Chapter Six
In which the young master develops a fondness for birdsong…
After Jori left the next morning, Soryn stood by his window looking at two of Niflheim’s suns in the sky. The third was obscured by a large cumulonimbus cloud. He gazed up towards the village chapel and then to the stables. He saw that horse, Sable, giving the stable hands trouble again. The thought passed his mind that he might ride that horse someday. He smiled as he crossed the room toward his long table to eat the breakfast Jori had brought. While he ate, he stared at the dying embers of the night’s fire. Fire was a new addition to his life and he relished everything about it. It was beautiful in every stage: the framing of the wood, the orange flames, the crumbling logs, and the grey ash—like snow that had wilted and died. The night before, he had counted Arna’s fires as blessings with the stars.
You sound very cheerful this morning.
“Hello, Ulla,” Soryn said, sipping his milk.
Hello, indeed. I trust you slept well?
“Yes, Ulla. I slept very well. How did you sleep?” Soryn made empty conversation. His mind was preoccupied.
What are you thinking about?
“As if you don’t know?” Soryn smiled.
I’m learning it is polite to ask, even if I already know the answer.
“I’m wondering what I will be like once I’m able to leave the tower whenever I like.”
An interesting question, to be sure.
“I’ve lived in this tower for half my life. I’m not sure I’ll enjoy freedom as much as I imagine. Perhaps I’ve grown suited to confinement.”
As one who has spent an enormous amount of time being confined, myself, I think you will enjoy freedom very much.
“What do you mean?” Intrigued, Soryn sat down on the hearth, listening.
I haven’t left this tower in a very long time, either.
“Really? I suppose I didn’t really think about how you got down there or why.”
Yes, well, I’d rather not talk about the how or why. Let’s just say we’re much in the same position. I want to leave as much as you.
“Why don’t you come up here to my room and then go down the other passage with us?”
Getting out of the tower is not exactly my top priority. Let’s talk about that another time. Your lady-friend is arriving.
Sure enough, Arna came up the stairs just as Ulla had said and carried with her two snow shovels and a bag slung over her shoulder.
“Good morning, Arna,” Soryn’s face brightened.
“Good morning, yourself. Shall we get started?” She dropped the shovels carefully, so they would not clank too much, and took the bag from her shoulder. Soryn watched as she untied the mouth of the bag and began to dump its contents on the long table. Out poured two pairs of rough workman’s gloves, two strips of felt cloth, a pair of boots, a change of clothes for each of them, and a bar of soap.
“How did you sneak past with all that?” he laughed.
“Ah… I have my ways,” she smirked. “I made a list when I returned to my room last night and I found all the items this morning.”
“Did anyone see you?” Soryn suddenly grew afraid of the consequences of their pursuits.
“No, and no one will miss these things. I made sure of that. We should be able to keep them for quite some time.”
He walked over to the table. Soryn found his pair of clothes and took them down the hallway that led to the main castle, thinking Arna might like to change in his room rather than in the dark, cold corridor.
She smiled at his gesture and proceeded to change into the work clothes she had brought for herself. Arna slipped on her wool trousers and secured the boots over them. After she had changed, she went to the window and looked out toward the left. She tried to imagine where the door below would take them. The tower was circular like any other tower, but Soryn’s room was rectangular, like all the rooms in the castle. Perhaps the secret passages used the extra space in the tower that was not taken up by Soryn’s oddly shaped room. Ulla’s study was also rectangular—which meant that it was built within the inner space of the tower and not around the perimeter. It was clear from their journey last night, that the second passage went around the perimeter of the tower until it ended with the door.
Soryn returned in his work clothes and went to the table.
“You’ll need these.” She lifted the boots and tossed them to Soryn.
The boy slid on his boots. Then, they both slipped their work gloves over their hands.
Soryn asked, “How will we know how much time we have down there?”
Don’t worry. I’ll let you know when you should start making your return. You mustn’t be late in retrieving your midday meal or they might become suspicious. Leave it to me.
“Thank you, Ulla. You’re being awfully helpful today.” Arna remained skeptical of the pig’s real intentions, but was thankful for his promise of help.
It would have been impossible for her to get a watch without someone missing it. Watches were hard to come by in New Kristiansand, despite it being the capital of Oban.
I’m pleased you are finally seeing how helpful I am.
Arna ignored him and picked up the shovels. She handed Soryn one of them and went to the fireplace. Sidestepping the remains of the fire she had made the night before, Arna pressed the hidden brick in the center panel. The right side swung open and she slipped inside, starting her descent down the tunnel. Soryn followed, awed by her enthusiasm at the prospect of so much work. Since they still had not returned to Ulla’s study for their candle stand and Arna did not see any point in wasting energy getting another one, they went down the stairs in darkness once more.
