Chapter Twenty-Three

  I Won’t Be Again

  Cailean’s eyes lifted open, he was in a bed, and Gwen was by his side. He felt warm, and not just because the two were wrapped together in his Ursaling coat. He turned over to again wrap his arm around her, held her close. He wanted to hold her for as long as he could. He leaned in and kissed her shoulder. Her skin was so warm, truly this was a woman kissed by the sun itself. He ran his hands through her auburn hair, gently stroking it, wanting so bad to take in every moment of every day he would have left with her.

  Gwen sighed as her eyes fluttered open, she turned to Cailean, and she smiled, fittingly that smile that was filled with the light of the sun, “I knew we would have at least one more day,” she said.

  “One more day, I’d never ask for anything more, I’d only ever ask for one more day,” he said, leaning in and kissing her perfect sun-kissed lips.

  Gwen pulled the Ursaling coat up around them as she cuddled closer to him, feeling so warm and safe in the arms of her protector. “It’s going to happen soon, isn’t it?” she asked, looking up at him with eyes full of love and pleading.

  “It will happen when it happens, I can’t pretend to know the will of any Goddess,” Cailean said, “But until it comes, I’ll stay by your side, I’ll get you to safety, I told her that much,” he said.

  “You told her? You mean the Red Lady?” Gwen asked.

  “We talked, the night after I hunted the wolf, I told her to just let me get you to safety, once I know your safe I can face any destiny that any Goddess has for me,” he took a deep breath.

  Gwen sat up and leaned in, kissing him, wanting as many moments as she could possibly have with him. “How soon is it going to happen? your battle?” she put her hand on his chest.

  “If the Red Lady is true to her word,” Cailean put his hand on hers and brought it to his lips to kiss, “The spring will come again, which means I’ll be able to get you to the Druids, I think we have at least that much,” He said, squeezing her hand.

  “I don’t know if I can,” she looked down, “I don’t know anything about bringing the spring back, I don’t know anything about the turning, or what I have to do. I don’t know my duties, and they say that my apparent family is supposed to rule over the land when spring comes. I can’t rule, I’m a handmaiden, even if somehow I did bring the Spring back, what place do I have to rule?” Gwendolyn started to panic at the duties that were to be thrust upon her when Cailean delivered her to the druids.

  “Gwen,” Cailean tilted her chin up, “You can do this, you can bring the spring. Damn the turning, it’s just a tradition. As for the ruling, the Druids will help you. The Druids have seen us through generations of winter, and people would be foolish not to follow you. You convinced me to accept my destiny, I’m sure you can convince yourself,” he smiled, a solemn smile that knew his time with this amazing woman was limited to mere sands in an hourglass that kept ticking down to less and less.

  Gwen moved and wrapped her arms around him, “Stay with me,” she buried her face in his shoulder, “Please just stay with me, as long as you can, as long as the Red Lady will let you, please stay with me, Cailean.”

  “I will, for as long as I can, I will,” he kissed her forehead.

  Gwen looked up at him and leaped to kiss his lips again, “Can’t we just stay here,” she held him close, “Can’t we just stay here forever, never let this end,” she held him tighter.

  “It has to end, the Winter has to end,” Cailean said, fighting the urge to agree with her and just stay with her for as long as he could. He had a duty though, a duty to find the spring. He had to protect Gwen long enough to bring that Spring, bring the same warmth and light to the world that Gwen had brought into his heart. If the Red Lady was to have him, so be it, so long as he knew that Gwen would be safe in the warmth of a kind and giving sun. “Get your things, we have to go,” he said, kissing her again.

  Gwen took her time getting dressed, Cailean was already ready, swords at his side, armor on, and Ursaling coat hanging on his shoulders. Gwen finished getting in her wolf skin jacket and turned to Cailean. “How do we travel? How far to the Druids?” she asked.

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  “It’s north from Tycolm, we can follow the path, not too many woods between here and the mountains,” Cailean took a deep breath, “Should be safe,” he said, “The Winter Hunter guild has a stable, maybe a horse we can take,” he said.

  Gwen approached Cailean, and rested a hand on his cheek, “You have served well, Winter Hunter, as the heir to the sun blood, I bless you, and I thank you,” she said, trying to keep her composure, trying to speak with the pomp and circumstance her newly found role would call on her to have. She broke that pomp and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

  “Thank you, oh maiden of the spring,” Cailean smiled, resting his hand on hers, “Until the Spring is found.”

  They made their way to the stables and found a solid steed that could hold two people.

