A Crowned King (Complete)

Chapter 21

"Damn this country and all it's problems." Mako cursed under his breath as another flurry of snow flew up, striking him hard in the face. He was shivering from the cold and even his cloak was unable to keep put the chill. He doubted there was a cloak or clothing on the planet that could keep out the chill from a blizzard though.

The blizzard had come out of nowhere, coming out of the east and hitting them hard. The two of them were unable to find any sort of shelter before the attack of the harsh biting winds and the chilling snow that struck them. Winter had been completely silent on the situation, choosing to suffer in silence, but he just didn't have it in him to suffer this in silence. While he wasn't constantly complaining, they were still complaints.

The Prince was unsure how they werw supposed to survive this. Less than an hour into the blizzard, the mustang had collapsed on them and they'd barely escaped without being hurt. The horse had been unable to take the cold and had died, frozen from the inside out. As far as he could see there was nothing but expanse of open glades and not a single sign of shelter. They were out in the open and exposed, the absolute worst place to be during a blizzard. He was aware that it could freeze them to death or bury them in the snows if they were to stop. That was why they continued to walk despite being hungry, thirsty, and bone-tired.

He lifted his head, his green eyes staring out across the expanse once again. There was still nothing. Just heavy white snows, blow twig-like black trees, and a sky of all grey. Then, he caught sight of black shapes in the distance and he narrowed his eyes, trying to see exactly what he was looking at. As they grew closer, he was able to make out a small hut made of wood and covered in the snow from top to bottom. It was clear that there was no one inside the hut, leaving it completely abandoned.

"Look!" Mako shouted, trying to make himself heard over the snows. He grabbed her arm and pointed towards the hut as they continued to walk. "An abandoned hut. That means shelter; maybe even a fire. We need to hurry before we freeze though."

"Right. Let's go." Winter shouted at his side and together the two of them pushed on towards the hut. As they grew closer he saw the building even had a window and a wooden door. That would be good for keeping out the cold, but more than that it would block the wind. There was that at least. Perhaps they would be able to survive this in the hut as long as it was as warm as it looked.

It felt like forever, but Mako was sure it only took a few minutes to actually reach the hut. Fighting against the wind, he grabbed hold of the door and fought to pull it open. At first the door wouldn't open except for a fraction, but when the Ranger grabbed hold of the door as well and pulled with him, they were finally able to wrench the door open. The two of them crashed inside, falling on the floor together side by side as the door was sucked back shut by the winds of the blizzard.

Sitting up with a groan, the Prince shook his head to clear the stars from it. Once done he looked back to his companion. He found her laying on her side, staring up at him with wonder written on her face. Her golden eyes showed her emotions more than anything and he would've sworn that he saw adoration within them, but he couldn't actually be sure of that. In fact, he convinced himself that he wasn't seeing it at all.

"Are you alright?" Mako asked, reaching out to her. His hand fell to her cheek without his bidding, stroking the warm curve of it as a smile appeared on his face. Knowing that he couldn't tell her of the tender feelings he had for her, he pulled his hand back and smiled shyly. "I was checking for lumps."

"On my cheek?" Winter questioned with an amused smile on her face. She sat up herself and rubbed the small of her back with a wince. "I would be more like to have lumps on my back and ass from that fall, your grace."

The Prince raised a brow at her title for him, but he found that he rather liked her using it. If anyone was going to use it it should be her he decided. Then he couldn't stop himself from commenting. "Your ass has had lumps since I met you. Two round, sumptuous looking lumps." he quipped with an easy smile.

The Ranger stared at him, her mouth agape. "You've been looking at my backside?" she asked, pretending to be aghast at the prospect. When she nodded, she chuckled and slid closer to him. "Well I can't say that I've been completely innocent in that prospect either. I've looked at you many times."

"Have you now?" Mako asked with a chuckle. He broke off from their teasing to look around the simple hut. It was basically a small wooden room with a cot in the corner, but the most surprising thing was the stone hearth he found in the corner. Made entirely of stone, the hearth was used to create controllled fires to warm homes. He had one in the palace in his chambers, but so did many others. It was considered a luxury and he was surprised that he would find one here out in the middle of nowhere. "It would seem we have what we need for a fire while this blizzard is going."

The Ranger looked over and when she spotted the hearth she smiled. "It's a good thing we decided to cut those limbs from the trees before the blizzard started. Otherwise we wouldn't have firewood." she said with a smile and she sat her pack down. She began pulling the flaps free, removing the large amount of firewood they'd brought with them. Hopefully it would outlast the blizzard.

"How long do these storms tend to last?" Mako asked, thinking of his mission. He didn't want to be delayed for too long. If he was some major things could happen back home. Besides that there was his coronation to think about. He didn't have but another week or so before he was crowned. Which meant he needed to return home soon or be found out.

"They can last anywhere from a single night to a few hours to weeks. One can never be sure with these storms." Winter told him as she was piling the wood into the hearth. Pulling out a flint and tinderbox, she attempted to light it for several minutes, but failed. She looked to the tinderbox and then the flint before she cursed rather loudly. "Damn it! Well, I guess we won't be having fire after all."

Frowning he tilted his head to the side. "Why not?" he asked out of curiosity. He watched as she flung the flint away with a disgusted snarl. "What's the matter?"

The Ranger sat down cross-legged in front the fireless hearth with her head down. "My flint is damaged. It won't light." she told him with a tired and humorless voice. She looked up at him, her eyes sad. "I'm sorry. I should be a better ranger than that. I should've had a spare flint with me, a new flint."

The Prince knelt down next to her and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. After a moment of hesitation, her arms came up and hugged him back, tightly. He enjoyed the feel of her against his body, but he also wanted to give her comfort. He couldn't stand to see her so down on herself and her abilities.

"You have no need to worry, Winter. We'll be okay." Mako told her as he pulled back from the hug. He stroked her cheek with one of his hands, smiling down at her. She looked up at him, a light of hope burning in her eyes. "We're here and we're together. That's what matters."

He pulled away from her and looked to the hearth. Once again he drew on his arcane abilities and he felt the magic brimming within him. Holding out his hand, he commanded the magic to coalesce there and a small ball of orange and yellow flames appeared in his palm. He looked over at her with a small before calmly lobbing the arcane fire into the hearth. Almost instantly the blackwood caught fire and began to burn, the roar of the hearth filling quickly.

"Oh yeah." Winter said in wonder. "I forgot you were a Mage."

The Prince opened his mouth to snap that he wasn't a Mage. Before he could he saw her lift her hands and begin to warm them with a wide smile on her face. Seeing that smile on her face made it all worth it and he could ignore the fact that she'd called him a Mage. He could even embrace the idea of it.

"Yeah." was all Mako said as he lay an arm across her shoulders. She smiled as she leaned into his side, nuzzling her face into his chest and relaxing against him. Feeling her body pressed against his he felt his heart swell and it was then that he knew the truth.

He was in love with her.