THE ICE KING

Chapter 5

The Visit to The Palace

         Spitzburghen was a small old world looking town. The houses were all built close together and in such a way that it was clear the houses had been built first and the roads second. Haphazard side streets, dead ends, and alleyways were plentiful. There was a snowmobile factory, which was the source of the smoke Justin had seen. There was a library, a red brick schoolhouse, and an even redder brick town hall with a tall town clock and a huge grey cathedral with an even taller bell tower. There was one clear main road through the town. It ran north out of town and southwards out of town and twisted this way and that way a bit before running smack-dab into and through a small forest.

         One day, a man and a small boy appeared at the edge of this forest. They picked their way through the shallower snow of the forest till they reached the road and then made their way into town.

          There was a large house given over for the sheriff's use, a larger mayor's house and an even larger house on the hill that could be called a mansion but most townspeople referred to it disdainfully and not without some jealousy, The Palace. It was to this large and imposing house that the man and boy directed their steps as they made their way through the quiet town. Somewhere, the town clock rang 7.

         Inside The Palace, lived the Kemps. The Kemps owned the large factory that employed most of the town, the bank, the general store, the bars, three restaurants and a pet store. They were the richest family in town and the most powerful. On their hill, for better or worse, in riches and health, (as was supposed) lived Mr. Kemp, Mrs. Kemp and their only son and heir, Jason Kemp.

         Uh, well, not quite. The son and heir had been missing for quite a few weeks. He had left no note but there was no ransom demand so it was unclear if he had run away or been kidnapped. The police had not come up with anything yet and the three private detectives they had hired had one after another vanished without a trace. This only cemented the parents' belief that their son had been kidnapped, which is why they had opened the offer to the general public. Alas this had not worked either, for everyone who had taken up the challenge had also never returned.

         On that morning, Mrs. Kemp woke early. She often woke early these days. Uneasy dreams were her bedfellow and sleep was a luxury that eluded her even with all her riches. She would jerk awake with a snap, instantly awake with the feeling that she had forgotten to turn off the stove or was late for an appointment or simply that she wasn't getting enough air.

         She got up as usual, exercised, washed, dressed. She drew the curtains a bit and looked out the window. The town that she loved but hated her (well that was a bit harsh, envied, resented was more like it) lay as if it were dead, deserted and alone in this frozen waste that they lived in, the roofs frosted in a layer of white. The town clock struck 7.

         She sighed impatiently as if she had somewhere important to be, although in fact she had nowhere to be at all. She looked over at her husband in irritation. The prick was sleeping like a baby. She moved the curtain aside so that the morning sun shone on his face. He groaned and shuffled around in the bed, turned over on his side, found a warmer, sweet spot and fell asleep again.

         Ugh! The man was infuriating! He could sleep through anything! In frustration, she let the curtain fall just enough so she could see outside again. What the Hell!!?

         Something was moving out there. She looked harder. It looked like a woman....or...a small man and...a child? NO ONE was out of doors this early in this little town. They must be strangers. She watched them a bit more until it was obvious they were headed up to the gate. Then she rushed over to the door and activated the in house intercom.

         "Helga? It looks like we have another fortune hunter. Let him up to the house when he gets here, show him to the Christmas room."

JGJGJGJGJGJGJGJG

         Following Jack's instructions, Justin buzzed the intercom at the front gate and inquired about Jason Kemp. The large, imposing, double iron gates swung inward allowing Justin and Gus to enter the grounds. The entire property was surrounded by an even larger, more imposing, red brick wall.

         Spooked by the silent town and now awed by the imposing wall and gates and the upcoming mansion, Gus asked:

         "Are you really sure we should be doing this Papa?"

         "I explained this on the way here, Gus. If we bring Jason home they will give us a snowmobile and then we can be on our way north faster than if we continued walking. Don't be frightened. I will let no-one harm you."

         "OK, Papa. I'm not scared. I'm a big boy!"

