We were set to leave right after lunch. I still didn't exactly understand why three of us were being sent. When I asked Mother, she said it would be good to see me working with the Zolvans. I didn't exactly see her reason, since we could potentially die going out in a blizzard like this, but there was no room for negotiating. 

Even though the car would be heated, we were bundled up in thick layers, just in case we got stuck. The trunk was loaded with blankets, the front seat next to the driver filled with some snacks. Even if Mother and Father were putting the three of us at risk, at least we would have a chance of not freezing to death.

Leyton, Marie, and I were all clumped together in the backseat. I was in the middle, Leyton on my left and Marie on my right. Our driver, who I believed his name was Ryan, was sitting in the front seat, ready to go when we were all settled. 

I felt a little crushed in the middle, but I was put there because I was the smallest of the three. I didn't know why I couldn't just ride in the front seat, but Father told me to ride in the back with the Zolvans. I learned long ago not to question either of my parents' judgement. 

After making sure we were all ready, we were off. As soon as the garage door opened, snow was rushing in at a heavy rate. The roads that left the palace were barely plowed, making us move extremely slowly from the amount of snow on the ground. 

Once we got to the main roads, it was a little better. Ryan drove slowly, making me feel relieved that we weren't going to hurry. That would certainly end in a car accident. 

I relaxed a little in my seat, staring ahead of me at the road. Once a few minutes had passed, I felt Leyton nudge my side. I turned to look at him, a curious look on my face.

"What?"

"Do you wanna play some sort of car game?" he asked. My brow furrowed, and before I got a chance to answer, Marie was reprimanding him.

"Leyton, those games are for kids. We're better off sitting in silence," Marie said, shooting a glare at her brother. I suddenly felt awkward being in the middle of the two. 

"What else are we supposed to do?" I glanced over at the prince, deciding to stay silent. I really didn't have a preference on what we did. Car games sounded interesting though.

Marie groaned, then went silent. I rose an eyebrow as silence fell over the car; silence it was, then. Shifting down in my seat, I continued staring out the window, watching the heavy snow fall around us. Occasionally, I could feel the car rock a little bit from the strong winds. 

A couple hours went by, the silence starting to eventually feel awkward. As much as it bothered me, I didn't feel like saying anything. What was there to talk about? Zolva could be a potential conversation topic; I had never been to the kingdom. I still didn't say anything.

A few more minutes went by, my daydream being interrupted when I felt the car stop. Weren't we still on the road? I looked outside the window, peeking around Marie to attempt to see through the thick snow. It didn't seem like there was a gas station around. 

I heard a curse mumbled by our driver. I watched as he attempted to start the car again, but it wouldn't turn on. 

"We're stuck," Ryan said. "The engine stalled."

We were stuck in the blizzard, in the middle of the road. The Zolvan border was at least another hour away. A feeling of dread pooled in my stomach. No one else would be out in this kind of weather. 

"What are we supposed to do?" Marie asked, looking between her brother and I. I gave a helpless shrug, glancing outside at the blizzard again.

"I guess we wait."

It got cold fairly quickly, making me suddenly glad we had been dressed warm, and had the blankets. Time seemed to pass slowly, Ryan attempting to start the car every few minutes, but it still refused to start. The engine had more than likely frozen. 

We waited for an hour, snacking on the food that had been brought with us. Leyton and Marie were oddly close to me, a thick blanket on all of us. Ryan was curled up in the driver's seat with a blanket of his own. 

"The blizzard isn't supposed to let up until day after tomorrow," I said quietly, pulling the blanket closer to me, but Marie yanked it back. 

"We'll be popsicles by then," Leyton responded. "We're better off going out there and trying to find somewhere to stay."

"The closest thing to us is the Zolvan border," Ryan interjected meekly. The thought of freezing to death out here made me want to cry.

A few more minutes of silence passed. I was attempting to accept my fate when I saw a faint light through the heavy snow in front of us. I perked up, leaning forward as the light got a bit closer.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing. It grew even closer, and I realized what it was. 

"A truck!" Leyton exclaimed, lunging for the door handle on his side. Marie immediately reached over me, grabbing onto him and pulling him back, making him crash into me. I let out a grunt of surprise.

"Don't open the door, you idiot!" Marie hissed. "If they're here for us, they'll come to us."

