“We are ready to go.”
The two were greeted by Idith.
“Are you worried?” Aden asked Ilyin calmly.
Ilyin looked out the window and before she could lie to assure him she was okay, he cupped her face.
Her hands felt nice and warm, she didn't realize how cold she was until then.
“Are you worried?” He repeated.
Ilyin knew Aden was asking this because he knew she was avoiding her father.
“I'm worried.”
“What are you worried about?” Aden's strong, steady voice was always so comforting.
“Maybe it's too cold,” joked Ilyin.
Aden didn't seem to get the joke since his gaze turned to the window.
Aden was from a winter region, so this – a snowstorm in April – was normal for him, but Ilyn was from a warm region, she wasn't used to such cold conditions.
He reached out and took off the shawl that was wrapped snugly around Ilyin's neck.
Before Ilyin could feel the cold air against his exposed skin, Aden opened his hand and his palm glowed a mystical blue.
He was using divine power, the immediate increase in the carriage's temperature was evident, and the wind that was blowing fiercely outside seemed to have lost some of its strength.
“How about now?”
“It's okay now”, she smiled and it really was, Ilyin held Aden's hand tightly.
The heat emanating from him was comforting.
***
“Your Highness, are you okay?” Idith questioned.
She was worried that Aden was using too much divine power.
No power came without consequences and although Idith didn't know much about the power Aden possessed, she had heard stories of how former dukes who abused power became weaker the more they used it.
"I am fine."
Idith searched Aden's face for any sign of distress but couldn't find any, he looked fine.
There were four of them in the carriage, but Idith and Etra were so quiet that one would forget their presence after a while.
Ilyin was the only one who occasionally moved in the silent carriage, her closed eyes were covered with Blue North silk.
Aden constantly checked Ilyin's temperature to make sure she wasn't getting cold.
Fortunately, it seemed like the divine power was doing a good job of keeping the carriage warm as Ilyin sank deeper and deeper into sleep.
Just as Aden was about to touch his forehead to feel his temperature, Ilyin suddenly grabbed his hand.
“Ilyin?” Aden was scared.
***
It was winter, but Ilyin could tell from the ground and the lack of snow on the treetops that she was somewhere in the warm region.
This was a dream, and in this dream, Ilyin was on a horse.
“Hold on tight, Ilyin,” came Aden’s strong voice.
She found herself constantly checking to make sure her feet were in the stirrups so she wouldn't fall off the moving horse.
Ilyin suddenly felt a chill on his neck and instinctively looked around.
A fight broke out and she noticed that the people wearing black masks were armed with bows and arrows.
Behind them, barely visible in the distance, was a destroyed carriage.
It was the same carriage she was in.
“Your Highness, at this rate we cannot escape them,” Idith spoke, fighting the arrows fired towards her.
“Can we hold them off until we reach the winter region?”
Ilyin realized that in winter Aden meant Biflten.
From what Ilyin could see, the group was struggling to hold off the masked men and they were nowhere near Biflten.
However, in front of her now, the hot region seemed to stretch on forever with no sign of Biflten.
“It’s very—” Idith was interrupted mid-sentence by an arrow flying straight into her chest, which she deflected using her sword.
"Even if we reach Biflten, the divine power will still be of no use to us.
I will not harm them even if they break through," Etra interjected.
She was fighting using a dagger.
“We’re going to-“
“Your Highness!” Idith let out a loud scream.
Ilyn's eyes widened as Aden's body fell to the ground with a thud.
The blood quickly spread across his thin shirt, slowly turning a bright red color.
Aden had an arrow sticking out of his back.
He had been hit.
***
Ilyin opened her eyes and discovered that her neck and forehead were covered in a layer of sweat that made her shiver whenever a breeze blew.
“Ilyin?” Aden's voice was full of concern.
Ilyin then realized that he was shaking Aden's hand.
Startled, she immediately tried to let go, but Aden tightened his grip on hers.
Ilyin was shaking.
As the cold air nipped at her skin, she finally felt awake and brought back to reality.
Outside her window, she could see that there was still a light snowstorm.
This meant that they were still in the winter region and they were in the warm region when Aden was hit by an arrow.
‘When are we arriving?’ she thought, ‘That means the dream hasn’t happened yet, but—’
“Ilyin.” Aden's calm voice interrupted his train of thought.
“What’s wrong?” he stroked Ilyn's hand reassuringly.
“It looks like you had a foretelling dream,” he whispered.
Ilyn flinched and his eyes instinctively turned to Idith and Etra, but found that his gaze was fixed on the window.
'Did they hear what Aden said?' she thought, 'more importantly, did they know I was dreaming a prediction?' The thought of it made her heartbeat quicken and her chest tighten.
Ilyin let out a strangled sigh.
She then thought of the people of Red Delrose.
Everyone who worked so hard to protect and serve her.
Everyone from his guards Idith, Etra, Milia and Niss to the maids who tended to his every need.
There was no one in Delrose who wanted to hurt her.
She wasn't sure about Blue North or the other two houses, but she trusted Delrose completely.
She didn't need to be nervous about that thought, the grip around her chest loosened and she let out a shuddering breath.
“What did you see?” Aden asked again.
His voice was always calm and steady, even under intense stress.
Ilyn tried to remember the dream as accurately as possible: "The people with black masks attacked us.
They had bows and arrows, it looked like the carriage was destroyed.
I-I couldn't see anyone else."
“I see,” Aden said, “What else?”
"You were hit.
You and Idith were arguing about going to Biflten when it happened." The words left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“Carriage destroyed, only four people in the group,” Aden seemed to be in deep thought, “Do you perhaps remember how many masked men there were?”
Ilyn tried to think.
With everything that was going on, counting how many there were was the furthest thing from her mind and she shook her head.
“I think we were very similar in numbers.”
“That should be enough.”