Hope is all he has left...
Prince Kian is supposed to be dead. He was only 8 years old when the Dark King came into his home and slaughtered his family. Now 21, he lives in hiding, grieving the family and the kingdom both lost. With no magic left...
We decided that it wouldn't be smart to take Mace with us, as Zora's people would already be hard to convince. If they saw the uniform of a Drimorian scout we would be attacked on sight. That being agreed on, we sent him and a few men back towards the caverns. The guilt that Stailon would have to face the situation alone was like a physical blow. Hopefully, he would find support in his men.
As we came closer and closer to Stockgrove, the weather grew colder and colder. Drimore was notorious for its cold winters and mild summers, but this cold was far more bitter than I had ever experienced before. On the night day of our travels, snow finally began to fall through the bare tree branches.
"I bet I can catch more on my tongue than you!" Areis called out to Tyri, using his powers to pull the snowflakes towards him. His humor didn't last long as she threw a snowball straight into his face.
"Catch that!" She cackled. Running away as he tackled her into the snow.
I sat beside the fire, watching the scene with a smile. I was content to hide under as many blankets as possible and watch the others have a good time. They deserved to, it had been a rough couple of days.
Suddenly a snowball caught me in the side of the head. I blinked the white powder out of my eyes and rubbed away the cold sting on my cheek. I looked over to the where the ball was thrown from.
"Come on, Kian! Let's see what you've got!" Zora smirked. She and Cayra hid behind a wall of snow, alternating between throwing snowballs and ducking. I grinned and made a ball of my own, throwing it at Zora and missing horribly.
"With that kind of aim, you better get over here behind this wall! You won't last a second out there on your own!" said Cayra, gesturing behind me. Surely enough, every person in the clearing had joined in on the snowball fight. Dodging the snow flying over my head, I sprinted towards Zora's makeshift fort.
"Here comes Aries! Wait-he and Tyri teamed up?" Cayra exclaimed as I knelt down between the two of them.
Zora raised a brow, "That's unexpected."
She peaked her eyes over the ridge of the fort, then ducked down quickly as a snowball flew over her head.
"Areis has a death wish!" She huffed, grabbing a snowball.
Cayra took it from her hand, "Let me," she said with a devilish grin. Zora chuckled as Cayra darted off towards her brother.
"I guess it's just you and me holding down the fort," I shrugged.
"Help me look for our next targets," she instructed me. We looked over the clearing, which had fallen into complete chaos. Snow forts had been built all over, some people hid in the treeline. It was an amazing sight to witness such joy when I had been in a dark place.
Suddenly a ball of snow the size of a person was floating over my head. "Look out!" Zora tackled me to the side as it dropped. Somewhere in the distance, Areis snickered. Our limbs became tangled as we rolled through the snow until Zora was on the ground under me, breathing hard.
I propped myself up as not to smash her. Snowflakes decorated her loose red curls and accented her lashes. Her cheeks were flushed red in the cold and her blue eyes matched the nighttime sky. I couldn't breathe.
I suddenly became very aware of how close we were, our faces only inches apart. Her lip quirked up in a small smile.
"Kian-" She began to speak only to interrupted by Cayra.
"There you two are, I thought you'd abandoned me-oh" She looked down at us, Zora and I scrambled apart, "is everything okay?" Cayra asked.
"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Zora said, her face a mask of composure. My own cheeks burned and I wondered if she had experienced the same feelings as I had. Obviously not if she was so put together. I frowned, wondering what she had been about to say.
"I think it's probably about time to call it a night. We'll need our rest for when we arrive at Stockgrove tomorrow," I said, forcing my voice to stay even.
"I'll let the others know, you two are covered in snow. You should go sit by the bonfire for a bit," Cayra said.
The thought of sitting so close to Zora after what had just happened frightened me. I needed some time to sort things out, "I have the fire pit in my tent, I think I'll just keep to myself for the rest of the night."
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The first thing that told me we were incredibly close to Stockgrove was the torchlight high up in the trees. The warm flames contrasted against the early morning sky like stars.
"I can see the treehouses. We're so close." Tyri said, excitement in her voice. Areis and Zora looked more nervous than excited. No one could blame them, the last time they had been in Stockgrove they were running for their lives. Zora's favorite dagger was sheathed at her side and her hand hovered near it as we came upon the first buildings. Areis, Cayra, and Tyri fanned around her.
The people in the streets stopped what they were doing and stared.
Zora stopped at the heart of the town. Her stance became confident.
"Where is Anders?" She called out, unsheathing her dagger.
"I am right here, Zora Stone." A large man stepped out of the shadows, a sword in his hand and hatred on his face.
Zora smiled, "Actually, it's chief Zora Stone," and the two launched into action.
