𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 ✯ 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑎 𝑥 ℎ𝑜𝑔𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 ✓

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

❉━━━━━━❈✾❈━━━━━━❉

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐍'𝐒 𝐇𝐎𝐖 and with the roaring snowstorm outside, it was nearly impossible to tell the time. However, as the torches on the walls slowly died down and Darkan prepared to light the fourth set, he figured the sun should be well on its way to drive back the night.

No one had expected to fall asleep; it felt like the unknown evil lurked in the shadows beyond the flames, but as the minutes had passed by, their exhaustion had taken over.

Darkan had volunteered to take the first watch but when he had tried to wake Edmund for the second one, the seventeen year old had mumbled something incoherently and had immediately fallen back asleep. Darkan had taken over his watch and Caspian's, as it wasn't the first time he would have a sleepless night.

Mina rolled towards her other side when Darkan walked past her spot on the stone floor to switch the burned out torch with a new one, but the soft current of air was the last push to her already waking mind. With a sigh, she rolled onto her back and stretched her arms above her head. Her lower back hurt from the flat ground and the tip of her nose felt ice cold.

'Good morning,' Darkan whispered when Mina pushed the thick blanket away and sat up straight.

She returned the greeting, expecting it to be Caspian, but after rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she frowned when she noticed Caspian still being fast asleep a few places away from her.

'Darkan?' Mina asked, recognizing his posture as he switched another torch for a new one. 'Have you been up all night?'

Darkan shrugged and walked to the last died out torch. 'I have, but it's quite all right. I wasn't really tired.'

Mina raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Even from this distance she could see the dark circles under his eyes, the colour amplified by the dancing flames near his face.

'Besides,' Darkan added as if he could sense her disbelief, 'I tried waking Edmund and Caspian for their watch, but if looks could kill, I would have been very dead. Taking over their watch seemed like the safer option.'

He sat down on the same spot he had been sitting all night, his unsheathed sword resting over his crossed legs as he kept an eye on the sleeping people and the only opening of the round cave.

Mina suppressed a groan when every muscle in her legs protested as she got up. Yesterday's journey through the snow and the night on the stones had taken a toll on her body, but at least the sleep had calmed down her mind. The visions in the mist had been awful, yes, but it had only been mist. It seemed kind of silly now to stay afraid of it.

Darkan gave her a curious look when she sat down next to him. She laid her bow on her knees in the same as he had put his sword and she gave him a quick smile.