Zelgadis and Amelia huddled together to keep warm. It had seemed like forever since the last of their food had run out, and they hadn't been able to find anything else. Already the land had the telltale signs of Spring on the way, but it still seemed like a long way off, especially when there was still snow everywhere.
C-R-R-R-A-C-K!
Both leapt up in fright, unsure of what had caused the sound. Was someone else out to get them? Without a word both cautiously crept to the cave's exit, and peered about. Not seeing anything, Amelia gave a silent nod, returned by a worried look from Zelgadis, as she crept from the cave, then took to the air.
Zelgadis could only watch in anxious silence. After what seemed an eternity, Amelia landed and practically danced up to Zelgadis.
"What is it? What did you see?" Zelgadis asked, trying to make sense of Amelia's suddenly cheery demeanor.
"It was the river!" Amelia practically shouted in her excitement, "the ice has all broken up and is being washed away!"
The dying hope in Zelgadis' heart suddenly blazed back to life, as a smile graced his face. They were going to make it!
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Yes, this was supposed to be updated Sunday, and yes, now Monday is nearly gone, but...my modem died early Sunday morning! It lingered for a time and gave us hope that there was still some life in it, but when I hooked my laptop directly to it to run diagnostics on it, it was very dead. So finally we have a new modem, so I can get caught up again! (Ugh.)
And yes, this was a horribly short chapter. When writing this, I decided to forgo the entire winter with Amelia and Zelgadis to keep the story from dragging, so you get this little tidbit. The next chapter will be longer, and more enlightening...
Next time: "Soft? Who'd use that to describe something that had attacked them?"