by Nicole René
“We’ll be leaving at dawn; I would get as much rest as possible. We will be riding hard, and the only breaks we’ll be taking are for the horses.” Xavier looked over his shoulder, studying her before he turned back around and walked to the far end of the tent.
Leawyn watched him with growing curiosity as he rummaged through a few things and then made his way over to her.
“Do you know how to use this?” he asked. In his hands, he held a small bow and a few arrows that were most likely used for hunting.
Leawyn’s brow creased in confusion. “Yes, well enough. I was trained a bit when I was a child.”
Xavier nodded in approval. “Most Samaritans are trained in battle, as they should be. It pleases me to hear the Rhoxolani have upheld the tradition.”
Leawyn bristled, narrowing her eyes and giving him a nasty glare. “Are you accusing my people of having no respect for our traditions and heritage?”
Xavier met her gaze calmly, not at all fazed by her outburst. “Rhoxolani people haven’t gone to battle in years, and very rarely venture out of their village. It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t feel the need to prepare themselves for an attack, nor train their women to protect themselves should the need arise.”
Leawyn’s mouth dropped open and closed for a moment in disbelief. Her disbelief turned into anger, and she snatched the bow and arrow out of his hands. Huffing, she turned on her heel and marched outside.
Xavier blinked at the space Leawyn had been in a moment before, and then he quickly walked after her.
“Leawyn!” he barked, throwing the tent flap over his shoulder in annoyance. His irritation grew when she simply ignored him and stopped towards the end of the camp.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Xavier seethed, trudging through the snow quickly. His shout roused the attention of some of his men who were awake, including Tristan and Tyronian, who both watched curiously.
Leawyn looked up at the sky, her head turning as her eyes searched for something. He was just about to yank her backwards to him when she suddenly notched an arrow and aimed the bow high. She released it before Xavier could stop her.
A moment later, a bird fell out of the sky and dropped to the ground with an arrow lodged in its chest.
He stared at it in shock. When he lifted his eyes to meet Leawyn’s smug look, she roughly pushed the bow to his chest. On reflex, he clutched it to him so it wouldn’t fall to the ground.
“Just so you know, the women of my tribe are usually the ones to hunt,” Leawyn said haughtily and walked past him into the tent without another word.
Xavier followed her with his eyes before turning back to the bird on the ground.
Tyronian strutted up to it and let out a low whistle, holding the arrow to his face. “Shot it right in the chest!” he said admiringly, walking a few paces to stand in front of his cousin.
“Guess she showed you,” he said cheekily.
Xavier scowled at him before he swiftly turned on his heel and marched back into the tent after his wife. His cousin’s laughter followed him in.
Xavier chuckled quietly as he watched his wife arguing with his horse. She didn’t know he was there, which made it even more entertaining.
“Killix! I swear, if you don’t get out of my way, I’m going to use you for horse meat!” Leawyn huffed when all Killix did was pull his lips up over his teeth and continue to stand in the way of her mare and the saddle she held in her hands.
Deydrey snorted, pinning her ears back at Killix. It was like she huffed and glared at the stubborn stallion the same way Leawyn did.
When his tiny wife attempted to push the giant stallion out of the way again, the horse turned his neck and nipped her fingers.
“Ow!” Leawyn exclaimed, dropping the saddle as she clutched her fingers. “You bit me!”
Killix let out a long whinny, his sides shaking with the sound.
“Are you laughing at me?”
Leawyn scowled at Killix, who threw his head upwards before snapping it back down several times. Xavier let out a whistle then, and Killix instantly stopped, ears flicking up as he turned his head to look behind Leawyn. She rotated her body to watch Killix trot off.
Xavier lifted his hand and patted Killix’s neck, leaning over to stare at Leawyn. He couldn’t help himself, and grinned ever so slightly.
“Have you been there the whole time?” She exclaimed in annoyance.
Her ire seemed to grow when Xavier felt his smirk widen.
