluctance clear in his voice. “It’s late. Good night.” He lumbered to his feet and out of the dining room.
    “Wait, please! Would you like me to read them to you?” She followed him out of the dining room. Perhapsbetween the two of them they would be able to decipher every symbol. “
Isbjørn,
would you like that?”
    But he just lumbered away, through a large door that locked behind him.
    “Humans are too nosy,” Rollo said as he followed his mistress to their own rooms.
    “Oh, hush,” the lass said, thinking hard. “If you knew what was carved on those pillars, you would be curious too.”
    “I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know why the walls smell rotten. It’s only going to lead to something bad.”
    “Rollo!” The lass was exasperated by his lack of curiosity. “Don’t you want to know why we’re here?”
    “Yes, but I’m willing to wait until it’s time to know.”
    They continued on to their rooms in silence. In silence, Rollo watched the lass take off her gown and put on a nightrobe. In silence, she brushed out her reddish gold hair and washed her face. The wolf sat beside her chair as she read a chapter of a book, a history of the first kings of the North.
    Finally, when she was getting into bed, Rollo whined.
    “What is it?” One foot on the floor, one foot in the soft bed, she looked at him. “Do you need to go out? The door isn’t locked.”
    “No, I do not need to go out.” He sounded testy.
    “What is it, then?”
    “My curiosity is getting to me,” he said in a disgusted growl.
    “About what?”
    “About what it says on the pillars,” he snapped, as though it should have been obvious. “You don’t tempt a wolf by saying you’ve read something curious, and then not tell him!”
    “Well, and who’s nosy now?” The lass put her other foot in bed and gave the wolf an arch look.
    “Just tell me,” Rollo pleaded, embarrassed.
    “Well, from what I can tell it’s the story of a princess who lived in a palace and dreamed of finding a handsome man who would love her. But the man, or it might be men, she found insulted her, and she was very sad. Or maybe it was bitter.” The lass drew up her knees under the comforter and wrapped her arms around them.
    “Humph” was Rollo’s comment. “That’s not
that
interesting. Humans are always doing things like that.”
    “Who said they were humans?” The lass raised one eyebrow at him.
    “What are they then?”
    “I don’t know what the princess was; it just says that she’s a princess. But all the other symbols for people have a mark underneath that Hans Peter told me meant, well, people. It says that she’s looking for a handsome
man
. Very clearly. But on the pillars there are stories about warriors and princes and ladies, and there are different marks underneath, which I think mean they are different creatures. Like Erasmus and the rest of the servants.”
    “What are the other stories about?”
    “Well, there’s one about the beautiful princess seeing some maidens in a forest. I’m not sure, but I don’t think they’re human. The princess speaks to them and they