Vhalla panted softly. They were sneaking, she realized. What had his father told him? What would happen if they were seen? Surely no one would stop them from trying to prevent tampering in the caverns, she insisted to herself. But that also depended on someone being willing to listen to the real reason why they were sneaking off in the night.
The person in the hallway passed, and they were off running again. Vhalla focused on her prince as they spiraled down stairs within an outer wall of the palace. She couldn’t fathom the darkness that was determined to creep back into his mind. There was no doubt in Vhalla’s mind that he considered his current circumstances as some sort of delayed justice, given how his mind worked.
Her chest ached for the man she followed out onto the snowy ground of the stables. They ran through the white moonlight. Colors were bleached from the world, and her toes already felt cold. A stable hand was startled into action by their presence.
“My prince?” The young girl blinked at him. Her eyes drifted over to Vhalla and they widened. Her mouth fell open.
“We need two horses; they should be already tacked in those stalls,” Aldrik demanded, pointing.
“Not your mount, my lord?”
“No, I need those,” he affirmed impatiently.
The Western girl’s dark eyes looked between the two of them. She closed her mouth and a sly, knowing smirk spread across her features that she couldn’t successfully hide as she departed to do Aldrik’s bidding.
Vhalla panted softly, cursing the girl. She thought it was some scandal, the prince and Windwalker running off in the night.
“Mother, what’s taking her so long?” Aldrik squinted in the direction the girl departed.
“Aldrik,” Vhalla whispered gently. She placed a palm on his upper arm to reassure him. The fabric of his shirt was coarser than she was used to, and it moved strangely in the moonlight. He practically jumped away at her touch.
“Don’t!” His sudden and intense anger directed at her was startling. “Now isn’t the time, Vhalla.”
She frowned, preparing to tell him off for his tone when the girl came back with their horses. They were tall with long legs and lean, ropey muscle. Aldrik checked the saddlebags on his mount, fumbling inside them a moment before swinging into his saddle. Vhalla followed suit, deciding to let his snappishness slide given the pressure they were under as they rode out into the snowy night.
Vhalla glanced over her shoulder. She saw the castle ethereally shimmering in gold and white moonlight. She wished she had the ability to enjoy the beautiful scene that stretched before her, sparkling with the first snow of winter. But now was not the time for enjoyment.
Breath from the horses and humans let out small white puffs of steam into the nighttime air. The houses passed in a blur. On occasion, some late night wanderer or drunk would be startled as the couple raced by. But for the most part, potential observers were safely tucked in their beds.
They rode the most direct route down through the city and out the main gate. The dense buildings of the capital faded as they proceeded down the mountain. Aldrik turned north at the fork and, after a short stretch, they veered off for a more western headway.
A thin layer of clouds blotted out the moon, shifting and rolling the shadows of the world into a fluctuating state of darkness. Vhalla blinked her eyes, squinting through the dim twilight. Aldrik continued without fear or hesitation.
The barren trees fractured the sky above them like the lead of a macabre stained glass. Silence was their only company, moonlight their only guide. The world darkened again, and snow began to fall.
“We’re lucky,” he finally spoke.
“We are?” Vhalla asked, slowing her horse alongside his to give the animal a rest.
“With this much snow, our tracks should be covered,” he explained.
“Does anyone know where we are going?” she thought aloud.
Aldrik looked startled a moment. “Yes.”
“Then why would we want our tracks to be—” she began softly musing.
“Because we only want the right people to know,” Aldrik spoke over her. “I can’t just tell anyone we’re headed for the caverns, given their history.”
“Of course.” She glanced over at him. His jaw was clenched tight. “Aldrik, don’t worry.”
“Worry?”
“Well, yes.” Vhalla shifted the reins in her hands. “I know that since it’s the Crystal Caverns, you must be worried. But this isn’t your fault. Last time really wasn’t either. But this truly is not.”