mouthfuls of the cool snow, rinsing her mouth of the night’s sleep.
She giggled as she looked out. It was still snowing and the wind blew the flakes in a transfixing pattern across the landscape, but it had slowed down. She loved the look of pine trees after a nice snowfall, the white confection bending their branches down a bit, a stark contrast to the green needles.
Everything was white, and now that she was safe, she could admit it was quite beautiful. So beautiful it prompted her to stand in the snow, tip her head back a wee bit, and stick her tongue out to try to catch snowflakes as they fell. She giggled every time one touched her tongue, but then turned back toward the cave.
It was still too cold outside, and she didn’t know how to start a fire. It should have been impossible, but the cave still felt slightly warm from the fire her grandparents had left for her. After retreating to the darkness around the bend of the cave, she found a stone to sit on that gave her perfect light to continue her drawings. Pulling out the ones she’d worked on already, she smiled when she saw how beautiful the colors were in the daylight.
Then something else caught her attention. Whether it had been a dream or a true visit from her grandparents’ spirits, she now had a perfect memory of her beloved grandsire’s smile fresh in her mind.
She worked diligently for three or four hours before she decided to get up and stretch her legs. The wind had nearly stopped, so she wrapped a scarf around her face and ventured out to take care of her needs. Before she headed back in, she had to stop under the trees to stare up at the sky. The sun had finally come out and the sparkle of the snowflakes was quite spellbinding, as if the rolling hills of snow were covered with glittering gemstones. Enthralled, she threw her arms overhead and giggled, all the fright having left her last eve. Grandmama and Grandsire had said she would be saved, and she believed them.
She moved back inside, biting into a cherry red apple, then piled her finished drawings inside the packaging and tied them up to protect them from the elements. Her last picture was going to be of the splendor of the world around her, if it was possible to capture it on paper.
When she finished that, she set it in with the other pictures and listened, hearing an odd sound beyond the cave. A horse. She was quite sure it was a couple of horses drawing near. Gathering her things, she put them in her saddlebag and then moved to the mouth of the cave.
Three horses came toward her, and to her surprise, Thorn rode the first mount. When he drew closer, he dropped off his horse and hurried to her.
“Claray, you are hale?”
“Aye,” she said, holding her arms out to him, and he ran into them, wrapping his arms around her before he kissed her quickly.
He ended the kiss and looked at her. “You are beautiful. I cannot believe you survived this on your own. Your sister is verra worried.”
“And we were worried about you. I thought I’d never see you again.” She touched her finger to his lower lip, and he growled, kissing her hard, their heat steaming the air around them. She parted her lips for him and he touched his tongue to hers, exploring her mouth the way she wished he would explore her everywhere.
When he ended the kiss, he locked his gaze on hers and whispered, “I love you. Will you marry me?”
“Truly, Thorn? You mean it?” Claray was so taken aback that her heart threatened to burst into a thousand pieces.
“Aye, I mean it. I’ve been doing much thinking on this journey. I want you by my side, always. Life is never so bright as when you’re with me. We can live at Grant Castle or Castle Curanta. Whatever pleases you.” His face had that wide smile she loved so.
She cupped his face, trying to keep the happy tears from covering her own, but that quickly ended when they froze halfway down. “Aye, naught would please me more. But why did you run away? I was so worried about you.”
Her grandparents had said they’d guided him to do something, but she wished to hear the story from him.
He sighed and kissed her forehead. “I had something I needed to do.