"We've finally arrived at the edge of the Frozen Lands," Iora announced late one morning - approximately a week since their escape from the inn - when they stopped for a break, towering mountains in the far distance. "We have another week or so of riding to do before we can properly settle somewhere, but I think we're out of danger enough."

Aliana looked around at their surroundings, which did not appear to have changed in the slightest. The trees were as thick and towering as ever, and the air still had a chilly nip to it. "How do you know we're at the edge?"

Iora inhaled deeply, seemingly savoring a scent only she could smell. "I grew up in these lands. The Frozen Lands are much different from the rest of the kingdom. Live long enough here and you will feel it in your very core. It is difficult for to me explain how I know for sure, but trust me, we are almost to safety."

"The only thing I feel is cold." Aliana tried to breathe in the scent Iora as had, but all she smelled was trees.

Iora leapt down from her horse and began tying it to a tree. "Never mind that. Dismount from your horse and get comfortable. I know your body needs to rest and recover still, so I'll try my best to make a shelter today that will be a bit more on the comfortable side."

"It's still early. Are we going to stay here for the rest of the day?"

"If this spot pleases you. I figure we are far enough north that no soldiers will find us, and if that assassin ever did manage to get another horse, it will be impossible for him to track us."

"Thank the heavens!" Aliana, with some help, got off the back of her horse.

With her injury, their journey to the north was going along much slower. They had to keep the horses moving at a slower pace and take frequent breaks to allow the princess to catch her breath and ease her aching body. At night, both her arm and her ribs refused to allow her to sleep comfortably on the hard ground and in the morning she complained of a sore back.

For the first few days after they left the inn, Iora insisted they ride as long and fast as possible. She said that, despite the fact that the assassin's horse had been taken, she didn't want to risk anything. They now began to set up camp off the side of the road, nestled in a small clearing surrounded by trees next to a stream.

"It's starting to get chilly," Aliana noted, wrapping her cloak tightly around her small torso.

Iora glanced up at the gray, overcast sky as she filled their canteen with water from the nearby stream. "We are getting closer to the north and winter is rapidly approaching. Before too long, I will need to get us warm clothes so we don't freeze."

"Another blanket would be nice, too."

"We don't have a lot of money and I would prefer to avoid stealing. We're going to have to make do with what we have. Be grateful we have the one."

"Iora, I am sitting on a pathetically scrawny horse - sorry dear -" she affectionately patted her horse, which she had named Ginger, on the neck, "with bruised ribs and a broken arm. My hair has been chopped off and my face has been smeared with dirt. I haven't bathed nor slept well since I was accused of murdering my father and forced to climb out of a tower. I have been living on the run for who knows how long eating nothing but stale bread and whatever I can find growing on bushes. Is it really too much to ask for a warm blanket, or should I catch an illness as well?"

Iora chuckled. "Okay, okay. Next town we get to, I will buy you warm clothes and a nice blanket. Does that sound good?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"I'd suggest you could take a dip in the river to bathe, but I'm certain it is far too cold to do so. But I can heat up some water here in a bit and you can wash yourself with a rag. I know it's not much, but..."

"No, I would appreciate that very much."

Iora nodded. "Just remember that next time you go into a town we will have to have to smear more mud on you. Without it, you look too feminine and regal."

While Iora unpacked and took care of the horses, Aliana gathered sticks for a fire, although most of what the injured princess could carry with a broken arm was kindling.

"I know it's not much," she apologized.

"It's a start. This will be good for getting the fire going. I'll find some larger pieces. Besides, it won't be night for a while, so we don't need to worry about building a large fire."

"While you do that, I'm going to see if I can't find some berries or such to eat." Although her whining had not lessened much, Aliana was becoming more helpful, especially when it got her something she wanted; of course, she would always allow Iora to check what she gathered to make sure it wasn't poisonous. As she neared camp with berries, nuts and precious mushrooms, she could see smoke and hear the gentle crackling of a warm fire. She stepped into the clearing and saw the small fire, the water canteen resting dangerously close to it.

"Here, let me take those from you," her guard offered. "Why don't you sit down over here and get comfortable while I start on the shelter. Your water should be warm soon enough." She pointed at the canteen and gave a quick snort. "I didn't have a pot to put it in to place over the fire, so I had to settle for just putting it next to the fire. I'm going gather some larger branches and sticks to build a shelter tonight, and while I'm gone, take the water and wash off as best you can." With a nod, she disappeared into the woods.

