The sound of hooves crunching on snow echoed through the crisp winter air. It was daytime now, the sky above a brilliant blue, highlighting the immacute white scenery that was set out in front of the group of soldiers riding through the bare nd.

  “Not really my idea of a morning refresher,” Verde heard one of the Metzger soldiers whispering behind him.

  It was the third day since the arrival of his guests, and the Metzger troops were beginning to compin of being cooped up indoors constantly. Verde minimised his interactions with them, steering clear of the guest wing in the manor ever since his encounter with Wulfe. However, it was inevitable that he would hear their griping if they had to spend half the day in the council room drawing up their alliance.

  Because of their compints, Theron eventually had to pn an excursion in order to quiet them down. He was occupied in the council room all day with Verde's advisors, however. That was how Verde found himself leading a group of particurly excitable Metzgers, eager to escape the confines of their rooms. At least he had Sir Hugues nearby, as his own men fnked the group, herding the guests to avoid losing any stragglers.

  “Yeah, why did our boss have to come?” Another soldier grumbled.

  “The Grand Marshal is testing your weather resilience,” teased a comrade, and Verde heard a quiet chorus of snickering behind him at that.

  Unfortunately for Verde, Wulfe had insisted on accompanying along the trip, much to the dismay of his men. In contrast to his men, Wulfe was deathly quiet as he rode alongside Verde in the front. Despite the presence of their leader, Metzger soldiers were awfully chummy with each other, joking with each other and chattering as they rode on.

  “It’s to ensure that nobody acts out of line,” he had told his soldiers, as Verde almost snorted at those words. Wulfe had also avoided Verde, gring at him whenever they had to sit in the council room together to detail the alliance, and avoiding him altogether when they were outside.

  Now that they were forced to be around each other, Verde felt the knight’s presence to be almost suffocating, as if his every movement was under heavy scrutiny. He worked to avoid looking over at Wulfe, instead keeping his eyes trained in front of him, his grip tight on his reins as he focused on the rhythmic ‘thump, thump’ of his horse’s hooves under him.

  The snowy nds stretched endlessly beyond them, with barely a tree in sight as the group of soldiers rode on. It was a quiet morning, and Verde appreciated the serenity of the ndscape. It helped him clear his mind, pushing Wulfe’s imposing aura aside, as he focused on the pure white in front of him. He straightened his back and tilted his head ever so slightly backwards, inhaling the sharp air and feeling the cold spreading inside him.

  “I see something on the horizon!”

  His meditations were broken at the call from one of the soldiers behind.

  When he opened his eyes, Verde saw dark spirals peeking out from the horizon, as they neared a site that made him realise that they were much farther out from Nerea than he’d initially thought.

  The small group came to a rest as they reached the edge of an icy ke, the clinking of reins sounding in the air as everyone halted their horses. Beyond the ke, they could see the remains of a dipidated castle, scorched and crumbling away. The structure still retained some of its former glory, with its tall spires standing out against the bleak ndscape. Its stone walls y scattered across the small isnd that housed the castle, as if blown away by some force. The exposed interiors showed intricate stonework and burnt artworks that were still hung up on some walls, proof that it was once inhabited.

  “What happened here?” A soldier asked.

  “It’s… An old building, we’ve not used it for years,” he heard Hugues behind him expining in haste. He pulled his lip to one side. Was his council still walking on eggshells around him when it came to this?

  “The ke around it creates a fine defense, it’s wasteful to let a destroyed building sit there instead,” Wulfe observed

  “That- Um-” Hugues was sputtering.

  Verde sighed.

  “I’d rather not demolish it,” he interrupted his warmaster, turning around to look at Wulfe. “It’s the resting pce of the former lord and dy of the nd.”

  “Who-” Wulfe opened his mouth to say something undoubtedly rude, but the realisation seemed to hit him at the same time as he quickly shut himself up.

  A hush fell over the group after that, with nothing heard but the cold wind that passed between the group. A few Metzger soldiers mumbled vague noises of apologies, while Wulfe steadfastly avoided looking at Verde. Hugues and some of his soldiers shot worrying gnces at Verde, however he gave them a reassuring smile.

  Verde couldn’t bear the idea of anyone thinking that he was still affected by the destruction of his childhood home and death of his parents.

  He still felt the echoes of shouts and cries from that night.

  The panicked look on his father's face as Verde and Adeise were carried away in their arms. The choked sobs from his mother as she pushed her children into a closet and them shutting them in. His sister’s confused crying as she clung onto him, while they heard muffled screeches beyond the wooden confines of their hiding spot.

  Verde closed his eyes and shook his head.

