The Little King

It had been a week since both Linde and I ventured into the forest to look for winter direwolves, only to stumble upon a berserk yeti that was murdering a few direwolf puppies. We fought the ape-like beast to the best of our abilities, but no matter how many times we struck it, the yeti simply refused to fall down, and due to our exhaustion, we were forced to escape, bringing a direwolf mother and its remaining puppy with us.

After hearing about the murderous yeti in the forest, my mother dispatched a squad of elite soldiers into the forest in order to hunt down the beast, but somehow, the yeti had disappeared. There were a few traces of it, including the carcasses of the crushed direwolf puppies it slew, but the actual beast was nowhere to be found. In the end, the soldiers stayed around the area and patrolled the forest in case if the yet showed up again.

As for the direwolf mother and her puppies, the two of them had been nursed back to health, and my mother ended up adopting the direwolf mother. Despite her not being someone from the royal family due to her being married into it, the direwolf mother seemed to have taken quite a liking on my mother, probably due to her helping the healers to nurse her back to health.

Just like what my mother said, direwolves are intelligent creatures. From what I had seen, they could understand verbal instructions, and despite being around the same size as an adult horse, the direwolf mother acted like a normal dog, much to the amusement of the people in the castle. While there were those who were spooked by the direwolf's size, the direwolf never attacked anyone. In fact, she was docile, and many children seemed to have taken a liking to her, and I often saw her playing with children.

As for the puppy, I ended up taking care of her, and it was Linde who confirmed that the puppy was a female. I named her Aurore, and she seemed to be liking the name. While she might be cute and cuddly now, she would grow up to be as huge as her mother. My mother even told me that I could even use her as a mount. Many Frost Kings in the past used to have winter direwolves as their mounts, riding them into battles.

I couldn't imagine myself getting into battles while riding Aurore but riding a direwolf seemed more interesting than riding a horse. From what I had learned, direwolves grew up rather quickly, and in three months, Aurore would grow up to become as large as a pony, if she got good foods and enough space to run around freely.

In the end, the matter about the yeti was put aside, considering that the beast had disappeared from the forest. Perhaps it simply left, though no one knew for sure. The soldiers occasionally went into the forest to patrol the area just in case if the yeti might show up, but so far, the yeti was nowhere to be found. Now that I had put the matter out of my mind, I spent most of my time playing with Aurore, training and hanging out with Linde.

But then, one day we received a message that we would be getting some visitors, and we would have to prepare ourselves for their arrival.

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"The orcs are coming?" I inquired my mother after hearing it the first time from her. Earlier, a messenger had arrived that a contingent of orcs was heading to the Frozen Keep, looking for an audience with the regent, who was my mother. As mentioned earlier, I was still too young to ascend to the throne and become the king of Everfrost.

"Yes. It looks like they received the message about the king's passing…" my mother said, her face looking impassive. We were currently in the hall where both Linde and I were walking around, having nothing better to do. My mother found us and informed us about the arrival of the orcs.

The orcs came from Vilhammar, which was located at the northernmost part of Everfrost, and they had been the subjects of the kingdom for many years. Normally, orcs would never submit under the authority of a human ruler, but the orcs of Vilhammar had been loyally serving the monarch for many generations as the defenders of the realm against the invaders from the north, which consisted of the tribes of ice giants as well as the barbarians that sought to invade Everfrost for their riches.

In exchange of their service, the orcs of Vilhammar were granted full citizenship, allowing their children to receive education and basic cares. While the orcs still maintained their nomadic lives in Vilhammar, schools and hospitals had been built. This in turn also allowed them to interbreed with humans, giving birth to half-orcs.

Unlike half-elves that were regarded with prejudice among the nobles, the half-orcs were highly respected by the orcish society of Vilhammar. Considering that half-orcs seemed to inherit both the best traits from their parents, they were better fighters and tacticians among the orcs, and in their society, they seemed to favor their strength and battle prowess.

Speaking of which, the delegation of the orcs of Vilhammar would be coming to Everfrost due to the passing of the king, my father. From the message that we received, they would be coming to Everfrost to pay their last respect, though we already knew that they were coming in order to ascertain me, their future king. After all, the reason why they were willing to become the subject of a human kingdom was due to the strength of the Frost King. And now, an unproven young man would ascend to the throne, and they would like to see whether I was worthy of taking the mantle of the Frost King or not.

