By the time Gabriel gets to the foot of the mountains that Castiel had disappeared into, the sky is lightening as the sun prepares to make an appearance. He's exhausted, but he can't stop. He won't. Castiel has a huge head start, and there's no telling how far into the mountains he's gotten by now, so Gabriel will need all the time he can get in order to find his brother.
Admiral, too, is tired, but he's a workhorse through and through, and will continue going until Gabriel calls a halt or he keels over. Gabriel won't let it get that far, of course, but he knows that Admiral is running on more sleep than Gabriel himself is, and can probably go for another few hours before he requires rest and food.
"Come on, Admiral," Gabriel urges his horse. "We can do this."
Admiral snorts and tosses his huge head, and seems to put a little more effort into wading through the thick snow. The ground is sloping gently upwards, not enough to be a complete hinderance, but enough to be noticeable. Pretty soon they'll be properly on the mountains, and conditions will only get harsher. Gabriel is really not looking forward to it. He lets go of the reins for a moment and blows onto his gloved hands, hoping to warm them up. It works much better than he'd been expecting, and he's left pleasantly surprised when he can feel the warmth of his breath through the gloves.
They're an hour or two into the mountains when Admiral stills mid-step, one of his hooves poised in the air. Gabriel, who had been calling for Castiel, goes silent and looks warily around him, looking for whatever startles his horse. He wants to get down and look around, but he knows that the snow would practically make it impossible for him to move, and he'll have a greater advantage if he's on his horse.
"Is someone there?" he calls, despite the fact that he's almost positive that he's the only one on this mountain.
"That depends on who's asking," a voice replies, and Gabriel blinks in surprise.
"There's actually someone there?" he mutters to himself. Then, louder, he says, "My name is Gabriel. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"
"Sam," the voice replies. "I'm Sam. What are you doing on the mountain?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Gabriel replies, bristling at the man's almost accusing tone. "I'm here on personal business. What's your reason?"
"Uh, I sell ice for a living," the man says, the duh clear in his voice.
"Ooh, that is a rough business to be in right now," Gabriel says, snorting and thinking of how the people in Arendelle have probably already had enough of ice. Sam, it seems, has not heard the news, because he steps out of the trees and gives Gabriel a suspicious look.
"And why is that?" he demands. Gabriel frowns, not used to being addressed in such a tone and not knowing how to respond to it.
"Because my brother froze Arendelle," he replies. "That's why I'm up here, to find him so he can bring back summer."
Sam gapes at him. "I think you'd better start from the beginning."
.
Dean is very surprised to find himself growing comfortable around Castiel. Although, maybe it's not surprising. He's always liked people well enough, his nearly reclusive career choice aside, and it's not like Castiel's magic is shocking to him. He's seen magic before, after all, when he'd first met the trolls. They'd healed a boy of some kind of attack, but he doesn't know exactly what. He and Sam were too far away to make out many details.
Castiel, too, seems to be as fond of Dean as Dean is of him. Though they've only known each other for a day, but they're already so comfortable around each other. Castiel is comfortable enough to openly use his magic around Dean, which the latter knows is a big deal, given what Castiel had told him about his upbringing. In turn, Dean tells Castiel about all the hardships he and his brother have faced in their lives, from losing their parents to being forced to work from a very young age to never truly having a home.
When Dean mentions this, Castiel offhandedly mentions that Dean is more than welcome to stay with him, but Dean reluctantly declines. He has a little brother he needs to find, he says. Castiel is, of course, sad, but also very understanding. And then Dean accidentally walks in on Castiel bathing (in ice cold water, no less), and decides that Sam will probably be fine for another day or two.
.
Gabriel tells Sam his tale as the latter leads him through the trees, to where he apparently has a sleigh waiting. Sam is silent and attentive as Gabriel talks, and he only has one question when the king is finished.
"You were going to marry a stranger?" he asks incredulously.
"Court, not marry," Gabriel says, waving a dismissive hand. "And Lucifer isn't a stranger."
"You've only known him for a day," Sam says. "There's no way you know everything about him."