         "That's my brave, big boy."

         The huge yard was dead and white. In summer, it must have been wonderful, Justin thought, With a large green lawn and lots of flowers like Ian's place. But now there was nothing. It took them a good 10 minutes to walk up the winding drive to the house. Justin rang the bell. The bells rang a chiming melody that would have been nice if it wasn't for the fact that the bells were deep and funereal.

         Eventually, somebody came to the door. It was a large woman with grey hair in a bun. She was obviously some kind of housekeeper.

         "Hello. I'm Helga. I've been instructed to take you to...OH DEAR GOD! What the heck is that!"

         "That is my son, Gus," Justin said stiffly.

         "Not that! THAT...!" Helda said, pointing at the birds.

         "They are ravens. This is Jack and the one on..."

         "I don't care what they are called. They are absolutely not coming into this house."

         "Very well." Justin took a step back and removed them from their shoulders. He told them, "Have a fly around but don't stray out of hearing distance. I shall call you when we are ready to leave." And with that he tossed them into the air and, cawing noisily, they flew up and away into the air."

         "Are you nuts? You'll never see those things again," declared Helga. She shuddered. "And good riddance."

         "We shall see," Justin returned smoothly, "And now I believe we are expected by your employers? We are here to discuss their son, Jason." Justin produced the newspaper article to show how they had come to know about him.

         "Yes. Come this way please," she said, ushering them into the house.

         It was your typical mansion, a cavernous great hall, large, curving staircase, large dining room to the right, tasteful living room to the left, study, library, large kitchen, the rooms passed by Justin in a blur. Everything was very nice but he couldn't help but think that something was missing. Then he realized. There was nothing that hinted of the holiday. No lights, no tree in the living room, no garlands or other decorations or anything that hinted of Christmas. Everything was clean, austere, but blank considering the time of year.

         Deeper into the house they went, up a staircase, down another hall, turned a corner and they were finally there. A set of white double doors faced them. "Mrs. Kemp will see you now," said Helga, as if they had been kept waiting forever by some snobby specialist doctor and was just now gaining special access and attention. She slid the door open dramatically.

         Justin gasped. He couldn't help it. He gaped a little and then quickly shut his mouth again.

         Gus was less tactful. "Oh Boy!" he yelled exuberantly, "Isn't this something Papa!?" He smiled and laughed excitedly.

         "Yes, Gus, it certainly is. Hush now though. Company manners."

         The room they faced was a large parlor. There was a fireplace. There were several couches and chairs set up facing each other There was a nice coffee table and window seat. Quite simply it was a nice and ordinary room hit by extraordinary circumstances.

         In this room and only in this room, was Christmas. The walls were lined with Christmas trees. There were presents; both wrapped and unwrapped were under every one. Holly and mistletoe and garlands of pine branches and also the furry gold and silver ones were everywhere. The carpet was red. The furniture was white. It had plastic on it. (of course) A large poinsettia was on the coffee table. A giant wreath was above the door and another was on the window and another was above the fireplace. There was a roaring fire in the fireplace with about a dozen Christmas stockings hanging on the mantle. Along a sidetable was a tasteful display of various types of cookies including chocolate chip, oatmeal, shortbread, and brownies. In the center of the table was a huge punch bowl full of eggnog. There was a large, silver tea set on a silver tray on the table as well. In one corner there was a large, life-size nativity scene.

         At the head of the coffee table, in a large, golden, throne-like chair, sat Mrs. Kemp. She was a pretty woman with long blond hair and watery blue eyes. She was dressed in a pretty pink, silk, flowing, dress? Robe? Something in between? Justin couldn't decide. Over that she wore a thicker, furry robe. It was red and trimmed around the bottom, collar, and the ends of the sleeves in white fur. She looked like a cross between a princess and a sexy Mrs. Claus and a crazy person.

