The Winter Born [COMPLETED]

Chapter 30 - Best and Worst of Times

Till when I do not know but now, all that matters is him and me. Laila, the Outlanders, Valarians, our statuses-- I forget all that from the charm of his lips. Ethan is all I care now, in the forest, and I give all of myself to him. He will not make me regret this. I know he won't.

After what seems like forever, we finally broke off, Ethan rolling to the side and me panting to catch my breath. I turn my head to him to find Ethan already looking at me with that smile of his.

I sit up, grunting from the lack of movement. "Do that again and I will blacken your eye," I tell him.

He chuckles, sitting up to kiss my cheek. "You like it, though."

"That doesn't mean you can distract me from my hunt."

He buries his face in my hair, pulling me closer by my waist. "But you distract me every day, Cathellyn. With your silver hair and purple eyes.. what have I done to deserve you?" He mutters against my neck. I cannot see his face.

I sigh, leaning back to the touch. He feels too good to let go. I do not want this moment to go to waste. "I love you, Ethan. Forever and always," I whisper to him.

He gives me a small smile that I can feel on my neck. My body is enveloped with his warmth, away from the winds of coming autumn. "I love you too, Cat." Those words, even though have been said many times in these weeks, never fail to light up something in me.

I do not miss the distant sounds of a horse trotting on the ground and the calls from a familiar man's voice, in somewhat strange distress. "ETHAN! CATHELLYN!"

We jump away from each other, losing whatever was there in the moment, and our heads turn in sync to the intruding noise. "ASHTER! We're here by the lake!" Ethan calls out to his friend.

The calls stop but the sound of a horse cantering never pauses and not too long after, a black steed with Ashter on it jumps from the trees and into the small field of flat grass by the lake.

He looks distressed, his eyebrows creasing together with a frown on his lips when he descends from his horse. His brown short hair is messy from the wind and his gold and red-colored vest has creases from the harsh ride.

I frown at him. "What is it Ashter? What's wrong?"

He regains himself, looking at the confused faces of us both. "It's my father. He's talking at the council."

"Is that it?" Ethan asks, clearly confused.

"No! Listen to me first you arse! He overheard me and Ariella talking about some little girl from the Outlands," Ashter runs a hand through his brown hair, his hazel eyes full of distress. "Ariella said the girl talked to her before she got shot. My father heard that. And he is taking his chance."

My heart stops for a moment before I shake my head to reality. "Did Ariella tell you the girl's name?"

Ashter presses his lips together and shakes his head. "She didn't, but-- I think, she said that the girl had red hair."

My heart leaps into my throat. Nala. Ariella was talking about Nala.

"What is he going to do of that?" Ethan asks after seeing me in the shocking state, his own voice hints of worry.

"Hells if I know. Whatever it is my father is going to do, it's no good. The king seems to be listening to him. I tried to stop him but he's not listening. Even when Ariella tries to talk to him, he sends her away," Ashter frowns at the memory. "He's not doing this for Ariella anymore, he wants to do this to make the Outlanders suffer-- or at least give them a warning."