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-&-

Chapter 11

       "Is Mae okay?" I asked softly as the General and I sat side-by-side on our respective crates, two bowls of some odd- soup like thing in our hands. I frowned down at the curling brown liquid that swashed sluggishly against the wooden bowl. That was definitely not normal.

       "She was a little shaken up when I brought her back to the tavern, but she should be fine." He grunted before spooning the tasteless brown liquid past his lips. Well, at least he didn't have a problem eating it.

       It turned out that the small sea-ship Terif found us passage on was not a passenger ship, but a small merchant vessel built light and small for speed. It sailed frequently between the kingdoms, dropping off and loading supplies. I honestly wasn't surprised that the wolf was able to get us on board. Everyone was too afraid of him to say no.

       It's been two days since the General told me I would be staying at the castle for the foreseeable future, and my memories from the- the attack were slowly coming back, despite the constant pain in my head. "I thought you were- I thought they had..." I stumbled over my words miserably as I gave up on the soup and placed it beside me, my eyes locked on the boots covering my small feet.

       The dark chuckle that left the wolf-bornes lips surprised me, and I snapped my gaze to his as he shook his head- his dark hair brushing softly across his forehead. "It's going to take a lot more than a few sewer rats to kill me, my lady." I smiled at the amusement in his tone before resting my head back against my shoulders to enjoy the afternoon sun on my face.

       "And you saved us. So, thank you again."

       "Those are my orders. I would have saved you regardless."

       I sighed and rolled my eyes behind closed eyelids. Why couldn't he just accept the thank you? We were quiet for a few minutes, but the silence wasn't tense like I would have assumed. He seemed to be warming up to me over the past couple of days- for lack of a better term. Of course, he would still throw in a crude comment or sneer here or there, but in all honesty- he was a lot nicer. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

       "We will be arriving at the Mountain in a few days." He started a few minutes later after he finished whatever was in that soup before placing the wooden bowl down at his feet.

       "The King has informed me that you Underlings-" I didn't miss how he rolled the word distastefully over his tongue before snapping those golden eyes up to me. "-have a very different culture than ours."

       I frowned at the way his dark eyes flashed and his face fell into a noticeable scowl, but I didn't bother interrupting. One day I would figure out what his problem was. "He wanted you to keep that in mind before we arrive. There are things you do and don't do in our kingdom." My frown only grew at his words, and I could tell he saw the question in my eyes, but he held his hand up before I could even speak.

       "That's his place to explain."

       I sulked down on my crate. The General was the absolute worse person to get any type of information from ever. "You know, you're horrible at holding conversations." I grumbled as he let out a small groan and began to stand.

       "I know. Enjoy the sun while it lasts. We will be hitting Northern water soon." He gave me a small bow, his golden eyes flashing before he turned and walked away to the small room that held our belongings. I let out a sigh as I turned my face back up to the sky.

       The sun did not reach the Mountain much, and the water at its base was always freezing. I haven't spent a true winter there in years, but I wouldn't be surprised if the sea at its bottom was completely ice. I could already see dark storm clouds taking over the blue-sky way out in the distance. I loved the winter, but blizzards at sea did not sound like fun. The sun was slowly beginning to set, and the air grew chillier as I hugged the green tunic tighter around me.

       It was getting colder, and there was nothing much to do on the deck besides enjoy the view. I guess I could go read that book some more. I groaned and rubbed the back of my head softly as I stood to my feet.

       The pain wasn't as bad as before, but it was still there, and it throbbed every time something brushed against the back of my head. That serpent-shifter must have slammed me against that wall really hard.

       I took my time as I walked across the slow deck and down the two steps. It calmed the pain in my head and didn't make my body feel so drained. Not eating probably wasn't going to help anything either.

       "She has almost completely healed."

       I paused just outside of our small room and furrowed my eyebrows as Terif's voice spoke softly through the closed wooden door. I know it was impolite to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help myself. I tried to stay as quiet at possible as I pressed my ear against the thin wood. Was he talking to himself? About me? How odd-

       "I will not be satisfied until I see her."

       The minute that voice hit my ears, that deep, soul-shaking voice, my heart thumped painful in my chest. That was Eirik- that was the King's voice. My headache was back, for a whole new reason. Maybe I was just going insane. Maybe that hit bruised my skull and I was definitely imagining things that weren't there.

       "I know. We are only a few days away. Do you still wish for me to take her up the mountain as soon as we arrive?"

