𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 ✯ 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑎 𝑥 ℎ𝑜𝑔𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 ✓

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

❉━━━━━━❈✾❈━━━━━━❉

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 every passing second as the group made their way through the winter landscape. The sun sank towards the horizon and thick, dark grey clouds clumped together high in the sky, hiding the stars and moon behind its swirling, storming and sombre colours. A freezing wind blew over the land with a roaring sound that increased and decreased in waves, and the loose snow whirled around their feet.

'What's the point in having horses when we're not even riding them most of the time?' Phoenix wondered when the wind died down for a moment. He led his horse by the reins over the treacherous path and he stretched the fingers of his free hand a few times to drive back the cold that seemed to be edged into his bones. He wore gloves but the temperature bit through the fabric with ease.

They had been traveling without even as much as a breather since this morning, but Caspian claimed they could reach Aslan's How before the darkness of the night truly set in.

Mina cast a worried look at the tumbling clouds above her. The centaurs had said the snow storm would start tomorrow night, but the nature all around them told her otherwise; it was already firing up.

'At least you do not have to carry the gear yourself, young master Phoenix,' Reepicheep said as he balanced on the top of the head of Caspian's horse. The noble mouse's tail flicked up and down in the walking rhythm of Destrier, and his paw rested on the hilt of his rapier while keeping an eye on their darkening surroundings.

Phoenix looked at the bags and blankets on his horse's back, and then at Giulia who walked with her horse next to him. 'Easy for him to say, though,' he started. 'All he has done is standing on the top of that horse's head.'

Giulia hummed in agreement, her warm breath creating small clouds in the chilly air. She imagined Reepicheep trying to make his way through the layer of snow, but she felt too exhausted and cold to explain to Phoenix why she smiled all of the sudden when he gave her a curious look.

'I can't feel my toes,' Ella complained to Oliver, and the Hufflepuff paused for a moment in her pace ─ resulting in everyone behind her to stop as well since she unknowingly blocked the path. Ella balanced on one foot, shaking the other violently in the air in an attempt to get some of her feeling back. She sighed when the vibrations shot up through her leg but not her toes. She longed back for the fire in Cair Paravel's chart chamber and while stamping on the snowy ground, Ella closed the distance between herself and Oliver again.

'We better be close to wherever we're going,' Ella said, 'or I fear my toes will freeze off.'

The words hadn't been carried away with the wind yet when Caspian suddenly said: 'There it is! Aslan's How.'

The group of twenty-four people (and a mouse, plus an equal number of horses) stepped out of the tree line and onto a spacious open field. It should have been blooming with hundreds of flowers but the winter had snowed them all under, frozen them to death in its harsh circumstances.