Saine Neane
Xanth's POV
There are times I have come home through the window, mostly when I was just a teenage boy trying his hand at rebellion against a patient man. It's not that he never knew it, he did. He was just glad I came home. That much can't be said about my older brother.
I have never scaled the rough stone walls with someone on my back. Alone is much easier. It's twice as hard and if I slip she will get hurt but she can't climb. She's hurt.
Climbing is something most people in Saine Neane know how to do. As kids we played in the ranges. As teenagers, we liked to party in the secluded caves and as grown ups, we still climb the mountains for the fun if it. I have many memories of doing it with my family when it used to be complete.
A cold gush of wind blew past us accompanied by snow. My fingers are starting to feel numb from the cold. Frostbite is a consequence of being out in this weather. I covered her up with every clothing I could. "Lia. Lia wake up. Are you still holding on?"
She tightened the grip around my body. "I can't feel anything." She whispered. My foot is numb.
"Don't say that. Keep trying to move your toes. We are almost at the top."
I can't bring her through the door. She refused to and she begged that I find an alternative way. This is the only way undetected by the guards who watch over this home. I gripped the window seal. "Climb honey, come on. Push the window. It's never closed."
I held on as she stepped on me. The challenge came when she stepped on my shoulders and I felt like I was slipping but she got in and I followed with haste.
I immediately took a look at her foot. I unwrapped the piece of clothing I used on her. When I found her she was hidden and in pain. She was biting down on a cloth to keep herself from screaming. "It has stopped bleeding." I had to pull out a metal she stepped on. I have never heard a woman scream so much. She would have caused an avalanche. "Why would you run around without shoes Lia? Don't let the puffy looking snow deceive you. The ground underneath is dangerous!" I reprimanded her.
She merely looked at me. It was almost impossible to find her because of the white clothing. The child didn't reach her. She only pointed and it was up to me to find Lia. I almost thought it was a trap. She is visiting Saine Neane in one of the worst seasons. It's unusually cold even for the residents who has been here for years.
"I'm just happy to see you." She smiled at me.
"Let's get you warmed up and then you can tell me what brings you here in such a state."
I carried her to the bathroom after drawing her a hot bath.
I rarely come here to High Rock. I'm the only one who visits a lot. Wren is not interested in anything but his service at the air force. My father doesn't like this house so he lives in town where it's a little warmer. I call this place home even with how sad the final times with mom were. I can't look at the sofa and not see dad weeping over her. She breathed her last on the sofa after she lost her battle to cancer.
I never sit in that sofa. It's the only time I saw my father weeping. He has been hard-faced since.
I knelt in front of the fireplace and started a fire to warm this place up. It should always be burning but no one is ever here do it makes no sense. Most homes in Sain Neane always have a fire burning in their homes to constantly keep warm. The temperatures can be cold enough to kill.
I will make Lia some soup. That should do her good. My mom had a lot of recipes bound up to make a handwritten recipe book. I try to keep the book safe although it's aging fast. My plan to rewrite it ends at me starting the first recipe. I should copy the pages. They are recipes from her homeland. I have never been there.