Leawyn glared at them both (especially Killix), picked the saddle up off the ground, and threw it over Deydrey, who was now free to stand in front of Leawyn.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered angrily under her breath. Deydrey snorted, agreeing with her.
“I heard that Killix had a crush on your mare, but I didn’t believe it until now.”
“Yes, well,” Leawyn threw the reins around Deydrey’s neck, “he’s been unbelievingly annoying with the whole thing. It’s unattractive, quite frankly.” She climbed up onto Deydrey’s back.
“So, you can just forget it!” She gave them both another dirty glare before she kicked her heels and Deydrey took off.
Xavier and Killix watched both their respective females trot off.
“I think you made her angry,” he said wryly, glancing over at Killix when he turned his head to look at him. “If she’s anything like Leawyn, I’m afraid you have your work cut out for you.”
Killix stared at Xavier a bit longer before he again turned his attention to Deydrey, snorting dismissively.
“If you say so,” Xavier chuckled, shaking his head.
He pushed himself away from where he learned on his horse and lifted himself onto the saddle. He didn’t even need to urge Killix to go before he was making his way all too eagerly to the company of men waiting to move out.
Or more likely, making his way to Deydrey.
They rode just as hard as they had before.
Once again Leawyn was determined to prove her worth and show that she and Deydrey could handle such a hard ride. But it was difficult.
Well, for Leawyn it was.
There was a sense of urgency in the way Xavier had the men riding, almost as if he was eager to return home. Leawyn looked over in front of her, watching him closely. She still didn’t agree in leaving so early with Xavier still recovering, but she had to admit he seemed to be doing fine.
Still…
Leawyn might not be battle trained, in fact, she knew next to nothing about war, but she couldn’t help feel something bad was coming. Like everything was about to change—and not in a good way.
She shivered, shaking off her ominous thoughts and instead focused on riding Deydrey safely through the snow. Good thing too, because she almost ran right into the back of Tyronian’s horse as they came to a sudden stop.
Tyronian turned in his saddle, raising his brow at her. Leawyn shot him a sheepish look.
“Sorry,” she mouthed.
Tyronian grinned, shook his head, and turned his attention back to the front where Xavier and Tristan were stopped.
Leawyn nudged Deydrey so she was positioned beside him and his horse.
“What’s going on?” she asked, straining her neck to see over the men in front of her.
“The lake is frozen,” Tyronian frowned.
She snapped her head to look over at Tyronian.
“Lake? I don’t remember a lake on our way here.”
“Aye,” Tyronian nodded, still staring in front of him. He watched Tristan and Xavier, who looked to be in a heated discussion.
“We went around it before.”
“I don’t get it,” Leawyn said in confusion. “If we went it around it before, why can’t we now?”
Tyronian shrugged. “Guess we’ll have to wait and find out,” he told her. She could tell there was something he was keeping from her, but she didn’t press him further.
So, they waited.
“Do you have a plan?”
Xavier held
in his sigh and gave the frozen water in front of him a brooding glare from his kneeled position.
“We cross,” Xavier said, standing to his full height.
“You cannot be serious?” Tristan asked incredulously, staring at him like he was mad.
Xavier gave a slight nod, and Tristan looked to the lake. He heard his brother’s jaw ticking.
“The lake is not frozen all the way,” Tristan said. “There is no chance it will hold all our weight without cracking.”
“It’s the only way. We’ll spread out; have the men dismount when they cross.”
“Xavier,” Tristan said quietly. “We cannot cross; we will fall to our doom if we do. We should go back the way we came.”
“That road is too dangerous now.” Xavier shook his head adamantly. “They’ll expect us to go the safer route. We would be walking right into an ambush,” he told Tristan, his voice also low.
“The ice will crack under our weight, and we’ll all be killed. I know it, and so do you.”
