Thread: Winter's Kiss (Ursus Peregrinus & Candy_demon21)

Prince Nikolai Ilyich Kostchei Petra kept her tongue at first as Odette spoke to her, but when Odette mentioned her scar she glanced down at it self-consciously and bit her lip, looking away from her master's guest as her round face tensed. Releasing Odette, she rubbed the scar and shook her head, then simply hooked her arm through the taller girl's and continued to tow her on their way through the castle. The way Odette spoke was having an effect, though. One that showed in her tense, bustling manner. Ivan is the Master's castellan, m'lady. Petra replied, letting Odette go as they entered the bath-house. He told me that we are to treat you as an honoured guest. The Prince leaves us alone to manage things for him much of the time, he has more important matters to attend. Something in the twist of her mouth showed that she was growing unhappy with those orders. As Odette slipped from her clthes and into the steaming hot waters, Petra looked away and carried over a stack of towels and a large cake of oatmeal soap, setting them down by the edge of the pool. She didn't move to join Odette, though. Odette's words seemed to bother her and she sniffed disdainfully as Odette asked to be shown the library and declared her home to be a prison. If you would rather grace the master's garden then you should tell him so at breakfast. If you continue to speak like that I hope he obliges you. Petra snapped at her, flushing angrily. Unshed tears gleamed in her blue eyes. This 'prison' is my home, the only one I have, and all of us are here at the Prince's grace. Show some respect! He has given us all more than you know. Petra huffed and held up her hand, showing the scar on her wrist. The Prince marks all who come here, it is part of the price we pay when we choose or are chosen. You will wear his mark soon enough, and I hope he teaches you some respect! Her anger was as hot as the water and she stormed out, pausing at the door to look back at Odette. Milord Prince expects you for breakfast in the great hall. For your sake I hope you learn some manners before you make your appearance. Petra slammed the door behind herself, closing her eyes and beginning to cry as she leaned against the stone wall and held herself. Memories of her life before she volunteered to journey up the mountain came back to her, and her shoulders shook as she sobbed. Out in the woods, Kolya stalked with his pack of wolves. They howled as they ranged about him, bounding in the hip-deep snow. They were on the trail of a herd of deer, and as they came closer to their prey Kolya whistled his wolves out further, to drive their prey back towards him. Standing atop the snow, his feet as stable on the soft surface as they would be on solid stone, Nikolai drew his sword and waited. His pets were barking now, snapping at the heels of the tired deer. They had been hunting them since before dawn, moving them steadily back towards the base of the mountain. Now his pets were cutting a couple of the more tired deer away from their herd, forcing them towards where he waited in the shadow of a poplar tree. As they dashed past, bounding in the deep snow, the Prince drove his sword into the doe's heart. The other he caught by the antlers and threw to the ground. As the doe lay in the snow, blood steaming, Kolya pressed his bare palm to the stag's chest. Frost spread over its skin as he chilled its heart to ice in an instant. As he rose, his breath steamed once as he revelled in the brief sensation of warmth. Closing his eyes, Kolya felt that fleeting sensation fall away and the cold already stealing through his veins. His next breath scarcely steamed at all, and by the third his body was as cold as ice once more. Hefting the stag, he whistled for his pack. Their reward would be the doe, and they closed in to feast as he trudged across the snowdrifts, carrying the cooling stag's body over one shoulder. Kurt was waiting on the road at the base of the mountain, and the groom helped him load the stag onto the back of the carriage to carry them both back up to the castle. Fresh venison for dinner, Irina would be pleased. tag