Katherine
"We should find a place to rest."
I'm startled by Peter's voice. I glance at him and he looks ready to lie down and sleep for a thousand years. We haven't talked since the encounter with the wolves. We falling back to our old habits. He doesn't even look at me as I stare at him. Suddenly, I have this urge to make him look at me with those crystal clear blue eyes. I still feel the warmth of his body. I look away before the thought grows into something else.
"Okay."
The sun is nearing the outline of the mountains. Peter comes closer when I stop to look for a safe place to rest. I sense the anger in him. Our conversation went awry, because I never argued with him and he is normally very composed. I think it is for the best he is upset with me. It is easier to hate him and to distance myself from him and him from me.
"We have to climb a tree."
"You want to sleep in a tree? In this cold?"
The night is approaching. There are many sturdy and tall trees. They are perfect to sleep on. I don't understand what the problem is. The ground doesn't look very welcoming. It looks dark, full of dry leaves and rocks. The vegetation looks safe enough to hide us from unwanted creatures.
"It is better than to sleep on the ground." A icy breeze flies by, touching my neck like sharp blades. "However, if you want, you can sleep here and be greeted by lovely animals."
He raises an eyebrow at my comment, but ignores it and sighs. "We can find a cave."
"I don't see one around here." The terrain doesn't have pertubations. It's flat as a frozen river.
"If we keep searching, we can find one." He almost rolls his eyes at me.
"Night is here! There is no time to search for caves."
"If you don't want to search for one, I'll do it."
He moves past me and goes his own way alone.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" I whisper to myself and follow him.
If I was alone, I would be sleeping in a tree by night-time. When I find Peter, I see the mouth of a cave in front of him. It is very small but large enough to fit a person. The top is covered with branches that entwine with others and moss.
"I told you I would find one."
"I still think the tree is better." I insist just to mock him.
"I'm not going to comment on that." He moves to enter the cave, but I stop him before he takes another step.
"Wait! There could be something inside."
I load my bow and pass under the mouth of the cave. I have to climb down slowly or I'll tumble down and hurt myself. It is pitch black and I have to listen for unusual sounds. I feel like I'm entering an endless dark road. My foot rest on flat earth and I straighten myself. I walk for two minutes before the tip of my arrow touches something hard. A wall and the end of the cave.
"It's safe." I call out.
I turn around to make my way to the entrance when I misstep my foot and it collides with a protruding rock.
"Son of a-" I clench my teeth and exhale deeply through my nose.
"Katherine." I hear Peter's voice but I don't see him and then I hear a body crashing to the ground and a loud curse.
"Peter! Are you alright?" I try to follow the sound with a sore foot. "Tell me where you are."
"Here." The pain is strong in his voice.
The mouth of the cave lets in a bit of light and I can see Peter's silhouette. He leans against the steap steps of the cave breathing with a bit of difficulty.
"I slipped when I heard you." He tries to smile but it comes out like a grimace.
"You could have waited for me at the top, you moron!"
I help him up and he leans against my body. I guide him deeper into the cave and then I sit him down against the rocky wall. I can't see his face but I do feel his presence. I hear the sound of him taking off his satchel and placing it on the dirt floor. He lies down and I sit beside him.
"You can sleep. I'll keep a watch."
"We are deep into the earth. There is no need to keep watches."
He is right, but I don't want to fall asleep in the middle of a dark forest, alone and with him. I don't trust him. I'm still waiting for the moment he will attack and kill me. I realise his hand is on my arm, pulling my sleeve down.
"Sleep."
I set my arm free, annoyed at him. I ignore his insistance and look into the darkness, trying to sense something peculiar in the shadows. Eventually, he falls asleep and I release the breath I was holding in. The bow rests on my lap, an arrow ready to be shot. I can't avoid going to the conversation we had on the tree. I do blame him for my pain and loneliness, but my main target is the queen. She destroyed my life. Nonetheless, Peter takes part of the blame. I needed a familiar face in my life and he slowly vanished, never communicating what he was doing and if he was preparing himself to come help me. Now, he is too late and I don't need his help. I can protect myself and I will not let him be my saviour.
Suddenly, I awake up and realise I fell asleep. I don't remember lying down. Beneath my head is a hard and moving chest.
"Are you cold?"
"What?" I lean on my elbow and try to see Peter's face. "Why am I with my head on your chest, again?"
"You fell asleep." I feel his hand on my cheek. "So, are you cold?"
"A bit." I lie back down and place my head closer to his chin.
Something warm is placed over me and my body stops trembling. I fall asleep immediately and I only wake up when someone shakes me.
"Katherine." Someone calls. "We should get going."
I open my eyes, the morning light streaming into the cave is enough to lead us out. Peter is already up and ready to leave.
"Morning." He smiles faintly and helps me up.
