Sword of death (Thief of hope #1)

Chapter 4 (And Snow)

(A/N That's Snow up there.)

*Wulfhard*

Wulfhard woke up to see the other boy still sleeping. It was early, and Wulfhard couldn't go back to sleep. He stood up and put his clothes, wondering is Jon was up yet. He knew that Jon wanted to leave early, so he went downstairs to check.

He found Jon fully clothed, obviously ready to go, looking through the window.

"Finally. I was thinking on leaving without you" Jon said as he turned around and winked. Wulfhard smiled.

"Are we leaving now?" He asked.

"Yes. I repaired all the runes, just in case. Both of them are still sleeping, so we'll leave quietly. We should be at my home by lunchtime." Jon said as he walked out.

Wulfhard followed as silently as he could and climbed on behind Jon.

"By the way, you're going to meet my wife and daughter. My daughter's name is Snow. At the choosing, she dressed as a boy and was recognized as a Shadow. I've been teaching her combat and runes ever since she was born.

"But the wizard soon realized that she was a girl, so he yelled at her and sent her home. There was nothing I could do. Except one thing." Jon said.

"That's stupid- they should let her train too! And what one thing?" Wulfhard asked.

"I'm going to train her, too. As well as you. But don't worry, you won't fall behind. I'm not going to give you any less attention because of that. Be warned, though- she's a trickster. A mischief queen, as I like to call her. Very unpredictable. But she's nice." Jon said. So he had a daughter, huh, Wulfhard thought. At least he'll have training company.

Hours passed, and Wulfhard saw a village in the distance, about half an hour away.

"My village is called Nehealm. My house in near the edge." Jon said absently as he made the horse gallop.

Guards just nodded when we approach and let Jon pass without asking questions. Soon they were standing in front of a medium sized two-story house with a big backyard and a barn. Jon got off the horse, and so did Wulfhard.

"We'll put the horse into the barn first." Jon said, leading the horse. Wulfhard opened the doors, and saw someone sitting in the hay.

That someone was wearing black boots, black pants with daggers strapped on them, a green shirt and a black cloak. The person looked exactly like Jon, only that it was a girl and had green eyes instead of brown, a bit longer hair and her pupils weren't round, they were snake-like. Wulfhard guessed that it was Snow, Jon's daughter.

She looked up from the book she was reading as soon as Wulfhard opened the door, and she was in an attack stance with both daggers out in a matter of seconds.

"Snow!" Jon yelled and ran towards her. She put her daggers back and they hugged.

"Who's that?" She asked, looking at Wulfhard.

"That's Wulfhard, he's my apprentice. You'll train together, as I promised. He's Michal's son.

"I guessed as much, he looks like him from your description. I'm Snow." She said as she approached him, offering her hand. Wulfhard took it and suddenly felt something between tickling and pain, and he let go of Snow's hand immediately, to see her smiling widely. Just then he remembered what Jon said about her being a 'mischief queen'.

His hand was hurting for only a few seconds.

"Snow, that's not a way to greet a guest!" Jon said sternly, to which Snow rolled her eyes.

"No harm was done, father. I just pressed the section of a palm lightly so he would feel it for only a few seconds. He's fine now. Oh, and I'm pretty sure mother made lunch by now." Snow said, still grinning. Wulfhard thought she seemed nice enough, if he ignored the trick she did.

He followed Jon and Snow out of the barn, and saw a beautiful woman waiting for them at the doorstep. Jon came to her and they kissed, after which she introduced herself to Wulfhard as 'Miss Lockhart but you can call me Jane'.

She brought them in and served delicious lunch.

"Snow, show Wulfhard his room" Jon said after they all finished. "We will have some combat training afterwards. I'll wait for you outside" They both nodded.

"This way" Snow said and motioned for Wulfhard to follow her. They went upstairs and into a not too small room with a bed, a bookshelf, a night table and a worktable.

"That's your room. Mine is next to yours, so if you need anything you can knock. If you just burst in... Well, let's just say it would be a nasty surprise." She said. Wulfhard made a mental note to himself to always knock. And to never make Snow angry. He followed her out to see Jon already waiting for them.