Rebirth

Rebirth pt.5

I was scared, scared Clara would find out I was the one blamed for her fathers death, the king. I had been avoiding her ever since she told me who she really was, and she had been noticing "seriously, what's wrong?"
She asked as we rode our horses through the thick snow. "What?" I turned to look at her "oh nothing" I said as I sped up to avoid further conversation. it was cold, the coldest winter we had ever had. the bitter air was nipping at my face as I rode towards the oncoming wind. We had left the town a few days ago and had been moving ever since, moving and moving and not stopping for a single break. Clara once again started talking to me but I was not listening, my attention had been caught on something else, a destroyed carriage on the woodland road ahead. It looked as if it had been flung across the road, various wheels and wooden parts sprayed around it. "Arno?" Clara repeated a couple of times before realizing I was standing over the wreckage she had not yet seen. "wo, what do you think happened over there?" She said as she rode over. I knelt down and touched a small bit of blood on the snow below me, I put it in my mouth and tasted it, "of course" I muttered to myself. "Of course what?" Clara asked as she knelt down beside me, "this blood, it's the blood of a kings-guard" I replied. "How the hell did you know that?" She chuckled, "because I was...." I stopped myself when I realized I was about to expose myself "um, I just know, uh, stories! Yer! I've heard stories that said they have warm blood" I replied not very convincingly. she looked at me puzzled and then stood up "well, whoever it was, they put up a good fight" she said pointing to the mess in front of us. I grabbed a spear that was half buried in the snow near the cart, it was surprisingly light and the blade shon brightly in the winter sun. I threw it to clara and she caught it, admiring it in her hands "you know what your doing with that?" I asked. she scowled at me and then spun the spear around her body demonstrating her skills, I smirked and picked up one of the various blades lying on the ground "let's get going" I said as I flung myself onto my horse.

Hours had passed, we had set up a small camp fire to spend the night and were sitting around it. we were cold, so cold that our thick fur coats were not providing enough protection against the frosty air. we were sitting around the fire absorbing as much heat as it offered, cherishing every second of the warmth we could. we had tied our horses beside us as a sort of look out, knowing they would react to any danger as loudly as they could. we decided this protection would be enough and we both slept without taking turns to keep watch.

I was gently awoken by the cheeping birds and morning sun on my face, taking me a while to fully gain awareness of myself. As I sat up I looked over to where clara had been sleeping, expecting to see her lying there smiling at me. however It didn't take me long to notice that she was not there. I got up In a panic, thinking about nothing else but Clara and if she was in trouble. I fumbled for the blade on the ground beside me and looked around.... nothing but snow and trees. I sighed, standing there shaking in the cold air. It was quiet, so quiet that it was unnerving. But my attention was quickly grabbed when I heard a scream. I snapped my head towards the sound, "Clara!" I yelled and darted into the tree line of the dark beyond.