The silvery grey mare trudged through the blowing
drifts of snow. Her rider, Princess Jaièl, trembled violently,
wondering if she would ever be truly warm again. Her own country,
where her mother ruled as Queen, was a more temperate land and this
bitterly constant cold was not at all to the princess's liking
– nor her companions'. Princess Jaièl's familiar, a
long-haired tabby named Ariel, rode in a special sling, snuggled up
against Jaièl's chest – the only warm spot Jaièl
felt. Her best friend Aradia rode beside her, tightly clutching the
thick woollen cloak she wore. Their escorts rode, one ahead and one
behind, stoically silent, though when Jaièl glanced back at
the smaller one behind them, the blonde woman offered the princess
an encouraging smile. Jaièl returned the smile with a small
one of her own before facing forward again, then sighed. The
dark-haired warrior rode ahead on her golden battle-mare, her back
straight, her eyes forward, though every so often, her head would
incline slightly, listening for possible threats of danger. The
princess kept hold of the reins, though her fingers grew more numb
with each passing hour.

We were so lucky to get the Warrior Princess and
the Amazon Bard-Queen to escort us, she thought, frowning.
Even if Xena is a bit … harsh sometimes. She's no worse
than my sister, Dei, though… With another sigh, Jaièl
wondered if they would find a place to camp soon, but she said
nothing aloud, knowing Xena would get that look – the one that made
Jaièl feel somehow guilty for being cold and tired. Must
be a warrior-thing. Dei does that, too – expects everyone to be
just as tough as she is.

The women had been travelling for weeks to reach
these mountains, almost to the other side of their world – or so it
seemed. Their goal was just this side of the range, a small
mountain settlement where Jaièl believed she had located her
lost sister, Nadi'. Nadi' had been stolen from her cradle
before Jaièl was born – some said by a demon. Their mother,
Queen Neptunis, had spared no expense in the search for her child,
but to no avail. Although the search was, by necessity,
discontinued, still the hope the queen held in her heart never
ceased. Jaièl was born and grew up in the shadow of her
mother's grief and sadness, although the queen adored and doted
upon her youngest child and heir to her throne. It was the
Elders' admonition that a child so spoiled would make a poor
ruler someday which instigated Jaièl's education in the
Temple school. It was the best thing that could have happened to
the young princess. She was a precocious child, strongly gifted
with magical talent, like her grandmother before her. She took to
life in the Temple and to her studies quickly and did very well
there, indeed.