Chapter 7
Opening her eyes, Gwen blinked and looked around, seeing a bit of early morning sun spilling through into the cave. The fire burned low, little more than embers now, most of the wood gone. Snow blocked up the mouth of the cave nearly to the top, piled up during the night by the storm, which must have finally moved on sometime before dawn and blown itself out.
Had last night... had it really happened? Gwen could hardly believe it. She closed her eyes again for a moment, remembering the feel of his arms holding her close, of his lips touching hers. It was almost like a dream. Only this one was real. By the gods, it was real. Gwen didn't remember falling asleep, only laying her head on his shoulder and sharing quiet words with him for much of the night until her weariness had finally overcome her.
She was lying on the ground, wrapped in the cloak Nathel had given her, with her head pillowed on his thigh. Gwen looked up to see him sitting cross-legged with his back against the cave wall, much as he had done last night. He must have moved her after she had fallen asleep, so she would be more comfortable. It was a sweet thing for him to have done, she had to admit, but still a little foolish, as it had meant giving up the extra warmth of the cloak.
He smiled down at her. "Good morning."
"Morning, Nathel. How long have you been awake?"
"Since daybreak, more or less," he said. "I've always been an early riser, ever since I was a boy. Probably from spending so much time outdoors."
Gwen shifted onto her back. "Probably. So you've been sitting here all this time?"
"Yeah. I didn't want to wake you."
"Thank you," she said. "I feel much better now."
And she did. She felt warm, and not just from lying near the dwindling fire. And she was dry. So were her own clothes, she saw. She would change in a bit. But she wanted to just stay here for a little longer, savoring this time alone with Nathel. Because once they got back to the Eye, with its near constant demands of duty and obligation, of almost daily raids and patrols, they wouldn't have as many chances to spend time alone together like this.
She reached for his hand. "Come here."
Nathel obliged, sliding his fingers through hers and letting her pull him close. Her heart racing, Gwen pressed her lips against his, her other hand slipping into his long mane of dark hair as he bent down toward her. He slid his hand along her cheek and turned her head slightly, returning her soft, lingering kiss with infinite tenderness. After a moment, though, he pulled away. "We'd better see about getting out of here. I think I can break up that snow a bit, enough for us to get through."
"Alright. I'll go ahead and get changed while you're doing that."
He nodded and helped her get to her feet, then after briefly touching his lips to hers, he turned around and headed up to the cave entrance. Gwen could hear him punching and pulling at the piled up snow as she pulled off the clothes he had given her and put her own garments back on. After folding up Nathel's extra tunic and leggings and slipping them back into his pack for him, Gwen joined him and looked at the wall of whiteness that kept them in here. Nathel had made little headway in bringing it down.
"Damn," he sighed. "It's packed in tighter than I thought."
"I've never seen it so high before," Gwen said.
There was only about a foot or so of space between the piled snow and the top of the cave entrance. Much too small even for her to squeeze through. She remembered stirring sometime during the night, nearly wakened by a particularly close blast of thunder from the storm. She had drifted back to sleep almost at once, though, too tired to care that she and Nathel were slowly being walled in. But now it was all she could think about. "How are we going to get out?"
"I don't know," Nathel said. "I guess―"
Gwen glanced at him. "What? What is it?"
"I hear something, Gwen. Get back. We've got company."
She did so, straining her ears but hearing nothing aside from the soft sigh of the wind and her own breath as she withdrew from the entrance a few steps. She tossed Nathel his bow and quiver, then cleared her mind, focusing her will and readying a few of her more debilitating spells as she took her wand and focus from her belt. Nathel, she saw, already had an arrow nocked and ready as he peered outside.
"Do you see anything?" Gwen asked.
Nathel shook his head. "No, but something's definitely out there. I can hea―"
Suddenly a darkly furred, familiar face appeared in the gap above the top of the snow. Gwen's jaw dropped. "Whisper!"
"Good boy!" Nathel grinned, dropping his weapons and reaching out toward the big cat. Now Gwen understood why she hadn't heard anything. Whisper lived up to his name, making scarcely a sound wherever he went. Gwen relaxed, stuffed her own weapons back into her belt, and looked at Whisper in helpless wonder. "How did he find us?"
Nathel turned to her. "He probably heard us. Stalkers can hear far better than humans can, and from farther away, too."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It's pretty amazing. They can pick up sounds from miles away."
Gwen looked at the big cat, an idea suddenly forming in her mind. "If we send him back to the Eye, maybe he can bring help. Can he do that?"
"I don't see why not," Nathel said. "He knows the way."
"Then let's do it."
Nathel nodded and turned back to Whisper, saying no words but instead gazing intently at him. It was a little strange to Gwen, watching them and wondering what it must be like to touch an animal's mind. Nathel had offered to teach her once, not so long ago, but while she liked the big cat, she had never felt quite the same bond with him that Nathel did. It was something that was his alone, and she thought that it should stay that way.
After a moment, Whisper disappeared, bounding away without a sound as Nathel turned back to Gwen. "Well, that's it. He shouldn't be gone long."
"Okay," she said. "As long as we're waiting, we might as well eat something."
They had a sparse breakfast from what little food Nathel still had in his pack from yesterday. Field rations, mostly. It wasn't much, but at least it calmed her growling stomach. Nevertheless, Gwen would be glad to get back to the Eye and have some real food. After the inevitable chewing-out she would no doubt receive from Captain Langmar, that was. As she finished her meal and helped Nathel gather up their things, Gwen resigned herself to a day of planning and paperwork and figured she'd be lucky to step outside the fortress again before the week was out.
