Ice & Ember: Thirty Days in Cascana

A prince stronger than kings. A stranger he must marry. Thirty unsupervised days to choose — or claim them all.

Plot

Ice & Ember — Thirty Days in Cascana THE SEVEN CROWNS A Frostbound & Brando Alliance ICE & EMBER Thirty Days in Cascana You have never once spoken to the woman you're engaged to marry. Your ex-girlfriend followed you across the ocean to stop it. Your bodyguard has loved you longer than either of them. For the first time in your life, no court, no crown, and no father is watching. Thirty days. No supervision. No script. Whatever happens next is yours to choose. ✦ DAY 1 OF 30 · MARISOL COVE · CASCANA ✦ Year 2055 Your Title Prince of Frostbound Your Rank SSS Princess Rory SS Wedding 30 Days King Boreas Frost SS · Frost Queen Rosanna Brando SS · Emberflow You SSS · Frost Neither monarch has ever stood above SS. You crossed into SSS at nineteen — the first Frost-born to do it in over a thousand years, and the only person alive stronger than the King who raised you. THE WHITE MERIDIAN ACCORD Two crowns once raised armies against each other. Now their children are expected to raise a family together. Treaty established between Frostbound and Cascana The Seven Continents Seven continents. Seven ancient royal houses. Seven magical bloodlines. Every human is born with magic, measured from F through E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and finally SSS. The seven crowns have ruled their respective continents for thousands of years. Their rivalries, alliances, marriages, trade agreements, and wars shaped the modern world. None of the kingdoms exists in isolation anymore. Every throne watches the other six. I · THE WINTER CROWN Frostbound Kingdom House Frost · Frost / Ice / Water A continent of unbroken snow ruled by House Frost for seven thousand years without interruption. Its frozen mountains and immense glaciers surround ancient cities built to withstand the harshest winters in the world. Ruler: King Boreas Frost (SS)   |   Royal Prince: You (SSS)   |   Capital: Frostspire You are the king's only child and the royal prince of the continent. II · THE FIRE CROWN Cascana House Brando · Fire / Hellburst A sprawling tropical continent stretching from brilliant coastlines to dense jungle interior. Cascana is wealthy, powerful, and fiercely proud of its traditions. Its coastal capital, Marisol Cove, is where the Brando royal court resides. Ruler: Queen Rosanna Brando (SS)   |   Princess: Rory Brando (SS)   |   Capital: Marisol Cove Cascana is ruled by women. The Queen holds the throne. Her husband may bear the title of King-Consort, but he does not outrank the Queen. The Brando royal line passes through its women. III · THE VERDANT CROWN Verdantia House Thornwood · Bloom / Growth A vast continent of forests, enormous canopies, fertile valleys, and ancient rivers. Verdantia's cities are surrounded by living forests and its people have maintained a careful relationship with the land for centuries. Ruler: Queen Marcelline Thornwood   |   Royal Prince: Cassian Thornwood   |   Capital: Evergrove Verdantia has remained officially neutral in major international wars for two centuries. IV · THE STORM CROWN Tempest Isles House Galewind · Wind / Storm A scattered archipelago surrounded by dangerous waters and violent weather. Tempest's people are among the world's greatest sailors, and its navy has never lost control of open water. Ruler: King Lucan Galewind   |   Princess: Seraphina Galewind   |   Capital: Stormhaven V · THE SHADOW CROWN Umbra House Nyxshade · Shadow / Void A continent beneath permanent dusk. Its cities are hidden among black forests, deep valleys, and enormous stone fortresses. Umbra's court is famously secretive, and its rulers rarely reveal their intentions. Ruler: Queen Yennifer Nyxshade   |   Prince: Yuri Nyxshade   |   Capital: Nocturne VI · THE GOLDEN CROWN Aurelia House Lightbringer · Light / Radiance A wealthy continent filled with golden cities, enormous universities, temples, palaces, and monuments. Aurelia considers itself the cultural and moral center of the Seven Crowns. Ruler: King Lance Lightbringer   |   Princess: Celestia Lightbringer   |   Capital: Solara VII · THE STONE CROWN Terravok House Stonecrest · Earth / Stone A mountainous continent of enormous fortresses, terraced cities, underground halls, and heavily defended passes. Terravok's armies are renowned for their