In the distance, a small village could be seen, clinging like lichen to the sloping face of the cliffs. Beyond the quays lay the white lands and the fabled fortress of the snow kings. And there Kareena resided, a captive queen.Sails flapped hard above Castil's head, giant wings beating restlessly with the gusts blowing off the water. It was much more comfortable in her tiny cabin, but with the first sighting of Helenrisia's far shores, she had tossed her cloak around her shoulders and ran up on deck. The weeks of seemingly endless sailing, its monotony broken only by periodic bouts of sea sickness, were at an end.The letter, tattered at the corners from multiple readings, lay safely within the depths of her satchel. A messenger had given it and a sack of coins to her father, who frowned at the sight of the Helenese royal seal. Castil, fearing the worst, breathed a loud sigh of relief when she saw Kareena's stilted scrawl. That relief had quickly evaporated as she read the note, the desperation and loneliness in the words.