He hands me my cloak when I start shivering. I grab my belongings and sling the quiver around me. Peter climbs up first and I follow him out of the cave. The woods are involved in a sunly halo, the sun beams trespassing the dense vegetation still alive in this area. There is snow everywhere and I realise this is my fourth time seeing snow. Back in Saldrian, there was only cold. I had to content myself with the stories of winter wonderlands in the north told by some of the maids.
...
Peter
I wonder how Katherine hasn't caught a cold dressed with those light clothes. She doesn't tell me, because she doesn't trust me. Yet, she didn't freak out when she woke up in the middle of the night with her head on my chest.
I have never seen this much snow and I live in the north. Also, I'm not used travelling through the woods without a road to guide me. Everything is silent and each false move is one step closer to a trap hidden by the pureness and quietness of the snow. Katherine must feel at home surrounded by nature and the fresh air. Sometimes I wonder if she has any memories of her old life. I'm afraid to ask, fearing she will turn into the anguished and enraged young woman she has become. I'm still oblivous to her life during these three years. Despite our argument about the letters, there is nothing to know about them. There is something behind this story. Katherine's words hold truth, but they aren't entirely true.
I look up at the sky. I would say it is noon by the position of the sun. The pine trees and others's vegetation rustle as a soft breeze flows by. As we walk, the terrain gains more declines and increases and fallen trunks painted with moss block our path.
"Can we rest for a moment?"
She doesn't answer. Two minutes pass and then she looks at me.
"Okay."
I sit down on one of the trunks. I exhale and inhale harshly because of the cold air.
"You weren't made for this." I glimpse the gentle smile in her lips before it is gone.
"No." I say. "Although I enjoy taking walks around the gardens back home."
She catches me unprepared when she chuckles. She realises her mistake and frowns, retreating inside herself once more. "We must not delay our arrival." She stands up from the ground and doesn't wait for me to follow her.
I sigh and stand up as well. I have to march to keep up with her. "Do you know where we are?"
"North of Alighter."
"We are nearing Siluam, aren't we?"
"Could you be quiet, please?" She says, tightly. "And yes. We are nearing Siluam."
Siluam means something else, something somber and dark in an old language. Creatures crawl through fissures unnoticed. Some courageous people have stepped inside, but they never made it out. No one knows what lurks and lives in Siluam. Although, by its borders, exists marks of its habitants and their size and formate. The villages near say they hear strange noises like shrieks and unhumans screams. I don't know why we are taking this route. There is another route south of Alighter, the one I rode to find Katherine, but the queen must be looking for me already. We can't take chances. The sooner we get to Baluster, the better.
Katherine's arm stops me from taking another step.
"What-"
"Shh."
I try to see what troubles her. I don't see anything unusual; only tall and large trees, rocks and snow. She loads her bow and from behind a bush comes out a white fox. It looks like a spectrum floating towards us. Cold sweat runs down my back as the fox treads carefully, its sharp teeth and green eyes ready to hunt us down.
"You will walk away slowly, Peter." Katherine orders, never taking her eyes from the fox.
"I will not do such thing."
"Just do as I say. I'm not ordering." When I don't move, she pushes me. "Go. Now!"
I do as she says, always looking at her, watching her figure turn smaller. I see the fox moving towards her. She releases the arrow. However, the fox dodges it instintively and doesn't waste time. The fear in my chest consumes me and I can't let Katherine go. I stop and wait for her to run. When she doesn't and the fox gets on her, I run to her. She takes out a knife and stabs the fox, only she misses the animal.
"Katherine!"
The fox looks at me. Something in its eyes changes and the fox grins wickedly before jumping to Katherine. Nonetheless, Katherine falls to the ground and stabs multipal times the fox in the stomach. It snarls at her and tries to bite her. The fox is barely living when I reach Katherine.
"Get it off of me!" She shouts, horror in her voice.
I grab the dead fox and place the animal far away from Katherine by the base of a naked tree. When I look back at her, her bloody hands are trembling and her eyes are stuck in time.
"Are you okay?" I place a hand on her shoulder and she steps away suddenly, afraid of something in her head. "Hey. It's okay. It's only me."
"Peter?"
"Yes?"
"Where are we?"
"North of Alighter." I say, feeling like a coward. It's frustating not being able to help her, to protect her mind from the disturbing memories.
"Okay." She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and then exhales. She opens her eyes and looks at me. I see the vulnerablity in her eyes for a moment and then she looks away. On the spot she lay is a stain of red sprinkled with white dust and the knife she used to kill the fox.
She moves without saying a word and we resume our way.
Thank you for your kind reviews. If you have know reached this chapter, you will notice several changes. I'm rewriting the chapters, adding and changing some aspects. I hope you don't get confused. Favourite, follow and review :)