"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness."
-John Steinbeck

The door clicked open and just as abruptly as Iolas had initiated, he pulled back, not wishing to be caught kissing cousins.

He braced himself for a slap, knowing for certain that her delicate hand would serve it, but it did not come.
Instead Adelaide stood there, dumbstruck. Her jaw gaped slightly, remaining in a state of shock, even as the guards pinned the arms of the prince behind his back and took him away.

Iolas looked back to take a final glance at her, knowing that it could very well be his last, and was struck with a surprising longing.
Once they reached the top of the stairs. they pushed him through exit and then tossed him onto the hard wooden deck of the ship.
Iolas winced at the impact, for he had purposely been thrown onto his injured arm. Temporarily overwhelmed by the brightness of the sun that had just began to set, he brought his hand to shade his eyes, and took in his surroundings. They were still docked by the citidale, and it appeared that the entire crew had gathered on the deck to watch the match, quickly crowding around and jeering down at him with cries filled with excitement and bloodlust.

"Have a nice life!" One of the guards who had been his escort sneered. "Indeed, all 3 remaining minutes of it."
The other guard added.
Iolas ignored the jeers, biting back the pain and pushed himself to his feet.
He calmly straightened out his cravat and jacket, appearing as relaxed as if he were at a dinner social.

"Valarry! Valarry! Valarry!"
The Barbarians begin chanting, growing louder and more rambunctious with each verse.
The sound of heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs from the crew quarters quickly threatened to break his cool composure, and when the heavy wooden door swung open, Iolas couldn't help but gulp at the sight of a monster of a man.

He was 8 foot tall, if not taller.
Despite the biting cold, he wore no shirt, which exposed a massive figure. covered in old scars, and a broad chest covered only by his long brown beard.
His footfall wss so heavy, that for one fleeting moment of panic, Iolas swore he felt the whole boat rocking with each giant step.
Valarry snarled at his much smaller opponent, baring a mouth full of unkept and rotting teeth.

"Not so tough now, little man?" Groaa gloated before pushing him towards the center.
The captain stepped between the prince and the warrior.
"Good evening cousin,"
He greeted with a smirk.
"I am Olek, As you may have already been told, this is a fight to the death."

"We all know who will die!" A voice taunts from the back of the crowd, and the audience burst into laughter.
"True Hastak, very true..."
Laughed the Captain.
"This lanky fire head stands no chance."

"What are the rules of this match?"
Iolas ask, head held high.
Refusing to let any dread show.
"Rules?" The captain chuckles.
"Boy there are no rules!"
shakes his head.
"You win, you live."

"Boy I am not unfair."
He states to Iolas semi-sarcastically.
"We all know you that you won't, but if by some miracle, your victory does happen, I might even be so generous as to put in a good word with our ruler, and ensure that you are not executed you the second the marriage ceremony is over, which was the plan originally. A fine slave you will make."
He smirked.

The captain took several steps back and as he did, Iolas took in a deep breath, readying himself for the fight.
He tried not to think of the negatives in that moment, failed. He was unarmed, injured and a quarter the size of his opponent.

Despite all this he felt energized, and his pain seemed more dulled than before. The taste of Adelaide still lingered on his mouth, kissing her seemed to be source of this newfound spirit.
Her kiss had tasted sweet, like a young rosewater wine that had not yet buttered with age.
This had surprised him, shocking him with the fact that despite all that both he and this war had put her through, and taken from her, a small slice of her inner innocence still remained.
In that moment, vowed in that moment to do right by her,

Without any formal signal, Valarry swung at the prince. Iolas ducked out of the way with barely an inch to spare. The bigger man turns to face him, and seizing the moment, Iolaus punched him in the stomach as hard as he could with his good arm.
The brute simply laughs, completely unfazed, and grabs his opponent's arm, twisting it behind my back with such a force that Iolas was surprised the limb was still connected to his torso.
In pain, but determined to live, he ised the stiff heel of his sturdy boot to kick his captor backwards, hard and into the shin.

Not the move of a honorable soldier, but it did the trick. Valarry released his grasp just enough for Iolas to break free.
With the stealth of a gazelle, he jumped back, trying to put as much distance between them as he could in a single bound, but it was not enough; A humongous fist swung out and hit him hard in the stomach, sending his body hurtling to the ground and knocking the breath from him.
Iolad recovered just fast enough as to roll out of the way of an equally massive boot, one which was coming down onto his head.

