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Hel He looked exhausted, worn through by the struggle to get out of the storo he had shone with youth at the betrothal feast celebrated for hi Leoba Now he looked as old as he was, a full sixty years, as though the youthful vigor that had always before animated him had been sucked out of him by the bitter cold
"But there was so little snow here this ," he protested "Surely if ait this out, we can make one more attempt to cross the pass before winter descends in earnest"
"That you reed the nun "That you may But I’ve served in these parts for well on thirty years, et across now until late spring If you try, it’ll go hard on your army, Your Majesty"
Henry took another quaff of ale as he considered these tidings Abruptly Rosvita’s feet began to hurt so horribly, as though a thousand tiny knives were cutting into her soles, that she staggered and would have fallen had Fortunatus not caught her
Henry saw her He sent one of his Lions to open up a stool for her to sit on Ale was brought, and she drank gratefully For a while, as the murmur and flow of disparate conversations swirled around her as thickly as the snow had done outside, she sat with her head bowed, catching her breath and gritting her teeth as pain flared and subsided in her feet
After a while, a servant unwrapped her leggings and uncovered her feet Her toes felt frozen through Fortunatus knelt before her and chafed her feet between his hands until tears ran down her cheeks
Through the haze of pain, she heard Henry speaking
"Nay, we can’t risk it The season is late To be defeated by the mountains is no dishonor to us We can’t stay here since there isn’t shelter enough for everyone We must retreat to Bederbor and live off Conrad’s bounty for the winter"
"He’ll give that grudgingly," rereed Henry "We’ll ood use of his hospitality to renant But this e can keep the ar When the passes clear next year, we’ll march south and catch Ironhead unawares Yet surely, Hellad of one more winter in the north We’ll send for your bride, and she can keep your bed warhter followed this sally, and the ’s power
Her feet prickledby a hundred bees "I pray you, Brother, that is enough!"
Fortunatus regarded her with a gri your toes, Sister, is it not? Can you ride?"
She flexed her feet and found that although they still hurt, she could ht upon them without undue pain
"This is ill news," she said to him, "that we must wait until next year to march to Aosta Where is the queen?"
Henry had moved away toward the door to direct his captains to start an orderly retreat toward Bederbor Rosvita got to her feet and tested the crowd she caught sight of Adelheid in a corner, sitting on one of the beds built in under the rafters She was vowoman
"Your Majesty!" Rosvita hastened forward, alarmed Just in this way did the flux first afflict its victihtened up with a wan smile and allowed a servant to wipe her face
"Nay, it’s nothing dangerous" The queen reached out to grasp Rosvita’s hands Adelheid’s hands ar outside which she had so recently escaped Her grip had unusual strength, and her eyes held a glealanced past Rosvita toward her husband, whose head could be seen above the others in the crowd "I believe that I anant"
4
ONE ruined Dariyan fort looked h Wayland following the ancient trail of the Dariyan invasion, laid down hundreds of years ago The forts had lasted far longer than the eht, after he reet each soldier standing sentry on first watch A jest exchanged with Sibold, a comment on the weather by Everwin, an astute observation about the landscape from Wracwulf, and he moved on By the time he returned to the cahtly in their cloaks under cover of a half fallen roof Heribert had shoved aside broken tiles to lant, but the prince was, as usual, too restless to sleep He sat brooding by the fire