  “We shouldn’t linger here long, in case we attract the attention of wild animals,” he called out, pulling at the reins to direct his horse away from the frozen ke.

  His soldiers followed his lead, as he heard Hugues sounding out to his soldiers, signalling for them to turn around and begin herding their guests back to the vilge center.

  During the ride back, Verde realised that Sir Hugues had eventually caught up to his pace.

  “My apologies for his rudeness, my Lord.” Hugues said, his head bowed slightly.

  Verde sighed. If this was his past self, he wouldn’t be entertaining Wulfe’s antics at all. In fact, during this exact day in his past life, he was overseeing the confinement of Wulfe as he held the knight hostage.

  The Wulfe back then was hardly any different from this current one. He had pulled at his chains and growled at Verde like a wild dog, eyes abze with hatred as he spat out a thousand curses upon the noble. He had even managed to break out of his constraints a few times, showcasing the freakish strength the knight possessed.

  Verde idly wondered if he was simply being optimistic back then for thinking that he could contain the knight, who seemed to be more beast than man, or if it was a special sort of stupidity imposed onto him due to his role in the book.

  “What are you apologising for?” Verde asked, ignoring his thoughts. “It’s not like you said any of that yourself.”

  “I’m aware, but it’s still not right for a guest to speak in such a way, important or not. If you wish, give me the signal and I will discipline him at a moment’s notice.”

  Verde couldn’t help but huff a little in ughter at Hugues’ dedication.

  His warmaster was only a few yours younger than him, and Verde faced backsh in the past for recommending him to the position. But he was one of the few that Verde trusted, having grown up together.

  As a youth, Verde remembered having to watch over Hugues and Adeise as they were children, separating the both of them whenever they bickered over toys and who got Verde’s attention. He recalled many afternoons spent in frustration as he tried to help in Hugues’ studies, and all the times they abandoned their academic work in favour of sword fighting in the garden.

  Hugues was a little hotheaded and stubborn due to his age, however his loyalty to Verde was something that the noble found far more valuable. Ultimately, it was his loyalty that cost him his life, as Hugues stood his ground against a crowd of enemy soldiers, yelling at Verde to retreat back into the manor while he bought time. Verde remembered how he ran away back then, too afraid to turn around and see what was happening.

  “I appreciate the gesture, but let’s remember the possible consequences of harming our newfound ally,” Verde chided lightly. “Besides, I doubt you’d be able to take on that brute in battle.”

  “You don’t know that.” Hugues scowled at his Lord’s teasing.

  His petunt expression was so childish that a small ugh escaped from Verde, revelling in the luxury of being able to converse with his friend again.

  “Um, are you alright, milord?”

  “Hm? Yes, what’s the matter?”

  “You’re strangely cheerful, despite having to deal with Sir Alvar. I don’t think I can recall the st time you ughed.” Hugues’ eyebrows were now knitted together in worry, as if Verde was going to die at any moment.

  Verde frowned at Hugues.

  He opened his mouth to reply, however they were both cut off by the shouts of the soldiers behind them.

  “Damn it, wolves!”

  At that shout, Verde heard howling in the distance.

  During their ride, Verde realised a pack of wolves had surrounded the group. There was the sound of panting and snarling in the air, as the wild beasts gradually closed in on the band of soldiers.

  Wolves were always a constant threat out in the snowy fields, however Verde was aware that such brazen behaviour from the wolves was one of the signs of trouble in Frimasvale. Though they were opportunistic predators, they would never normally approach such a rge group.

  Through the flecks of snow still falling down on them, Verde could see the creatures were gaunt, their eyes reflecting a sort of crazed hunger that needed to be sated. They were starved, unable to find food as the few resources in Frimasvale were dwindling away.

  Conversation now forgotten, Hugues immediately unched into action, his hand falling to unsheath his sword and wave it in the air to signal attention.

  “Fall together, make sure no one is left behind!”

  A chorus of agreement sounded over the crowd. Verde nodded at his warmaster, following suit. Before the conflict broke out and spilled onto Frimasvale, his people had hardly needed to fight. Fending off wild animals was the very least his inexperienced soldiers could do, at least with Hugues in the lead.

  “Soldiers, follow me!”

  Verde and his men instantly turned their heads towards the shout of a new voice. Verde’s eyes widened when he saw Wulfe urging his horse onwards, veering away from the group.

  Naturally, his men followed, charging after their commander. Verde could only watch in shock as the Metzger soldiers barrelled forward, almost bowling over some of the attacking wolves in their haste.

  He understood that Wulfe was reckless, but to this degree? He watched as the knight leaned over and sshed at the beasts as if they were just tall grass, his sword easily cleaving through anything that stood in his way.

