The riders were looking frequently to their rear, trying to see if their pursuers were getting close. But so far there was no sign of anything following them. So they kept prodding their horses to keep the pace while surrounding the sleigh in their midst in a protective formation. Two were opening the way in the front of the sleigh, four were protecting the flanks, two on each side, while the rest were following behind.
The horses were neighing while steam was coming from them and eventually gathered above them before dispersing in the frozen air. They were rolling their eyes and white froth was starting to appear at their mouth.
One of the riders on the left flank approached the sleigh and shouted, trying to make himself heard over the sound of the wind from their ears and the struggle of the animals. His beard fluttered in the wind with traces of frost on it.
"Milady, I don't think we're going to be able to reach the fort before the horses start dying under us if we keep the current pace! I think we have no choice but to slow down our advance before it's too late and our situation worsens."
The woman frowned while her head turned to see the horses. By the looks of things, the man was right. But what could they do? If they didn't hurry on their way, they would be caught up with and then every sacrifice they made so far would be for nothing. She cursed under the breath for the situation they ended up in. If she knew it would be like this, she would have bided her time before putting her plans into action.
Finally, she realized she had no other choice but to allow the riders to slow down the pace. If the horses died they would just be caught up faster. So the order was transmitted and the horses gradually reduced their speed, but at the same time the riders grew more on edge, making them jump at the slightest sound. Their group drew closer to the sleigh as they were watching everything around them for any trace of danger.
The silence was interrupted only by the horses' neighing, the muffled clanking of the hooves hitting the hardened snow and the hurried breaths of both riders and horses alike.
One of the riders drew closer to one of his companions riding alongside him and, bending in the saddle, asked with his lowered voice.
"Do you think we can make it in the end? They followed us without giving us any time for respite since we got our lady out of that damned place."
His companion shrugged while looking with vigilant eyes around.
"I don't know if we can make it, but our lady must reach the border fort at any costs. As for us, we'll most probably end up corpses along the way there. Don't forget that we started with a guard of more than three hundred riders. And look at us now a week later, barely a dozen left. Our chances of surviving this are quite bleak. So you should get yourself ready to face your maker at any time now!"
"No thank you! I left home just for the purpose of never seeing my old man again!"
The both of them started cackling. The man who asked for respite for the horses turned in the saddle and looked at the two of them, making them stand straight in the saddle while the laughter died on their lips. But as soon as the man turned back to the front, they resumed their ways. It appeared that they weren't really concerned about the possibility of losing their lives at any moment.
"Hey, Pervert! Do you think there's any space left between his ass cheeks to squeeze a needle in his hole? He looks a bit constipated!"
His companion guffawed unable to resist and his laughter rang like thunder, drawing the attention of everyone toward the two of them. The man turned again, his face grim. No doubt, he heard their words. But seeing them looking at him with innocent eyes knew their coping mechanism kicked in and he was only the unlucky one who became their first target.
"Well, I don't know if he is constipated or not, but I don't think he had a chance to relieve himself. Neither did I to be honest. What would I give for a nice warm latrine, not this damned snow. It's freezing my ass off each time I go to relieve myself. And a warm room with a bed in it. I haven't slept well since we left home more than three months ago!"
"And a warm woman right?"
"That couldn't hurt! I think I have to verify if the little fellow is still in good health and in working order when we get back home. All this jumping in the saddle might have given it some inhibitions and false hopes..."
His friend's smile froze on his face at this moment as he leaned his right ear to the ground. This reaction made him stop talking as he looked intensely at his companion, waiting for his verdict. He snorted after listening for a few moments.
"Well?" his friend asked him impatient to find out what he had to say.
"Well, we should get ready! They're gaining on us and maybe ten minutes from now they'll be on top of us."
"Good thing I haven't washed myself in quite a long time. Do you think they'll let me go?"
His companion stared at him for a moment until he figured out what he meant and then chuckled while shaking his head.
"Old pervert, you really live up to your nickname! But unfortunately, I doubt they'll care about your state of cleanliness. All they're interested in is taking your life on their way to capturing our Lady."
The other one shook his head while sighing.
"Apparently so. How unfortunate! The women will definitely miss me!"
His companion only looked at him while shaking his head. He was already used to the inflated ego of his friend. It wasn't something new to him.
"By the way, you always manage to hear them when they are still far behind us. And against the wind too! How are you able to do that?"
His companion shrugged again noncommitaly.
"I don't know. I guess being forced to live while being on the run for years has its own good points."
"Yeah, but still! That's quite out of the ordinary."
They continued their banter while ignoring the approaching danger on purpose apparently. The others heard them talking and started preparing themselves for what's to come. Everyone knew that most likely they wouldn't survive the next clash. Along the way they made peace with this fact. But that didn't mean that they were just going to stick their necks out to be chopped without putting out a fierce resistance and dragging as many of their enemies as possible with them into death. They tightened their grip on the weapons while looking behind to see when they would appear behind them.
Soon the sounds of hooves hitting the hardened snow became distinct coming from behind. The one who noticed their approach smiled with a helpless expression in his eyes.
"I guess this is as far as we can go."
He turned his horse around, imitated shortly by the others. His companion joined him by his side. The sleigh carrying the driver and the lady continued on the path ahead without stopping.
"Hey, do you think we'll be able to get out of this alive? I don't want to die yet. There are still so many women I haven't seen so far in this world."
"All you can think about at this point is the women you haven't met?"
"What else could be more important than that? Everybody dies, so I'm not scared of that. But I don't feel comfortable dying before sampling as many women as possible. So excuse me if my goal in life is not some noble ideal like dying for God and country or something like that. The only way I can be satisfied of the way I die would be if it happened right after having a good time in the haystack with a good looking girl. I wouldn't mind it at all if it was to be like that, because it would be all worth it."
Everyone around them started chuckling at his words. Even in a situation like this, all he could think about was having fun with a woman.
"Then, you should put that dream of yours on hold, because now it seems like you wouldn't be able to get your wish anymore. They're almost here and we're all that stand in their way. So just kill as many as you can before they manage to kill you."
"Ah, yes. Killing is something I can do almost as well as pleasuring a woman. Too bad I can't do anything about the other thing. I guess I have to be content with killing."
The smile started to fade from his face as he took a deep breath to steady his nerves while he swung his sword through the air to get rid of the trembling of his muscles caused by the excitement of the engagement to come.
Despite everything that was about to happen, he still had a faint hope to get out of this alive. After all, hope always died last.