All I Need ✔️

Chapter 43

Third Person POV

Safania and Emalina had been walking for hours. As they walked, the snow continued to sprinkle around them.

"What if a blizzard comes?" Emalina asked.

"We can stop if it gets too bad," Safania told her confidently. In reality, Safania wasn't confident whatsoever. She had only ever read about blizzards in books and had no practical experience with them. They needed to get to a warmer climate as soon as possible.

The two continued in silence, eventually finding a small stream. The edges of the stream were frozen, but the middle still had open, moving water.

"We should follow the stream. That way we'll always be near freshwater," Safania said. Emalina nodded.

The two walked and walked until the sun emerged from behind them. By that point, the adrenaline had worn off and the fatigue was setting in.

"Saffy, I don't know how much further I can go," Emalina said. "I'm not as fit as you. I never go hiking like this."

"It's okay Em, I understand. It's a good time to break anyway, now that the sun is up. I'll start looking for a shelter."

The two walked away from the rocky shore, into the forest. "I've always found that's it's best to make camp during the day and travel at night," Safania explained. "A fire is less easy to spot during the day, it's warmer during the day, and it's also easier to hide in the dark. Not to mention the fact that people typically travel during the day, so there are fewer chances of being spotted by travelling at night. There," Safania said, pointing to a collection of trees.

"How is that a shelter?" Emalina asked.

"I brought two tarps from the castle. They're in my bag with some ropes. We can easily make a shelter here. We're far enough away that we'll be hidden from anyone walking along the stream, and as far as I can tell we aren't near any major roads."

"When did you find time to steal those?"

Safania smiled. "That was one of the first things I did once I was able to leave my room. Being on the road for five years helps you learn how to sneak things. And it teaches you to grab as much as you can because you never know when you'll need to leave quickly."

Safania set up a shelter quickly by laying the first tarp on the ground and tying the second tarp to the trees, slanting it so that the back of the second tarp touched the first tarp, but the front was a couple feet from the ground.

"Help me cover it for camouflage," she told Emalina. The two made quick work of it, covering the tarp in dry leaves and branches. By the time they had finished, the sun had already melted the thin layer of snow on the ground, helping the shelter blend even more with its surroundings.

"We'll take turns watching," Safania said. "I'll go first, and then in a few hours I'll wake you up so you can take a turn."

"Are you sure you'll be able to stay up?" Emalina asked.

"I'm sure. I have a lot to think about," Safania replied. "And I'll make a small fire to help us stay warm. There's some good, dry wood around here that shouldn't give off much smoke."

Emalina pulled out a blanket from her knapsack and crawled into the shelter. "Do you think the prince will come looking for you?" she asked.

"I hope not," Safania replied. "Get some rest. I'll be back in a little bit."

Safania walked around gathering dead, dry branches and twigs. Her thoughts drifted to the prince. She wondered how he reacted when he read her letter. It probably broke his heart even more than it broke hers to write it. She at least knew that she would eventually have to leave, but to him it probably looked like it came out of nowhere.