Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

T he snow was fresh and shrieked under my shoes as I stepped out of the inn. It was so bright, I had to shield my eyes but it also meant we wouldn't be ambushed by a nasty storm before we reached the next village.

Konomi almost bumped into me and she grasped hold of my arm to stay upright. Even after a few days of being together, her touch still made my stomach flutter and I hoped that would never end.

A soft sob came from behind us and Rudy wiped the tears from his eyes with Mason's beard. "I'm going to miss you girls."

Mason wasn't nearly as emotional but he pressed a big pack of dried fruit into my hand and some of his favourite tobacco even though neither of us smoked. He claimed we'd be able to trade it but in my opinion, it seemed like he just wanted to give us a small piece of himself.

It was a strange farewell and reminded me a little of when we left the village, except that I barely knew these two men. I knew Konomi's charm was part of what had won them over so easily but I assumed the fact that I reminded Mason of his first crush had something to do with it too. If I had to hazard a guess, I suspected he'd been waiting for us. For the Guardian. After all these years, he still had so many unanswered questions and I hadn't been able to help him with those.

"We'll be back soon," Konomi promised.

I nodded. "When we return, we have to pass through here."

Rudy sobbed and pulled Konomi in a smothering hug. "You better return!"

The dullness in Mason's eyes told me he wasn't as optimistic. If his stories were true, if multiple Guardians had passed through here without any of them ever returning, he had a reason to be sceptical. Maybe the land beyond here was so dangerous, none of the Guardians survived. Or maybe they had even less reason than Konomi and I to return. I didn't know and I suspected that just like Mason, I would never find out.

It didn't matter. Whether it was danger or utopia awaiting us, I had an obligation to find out. To the village, to my family, and a little because I felt grateful. Without this sacred quest, Konomi and I might've lived our whole lives next to each other, always just missing out on this.

She turned to me, her hand held out. "Shall we?"

I nodded, easily slipping my hand in hers. I didn't know what was waiting for us over the next hill or even around the next bend of the path but we were going to find out together.

Rudy cried as we left and Konomi blinked a tear away too. She seemed sad to say goodbye and I had to admit to feeling a little weak in my stomach too. After all, the wonderful Red Boar Inn would always be the place where we found each other. It would always hold a fondness in my heart.

Konomi let out a happy sigh. "I love the snow. It's so beautiful and calm."

"It is," I agreed, briefly turning around to look at our tracks and the inn.

"What are you doing?" Konomi asked.

"Not sure," I admitted. "I think I'm fondly looking back."

She chuckled. "You're so weird sometimes. I love that about you. And I love that I can just tell you I love you now."

I pulled her towards me for a kiss. "I love you too."

The fresh snow compacted easily under my feet and slowly but surely, the inn faded from view.

Her smile was brighter than the sun. "You know, you never told me when you fell in love with me."

"I've been in love with you from the moment we met," I admitted as I thought back to the very moment when we met outside her house. I had a lot of memories of her and usually when I recalled them, they stung slightly but they no longer did. There was still yearning, sorrow, anger but I understood it all better now.

The fresh snow compacted easily under my feet and slowly but surely, the inn faded from view. Now it was just us again.

Konomi gave me a gentle nudge with her elbow. "What should we do when we find the Winter Stone?"

"What do you mean?"

"Should we have a party or something?"

I snorted. "I don't know. I think you're getting ahead of yourself. But sure, we can have a party."

A happy smile lifted Konomi's lips and she hummed a soft tune as she followed the winding path. It was just the two of us with the whole wide world ahead of us. The great unknown. I didn't know if we would ever find the Winter Stone or discover the mysteries surrounding it but for once, the future was beckoning.

Whatever came our way, we would face it together.