"So, the orcs are coming, huh?" Linde said after my mother left. "Aren't you worried, Karol? I mean, they're going to see your worth as their future king. If they decide that you're not worth it, they may end up rebelling against the kingdom…"

I shook my head. "Even if they don't approve of me, it would be a bad idea to rebel against the kingdom." I went over to a window and looked outside. "Even without the Frost King, the army of Everfrost is considered the strongest one in the continent of Rignellia. Also, the orcs of Vilhammar are honorable warriors. They can't simply renege on the deal that they had with the kingdom before just because they see the new king as weak."

"Huh." Linde shrugged before she crossed her arms under her breasts, somehow pushing them up, emphasizing their size. I tried my best to not stare. "Well, try your best to make a good first impression and impressing them, Karol. You're supposed to be the future king of Everfrost, right? Maybe you should start acting like a king from now on…" Then, she gave me a teasing grin. "You should at least grow a few inches taller to make yourself look intimidating, for starter."

I blushed, fully aware that Linde was slightly taller than me in terms of height. Well, it couldn't be helped. I was still young and hadn't finished growing up yet. I'm sure that at some point, I would become taller than her, and she would never tease me again.

"I'm still not done growing up, you know?" I pointed out. "One day, you'll have to look up just to see my face, I'm sure of that." I was expecting a sarcastic retort from my childhood friend as I said that, but instead, her cheeks turned rosy red as she looked away.

"W-well… I'll be sure to look forward to that…" Linde said, as if trying her best to sound nonchalant. Then she started muttering something under her breath, though I could hear a few words like 'big' and 'stud' from her. I wasn't sure what she was talking about, so I just chalked it up to her being a little weird.

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The day of their arrival had come, and we could see their delegation from the tower of Frozen Keep. They might seem like a visiting delegation, but they way they presented themselves felt like they were coming for war. They carried their war banners with them, and instead of riding horses, they were riding raptors as their mounts. Raptors are highly aggressive reptilian animals that are bipedal but can be ridden. Other than being their mounts, they can also attack with their razor-sharp teeth and claws.

As for the orcs, they were wearing thick pelts as coats to protect themselves from the cold, though many of them were exposed to the elements, showing off their muscular frames and skin tones, ranging from various shades of gray to dark green. And as they entered the town, the people were advised to get into their houses and clear the path to prevent agitating the raptors. While they might have tamed the raptors as their mounts, they were still very unpredictable due to their aggressiveness.

Soon, the contingent of orcs finally arrived at the Frozen Keep, and from the sound of it, their chieftain was also coming with them. They entered the castle and went into the royal court where both my mother and I were waiting for them. As the regent, my mother sat on the throne while I sat next to her on the smaller throne.

There were at least a dozen orcs that entered the courtroom. They removed their cloaks, revealing their clothes underneath. They were lightly dressed, with some of them even going topless, with only a few leather straps and shoulder pauldrons as their protection. There were also some female orcs that joined the rest, and like the rest of them, they were also lightly dressed, scantily clad, showing off their well-built figures. Still, it was undeniable that all of them were seasoned combatants, based on the scars on their bodies.

The herald announced the presence of the chieftain of the orcs, whose skin was dark gray, and he stepped forward. He towered almost everyone in the courtroom, and he was even taller than the rest of his entourages. Clad in a sleeveless leather armor, I could see his muscular arms that were covered with bracers, thick and cordy, and they were riddled with scars. His face seemed rather leathered and wizened, and his graying hair and beard were fashioned into braids, decorated with beads and talismans. He also had a pair of tusks coming out of his mouth, which made him look like a boar.

Contrasting with his appearance, however, the chieftain's eyes were pale blue in color, almost glowing as he tipped his head, casting shadow on the upper part of his face. They seemed to lack the ferocity of a mighty warrior, and those eyes made him seem like a mystical sage.

"It has been a while, Chieftain Barok." My mother, the regent, spoke first as she addressed the chieftain.

"It has been a while, indeed…" Chieftain Barok responded. "I apologize for the delay. The message took longer to reach us at Vilhammar, where the cold is much harsher." His voice was deep, but his words were well-articulated. "Still, Vilhammar is here, and we would like to pay our respect to the departed King of Frost."

