Snow tugged his cloak closer to his neck and tagged along, though he now felt incredibly sleepy.
The warm soup Rain had served them had been delicious, even more so since he couldn’t really tell how long it had been since he’d last had anything to eat but a few drops of melted snow and a couple of persimmons ZaiWin1Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos). had picked up on their first ‘jump’.
Now, with his belly full and warmed by the fire burning inside the stone house, having to go outside into the cold night, was the last thing he wanted to do.
The cold cutting wind made him shiver, though nothing could compare to how cold he’d been once he’d stepped out of that small cave, and then he could finally see them, the mass of men still frozen to the ground. Someone, probably the women, had brought a few lamps to grant them some light and warmth. Some had blankets wrapped around their shoulders, that Snow knew weren’t there before. Two women crossed paths with them, bowing their heads respectfully at the sight of ZaiWin, carrying a small pot and a ladle. And yet no one uttered a single complaint, no one had interrupted their meal to ask or demand that their men be released.
Snow sighed. ZaiWin was right. He couldn’t leave them out there in the cold the entire night.
Once they got closer he could clearly see their obvious tired expressions and, once their presence was noticed, the men immediately followed their every move with a hopeful glint in their eyes, their evil-looking weapons completely forgotten. All except the one ZaiWin had called Grisly. Standing a few feet from the rest, he kept his back straight, his head held high, and he snorted loudly the moment he saw ZaiWin in order to convey his despise.
“Had enough time to cool off yet?” ZaiWin asked in an almost playful tone, and the man made a point to turn his head to the other side, refusing to acknowledge his presence.
The other men in the back all sighed in dismay.
“You really want to spend the night out here?”
“Fuck off! You traitorous bastard!” Grisly spat, his voice heavy with contempt and, for a moment, Snow feared that ZaiWin might actually kill the man.
“And that’s the second time you say shit like that. May I inquire what’s that supposed to mean?” ZaiWin demanded, his voice becoming dangerously quiet, and Grisly peered at him by the corner of his eye.
“What’s that supposed to mean?! You tell me! You piece of shit! Turning tail and abandoning your own land! Leaving that asshole in your place!”
ZaiWin straightened his back, his expression a mix of surprise and incredulity.
“You mean that old fox RimMyu?”
“Who else? You fucking bastard!”
Snow looked apprehensively at him but, unexpectedly, instead of decapitating the poor misguided man where he stood, ZaiWin actually laughed; a cold, detached laughter, but still much better than transforming that entire scene into a bloodbath.
“So that’s what’s gotten you so cranky, as if someone fucked you while you slept and you only realized when you woke up!” he added in a clear provocation, and Grisly immediately turned against him, wanting to punch him and finding himself unable to move from where he stood.
“Now, now. Don’t be like that. The old fox is only taking care of Nox in name, and I assure you that it’s a temporary arrangement. At the time it was the only way to avoid having those bastards from the Palace overrun these lands. I am sure you wouldn’t want them coming all the way out here and knocking on your door,” he added with a devious smirk, and Grisly actually spat on the ground.
“May those fucking bastards rot where they stand!”
“So, are we clear now?”
“Fuck no!” Grisly immediately replied but, at least now he was looking straight at ZaiWin. “Back when you were a fucking brat I told you that if you ever betrayed these lands and its people I would cut you to pieces!”
“I remember that all too well …” ZaiWin replied with a bitter expression on his face.
“And you go and leave that bastard in charge of our lands??”
ZaiWin sighed and raked a hand through his disheveled hair.
“Things got unexpectedly complicated. As I’ve said, I had no other choice.”
“Does any of that have anything to do with that brat?” he asked, indicating Snow with a tilt of his head, his dark eyes looking threateningly at him, and Snow felt his heart jump, his entire body immediately readying itself to either run as fast as he could or defend himself to the best of his abilities.
“Well, I guess you could say that,” ZaiWin calmly admitted, his clearly unfazed posture baffling him. “For a moment I did consider murdering him in cold blood and be done with it. He’s just some unimportant street kid named Snow, after all,” he sighed dismissively but Grisly’s eyes gleamed dangerously as he fought his icy restraints once again.
“You piece of shit! Try and say that to my face again!” he growled, to Snow’s surprise, and ZaiWin took a small step back as a safety precaution. “Hey, kid! Unfreeze me right now! And I’ll show that fucking prick how some unimportant street kid remakes an obnoxious pretty face like his!” he went on, waving his fists in the air, and Snow blinked in confusion.
Was that dangerous-looking man trying to defend him? Looking up at ZaiWin and at his discreet victorious smile, he immediately knew he had said those things on purpose, exactly to incite that kind of reaction.
“So we both agree that it was a good thing. Me, choosing to spare the poor kid.”
“You fuck!!”
“So why are you still so angry?” ZaiWin asked innocently and if looks could kill Grisly would have stabbed him a thousand times to death.
“I should have killed you back then! The moment I laid my eyes on you!”
“As I recall, you sure tried your best!” ZaiWin replied, his voice betraying that same bitterness from before, but he quickly brushed it away. “So what say you? How about we get out of this cold and go home? Rain has made this delicious soup and we were nice enough to leave some for you. Or we can go back, just the two of us, and finish it up. Your choice.”
The man grumbled and mumbled and ended up nodding reluctantly.
“Fine. Release me.”
“And you will behave,” ZaiWin wanted to make sure and immediately received a murderous glare in return.
“Release me, you fuck!”
With a smile as fake as ZenTar’s on his face, ZaiWin turned to Snow and nodded.
“Release the poor man, Snow.”
Snow raised an inquisitive eyebrow, as if he wanted to ask if he was sure.
“It will be fine. Grisly will behave,” he stated, making sure he said it one word at a time for added weight, and Snow took a deep breath and slowly allowed the air temperature to return to normal.
The men in the back all whispered and sighed in relief, hurriedly bowing before they scooted back to the village, dragging their heavy weapons behind them. Snow purposely left Grisly for last, ready to freeze him in place again should he try anything else. But the man simply shook his cold body, shaking one leg and then another, before he turned and, without another word, followed the rest of the men.
Surprised by his sudden calm and silent demeanor after all that shouting, cursing and threatening, Snow looked up at ZaiWin, but he simply shrugged as if he couldn’t care less.
“Shall we go back as well?” he asked instead and Snow immediately nodded, eager to return to the warm comfort of Rain’s home.
Yeah lol Great Chapter. Excited for tomorrows