I Will Be the Greatest Knight

It was a bad idea to sweat when, at any point, there was a risk of an emergency or their fire going out. If that were the case, they would freeze more easily due to the additional moisture on their skin.

Not to mention, getting down to their birthday suits wasn’t a good idea when snow raged on outside.

However, it was easy to get carried away as a game of teasing and trying to gain the upper hand began. The two competitive knights were in a match, and there seemed to be no victor. Yet there were also no losers in this situation.

Eventually, they did lie still. The only movement was their chests rising and falling as they caught their breath. Their fingers were laced together as they lay there for a few moments more, savoring the afterglow.

There was a storm in the night that could be heard whipping around the snow. Luckily, it seemed that the moss and animal fur that had been placed between the logs whenever this building was built to give it a bit more insulation had held for this long. There was no wind getting inside. For the night, their warmth was preserved.

"Just what I needed," Henry whispered into the mostly dark room, and his thumb gently ran over the back of Irene’s hand.

The stove had been closed to preserve their fire, packed as much as it could be with logs. It acted as a wonderful nightlight that cast dramatic shadows on the two lovers.

"You certainly had to settle for a knight," Irene uttered, followed by a yawn. "Who else could keep up with such stamina?"

Henry let out a low laugh at that, and he turned to his wife. His other hand caressed her face. In the light from the stove, he was relieved to see that she was grinning as well. Her being able to joke like that would always surprise him. If she mentioned herself with another person, he would certainly need to be soothed. Jealousy was rarely ever balanced.

"Whatever you are now and whatever you will ever be is right for me," he responded.

She smiled faintly at him. Sleep was close.

He cuddled up closer to her. He fell into the embrace of sleep not long after her.

It was a blissful night that both of them needed to reconnect and realize that their need for survival now was because of a bigger picture and the future they promised one another by getting married that year.

+++

For just a moment, Irene was fooled into believing she was back at the Duke’s Tower. The bed was too comfortable. Her husband’s arm resting over her while they slept was so familiar.

Yet when she opened her eyes and saw a tiny stove with only embers left glowing, she was brought right back to where they were. Immediately, she was shocked that she had let her guard down so much while they were in the harsh Sunstoian North.

There was certainly power in numbers. Did that mean she was relying on Henry entirely to protect her? Or was she underestimating herself?

She sat up, and Henry was soon up after her. As usual, he woke when she did and got to action when she did as well.

Considering the state of the weather when they slept sometime late last night, she needed to check on the horses and make sure they were alright. There was a high likelihood that they got caught up in snow drifts since their shabby shelter was against the rock face. She knew that Henry would make sure their blankets were over their bodies securely so they wouldn’t get cold, but she still worried.

"I’ll check on the horses if you could start porridge," Irene requested as she began to get on a few layers that were more appropriate than the night shirt she wore.

"Of course," Henry responded.

Since he wasn’t going outside, all he did was pull on stockings. It felt nice not to have to sleep with them on at night.

As Irene pulled on her own stockings, boots, and then started buttoning up her outer coat, she glanced at the small stove.

She was amazed that the fire had lasted them so well throughout the night. While she wouldn’t say it out loud, she hoped that they would stay here another night. It was so easy compared to surviving the outdoors.

They had no plans to make it further north. The entire point of the trip was to locate the wyrm. They would then figure out how many men they might need.

"I hope Blade was alright," Irene explained.

"I saw him go back into the forest after I put the horses away," Henry explained. "He’s been aloof but easy to reach if needed."

Irene nodded slowly. It was good enough for her. They needed to be able to reach their men.

After her last button was done up and a hood was pulled over her head, Irene went to the front door.

Already she knew that the door wouldn’t be too easy to open. There was also no grease to make it easier, as her father had shown her when they were in the north together.

The red-haired knight braced herself and threw her entire body into pulling open the door. A grunt escaped her lips as well.

She was relieved when it gave way, and all she had to do was push snow off of the small stoop that was blocking her path forward.

Even though it was so windy during the night, the snow had settled, and the freezing sky was misleadingly blue. She had to shield her eyes as they adjusted to the brightness of morning.

However, when her eyes adjusted, she was met with far more than she expected.

Perhaps she really had let her guard down too much.

The faint smile that was once on her lips because of the good morning it had been so far faded quickly.

"H-Henry," she called to her husband, her voice wavering.

Before her, the snow, normally deep enough to conceal all that was underneath, revealed brown, frozen grass. The marks in the snow lasted for a while before they flattened out into deeper snow towards the northeast horizon.

Undoubtedly, they were the tracks of a wyrm.

The wyrm.

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