Warren left Lady Rosa’s cottage with a newfound exhilaration; he was energized, prepared, and hopeful. That sense of hope surprised him.

I suppose all I needed to restore my optimism was near-fatal frostbite and some serious cabin fever.

Warren let out a laugh at his own nonsensical thinking, smiling as he imagined Rei rolling his eyes. He wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings as he walked, not realizing how close he was to the castle town until he smacked into a tree. Warren fell back in surprise, snow from the evergreen’s needles falling onto his head. He laughed as he brushed himself off, now making sure he walked around the many trees that surrounded the town’s outer wall.

He looked up. The wall was at least three times his height with nothing to serve as footholds. Warren grinned, finding a nearby tree and jumping up to grab a branch just above his head, swinging up with just enough to force to grab onto the top of the wall. He grunted as he pulled himself up, having a seat to catch his breath. While he rested a moment, he looked around.

He spotted the castle first, with its gleaming crystalline blue towers. The castle town was quaint and reminded him quite a bit of Faylinn’s; neat little cottages lined up along the dirt roads, carts of produce being pulled by horses, and children playing under the careful watch of their parents. Unlike Faylinn, of course, everything here was covered in a fluffy blanket of snow. Warren suddenly gasped and hunched lower to try in vain to hide himself. Among the townspeople were soldiers in the purple and silver of Edrys, patrolling just as the soldiers did back home. He decided the fall from where he sat to the ground would be less painful or inconvenient than those soldiers capturing him. He shuddered as he wondered what sort of things would happen if he was caught.

Best not to think about it, he told himself. Now get moving.

Checking his pack to make sure it was secure, Warren took a deep breath and jumped. The wind rushed around him as fell, and he squeezed his eyes shut just before he landed, finding himself up to his neck in snow. While the new clothes Duncan made for him were quite warm and comfortable, he still found himself shivering and he hurried away from his landing spot. Despite the cold that had momentarily surrounded him, the snow had thankfully cushioned his fall enough that he avoided any serious injuries.

C’mon, you’ve got somewhere to be, remember?

Warren shook the snow off himself and hurried on towards the castle, sneaking around the cottages and sometimes ducking behind delivery carts. Despite his new camouflage cloak, he still couldn’t help being cautious to the point where he annoyed himself. A few times a child or vendor saw him, but before they could say anything he was already gone. After what felt like an eternity but was likely only a few hours, Warren reached the castle gate. And this was where his luck ran out. While trying to find a way in (perhaps there was another tree he could climb), a nearby patrolling soldier noticed him.

“Halt!” yelled the soldier, drawing his sword and adjusting his helmet as he approached Warren. Warren placed a shaky hand on his sword’s hilt but left it sheathed. The Edrian soldier stopped only a foot or two away, glaring as he raised his sword.

“What business have you in Edrys?” he said coldly.

“I’ve come to see the king and queen,” Warren replied, his hand still against his sword.

The soldier laughed. “Stupid Fay knight! Expecting to be allowed to waltz into our castle while you wear the colors of our sworn enemies.” The Edrian knight pressed his sword against Warren’s neck. “How foolish.”

He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Two other knights, dressed in identical garb down to the helmets, quickly joined him, pointing their lances at Warren and forcing him to walk until they were on the other side of the gate in the castle courtyard.

“Disarm him,” commanded the sword-wielding knight. With an angry series of muttered curses, Warren dropped his sword to the ground, along with his rucksack. While the knights were speaking with one another, Warren quickly snatched the small vial wrapped in cloth and hid it in his boot, where it just barely fit. He was thankfully just in time, because the knights immediately returned their attention to him. The sword knight held the blade of his weapon against Warren’s throat as the lance knights tore off his cloak and tied his hands behind his back. One of them gave him a shove.

“Move,” he ordered.

As Warren was forced down the castle’s halls, that hope he’d felt earlier faded, leaving a cold pit in his stomach. He tried to think of something to encourage himself, but the wide-eyed stares of Edrian servants and knights caused him to involuntarily shrink in an attempt to disappear.

Shit.