Carrying shovels in their left hands and keeping their right hands on the wall, their descent went much quicker than the previous night’s. It seemed they were at the door in mere minutes, though both of them knew it took longer to get there. Excitement made the time pass more quickly. When they reached the bottom, they propped their shovels against the wall by the door before opening it together. Again, they both gasped at the beauty and wonder of the ice wall that stood in the doorway. Despite its beauty, it was the only thing keeping Soryn within his tower. Therefore, it had to be destroyed.
A fleeting thought passed Arna’s mind—maybe she could sneak him out of the castle without anyone seeing. Perhaps they could do it at night, but then she remembered the guards and night servants and banished the thought. She knew this was a better way—and much more adventurous, as well. With the daylight, the ice was lit up with blue and white lights. It was a pity to destroy such a beautiful thing, and a pity that there was no way to capture its glory before they removed it. Ancient Earth’s photographic technology must have been a grand luxury. Niflheim had very few cameras and the ones that did make it through the colonization voyage were antiques and didn’t work very well.
They nodded to one another and picked up their shovels. Soryn laughed at his lack of strength and gave the hardest thrust he could into the wall. Laughing again, he opened his eyes and realized he had only pushed the shovel’s tip about two inches into the ice. He shrugged to Arna and jerked the shovel out.
Hmmm. This may take you two quite some time to sort out.
They chose not to reply to Ulla’s remark and, instead, Arna lifted her shovel over her head with the shovel blade pointed concave side out and made downward hacking motions. Sheets of ice fell away, to Soryn’s amazement. He realized that she was working on shaving the ice instead of trying to dig through it. Her ingenuity and intelligence was commendable. They cleared a small vertical layer of the ice within minutes, even though there was still no sunlight peeking through at the top of the door frame.
They worked until Ulla gave them a half hour warning to return to the tower room. By that time, they had made quite an impressive dent in the wall, but they realized they would need to prioritize the top half nearest the door frame in order to make quicker progress. Once they could no longer
reach that top section, they would focus on the bottom. This way, they surmised, would allow them to dig a tunnel while they searched for the top of the snow drift.
They left a small puddle in the door’s passage when they returned to Soryn’s room. They were sweaty and out of breath, but made it with plenty of time for Arna to change back into her work uniform. Soryn rested while she went to retrieve their lunch. He was glad of the physical exercise, but again reminded of his poor strength. If it took a while for them to dig their way out of the door, he may even develop muscles.
When she returned, they ate, talking intermittently. After the meal was concluded, she pushed the dishes down to the end of the long table, as she had done the day before, and rested while Soryn went down the castle-side passage to change into his normal clothes. Jori came soon after lunch and the two children used the time to rest and to get the documents signed for the day. Arna pushed the completed papers towards the center of the table for Jori when he returned that evening.
After they had both changed back into their work clothes, they went back down the passage. The puddle they had left earlier had refrozen in the time they had taken to eat and sign papers. They were careful not to slip as they went back to work on the ice wall. Within a few minutes, the ice directly around their feet had melted again. Slowly, they created the beginnings of a tunnel. After they were able to walk about three paces in, Soryn had an idea.
“What if I stand in the tunnel and thrust my shovel up through the roof of the snow? Perhaps we are closer than we think. Maybe I can do it!”
“I think that’s a great idea, Bialas. Just prepare to get very wet and very cold.” Arna raised an eyebrow.
“We can always build a fire later, right?” Soryn smiled and then set to work chipping away at the ceiling.
Do you realize just how wet and cold you are about to be, little Maslyn?
“Oh hush, Ulla. I’m trying to work,” Soryn snapped, chipping away, while ice shavings fell on his clothes and began to melt into the fabric.
Within a few minutes, Arna’s excited voice rang out loudly, “You’ve done it, Bialas! I can see light!”
Soryn had been working so hard that he had not noticed the small bits of sun’ light coming through the hole he made. He stopped and peered up. Tears unexpectedly sprang to his eyes. She was right. He had broken through the top of the snow drift. Arna squeezed into the small tunnel and looked up with him.
“You could get out of here tonight, Soryn. You’re as close to freedom as we are to breaking through that snow drift.”
By all means, don’t stop.
For once, they both smiled in response to Ulla’s sarcasm. Their motivation spiked and neither Soryn nor Arna held back. They attacked the roof of their small tunnel and, soon, light spilled over them both. Soryn saw sky—sky without bars. Birds flew over the clouds. The tears fell quietly from his eyes. Arna leaned her head on his shoulder and his heart gave a delighted leap.
“Let’s see if we can get you out of here, Bialas.”
Well once you do, just don’t forgot what I told you about that Fanndis woman. You need to see her if you want to learn more about the Seidh.
“Yes, Ulla. How much time do we have?” Soryn was not going to get so sidetracked by their discovery that he would get caught or get Arna into trouble.
You have about another two hours or so. Plenty of time to at least explore a bit, I should think.