The crowd moved in closer and closer as the fight progressed, enclosing them tighter by the second.
The fight progressed, though it wasn't much of one, as all Iolas could focus on was trying to avoid being struck by his enemy's powerful limbs.

He had never been in a brawl like this.
Never a chaotic and undisciplined battle such as this. No, despite his vallianous ways, Iolas was trained as a swordsmen, sailor and a soldier.
Taught by the finest tutors how to fight like a prince and noblemen should, with honor and dignity; but this wasn't art, and this most certainly wasn't honorable. This was primal.

He had been thrown on the floor once more when something of use caught his eye. The glint of a long saber on the hip of a person near him in the crowd.
Iolas thought to the captains words of no rules.
He scrambled to his feet once more, but this time he didn't jump back, or move away to avoid a blow. This time he knelt down and swooped out his leg as hard as he could, knocking the giant in the ankles, and his feet right out from under him.

Valarry hit the deck with a spectacular thud, and with not a second to spare Iolas reached for the sheath and pulled out the blade.
He heard a gasp throughout the crowd, one that signified what he was doing was something wrong. Regardless, he twisted back to the barbarian, who still lay on the ground, gasping for the breath which had been knocked from him. Iolas raised the blade and prepared to strike.

The crowd was silent, but the silence was deafening. Fearing repercussions, he thought better of himself, and instead of ending the man's life, Iolas brought the tip to his neck, demanding that he yield.
The giant seemed so surprised by his actions, all he could do was nod in surrender.
Iolas removed the saber from his Valarry's neck and then turned to face the Captain.

"You said no rules."
He quoted breathlessly, but with affirmation.

Before the captain could answer, Iolad heard an animalistic charge and felt Valarry on his feet and lunging at him from behind. Instinctively the prince tucked the blade under his arm, running his attacker through.
With a sickening thud, his massive body crumbled to the floor, his life leaving his body just as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the waves.

Iolad didn't look back, only kept his eyes trained on the Captain.

"Never...underestimate... a redhead."
He panted, trying to catch his breath.
The suprise melted from the captains face, and was quickly replaced by a look of sheer amusement.
"I see that."
He began to laugh, starting out softly, but soon he was gripping the sides of his belly from the intensity.

"I am indeed impressed."
He continued once his laughter died down.
"Looks like this boy will live to see another sunset after all."
He announced to his crew, and then with a dismissing wave, Iolas found himself once more in the clutches of his gaurds, being hauled back down to the brig, and then tossed violently back into the cell with Adelaide.

"Iolas, you're alive!" She cried as the gaurds locked the cell shut once more.
"Please try not to look so suprised."
He smiled slightly, shaking his head.
He limped towards her, exhausted and weak from the fight.
A look of remembrance replaced the look of relief on her face, and the second the gaurds closed the door, leaving them alone once more, she drew her hand back and gave him a powerful slap.

"What was that for?!?"
Iolas cried in suprise, cradling his stinging cheek.
"You know what that was for!"
Adelaide exclaimed.
"Why on earth did you kiss me? You had no right!" She crossed her arms.

Iolas sighed, slumping down onto the cold floor.
"Because..." he began, "I didn't want the last thing I ever did to a beautiful girl was apologize for trying to kill her brother. I didn't think I was going to come back alive, and I almost didn't."

"Oh..." Is all she could manage to respond, kneeling down until she was beside him.
"Well, you are alive, but you look like hell." She spoke, breaking the tension that had suddenly filled the air, grabbing his chin to examine his face, which miraculously had remained unscathed.
"You should see the other guy..."
He joked, trying also to lighten the heavy air.

"What happened up there?"
She asked, grabbing the skin of water and what was left of the bandages.
He explained it to her as she cleaned and bandaged his wounds, both old and fresh.
He left no details out, in fact, a few may have been slightly elaborated, and or added.

