Talia wrapped the fur-lined cloak tighter around herself, and pulled her hood down so that she could only see the back of the horse's head. It didn't really matter what she did. The cold found a way past every barrier.
At first, she'd found the snow to be beautiful. The way it covered the barren and angry trees and the grey and dead fields in a sparkling blanket of pure white, and the way the individual flakes floated softly down in clumps like feathers-- it was absolutely enchanting.
It grew less enchanting as time passed and the snow fell heavier, and the wind blew harder, driving the icy particles against her cheeks until they were raw.
Worst of all, she seemed to be the only one who was suffering from the cold. The handful of soldiers who accompanied them wore full armor, which must have been freezing, but none of them ever so much as requested a short break. Ilya rode at the head of the group and was able to make pleasant and normal conversation with whoever rode beside him. Even her maid, the new one whose name Talia could not remember, rode without clenching her cloak tightly around herself.
It was only her whose teeth chattered uncontrollably. She was the one forced to ask the others to stop because she could no longer feel her fingers or toes.
She had lost track of how many days they had been on the road. They traveled at night, staying away from the towns, which meant that when they slept, it was in tents. This did not seem to shock or horrify anyone besides her. She was certain that she would freeze to death if she fell asleep, and so, she slept very little.
When Ilya turned in his saddle and called back to her, the wind stole his voice, and she could not hear what he said. She urged her horse to speed up and rode alongside of him.
Before she could ask, they rode around a bend in the trail, and the land rose sharply ahead of them. In the distance, set upon a slight plateau, lay the town of Pirchburg.
The town walls were made of rough hewn logs, plastered in mud, and along the top of the wall, spikes and sharpened metal pikes stuck out at odd angles. Several pointed slate tile roofs with crooked metal chimneys, each pouring smoke, peeked over the wall. A cloud of fog seemed to hang low over the entire village.
The smoke meant heat!
"Pirchburg?" she asked hopefully.
"Pirchburg, my hometown," Ilya grinned. "It isn't pretty, but you'll have the best venison stew you'll ever eat at the town inn, and there's something else here I think that you will especially appreciate, Princess!"
She wanted to ask what that was but did not trust herself to speak without her teeth chattering. She nodded briefly instead.
The gates were guarded by what seemed like an excess of heavily armed soldiers. Even chilled to the bone and desperate to enter and find warmth, Talia noted it. For a town in so distant a location with few neighbors and what appeared to be a peaceful sort of climate, the villagers feared something.
Ilya was approached and asked to show his token. A few minutes later, an older soldier came out from the guardhouse, stomped his feet a few times, as though warming them, and marched toward their group.
For a moment, Talia wondered if they'd done something wrong, or if Ilya's token had been called into question, but then the old soldier swept Ilya up into arms, and swung him 'round as though he were a small child, ignoring completely Ilya's stammered protests and demands to be put down.
The gates opened then, and when Ilya was released and returned to his horse, Talia noticed that his face was distinctly red, and it wasn't the cold.
"My uncle," he said before she could ask.
She wisely said nothing, only nodding her head with a raised eyebrow and followed him into the town of Pirchburg.
The streets were clear of snow and made of small cobble stones, and the houses and stores on either side were tall and narrow, and seemed to lean forward or to the side as though they were in danger of falling over at any time. There were large iron braziers set on the walks every so often, and the villagers congregated around these roaring blazes as they shopped and visited to warm their hands and trade gossip with one another. They roasted nuts and other things on them as well and venders walked the streets, selling them in small paperbags. The smoke of dozens upon dozens of chimneys along with the public firepits gave the entire town a sort of haze, and the somewhat pleasant smell of woodsmoke and roasting nuts.
Toward the center of town, the Village Inn dominated one side of a large open square. It rose at least four stories and had several roof peaks which all seemed to slant in different directions, and a tower on one side made of a different sort of stone from the rest of the building. It looked as though it had fallen from the sky, smashing through the corner of the Inn and they had just built around it.
Ilya dismounted and threw his reins to the boys who had run up as they approached. He offered his hand to Talia, who took it gratefully, as she wasn't sure she trusted her frozen legs to hold her up on their own.
A short flight of crooked stone steps led them into main hall of the Inn. The floor, she realized with surprise was shockingly beautiful. Made of tiny and brightly colored tiles, carefully arranged to form the image of a large many-branched tree hung with curling ivy and flowers. She stepped back to admire it, but was tugged forward by Ilya, who did not spare it a glance.
As they walked, she realized there were several other things to take in, a massive brass chandelier decorated in figures of winged serpents and large-breasted women holding horns hung from a massive beam in the ceiling and blazed with hundreds of candles. She marveled at the support beam even, wondering how something so massively heavy didn't bring the roof sagging downward.
A woman in a heavy purple gown trimmed in white furs approached them with a pleasant smile on her face.
"It's good to see you again, Master Ilya," she greeted them. "I hope you've come to stay awhile this time. How many rooms will you require?"