"We are grateful for that. Vilhammar has been assisting us in keeping the peace of the kingdom, and we are forever indebted to you. Still, I believe that you have another purpose to come here in place, no?" My mother said, and Chieftain Barok looked up to see the face of the queen.

"Indeed. Besides paying our respect to the late king, we are also here to… ascertain something…" Chieftain Barok then turned his attention on me, who was seated on the smaller throne next to the one that my mother was sitting on. "The boy… is he the new king?" He asked.

"My son still hasn't come of age yet to formally be coronated as the new king." My mother pointed out as she gestured towards me. "Under our laws, he will be coronated as the king of Everfrost at the age of sixteen, two years from now. For the time being, I will be ruling in his stead as the regent."

"I see…" Chieftain Barok mused before he looked at me again. "I wish to see him. I wish to see the face of our future king." He sounded like he was demanding to see my face, but my mother didn't take any offense to that as she looked at me and nodded her head, smiling softly.

"Go ahead. Let him look…" my mother gestured to me to move down to give the chieftain what he wanted. Hesitantly, I got up from the throne and walked down the altar so that the chieftain could properly see my face. He was taller than me, and I could only reach the height of his navel. In order to look at my face properly, he got down and bent his knee, bringing himself lower so that he could see my face much easier.

He studied me, looking straight into my eyes. His pale blue eyes glowed slightly as he tipped his head again, and he was stroking his braided beard as he studied me.

"What's your name, little king?" Chieftain Barok asked, his voice booming though sounding much gentler than before.

"Karol von Niflheimr," I answered, the Will of Everfrost dulling my fear.

"Karol…" Chieftain Barok mused before nodding. "In old language, Karol means 'liberator' or 'a strong man'. A fitting name for a boy marked with greatness." He smiled, and his tusks became more pronounced. "You have the face of your father. You look exactly like Klaus when he was still a child…"

That got my attention. "You knew my father?"

Chieftain Barok nodded. "He was a great man and a mighty warrior. He was a friend of mine." He then got up. "His passing is a huge loss for the people of Vilhammar."

And with that, Chieftain Barok was done looking at me. When it was time for him to pay his respect to my father, he decided to bring up something.

"Also, I would like to provide a tribute for the kingdom…" Chieftain Barok spoke out before he gestured towards one of his entourages. A female orc stepped forward before she got down on one knee, bowing her head. From what I could see, her skin tone was gray like Chieftain Barok, only lighter. She was lightly dressed, only wearing a skimpy outfit which consisted of black clothes that cover only her breasts and crotch, though her body was also adorned with bracers and belts that were magical in nature, providing protection to her body in lieu of actual armor. "This is Duryath, my daughter. Starting today, she will be staying here in the Frozen Keep as the little king's vassal. Though still young, she is a mighty warrior, and she will definitely serve him well as his retainer."

"If my son assents to it, then she will be a fine vassal for him," my mother said before she looked at me. "Karol, would you like to take her as your retainer?"

I put my attention on Duryath. Despite her being an orc, she was actually very beautiful. In fact, her muscular figure seemed to add to her charm. I still could see her tusks peeking out from her mouth, but other than that, she looked like a human rather than an orc. Also, she seemed very strong, and it was in my best interest to have someone strong around me. Seeing no problem with that, I nodded.

"Very well. Then, I shall trust you to keep the safety of my son, Duryath…" my mother said to the female orc. Now that the matter was done, it was time for Chieftain Barok and his entourage to pay their respect for my father.

It was a solemn affair, and it was clear that the orcs respected my father so much. They respected not only his strength, but also his integrity and charitable nature. It seemed that I had a very big shoe to fill now that I was to inherit the throne and the crown of the king of Everfrost. I wasn't sure if I could grow up to be a great man like my father.

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After a few days, Chieftain Barok and his entourages left the Frozen Keep to head back to Vilhammar, and he left his daughter, Duryath, so that she could act as my vassal. Once her father left, Duryath began exploring the castle, bringing both Linde and I as her guides.

"So, you're telling me that this castle was made thanks to magic?" Duryath asked Linde as she learned more about the Frozen Keep.

