Prince Oliver and the Winter Queen by Steve Pretlove

Author:Steve Pretlove
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Published: 2022-04-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Nicholas Rebels

Having watched his snowman melt away, Nicholas was unhappy. He wanted to go home, and he let everyone know. He was barely eating his food and would talk to no one. The only time he spoke was when he demanded to be sent home. Elvira had allowed him three days to calm down before she finally snapped. “There is a ball this evening, you will attend,” said Elvira. She was sat at one end of her dining table having breakfast. Eleanor sat at the opposite end, with Nicolas sitting to the right of her. Four of Elvira’s servants, blinks, stood in a line with their backs to the wall awaiting further instructions.

“I will not come to the ball tonight,” said Nicholas defiantly. He pushed away his bowl of porridge that had cinnamon sprinkled on top. The smell and taste reminded him of home. “I wish to go home,” he demanded. Finally, Elvira had had enough. She arose from her seat with such anger her chair flew backwards across the room. She slammed her hands down hard on the table, sending a shockwave of anger that spread the length of the table. The two candle sticks that sat each end of the table had fallen over, shooting the ignited candles into the air. They had scorched the carpet where they fell. As the ripple of Elvira’s anger reached the opposite end of the table, Nicholas’ porridge had erupted, showering both himself and Eleanor.

“You will attend tonight’s ball,” said Elvira, then she turned and left the two of them covered in porridge sitting at the dining table. The blinks rushed forward to clear up the mess. With a wave of her hand, Eleanor and Nicholas were clean once more.

Nicholas left the table without saying a word. Eleanor called to him. He halted at the doorway without looking at Eleanor, but listened to what she said. “You would be wise not to upset my mother too much,” she said, as a friendly warning. Nicholas lingered in the doorway briefly, then without uttering a single word, he left the room. He no longer cared for this place, but longed to be back home with his brother and sisters. As the blinks tidied the table, Eleanor ran a hand over the damaged carpet, instantly repaired.

Nicholas went straight to his room to put on his fur coat and hat. He was going to leave immediately, but as the door to his room closed, he heard the lock click into place. He turned around and grabbed hold of the door handle and tugged with all his strength, it would not budge. He then raced across the room to the windows; trying each one in turn, they would not open either. Outside a snow stormed had started. Nicholas had learnt from Eleanor that this was an indication of how angry Elvira was, and it was snowing heavily. It seemed Elvira would get her way. Nicholas would not be leaving today, but would be attending the ball.

As the day wore on, Nicholas lay on his bed gazing at the heavily falling snow.

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