We waited, and sure enough, a figure dressed in thick winter clothing approached the car. They tapped on the passenger door window, which Ryan cracked just the slightest. Snow still managed to fly in, a loud whistling noise filling the car from the wind.

"Come with me," they yelled over the loud sound of the wind. We could very easily be getting kidnapped, but I had a feeling we were desperate enough to not freeze. I didn't care, I unbuckled my seatbelt and shoved Leyton to open the car door.

It was absolutely freezing outside. Once the four of us were out, I pulled my coat tighter around my body, trudging my way through the snow towards the new person's truck. The snow was halfway up my calves, and I wasn't wearing boots.

Marie, Leyton, and I crammed into the backseat of the truck, while Ryan and the new person took the front seats. As soon as we were in, the truck turned around and started off towards the border.

While driving, our savior took off her hat, revealing a head of short, dark auburn hair. Leyton was watching her the whole time, and I watched his eyes flash in recognition. 

"Liz!" Leyton said happily. I didn't know who she was, but if Leyton knew her, that was probably a good sign. 

Liz glanced in the mirror to look back at Leyton, a chuckle escaping her lips. "Hey, Leyton."

"How did you find us?"

"King and Queen of Rithian called and asked if you guys had arrived yet. Said that you hadn't, so I went off to look for you, figuring you guys were stuck. Sure enough, there you were," Liz said, focusing back on the road. Her truck traveled much easier through the snow than our little car had.

While Leyton and Liz talked, I felt Marie nudge my side, so I turned to her. She glanced at Liz, then looked back to me with her pretty green eyes.

"Liz is one of the guards at the Zolvan palace. She's pretty high ranked; she'd be the head guard, but she's too young still. Anyway, her and Leyton are good friends," she explained. I nodded in understanding, leaning back in my seat.

I began to zone out, Liz and Leyton's chatting eventually fading from my mind. I closed my eyes, ending up dozing off in the reassuring warmth of the truck.

When I first woke up, I thought I had died and possibly gone to the afterlife. I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was a white ceiling, beautiful, airy white drapes surrounding the frame of something.

I slowly sat up, realizing I was on a bed. Quite the luxurious one, even. A beige comforter and blankets rested over me, the room seeming to have a beige and white theme to it. The white drapes went all around the bed, making it feel even more fancy. My bed back at home didn't have those. I liked them.

I noticed that I wasn't wearing my thick, winter clothes; instead, a pair of navy blue silk pajamas rested on me. As I slid out of bed, I realized they were pretty big on me. 

An alarm clock rested on the nightstand, and I read the time. Eight at night. My brow furrowed, suddenly confused. Where was I? I remembered falling asleep in the truck, and that was it. Was I in Zolva? That seemed like the most likely place. 

Just as I began to move around the room, there was a knock on the door. I slowly made my way over, a bit hesitant as I opened the door, nervous that I wasn't where I thought I was. A maid stood in the doorway, carrying the clothes I had been wearing, neatly folded.

"Oh good, you're awake!" she said happily, brushing past me to set my clothes on the dresser. I stared at her in mild shock, still a bit confused. When I didn't say anything, she turned to me, a warming smile on her face. "Would you like me to draw you a bath? It'll help with the frostbite."

Frostbite? I glanced over at myself in the vanity mirror, seeing that my cheeks and ears were unusually red. Neither hurt, but I suppose being out in a blizzard could do that.

"Um, sure," I replied. The maid nodded, going into the bathroom to start the bath. I wasn't used to such service. In Rithian, I often did everything myself. Was this how everyone was treated in Zolva? Or were they treating me this way because I was a guest?

I walked into the bathroom, watching hot water fill the large tub. The maid added some epsom salts to the bath, then turned back to me.

"I'll fetch you some clean pajamas and set them outside the door. There's a robe on the back of the door." Clean pajamas? Weren't the ones I was wearing clean? Before I could protest, she had already left and closed the door.

I undressed, turning off the water and stepping into the tub. The water was much hotter than I thought it would be, but it felt good. Once I began to get used to it, I relaxed, finding a bit of ease in the silence. I ducked my head under the water, the heat stinging my cheeks and ears. I made a mental note to put lotion on my face later to help.

The bath was relaxing, something I hadn't realized I needed. The water got cold fairly quickly; I ended up getting out after a half an hour. I dried off, cracking open the bathroom door to see a pair of folded pajamas on the floor. I grabbed them, quickly changing, then put on the robe.

