A Crowned King (Complete)

Chapter 9

Mako rode his horse through the thick snow and cringed every time his hooves broke through to strike the hard ground underneath. There was no way of telling where the rocks were, but Winter was pretty good at guiding him enough to not hurt the stallion. Midnight was his friend and he didn't want the horse to be harmed.

The Prince could feel the arms of the woman behind him around his waist and he still couldn't get it out of his mind despite the fact that it had been hours since they'd first started this journey together. He lusted after her thst much was obvious to him. He couldn't allow himself to get distracted on this journey or he could end up just like his father.

He had no intention of that happening.

Something the Prince noticed about Galtea was the temperatures fluctuated the entirety of the day. The early morning was brisk and freezing cold. It warmed up as it got into the afternoon, but when it reached the hours of evening it began to get freezing again. It just so happened the hour was of the evening and he knew night would be coming soon.

"I hate your weather here." Mako told the woman at his back dryly. He looked back at her with a half smile on his face to let her know that he was teasing her.

The Ranger lifted a brow and smiled at him. "Just how far south do you come from friend?" she asked in curiosity. She laughed and shook her head. "It just occurred to me I don't know what your name is."

The Prince smiled to himself. He had already come up with a back story for himself and an alias. It would be no problem to tell her it. "My name is Martin Iron and I come from the Coin Isles." he replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "Copper was where I was born and raised. It was a shitty city, but not too bad for a rough young man like me."

The silver haired woman raised an eyebrow at the last bit of his speech. She didn't make a comment though so he ignored the look. He hoped he hadn't oversold it. If he had she would be suspicious of him and would try to look into his background and who he was. He would have to be careful with what he told her.

"Are we anywhere near a settlement?" Mako asked hoping that her answer would be positive. It would be nice to sleep inside for the night, but his hopes were dashed when she shook her head. He sighed and nodded his head. "I suppose we will be making camp soon then."

"That would be correct." Winter replied with a chipper air to her voice like she enjoyed the weather. Seeing as she was born and raised in Galtea he wouldn't doubt the truth of that. She pointed to a nearby mound of snow which seemed to be covering something, but he couldn't tell what by the thick snow drift. "We will camp here for the night. It's a good spot. The hill will conceal us from predators and block the wind."

The Prince was impressed with her skill and forethought. Instead of commenting on it he pulled Midnight to a stop next to the hill and dismounted. He placed his hands on her hips as he helped her dismount although he was sure that she didn't need the help. She thanked him with a smile and went about making a small camp fire by the hill.

To help her he went along digging his pack out of the saddlebags and setting up the tent. Once he was done he turned back to her and watched her turn her head sharply, her cheeks turning bright red. He frowned confused by that. What could she have seen that would've made her blush? Then a thought occurred to him. Maybe it was the fact that she'd been caught looking at him that made her blush? A secret smile appeared on his face. It was good to know she wasn't unaffected by his presence as she seemed.

"Do you have anything worthwhile to throw on a fire?" Winter asked and gestured to the burning fire by the small snowy hill.

The Prince smirked and shook his head. "Not really. Just a little salted beef." he replied as he reached into his pack and pulled out the thick package of meat that he'd brought with him.