Aleneo was being dragged through the snow. He woke from his face dragging on the dirt and his body freezing. He was still too cold to move, but he managed to tilt his head down to see what had a hold of him.
He was astonished to see Wolf with the ripped fabric of Aleneo's dress between his teeth, pulling Aleneo into the forest. He looked up and back at where he'd fallen down the hill. There was a path of paved snow from which Wolf had dragged him.
Aleneo had no idea how Wolf had found him or how he'd been able to break out of the stalls. He was only happy to see the horse now and that there was still a sliver of chance that he was going to make it to safety alive.
He almost passed out again, the fatigue overwhelming. But the sensation of the terrain against his back kept arousing him. The sky was gray—no longer black so it was the next day. The snowstorm had passed and he was able to see more clearly.
Wolf pulled him to a spot that was enclosed with trees. The leaves that usually blotted out the sky had withered and died overnight from the bitter cold. The lush plants and wilderness had not been prepared for the storm. Everything as far as Aleneo could see, everything that wasn't covered in snow, was dead.
Wolf let go of the red dress. He laid down next to Aleneo and tucked his large body up against the man. The warmth was instant. Aleneo curled up to the horse, shoving his toes and fingers under the large belly of the beast. He sighed in relief as the cold that had threatened to take his limbs started to go away.
He knew he wouldn't be the same. The sensation in his limbs wasn't exactly what it used to be. But he shoved the worrying thoughts away. He would worry about that later when he still wasn't actively fighting for his life.
Wolf laid his head against Aleneo's. They must have been a sight. A gray horse and a broken man wearing a red dress, huddled together for warmth.
Hours must have passed. Aleneo wasn't keeping count. He couldn't fall back to sleep because while his body was tired, his mind wasn't. Too many thoughts, too many replays of the night before plagued him like nightmares.
He would have stayed there for longer—for who knew how long. However, the quiet serenity was disrupted by noises outside of the forest. Wolf hadn't taken Aleneo too far into the enclosed trees, only enough so that they weren't out in the open.
Though Aleneo didn't want to get up or leave the warm place they'd made, he pushed up to his shaking feet. Wolf got up as well and whinnied, shaking his head like he was disapproving of Aleneo getting up.
Aleneo placed his finger to his closed lips. Thankfully, Wolf understood the order and didn't make another sound after that.
Straining his ears, Aleneo listened for the noise he heard earlier. It was getting closer. He wasn't sure if it was in his head, if it was the howling wind, or if it was real. But when he heard the sound of horses and armor jingling, he knew it was time for them to move.
"Come on, boy," he whispered. He felt better and more able to get onto Wolf.
He didn't have his saddle on so it was awkward for a moment before Aleneo found a comfortable spot to sit.
There were no reigns to grab a hold of so he held onto the base of Wolf's neck. Wolf didn't need to be directed. He started galloping in the opposite direction of the incoming men and deeper into the forest.
Overnight, the forest had changed much more than everything dying. It had become darker even though that didn't make much sense. All the leaves and brush that usually blocked out the sun and gave ample shade during the summer were gone. It should have been easier to see where they were going.
However, there seemed to be an invisible thing hovering above the trees that was descending the forest into a blanket of darkness. Aleneo clutched tighter to Wolf as the darkness crept over them.
His heart sped up as it became colder. It was hard to see a couple feet in front of him and now he was more scared of what could be in front of him rather than the men coming from behind him.
Wolf became apprehensive as well. He slowed to a trot. His head looked left and right, but if his sight was as bad as Aleneo's then he couldn't see anything. Wolf huffed, breathing hard after running, but otherwise stayed still.
They both listened closely, trying to pick up on the men and anything that might be inside the forest with them.
Worse than hearing something near them, Aleneo heard nothing. Aleneo couldn't imagine that every creature had been killed from the snowstorm. Something else had happened.
Unease gripped him from the inside. He urged Wolf to keep going though he wasn't entirely sure that was a smart idea. But the alternative was back the way they came and straight into the hands of Hinythians or Erebus.
So, he kept going. Wolf was skittish and was likely feeling the unease that Aleneo did. The animal wasn't panicking though. He was doing well considering the last time he was out here he'd seen his owner killed in front of him.
The darkness got dark until there was a light in the distance breaking through.
"What do you say, Wolf? Do we go to it or not?"
Wolf shook his head slightly. Aleneo was going to agree and go around the light that seemed to be glowing through the trees.
But something stopped him. Wolf resisted when Aleneo wanted him to go a little closer to the light so he got down. His naked feet hit the snow and the brush underneath. He winced as he walked toward the light to get a better look.
The warm glow wasn't just his imagination. When he was closer, he realize that the light was actually a burning fire. His conscious told him to turn back and get away, but his mind was weakened by the prospect of actual warmth. A fire would heal the cold ache and chill that seemed to be embedded into his bones.
Wolf might protesting noises as Aleneo moved toward the fire as if hypnotized. His body longed for the fire and he even thought about what it would feel like to just step into the flames. Let the heat burn away his flesh.
