The Tail of the Sword and Shield #Wattys2020

Chapter 15: It's Gonna Get Icy

Alkanos dropped down into the foothills of the mountains. Snow fell in a late fall snowstorm. The storm had been three days long and counting, the wind howled and snowflakes swirled, in the gale.

The wind pulled and shoved, Alkanos violently.

Alkanos howled in pain, his wings feeling like they were being wrenched from his back, as white-hot searing pain, wound its way up and down his back. Alkanos transformed back into a human, then he dropped face-first into a snowdrift with a muffled thud, blacking out.

When Alkanos came too, the only thing that hurt was his left cheek, which was stinging. He tried to open his eyes, his eyelashes had frosted over.

"Your highness! You've gotta wake up." Came a voice. Everything was still blurry. He must have hit his head when landing. It was cold, why was it cold?

"Come on, wake up! The kingdom needs you, wake up!"

Alkanos was able to slowly open his eyes with a low moan.

"He's coming around." said the other voice.

"I see that. Is he alright?" asked the second voice. "You probably shouldn't have slapped him."

"What was I supposed to do? Let him lie face down in the snow?"

"He could have broken his neck from the fall."

"If you want my wallet, it's in my belt pouch, that's all I carry." Alkanos croaked, his throat felt dry like a dried-up river bed. He felt like he had run ten miles in five minutes, all he wanted to do was sleep, preferably in front of a roaring fire.

"Your highness, you've gotta stay awake." said the first voice. Finally, Alkanos's vision came into view, Cordelia was lent over him, her scarf pulled over her head and pulled tight to block the howling wind.

"Can you move?" she asked.

Alkanos tilted his head and saw Volsair. If he remembered correctly, he was the Captain of the Palace Guard. Why was he here?"Yes." Alkanos managed, taking inventory of his injuries. From what he could tell, the wind had gotten knocked out of him. Nothing was broken but he hurt all over. Thank the stars he landed in a snowdrift.

"We are just two miles from a village. We'll spend the night there." Volsair said, "Do you think you can manage?"

"I think so." Alkanos said, slowly getting to his feet. His head felt like it was swimming, he tried to take a step, and the whole world moved. Even though he was still standing, he felt like he needed a long lie down. Cordelia and Volsair grabbed his arms with exclamations before he could face plant.

"We'll help you to the village." Volsair said, throwing one of Alkanos's arms over his shoulders, as Cordelia did the same with the other. Their arms around the Prince's waist, to steady him.

The snow swirled around them in a dizzying frenzy, the biting winds numbed faces and hands. Night was falling and it was just going to get colder. Keeping that in mind, the companions hurried as fast as they could up the snow-covered path to the village.

The village had only one main dirt road, the snow had been crunched down in places that had hardened into ice. A few torches were lit, but they were guttering from the wind. Fire barrels were unused, candlelight came from windows of thatched-roof houses. The inn was the only building in the village that was two-storied and had a tile roof. The wooden sign, creaked on hinges, written in chipping letters was, The Mountain Pass Inn.

"Looks promising." Volsair muttered, pushing the iron banded door open.

The common room was crowded, half the village must have shown up. The fire in the fireplace was roaring, the food was hot, and the drink was flowing.