       "Yes. Liberius has been lurking around, and I do not think my absence will go unnoticed if I disappear to meet you."

       My heart was beating uncontrollably in my chest, and I was honestly surprised he- they- them couldn't hear it. I definitely heard the King's voice that time. There was no way I was imagining it, unless I was dreaming and this was all in my head.

       I almost squeaked at the unexpected dark growl that sounded through the closed door, but slapped my hand over my mouth just in time. "I do not understand why you insist on keeping him alive." Terif's hard voice practically snarled as I stood with wide eyes just outside the door.

       "Do not question me, General." Eirik growled, the deep sound resonating low in my chest and sent the pit of butterflies in my stomach haywire. I let out a shaky breath. Okay, that was it. There was no way this was a dream.

       "He is a traitor-"

       Terif barely finished his sentence before I twisted the knob and pushed the door wide open. It was impolite, and a complete disregard to any manners I had, but it was impossible for the King to be there-

       Two pairs of eyes turned to me, one was that dark gold I had grown so familiar to, and the other was that bright lightening blue that haunted my dreams. My breath caught in my throat. "What..." I couldn't even speak as my gaze locked with the King's, his shimmering form pulled into a small frown.

       He wasn't there, not really. I-I mean I could clearly see his perfectly sculpted face, and large body, but he stood in the middle of the room as a pale blue, shimmering light- as if he were a ghost. I reached a shaky hand up and pressed it against my suddenly throbbing forehead.

       "Emrie." The shimmery King said on a soft, almost stressed sigh, his blue eyes flashing brightly as they scanned my flushed face. Terif stood stalk still next to him, his face pale, but emotionless as his gaze locked on me. I gulped loudly in the tense silence that filled the room, and staggered against the wall.

       "W-What's going on?" I muttered as my suddenly ridiculously heavy body slowly started to fall to the floor. The King's eyes flashed and his jaw clenched, but Terif was the one who was suddenly at my side- gripping tightly onto my arm and leading me over to the bed. Not that the shimmering, see-through King would have been of much use.

       "I told you not to overdo yourself." The General's voice was a stern growl as he eased me slowly onto the cot. "My lady." He added as an afterthought when his dark eyes flickered up to the blue apparition standing in the middle of the room. I gave Terif a sheepish smile.

       "I-I didn't. It just started hurting..." I murmured as my eyes started to flutter heavily against my cheeks. I blinked, and the King disappeared. I frowned and tried to ignore the sudden hollow, painful, feeling in my chest when the General walked away from me and picked up an odd black stone off the ground.

       "What just happened, Terif?" I mumbled softly as I laid down on my side and blinked sleepily up at him. My body was just too heavy to stay upright anymore. He paused, his shoulders going stiff before he slipped the black stone into his bag.

       "You are tired. You should rest." He muttered before bending down to the large wooden bowl filled with water in the corner of the room, and walking back over to me with the cool cloth in his hands. I frowned up at him and wanted to object, but one scalding look from those gold eyes had my lips sealing shut.

       I sighed in relief as he placed the cool cloth on my forehead as it helped ease my headache- somewhat. I closed my eyes and cuddled into the scratchy blanket of the cot as he sat down heavily in the chair beside me. He let out a ragged breath.

       "You, my lady, just fucking love getting me in trouble." He grumbled into the tense quiet of the room. I was too tired to answer him.

-&-

       That night I dreamed of the King, of his strong fingers gently stroking my hair and playing with the ends as he had done so many weeks before. Visions of that blue gaze filled my mind's eyes as that beautiful voice spoke in a lullaby to my ears. I woke the next morning with my first genuine smile in days. I was finally going to spend actual time with the King. With Eirik.

       "We've crossed the Northern Border." Terif's gruff voice announced as he walked into the cramped room with a heavy cloak draped over his wide shoulders. He didn't bother knocking. "The temperature is below freezing, and quickly dropping. Wear this." He commanded as he tossed a second smaller cloak on my feet. I frowned.

       "Good morning to you too." I mumbled up at him before slowly easing out beneath the blanket. The tunic and skin-hugging-pants I wore did little to stop the instant freezing air that washed over me, and I quickly pulled the heavy fur cloak over my shoulders. Terif only grunted.

       "We will be at the Mountain in little more than a day. There will be no time to stop at your little village on the way, so I hope what you brought to the Lower Kingdom with you will suffice."

