Hanwen’s taint.
Not long later, me and my horse caught up to her, and I watched her struggle through the snow for a moment before I cleared my throat.
“Go away!” she shouted back at me.
“I’m headed back to the palace anyway. It’s near midnight, and it’s going to take you hours to get to the dormitory at this rate. Consider it a truce.” She stopped, turning to look up at me. “For now,” I added. Couldn’t have her thinking I trusted her. She rolled her eyes and turned forward, trudging through snow which had to be freezing against unclothed skin.
“What possessed you to wear a dress and not pants?” I asked.
“Great divine, you do not stop, do you?” she snapped.
“Stop what?”
“Provoking, goading, irritating, vexing.”
“I’ve been told it’s charming.”
“They lied.”
“Nor, just get on the horse.”
“I’m fine.” She stumbled.
“Fine, freeze. Far be it from me to stop a woman from freezing to death when she is clearly so determined.”
I wasn’t going to argue with her. Passing her, I continued on my way, annoyed. Even though the moon was just a fucking sliver, the road was dead going into the city. Safe enough. I convinced myself she’d be fine. And if she wasn’t, it wasn’t my problem.
But when I glanced over my shoulder a few minutes later and didn’t see her behind me, I somehow made it my fucking problem and backtracked to see where she went.
“Nor?” I called out. Either side of the road was forest, and, though not known for vagabonds or criminals, I realized it wouldn’t be the worst hiding spot for someone wanting to do harm to a young woman walking alone near midnight. Fuck.
“Nor!” I shouted once more, looking for her footprints in the snow. Once I found them, I saw a long trail going off the side of the road down a steep slope. Had she fallen? It was just a hill, but with the height of the snow and where the hollows from the pine trees sat, it was possible she fell and was struggling to climb back up.
Jumping down from my horse, I went to find her. It only took me a few moments to spot her, a dark spot against the white. She’d dropped her bag, and the contents had spilled out as it tumbled down the hill.
“You alright, Nor?” I called out from above.
Her voice was clouded with tears as she replied, “I’m fine.”
“Need help?”
“No. This is the last of it,” she said, wiping a hand over her eyes before turning to face me. She kept her eyes averted as she clambered up the hill through the snow. “I dropped my bag, and it spilled everywhere. Half the things are probably ruined now.”
I held out my hand to her as she approached the final lip she’d have to climb over to get back onto the road—the steepest part of her ascent. She hesitated for a second before she gripped my hand, and I pulled her up.
“Let me take you home. It doesn’t sit right with me to have you walking alone out here. It’s cold, and it’s late and I don’t want to fi—”
“Alright.” My mouth snapped shut, surprised she’d given in so quickly. By the look on her face, it had surprised her too. “Only because I’m tired.”
“Uh huh,” I replied before directing her and helping her onto the horse. “You can sit in the front this time. I’ll try not to get sick down your back. If I feel the need to expel the contents of my stomach, I’ll direct it to either side. Don’t worry.”
“Skies above, you’re the worst. I couldn’t help it. I said I was sorry.”
Settling in behind her, I caught a whiff of her soap. Something citrus—bergamot, perhaps. It didn’t make me nauseated, so we were already off to a better start than our last trip together.
“I’m actually just teasing, Nor. What kind of name is that, anyway?”
“It’s short for something.”