The fire was deceptively further away than he thought. It took him some time to get to it, but when he was right in front of it, he collapsed to his knees. He closed his eyes and held his arms out, relishing in the warmth that was enclosing on him.
Wolf moved behind him.
"Get closer, boy. It's so warm," he sighed.
But when the movement behind him stopped and hovered, he realized that it wasn't Wolf at all.
He jumped away and to the side of the fire. He landed on a pile of coats that was crudely made into a mat and more coats laid on top of a stick fort.
He scrambled to his knees and tried to crawl past the fort.
"Aleneo! It's me!"
Aleneo froze and flipped over on his back. Standing above him, draped in layers of coats that looked oddly like the ones his own troops wore, was Yazif. The glow of the fire made him look ominous as he looked down at Aleneo, but he held his hands up, showing that he didn't have a weapon and that he didn't intend to harm Aleneo.
"Oh Gods." Aleneo's chest heaved as he caught his breath. "You're alive."
Yazif backed away and toward the fire. As the glow of the flames lit up his body, Aleneo saw scars along his arms, bruises on his wrists, and more details of crudely sewn together uniforms that were stained with blood.
Yazif sat down on a log by the fire. His gaze was downward. "I didn't know you'd come back for me."
Aleneo felt horrible. "I...I didn't."
Yazif nodded his head. "I expected as much. I guess I just hoped you came here because of me."
Aleneo then remembered Wolf.
He jumped to his feet. "My horse—I mean Teryn's horse. Where is he?"
Yazif turned to look behind him where Aleneo had come from. "I thought you were alone. I don't see a horse."
Aleneo ran down the dark path. His body recoiled as he got further away from the fire and was swallowed by the darkness. He got to where Wolf should have been waiting for him, but he was gone.
"Wolf! Wolf!"
A hand slapped over his face. "Sh! What creatures do you think you will draw?"
Aleneo frantically searched the darkness though he knew Wolf was already gone. He hoped the horse was only scared off by being alone and had run out of the forest. He hoped the horse was safe.
Yazif released Aleneo when he was sure Aleneo was done yelling. Aleneo grabbed onto Yazif's arms, suddenly weak again in his legs. Yazif didn't protest. He helped Aleneo back to the fire and let him sit on the log. Aleneo was numb, but it wasn't because of the cold this time.
He stared into the wispy flames that licked the air, billowing fog and smoke into the air like magic. All that which he'd been holding back was staring back at him. He'd lost everything. Here he now sat, in a torn dress, no shoes, no weapon, no money, no food, and no horse.
His parents had stripped him from his authority, had banished him to be killed by someone he'd only known for a week. His kingdom and his people had spat on him. They hadn't cared one bit as the two people who should have loved him unconditionally—and who he thought actually did—disposed of him like trash.
He'd been used. He hadn't been anything but a vessel and a dress up doll for them. Especially Alette. She hadn't seen him as a person. She only saw him as an object to play with until it was time to welcome her true son home.
He was too stunned and exhausted to be angry. He felt miserable. He wanted to sob, but the tears wouldn't come.
"Your highness, can I—"
Yazif knelt at Aleneo's side.
Aleneo crossed his arms tight over his chest. "Don't call me that. I'm not the prince anymore."
"What do you mean? Of course you're the prince."
Aleneo let out a dark laugh. "So much has changed, Yazif. Have you gotten a close look at me? Are you going to ask me why I'm wearing a dress?"
Yazif did seem to only notice that Aleneo was wearing a dress. He looked him over, a rosy pinkness that deepened his tan skin rising to his cheeks.
"I suppose that is strange, but I am wearing a pile of dead men's garments."
Aleneo genuinely laughed that time. It died off into a sob and when the tears started flowing, he couldn't get them to stop.
Yazif's face turned into concern. "What happened, sir?"
The minutes dragged on as he couldn't stop the sobs that wracked through him. They turned to sniffles after awhile. He didn't feel any better. He felt worse. He just wanted to sleep and not think about any of it.
When he could get the words out and tell Yazif what had happened, he couldn't tell the entire truth.
"They chose him." His words weren't a lie. They just didn't clarify the larger picture. He couldn't tell Yazif that he'd been raised as a vessel for the Dark Prince or that his parents hadn't truly loved him. "He must kill me to have his throne."
Yazif didn't say anything after that. He stayed on his knees for a few minutes before he moved to tend to the fire that was beginning to wane. He stoked the flames.
He only spoke when Aleneo was almost falling over from sleep.
"I'll keep watch if you want to rest." Yazif nodded to the little fort made of dead men's uniforms.
Aleneo would have been apprehensive of sleeping inside of the structure if he didn't believe the dead men wouldn't have done the same. Also, sleep and warmth were all he could ask for then.
He crawled into the tiny space and curled up into fetal position. Shivers ran through him until the warmth of the fire reached him and the cocoon of fabric started to warm him. It wasn't the same as when he'd cuddled to Wolf. He wished the horse was with him now.
Again, his dreams were full of nightmares. The Dark Prince had found him and there was no mercy to spare.
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