Chapter 547: Duty Calls

The next day brought Irene and Henry back into her family’s old village as they cracked open the icy door and began to walk around the area. The weather was calm and the sun was out. Even though it was freezing, at least their view wasn’t obscured by snow drifting on the top layer.

Irene soon found that, luckily, all of her family’s buildings were intact. However, she made it to the other side of the sprawl of buildings and stopped in her tracks. Henry, who was walking beside her, stopped as well.

It wasn’t that apparent at first, but as they got closer, it became obvious that there were a few destroyed buildings further east.

They had been covered by a few layers of snow. What was most clear was that they were victims of the wyrms Irene and Henry took part in killing—the very ones whose orbs weighed down their luggage.

"I can’t believe it," Irene commented as she walked forth. "If my family’s buildings were any further this way, they could have been in the beast’s path. I feel so sorry for whoever’s family this is."

They had brought the horses with them to run them off, but Henry let go of their reins as they walked towards the destroyed buildings.

There were a few completely trampled and a couple of others that only had a slice out of the side. The insides were now full of snow, and the history inside would be ruined as the Sunstoian region began to briefly warm up and then freeze again.

It made her want to cling to her family’s items more, knowing something like this was possible. But she knew they were just items. They weren’t as important as the people they represented.

Irene began brushing snow off one of the buried houses.

She hoped to find a door or sign that said the family’s name. It wasn’t as if she could track them down, but if she ever heard that name in her travels, maybe something could be done.

Her efforts were in vain. The destruction of the house was too severe.

"It’s a shame," she muttered. "But we did what we could by making sure the wyrms couldn’t do this to anyone else. They are avenged and will hopefully rest well."

However, her eyes anxiously scanned the horizon, silently praying that she would see no other signs of snow shifting or scars in the pristine whiteness from a wyrm.

Henry’s gaze followed her. He understood her anxieties.

A monster or beast out here could use their gateway over the mountains and ravage Chemois. At least they had a dragon who warned them of such things.

"These were homes?" Henry asked.

"The ones completely trampled were," she explained. "The one with only a chunk out of the side is a storehouse. I worry that some of the grains and other items I took last time for the journey back may be destroyed now. Hopefully some of the other, unexplored places will support us on our journey back instead."

Henry nodded.

"A small part of me doesn’t want to go back yet, but I also understand that we wouldn’t survive the weather warming up here," he admitted. "There’s power in numbers here. A mere two knights will be overwhelmed by the monsters that appear the moment it gets warmer."

Irene couldn’t help smiling at that.

"You’re so well-read on the Sunstoian North," she observed.

"There isn’t much else to do here," he admitted. "Unless, of course, you want to go inside and take off our clothing so we can figure out what else there is to do."

Irene cast a sideways glance at him.

"We already explored that last night," she reminded him. "Probably tonight, too."

"Is that so?" he asked, excited.

She pushed him away as he came closer and rushed off.

"Time to find something useful so that we can restock our supplies before the trip back," she persisted, cutting off the topic altogether. "Or at least enough to hold us until we can make it to the other village further south."

"We will be staying at the chief’s house regardless," Henry responded, relenting on the subject change. "We’ll remain light in our gear for now. The horses are already weighed down plenty."

Irene nodded.

"Then this way will yield us the best supplies," she directed, gesturing for Henry to follow.

That became their next two days.

All they did was search for supplies and make sure the few other buildings left in the village were holding up in the weather.

That the buildings hadn’t collapsed because of snow alone was a testament to the craftsmanship the Sunstoian once used. It caused Henry to wonder if those in Chemois could use to learn about it a bit more. There were plenty of letters on his desk each winter about buildings collapsing—even ones that were winterized each year.

His ideas were formulating slowly. Even when he was supposed to be on winter break, he couldn’t help figuring out how to make his home better.

And then the night before they were set to leave Irene’s family’s village, they stood outside as the sun set, watching the sky fill with the twisting colors of an aurora.

"I’ll remember this winter forever," she admitted. "I never thought I would be able to take you to my family’s homeland."

"Even if the original purpose wasn’t for this, I’m glad it turned out to be that way," Henry responded.

He squeezed her hand, causing her eyes to come back down and her gaze to be set on his.

"I’m not ready to go back, but I know that it’s time," she continued. "I selfishly could stay here forever, but you have work to do. Soon I will have to join you in that work."

"No rush," Henry assured her. "You will become the duchess as soon as you feel ready and there’s no problem with that."

However, as they began the trip back to the south and found themselves on the ridge overlooking both valleys, they were surprised to see Blade fly out of the thick, low clouds all around them.

He appeared so suddenly, Henry nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of a hawk with its large talons out, diving for him.

In that last moment, he stuck out his arm.

"It’s been a while," Henry said to the hawk.

"Sorry we don’t have a snack for you," Irene apologized. "We’re traveling light."

Henry pulled the letter out of the hawk’s ankle pouch and tossed his arm in the air so Blade would take off.

Henry pulled off his face scarf and his eyebrows rose as he read the letter.

"We have a letter waiting for us from His Majesty," Henry explained.

"Us?" Irene asked, her heart lurching. "Both of us?"

"Both of us," Henry confirmed.