Page 4 of A Winter Awakening

Slowly, Gael got to his feet. He took a step and cried out as searing agony tore through his ankle. He leaned against Daisy.

What do I do now?

He shivered. They couldn’t go on. He needed to find shelter before darkness came.

Leaning on Daisy, he hopped towards a rocky outcrop. Her bells tinkled. He hoped to find an overhanging rock where he could rest and they could take shelter for the night. His eyes widened.

A cave! He’d found a cave! A cave meant shelter. He hobbled into it. In the remaining light, he could make out a firepit. But other than that, there was no sign of anyone inhabiting the cave recently. He limped towards the firepit and dropped down onto the dirt floor. Thankfully, the cave mouth stretched high, and Daisy trailed in after him. Gracefully, she lowered herself behind him.

Pain throbbed in his ankle. Already it had started to swell. He wouldn’t be able to walk. How would they get out of this mess? He shivered. Would they survive the night? Or had he brought them here to die?

He closed his eyes. “I am such a fool. Such a dratted fool.” He touched Daisy’s coat. “I’m so sorry, Daisy. Sorry for dragging you into this mess. I should never have run away. I’m so sorry.”

The fog crept into the cave. His terror multiplied.

“I can start a fire!” he cried out desperately. “Then we’ll be fine, and we can set out again in the morning, and then we’ll find help.” He smiled weakly. He got onto his knees, careful of his ankle. “My ankle is injured. But I should be able to ride.”

How did someone start a fire? He stared at the pit in the waning light. Mostly soot and ash remained. He grabbed two sticks that hadn’t burned and started rubbing them together.

He’d never started a fire in his life. But he had a vague memory of Alisa reading one of her books aloud. It had described a man starting a fire by rubbing sticks together. Or something like that.

So he rubbed. And rubbed. The sticks dug into his palms. He kept rubbing.

Fog soaked his clothes. Darkness descended. Gael could no longer see.

But still, he continued to rub the sticks.

What have I done? What was I thinking, riding off in a panic into the forest? I should have stayed home and just married Alisa.

He bit back a sob, and he trembled.

And still, Gael rubbed the sticks together.

ChapterThree

Orteo followed the hoof-prints through the snow.

What am I doing? I should just return to my cave.

Surely the cute, young human had found his way to Ores by now.

But something about that interaction hadn’t sat right with Orteo. The human just didn’t make sense to him. When the man had appeared on the massive horse, decked out in fine, elaborate silver-and-white clothing, Orteo and the other oreads had been taken aback.

Who was this beautiful, grand-looking human?

But as Orteo had looked closer, he’d noticed the slightly askew clothing, his messy hair, and his bright-green eyes, wild and panicked.

The human’s whole situation didn’t make a lot of sense either. What had brought the man to the valley? Why had he dressed in such a way to come there? And how had he gotten lost? He’d asked for the nearest village, not Ores in particular, which meant he had no idea where he was or where he was going. Had he come from Bordertown, Castle Evermore, the inn, or somewhere else?

And although the man’s tone had been cheery, there had been something off in his voice. Like the cheeriness had been forced.

The interaction had been bizarre. So Orteo, rather than leave the valley and return to his cave, followed after the strange man and his horse.

After minutes of walking, Orteo paused. The hoof-prints left the path. An easy enough mistake, since the path lay blanketed beneath the snow. But the path could still be determined by the lack of shrubs and trees on it. The human seemed to have ridden straight through a shrub.

Orteo quickened his pace. How far could he have gone?

Night had descended. No moon or stars could be seen through the clouds and fog. Nothing to light the way for a human. And they had such poor eyesight. He followed the tracks onwards, listening for any sound.