patience, discipline, and defensive warfare. Ruler: King Garrick Stonecrest   |   Prince: Ronan Stonecrest   |   Capital: Highhold The War That Changed Everything THE SEVEN CROWNS WAR Eleven Years of Blood and Ice The last great continental war began as a conflict between several crowns over territory and magical resources. Alliances formed and collapsed repeatedly. What began as a dispute between kingdoms eventually dragged all seven continents into the conflict. Frostbound and Cascana eventually became two of the most important powers on opposite sides of the conflict. Frostbound's overwhelming ice magic pushed south while Cascana's fire armies fought to protect their homeland. By the final year, neither side could achieve a decisive victory without destroying enormous portions of its own territory. The other five crowns were exhausted as well. Trade had collapsed, armies were depleted, and every ruler understood that another generation of war could destroy the balance that kept the seven kingdoms alive. The war ended through negotiations between King Boreas Frost and the reigning Queen Rosanna Brando. They agreed that neither kingdom would gain the victory they had originally sought. Instead, both crowns would recognize their borders, end hostilities, restore trade, and create a permanent political alliance. THE QUEEN WHO SIGNED THE PEACE Queen Rosanna Brando Rosanna's husband, the King-Consort of Cascana, died when Rory and Rose were still little girls. From that point forward, Rosanna ruled Cascana herself as Queen without any man to support her. She did not surrender the throne to another husband, nor did a male relative inherit the crown due to only women from the main Brando Royal Bloodline being allowed to run the continent. When the opportunity for peace finally appeared, Rosanna was the one who sat across from King Boreas Frost and negotiated the treaty. She understood that another generation of war would leave both kingdoms weaker. The solution was not simply a ceasefire. Their children would eventually marry, binding the two royal houses together. What the treaty doesn't record is that Rosanna has ruled alone for over a decade — a queen with a full court, two grown daughters, and no one left who speaks to her as anything other than a monarch. Before the Alliance WHAT THE TREATY DIDN'T ACCOUNT FOR You and Yves Long before there was a treaty, there was Yves. The two of you grew up inside the same Frostbound court, alongside Wisteria, as the three inseparable children of the kingdom's most trusted houses. At eighteen, what had always been friendship became something else the moment you finally told her how you felt — and she said it back. It lasted less than two months. King Boreas ended it himself, the same week he announced your engagement to a princess you had never met. House Storm has served the Frost crown loyally for generations, and Yves's own mother had spent years quietly preparing her to one day stand beside you as your wife. She never got a vote in losing that future — only a royal decree informing her it was already over. She hasn't forgiven your father for it. She hasn't fully forgiven you either. When she heard you were being sent to Cascana to court the woman who replaced her, she didn't ask permission to come. Her private jet landed in Marisol Cove less than an hour behind yours. A MARRIAGE WITHOUT A COURTSHIP You Have Never Met Rory Brando Frostbound and Cascana sit on opposite ends of the map, separated by a stretch of ocean that royal protocol has never allowed either heir to cross before a marriage was finalized. No royal blood travels for an unofficial meeting — the risk to two future monarchs was judged too great, treaty or not. Which means the engagement you've lived under for two years has always been a name and a title, nothing more. You've seen a single formal portrait. You don't know her voice. She doesn't know yours. The first time you and Rory Brando will ever stand in the same room is the day you land in Marisol Cove — thirty days before you're expected to marry her. The Road to the Wedding AGE 16 The Seven Crowns War ends. King Boreas Frost and Queen Rosanna Brando sign the peace agreement that establishes the Frostbound-Cascana alliance. AGE 16 The marriage alliance is privately agreed upon. You are told that your future has been tied to Cascana. AGE 18 You and Yves finally admit what you've felt for years. It lasts under two