       My frown grew and I bit my bottom lip as I looked over at the trunk by the base of the cot. He had managed to grab all our belongings, and me before we left the Lower Kingdom- which I was internally grateful over. But all my clothes were light fabrics. I packed for the warmer weather of the South, not the freezing cold of our home.

       "I did not pack clothing appropriate for the Winter." I admitted softly as his large form headed for the thin wooden door. He paused and let out an irritated sigh.

       "Fine. I will inform the King when we arrive. Just where the cloak until then."

       I frowned at the brisk, brooding tone of his voice and watched as he hurried quickly from the room- as if he did not want to be around me any longer than he had to. I ran a shaky hand through my long, and rather tangled hair. I guess that pleasantness he briefly showed was long gone.

       That, or he was terrified of me bombarding him with questions over that black stone and the King appearing out of thin air. I wouldn't bother asking him though, he never seemed to answer anyways. I would just wait until the King and I were alone.

       Alone.

       The King and I, for the first time in weeks. Alone. The thought made me feel like a giddy little girl.

       I let out a tired sigh and followed slowly after the grumpy wolf-borne. My head felt ten times better than the day before, and despite the dull tenderness at the back of my skull it wasn't bothering me much. I walked slowly from the room and climbed the few steps onto the ship's main deck. My eyes widened at the sight of the white, icy fog that crowded the air, and the lanterns hanging along the rails offered the only visible light for us to see.

       "Whoa..." I murmured quietly as I tried to scan the small ship for the large General. Even in this cloudy fog, his large form should be visible. And yet, I still could not see him.

       "Terif-"

       "I am here."

       I let out a loud gasp and jumped at the gruff voice that suddenly spoke right in my ear. He chuckled as I gripped hastily at my chest and drew in deep, ragged breaths. "Sneaking up on someone is not nice!" I snapped as his golden eyes glowed down at me through the thick fog. They flashed as he chuckled again.

       "I find it amusing."

       "Apparently." I grumbled and turned away from him to stalk towards the dimly lit railing with a huff. He followed closely behind.

       "Be careful, my lady. Watch your step." His tone still held that arrogant amusement, but I just ignored him as I stopped at the edge of the ship and gripped tightly onto the rail.

       "Do you see that?" He asked as he stood at my side, his tone easing as his large hand pointed towards an odd patch of water visible below us.

       "Barely, what is it?" I asked softly as I leaned a little way over the railing to get a better look. He snarled, and gripped tightly onto the back of my cloak before pulling me away from the side. I rolled my eyes.

       "It's ice. The closer we get to the Mountain, the more of it you'll see."

       I frowned and leaned further away from the rail as he crossed his large arms over his chest. "Does the ocean freeze at the base?" My breath came out as fog of its own as I breathed in the icy air of the North. I loved the winter.

       "Not completely. There should be some opening for the ship to sail into port."

       "And the King is not meeting us." It wasn't a question, but I still gave him pause for answer. The large wolf-born stilled beside me, and his glowing golden eyes flickered down to mine before back out at the white fog.

       "No, he has business to attend to at the castle."

       "I see..." I trailed off slowly as he leaned uneasily away from me. "General-"

       "Do not ask me anything." He growled before I could even finish my sentence. I frowned and bit my bottom lip. Well, okay then. "I will not tell you anything the King does not wish for you to know."

       "Why doesn't he want me to know?" I grumbled at his large back as he turned away with an irritated sigh.

       "Because he doesn't."

       I stood their silently and watched him stalk away with a glare. He was beyond infuriating. Why couldn't he just tell me something? Anything? Just one little sliver of information to stop making those insane notions running through my head. I let him go without a hassle. He wouldn't cave no matter what I said.

       The day passed by slowly, and I only knew when the sun had started to set when the white fog slowly turned dark. Snow had begun to fall from the sky and blanketed the top of the ship in a thin white sheen. I stood huddling into the thick cloak Terif had given me on my little crate, watching the white flakes fall from the dark clouds. Thunder rolled in the distance.

       "My lady."

       I glanced over to the mast in the middle of the ship where the large General was standing with a scowl on his stern face. I frowned. "The snow will start falling heavily in the next hour, you need to be below deck. The King will kill me if you get sick."

       I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh before standing from the cool wooden crate. "I'm fine, Terif. I love the snow, and it's never bothered me before." I grumbled, but found myself heading below deck anyway. He followed slowly behind, like always.

