Mistress of the Solstice (17 page)

If he failed, death would not absolve him.

His soul would be destroyed too.

 

Marya

M
y father strode into the room keeping his eyes on Ivan, who stood so
still that he seemed like an exquisitely carved statue. I hurried over
to Father’s side, trembling with the released tension.

I had no idea how much this encounter had drained me.

“Who is this?” my father demanded.

“He calls himself Ivan, Father. A
tzar’s son from the Twelfth Kingdom. He seems daft, and
he is nicknamed a fool. Or so he told me.”

“He
is
a
fool,” my father agreed. “Only
fools allow themselves to get tangled in matters they
don’t understand. Tell me, who is pulling your strings,
puppet boy?”

A question formed on my lips, but I didn’t have time to
voice it, because at that moment Ivan the Fool darted sideways, to the
place on the shelf where stood my sewing box and inside it—

The Needle. My father’s Death.

As if dreaming, I saw a long narrow streak of silver gleam in the
boy’s fingers.

“Stay where you are, Kashchey!”
Ivan’s words rang like a bell through the deadly-
still room.

My father turned to me slowly, pale like moonlight.
“You told him, Marya! You
betrayed
me!”

The unfairness of it made me gasp. “I
didn’t.”

It didn’t matter now. This was my fault. Because of me.
Because I hesitated when I should have killed this intruder on the
spot. And now, he threatened my father, my world, everything I held
dear.

Through the weakness that enfolded me, I continued to watch the scene
unfold

“I could kill you right now,
Kashchey.” Ivan’s voice was quiet,
almost friendly.

“I doubt it,” my father said
calmly. “Only an Immortal can break the Needle. You
don’t look like an Immortal to me. But in a moment
we’ll know for sure.” He raised his
hands.

Ivan held the Needle out in front of his body, in the way of the
upcoming blast.

My father hesitated. “It would seem, boy, that you
have come here to play with things you don’t
understand. Why don’t you hand the Needle back?
I’d hate for it to get lost in what’s
left of you when I’m done.”

Ivan the Fool showed no emotion. Despite his youth, despite his plain
clothes, he looked almost like a worthy foe.

What
was
he?

“I will give it back,” he said
after a pause. “If you promise to give up the
Solstice Sacrifice.”

My father shrugged and raised his hands again. “Have
it your way, fool.”

“Wait!” Ivan held out his hand in a
halting gesture. Then he turned to me. “There is a
rumor, that you, Marya Kashcheevna, grant everyone who seeks your hand
a task to fulfill.”

“Seeks my hand?” I whispered,
briefly meeting my father’s gaze. I shivered. Great
Kupalo, I had no strength for this anymore.

“I ask for your hand in marriage,
Marya Tzarevna,” Ivan said solemnly.
“I ask you to consider me a suitor and give me a task
to fulfill in your name, so that I might gain the sacred honor of
calling you mine.”

I stared. The rule that any suitor of mine was immune from us until he
failed in his task was known only to a few. This secret was guarded
even closer than that of the Needle and Raven’s Bane,
the magic net.

How could this fool have known? Perhaps he was in possession of magic
that went beyond my father’s skill?

I couldn’t imagine such a powerful magic hiding behind
those innocent eyes, that childlike smile, or the disturbing tenderness
in his gaze when he looked at me.

I drew myself up.

“You must have also heard, Ivan Tzarevich, that no one
has ever returned alive from such a task.”

He bowed. “I will do whatever you ask of me, Marya, or
die trying.”

“Very well.” I drew a deep breath.
“The Solstice is in twelve days. If you bring me the
Water of Life from the Hidden Stream by the Solstice night, I will
consider your claim.”

I invented these tasks easily when the time came. Sometimes I amused
myself by making them seem easy, almost attainable, but this time I
took no chances. Hidden Stream was half the world away from our
kingdom. Even my Midnight, surely the fastest horse in the world, would
require months at a full gallop, assuming he could go without rest.
More than that, if by some miracle Ivan the Fool found himself in the
right place at the right time, he would still have to make the Hidden
Stream reveal itself and give up at least a drop of its water. The
Hidden Stream only revealed itself to an Immortal, yet its water was
deadly for them, so no Immortal ever ventured out to look for it.

Indeed, I was giving this fool from the Twelfth Kingdom no chance at
all.

“Very good, Marya,” my father said.
Then he turned to Ivan. “Do as my daughter wishes.
Give me the Needle and go.”

But Ivan was already slipping the Needle into a pouch at his belt, his
eyes shining again with that mischief. “I need some
security, Kashchey. But I’ll keep the Needle safe until
I return, you have my word. Farewell, Tzarevna Marya Kashcheevna. See
you in twelve days.” He bowed gallantly and, jumping
over the windowsill, disappeared.

I turned to my father, but he averted his eyes, and I let my hand fall
to my side.

“I didn’t tell him, Father. Please,
believe me.”

He didn’t respond.

“I’ll get the Needle back. I
promise.”

My father never looked at me. Turning, he strode out of the room.

 

Ivan

“
Y
ou
what
?”
Wolf’s eyes glowed like two hot coals.

“I asked for her hand.”

Wolf sat down on the ground and scratched his ear in a dog-like gesture.

Ivan waited, making sure to stay out of the way of the flying bits of
fur. Wolf always calmed down. Eventually.

“Do you mean you couldn’t find the
Needle in time? It wasn’t in the
box?”

“It was in the box. I found it at
once.” Ivan lowered his head waiting for a further
outburst. Nothing happened. After a while he dared a look.
Wolf’s eyes were so close to his that he had to hold
himself from jumping back in fear. The old beast could move like a
ghost. When angered, he was much more frightening than Kashchey and
Leshy together.