The King's Inamorata (A Queen's Tale #1)

Wintery Stranger

*Chapter One Remastered*

Hello everyone! From now on, this novel is undergoing edits. At the top of every chapter, if you see the little stars that means that this part of the novel has been remastered. It will NOT always be faithful to the original. In addition to grammatical edits, there will also be revisions regarding plots, characters, and locations to make this a neater and more coherent story to follow. The blurb has also been remastered. All original chapters will be LOCATED AT THE VERY BOTTOM in case you want to compare changes or reread anything! Thank you so much for your love and support and I hope you enjoy Wintery Stranger Remastered!

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Vivia knew better than to wander the woods at night.

Her boots were covered in freshly fallen snow and the evening sky was dense with clouds. A gentle breeze passed and a light dusting of snow fell from the branches above her hand and landed on her lashes, melting then rolled down her cheeks like tears. Sadness weighed heavily on her shoulders as she thought about the Woos. After a strenuous 16 hours of labor, the child was born dead and even worse it was the girl the couple had longed for. She shivered and it had nothing to do with the cold.

The darkness was so thick she could scarcely see more than a few yards ahead, even with her lantern shining so brightly. The hem of her dress and coat were getting soaked but she didn't mind much. She was snug as a bug in the wool undergarments she'd sewn for herself a few weeks ago.

A gust of wind hit and her hood flew back, sending tendrils of ink-black curls falling in front of her face. As she struggled with her hood a rustling came from the woods quickly followed by a grunt. Vivia froze. Was that just her mind playing tricks on her? Surely no one could be out there in the middle of the night. The town was miles away and the only ones that lived on the outskirts were Tomas, Agna, and herself.

For a long while she heard nothing and even though it would have been wiser to keep going, something kept where she was. Vivia lifted her lantern to see into the dense darkness but there was nothing but bare trees for miles. She was so sure she'd heard something...Perhaps it was just an animal roaming through the woods. Or maybe the exhaustion was finally hitting her. Delivering a child was no easy task; not on the mother or the midwife.

As she turned around to continue her journey back home her lantern caught sight of a stain on the bright white snow. She bent down to touch it and her fingertips came back red.

"Oh," the words got caught in her throat as she stood up and searched frantically with her lantern. She found a trail and followed it as her instinct kicked in. Something here was amiss. The wind picked up causing her hood to fall once more.

"Hello?" she called out. "Is someone there?"

Vivia continued to follow the trail until she came to a small clearing no more than several yards off the main road. Slumped against a nearby tree was a dark figure, cloaked in shadows. She ran as quickly as she could while carrying the weight of her damp dress and cloak. A puddle of blood surrounded what looked to be a young man no more than a few years older than Vivia. She moved her put her lantern down beside her and kneeled before him.

A mass of curly light brown hair fell in front of a scratched up tan face. She couldn't see much, only enough to know that he was badly injured. She pulled off her gloves to touch his neck. He had a pulse, but barely.

"Your skin is like ice," she said. "We have to get you out of here. Sir, can you hear me? Can you stand?"

The man was delirious. His eyelids fluttered only momentarily to reveal a pair of silver colored eyes. She tried to move him but he groaned so severely it frightened her. She couldn't examine his wounds out here in the open. She wondered how long he'd been out here. A cut on his hand had only just stopped bleeding. But judging by a bruise on his exposed shoulder, he could've been out here for hours or perhaps even days. She slid off her cloak and the cold nipped at her skin as she wrapped him up.