Not long after he had finished, footsteps above gave away the return of their gaurds, Grooa and Slavin.
The pair returned with one carrying a giant bundle of furs, and the other with a plate of food in each hand.
This time their attitudes were different, they did not jeer at Iolas or make elicit comments towards Adelaide.
Instead they did their jobs silently,
setting the food and blankets down nicely, not tossing item as they had before, the impression given that Iolas's victory over Valarry had earned some of their respect, or perhaps even their fear.

"It appears we are to share accommodations this evening."
Iolas said, motioning to the freshly made barbarian bed of piled furs, as if it were the finest bed in a luxury inn.

"If we must..."
Adelaide pretended to be bothered, but was secretly quite relieved.
Sharing both a cell and a bed with Iolas felt much safer than being locked alone by herself throughout the night, a fish in a barrel for any of the ravenous monsters aboard to creep down the stairs and violate in the dead of the night.

Sitting down onto the furs, both found them to be a welcome reprieve from the cold floor of their cell. They picked up their plates.
"No utensils?"
She asked rhetorically, after searching.
"Of course not, that would be too civilized."
He answered, digging into the stew-like substance with his hands.
To hungry to truly care, Adelaide followed suit.

"I dont know how your people deal with this ungodly weather every year."
He commented after a gust of icy wind howled through the small window across from their cage.
With the evening finally at hand, the temperature had dropped significantly with the absence of the sun.

"Oh pity."
She shook her head, amused, and without malice.
"Wait," she added, a teasing smile edging the corner of her mouth.
"didn't you once go on and on to me about your woeful suffering in a cold dungeon. You should feel right at home."

"You do recall I live on an island?"
He couldn't help but return her small smile.
"A beautiful, semi-tropical island. My nations idea of cold is greatly different from those of Aelford. That cold was just miserable. This cold pierces your bones. Its ungodly!"

Adelaide was quiet for a second, but then a small chuckle escaped her, which quickly turned into a fit of rolling laughter. "What?" He asked. But she couldn't answer him, for she was too overtaken by her spell of laughter. "What is so funny?" He pressed again, now incredibly curious as to the source of her amusement amidst such horrible conditions.

"Its just..." She tried to speak but was overcome with more laughter. "I mean... You were so eager to rule here!"
Humoring about his plot to take over Aelford seemed so out of place for her to even speak of that It took him a moment to catch on to her.
He stiffened, but after a moment quickly saw the irony in her statement, and that led to understanding her overwhelming laughter.
"I did. Didn't I?"
He chuckled, shaking his head.

They ate in a comfortable state of relaxation that neither felt possible while being captive in the belly of an enemy vessal. With their bowls hungrily scraped clean, both exhausted both mentally and physically, they pulled back several layers of the furs and climbed into the makeshift bed.
They lay in silence, the width of a body separated them.
Adelaide let out a heavy sigh as the weight of the day came back down onto her once more.
Turning towards Iolas, she curled up on her side tightly.
Iolas sensed the shift in her mood, the sadness within her almost seeming to be reaching out for him, and was once again he was overcome with the urge to comfort her, and it felt just as foreign to the detached prince as before.
Caring was so unlike him.
He couldn't shake away the feelings, but at the same time knew that if he went about offering even the smallest leval of comfort to her in the wrong way, she would pridefully refuse him. He stared up at the ceiling, dwelling upon this for a moment.

"Adelaide. I really am cold. I dont know how you do this. Would it trouble you terribly to come a little closer, you know, for warmth?"
He cautiously inquired.

"You islanders..."
She sighed reluctantly after a moment, but then began scooting over. It was only after she was being wrapped up tightly in his strong arms that she realized his ruse.

____________________________

A/N: BIG NEWS! READ FULLY!

Announcement #1:
So I have been keeping this under wraps for a while, but I finally had my first ever fully completed story sent to a professional editing service (had to save for MONTHS!) and it is finally going to be published to amazon on December 1st. I am so excited! In honor of all of you guys, the ones who have supported me the most, I AM POSTING IT TO WATTPAD! The first 4 chapters are up now, and I will be posting a new one every week Saturday until the whole story is on Wattpad. Its a science fiction romance called 'Arch Frenemies' and I guarentee you are going to love it. So please go check it out and add it to your library.

Announcement #2:
I have officially picked the winners for my wattcon2018 sovieneir contest on facebook.
Winners will be messaged shortly. :)

As always, if you enjoyed this chapter, please dont forget to vote and comment. :)