Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 42: Foreboding

Chapter Forty-Two: Foreboding

It was dark... the mountain pass was silent, and gently falling snowflakes were sweeping across the land. However, in spite of the natural quiet, a voice continuously punctured the air, rending the stillness in two with every sharp-tongued syllable.

"I mean it, Amelia! I have an awful itch on my back," Ella grumbled, staring straight ahead through the falling snow. "And I can't... move... my arms enough to reach! Please, scratch it already!"  

Amelia, behind her, sighed and rode forward... then she leaned and scrabbled at her jacket.

"Better?" she demanded, watching as Ella squirmed. "I... hope?"

"It did nothing!" she squealed, wriggling her shoulder blades with a fierce glare. "This is obnoxiously irritating! I hate these clothes!"

"Oh, Ella, don't grouse so much," Amelia sighed, rolling her eyes. "This kind of clothing is necessary to ward off frostbite." 

"You're only saying that because you're not trussed up in furs," she snapped, tugging at the muffler that had been wrapped around her neck in an attempt to get at her back. "I can't even put my arms to my sides! I'm itchy! I want to scratch!"

"Really, don't complain," Amelia chided, looking back at Sinmir's bundled form before she glanced at Gus, who was now riding right beside her. "Can't you see? The weather's already growing colder."

It was true.

After everything that had gone down in the Inn, Ella and the others had left Ordin at dusk and continued along through the mountain pass. Once they'd started descending, the air had gone from feeling like summer to winter within only a few short hours. 

"Aye, it is rather cold," Gus muttered, lifting his eyes to the sky, "and unfortunately, we'll have to walk into the mountains on foot, since the area we're treading into is highly unstable and treacherous."

Ella stiffened.

"What are you saying?" she scoffed, turning in her saddle and giving the blonde a frown. "We can't just leave our horses... that's preposterous!"

"The animals won't be able to make the hike into the mountains through the snow drifts," Gus retorted, giving a short-tempered sigh. "There isn't any other choice."

"I'll stay with the mounts," Sinmir grunted. "You should just focus on getting that sprite of yours back."

"No," Ella instantly snorted, shaking her head. "Despite your rank in the political hierarchy, I don't know you well enough to fully trust you as an individual. Deepest apologies, Sinmir. Gus!"

"Yes, my Lady?" the hunter inquired, examining the map. "What do you want?"

"I've decided that you'll be staying with Sinmir and the horses once we hit the turn-off," Ella explained, nodding when the blonde twitched. "If what you told us about the Syl mountain range is true, we'll only be traveling for a few days at most. Amelia and I can handle finding Phil!"

"Absolutely not!" the blonde man barked. "You don't know the area, you don't know the first thing about survival, and the weather in the Syl mountains can change at the flip of a coin!"

"Amelia can read the map," Ella pointed out, "and she's also a pyromancer... if worse comes to worst, her fire magic will keep us alive, even if we get stuck sleeping out in the elements."

"Ella," Gus muttered, scowling, "please, see reason..."

"I do see reason," she retorted, "and that's why I know this is the only option we have. We can't leave our horses alone, and we don't know Sinmir well enough to trust him, so someone has to stay behind to keep an eye on things."