         "Welcome to my home," Mrs. Kemp said, fixing Justin with what he hoped was a welcoming smile. "I'm sorry to greet you alone but my husband is not a morning person. He is...indisposed at the moment."

         "No problem," answered Justin politely.

         "Would you care for some tea? Eggnog? I bet your little boy would like some cookies," she offered, gesturing to Helga, who brought the silver tea set over to the coffee table. She poured some for Mrs. Kemp.

         "Well, if you are going to have some, I will have some tea. Thank you," answered Justin.

         Helga poured some for him as well.

         "Can I have some cookies Papa?! Can I??" Gus was nearly beside himself with little boy desperation at the sight of all those treats.

         "May I," corrected Justin calmly.

         "May I, Papa?" Gus asked, just as desperately.

         "You may choose 3 cookies and ask Helga for a glass of eggnog."

         "May I please have some eggnog?" Gus asked Helga.

         "Of course. And what cookies can I bring you?" Helga asked.

         Gus chose a chocolate chip, shortbread, and a brownie.

         Justin and Gus sat beside each other on the sofa and soon they were all squared away with refreshments.

         "Eat over your plate. Watch out for crumbs," instructed Justin.

         "Yes Papa," said Gus politely. Justin's heart swelled in pride.

         "Thank you for meeting me here," said Mrs. Kemp. "I call this room the Christmas room. Very festive, don't you think?"

         Justin thought it looked like Christmas had thrown up into the room. But he answered, "It's very....nice. But why just in this one room? I noticed there was...well...nothing else."

         "Well, since Jason was taken from us this year we haven't...well, my husband hasn't felt like celebrating this year. So he refused to let me decorate the house except for this room. So I went all out, don't you think?"

         "That's for sure," thought Justin, "All out of your mind!" Out loud, he said, "You sure did."

         They all enjoyed their cookies for a minute. Then Justin asked: "So, Jason...if he...if, mind you, did run away, why would he do such a thing? Where do you suppose he would go?"

         Mrs. Kemp considered her words carefully. "Well...in spite of having a lot, as a family we still had our...problems. We hadn't been getting along for quite a while now. My husband is selfish, I must admit I was taking him for granted and Jason just became more and more secretive as he grew up. Plus, he felt more and more isolated as he grew up here. It's not easy being a rich kid, not to mention the richest kid in town. He was bullied a lot and at school so much, we eventually pulled him out and had him tutored. He recently graduated, which probably was one of the reasons he felt ready to strike out on his own."

         "He graduated...at 16?" Justin asked.

         Mrs. Kemp shrugged indifferently. "The tutor allowed him to advance at his own pace. He advanced...quickly."

         "Any other reasons?" asked Justin.

         "Oh, things just sort of...came to a head," she said, "We were fighting more and more and to Jason it seemed he couldn't go anywhere, do anything without being derided or just recognized or hit up for money. As so, more and more, this place became like a prison and he felt like it. Then one day he just wasn't here anymore. A lot of his belongings were missing and so was he. I just can't believe he didn't leave a note."

         "Papa, I'm bored!" Gus whined. His cookies and nog were long gone.

         "Gus!" Justin admonished with one shocked word.

         Gus tried to look sorry but he wasn`t very contrite about it. This grown up talk was boring him silly and he hated sitting still and the strong pine smell in this stuffy Christmas room was making his nose itch. He wanted to run and play and laugh and have fun and he wanted Papa to be fun with him again, not this strange reserved man who was quiet and cross with him and asked endless boring questions that went nowhere.

         "Gus? How would you like to play in a room that is simply crammed with toys? Jason had a room he called the Toy Box and we never bothered to get rid of it when he was older. Would you like to play there while your Papa and I finish our talk?" asked Mrs Kemp.

         "Oh yes!" exclaimed Gus in rapture, "Uh, yes please!" he added, catching Justin's look.

         "Helga? Take Gus here to the Toy Box and have someone there to watch over him but instruct him not to intervene unless Gus hurts himself."

