Iolas’ entire body was aching and frozen. He ignored the pain both from the constant rowing and his lack of warm clothes. He regretted offering his coat to Adelaide, and hoped he’d be able to reach Isenbrok before his fingers fell off.
He had rowed all through the night, and the sun rose above him, trying its best to warm the frozen land.
Iolas knew it wouldn’t be successful, and cursed the Vikings for not waiting until summer to invade, or at the very least, spring. He had only managed to make it around to the back side of the citadel, due in part to the strong outgoing tide. This was a blessing in disguise, as the stables were located at this side of the citadel, and the Vikings had demolished the protective wall next to them with a fortunately placed cannon blast. Iolas leapt out of the small rowboat and stealthily crept over to the stables.
There were two guards with their backs facing toward Iolas, who slid cleanly into the building. He gravitated towards the rack of hunting coats hung against the back wall, and slid the sole white one on, relishing the sudden warmth. Ever so slowly, Iolas saddled up a beautiful white horse. All the better to blend into the snow, he figured. The guards outside were too busy discussing something in their native language to notice the occasional rattles coming from inside the stable, and soon enough Iolas had his horse saddled. He mounted his horse after opening all the gates to each horse’s pen, and rode out.
“Hiyah!” He shouted, and every horse in the stable fled out behind him. He couldn’t help but laugh as the guards were mown down.
“Good luck rounding them up in time to catch me!” Iolas shouted behind him as he urged his horse onward. The fortune of finding the hunting coats undisturbed filled him with a new energy as he sped off for Isenbrok. Arrows rained down around him, but he was right in thinking he would blend in with the snow, for none hit him. The sun wasn’t yet high enough for there to be enough light to clearly see where he was headed, and the slow snowfall foreshadowed a coming blizzard which would obscure his tracks. Isenbrok seemed closer than it actually was, and as Iolas approached the gates he heard his men yelling.
“It’s the prince! Prince Iolas has returned!”
“Open the gates!” The two tower guards opened the gates as quickly as they were physically able. As Iolas trotted into the grounds he saw a ghost. His heart nearly stopped in his chest as a familiar, burly blond figure came stomping towards him.
Before he knew what was happening, Simon ripped the villain down off the horse, and dragged him to the icy ground before delivering a strong blow to his jaw.
“What did you do with her?! Where is Adelaide?!” He screamed at Iolas, kneeling beside him as he shook him by the collar.
Already weak from his exhausting journey, Iolas had already became all but paralyzed in shock from seeing the man Adelaide was convinced she had so tragically lost, and was easily disoriented from the hard punch he had just recieved.
Breathing in several ragged breaths, he looked up at the burly blonde and forced words out of his mouth.
"Simon!?" He began, calling him by his name and not some form of mockery for the first time ever.
"I thought you were dead!?!"
"Oh please, you couldn't get so lucky!"
Growled the former stableboy, pulling his fist back to strike the prince again.
“Wait, I come in peace!"
Iolas held his hands up in surrender, which threw his attacker slightly off guard.
"For Adelaides sake, please hear me out!” He begged, and Iolas had never begged for a thing in his life.
Perhaps it was the despair in his voice, or the fact that Southern Isle gaurds were beginning to gather around them, hands at their swords, but Simon slowly relaxed his grip on the man’s collar, before letting him go completely and standing up.
“What did you do with her?”
Simon asked as Iolas rose from the ground.
“They have her. She wandered into the woods looking for that blasted creature, your ass." He pointed accusingly at Simon, as if it were somehow his fault.
"I rode out to find her but we were both captured and taken to one of their vessels. Intending to wed her to their ghastly ruler, awaiting her on an island several days away. We plotted to escape but when the time finally came only I could get out of my cell. I refused to leave her, but she forced my hand and ordered me to go on without her.”
Simon shook his head and glared at Iolas with more hatred than he had ever experienced.
“No. She wouldn’t do that. You abandoned her! You coward!"
The stable boys words cut the prince deep in a heart he was just discovering that he had. Iolas stepped back to avoid another beating.
“No. I promise you, that isn’t what happened. We would have been caught and she knew it, so she sent me here to gather up our armies and rescue her."
Iolas felt a rage surging through him he hadn’t felt in a long time. There was nothing he wanted more than for the scourge to pay.
Simon contemplated what Iolas was saying for a moment, before coming to the conclusion that Iolas didn’t really have a reason to lie about this, and his last few days at the summer castle had shown him that, as much as he didn't want to believe it, the dastardly prince really was sent here to help, and frankly, pre kidnapping, had been doing a semi decent job about it.
“Okay,” he said, crossing his arms tightly against his broad chest.
"Say I believe you... Which is quite difficult, as I truly loathe you..."
Simon narrowed his eyes, taking another breath, he continued.
"Please, by no means must you mistake this for fondness, but it seems I must choose to believe you, for Adelaide’s sake. We will leave as soon as the sun rises in the morning."
____________________
A/N: Hey y'all, finally made it back to the states after a wonderful series of delayed flights and CDC quarantines.
Dont have much to do now that I am unemployed and practicing social distancing, so expect this book to be updated at ludicrous speed!
-QueenOfGeeks
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A Thorn In The Ice
Historical Fiction"I fully expected you to say that I was the sort of Prince whose story would involve going into cahoots with the dragon, rather than slaying it." Iolas smiled, but their was a level of seriousness to his statement. "That is where you are wrong, de...