As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, there was another knock on the door. I groaned internally, wishing I would stop being bugged. Despite my internal protest, I opened the door, a bit surprised to see Leyton standing there.

"Good, I found the right room," he said, greeting me with a kind smile. I awkwardly smiled back as he inspected me, his hazel eyes flashing with concern. "Your cheeks are really red."

I realized I had forgotten to put lotion on. When I went to respond, he reached out to touch my cheek, but I quickly backed up, not wanting to be touched. Something flashed across his face, but he didn't persist, putting his hand down.

"I got a bit of frostbite too, lotion helps a lot." I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip. Leyton noticed, his smile turning into a frown. "Don't do that, your lips are already chapped."

"Sorry," I immediately responded. Leyton sighed, walking past me and into the room. I watched him go over to the vanity and dig around inside it until he pulled out a small jar of something. 

"Here, cocoa butter, it'll help with the frostbite." I took the jar, giving a small nod, then set it back down on the vanity. I'd try to remember to put some on later.

"Did you get the power transferred to Rithian?" I asked out of the blue. It was the first thing that came to mind when I saw him.

"I did. We probably won't hear anything for at least a day, but I made sure it happened," Leyton told me. I looked up at him, feeling oddly thankful. It was a kind gesture from a Zolvan.

"Do your people know I'm here?"

"Yes, why?"

I shrugged. "They might get weirded out that the Rithian prince is here on somewhat good terms."

Leyton laughed, a sound that I hadn't expected to come out of him. "If they care, that's their problem. We have more important things to deal with."

He didn't really seem to care about that; I wasn't sure what to think about it. I shrugged the thoughts off for now, running a hand through my damp hair.

"Do you want something to eat?" he asked. "You slept through dinner."

"Sure." The simple response is all I gave. Leyton smiled gently at me, leading me out of the room. I followed him blindly through the halls of the unfamiliar palace, trying my best to not get distracted at things on the walls.

We entered a small, cozy kitchen, reminding me of the one back home. I pulled my robe tighter around me, watching Leyton move to the fridge. Before opening it, he turned to me. "Anything in particular that you want?"

"Not really," I responded, meeting Leyton's eyes. I didn't feel very talkative today. It could've been exhaustion creeping up on me, or the fact that I was in a completely new environment. Zolva didn't seem so different from Rithian right now, yet it did at the same time.

Leyton began to search through the fridge. I didn't really even want anything big to eat. There was a door in the corner of the kitchen that I noticed. Upon opening it, I realized it was a pantry. I peeked inside, flipping on the light, searching around for some sort of snack. A bag of chips stood out to me, so I grabbed them and went back to Leyton.

"I found what I wanted," I said, putting the bag of chips on the table. Leyton turned, a chuckle sounding from his lips.

"That's not very healthy."

"Would you rather I eat nothing? Or I'm sure there's ice cream in the freezer, I could eat that instead."

"Okay okay, fine." A smile came onto my face when I saw Leyton laugh. He took the bag of chips, opening it for us. 

We were silent as we snacked on the chips, Leyton eating more of them than I was. I found it ironic, but I didn't comment. 

Eventually, small talk was made, us talking about miscellaneous things until we had finished off the chips. I threw the bag away, turning back to Leyton. He met my eyes, the small smile on his face turning into that smirk I had begun to like.

"Want me to show you back to your room?" he asked. Part of me wanted to say no; though I knew I wouldn't be able to find my way back.

"Yes please," I responded, letting Leyton lead me out of the kitchen. We walked slowly down the halls, exhaustion starting to slowly creep up on me. 

Leyton stopped at a door, which I assumed was the room I was staying in. I opened the door, stepping inside, then looked at him.

"How long are we going to stay for?" I asked, my hand resting on the doorknob. Leyton glanced around me, then shrugged.

"I don't know; probably however long the blizzard lasts and takes to clear up. Whenever it's safe, we'll go back," he said. That made sense. The break would be nice, yet I could see Mother and Father not liking that I was away that long. 

An awkward silence resting over us. I didn't want to be the one to say goodnight. It would seem like I was pushing him away. 

Leyton chuckled, the sound slightly startling me. "Goodnight, Patrick." 

I watched him go, almost some part of me not wanting him to leave. This new place made me feel lonely. It was too foreign. 

Reluctantly, I went into my room, deciding I needed sleep more than standing there worrying. Once I laid in bed and got comfortable, sleep overcame me quickly.