Twenty minutes or so later, Whisper appeared in the gap above the snow, and a man's voice called down to them. It was Aidan. "Nathel! Gwen! Are you in there?"
"We're here, Aidan," Nathel answered.
"Thank the gods," Aidan replied. "Langmar's had search parties out all morning looking for you two. I'm not surprised they didn't find you, though. The entire hillside's practically buried in snow."
Gwen called out to him. "Can you get us out?"
"Leave that to me," another voice said.
"What do you want us to do, Cynn?" Nathel asked.
Gwen watched as Whisper moved out of the way and a fair-skinned, blond woman took his place. "Just stand back and brace yourselves."
Even though she hadn't known the fiesty elementalist very long, Gwen knew what that meant. She moved away from the cave entrance until she stood near the back wall of the cave, Nathel's hand in hers. He looked at her for a moment, then back at Cynn."We're ready."
A moment later, Gwen's world turned thunderous and white, and the wall of snow suddenly exploded inward as though a dwarven powder keg had just gone off. Gwen shielded her face with the back of her hand and ducked away as Nathel threw his arms around her, putting himself between her and the sudden rush of ice and snow.
It was over as quickly as it had begun, and when Gwen looked up, the inside of the cave was a good deal brighter than it had been before. The floor was covered in drifts of chilly whiteness, and so was Nathel. Gwen had escaped the worst of it, but there was still a little snow on her. She brushed herself off and got to her feet, then helped Nathel dust as much of the snow off of him as he could. Gwen couldn't quite suppress a giggle. "Thanks. You look a bit like a snowman, though."
"Ah, well. I've been covered in worse things," he shrugged.
"I'll bet. Monster blood and all."
"You two alright?" Aidan called from behind them.
Gwen nodded. "We're fine."
She looked up to see him stepping a little ways into the cave along with Cynn, who was busy admiring her handiwork. Behind her, Devona and Mhenlo peered inside while Eve looked on with only marginal interest, and Whisper sat on his haunches nearby, totally unruffled by all the commotion.
"Don't you think that might've been a little much, Cynn?" Devona asked.
The pale blond rolled her eyes. "Hardly. I barely put anything behind that fireball to begin with. Still, it was fun to watch that wall blow up, wasn't it?"
"At least you didn't bring the whole cave down on their heads."
"Excuse me?" Cynn retorted. "You know me better than that, Devona."
Mhenlo cut in before the other woman could reply. "I think she means she's glad you didn't let your enthusiasm for your craft get the better of you, Cynn. It's happened before, after all."
"Hmph! Contrary to popular belief, I do know how to restrain myself. Sometimes."
She turned and headed back outside without another word. Aidan glanced back at Gwen and Nathel. "If you're ready, we'd best be heading back now. The captain will want to know you're alright."
As she headed outside with Nathel and followed the others through the snow, Gwen found herself almost unconsciously slipping her hand into his. So much had happened in so short a time, she was still trying to adjust to it all. As she walked, Devona fell into step next to her on her other side, her hammer slung casually over her shoulder. "So, you two were in there the whole night?"
"Yeah," Gwen answered. "Most of it, anyway."
The small group paused after a while to rest for a moment as the massive pillar of the Eye came into view between the trees. It looked close, but it would be at least another hour or so before they got there. So many steep slopes and ridges around here made travel long and often difficult, not to mention the perpetual snow blanketing the mountainside. Gwen shivered in the morning breeze and pulled her cloak a little tighter around her shoulders as she caught her breath.
Cynn smirked. "Sounds like it was an interesting night, to say the least."
"You could say that," Nathel said.
"So, what happened?" Devona asked. "What were you doing out here so late, anyway?"
Eve's mouth twisted into a sly grin. "I think I know."
"Um, nothing," Nathel stammered, stepping hurriedly away from Gwen. "We were just, ah... talking. Got lost when the weather turned bad and... had to find shelter."
"Nothing?" Gwen turned on him. "You call last night nothing?"
Nathel blinked. "I.. no, that's not what I meant, Gwen. I was only saying―"
"Oh, get over here, already, would you?"
Not caring that the others were watching, Gwen took his face in her hands, pulled him to her, and smashed her lips against his. As she had expected, she felt his body relax and his arms slide around her as he returned her kiss. No reason to hide how they felt about each other, and the whole Vanguard would likely know before sundown anyway. Secrets were notoriously impossible to keep in there.
"Well, it's about time," Cynn snickered as Gwen at last pulled away. "You two have been making eyes at each other for weeks now."
"Was it that obvious?" Gwen wondered.
Cynn snorted. "I've seen Norn with more subtlety than you. Not that I blame you, really. I wasn't much different with Mhenlo at first."
"You're still not, dearest," the monk smiled.
"Oh, stuff it, love," she snapped.
Aidan grinned. "It seems you managed to work things out after all, Nathel."
Gwen felt Nathel slip his arm around her waist as he answered. "I did. You were right, Aidan. I know where I belong now, where I want to be. And who I want to be with."
Before she knew what was happening, Gwen was bending over backward as Nathel swept her into a passionate kiss, one hand buried in her hair while the other slid down to the small of her back. Gwen wrapped her arms around him, her heart pounding as her lips meshed with his and her blood flowed like magma beneath her skin, leaving her breathless and dizzy with the heat and suddenness of it all.
When Nathel finally let her go, Gwen straightened and smiled at him. "I guess this means you're going to stick around after all."
"You're going to have a hard time getting rid of me," he quipped.
"Who says I plan on trying?"
Nathel took her hand. "Come on, Gwen. Let's go home."