“We will all die if we go back the way we came!” Xavier stepped up to his brother, his glare heavy with authority. “We cross the lake. Now ready the men,” he hissed before he brushed by Tristan and stalked away to find his wife.
As more time passed, Tyronian seemed to grow more and more restless, which in turn made Leawyn nervous.
Finally, after what seemed like days, Tyronian stood straighter when Xavier approached him with a solemn look on his face.
“We cross the lake.”
Noticing the tension, Leawyn looked between Tyronian and her husband.
Tyronian quickly rushed to Xavier, ducking his head as he whispered hurried words with him.
She watched with growing anxiety as Xavier and Tyronian argued, Xavier shaking his head every so often and saying clipped words in response. Her husband said something to Tyronian with finality, which caused Tyronian to shake his head and stalk off.
Leawyn gave Xavier a questioning look when he stopped in front of her.
“You will have to lead Deydrey across the lake on foot; the less weight, the better,” Xavier ordered her in a clipped tone.
“Xavier, what’s going on?” Leawyn questioned softly, her brows drawing together in worry. “Why not just go the way we came?”
His lips firmed, staring down at her solemnly. “Those roads are out of the question.”
“Why?”
Scowling down at her, he snapped, “We cross the lake. End of discussion. Now get ready to move out and meet me at the front.” He turned his back on her then and returned to where Tristan and Tyronian were waiting for him, barking out orders as he walked by the rest of his men.
Well. Alright, then.
Leawyn sighed. Grabbing hold of Deydrey’s reins, she silently led her horse to the front.
This was a very, very bad idea, Leawyn thought to herself, staring down at the frozen water in apprehension.
She had to stop and hold her breath frequently whenever the ice groaned under her weight.
The men were all scattered about, each one of them doing the exact same thing Leawyn was. This lake was not nearly frozen enough for them to be walking on, and she couldn’t understand why Xavier would order them to attempt to cross it. Though, she knew by now there was no use trying to ask questions or change his mind.
He was stubborn as a mule and didn’t listen to anyone.
The ice gave another loud groan. Leawyn immediately stopped.
“We should go back!”
She couldn’t help but agree with whoever had called that out.
“Keep moving and spread out more,” Xavier ordered. No one said anything more, and instead followed their chief’s orders.
“Nice and steady, Deydrey. Atta girl,” Leawyn murmured soothingly to her restless mare.
They all went at a slow pace, avoiding the areas that seemed weaker than the others. Some men were already across on stronger ice and waiting for them.
Leawyn took a step forward slowly, keeping her eyes on the ground at all times. She stopped, her heart going to her throat as the ice groaned disapprovingly and a small break appeared.
She stared down at the crack in mounting horror as it spread, the sound of the ice splitting loud in her ears.
Oh, Goddess, no.
She only had a second to scream out Xavier’s name before the ice under her feet collapsed and she plummeted into the deathly cold ice water.
Xavier knew his men, brother, and cousin did not agree with his choice of crossing the ice, but it was the only way.
He couldn’t risk the chance of the only safe road being ambushed. If it were just his men with him, he might have considered it, having faith in their fighting capabilities. But it wasn’t just him and his men. He had Leawyn to consider, and he refused to take the chance she would be caught in the crossfire and get hurt.
He would not risk her life.
Though, even he had to admit the bird she shot out of the sky was impressive.
But he’d never tell that to her face.
Ever.
They were almost across the frozen lake, most of his men already standing on the bank, waiting for the rest of them to cross safely. He was just about to exhale a sigh of relief when he heard it.
A low groan followed by the sound of cracking ice and a sharp, shrill scream.
Her scream.
“Xavier!”
He whipped around just in time to see the ice collapse under his wife’s feet, plunging her into the icy depths below.
Xavier didn’t even think as he ran towards her, watching as the ice cracked more. Deydrey fell into the water too; the mare gave a shrill cry of distress as she struggled to swim and jump back on the ice.
