Princess Rainy's Arc

Chapter 6 of 12

The next morning the bells rang across Azure Spire Castle. Rainy knew the sound. A rider had reached the gates. She had spent the night planning her ride into the passes to find Rowan. Now she pulled on her hide boots and ran. Her lynx bolted ahead through the corridors. If the rider brought news of Rowan, she needed it before she left. She reached the courtyard and stopped. Snow still lay thick on the stones. At the gate stood a huge white bear, its blue saddle bright against the frost. A young man swung down from its back. His black fur cloak hung heavy with ice. His dark hair was stiff with cold, and a cut crossed his cheek. But his pale green eyes found her at once. "You must be the princess I was sent to find," he said. His voice cracked from the cold. "I am Rowan." Rainy's heart jumped. This was the guide who had ridden into the ice alone, the man she had meant to save. He stood before her instead, alive. "They said you were lost," she said. "A herder saw you go into the passes. No one saw you come out." Rowan gave a tired laugh. "The storm turned me back. A drift buried the trail. I sheltered two days in a hunter's cave, then rode down when the wind broke." He set a hand on the bear's shoulder. The great animal snorted. "I should have waited for you. I am sorry. I thought I could scout ahead and save us both time." Her lynx crept forward, ears twitching. The bear lowered its huge head. The two animals touched noses. The lynx did not hiss. It sat, calm, at the bear's feet. Rainy let out the breath she had held. "You are cold and you must be starved," she said. She stepped close and looked at the cut on his cheek. "Come inside. Warm yourself. Eat." "There is no time," Rowan said. He shook his head, then winced. "I promised to guide you and I will do that.” "You are of no use cold and hungry" Rainy said. "Then I will eat and warm up for you." He nodded at Rainy, He looked at the sky, gray and low. "It will give my bear time to rest. We ride at first light tomorrow. Together this time." Rainy nodded. The fear that had gripped her all night let go. Rowan was found. Her guide stood in the courtyard, real and breathing. Tomorrow they would ride the passes as one. She led him toward the warm hall, the bear and the lynx pacing side by side behind them. The journey north was no longer hers alone.