Raul had woken up on the side of the street.  His head aches and his hand was caked with dry blood.

The street had a thin layer of frost covering it. A sure fire sign that the first snowfall of winter would be occurring soon.

He remembered Winter being taken away by Duke Wendall. Raul felt a chill down his spine. He would kill him. If Duke Wendell did anything to the Princess then he would personally stab him in the heart.

Shaking away the anger to clear his head, he walked ignoring the pain from his head and the numbness of his feet.

He had to make it to Duchess Martha and deliver her the news. She could summon a search party to look for Winter, she was a supporter after all.

Duchess Martha of Alloster lived in the outskirts of the capital in the village of Alloster. You would have to go through various districts and cross the river via bridge to get to her residence. He saw it before when following the vet to assist him. A giant Mansion sitting on top of a hill overlooking the river.

The bridge was crowded today due to the end of the festivities. Most of the traders prepared to leave before the snow fell.

He dodged carts, horses and people before he made it up to the hill. The wind picked up and Raul could see the trade ships leaving the bay.

The iron fence surrounding the mansion was meant to keep out fairies. There were rumours that Duchess Martha detested fairies due to a trade she made with them that went bad. Ever since she made a iron fence to protect herself.

There were several guards at her door, each drinking coffee and gossiping about the ball. They paused as they saw a half dead boy walk up to them, bloodied and blue.

"I need to to see the duchess," Raul said in a surprisingly strong voice.

"And what business do you have with the duchess?" One of the guard asked.

Raul didn't have the energy or  patience to deal with them. He reached into his shirt and pulled out the Snow Pendent.

"I need to see the duchess," he repeated once more.

Once Raul was rushed in, he was given a bath, some food and some decent clothes before he could see the Duchess.

He felt uncomfortable in this type of clothing, he preferred his trousers and simple work shirts. The collar of the poofy white shirt he was wearing was too tight. A jacket over it made it much harder to move in. The shoes he had to wear were boots and they were confining. He wanted an audience with the Duchess not to be dressed up like a girl.

He waited in one of the drawing rooms, overlooking the lands as the snow started to fall. Raul felt his stomach twist.

'Winter's out there in the snow. What is she dies? We won't find her body until spring.'

The door opened, and he turned to face the Duchess of Alloster looked at him. She looked different without her makeup and poofy dressed. She sported a simple blue shift with a decorative shawl around her shoulders. Her gold hair was loose and hung down to her waist, not a single strand out of place. She walked over to one of the couches and sat down. Raul remained standing out of politeness.

"Well, I heard that you have some news?"

Raul fought to keep his voice even, "You're grace." He bowed. "Her majesty, the Princess, is missing," said.

"What?" She said. "No. Not Winter. Not now."

The Duchess clutched at her heart and collapsed into a chair.

"The person who took her is Duke Wendell and I fear he may have-" he felt himself choke. "He may have-" was all he could manage before he felt the tears.

He only knew Winter for a couple of days but hat was enough to get attached to her.

"There, there," She said as she got up, setting a hand in his shoulder. "Princess Winter isn't dead. Not yet."

"How do you know?!"

She set a hand on his shoulder. "The kingdom would have announced it by now. Morgan would want everyone to know that she was dead but if she hid Winter then......." She trailed off.

"So there's a chance?"

"Yes, but it's a  very small chance."

"But it's a chance. We can save her?" Raul asked.

"If we work fast enough," The Duchess had many people working under her to keep an eye on Winter and spy on Morgan. She would have to organise a search party and try to find Winter before the snow set in or they would never find her.

Raul followed her in silence. Could she really save Winter or would it be too late?

She sent out several messengers delivering the messages out to various other supporters. A meeting was to be healed by tonight to send out a search party and figure out what must be done if Winter was dead. She hoped that Winter wasn't dead. She couldn't be. Morgan would destroy the kingdom.

"I never got you name, little boy."

"Raul, your grace."

"Well then, Raul. I need an assistant. Do you mind?"

"Not at all, your grace."

"Good. First things first, we need to know exactly where this Duke took her," She said as she pulled out her chocker, "Then we make him pay."

Somewhere far off in the castle, the Duke was enjoying a hot bath to warm up his cold and weary bones.

Chasing someone through a forest was stressful enough and the fact that he didn't know if she died or not was even more stressful.

He stood up and grabbed him towel as he stepped out of the tub. He dressed quickly and prepared to face Morgan.
He was going to lie to her saying that he killed her but then she would ask for proof and he had none.

He thought about saying that she escaped into the dark forest, knowing its reputation, she should be dead. Once again another problem would rise up, Morgan would kill him on the spot.

'There's no way. I could just say that she drowned in a frozen lake. What proof could she ask from that. It's not like she send a search party, it's too dangerous to the mountains. The snows already fallen.'

"Too busy too see me, my love?" A voice purred from his bed. Morgan laid on his bed staring at him like a cat would.

"Can I not rest before telling you the good news," he said as he sat down at the foot of the bed. Morgan wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. He noticed that she smelled of mint and fire, a surprisingly pleasant smell that he couldn't seem to resist.

"So tell me," she whispered. "Did you take care of Winter?"

"If you mean drowning her in a frozen river, then yes. I took care of her."

"A river? You killed her in the mountains?" He felt her arms tightening around him.

"It was the safest place. Nobody will find the body. She'll either be frozen melted away when spring comes," he said.

"And how do I know that you aren't lying?"

"Would I betray my future queen?"  He asked. "My only wish is to serve you and become you're king. I'll do anything for you,"he lied effectively through his teeth.

"Hmmm.......," Morgan twisted a stray lock of his hair. He held his breath hoping that she believed him. "Well done, my love," she said.

A smirk makes its way to their faces.

Him because he thought he was one step closer to a kingdom and she because she had a scrape goat.