Iora had kindly taken the time to drag over a large fallen trunk for both of them to sit on. Aliana sat there rubbing her body and soaking in the precious heat; she hadn't realized just how cold she was. At last she got up and attempted to grab the canteen from beside the fire. As she did, a stray flame lept out and nearly singed her hand. She yelped in surprise and quickly pulled her hand back. She mentally berated herself for being so careless. On the second attempt, she managed to snatch the canteen without injuring herself.

Taking a spare rag, she unscrewed the canteen cap and poured some warm water onto it. She doubted there would be enough water to thoroughly clean herself, but she was fine with simply getting the mud off of her face and neck. She stripped down and began to scrub at her grimy skin.

"Are you decent?" Iora's voice came almost forty-five minutes later, long after Aliana had finished her bath.

The princess rose to her feet, heart pounding. "Where have you been?!" she cried. "I've been worried sick about you! You didn't say you would be gone for so long! I thought something horrible had happened to you!"

Iora simply smirked. "I thought this might cheer you up." She lifted her hands and, in them, were two large, dead rabbits.

Aliana's mood instantly shifted from anger and conern to excitement and hunger. "It's been so long since we had meat! Ut where did you get those from?"

"I started out gathering wood for the shelter, but I kept getting distracted by rabbits. This area seems to be teeming with them. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get sick of eating stale bread all the time. So, I set a few simple traps just to see if I could catch anything. I didn't think I would get anything."

"That's amazing!" Aliana stepped forward to look at the rabbits. Her heart ached a bit when she saw their lifeless eyes, but she reminded herself that they had died for a good cause. "How did you know how to make traps?"

"Like I said, I grew up here. As a young child, my father taught me how to make a variety of animal traps. Of course, that was before everything happened, and I haven't used the knowledge in years, but somehow it stuck with me."

Aliana's gaze shifted from the dead rabbits to Iora. It was in this moment that Aliana realized just how little she actually knew of Ior's background. When she spoke just now of her father and her past, her voice contained a mixture of sadness, longing, and anger. The princess searched Iora's face for some clue, any clue that might betray her history, but the guard's face was as stoic as ever. Finally, when she saw that her endeavors were getting nowhere, she looked away and spoke again. "Will this be our dinner?"

"Yes. We'll cook the more fatty meat for tonight and smoke the leaner meat so we can have it a few more nights yet. After tonight we'll have to go sparingly on it so we can make it last. The weather is getting far too cold to be able to stop again until we reach a place to settle down."

The princess could not bare to watch as her guard skinned, cleaned, and cut the animals. The process was long and took well into the afternoon. Once ready, they needed to add leaves and pine to the fire to properly allow the meat to smoke. Once they got the fire just right, Iora quickly rigged a small structure that was able to hold the rabbits over the flames to be cooked. After she did that, the guard moved on to building that night's shelter.

"It's getting to be far too cold even in the day to be without a fire, and I don't want to sit next to a smoky one!" Aliana complained from her comfortable spot by the fire.

"No problem. I was already planning on starting another one much closer to the shelter. That way the area will be nice and warm when we are ready for bed."

The princess had to admit to herself how good Iora was at planning things, even if she would never say it out loud. When Iora had finished the shelter and Aliana moved over to it and away from the smoky fire, that thought was magnified all the more. This shelter was made nice and tight with the opening facing an area which was clear enough to allow for a nice, large fire to be in front of it a safe, but warm, distance away. The woman had also gathered heaps of dried pine needles which lay on the ground under even larger heaps of dried leaves and grass for a comfortable make-shift bed. It also appeared slightly larger than their previous shelters, which would Aliana more space to get comfortable. The princess wondered how she had the time and energy to do so much.

Aliana's stomach was rumbling as she smelt the treasured aroma of meat. Knowing the food she had picked earlier had all been used up for lunch or packed in the saddle bags for another day, she decided to set about the task of gathering some more for their dinner. Her body shivered as she left the great warmth of the fire, but she felt she could do no less when Iora had done so very much.

"Where are you off to?"

"I'll be back shortly. I just need to relieve myself and stretch my legs a bit." She wasn't going to tell her guard the truth, wanting desperately to surprise Iora as the woman had her.