Winter

I wasn’t sure for how long we were riding but everything went by in a rush. We had to find James and force him to bring us back to our own time or tell us how to get back.

I was sick of the wilderness around us and the fact that we really had to sleep on the ground and ride through rain. I just wanted a warm and soft bed and a long bath. I know Niall missed his life as well because he grown quiet on me the last couple of days and he hadn’t touched me since that day in the Inn.

I knew marrying was a mistake and this just proved it. We should’ve never been married and now there was nothing we could do. I threw a quick glance at Niall and he again had this moody expression on his face, which saddened me, because Niall was always happy no matter what but now he was a darker version of himself. It had started raining again and I couldn’t suppress a sigh which made Niall face me. “Will you stop sighing please!” He actually snapped at me and I just stared at him with shock.

I decided to stay silent and just focus my eyes at the road in front of us. The rain was becoming worse and we really had to find some shelter but Niall wasn’t about to stop anytime soon, it was like he had forgotten me. I was trembling like a damn leaf, I was soaked to the bone and I know there was a fair chance that I would get sick soon but still I stayed quiet, as I wasn’t planning on getting snapped at again. The night was falling and my eyes were becoming heavy and the fact that I was so cold didn’t help a thing as well.

I stopped my horse without saying a word to Niall and turned around to find the cave I saw earlier. I didn’t know if Niall was following me but for his sake I hoped he wasn’t. I was happy when I found the cave and didn’t waste time on getting of my horse. My but was actually aching from driving for such a long amount of time, my legs were cramped up and it was no fun in walking into the cave. I couldn’t make a fire because I wouldn’t find any dry wood and I wasn’t a girl scout. I looked around to see if there was a place I could sit down to get some rest. This cave looked safe and I was pleased when I saw a rock against the far wall. I sat down and leaned my head against the wall and drifted off immediately.

I’m not sure how long I slept but I felt warm. I opened my eyes and was surprised that I wasn’t leaning against a wall but against a body, Niall’s body to be precise, he had moved me without me noticing it. I tried to get out of his hold but he just tightened his arms around me. “I’m sorry Winter.” He mumbled against my hair.

I wasn’t sure why he was apologizing because technically he did nothing wrong. I just got angry about the fact that he had forgotten about me and that he almost let me freeze to death. He turned me around so that I was facing me and that’s when I saw the anger that I was waiting for but I also knew this wasn’t directed at me. I lifted my hand and touched the hair that was lying on his forehead and I pulled it back gently.

“It’s alright.” I pressed a soft kiss on his lips but didn’t linger this time. “We should’ve stopped as soon as the weather turned bad, I could have killed you.”

“You didn’t, so don’t worry about it.”

“You’re my wife I should worry about those things.”

“I know but there are more important things right now so I really can’t blame you, I get that we have to find James because I want to go home as well.”

He let go of me and got up, I immediately missed his warmth when he let go of me, this made me shiver. I stood up and wasn’t surprised when I felt my muscles protest. I was hurting all over my body but I couldn’t let Niall know this. I had to hide it from him because he would force me to stay here and there wasn’t any time. “We should leave and continue our search because I really want a soft bed to sleep in.”

Niall nodded and I followed him out. The horses were ready to go and I was happy that the sun was shining today, this would make it much more comfortable. Niall walked over to get me on my horse but I was already on it. He seemed to forget I was from the same century as he was.

The next few hours went by fast and before we knew it, we arrived in one of the larger villages. We had to ask questions to the people of this village to find out if they had seen them, which couldn’t be that difficult because I looked like the woman.

We found a little inn, where we could stall our horses and went on by foot. This town looked rich enough, the roads were still dirty but it didn’t smell as bad as it had with John’s courtyard. Niall was talking to the men and I was aiming my goals on the ladies. I had pulled my hood back and showed my face in the hope someone would recognize me but it wasn’t going to be that easy I actually had to talk to the women. I sighed at this because I wasn’t really that social and these women weren’t from my own time zone and to be totally honest I knew nothing about the rules pf walking up to a lady.

If I was correct I had to be introduced before I could talk to the women but there was no one who could do that for me. I know Niall was watching me and was probably wondering why I wasn’t talking to the women.

“Lady Blackwood?” I turned around when I heard my name and the woman who was almost running towards me had nothing familiar to me but apparently this woman knew me, as she was actually happy to see me. I wanted to courtesy but before I had a chance to do that she had already pulled me into a hug.

“I missed you, silly girl.”

“I missed you to?” I quickly threw out. I was just so shocked about this that I really didn’t know what to do. The woman noticed my stiffness and released me. She immediately began to study me and shock registered in her face when she saw the differences. “You’re not lady Blackwood.” She took a few steps back but didn’t leave.

I shook my head. “I am but I’m not. My name is Winter Blackwood but I’m not your Lady Blackwood.” I quickly told her before she would go screaming for the hills. “How is that possible.”

“I was brought here from another time.” I know it must sound weird but that was all my brain could muster up at the moment. She stared at me like I was crazy but that was all she did, she didn’t freak out or something. “James.” She whispered, which alarmed me.

“My god what has he done.” She was still talking to herself and I wasn’t sure what I should do. “You know James?” I asked her and she nodded.

“I know him yes, he is my brother.”

Notes