me go and I wiggled to get the snow to fall to the ground. “Brrrr, that was freezing.” I pretended to not be doing anything then scooped snow and flung it at him.
“Och!” He scooped a snowball and I scooped a snowball and we both packed them.
I asked, “What are you doing, Master Magnus?”
“Naethin’, just holdin’ some snow...” And then we were off. I chased him and then he chased me, flinging snow at each other and laughing, and then I fell into a snowbank. He helped me out and kissed me: warm glow, red cheeks, puffy breaths, big strong arms around me. Fucking sexy.
“I think I love this bank on the creek, when we get back let’s find it, let’s build a house here. We can bring the kids and show them where we camped in the sixteenth century.”
“Tis agreed. I ken how tae get here again.”
He passed me one of the walk-n-talks. “Stay, let me look around, I will be back in a few moments, or I will call.”
He was off. I brushed snow off the tent and the packs and drank some coffee, probably the last we would have for a while. I surveyed the landscape: tree limbs weighed down by snow, everything muffled and quiet and still, except the creek, rushing a bit, iced along the edges.
His voice a moment later. “Pack the gear, we should move.”
“How long do we have?”
“About thirty minutes.”
I packed up that tent in ten minutes flat.
Forty-four - Kaitlyn
As we rode, Magnus gave me tips. He rode his horse a bit faster and then watched as I caught up. He drew back and made me lead the way. On level ground, sure we weren’t followed, he had me ride the horse ahead, and then he’d yell, “Left!” and and then “Right!” and I’d convince Hurley to turn.
He caught up and I said, “Maybe someday I’ll really learn how to...”
“What, tae ride?”
“Yeah, with practice.”
“Ye are ridin’ the horse now. Hurley is listenin’ tae ye, followin’ yer commands. Ye arna waiting for someday, tis already here.”
“Really?”
He had his hand on his knee, elbow cocked out, at ease, reins held surely between his legs. He effortlessly turned Cynric to watch me ride. I straightened my back.
“Och, look at ye, all m’dreams...”
I grinned, “What?”
“Ye hae yer hair loose and wild as if ye hae been bedded, a high color tae yer cheeks, the snow all around, and ye are on the back of a horse, a plaid around yer shoulders. Ye could pass for a Scotswoman.”
“Oh you like this whole thing, Master Magnus?”
His eyes twinkled. “Aye, I think we only hae another few moments afore we should pitch the tent, it seems as if night is comin’ on.”
“It’s full day, night isn’t for hours.”
He chuckled. “Fine, I will attempt tae be patient.”
“Do you think that men are truly following us? From the castle?”
“I would if I were them. They ken I hae valuable things and I daena hae men tae fight alongside me.”
“You have me, I’m packing and I’m a terrible arse.”
“That ye are.”
We rode for a while longer until we found a small glade, snowy and muddy, but pretty all the same. We made camp, we set a transmitter, built a fire, and warmed our dinner. I jotted down some notes about the day: the temperature, the sky, a tree I saw, how far we had traveled... Many of the details supplied by Magnus. I wrote as if talking to the kids, as in ‘your father told me’ and ‘your father says’... It seemed like they should know how freaking cool he was.
I sang him a song while we ate, “On top of Spaghetti all covered in cheese, I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed...”
He thought it was very funny so I made him sing along and then introduced him to a whole list of food-related songs. His favorite ended up being Ham Sandwich where each chorus is sung in a different voice and he sang some hilarious ones and I did some too.
We were across from each other, not touching, watching each other. The firelight danced in his eyes. He was smiling and laughing. I said, “I like your sparkles so much.”
“I like yer sparkles as well.” He grinned.
“Okay, a game, I say: There once was a skunk who—”
“What is a skunk?”
“A skunk is one of those little animals with a stripe down the back and it sprays a gawdawful stink if startled. You know, it’s probably called something else...?”