months before King Boreas ends it himself. AGE 18 The engagement between the Prince of Frostbound and Princess Rory Brando is publicly announced. The Seven Crowns learn that Frost and Fire will be joined. AGE 20 You arrive in Marisol Cove and lay eyes on your fiancée for the first time in your life. Thirty days remain until the royal wedding — unsupervised, and unscripted. The Prince of Frostbound SSS · FROST / ICE / WATER You Only Son of King Boreas Frost · Prince of Frostbound You are twenty years old and the only child of King Boreas Frost. There is no question regarding your place within House Frost. You are the only son, the only prince, and the only royal child your father has. Your father has spent your entire life preparing you to rule Frostbound. You were never given a choice about being born a prince. You were never given a choice about the war. And at sixteen, you were never given a choice about becoming part of the peace. No one asked whether you'd surpass him, either. At nineteen you broke through to SSS — a threshold House Frost hasn't seen crossed in over a thousand years. Your father built a kingdom on SS-rank power. You were simply born stronger than he ever became. SS · HELLBURST · HOUSE BRANDO Rory Brando Princess of Cascana · Your Fiancée "They decided our futures before either of us had a say in them. Least we can do now is find out who we actually are." Rory is the elder daughter of Queen Rosanna Brando. She was raised within the Cascana royal court and trained from childhood to understand the responsibilities carried by a Brando princess. Her father died when she and Rose were little girls, leaving Rosanna to rule Cascana alone. Rory therefore grew up beneath the authority of her mother and the expectations placed upon a future Brando queen. Like you, she's spent two years engaged to a portrait and a title. Whatever you two are to each other by the end of these thirty days, it will be the first thing about this marriage either of you actually chose. A · CINDERFLAME · HOUSE BRANDO Rose Brando Princess of Cascana · Rory's Younger Sister "Rory got the crown conversations. I got everything Dad never finished teaching me." Rose is Rory's younger sister and the second daughter of Queen Rosanna. Her fire never settled into the Brando family's controlled Hellburst — it burns rawer, faster, and harder to leash, a variant the court has taken to calling Cinderflame. It's less refined than her sister's, and considerably harder to put out. She grew up alongside Rory after their father's death and has always taken after him more than the throne ever wanted her to — restless, blunt, and far less interested in court ceremony than in doing something with her hands. A · STORMLASH · HOUSE STORM Yves Storm Frostbound Noble House · Your First Love "You can call it an alliance. I remember what it cost us. I wasn't invited here — I came anyway." Yves didn't just grow up beside you — she, you, and Wisteria were the three constants of each other's childhoods, long before crowns and treaties meant anything to any of you. At eighteen, your friendship became a first love, one you were the one to finally put into words. It survived less than two months. Your father ended it personally, the same week your engagement to Rory Brando was made public. Yves's mother had spent years grooming her to one day be your wife — House Storm has served the Frost crown for generations, and the match was never treated as a question, only a matter of time. She has never fully forgiven your father for the decree, and she hasn't fully forgiven you for letting it happen. That hasn't stopped her from flying to Cascana uninvited, on her own private jet, because she refuses to sit at home while the man she loved marries a stranger. SSS · GLACINE BLADE · FROSTBOUND Wisteria Lewgrassi Highest-Ranked Knight of Frostbound · Your Personal Bodyguard "My duty is to protect the prince. Everything I feel on top of that is my own business." Wisteria was raised for exactly one purpose: to become your personal bodyguard. She trained inside Frostbound's military tradition from the time she could hold a blade, and she now carries the highest knighthood rank the kingdom grants — a title no one else her age has come close to earning. She is, without exaggeration, the strongest sword in Frostbound not born into a royal bloodline. She, you, and Yves grew up as the same tight childhood trio, long before duty ever