Xavier skidded to a stop a few inches away from the gaping hole and searched frantically for Leawyn, barely noticing Tyronian did the same.
“Leawyn!” Xavier shouted, plunging his arm into the icy water and searching for her, trying desperately to grab anything. He lifted his arm out of the water; the freezing temperature caused pain to shoot through his arm, which quickly became numb. He ignored it and plunged back into the water again.
“I don’t see her!” Tyronian shouted, his eyes scanning the murky water, his expression grim. Tristan struggled to pull Deydrey up, but the panicked mare was so frantic on surviving she only dug herself deeper into the icy water.
“Keep looking!” Xavier ordered, frantically continuing his search. He couldn’t lose her. He had to find her.
He needed to save her.
He could feel his heart constrict in horrible pain with the knowledge that the chance of Leawyn surviving was next to none. A burning sensation was building behind his eyes as he pulled his arm back from the water; his limb was so numb, he no longer had the strength to move it. It seemed like time had slowed and hours passed until Xavier slowly stood.
He looked up, his face pinched in despair as he gazed around. Tristan’s mouth moved in slow motion as he yelled and dragged Deydrey up. Killix’s shrill whinny was loud and drawn out, echoing in his ears. His men held him back from charging onto the ice. Tyronian was still searching the ice around him, his face frozen in a look of desperation.
Xavier was about to numbly tell them to stop looking, that it was no use. Leawyn was gone.
That he had killed his wife with his decision to bring her with him, and to cross the frozen lake.
That he failed her. Just like his mother.
But that’s when he saw it.
A palm pressed against the ice, and floating blonde hair.
Xavier didn’t realize he shouted out to Tyronian and Tristan as he rushed to the spot, pulling out his sword as he did so. He fell to his knees and looked down, just in time for the hand to hit against the ice one more time and disappear.
Xavier lifted his sword high in the air above him and plunged it down straight into the ice, hilt first. It barely cracked, but Xavier refused to give up and continued to ram his sword onto the lake. When Xavier’s sword was raised,
Tyronian’s blade took its place and slammed down onto the ice.
Together, they hacked frantically at the frozen surface, and with one last hard thrust, it cracked and split open. Xavier threw his sword to the side and reached down into the dark depths. Tyronian quickly followed suit, and together they blindly tried to grasp Leawyn’s hand.
Xavier moved his arm to the left and brushed against something soft. He instantly turned and grabbed it.
“Tyronian!” Xavier yelled as he put both hands into the water and started pulling. Tyronian reached down and grabbed on, pulling with Xavier until Leawyn’s head popped out above the water. They each took a shoulder and pulled upwards until she was sprawled on top of the ice. Then they dragged her lifeless form away from the weakened ice and onto solid ground.
Xavier and Tyronian took in Leawyn’s unconscious form, quickly shedding their cloaks and wrapping them around her. Her lips were dark blue, her skin was deathly pale, and some of her long locks of hair had ice clinging to them.
“She’s not breathing!” Xavier yelled, taking in her still chest.
“Blankets! We need blankets!” Tyronian yelled loudly, turning his head towards the rest of the men. “Quickly!”
Xavier bent over and started to pound on her chest, trying to shock her heart into beating again.
“C’mon, c’mon!” he mumbled, pushing onto her chest harder.
Xavier lifted Leawyn up and shook her. “Breathe, Leawyn! Breathe!” He took several of the blankets offered to him and wrapped them around her. “Leawyn!” he shouted down to her, shaking her more roughly.
Tyronian and Tristan crowded around Xavier, Tyronian’s eyes openly spilling over with his tears.
“Xavier...” Tristan said quietly, his voice thick as he rested a hand on Xavier’s broad shoulder.
“No!” Xavier shouted at him, shrugging his hand off and pushing down on her chest again. “She’s not dead!”
“Xavier, she’s gone,” Tyronian choked out, staring down at Leawyn’s frozen body. “She’s gone.”