He glanced at Lily. She was striding purposefully, one hand clasped on the staff, her thick cloak swishing out behind her. Strangely, she looked like she belonged here in this wild landscape, which was not something he’d expected to think about a lass from the twenty-first century.
“Ye seem at home here, lass,” he observed.
She looked at him. “What do you mean?”
He gestured at the snow-covered landscape around them. “I’m not sure. It’s just the cold and the snow doesnae seem to bother ye as it would most pampered ladies.”
“Pampered lady?” she said incredulously. “Is that what you think I am?”
“Aren’t ye?”
She opened her mouth for an angry retort and then narrowed her eyes. “You’re just trying to wind me up.”
He gave a lop-sided smile. “All right. I apologize. What I meant was, ye seem unfazed by the weather and ye have clearly been sledding before. I dinna know many ladies who could handle a sled the way ye did. I even thought ye were going to win for a second”
She laughed lightly, a sound that sent a thrill right through him. “Pipped at the post, eh?” She looked at him sidelong. “Yes, I’ve been sledding before. Many times. And snowboarding. And tobogganing. And lots of other things. I even tried bobsleigh once although that was a total disaster.” She gestured around them. “My parents were both ski instructors and I used to be a skier too.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Lass I didnae understand most of what ye just said. What on earth is bobsleigh? Or a skier?”
She laughed again. “Sorry. They are winter sports. Skiing is where you strap skis to your feet—two long flat planks—and use them to travel across the snow very quickly.”
“Why would ye want to do that?” he said dubiously.
“Because it’s fun! You use poles to guide yourself and have to navigate a course downhill between lots of little flags. Whoever can do it the fastest is the winner.”
“So it’s a competition?”
“That’s right.”
“And ye take part in these competitions?”
The smile slid from her face and she looked away. “I used to. Not anymore.”
“Why not?”
Lily hesitated before answering. “It’s a long story,” she finally replied. “But let’s just say that life had other plans for me.”
Oskar didn’t press further, sensing that it was a painful topic. Instead, he walked in silence beside her, the crunch of their boots against the snow filling the void.
“So that’s me,” she said. “How about you? What do you do to relax?”
Oskar blinked, caught off guard by the inquiry. Relax? That wasn’t something he often indulged in, not with his responsibilities constantly weighing on his shoulders. He hesitated, searching for an answer that wouldn’t expose his vulnerability.
“Well,” he began, trying to sound nonchalant. “I suppose I find solace in practicing my swordsmanship. A good sparring session helps clear the head.”
Lily curled an eyebrow. “That’s your idea of relaxation? Fighting?”
Oskar shrugged. “There’s something satisfying about the clash of blades and the physical exertion.”
“Fair enough.” She glanced at the sword hanging at his waist and then back up to his face. “Do you often have to use that? When you’re working for this Order of yours, I mean?”
Oskar’s mood grew somber, his gaze drifting towards the horizon. “More often than I’d like,” he admitted. “The kind of enemies we face dinna often listen to polite speech. Steel is the only language they understand. Ye saw that first hand when Alfred’s rescuers attacked ye.”
She shuddered, passing a hand over her face. “Yes, I did. It must be difficult to live like that, knowing the dangers that await you.”
Oskar started, surprised by her insight. “It is,” he replied, his voice tinged with weariness. “But it’s a burden I willingly bear. The Order gives me the chance to protect Alba and all her people.”
“But who protects you?”