  “We’re almost there,” he smiled, as he mounted the steed, “Let’s find the Spring, together,” he said, reaching out his hand to help Gwen up. “Together,” she said, smiling as she climbed up and wrapped her arms around him. Cailean began to lead the horse out of the city and then the bell rang. He pulled the reigns and stopped and listened as the bell rang two more times.

  “It’s just the morning wake-up,” Gwen said, “Let’s keep going, it’s nothing,” Gwen said.

  “Three bells,” Cailean got off the horse, and looked back to the city, “Monsters are coming,” he took a deep breath, “Three bells means monsters are on the horizon, they’re coming for the city, for the people,” he said, turning to her, “For you,” he looked up, “You have to get out of here, they know you’re here. Winter knows you’re here,” he said.

  “No, Cailean, I can’t not without you, you have to come with me,” she pleaded.

  “If nothing stops them here, they’ll chase us down and they’ll kill both of us anyway, I have to do this,” Cailean looked to her, then to the city where monsters were charging into the city, he looked back to her “You can do this, the monsters are coming from the west, and it’s a lot of them, maybe somethings drawing them here. If you head north, you’ll be safe, monsters lurk in the woods, there’s no woods north of here to the mountains, just look to the northern mountains and charge there. The Druids will know you’re coming, you can do this, you showed me that I’m stronger than I think I am. I promise you are too, I swear to you Gwen, you are so strong,” He said, with quickening anxious breath as he dismounted the horse.

  “Cailean, this is it, isn’t it?” she began to cry, “This is the battle, what you told me about, this is where you die,” she said, “Cailean you can’t, not yet, not now,” she pleaded with him, “It was one night we had, we have to have more then one night, please Cailean, please,” she begged.

  “I’m sorry, Gwen, I belong to the Red Lady now,” he looked down and damned the Red Lady for letting him have just a taste of happiness before she took him. Then he remembered Coulidan, how proud he would be to have a death like this, how proud he would be to see his brother, the brother he loved so much he gave his life for facing a death like this, then looked back to Gwen. “I was too cowardly once, I won’t be again,” he smacked the horse's ass and sent it galloping as Gwen grabbed the reigns and tried to steady herself.

  “I love you!” she cried out as the horse carried her to her destiny, just as Cailean turned to face his.

  “I love you too, little Sun Kissed girl,” Cailean said to himself as he turned to battle before him. He went back through the Guild Hall and found any and every tonic he could use for the coming battle. He drank two vigors down without concern for any after-effects they would have when he was done with this battle. He knew that there would be no after the battle for him, not this day. He made his way passed the guild hall to the main street as the monsters began to descend on the city. He drew both his blades, his and Duncan’s, he looked at the long sword, the ancient runes on it, the oath.

  “I am a Winter Hunter,” he said as the monsters began to run roughshod over the city. They were searching for the Sun Blood, and killing anyone that was in their path. The citizens fled in any direction they could find if they were lucky enough not to be caught in a monster's path. “I am the first defense against the scourge of the cold,” he took a Firegiver tonic and smashed it on Duncan’s blade, dipping it in the embers of the Guildhall’s fire and lighting it ablaze, pressing it to his own sword to light his other blade up as well. “I am the last line against that horrible darkness,” he kicked the guild hall door open and stepped out, ready for war, “I have sword and shield against threats so old, threats without names,” he looked to his flaming swords, the buckler shield on his arm. He could see citizens fleeing the monsters as they all charged towards the Guild Hall, “I defend those with nothing, and those with even less,” he jumped to intercept a spider folk that was leaping towards a mother holding her son and daughter’s hand trying to get away and his burning bronze sword cut the creature in half like it was nothing. Blue blood and guts spattered him and the family alike as the woman and her children fled.

  “Whether those threats be one or a thousand,” Cailean looked towards the descending horde of winter’s ancient creatures, it wasn’t near a thousand of them, it just felt that way, “I will see the spring is found!” Cailean prepared himself, readied himself for the coming battle, his last battle. He looked at the monsters gathering, the darkness of winter descending upon him, he thought of Gwendolyn. Beautiful Gwen, the Sun Blood, that little sun-kissed girl. He thought of the princess who could bring spring back to this world and put these monsters back in their caves and hidings where they belonged. He thought of the most amazing woman he had ever met, his one true love. Damn destiny, damn his premonitions, and damn those cryptic visions. He would see her again, he had to see her again. He added one more line to that sacred oath he took, the oath he took for his brother, for himself, and for Gwen.

  “Have at me, Red Lady!” he screamed before charging into battle.