Chapter 114

Hydrangea stood on the brink of the precipice. Viskogorny was a very dynamic country. Every few feet the earth would either descend into a lake, river or valley, or it would rise into a grand, snow-capped mountain.

The lake that they'd camped by the previous night was a beautiful and serene sight. The crystal blue waters reflected the tall, dark mountain behind it and the white skies above.

She inhaled the crisp mountain air and then released a breath and a puff of white mist emerged from her mouth.

She tightened the fur-lined cloak around her shoulders and set to work.

Unloading the logs from her horse she started a fire and began to heat some food over the burning coals.

She heard shuffling from the tent to her right and guessed that the Sovereign was awake.

As she stoked the flames and flipped the sausages he plopped down on the rocky ground next to her.

"You know," He started, "After all these days of travel I would've thought that you'd have named the horses by now."

She glanced at him; he'd been very strange ever since they'd crossed into Viskogorny, in fact the moment they had he'd burst out laughing. She became lost in thought at the memory of his deep and hearty laugh.

"Hydrangea?" She heard him ask and she answered hurriedly.

"Yes, it is strange." She mumbled. The truth was that she didn't want to name these animals anymore, they always ended up dying and it was harder when they had names.

"Hmm…" He hummed and she looked up to see him watching her with a calm but mischievous expression. She pursed her lips. He rested himself back on his elbows and said, "Then I think I shall name them."

She frowned in confusion but he continued, "I think I'll name mine… Gravel."

She snorted but he went on, "And yours will be…" She raised her brow in slight anticipation for what creative name her horse would receive, "I think yours should be, Tree."

Her head swivelled dramatically and she gaped at him, "Tree?"

He smiled, a bright playfulness hidden behind his eyes, "Yes, it's brown, isn't it?"

"Tree is not a name." She stated vehemently, although despite herself a hint of a laugh snuck into her voice.

His smile broke into a grin that stretched his bearded face, "Sure it is," He sat up off of his elbows, "I do believe you have five brothers, all of them named after trees?"

She twisted her lips and gave him a glare, "And if you don't recall, we had two horses named after trees, but named after." She reiterated, "It's ridiculous to name a horse, tree. It's a-a…"

"A noun?" He filled in and she nodded.

"A noun. It would be like naming someone, flower." She said with emphasis, but her voice faltered when she realized that the Sovereign called her that. His face pinched in an indecipherable emotion and she looked away.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her cold ear, "Tree is fine."

"Is it?" He asked, his voice now sober.

She nodded and stood to serve their meal, "Mmhmm, it's fine."

He smiled and accepted the stew with the sausages, "How did you sleep last night?"

She pouted and groaned silently to herself. She'd slept terribly last night, even though the mountains were beautiful, they were dreadfully cold and she could hardly sleep because of it. And she knew he knew it.

"I slept well, how did you sleep?" She asked taking a spoonful of her soup.

"Fine, fine." He answered and they ate their soup in an awkward silence.

After the warm meal they sat before the fire a few minutes longer before packing up and deciding that they must move on.

Hydrangea rode beside him as he perused the maps that had been gifted to them by the queer Premier.

"We will attempt to cross through the Krendel Valley, it's hazardous but we should be able to complete the journey in a day or so." He rolled up the map and she nodded with a bored expression.

It's not that travelling through so many places wasn't exciting, it was that she was tired of it. She just wanted to rest, to take a breath and know that she could plant her feet on the ground and stay there, at peace for while.

They walked down a steep and narrow path that led into a deep valley. The trees were lain with a heavy and wet snow, the ground was covered in piles of the white precipitation. Some of it was pressed down, a sign that this path was frequented.

Walking along a small, clear water creek Hydrangea looked to her right when she heard a twig snap. Her heart began to race when she realized that the forest was utterly silent around them. Not a bird sang and not a leaf rustled.

"Sovereign." She whispered and glanced forward to see his horse stopped as well, "Sovereign." He made no movement. Her heart became increasingly erratic and her eyes darted around fearfully.

"Hydrangea." She caught the strained words of the Sovereign, "Run."

With those two words the trees across the small creek burst open and a large creature emerged from them. She gasped and purposefully fell off of her horse. She crawled away from the creek and winced from the thundering growl that ebbed from the beast.

The Sovereign had still not moved. She exhaled a tremulous breath out of her nose. What was he doing?

The large, terrifying creature stalked across the rushing creek, its humongous paws almost spanning the whole of it. Her mouth parted open in a whimper when she saw how long its claws were. It was nearing the Sovereign.

She began to panic and without thinking she jumped forward from behind the trees and grabbed the Sovereign off of his saddle. He was heavier than she thought and he crashed on top of her, his body rigid and as cold as ice.

The creature growled and she unintentionally whimpered as she tried to haul the Sovereign away from there. They had to get away.

A scream erupted from her lips when the Sovereign's horse was grabbed by the beast's jaws and thrown aside, leaving no boundary between it and them.

Her heart thundered in her chest, she made a quick decision. Her mind was going cold, along with her limbs, her breathing was becoming laboured and she soon realized that the creature was causing it.

She didn't know how but she couldn't think at that moment, both of their lives were in danger.

With quick movements, before the cold could sweep through her entire body, and she would be as frozen as the Sovereign, she unsheathed his sword and stood to run for the trees.

She glanced at his frozen eyes for one moment before she sprinted behind the trunks of the aspens.

She peeked over her shoulder and saw that the beast was approaching the trees. She still felt cold and slow but she could do this. She released a breath into the frigid air. She could do this.

She heard its footsteps landing on the hard, rocky earth and she did her best to stay still. Closing her eyes she pleaded to the Primals.

She felt a cold huff of breath and then she saw the beast's shadow fading away. She opened her mouth in relief but didn't dare breathe.

She heard the Sovereign cry out in pain and her eyes widened. Without any hesitation, she sprinted forward and the beast turned, its white furred face filled with rage and she slowed.

It charged towards her and she ducked away from its swiping paw. Another paw came hurdling towards her. She wasn't fast enough. She flew back and hit a rock.

Her back burned with pain. Her bleeding knuckles still clenched the sword. But she could feel her limbs going numb once more. She groaned as she breathed in. She raised her eyes to the heavens, silently begging to stay alive.

Without warning the beast suddenly lunged towards her and she raised the blade.