As they were travelling back towards Limben, the temperature dropped significantly within days. Not only were they heading back up further into the mountains, but the brief warmth of early spring was replaced by harsh winds and almost continuous rain. By the fourth day, the rain began to freeze into tiny snowflakes, and after another day, the forest was covered in a thin sheet of ice and snow. The cold exhausted them, but every break was spent shivering, so they marched slowly as best they could. Every night, Michael did his best to find a spot sheltered from the wind to light a fire. Dry branches were scarce after days of rain and snow that melted during the day. Tri did her best to help and soon insisted they share his blanket. She could not bare seeing him shaking right next to her while she got the minimal comfort of his blanket. At first, he refused, spouting some nonsense about it not being appropriate and endangering her honour. Tri had laughed at that grimly. After all, they both knew there was little honour left for her thanks to the rumours in town. Eventually, she had yelled at him that there was nobody there who could possibly judge them, and him freezing to death would not help her in any way. However, Michael was stubborn and yet again lay down at a polite distance from her. Tri waited until his shaking stopped and he had dozed off. Then she got up, lay down next to him and covered both of them with the blanket. He barely woke up and must have been too cold and tired to keep fighting.

When the topic of the blanket came up the next day, Michael seemed equally upset and grateful. Tri understood by now that he could not accept the help for his own sake, so she insisted that even with the blanket, she had been too cold, and only sharing the blanket had allowed her some comfort. She could see Michael's inner conflict reflected on his face. He clearly struggled to forgo his moral compass, but he equally struggled with the thought of causing her suffering by sticking with it. That night, he did not lose a word over it as she sat down next to him. They did not cuddle, there was no desire on either side for that. All they wanted was the extra body heat to better make it through the ice-cold night.

After a few more days of snow, the sun finally showed its face again. The temperature rose enough to melt most snow, but it was still freezing at night. They were now not too far from Limben, at least according to what Michael had told Tri. She was surprised he knew where to go. Without him, Tri knew she would have been entirely lost. For a day or two, it almost seemed he had lost his way, too, but then they had come to one of his pre-determined campsites. The next morning, they both felt energized by the renewed hope of arriving soon. Strong winds were pushing the treetops over their heads around violently. They said little to nothing on the final days of their homeward journey. As they finally stepped out of the forest into sight of the city, Tri felt a heavy weight on her heart. She feared her family's reaction, and every step cost her twice the energy. Meanwhile, Michael was picking up speed, clearly glad to have made it. Tri tried to keep up, but he had to stop and wait for her several times before they made it to the gate. It was standing open as always during the day, but there were more guards than the usual single one, and those immediately blocked the path when Michael and Tri approached.

"Halt!" One of the guards called out to them. "In the name of Archbishop Methodius, you are asked to identify yourself and what brings you to Limben."

"My name is Michael Graham. My family lives here. I return from a futile journey seeking shelter and a warm meal."

"Journey where?" The guard eyed them up sceptically.

Before Michael could answer, Tri hastily exclaimed: "We meant to travel to relatives in Welsborough, but we never arrived there. We got lost in the forest and by the time we found ourselves back on the road, we were low on food, so we had to turn back." Michael stared at her. Tri could see the gears turning in his head. "Isn't that right, brother?" she said, praying he would catch on.

"Never made it to Welsborough, you say?" The guard stared at Michael. "Is that true?"

"Well, yes, sir, that is true." Michael looked at Tri. "It's quite shameful, really, it's the second time I've got lost this season, and now I even endangered my sister with it."

"Young man, do not worry, you may well have saved her from a terrible fate this time. While you were out lost in the forest, word reached Limben of the plague having arrived in Welsborough. Had you gotten there, you'd be doomed. But since you have not, I shall let you pass. Peter, escort them to their family and report back to me in an hour." One guard briefly bowed to the one who had spoken, all the others stepped aside. Some more orders were shouted as Peter lead Michael and Tri into the city.

"Well then, let's go meet our family, sister." Michael said to Tri, staring at her intently. He was clearly unsure why she had lied about that bit. There was no way for her to explain with Peter in earshot, so she followed in silence. Her heart beat faster and faster as they went down the street into a part of the city she knew only after nightfall. She tried to keep her face down in fear of being recognized. She knew it was irrational since only nobility would recognize her, and even they might struggle with her wearing men's clothes that was covered in grime. Truly, there were very few here who would know her, but those she was especially worried about. As they neared the smithy, Tri held her breath. Even though she knew her last lover no longer worked there, she was petrified he might be hanging around the place. And even if he was not, her guilt made it hard to breathe. When Michael suddenly shouted and ran straight for the smithy, Tri could swear her heart skipped a beat.

"Edward! Brother, it's so good to see you!" Michael was ecstatic. Tri finally remembered that his brother Edward, her former message boy, had taken up work at the smithy just before they had left. Peter was standing next to her, watching Michael. The brothers were hugging and talking, to it was impossible to understand them from where Tri and Peter were standing.

"Don't you want to go say hello?" Peter asked Tri.

"I shall wait my turn," Tri said, avoiding eye contact. To her surprise, Edward came running towards her, his eyes big with surprise. Before she knew what was happening, he hugged her.

Loud and clear, he exclaimed: "It's so good to see you, sister! I shall run straight home and tell everyone!" Only then did Tri realize she should probably hug him back. Within moments, he sprinted off and was out of sight. Tri smiled and Peter, feeling rather confused than relieved. They saw Michael have a quick word with the smith before he returned to them.

"Don't worry, I told his master that he'll be back soon. Edward just really wanted to go home and tell everybody that their brother and sister are still alive. Can't really blame him for that, can you?" Michael gave them a big smile. By the time the three of them arrived in front of what Tri assumed must be Michael's home, the whole family had gathered outside. Tri saw more children swarming about than she could count. She and Michael were soon encircled, and Peter narrowly managed to save himself. He seemed satisfied and said his goodbye. Michael's mother finally shooed the kids away and asked the two of them to come inside for a talk. The entrance to the house was narrow, just like the hallway inside. Tri watched Michael duck under a beam to make it into the kitchen of the house. Everything was rather dark and Tri could not understand how the whole family fit into that narrow house.

"Well then, a bit of calm after all that." Michael's mother turned to Tri and reached her hand out. "My name is Evelina." Tri took the hand and finally introduced herself with her real name. Evelina was clearly surprised. Her mouth stood open and she looked at Michael questioningly.

"It's not what you think, mamma," Michael said, and Tri felt the desire to disappear as she realised what Evelina must be thinking with her son returning from the wild after over two weeks with a noble lady known all about town for her indecent behaviour.

"Michael, love, give us a minute, will you?" Evelina pointed him to the door. "I need you out of earshot. You better be telling the same story, else we are all in a lot of trouble." Michael nodded and left a very terrified Tri alone with his mother. "Now dear, have a seat, I'll make you a tea and you tell me everything."

The two women sat and talked for a while. Tri was delighted with the hot tea and felt relief finally being able to confess her story to somebody as attentive as Evelina. By the end, Tri was in tears and Evelina gently petted her head.

"It's alright, my dear, don't you worry. We will find a way. Now, I'll have to speak with Michael. If you leave the kitchen to the left, you'll find a rather comfy armchair where you may rest. And take this tea with you," she said, pouring another cup for Tri.

As soon as Tri sat in the armchair, sleep came over her. The exhaustion of the past weeks took her into a dreamless state from which she struggled to awake.