         "Come on Gus! Come and play!" Helga stretched out a hand for Gus to take.

         "Papa? Ca- May I?" asked Gus.

         "Yes. You may," Justin said, proud for him that he had remembered. "Are you sure he'll be all right?" he asked Mrs. Kemp as a wave of separation anxiety swept over him.

         "He'll be perfectly safe and happy I promise you. He'll be watched over every minute and I can arrange it so that we can watch him too," answered Mrs. Kemp.

         And so, Gus was at last allowed to go with Helga out of that oppressive room. On the way she contacted another maid to meet them at their destination.  Helga took him down a corridor and around a corner and then down a short flight of stairs to a bright red door with a rounded top. It was half the size of a regular door and therefore just Gus's size. Gus was delighted.

         "Is this it?" he asked.

         "This is it. Go on in when you are ready. I have to go back and watch over your Papa but Stephanie will be along shortly and watch over you. Okay?"

         "Okay. Thanks Helga."

         Helga left and Gus opened the little door into an enormous room about the size of a gymnasium. The whole room looked the way his smaller one did when he hadn't cleaned it up for a while. The whole room looked as if a dozen toy boxes, no closets had exploded. Toys of all sorts were strewn everywhere in piles Toy planes, trains, boats, and cars were in one section. Stuffed animals and action figures were in another. Balls of all kinds were plentiful and everywhere. At the end of the room was a simply enormous colourful jungle gym with an enormous twisty, bright yellow tube slide that ended up into a huge ball pit filled with small colourful balls.

         Gus was in a absolute rapture of joy. He looked around for a while, hardly daring to believe such a place was real. Then with a whoop and a holler, he dived into a pile of toys and rolled around for a bit. Then he raced over and went to climb all over the jungle gym and try out that sweet slide. As Helga had promised, a pretty blond maid named Stephanie came in, stooping through the door to watch him. She introduced herself but then otherwise left him alone to do whatever he wanted. And what he wanted was another crack at that jungle gym. And so he did.

         Meanwhile, back in the Christmas room, after Gus left, Mrs. Kemp said: "My, he's an adorable little boy!"

         "Thank you."

         "But he isn't yours, is he?"

         Justin's hands and jaw clenched involuntarily. Arrrgh! He was so sick of hearing that. And it seemed to be the first thing out of everybody's mouth! Why couldn't they just leave him be about that!?

         Swallowing his annoyance, he answered, "No, that's true. He's my husband's biological son with two women friends we have. They needed..." He explained and then finished as always: "But as far as both of us are concerned I'm his Papa, just as if he was mine."

         "I see. I can see that you love him very much. Oh that reminds me..." As an afterthought, she drew out a remote control from one of the deep pockets of her red robe and pressed a button. One of the pictures on the wall slid aside to reveal a TV screen and it switched on to reveal the Toy Box in stunning color. A few minutes later, Justin saw Gus enter and start his romp through the toys.

         "There you go. There will be no sound to disturb us but you can keep an eye on him as much as you want," said Mrs. Kemp.

         "Thank you," Justin said gratefully.

         "As I was saying," Mrs Kemp continued, "I see that you love him and I also see you are a lover of men. Perhaps then, I can confide in you a little further. You see..."

         "Excuse me, mum. But if the conversation is going to get into a more sensitive area, might we be excused?"

         Justin's head whipped around in shock. It was the Virgin Mary speaking. The life size nativity scene was a live nativity scene with actors holding statuesque poses so firm Justin had been completely fooled. All the people straightened up and stretched their backs and "Mary" picked up "Jesus" who was a real sleeping infant. The only thing that seemed to be fake were the animals.

         "Yes, yes, I suppose that would be for the best," Mrs. Kemp dismissed them with a wave, "Take an hour off."

         "Thank you, mum," Mary said. The other actors bowed their thanks and exited the room.