  But Wulfe’s talent was a product of his role in this story, and the skill gap between him and his soldiers was apparent. He could see some having trouble reaching the wolves that prowled low to the ground, with a few dropping their swords during their attempts to juggle the task of sshing at the animals and maintaining their bance on their horse.

  Hugues muttered a curse under his breath before tightening the reins on his horse and moving forward.

  “Follow after them, but be careful! Don’t get in the way of anyone swinging their weapon!” He quickly whipped his head back to look at Verde. “Please stay back, Lord Emerys.”

  Not waiting for a response, Hugues quickly joined the battle, his soldiers not too far behind him. It all happened in the blink of an eye, and Verde was left watching the chaos unfolding.

  Wulfe’s men acted as recklessly as their leader, hacking away at the snarling animals without following any form. Amidst the fray, Verde saw a Metzger soldier locked in a struggle with a wolf that managed to leap up onto him, cmping its jaws into the man’s leg and digging in its cws to cling on. The soldier attempted to shake off the wolf, however it only succeeded in dragging him further off the horse. It was apparent that he needed help, but none of his comrades could spare him their attention during the fray.

  Verde loathed the thought of having to step in, especially when the mess wasn’t his fault. He was assigned to guide his guests around for a rexing horse ride, not spend his morning battling wolves. However, the prospect of losing face in front of Theron seemed even worse - what kind of an ally would stand by and only watch?

  He groaned and swung off his horse, his boots crunching on the snow as he alighted. Verde’s hand swiftly flew to draw his sword as he hurried towards the struggling soldier. The wolf was still hanging onto his leg, intent on dragging the man off his horse.

  “Get off him, now!” Verde shouted, trying to get its attention. He lunged at the animal, sshing at it with his sword.

  His attack only seemed to enrage the wolf, as it let out a snarl and buried its teeth harder into its victim. The Metzger soldier screamed in pain, as Verde could see streams of blood beginning to flow out of torn armour.

  Verde’s thoughts raced, trying to think of what he could do as he suppressed his panic. The wolf didn’t seem to care about any of its injuries, only focused on its prey. Nothing short of cutting its head off would stop it, but it was too close to the soldier, Verde couldn’t risk swinging at it wildly with his sword.

  In his panic, he instead threw himself onto the animal, trying to drag it down with him. The wolf let out another ferocious growl, legs kicking wildly as it was held down by Verde. The beast was rger than him, and Verde felt like a squirrel clinging onto a rampaging boar, but it was the best he could come up with during the frenzy.

  He swung his legs wildly around, trying to knee the wolf and dislodge it from the soldier. He was half blinded by all the bck fur around him and the stench of blood and drool, his hands cwing into the wolf’s coarse pelt as he dug his nails in.

  His tactic seemed to be working, as the wolf snarled and tried to turn around and snap at him, loosening itself in the process. Seizing the chance, Verde grabbed onto its neck and pulled as hard as he could, bringing it down with him as they both tumbled onto the snowy ground. Unfortunately, the soldier was also caught in all of this, teetering off his horse and falling down along with them.

  Verde held tight onto the wolf, trying to keep his grip onto it and hold it down as they rolled over the snow. The beast got the better of him, however, as it cmbered over him and pinned him down during their tumble. Its breath came out in steamy puffs as it loomed over him, heavy paws digging into Verde’s chest and making it difficult for him to breath.

  ‘Grrrr…’

  It was practically salivating over its new prey, as Verde struggled underneath its weight. He turned his head, desperately searching for his sword, only to see it far off from him, having fallen during the tussle. Unknown to Verde, the movement also exposed his neck, pale white flesh now visible to the beast that was on him.

  The wolf was eager to bite in, as it opened its jaws and surged towards Verde. He didn’t have time to react, only able to screw his eyes shut and tense his body, prepared to have his throat torn out by the savage animal.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  A shout rang above them, and Verde heard a whistle. It was quickly followed by whinny and the sickening sound of bone crunching, and then the weight was instantly lifted off of him.

  Verde immediately sucked in a breath.

  He was still alive?

  He opened his eyes to see Wulfe, sat atop his horse as he looked down on the noble. The knight’s eyes were narrowed and his brows furrowed, like usual, as he scowled at Verde.

  The battle seemed to be over, as a few lifeless bodies of wolves were scattered around the snowy fields. The few that survived were already gone, whimpering heard in the distance as they retreated. In the aftermath, the men were already picking themselves off the ground and tying cloth around their wounds.

  “Are you stupid?” Wulfe growled at him. “If you can’t even fight, you shouldn’t be jumping into battle.”