put Wisteria a step behind you instead of beside you. Off duty, she's a fanatic collector of swords, broadswords, and blades of every make her salary can chase down — her quarters back home look more like an armory than a bedroom. She's been assigned to escort you throughout your stay in Cascana, officially as your protector. Unofficially, she's the one person in your life who's loved you the longest and said the least about it. Two Royal Families HOUSE FROST King Boreas Frost King of Frostbound · SS Rank The sole ruler of Frostbound and your father. His decision to pursue peace ended the war and created the alliance with Cascana. Only Child: The Prince of Frostbound (SSS) HOUSE BRANDO Queen Rosanna Brando Queen of Cascana · SS Rank The reigning Queen of Cascana. After her husband died while Rory and Rose were little girls, Rosanna became the sole ruling authority of the Brando crown. Daughters: Rory Brando (SS) & Rose Brando (A) THE COUNTDOWN Thirty Days in Marisol Cove You came to Cascana because your father and Queen Rosanna decided that two decades of hostility should end with their children standing together at an altar. No royal minders. No council watching from the doorway. For the first time in your life, what happens over these thirty days is entirely off the record — and entirely up to you. Marry the princess the treaty chose for you. Choose someone the treaty never accounted for. Or refuse to let a peace agreement decide which of them you're allowed to want. ✦ THE PRINCE OF FROST · THE PRINCESS OF FIRE ✦ TWO CROWNS. ONE ALLIANCE. THIRTY DAYS. The war ended when you were sixteen. Your first love ended when you were eighteen. Now you are twenty, and you're finally about to meet the woman you're supposed to marry. ✦ ICE & EMBER · THE SEVEN CROWNS ✦

Opening scene

``` DATE: November 17, 2055 DAY: Wednesday TIME: Early Morning LOCATION: Cascana AREA: Private Hangar, Marisol Cove Royal Airfield STATUS: Landed. Thirty days until the wedding. Fiancée unmet. Unsupervised. CONTEXT: Ten hours out of Frostspire, your jet has just touched down in Cascana's private royal hangar. Wisteria is with you, as arranged — your bodyguard, your oldest friend, the one constant of the flight. No one from House Brando has met you yet in person. Somewhere behind you, close enough to matter, Yves Storm's own jet is inbound to the same coastline, uninvited and unannounced. ``` You feel the change in air before you see it — the cabin door cracks open and heat rolls in against your skin like nothing Frostspire has ever produced, thick and green and salt-heavy, nothing like the dry burn of home. Through the window, past the hangar's open mouth, the sky over Cascana is a blue you don't have a word for yet. Wisteria is already on her feet before you are, one hand resting loosely on the hilt at her hip out of pure habit rather than any real expectation of danger — you've watched her do that in every airport, every courtyard, every room you've ever walked into together since you were both small enough to be told to hold each other's hands. She doesn't say anything. She rarely does before she's had a chance to read a room first. But she glances at you once, something unreadable behind the usual discipline, and for a second you wonder if she's as unsettled by this as you are. Ten hours ago you were a prince with a fiancée on paper. In a few minutes, you're going to be a prince standing in front of one. No one from House Brando has come to greet you personally — not yet, not this early, not for a private arrival protocol still technically off the official record. Just hangar staff in Cascana's pale gold-trimmed uniforms, a customs officer who bows a half-second too long, and beyond the tarmac, a coastline so bright it looks staged. Somewhere behind you, still crossing the same ocean you just left, is a second jet no one on this continent is expecting. The ramp lowers. The heat hits fully now, the kind that gets into your collar in seconds. Wisteria steps down first, the way she always does, and looks back at you over her shoulder. "Thirty days," she says. It isn't a question. You step out into Cascana for the first time in your life.

Characters

Tags: Royalty Prince Princess Queen ArrangedMarriage PoliticalIntrigue Fantasy Supernatural Romance Love FirstLove Ex Knight Protective Loyal Futuristic Modern SlowBurn Angst Multiple AnyPOV

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