The Midnight Storm (A New Dawn #2)

Chapter 26 - Fox

"Are you done packing, son?" Katla shouted from downstairs.

"No," Fox was quick to shout back. "I can't find the socks Doe knitted for me. You know—the red ones for when my feet get cold."

"They're not in your sock drawer?"

"No."

"Under your bed?"

"No, and not at the foot of my bed either. They're gone, and I can't leave without them. You said so yourself that the castle gets cold at night. I need them."

There came a sigh, then the creaking of the stairs. "I'm coming."

Fox hopped off his bed to close his crammed satchel. It was a lie as white as the duck feather that had fallen from his pillow as he had stuffed it into the bag. His favourite pair of socks wasn't missing. Early this morning, before going down for breakfast, he had flung them on top his closet where it was now gathering dust along with the dust bunnies. Katla would never suspect the socks to be there.

Creaking footsteps turned into clattering iron as Katla stumbled over the shield that Fox had strategically placed against his nightstand, blocking part of the entrance to his room. Another trick—if his master got injured, then he wouldn't have to go on his mission. They wouldn't be separated.

Katla cursed all seven Gods of Sin. "Don't scatter your weapons around, son. They're expensive."

"Sorry."

He wasn't.

Slowly Katla peered around the room. He crouched down and looked under the bed, then turned his head and looked under the closet. Nothing there—of course. He rose to his feet and opened the closet—empty, save for those old brown shorts Fox had outgrown. Katla only quickly looked into the top drawer—empty too; all of his seven undergarments had been packed—before opening the bottom drawer.

Katla took out two pairs of grey woollen socks that had belonged to Hunter. "Pack these, they'll be warm too."

"But I want the red ones." Fox pouted. "They're the warmest."

"It's spring—it won't be that cold."

"There can always come an after-winter," Fox argued.

"Then wear two pairs on top of each other." Katla threw the socks at him, then slammed the drawer shut. That was the end of the argument.

Fox groaned. This was not how this was supposed to go. He couldn't stop Katla from leaving—he was well aware— but at least his master could have searched a little longer. Perhaps he would have even found his mischief, to which Fox would claim he knew nothing about until Katla tickled him into a confession.

Katla crouched down by him. As he lifted the lid of the bag, he rapidly blinked his eyes. "Why did you pack your pillow? Silvermark may be a poor country, but Moonstone Castle has plenty of pillows for you to sleep on."

"It smells like home."

A hint of air expelled from Katla's nose. He smiled. "Alright, fine."

"And also..." Fox gulped. He was going to cross a dangerous territory. "... perhaps I've packed to join you on your mission."

Instantly, the smile disappeared from his master's face. "Fifth time, son—you can't."

"But why? You haven't explained to me why."

"Well..." Katla needed a few seconds to think. "First, I need to ride for a day, a night, another day, and if the weather's bad, for another night. Then I'll be in Sleetwall, where I'll first have to do some scouting of the area and the village. And then I'll need to... err... perform some Fire Magic."