"Well, without magic, there's no way we can live inside here. Cooking still need flame, so a little bit of magic is required to allow that," Linde explained. Duryath's expression brightened as she learned something new.

Also, it turned out that Duryath was a half-orc, with her mother being a human. That could explain why she managed to get along with Linde, who was a half-elf. They seemed to be bonding over their mixed heritages, even though Duryath never had to deal with the prejudice from the nobles due to her being a half-elf. In the orcish society, half-orcs were never ostracized because their mixed heritage made them better fighters, and orcs valued strength over something petty like prejudice.

"Speaking of which, aren't you feeling cold, Duryath?" Linde asked. "You don't look like you're wearing any enchanted ring to keep yourself warm. And you're even dressed like that." She pointed out that Duryath was wearing essentially a skimpy undergarment, which exposed a huge amount of skin. I tried my best to not be flustered by such exposure.

"Nah, the cold never bothered me anyway," Duryath shrugged nonchalantly. "Vilhammar is even colder than here, and we orcs are already used to the cold to even care." Then, she shamelessly flaunted her body, and I averted my gaze, trying my best to not get some funny ideas. "And since I've got this body, may as well show it off for all to see. Covering it up feels like a total waste."

"Well, that's an interesting way to look at things," Linde comments. "I don't think I have enough courage to show off just like that, and I'm proud of my own body." She brought her hands onto her breasts and cupped them. "Look at these! I gotta thank my mom for giving me this body!"

At this rate, I decided to ditch them before things became too heated. I heard the two of them laughing upon seeing me retreating from them. Feeling my cheeks flushing, I made sure to cool myself down. I knew that they were only teasing me, but I still needed to distance myself from them for the time being and give myself some room for myself.

So, now that I had left both Linde and Duryath behind, I decided to walk around the Frozen Keep for a bit. Thinking that the two of them would be alright on their own, I made my way down the frozen corridor, thinking of what to do next. Some servants passed by and greeted me, and I returned their greetings.

Then, as I walked, I noticed that I was being followed. Thinking that it might be Linde or Duryath who decided to pull a prank on me, I just left them be. But then, I realized that the corridor had become empty, and my surroundings turned dimmer. The Will of Everfrost swirled inside me, steeling my resolve and filling me with courage. I had no sword in my hands to wield, but my fists should be enough to arm me against whatever that was stalking me.

I wasn't sure what was happening to me, but I was certain that I was no longer in the Frozen Keep. Sure, the surroundings might seem familiar to me, but the oppressive feeling made it feel like I was being transported into another dimension. My fists glowed with righteous fury, made to be used to smite the wicked.

"Whatever you are, come out now," I said, telling whatever that was stalking me to show up already. It might have caught me in a bad time, but I would surely fight back if it decided to bring harm to me.

Then, an apparition appeared. It was a pale young girl with white hair, dressed in white dress. There was no expression on her face. From the look of it, she was barefooted, and the coldness around her didn't seem to affect her in any way despite her wearing a sleeveless dress.

Her most striking feature was her eyes, which were red in color, like mine. However, unlike my eyes, which were often compared to warm hearth, her eyes were blazing like hellfire, and when our eyes met, I could hear a voice talking directly into my mind.

"It is not time yet for you to be here…"

I assumed the voice was hers, and her voice was filled with sorrow. I tried channeling the Will of Everfrost to see if the apparition before me was evil in nature, but nothing came up, indicating that the apparition wasn't evil. Still, I kept my guard up, knowing that I couldn't simply let my guard down just because the apparition before me wasn't evil.

"Who are you?" I questioned her, keeping my fists up in preparation for anything. "What do you mean by that? Where are we? Why did you bring me here?" I gave her question after question, but she didn't seem to be in a mood to answer any of them.

"A great calamity shall befall you in the near future…" the apparition spoke to me in foreboding tone, her voice echoing inside my mind. "That's all you have to know so far…"

I was confused by what she was saying. "Great calamity? In near future? What are you talking about?" I questioned her again, and like before, she wasn't going to answer that.

"One day, we will meet again. In another place. In another circumstance. And we will need each other." A hint of emotion could be seen on the apparition's face before her lips curled up into a sad smile. "You and I are bound together. Until then…"

She brought up her hand, as if trying to reach out to me. The floor that I was standing on felt like it was crumbling, and I instinctively held out my hand, trying to hold onto the hand that she held out.

