Within a few days, Aliana and Iora had reached the town of Halspore. It was a small outpost, the last decent-sized town before entering the mountains. There, the woman stopped to to spend the rest of their small money supply to purchase things they would need while in the wild - mostly tools: ax, ice pick, etc.

As they strolled into town, the snow was falling slowly but steadily. It was up to the horses' ankles and was becoming a real nuisance to them. Winter had already officially settled in and the temperature seemed to be dropping daily. Their stick shelters at night were beginning to become useless when it came to keeping out the frigid air. The deer skin they had helped, but very little as it was not nearly enough to cover the shelter. The fires they had been lighting never lasted more than a few hours as wind or snow extinguished them. Aliana was anticipating finding an actual building to live in.

"I want you to stay close to me," Iora warned as they cleared the treeline and stepped into the opening, the town on full display before their eyes. "This place is going to be like Eelry. I would like to avoid having to kill people this time 'round."

"I would like that also." Aliana had no intention of straying from her bodyguard, as she was nervous to go into another town. She was so used to it being just her and Iora for days on end, that seeing other people filled her with anxiety.

"The locals here are wary of others. Don't talk to them and they won't talk to you. Keep your head down and don't stay in one place for too long."

This was the second or third time Iora had said this to her since they came within a few miles of the town. By now, Aliana had no intention of making eye contact with anyone she passed. Moving her foot around in her boot, she could feel the dagger Iora had insisted she place in it. In Aliana's opinion, a boot was the most useless place for a dagger, but she been in no mood to argue with Iora.

This town, much like Eelry, was devoid of many people, aside from the occasional burly man with frost in his beard. There was no central market, but instead a few dilapidated stores scattered about. It was into one of these stores that Iora went, leaving Aliana outside in the snow to tend to the horses.

The princess pulled her hood over her head, hoping Iora was right, and no one would bother her. Time seemed to be as frozen as the air around her while she waited, her hands and feet going as numb as her mind, she rubbed them in attempt to get warm and when she breathed into them her breath frosted in the air adding very little warmth. She clenched her coat all the tighter. Iora did not exit the shop quickly enough.

Thankfully, after what felt like an eternity, Iora did exit the shop. In her arms, she carried a large bundle of hay in her in arms.

"What's that for?" Aliana asked.

Iora raised an eyebrow. "What do you think it's for? We're going to be in the middle of nowhere in winter. The horses need food."

Aliana eyed the bundle, which Iora had begun tying to the back of both horses, behind the saddles. "Is it going to be enough?"

"No," Iora said matter-of-factly. "Not even close. But it's all we could carry. I'm hoping there will be some berry bushes we can feed them, but I doubt that will also be enough. They will eat just about anything we will, so we'll share our meat and such with them as well. However, we can expect for these horses to probably lose some weight."

Aliana affectionately rubbed her horses neck. "They're skinny enough as it."

Iora looked at her in exasperation. "Look, I'm doing my best. I spent most of our money on supplies for us and hay for the horses. If I have to come back into town later to buy more food for the horses and spend the rest of our money, then so be it. It's just that we need to get into the mountain wilderness as soon as possible."

"I'm sorry." Aliana stared down at the ground, regretting questioning Iora. She could clearly see that her guard was stressed out, and arguing with her would only make it worse.

Iora, done with securing the hay, said, "Are you ready to go?"

Aliana nodded and climbed onto the back of her steed. Iora followed suit, and together they set of down the road. As they rode, people cast the occasional stare at them.

"What supplies did you get besides the tools and hay?" Aliana asked after a while.

"A bit of meat and another blanket. It's been forever since I've been in the Frozen Lands and I'm worried my survival skills will be rusty. I would prefer for us to not die of hypothermia or starvation."

"That would be nice."

They left the town behind and entered the snowy wilderness. The sun was high in the sky, but it was obscured by grey, dreary clouds. Everything around them was blanketed in bleak shadow, form the towering trees to the to the rocks in the stream that ran adjacent to the road. The snow continued to fall from the sky. As the day wore one, the snow began to fall heavier.

Hours after leaving Halspore, Aliana was starting to grow incredibly anxious. They had seen not seen anywhere that would make suitable permanent shelter.

"What's wrong?" Iora questioned.

"We haven't found anywhere to settle down yet."

"That's because I haven't been truly looking as yet. Didn't you notice that huge loop we made around Halspore and all the zig-zagging we've been doing?"

"It's freezing!" she balked, wrapping her cloak as tight around herself as she could. "Why would we do all that?"

"To keep from being followed or having anyone be able to point out which direction we rode, of course. We do still have an assassin after us. I have a general place in mind for us to look for shelter, and we'll reach that area soon."

"We left the assassin far behind us. We haven't seen him since we were with Hesse. I doubt he's any real threat to us."

Iora gave her an incredulous look. "We won't be completely safe from the assassin until he and whoever is paying him to do this, are dead."

"I'm just so cold!" The princess gripped her horse's reins and attempted to speed it up.

"That's because we're nearing the mountains. I'd prefer to be on the mountain, as it would be safer, but it will also make it harder to survive the winter; close to the mountain will have to be our compromise. Even the locals stay away from the mountain for the most part, as it's known to be home to those who prefer to disappear."

"Doesn't sound very safe to me."

"It's possibly the safest place in the world for you right now. Look, I suggest we keep talking, but change the subject. Talking will help to keep us warm."

