Bite of the Winter (4)

Mikael interjected, tightly gripping Nicolaus' arm that was dragging Halter. He tried to stop him with all his might, his heels into the snow, scraping up some of it from the ground in his effort. "Ugh, we...! We can handle this differently!" he insisted.

Nicolaus, who had been pulling both Mikael's weight and Halter's, abruptly stopped in his tracks and sneered, "Handle it differently? There's no other way to handle this. Focus more on your duties, wife."

Relief washed over Mikael as Nicolaus finally halted. He met his gaze straightly, a flush creeping across his face that was not just of the cold, but of the burning resolve to stop him. "I am doing my duty!" he cut through, his voice puffing visibly in the cold air. "These people are under my care, too! I will not let you treat them harshly like this!"