AN: I really really wanted to use the Stark saying, 'Winter is coming.' Buuut I didn't. You'll see what I mean. Thank you so much for those who reviewed, it really means a lot. I was cruel to Zachary again.

It would prove to be several weeks before Karigan would see the king again, by which time she had firmly placed the memory of the conversation in the back of her mind. Where it would no longer hinder her sleep or placate her thoughts during the day. It was not hard to stay busy, for Riders were constantly coming and going, many leaving on journeys that would keep them away for months. She had received no such assignment as of yet, but was instructed to assist in the training of the newly minted Riders who needed additional sword practice. Many of whom had never wielded a weapon of any type before coming into the service. Karigan went about these duties with just a little bit of trepidation, for she could feel the underlying tension in the city and castle. She knew that something was brewing, and that it was loomed on the horizon along with the violent autumn storms that raged over the plains.

For days now, there was a steady stream of wagons that trickled into the city. Towards warehouses and granaries that would hold the crown's share of that year's crops. An antiquated practice that was reserved for long periods of war, it had been put aside for many years and had only been reinstituted by Zachary earlier that spring. Those with eyes and ears, could see that the king and his inner council were preparing for a drawn out conflict, and were taking carefully measured precautions.

Several Green Riders, including Captain Mapstone, Fergal, Mara, and Karigan were summoned to the king's private quarters. They were not told why, only given the time and location for the meeting by a Green Foot. Upon arriving, there were two Weapons they had never seen before, posted outside the door.

Frowning, Laren glanced at the two young men in slight bemusement, neither showing a flicker of emotion as one opened the door and announced their arrival. They all filed in quickly, Fergal giving the two Weapons a sly wink and a quick onceover before he slipped through the door. As soon as the door closed, Karigan slapped Fergal upside the head quickly, issuing a smug smile when Fergal released a yelp.

The four looked about the cozy study, seemingly alone as their eyes scanned the contents of the room. Karigan and Laren had been here quite often but the other two felt slightly uneasy in their surroundings. The piles of books scattered about the room were richly bound, the fabric of the draperies finely woven, and all the furniture made of a polished teakwood that was likely imported by the sea merchants in Corsa. Karigan's eyes had noted these things before, noticing the preference for simple comforts in the room, but the merchant in her recognizing the quality of the make. It was a room she herself felt comfortable in, knowing she would be able to find an interesting volume to read and a cozy chair by the fire.

Through the adjoining door to the bedchamber, came Fastion, followed shortly by Donal and the king. Willis brought up the rear and closed the door behind him, placing himself to the side.

The Riders instinctively bowed at the waist in the presence of their king. Zachary waved them up and spoke to them all, his eyes roving each of their faces as he chose his words, 'I invited you all here for one specific reason. To have a contingency in the event that the city is overrun.'

The air was thick with unanswered questions and confused looks that he acknowledged with a small smile of reassurance.

'Although I hope that will not be the case, I want to be prepared. So I've chosen a select few from the corp to be shown the secret passageways out of the castle, which will lead to a stone outcropping out on the plains. That entrance can only be opened from the inside, and is heavily hidden from outside eyes.'

Mara's eyes slitted sideways to glance at an excited Fergal, and rolled her eyes at his pleasure at being one of the 'chosen'.

Zachary paused, his gaze intensifying, 'Should the castle fall, you will lead the survivors out of the city, regardless of where I or the nobles may be. The Eletians have agreed to take the refugees if it comes to that point, and they will know if the entrance is opened. Do you understand?'

They all nodded hesitantly. Zachary relaxed his pose, 'Good. Well then. Let me show you one of the castle entrances, and the only one that leads directly from this suite of rooms.'

He beckoned for them to follow, turning to go into his bedchamber. Karigan had listened to his explanation but her eyes still wandered over his form, eager for a glimpse after a few weeks. If he had noticed, he said nothing, showing each individual in the room the same level of attention.

Once in the bedchamber, Zachary approached one of the many large wardrobes and opened the immense wooden doors. Inside hung scores of tunics and coats that he pushed aside or handed to Willis to place on the bed. Once an adequate space was cleared, the naked eye could see the wooden panels of the darkened wardrobe.

Zachary ran his hands over the seams of a lower panel, his fingers finding a familiar crack as one hand reached out to push against a knot of intricate scrollwork that ran along the sides of the wardrobe. A hiss and a pop were heard, the air turning considerably chillier as a draft permeated the room.

Climbing out of the wardrobe, he straightened and gestured towards the door, 'There are several passages in the castle network. As all the Weapons are aware of their existence, I thought it best to pair you off with a guide to show you the way.'

Donal immediately stepped forth with his lantern, 'Captain Mapstone, if you'll follow me?'