  When he looked behind him, Verde could see the crumpled form of the wolf, its breaths ragged as it y on the snow. From what he could tell, it seemed like Wulfe had somehow gotten his horse to kick the wolf off with its back legs, unching it off of Verde.

  It was impressive, but Verde couldn’t find it in himself to admit that. Not when his rescuer was being such an ass about it. This whole thing could’ve been avoided if they followed Hugues’ lead and grouped up. Wolves only picked off stragglers, and after faced with such a rge group they would have likely given up once they were closer to Nerea.

  “I was trying to help,” Verde stated petuntly, picking himself off the ground and dusting the snow off of his cloak.

  'A thank you would be in order,' he thought, as he quickly scanned his surroundings to find the soldier he helped.

  He made his way over to the soldier lying on the ground, crouching down to examine the injury. With the threat gone, Verde could get a good look at the young man. He was scrawny and small, looking more like a teenager instead of an adult. His dusty brown hair was short and tousled, with freckles dotting his face. His grey eyes were creased as he flinched in pain, his hands gingerly supporting his injured leg.

  The wound was worse than Verde had anticipated, as the wolf’s teeth pierced deep into his leg. Blood was still leaking out of the exposed flesh, painting the white snow under him a deep red. It looked dire, but not quite a lost cause. If he was treated quickly, his leg had a good chance of surviving, but they had to act fast.

  “Are you able to stand up?” Verde asked, extending a hand.

  “Yes… Yes sir,” the soldier coughed, wincing as he struggled into an upright position. It was clear that he couldn’t stand without assistance, though it seemed like he didn’t want to lose face in front of his commander.

  Wulfe had also followed, getting off his horse and kneeling down to examine his soldier.

  “Don’t force yourself if you can’t do it, Yannis.” Wulfe frowned. He brushed past Verde to stoop down and pick up his subordinate, swinging an arm over his shoulder to help him up. The knight then turned around to address his soldiers, pointing at two near him.

  “I’ll take him along with me. You two, lead Yannis’ horse so we don’t leave it behind.”

  “Yessir!”

  "This isn't necessary, sir," the young soldier mumbled.

  "Shut up, it'll be easier if you just follow along." Wulfe huffed, lugging his subordinate towards his horse.

  Yannis seemed to know better and let out a noise of agreement before limping along.

  Verde observed in silence. The Wulfe in the book was respected and liked by his men, and it showed today. Verde was also aware that the kngiht was capable of compassion, though that sentiment didn't extend to nobles. He knew all that, and yet this show of care was still something that he found interesting, as the Wulfe in his own memories was nothing short of a monster.

  “We need to get him back to my manor, now.” Verde spoke up, picking himself off the ground. “Anyone else that’s injured will need to go with him to the medical quarters.”

  Verde swiftly climbed back onto his horse, clicking his tongue and spurring it onwards to begin leading the group back.

  Hugues swiftly took his pce next to his lord again, easily catching up to Verde.

  “Are you alright?” He asked, as Verde experienced a mild sense of deja vu and shrugged.

  “Nothing major, apart from some scratches.”

  “It was dangerous of you to join in like that. You should leave it to us next time.”

  “Now you’re sounding like Sir Alvar.”

  “No, I’m speaking from a pce of concern.”

  “I’m just as skilled as the next soldier, what sets me apart from the rest of your men?”

  Hugues raised an eyebrow at Verde’s question.

  “Just st week you called me into your room to help you kill a rat. Now you’re suddenly throwing yourself onto wolves?”

  Verde shifted uncomfortably from his spot atop his horse. He had forgotten that during this time, he hadn't ever engaged in real combat. Before the war, he only dabbled in swordsmanship for the sport of it, his training nothing more than an entertaining exercise. The idea of being in the battlefield, caked in mud and blood, was absolutely abhorrent to him.

  It was only until it became his reality did Verde stop retching every time he saw blood. The war forced him away from the comfort of his home and into the front lines with his soldiers after the death of Hugues. The effects of battle, starvation, and losing those closest to him had evidently changed more than just Verde’s appearance, though he wasn’t sure how he could expin away the person he was now.

  “Rats and wolves are two different things,” Verde tried to defend himself with a huff. “Besides, what kind of a leader would I be if I just sat behind and watched?”

  Hugues looked at him for a long moment before sighing.

  “... Please just be careful in the future.”

  Verde hummed in agreement and that was the end of the conversation, as they rode together in silence for the rest of the journey. Hugues didn’t raise too big of a fuss, though Verde wondered if the others would notice the changes in their leader. Evidently, he’d already done enough to cause several of his council members to question him, but Verde thought that it was inevitable for that to happen. After all, he’d already slipped up in front of Wulfe, arguably the worst person to make such mistakes in front of.