         "Good grief! That nearly took a year off my life! Any other surprises?" Justin inquired drily.

         "No. That's it. We are alone and undisturbed at last. As I was saying, I was hoping to tell you a little more now that I know you know the trials of homosexuality. You see, that was the major point of contention here was that several years ago Jason came and told us he was...how you put it....gay."

         "I take it you guys didn't take it so well," Justin guessed.

         "Well...no," Mrs. Kemp admitted, "At first, I simply didn't understand. I thought he was telling us he was especially happy. When he explained it a bit further, I was disappointed but I realized there was nothing I could really do about it. His father on the other hand was furious about it and wanted to hear no more about it. But he did, which is why we fought so much. It's also why Jason became so withdrawn and secretive I the last few years. I suppose he felt as if he couldn't tell us anything anymore."

         "I can remember it well," replied Justin, seeing with a chill how much Jason's situation mirrored his own. "Well, Mrs. Kemp, I will find your son, but I am not going to compel him to return him here to this environment if his father is not going to accept him and make this an abusive household. I went through something like this myself and I wouldn't return anyone else to it for all the world."

         "Oh my! You sound so confident! Do you know where he is?" Mrs. Kemp asked eagerly.

         "Not yet," (her face fell) "But I believe I soon will."

         "I see. You are right to be cagey. Well, the reward is 10,000 florens and a car, a golden miata. You have no doubt read about that already."

         "Yes, I have. But this makes me ask...What is a floren? Where exactly are we? And how much would that be in American dollars?"

         "My, my, you are far from home, aren't you? How did you come to be here without knowing where you are?"

         "That is a VERY long story," Justin said wearily.

         "Oh, I see. Well, in answer to your questions, this is a floren," she said, producing a gold coin, "You would be paid in higher denominations which are paper bills, of course. The current rate of exchange is very favourable to you. I believe 10,000 florens is worth a million of your dollars."

         "A million dollars!!" Justin gasped, overcome.

         "Yes. Now you see why we have had many people take the risk of trying to find Jason. However, I guess you have also read how no-one has ever returned. Are you sure you want to take the risk?"

         "Yes, I will take it. And succeed. I must succeed. But I am not doing it for the money primarily. I'll do it for 5,000 but the main concern is that I have a snowmobile instead of the car and all the extra gas we can carry. You see, we are on a long journey, headed north and we still have a long ways to go."

         "I see. Very well, Justin Taylor, we have a deal." They shook on it. "Oh, and you are in the country of Finlandia."

         "Finlandia? Don't you mean Finland?"

         Mrs. Kemp gave a sigh of patriotic frustration. "No. We are a small country just to the north of Finland. We are constantly overlooked."

         "Oh, I'm sorry." Secretly, Justin was glad that they were so far north. "Well, is there anywhere we can stay while we are here? And anywhere we can use a phone? I need to call Canada as soon as possible."

         "There is an inn in the town. The townspeople will direct you. The town should be active by the time you get down there. There should be a phone you can use in the inn."

         "Thank-you. Well, if that's everything, I'd better extricate Gus from that room and we'll be on our way."

         Extricate was not a strong enough word for it when Justin went to tell Gus it was time to leave. Gus didn't want to leave. He felt as if he was in some wonderful dream and he did NOT want to wake up. It was only after Justin used his super serious voice that Gus knew there would be ‘consequences' if he didn't obey, did he finally haul himself out of the ball pit one last time. He took a careful last look around and knew he'd never forget this place for as long as he lived. Then he took his Papa's hand and they left the Toy Box and then The Palace itself.

         Helga showed them to the front door. Once outside, Justin called, "Jack! Jacques! We're leaving!"

         To Helga's great astonishment and disgust, almost immediately the two great crows flew seemingly out of nowhere and alighted on each of their shoulders. With a shudder, she slammed the heavy front door against the white winter and the black birds.

TBC