Laren glanced at Zachary suspiciously but followed the Weapon into the dark passageway. After they disappeared, Fergal eagerly made to climb in next but Fastion grabbed his collar in a firm grip, 'Not so fast. Allow Willis and Mara to go next.'

Fergal scowled with the impertinence of youth but held still, watching as the next pair left, lantern in hand. Fastion let him loose but gave him a fierce look, 'You will stay with me at all times. You will not have the inkling to explore on your own, and you will not tell tales of what you have seen this night, in the common room.'

Fergal's shoulders hunched in slight fear as he nodded timidly, following the Weapon with an uncharacteristic show of humility.

The two people left standing in the room shifted awkwardly on their feet, looking anywhere but at each other's face.

Zachary broke the silence with a cough, 'Well, let's go then.'

Karigan frowned slightly at the use of the formal title but nodded her assent, quickly climbing into the wardrobe after him. After they reached the inside of the corridor, he crouched down to shut the entry door.

Squinting her eyes in the heavy darkness, she asked, "Sire, should we not have a lantern ourselves?'

He chuckled, 'I played in these as a child, I would know my way blindfolded, but for tonight's purposes, the relevant passages are lit with torches.'

Indeed, when she looked about her, it seemed that there was a faint light, like a dying ember, flickering in the far distance.

Karigan could hear, rather than see, him stand and shuffle past her, his coat brushing against her cloak as he moved by. She could smell his masculine scent, a combination of clean linen and musk, as he walked by, a scent that mingled with the dampness of the passage.

She hesitated with her first step, still unable to see her hand in front of her face when she reached out blindly. A warm hand caught hers and she heard his voice, 'Stay close to me.'

She trembled slightly with the physical contact but could offer no response, and allowed herself to be led by the hand towards the flickering light.

Karigan was not normally afraid of the dark or small spaces but the pitch black seemed to envelope them as they made their way, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Unconsciously, she clutched his hand tighter and pressed closer to his side.

He smiled, slightly pleased, but kept silent as well, allowing his feet to lead him down a familiar path. They reached a corner, turning to the left, and leading towards a set off stairs. A small torch was positioned every ten or so steps to light the way of their descent.

Before they went down, he turned to her, 'We are still within the limits of the city, but an hour or so down those stairs will lead to only one passage. It would take you to the exit.'

She nodded her understanding, feeling the dampness seep into her clothes and holding back a shiver. He turned and started to lead them back to the wardrobe entrance. Slightly confused, she posed a query, 'Should we not see more, sire?'

Zachary shook his head, 'Not while you might catch a chill. There will be other days for you to be shown the paths. For now, you know the quickest way out.'

Her face contorted in a slight scowl, as her free hand reached up to hold her cloak closed, but she did not argue the point.

They reached the hidden door and he released her hand, getting back down on his hands and knees to find the latch. After several moments and a few quiet curses, he sighed heavily, 'It is jammed.'

Karigan forgot the use of courtesies and snapped, 'What do you mean, it's jammed?'

'Meaning,' he drawled, 'We are stuck here until the Weapons posted at my door come and find us. They were given a timetable of about two hours as a precaution.'

Karigan scoffed, 'Two hours? Down here?'

Zachary's voice was slightly icy, 'It was supposed to be a thorough exploration, for your benefit, Rider.'

Only slightly chastised, she huffed and plopped herself on the floor to draw the folds of her cloak around her. He settled in a similar fashion a slight distance away from her and they sat in silence for several minutes.

As her teeth began to chatter, her heat began to quickly dissolve into the cold air. Zachary must have heard, for he moved closer, close enough to where she wished she could throw caution to the wind and latch on to the wonderful source of warmth he presented.

Drawing in a deep breath, he crept closer, 'Do not be offended by what I'm about to do.'

She opened her mouth to ask of his intentions, but found herself scooped up off the cold floor and onto a warm lap. Too stunned to speak, she tried to hold herself rigidly but his arms came around her, briskly chafing her arms.

His voice was apologetic, 'You shouldn't get sick because of me.'

Karigan tried to pull away, her face flaming red in embarrassment, 'Sire, it is inappropriate for me to be this close.'

'No one is here to see,' he responded gruffly.

'But I would know,' she said firmly, with an attempt to stand up. His arms snaked around her waist and pulled her back down.

'Just sit quietly and don't argue for once,' he said, somewhat crossly, his breath hot on her neck. Karigan boiled with retorts but she bit her tongue, crossing her arms over her chest, and wrinkling her nose. She refused to relax and held her posture. He was not pleased with the state of affairs either, but truly was worried about the tremors that ran through her body and the shaking tone of her voice. Discreetly, he opened the fastenings of his coat and pulled her a bit closer to share in the heat that rolled off him in waves. The shaking abated after a few moments, but neither were inclined to speak as they mused over their own thoughts.