"Of course not," Gabriel says. "But does anyone truly know everything about another person?"
"Touche."
"Besides, I have enough to go on. We have similar personalities and interests, and we get along great. What else is there to consider?"
Sam frowns and looks up at Gabriel, who's still riding on Admiral.
"Love?" he says in response to Gabriel's question. "That's kind of important for a marriage, or even a courtship."
Now Gabriel frowns.
"I don't love him," Gabriel says slowly. "But I think I could grow to."
Sam hums noncommittally. "I guess that's a start."
"What are you, some kind of love expert?" Gabriel asks teasingly.
"No, but I have friends who are very knowledgeable on matters of the heart," Sam says sagely. Gabriel laughs.
"Okay, well, until I get an opinion from an expert, I'm not changing my mind," he says. Sam chuckles and shakes his head, and Gabriel smiles dopily in response.
They reach the sleigh a few minutes later, and Gabriel has to admit that it's a pretty nice sleigh. The wood is glossy mahogany, and the seats are padded with red, velvety cushions. There are a few claw marks around the bottom of the sleigh, especially near the back, and there's no animal attached to the harness. Gabriel frowns.
"Sam," he says. "What happened to your sleigh?"
"We were attacked by wolves," Sam says. "They killed our reindeer and almost got my brother and I. It's how we were separated."
"Do you know if he's still alive?" Gabriel asks, a twinge of guilt making him wince slightly. Sam's no doubt trying to find his brother, and here Gabriel is making him go on a trip through the mountains to find Castiel. Then again, Gabriel offered to pay and Sam accepted, so he can't be that worried about his brother.
"No, but I'm sure he is," Sam says confidently. "He can handle himself against few wolves. Okay, so if what you said about your brother is true, then I'm pretty sure that he's on the North Mountain, and the fastest way up there is by sleigh."
Sam looks meaningfully at Admiral, and Gabriel looks down at his horse consideringly. He doesn't doubt that Admiral can pull the sleigh, but they have been walking for a while with only a few breaks. Then again, it was much after midnight when Gabriel left Arendelle, and the horse didn't do anything strenuous yesterday, so he should be good to go for at least a few more hours.
Looking up, Gabriel nods his assent to Sam and removes himself from the saddle. He sinks almost immediately into the soft snow on the ground, but it doesn't come above the tops of his boots, so his feet stay comfortably warm and dry. He looks up at Sam, blinking in surprise when he sees how tall he is. Sam, too, seems amused by Gabriel's height, but refrains from making any comments because of Gabriel's warning look.
"So, Gabriel," Sam says as he leads Admiral to the sleigh. "How did you forget that your brother has magic?"
"I didn't forget because he never told me in the first place," Gabriel replies, watching interestedly as Sam starts fiddling with the many buckles that'll attach his horse to the sleigh. He looks up when Sam's hands still to find the latter frowning at him. "What?"
"He never told you?" Sam repeats, sounding confused, which in turn confuses Gabriel.
"No, why?"
"But that day with the trolls, he said that you wouldn't remember, which meant that at one point you knew," Sam mumbles. His voice is so low that Gabriel can't even be sure he heard what he heard, and it doesn't appear as if Sam is speaking to him anyway, so he ignores it in favor of settling himself in the sleigh. Admiral whinnies nervously when Gabriel leaves his line of sight, but Sam pulls something out of his pocket and feeds it to him, and the horse quiets down again.
"Ready?" Sam asks as he pulls himself up beside Gabriel.
"Ready," Gabriel replies. Sam flicks the reins and Admiral starts walking, and soon they're moving at a fast trot. Gabriel nearly falls out of the sleigh when they hit an unexpected bump, but manages to catch himself on the sides in time.
"Careful, Your Majesty," Sam says, amusement clear in his voice. "We wouldn't want you to fall out and break something."
"It would truly be a tragedy," Gabriel agrees, his solemn voice a complete contrast to Sam's light tone. It gets Sam to laugh, though, a deep, breathy sound that's more of a huff than anything else, but it still makes Gabriel smile in response.