       "You have not experienced a true winter on the Mountain yet. You haven't seen snow." He practically growled as he followed me down the two short steps and into the cramped room- like he was dead-set on making sure I wasn't going to run up to the deck again anytime soon.

       "And how would you know that?" I grumbled as I grabbed the history/myth book from out of my trunk before plopping down heavily on the hard cot.

       He grunted before taking a seat on the wooden chair. According to him, we had only been on the ship for about two weeks- and I slept through the first one. I felt bad, he had been sleeping in that uncomfortable chair the entire time, but whenever I offered to switch places he would just snarl and shoot me a glare. I took that as a no.

       There was silence between us as I sat on the bed reading the little wolf book clutched between my fingers. I paused and thumbed the edge of one of the old yellow pages before glancing up at the silent brooding General.

       "What is it like? Living with him, I mean." I asked softly as his golden eyes stared out the small window across the room. His gaze slowly flitted over to mine.

       "It is..." He paused and crossed his arms over his hard chest before bringing his gaze back to the window. "Difficult." I frowned at his answer, but he didn't seem like he was going to elaborate anytime soon.

       "How so?" I urged softly as I closed the book and pressed it to my chest. It was almost comfortably. He clenched and unclenched his jaw, his eyes slowly rolling around the expanse of our tiny space.

       "He is loyal to his people, to his Generals, but that does not mean he is lenient. He does not appreciate those who disagree with him, and shows little mercy to whoever crosses him."

       I felt my lips pull into a small frown. The King always seemed so gentle with me, and I long since stopped believing in the rumors that revolved around him. But he was a strong ruler. He protected his kingdom, and the mountain. He's fought in what seemed like a hundred wars, and showed little mercy for stragglers he crossed his border. Perhaps, he wasn't as soft as I had made him out to be.

       "Do not worry, my lady. I highly doubt he will be anything but kind to you." Terif's voice was gruff, and coarse, but I found it oddly reassuring. I let that simple statement calm my racing nerves- even though it did little to stop the worry building in my chest.

       We were... we were never supposed to be together. I was never supposed to have him. He even said he didn't really know what to do with me. I did not expect to be treated any differently than the others under his care. But no matter what, I knew he wouldn't hurt me. He couldn't, even if he tried.

       "You are being awfully quiet." The General grumbled what felt like hours later as I sat staring absentmindedly at the wall. I turned my gaze towards his stoic face, but his golden eyes were still locked out the small circular window.

       My lips pulled into a small smile. "I figured you would be happy about that." He only snorted and glanced away- but my mind was still reeling.

       I wanted to ask him more about Eirik, about how the King felt about me. Did he confide in the General about his problems? Did he say that he had never wanted a mate, and didn't know what to do with me? Did he say he didn't want me? I chewed anxiously on my bottom lip.

       "He told me how- how he never wanted a mate." I admitted softly as my voice passed my lips rather breathlessly. The cold had crept slowly into our little room, and I had wrapped the cloak and blanket from the cot tightly around me in search of warmth. His dark gaze slid slowly towards mine, and narrowed.

       "Did he now?" He seemed to murmur thoughtfully before he let his eyes roam back to the window. My frown only grew. "I don't think you will have to worry about that, Lady Emrie."

       "You think he did always want one?" I couldn't keep the desperate plea from my voice- the one practically begging Terif to tell me that the King did in fact want me. If he noticed my tone, he didn't show it. He let out a small sigh before adjusting in his uncomfortable seat.

       "All I know was that he looked for a very long time when he was younger, before he finally gave up hope. And he grew to slowly forget, to only feel care and loyalty for his people." He paused and let out another small sigh before stretching his long legs out in front of him. "And now you finally came along, and he doesn't know what to do anymore."

       He looked for a very long time.

       That one simple sentence, brought hope to my aching chest. Even if he didn't want one now, at one point in his life- he had. He had wanted me- or the idea of what I was supposed to be to him. Maybe he would grow to want a mate again. Maybe, just maybe he would grow to want me.

       When he was younger.

       I frowned at that. He seemed young to me already, barley older than two and a half decades. How much younger would he have had to have been? "How old is he?" I found my lips asking before the thought had even fully formed in my head. Terif's eyes snapped to mine, and his whole body seemed to tense in uncertainty before he glanced away again.

       "Old."

-&-

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