The children said no more and went back to their furious attack on the tunnel roof. When they cleared the width of it in the center, the ice closest to the door frame suddenly collapsed, leaving bits of ice and snow all over both of them. They laughed at this and continued to hack away at the ice in order to make a way for them to climb out. The height of the snow drift was about five and a half feet. Soryn chose not to look up too much, for fear he would get distracted and be unable to actually get out of the hole they had made. Time was still a precious commodity.
Finally, the two of them made an incline that would allow them to climb out. Arna thrust her shovel several feet up and Soryn thrust his shovel several feet above hers.
Arna smiled at Lord Maslyn, extended her hand, and said, “After you.”
Nodding, excitement surging through him, Soryn Jens Bialas Maslyn climbed his way out of the tower and stood in the snow, breathing in the free air. Arna watched him lift his face to the open sky and laugh. Joy filled her heart as she looked on his display of total happiness. She climbed out of the tunnel and slipped her hand in his.
“You’re free, Bialas. You can leave anytime you like.”
He leaned his head against hers and sighed. They looked out at the forest. The deciduous trees looked like great dark skeletons against the horizon. Towering firs and pines painted the vista green and white with their needles. The wind coaxed the branches to sway slightly.
If I can reach you, I’ll try to let you know when you should return.
“Thank you, Ulla. That would be nice,” Soryn said, keeping a hold of Arna’s hand.
Giving his friend no warning, Soryn fled the base of the tower for the forest. He could not explain the utter elation that he felt. It was like being awakened from a long sleep, as though his years in the tower had been one long nightmare from which he was only now able to awaken. Arna looked around the castle turrets and parapets for guards. Thankfully, they were facing other directions. It was as though some unseen force was on their side. Together, they ran for the tree line.
When they made it, the suns had inched lower in the sky and the castle stood bathed in a pale pink glow. Soryn looked back at his tower and marveled at its beautiful exterior. Exhaling heavily, he turned towards the forest and darted in. Arna shook her head, amused at his vigor, and followed along. All around them were tangled and gnarled snow-covered roots. Snow drifts were deep and more than once, they were thankful for their knee-high boots. They went in a straight path through the forest and never looked back.
Soryn had no idea which direction the old snow woman’s cottage would be, but he didn’t care. All he had on his mind were the sensations of freedom—the frigid wind on his face, the tingling numbness that threatened to claim his toes, the feel of Arna’s strong hand in his. He felt more alive than he had ever felt in his life, even before his days in the tower. He felt as though nothing could puncture his happiness. Arna’s soft crunching footfalls reminded Soryn that he should carry on. He moved forward without talking, so he could listen to the sounds of the forest. Off in the distance, he caught the sound of crows squawking.
Once, Lord Maslyn slipped, but Arna caught him. His legs dangled off a steep bank, hovering over a frozen creek bed. A ribbon of fear tightened around his heart, but he realized Arna was too strong to drop him. She pulled him up and they giggled nervously as they continued on. The suns were almost entirely set by that time and each one knew they should return before they could no longer find their path. Suddenly, a wolf howled—not too near, but not too far away either. They froze in their tracks, petrified. They heard movement and rustling around them. Jerking their heads and looking, they grew even more anxious. Arna closed her eyes and Soryn stared straight ahead.
A harsh, orange light broke through the coming darkness about thirty yards ahead of the pair. Snow fell in fits from the sky, but Soryn thought he made out the shape of a person holding a lantern standing there looking at them. He could not tell if it was a man or woman, but a strange nostalgic sensation washed over him. Too soon, the person’s image, along with the lantern’s light, was swallowed up in a gust of snowy wind. Soryn wrapped his arm around Arna and tried to shield her from the icy blast as they turned around in their path. The pair trudged back towards the field behind the castle.
“Who do you think that was?” Arna asked, shivering.
“I don’t know. Let’s get back inside and talk there.”
They hurried. Snow fell so heavily that it started to fill in their footprints. After only several minutes, they broke through the tree
s and saw the tower door in sight. Both worried that the hole they had dug around the door would be filled in with the coming blizzard. Thankfully, they found it mostly intact and carefully climbed down. They removed their shovels from the remaining ice wall and moved inside out of the cold. The door slammed shut and the two children breathed a sigh of relief at having come in out of the storm.
“I think we may have to dig out our hole again tomorrow,” Arna laughed, panting from their hurried return.
“Ah, that’s alright. We know it isn’t far.”
You two are back early.
“It started to snow,” Soryn coughed. He leaned his shovel against the wall and sat on the stairs to catch his breath.
Find anything interesting in the woods? Ulla asked.
“We saw someone holding a lantern, but they were too far away to make out and the snow was falling too heavily to stay and find out.” Arna said, sliding down next to Soryn. “I suppose we should start heading upstairs. We’ll need to wash off and change into normal clothing. I’ll make a fire.”
“That’s alright, Arna. I’ll make the fire this time.” Soryn wanted to try his hand at a fire for once.
“That’s fine with me,” she grinned.