When the Nightingale Sings

Part 5

More snow. Danny had woken you to a thin blanket of it covering everything, and as you both shook off the white nuisance, your bodies shivered. Quietly packing up, the two of you ate a quick breakfast of dried meat and stale bread, and trudged forward.

The woods were deathly silent, the light coating of snow muting all sound but the swaying of the branches in the wind and your footsteps. You stayed close to Danny, and he didn't seem to mind, both of you seeping in the warmth from one another. Numbness pricked at your fingertips, rubbing your hands together seemed to do nothing to warm them. You settled for tucking them under your arms, rubbing your sides to heat up the area further.

"Here," Danny paused his steps, sliding his gloves off of his hands and handing them to you. "Take these."

"I'm fine," you insisted, knowing you'd be worse for wear if his fingers went numb. Danny rolled his eyes, grabbing your forearms and pulling your hands away from your body, slipping his toasty gloves over your fingers. Immediately you felt the ache of frost leaving your skin, and a quiet sigh of relief dropped your shoulders from their tense position.

"Don't think you were." Danny mumbled, giving you a small, knowing smile as his large hands clasped around yours. "Better?"

"Much," you nodded, smiling up at him. You didn't realize just how close he had been standing until you looked at his face. That strange flutter in your heart and stomach happened again, and you caught yourself staring at his lips. "You-you're quite warm of a person."

"Is that so?" Danny's voice was soft, his head inclining towards yours. Making an affirmative noise in your throat, he bumped the tip of his nose against yours. "Your nose is so cold," his breath was hot across your face, making your eyelids flutter close. Your face tilted up towards the warmth, and you felt your hands, still clasped in Danny's, pressed between your chest and his. "Are your lips-"

Voices echoed in the distance, snapping your eyes open as Danny's head turned towards the noise. Your heart was beating fast as the voices rang out again. They sounded familiar to you, a shock of icy fear running through you. Flashes of your fateful carriage ride passed in your vision, and you froze in your spot.

"Danny, it's them." tears were welling in your eyes, stinging and threatening to fall. The voices you remembered from the carriage ransacking were sending chills down your spine. "Those voices, it's them." Danny glanced at you before looking around at the forest around you.

"Come," he pulled you behind him, over towards a small cluster of large pine trees. He moved a few branches and guided you inside. The world was even more quiet, the smell of sap and pine surrounding you. Dropping your pack from your shoulders, you watched your surroundings worriedly, fearing you'd be dragged out of the green alcove much like the carriage again.

Danny stepped to leave the concealed spot, and you shot out, grabbing his arm and trying to tug the stronger man back.

"Where are you going?"

"I can't just hide," Danny shook his head. "We left footprints, they'll track us like we're game."

"And you think sitting on the trail and letting them kill you is a better plan?" Danny clasped a hand over both of yours on his forearm. His thumb swiped across the back of your borrowed gloves.

"So little faith in me?" he gave you a small twitch of a smile. "Stay here, and stay quiet."

"What if-"

"Do you know how to use a knife against another?" Danny's tone was harsh and worried as the voices drew nearer. "Have you ever wielded one like that?"

"Only as a child with a wooden dagger," you whispered, horrified at the necessity you currently lacked. Danny nodded sternly and unsheathed one of his hunting knives from his belt. He took your hand in his large one and wrapped your fingers around the handle, squeezing them to make sure you had a firm grip.