"How far can your horse go before he needs rest?" Sam asks.
"He should be good for a few more hours," Gabriel replies. "We can't let him go more than that, though. Admiral will run himself into the ground if given half the chance."
"He's a workhorse?" Sam sounds surprised. "I didn't think that royalty would ride anything other than something pampered and elegant." If it were anyone else, Gabriel would have taken offense, but Sam managed to make the question sound curious rather than condescending or judgemental.
"Admiral isn't even technically mine," Gabriel admits. "He used to pull carts before he was sold to the palace, and I just used to visit him a lot. We bonded, I guess, and when I eventually did start to ride horses, Admiral was the only one who I'd ride."
"It was the same between my brother and our reindeer," Sam says. "The Colonel loved Dean, and Dean never really liked any other animals, so The Colonel was the only one who Dean would let near the sleigh."
"I'm sorry about what happened to him," Gabriel says sincerely.
"The Colonel or Dean?"
"Both," Gabriel says. He turns his head and looks out over the snow on the ground as it rushes past, mood lowering as he remembers why he's even on this mountain in the first place. "I know what it's like to not know where your brother is or if he's okay, but I can't imagine what it would be like to lose Admiral."
There's a short pause as Sam shifts in his seat a little. Gabriel looks at him in surprise when he feels a hand covering his own.
"We'll find the prince," Sam says, his hazel eyes confident and sure, and Gabriel can't do anything but blink wordlessly in the face of so much conviction. Sam only leaves his hand there for a few seconds before pulling away and turning back to steering the sleigh, and Gabriel returns to watching the snow rush by.
.
A few hours later, Gabriel is barely keeping his eyes open. He hasn't slept in well over twenty-four hours, and he's exhausted. Sam keeps shooting him wary glances, as if he's afraid that Gabriel will pass out and topple over out of the sleigh, but every time he does Gabriel gives him an irritated look.
The energy that had flowed through him when Castiel had first revealed his powers is long gone, and Gabriel's forced to admit that if he ever comes on another search and rescue mission, he's probably gouge his own eyes out just to escape the boredom.
"When are we going to stop?" Gabriel asks, his eyes half-lidded and his words slightly slurred.
"Soon," Sam tells him. "There's a rest station not that far from here where we can stop for the night."
"Wake me up when we get there," Gabriel says, closing his eyes and slouching until he can rest his head on the back of the sleigh's seat. He opens them what feels like seconds later, confused and disoriented. Sam is gently shaking him awake, most of their bags slung over his shoulder.
"We're here," he says. "You've been sleeping for half an hour or so."
Gabriel hums in response, too tired to give up the energy it would take to speak. He pulls himself out of the sleigh and reaches for his bag, but Sam shifts it just out of his reach.
"The room is right there. I can handle carrying it for a few moments," he says in response to Gabriel's confused look. Gabriel's too tired to care, and stumbles after Sam as he leads him to their room. He looks around when they get inside, dimly notices the two soft-looking beds and the roaring fire (and he is so, so glad to get out of the cold), and then he falls face-first onto one of the beds and doesn't get up until morning.
.
When Gabriel wakes up, it's to find that someone has tucked him into the bed properly and taken off his cloak and boots. He sits up groggily, looking around the room as he stretches. Sam is asleep in the other bed still, snoring softly and drooling onto his pillow. Gabriel scoffs out a small, amused laugh and pulls himself out of bed, then pulls on his boots and cloak, both of which he finds at the foot of his bed.
The cold air succeeds in chasing away the last of his grogginess, and he shivers when he steps outside. In the light of day, and with no exhaustion clouding his mind, he can get his first good look around at the place where they spent the night.
He didn't notice last night, but the rest station isn't just one building. The biggest one is the barn, where the horses are kept. It's in the center of a circle of other buildings, each about half the size of the barn and containing two rooms. There's also a place in between two of the buildings where a few sleighs are kept, and outside the circle Gabriel can see another building that he assumes is a store or a trading post because of the sign out front.