Another hour passed before Iora pointed out what appeared to be a small cave at the base of a steep, rocky hill. "We'll stop there for now, provided it's unoccupied" she announced. "We can warm ourselves and the horses, then I'll go ahead and hopefully find us a better place. If not, that cave will do for a while."

Aliana was glad to hear they could stop to get warm, but disappointed that a cave may have to serve as their home. She knew it was a possibility, Iora had mentioned it before, but the thought was not in the least comforting. She wanted a bed! She wanted a fireplace. She wanted meals and a wardrobe and a chamber pot. She wanted the palace and all the comforts it came with!

Iora neared and entered the cave on her own, calling back to Aliana, "All's clear! Come on!" As Aliana entered the cave, Iora was on her way out. "As soon as you have your horse tied up, come help me gather firewood," she ordered.

The princess was all-too-happy to be compliant as she felt her body was freezing through. She brought the horses as far into the cave as she could, but the low hanging ceiling prevented them from being completely covered. Figuring it was the best she could do, she tied to them to a rock outcropping. When she was sure they were secured, she went to help Iora with firewood collection.

She walked slowly through the snow, putting forth tremendous effort each time she bent over to pick up wood, feeling as if she would freeze in position before she could get back up. The cloak she once thought to be cozy and warm now seemed to be worthless.

When she re-entered the cave, Iora was making a fire teepee. "Oh good. Set that wood down here," she gestured to the pile. "If you can gather some more while I get this going, that would be appreciated. We don't want the fire to go out in the middle of night and have to go into the dark woods to gather more wood."

Aliana sighed through her chattering teeth. "I'll do what I can, but I don't think I can be out there much longer." She looked around at their primitive housing. "But it's not like it's much warmer in here."

Iora ignored her derogatory comment about the cave. "Stay close. I'll call out to you once I have the fire going. Until then, the best thing you can do is to keep moving."

Fortunately, it was not long before Iora called that the fire was ready. Aliana dropped her load in excitement, then hurriedly picked them back up and headed inside to stand by the fire. The warmth slowly, but eventually, melted away the cold from her hands and face.

"Take your boots off to warm your feet," Iora suggested. She was already barefoot, with her feet dangerously close to the flames.

It was several minutes before either of them felt properly warm. When that time finally came, they relished in the warmth for several more minutes before arranging the cave for the night. Iora hung one of their spare blankets over the opening of the cave which was thankfully slender enough that the thin cloth nearly covered it completely. Aliana unburdened the horses and fed them a portion of the hay they had bought.

Bundling up, Aliana carried a torch as the two women braved the outdoors for more wood to stoke the fire. Iora loaded up Aliana's free arm before loading up her own. After a few more trips with warming themselves in between, Iora declared it enough and they set to cooking a sparse dinner and making beds.

When Aliana awoke the following morning, Iora was already gone in search of an abandoned cabin, having taken one of the horses with her. For the first time since entering the cave, Aliana actually looked it over. It was smaller than her bedchamber back home with jagged walls covered in moss. A thin layer of snow lined the entrance, having blown in during the night, which the horses readily ate. It was not a place she wanted to stay for long, but she could make do here for the time being. At least it didn't reek too badly and there were no visible bugs crawling around.

Having nothing better to do, Aliana stoked the fire, gathered more wood, and then fashioned a makeshift broom and swept what snow it could grab onto into a pile away from the fire for the horses to further enjoy. She was about to gather together pine needles and whatever else she could to make a mattress with when she heard someone approaching the cave. She hoped it was Iora, but had learned to prepare for the worst. She grabbed a torch and a knife and crouched down behind her horse just in time to see the blanket being pulled to the side and Iora entering.

"I'm glad it's you!" she said.

Iora looked around the cave. "It appears you've been busy this morning."

"I-I've tried." She blushed slightly. Now that she thought about it, her attempts to make the cave "liveable" had been ultimately futile.

Iora didn't seem to mind. "You did well. Good news: I found a cabin for us. Honestly, though, it's more of a shack and needs fixing up, but it'll do."

The princess perked up. "How far away is it?"

"A ten minutes ride. We'll be there in no time."

Aliana could barely contain her excitement as they began packing up. Even a shack had to be better than a cave.

Or, at least that was what she thought before seeing the "cabin" Iora had found for them; in all honesty though, it was in even worse shape than the cave. Half of the roof was missing - not an entire half, just bits and pieces that added up to half - and the door was coming off its hinges. The walls, which were made of what once must have been brick, were missing chunks in various locations. Windows that once upon a time must have held glass, were no empty and letting all the cold air inside.

"Is this really better than the cave?" Aliana asked in her most dubious voice.

Iora had an optimistic gleam in her eyes as she stared at the cabin and put an arm Aliana."Not much, at the moment, but it will be.Once we make a few renovations, it'll be the coziest abandoned structure in the whole kingdom. Besides, it's harder to find than that cave was. That cave will be occupied off-and-on several more times this winter, you can count on that. We don't want to be found that easily. I know it doesn't look like much right now- I told you it needed fixing up- but it'll fix up nicely. There's even a fireplace."

Looking closer, Aliana could see the brick column rising up above the pieces of broken roof. A fireplace sounded heavenly. It may not be the castle, but it was structure capable of providing warmth and shelter. Perhaps this cabin would not be so bad after all.