Crowns of Flame and Ice - Book One

(26) The Beauty and the Beast

The day after the Winter Solstice I awoke, stretching my arms wide and yawning. Sunlight poured in through the sheer canvas roof. Despite myself, I smiled, the distant twittering of birds a pleasant song to wake up to. I'd stolen one of Quilo's blankets and it had allowed me to fall asleep a lot more comfortably. He hadn't yet noticed, or at least he hadn't mentioned anything since silently slipping into his tent for the night without so much as a goodnight.

We'd be in the Zaith mountains by nightfall, we'd decided to stay in the town at the base of the mountain. It was unlikely it would be safe to stay in a tent, especially with the mountain folk having very little issue with robbery. There was also the issue of the fact the forest did not continue through the mountains, instead temporarily pausing before the trees continued on the west side of Calvain. Despite the mountains being under Calvain territory, they mostly stayed amongst themselves like a third land. The people within the Zaith mountains were too violent and deadly and did not like outsiders. However, they made up enough of Calvain's alcohol trade that the king allowed it as long as they didn't cause him any issues.

I quickly dressed, opting for simple black trousers and a grey Jumper that smelt faintly of Quilo then headed outside. I immediately found him standing in front of our tents, staring at something on the ground. "If it's dead it's not going to bite you" I teased by way of greeting. Quilo scowled over a shoulder at me, "did you do this?" I frowned and walked over to where he stood, following his eyes to the ground. On top of the snow lay a small pile of bones, sticks and stones that had all been placed in a shape. "is it a dog?" I asked, frowning down at the display. Quilo glared at me, "I think the bones are too small for that." I snorted, hands twitching behind my back as the urge to strangle him became a physical thing, "I meant the shape." He cocked his head to one side, "what do you mean?" Moving closer to the pile I dropped to my knees, using a stick to point to various features, "that looks like a head, there are the legs and that's a tail." Quilo frowned, "I think that's a little out there. How would they even have gotten here? There are no people around for miles."

I nodded, a little unnerved by the small pile of bones, "I think we should leave as soon as we can. Just in case." Quilo agreed and we began deconstructing our camp, folding away blankets and canvas. It was strange, why would someone who planned to attack us leave a warning? I picked up my bag I'd left near a nearby tree and something caught my eye, a small trail of what I could've sworn were tiny little footprints.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Twigs and snow crunched under my feet as i walked through the strangely quiet forest. Quilo again walked silently ahead of me, I was getting really fucking bored of it. There was something strange going on with him, he no longer threatened my life at every single opportunity or did his best to make my day a misery. He teased me and occasionally snapped at me but for the most part, he stayed silent. I almost preferred the threats to this silence. I still wore the band of knotted silver ribbon around my wrist, a reminder of what he'd done for me, a reminder of him. I'd been staring at it a few miles back and I had realised it wasn't just silver, there were flecks of white inside too. It reminded me a little of Quilo's hair. A hard breeze rattled past, throwing my hair across my face and causing me to shudder. I really hoped the temperature would ease soon, there were literal ice chunks in my eyebrows. The mountains would likely be just as cold, if not colder, however, we wouldn't have to travel through the snow for long.

A twig snapped to my left and I whirled, hand immediately reaching for the hilt on my sword. Quilo rushed to my side, his own weapon already in his hand. The hairs on my arms and neck lifted, someone or something was here. "you feel that?" Quilo whispered, eyes scanning the forest. I nodded, drawing my sword and preparing for whatever was about to come at us. Something snarled behind the trees and we both whirled around, my heart thudded.