Warren began walking through the castle town, waving to farmers and messengers who spotted him as he passed. He tried to convince himself that they stared because he was a lone knight in the middle of town and not because he was the infamous newbie who only got his position thanks to the now-dead prince.

That’s enough negativity for the next while or so. C’mon, no need to be such a downer.

Instead of thinking of all the things the other knights and servants whispered when they thought he wasn’t listening, Warren chose to think of some of his memories with Rei. The two of them had spent almost every day together as children, and once they grew up and became busy, they would still meet on the weekends and laugh about everything that was happening around the castle. As happy as those memories were, Warren couldn’t help feeling a bit empty because of them. Those memories-and any potential new ones- were in the past now, and they’d stay that way so long as Rei was dead.

Warren had been walking briskly for a while, now several miles out of town, when he suddenly stopped.

“What if Rei isn’t even the same anymore?” he wondered to himself. “Maybe being dead changed him somehow. What if he’s become a total stranger? What if…?”

Warren spotted a river to the side of the road and crouched next to it, splashing water on his face to snap himself out of it. The water was freezing cold now that winter was setting in, and it really helped.

“Rei’s still Rei, even if he’s changed a bit,” he said to himself as he wiped his face on his cloak. “No matter what he’s like when I get him back, I still care about him. It’s selfish to want him to be the same.” He chuckled. “I mean, I’m sure I’ve changed in the short time he’s been gone.”

Well your temper’s gotten worse, he reminded himself.

With a laugh he continued down the long empty road to Lady Rosa’s cottage.

Several more hours passed. Along the way Warren saw wagons, horseback riders, Faylinn knights still returning from Edrys (he tried his best to avoid being seen by them in particular), and occasionally small children from nearby villages that played in the grass near the road. He smiled, recalling all the times Rei had convinced him to sneak outside after sundown and play in the courtyard. The king always lectured and punished them, but that never seemed to be much of a detriment. Rei would still tie the bedsheets together, and Warren would still gleefully follow. He even recalled the bruises his friend would get from falling when they played, or sometimes he’d have a mark left over from one of his father’s punishments.

“Doesn’t it hurt?” he’d asked, wincing at a particularly nasty black eye the king had given an eight-year-old Rei.

“Yeah. But not so much anymore,” was his usual response, and then he’d lead Warren into even more mischief.

And Rei’s parents thought I was the one who misbehaved most.

Another hour or so went by and the moon and stars were fully visible overhead. The air was even colder and the wind had picked up considerably after the sun went down. The road had branched about a mile back, and the right fork that Warren took went through a thick forest. The wind was less brutal in there, and after finding a relatively open clearing, Warren made a fire and set up his sleeping bag. After a quick dinner, he climbed into the sleeping bag with his sword close and drifted into another dream-filled sleep.

This dream had Edrys’ blizzards and knee-deep snow, and unfortunately for Warren the strange, nightmarish Rei was back.

“Warren,” he sobbed, his right eye and cheek horribly bruised.

“R-Rei!” he rushed over and wrapped his arms around his friend, this time too concerned to be frightened.

“Y-You said you’d save me…Where are you, Warren?”

It’s like he doesn’t know I’m here.

“W-Warren…” tears continued to streak down his face, wiping away grime and revealing more bruises, along with several cuts and scratches.

What am I supposed to do? I’ve never seen him so upset. And…even if I want to help, what can I do? He can’t see me or hear me at all.

As he felt the dream begin to fade he took Rei’s hands and said, “I’m going to find you and take you somewhere safe. I swear it. Just…please hold on a little longer.”

How much longer? He’s dead, remember?

Warren woke with a jolt, breathing in quick, sharp gulps of air. He wiped his eyes. At some point during the dream, he must’ve started crying.

“Oh God, Rei. Please hold on. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Warren held his head in his hands, muttering to himself until the sun came up. He groggily ate, put out the fire and packed up his things. One of the queen’s servants had drawn up a crude map pointing towards Lady Rosa’s village. He calculated that it was at least another day’s walk, if not longer. He might have to rest sooner than he thought, feeling unfocused and dazed as he started out.

Not that I’d call any recent sleep I’ve had “restful”. If anything, those dreams are one hundred percent responsible for how awful I feel.

Warren was right about needing to rest soon, having only walked a few miles by noon. He was still in the forest, though likely nearing the end of it, when he decided to stop for a quick lunch of some rabbit he’d caught earlier in the day. It was surprisingly lucky considering he was using Rei’s old shortbow that the queen had packed for him, not to mention he was a lousy shot even when he wasn’t so exhausted. Rei always laughed at what a terrible archer Warren was, though always in good fun. Then again, Rei had every right to brag; all the private lessons he had with his father made him both a fantastic marksman and a competent swordfighter. It was only after Rei and Warren begged dozens of times that the elder knights had agreed to train Warren. It had been awful, tiring work learning to use a sword and bow, but eventually he’d figured out sword fighting well enough that his teacher didn’t look ready to tear his own hair out. The bow, however, was an entirely different story. Warren chuckled softly.

“Maybe Rei can give me some pointers once he’s back.”

While tempted to take a quick nap, Warren decided there would be plenty of time for that later and continued through the forest. After a few minutes, he exited into a field of dry yellow grass. Without all the trees blocking out the wind, Warren found himself shivering and rummaged through his rucksack for his coat. There was a large hill ahead, so he climbed it to get his bearings. Maybe a mile away, Warren spotted a few stone cottages here and there. There didn’t seem to be enough of them to constitute a village, which meant he would have to keep walking. He didn’t continue on for long, however, as he found himself feeling weak within a few hours. Warren hated the idea of camping out in such an open field, but he didn’t really have a choice at the moment. All he could do was find a small grove of trees to camp in and have his weapon close by. He couldn’t risk a fire, but even without the warmth one would provide he quickly fell asleep.

There were thankfully no dreams this time, but Warren still woke feeling cold and uneasy. He ate a quick dinner before continuing towards Lady Rosa’s cottage, practically running for a while. He didn’t slow down until his throat was dry and stinging with the cold, and he had to take a break to drink and catch his breath. He was in another forest now, though the edge of this one was colder and Warren could see deep snow and hear the harsh wind.

“Okay, Warren; enough hanging around.”

He tugged on his coat and pulled his cloak tighter around himself, covering his head with the hood. He tucked his rucksack under his cloak to protect it, then stepped out into the snow with gritted teeth.

The wind immediately stung Warren’s skin as he started walking, the snow coming up to his knees. The cold air bit through his gloves and clothes, and he kept having to rub his hands together whenever they started going numb. His eyes watered and his throat was dry, and his entire face hurt from the strong wind. He forced himself onward, walking for several hours until the sky behind the clouds darkened. He could see a village ahead, perhaps another half an hour’s walk, and he started eagerly running.

C-Crap. Bad idea…

The wind tore at him even more harshly and the snow began soaking into his clothes and boots. He gasped for air but could barely catch his breath.

“D-Damn it.”

Warren knew it would be colder the closer he got to Edrys. But he was probably just out of Faylinn. Still, he pressed on until he was almost at the village. He smiled with relief. This relief didn’t last long, as Warren could feel his legs growing painful and sluggish. Hell, he could barely feel his hands or face at all. But he couldn’t stop; he was so close. He could see the cottages, and one in particular that had a wooden sign in the front yard. He barely had time to register it, though, as his vision became hazy and he collapsed.