"…farewell, Frost King."

My senses were getting overwhelmed as I felt like everything turning upside down around me. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the smile on her face.

"Please, hang in there…"

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"Hey, are you okay?" I felt someone shaking me, and I regained my senses only to see the concerned look on Linde's face. Next to her, Duryath seemed curious as she looked at me. It seemed that I was back in the corridor in the Frozen Keep, and there were other people around me. "You're spacing out, Karol."

It seemed that everything had returned to normal. The lights had returned in the corridor, and there were people passing by as we stood there. The apparition was nowhere to be seen, though I still could remember her last words before everything went back to normal.

"Uh, did I do anything weird?" I asked. Both Linde and Duryath looked at each other for a bit before the half-elf answered my question.

"Well, you were staring off into the distance while standing here," Linde pointed out. She studied my face for a bit before she asked, "Did something happen? Were you thinking about something serious or stuff like that?"

I was unsure what to tell her. I wasn't even sure if that meeting with the apparition earlier was even real or not, and I didn't want her to think that I was being weird. Eventually, I decided to give her some white lie. "It's nothing. Just thinking about something unimportant."

"Huh." Linde looked unconvinced, but she seemed to accept my answer as she nodded. "Well, if it's nothing, then I don't have to worry, then. But if you want to space out, make sure that you're not standing in anyone's way. People are going to bump into you if you're not careful." She reminded me to be careful. I smiled bashfully at her, accepting her scolding despite her being my steward.

"Then again, I don't think anyone wants to bump into him, considering he's the future king and all. They don't want to end up having their own heads on the pikes, or something like that," Duryath pointed out, grinning.

I flushed. "T-there's no way that's going to happen. I am not that cruel, you know?" I countered, and Duryath guffawed upon seeing me being flustered. Linde joined her in her laughter. Seeing that the two of them were laughing at my expense, I simply sighed before I joined in as well.

"Well, let's hope that's not going to happen anytime soon," Linde said, smiling softly at me after she finished laughing. "Karol isn't that kind of person, right? You're going to be a good king. There's no way you're going to do something so cruel."

"Heh, you don't look like someone who likes cutting off people's heads, so I'm not too worried about that." Duryath pointed out, grinning at me as she crossed her arms under her breasts. "Plus, if you're going down that path, we'll make sure to smack some sense into you…"

I smiled at the two of them. I could feel that I could trust the two of them, even though I only met Duryath recently. At that time, I wasn't aware that the two of them, alongside many others, would play their important roles in preventing me from slipping down a slippery slope. At that time, I simply felt grateful to have the two of them around.

"Thank you…" I expressed my gratitude to the two of them. "Well, I'm glad that you two are here for me." I felt a little embarrassed after saying that. "I feel silly for saying that, but I really am glad."

"Hey, I don't mind a little bit of silliness once in a while," Linde said. "I am glad that we get to talk about this, Karol. I mean, when that girl came over and told us that you're spacing out and standing here, I didn't think we're going to have this kind of conversation."

"Yeah, that girl," Duryath nodded. "She seemed pretty worried, though, so we rushed over here to find you. We thought you were in trouble." She looked at me as she said that.

"A girl?" I asked, looking at both Linde and Duryath quizzically.

"When I think about it, I never saw that girl before. I thought she's a servant's kid." Linde put her hand under her chin, seemingly recalling about something. "She's pretty cute, though now that I think about it again, she's wearing a flimsy dress, and she's not even wearing a ring like us."

"She didn't look too bothered with the cold," Duryath interjected. "Maybe she's used to the cold."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Linde nodded. "Still, I don't think we're going to miss her in case if she's around here. I mean, she's got white hair, like Karol. And she even has red eyes too."

That got me thinking. Was the girl they were talking about the girl that I met earlier? Did the meeting earlier really happen? As questions began to form in my head, I saw the girl with white hair walking away from us. Before she disappeared, she glanced over her shoulder, directing her gaze at me.

Then, she brought her finger to her lips, as if shushing me. Then, before she turn around the corner, disappearing from my vision, she left her last words directly into my mind.

"It's not the right time yet…"