Nolan took away the fur blanket and pushed aside Ciara. She was clinging to his arm. He took his arm and took his shirt from the tabletop near the bed. After last night he was tired and his hips were aching. He placed both legs on the wooden floor. He wore his pants and wrapped his coat around. He pulled the blanket up to cover Ciara’s chest.

The fire on the hearth was still on. He took a step to the crib and saw that the twins were sleeping well. Outside, the snow was falling again, there was mist gathering around the village. He saw that icicles were forming on the roof. He tugged on his coat and took a step outside.

The roof was still intact. Nolan took a single leap and was already clinging to the roof. He flicked his fingers like flint rubbing on steel and lit produced a ball of fire that started to melt the roof. He stood on the roof and saw that it was fine. He thought that the roof should hold out. He leaped down like a feather and dusted the snow on his coat. He looked at the sky and saw only gray clouds that stretch miles and miles.

He returned home and took a look around the house. The bed wasn’t far from the hearth. The crib was on the end of the bed and the side was a kitchen with produces that he either hunted or picked up on the mountains. Nolan didn’t hold back when it comes to keeping his family well-fed and safe. Though both Ciara and he doesn’t need food. It was for pleasure that they had food. The villagers, however, thought that he was a good neighbor for gifting them the gains from the mountain.

They didn’t need much. She was a demigod that could break armies and fight those who rules heavens. While he became a half-dragon and half time-wraith. Things have taken a strange turn for him. He wasn’t bothered by their irregularities. Sure, there was a greater being that wanted this world turning. Ciara could fix that but he won’t allow his spouse to fight. He didn’t like the idea of having his wife fight. No one knew Ciara better than Nolan and he’d rather not watch her stand on top of a field of corpses. He couldn’t forgive himself.

“Quite strange,” he thought to himself. He recalled that Ciara had a strange look on her face. That she might have charmed him. It bothered him only for a second. So what, he thought to himself. Even if he was charmed he refused to believe that he didn’t fell for her along the way. He refused to believe that all the emotions he felt were lies.

The emotions of his were of rage and love. The rage that he couldn’t have her sooner and love that burned brighter than the sun. He admits that he’s just a lonely wanderer without her. No man can an island in the middle of a vast ocean called life. Ciara was both a curse and a blessing to him. Without her, he would have been stuck in that tavern without any hopes of seeing more. Because of her, he witnessed the good of life and the evils that come along with it. She was a storm that carried him through many dangers.

Did he like pain? No. He didn’t. Was he exceptional? No, he simply forged on with the intent to not regret if he dies. He had come so far that the only way was forward. It was either to continue or go back. How could he go back when the way was long and tiresome? That’s why he could only go forward.

Nolan shook his head. He dragged himself to the kitchen and started preparing a hot bowl of soup and cheese and bread for the two. The bread was made from rye flour and the cheese he got from the tavern. He saw Ciara woke up and wear her clothes. She tramped to the table and stretched her white arms. She scratched her head and took a bite of the cheese. Nolan dragged a chair and joined her.

“The bed is squeaking now.”

“I’m surprised it lasted that long.”

“Good handiwork.” She took a sip of the soup. “Rory and Eira were soundly sleeping. Told you the barriers work.”

“Okay.”

He wasn’t much of a talker in the morning. Ciara was half-awake and her hair was disheveled. She even forgot the burnt scar illusion that she usually puts on. She noticed that she wasn’t wearing and nonchalantly placed the illusion back. Nolan didn’t understand why she was keeping the mask.

“The snow’s falling.”

“Isn’t it?” She stared at the window for a second. “The barrier around the house wasn’t noticeable?”

“I don’t think anyone would notice it. What the hell is that anyway?”

“A barrier I learned from a demi-fairy.”

Nolan liked this life. No battles and everything seems slow. He was tired of fighting and the woman in front of him felt the same. Ciara would have left already if she wasn’t tired. They were just old souls that wanted peace. Indeed, he knew that there was a lurking being around them. A being that might lead the world astray and make a move. Ciara cannot defy this time. It was strange obedience for the woman hardened by many battles.

Their story has been wrought with troubles and heartbreaks. Yet here they are living silently without a care for the world. Living their perpetual lives slowly. They’ve walked the bleak path for so long that it was only right for the two to found their oasis. It was only fair that they would. It took both of them a long time to find peace.

That’s why inside this house there was only the Family of Salvatore. The family that refused the call of a journey. For the sake of their children, the two were willing to settle down. And so the quiet days of the Salvatore Family continued. The winter snow blows and the hearth was warm.

But beyond this peace, there was a trouble brewing in a towering city.