He decides to check on Admiral first, then go check out the store. In the barn, it's noticeably warmer than outside, so much so that Gabriel considers taking off his cloak. There are at least a dozen stalls, about half of them occupied by horses of all different breeds. Admiral is easy to spot, being quite a bit taller than the other horses in the barn.
Gabriel makes his way over there, ignoring the musky smell and petting any horse that reaches out to sniff him as he passes. Admiral nickers at him rather loudly, dancing around in his stall and glaring angrily at the mare Gabriel is petting.
"Calm down, I'm coming," Gabriel says, laughing. He makes his way over to Admiral and reaches out to scratch him behind the ears, noting with pleasure that his horse seems to be well taken care of. His stall is clean and there's plenty of hay at the bottom, the water trough is filled with clean water, and Admiral has been brushed and covered with a blanket.
"It seems that you've had a nice night," Gabriel tells his horse fondly. With one last pat, he makes his exit and heads for the store he'd seen earlier. The sign confirms what he'd thought earlier, proclaiming in large yellow letters, "Wandering Robert's Trading Post and Sauna".
A bell chimes merrily when Gabriel opens the door and walks in. The store is small and filled with rows of wooden shelves, all of them filled with things ranging from children's toys to pickaxes. He even thinks he sees one shelf with sexual lubricant, and he blushes and quickly looks away. His gaze lands on a small trinket on a shelf in front of him, and he carefully picks it up.
It's a necklace made of twine, or maybe woven grass; thickly cut gems in a variety of sizes and shapes are tied all along the twine, each one glowing a light pink colour. When Gabriel touches one of the gems, they all change from pink to red.
"Whoa," he says quietly. Looking up, his gaze quickly falls on who he assumes to be the owner of the store. He's a gruff looking man with a scruffy beard and an odd hat sitting on his head. "Are you Robert?" Gabriel asks, walking up to the counter that the man sits behind.
"Call me Bobby," the man says. "Are you lookin' to buy that thing?"
"How much is it?" Gabriel asks.
Bobby looks appraisingly at the necklace. "Twenty," he decides after a moment.
"Twenty?" Gabriel repeats, his eyebrows raising.
"It's troll magic," Bobby explains. "They don't ever part with those necklaces; only way I found that one was by accident."
"Whoa," Gabriel says again. Trolls? That is severely cool. He pulls a leather pouch out of the pocket of his cloak and forks over the money without hesitation, drawing a startled little huff of a laugh from Bobby. The necklace feels cool against his skin when he puts it on, but it warms up quickly. The gems glow a fiery red against his skin, but it doesn't show when he tucks them underneath his cloak.
At that moment, the door burst open, startling both occupants of the room.
"Bobby, have you seen-"
Sam pauses when he spots Gabriel and Bobby, both of whom are staring at him with raised eyebrows.
"Oh," Sam says. "There you are."
"Were you worried?" Gabriel asks, his voice playful and teasing.
"No," Sam says, blushing. "I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't get tried for treason because I lost the king."
"Because you lost the what?" Bobby says, looking at Gabriel suspiciously. The latter gives a small wave.
"Gabriel, King of Arendelle," he introduces himself. "Nice to meet you." Bobby blinks at him for a moment, then leans back in his seat, drawing the brim of his hat over his eyes.
"I don't want to know," he says. "Sam, you better know what you're doing."
"I do," Sam says, offended. Bobby just hums disbelievingly, and Sam rolls his eyes and looks at Gabriel. "Ready to go?"
"Just need to grab my stuff," Gabriel replies. Sam gives him a slightly sheepish look. It's rather cute.
"I already put your stuff in the sleight. I hope you don't mind."
"Uh, no. I mean, I don't."
"Good," Sam says, smiling at him. "Then let's grab Admiral and hit the road. We can make it to the North Mountain today if we make good time."
"Really? We're that close?" Gabriel says excitedly. He grabs Sam's hand, practically dragging him out of the shop. "Let's go let's go let's go!"
Sam only has time to call out a quick farewell to Bobby before Gabriel manhandles him to the sleigh, and then the two of them are off, closer than ever to finding Castiel and ending the winter.