"Hello, Jinna. Two suites, and the common bunks for my men. We'll eat first, and the lady will want a soak after," he answered.
"Of course, of course. Do you require adjoining suites?" Jinna asked lightly, turning to wink at Talia.
"Ha!" Ilya laughed. "As discreet as ever, aren't you? No, this lady is my master's... er... I'm accompanying the lady to meet our Prince."
"In that case, then perhaps you'd like a few ladies to accompany you for the--"
"Ha, ha! Your sense of humor is as delightful as ever," Ilya laughed nervously. "Please excuse us Jinna, we're starving!"
Ilya took Talia by the arm and pulled her along behind him. The lady Innkeeper nodded and gave Talia an appraising sort of look.
"Hmmm... they seem to know you rather well here. Do you visit often?" Talia smirked.
"Often, no. Not often," he mumbled as they entered the dining room.
Talia stopped short again.
She could never have dreamt of such a place!
Three large tear-drop shaped windows with thick glass gave a distorted view of the open square outside. The hall was filled with tables which appeared to be metal, but like no metal she had ever seen before. It glistened and seemed to be deep grey and silver and purple and even a deep blue depending upon where you were standing, and the tables looked as though they grew directly out of the floor. The floorboards curved around and over the feet of the thick metal supports which were shaped like branches covered in vines. Glass and metal lanterns in every color and design hung in bunches from the ceiling which gave the entire room a festive sort or air.
"It's beautiful," she whispered to herself.
"Yes," Ilya agreed without looking. "Pirchburg is known for their metalworks. There are several foundries here, and at least five working mines outside of town. They call us the armory of the Empire."
He directed her to one end of a mostly empty table and then flagged down one of the busy waitresses.
"Two bowls of stew, Adelay!" he called and grinned at the waitress.
Talia sat and realized that the feeling was slowly returning to her fingers and toes. The room was quite warm.
"We'll have your shield gauntlet made while we're here. There are no finer craftsmen in all the Empire, even in the capital, truly," he spoke to her, but his eyes searched the room, and he frequently smiled and nodded at people whom he recognized.
"You are happy to be here," Talia realized.
"Yes, of course. It's my home," he shrugged. "I will show you around tomorrow. There is really no place like Pirchburg-"
"My sister's grave," Talia reminded him. "I've brought food from home for the ceremony and it will spoil if we don't--"
"We can purchase whatever you need again," he said dismissively. "The weather... we must wait for the weather to clear first."
Talia opened her mouth to insist that they had just spent many days traveling through the same weather when the waitress arrived and set bowls of stew before them.
"Thank you, love. What's cook have on the skewers tonight?"
"Beef, onion, and winter peppers-- one of your favorites if I'm not mistaken," she teased.
"You are not mistaken. Bring me about half a dozen of those as well, and ale, lots of ale," Ilya laughed and winked at her.
Again, Talia was struck by the change in the man's demeanor. His entire body seemed to relax and a soft smile stayed on his face, even when he was merely glancing about the room.
"Have you ever had stew that was so tasty?" Ilya demanded.
Talia flushed, realizing that she had yet to even taste it, and quickly dipped her spoon.
"S'not bad," she said quickly, her mouth still full.
"Well... I suppose Vezdan tastes run a bit odd," he shrugged. "Do you drink wine?"
"Not often," she admitted.
"You should try the--"
"Why do you reside in Bludston?" she cut him off. "What made you leave this place and go to war?"
"Ahhh... well..." Ilya muttered scratching the back of his head. "I don't know if you are at all familiar with the history of the Empire and the Northern Territories in particular."
"Only the basics, what I learned from my tutors. The Northern Territories were absorbed into the Empire as part of the Highland Treaty. They fought for even longer than Vezda did for their freedom, 25 years before they surrendered. Very impressive," she nodded.
"Yes, well the Empire needed their resources. After the war, there were still several small rebellions. The old Emperor, Emperor Aleksi, decided that keeping the Territories in check was too much of a drain on the Unarian Army, so he came up with a different plan. All the children of high-ranking officials and nobles from the north were taken by the Empire and educated in the capitol-- hundreds and hundreds of children, you understand."
"Educated?" she asked, taking another bite of stew.
"Sure... educated... enslaved, really. Most of us were taken into the homes of high-ranking members of the Imperial court. Some were educated, most became servants or... worse things," Ilya shrugged again as if it were no matter, but the light in his eyes had dimmed and his face wore a bitter expression.
"Us?" she repeated.
"Yes. Us. My father came from an old noble line. I was one of those children," he admitted.
Talia was dumbfounded. She watched him for a moment, hoping that he would say more, but his face had changed again. He was grinning at the waitress who approached carrying a platter of heavy meat skewers.
"You're like me," she realized. "You're a prisoner, taken by the Empire."
"No. Not at all like you," he shook his head at her, and turned his attention to the pretty girl who served them.
Talia took a few more bites of the stew. It had cooled enough for her to taste the flavors, and she realized it was far more complex than she had first thought.
"This is actually quite good," she admitted.
"I know," Ilya grinned.