It seemed more than a mere two hours had passed, for both had grown drowsy in the presence of the other. Unconsciously, she had begun to lean against his chest, her face lying on his shoulder. Despite his lower half nearly falling asleep, his head moved to the side to rest his forehead against hers. With his arms wrapped around her and her cloak spread over them both, they fell into sleep.

Karigan woke a short time later, feeling deliciously warm and comfortable, despite the crick in her neck. With a small yawn, she gave a tiny cat-like stretch, her nose brushing against skin.

Her eyes flew open, and she froze, remembering exactly where she was and exactly whose lap she currently resided in. Squirming in slight soreness and mortification, she shifted her weight on his lap, trying to re-establish the feeling in her legs.

The tightening of his arms took her by surprise as she emitted a small squeak. He hissed close by her ear, 'In the name of all that is holy, do not move like that.'

Karigan gulped, taken by the raw pain in his voice, and the hardness that pressed up against her bottom. Warily, she remained silent and still, waiting for him to speak.

Instead, his left hand came off her waist, the palm smoothing against her hip as he breathed heavily through his nose, his chest heaving with effort. She sought to ignore the growing bulge beneath her, and her own body's heated response to its presence. A buried instinct told her to press closer, to encourage and revel in the sensations that they both were experiencing, but the rational, and flustered, part of her brain told her to do as her king bid, and not move an inch.

Then, at the worst possible time, Karigan could feel the precursors of a heavy sneeze building in her sinuses and nose. Trembling, she reached up with one hand to cover her mouth but the ticklish sensations proved to be too much as she shook in his lap. Her squirming brought forth a new wave of agony for him, as the hand on her hip moved down to her knees, the fingers flexing and grasping at the heavy fabric of her trousers.

Too occupied with her own discomfort to notice, she brought her cloak up to cover her face just in time as her body wracked with the full force of the sneeze. She did not see, hear, or feel Zachary tensing up and burying his face into a spare section of cloak, biting his lip to cover his cry.

Raising her head back up, she mumbled her apologies in abject wretchedness and wiped her nose, thoroughly disgusted that she had just sneezed in the king's lap, not even really notcing that he no longer felt the previous tension in his body. His arms hung loosely about her, his temperature nearly sky rocketing in those past few moments, but he could not bring himself to speak as he stared at her incredulously. Did he truly just get away with that?

Their mutual salvation occurred when Fastion emerged from the shadows, Fergal skulking a slight distance back. The Weapon observed the pair on the floor and raised his eyebrows, 'Everything in order, majesty?'

Karigan scrambled off and hastened to straighten her clothing. Zachary kept himself seated on the ground and answered quietly, 'We turned back early. I couldn't get the door to open, and it turned cold rather quickly.'

Fastion's brow arched as he listened, looking at the door, then back at the Rider and the king. Nodding slowly to himself, he conceded with an ironic smile, 'Good thing we traveled in pairs then.'

He turned his attention to the door, cocked his head to the side, and then gave it a hearty kick. The latch sounded and it opened a crack. 'See now sire, this particular door needs some persuasion occasionally.'

Fastion turned with the lantern, snapping his fingers at Fergal, 'Out you go.'

Fergal did as he was told, eager to be out of the brooding darkness. Karigan followed him, more than willing to be out of the king's company after her embarrassing episode.

Zachary still remained on the floor.

Fastion reached into the wardrobe and drew a plain grey cloak off a hook, tossing it down to his king without saying a word. Zachary stood slowly and wrapped it about himself, not able to meet the other's eyes, but Fastion's hand reached out to grasp his shoulder and he leaned in close. 'We'll have to do something about this in the long term; you two are making a habit out of this.'

'I suppose we are,' was the king's quiet reply. 'And how are we to proceed?'

Fastion considered him a moment, 'You need to talk to your inner council. Hard days are coming, and you should not be alone for what needs to be done. We are coming upon our gravest hour, my liege, they will not deny you this.'

Zachary nodded in resignation and turned to go out, but stopped to look back at Fastion, keeping his voice low, 'You know I love her, that I desire her as Karigan, and not just her body.'

Fastion looked back at him solemnly, 'I know, sire. We've always known.'

The king's eyes fell back to the ground and he turned to leave once more, stooping low to step into the light of his chamber.

Fastion watched him go, his mind turning over the steps that would need to be taken to ensure that two of the people dearest to him, would not be unhappy for much longer. Returning back the way he came, he began his search for the other two exploring pairs, putting aside for now the problems surrounding his little sister and the king until tomorrow.

Embarrassment and plot progression: that was the goal today. Zachary has gone without for some time so I do not believe his uh slip is unheard of.