It was nearing mid-day when they reached Salgon Town. The streets were heavily congested. Many people were just standing on the side of the road. Some children were standing on barrels, straining to see over the heads of the adults, to see whatever was going on a little further into town. Shouts of rage and screams of pain came from the center of the crowd.

“Make way for your Prince!” Sir Fran hollered at the crowd.

Those closest to them turned and in turn got the attention of those around them to step back to let him pass. As the crowd parted Prince Kelton could see two young women fighting in the street.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.

The two women stopped fighting once they saw who was speaking to them.

“Oh, Your Highness,” the first woman said with an uneven bow. “Please choose me as your bride.”

“No!” the second woman protested. “Choose me. I am so much better than…”

“You wish!” interrupted the first.

“No, you wish. I’ll have you know….”

“Ladies!” he shouted to get them to be quiet. “Enough. I will not be marrying either of you, so stop this pointless bickering and return to your homes.”

“But…,” they protested together.

Prince Kelton held up his hand.

They stopped and slowly walked away, but not before sending vicious glares at each other first. The crowd of townspeople slowly broke up as they returned to what they were doing.

Shaking his head, Prince Kelton sighed.

He turned his horse toward The Dragon’s Hearth so they could eat and hear the latest gossip. The innkeeper, Bart, and his wife, Betty, were the biggest gossipers in town. While they would often talk his ear off, it was the only way to make sure nothing was missed.

“Prince Kelton, welcome back!” Betty greeted him. “I am so sorry you had to see that little squabble out there. The young ladies seem to be going crazy after hearing news of the masked ball.”

“Masked ball? Are you referring to the ball being thrown by Lakemead Kingdom in about a month?”

Bart and Betty exchanged glances.

“It would seem so,” Bart replied. “Though convincing the young ladies that they have the location wrong, is going to be difficult.”

Prince Kelton nodded. He wondered why the women seemed to be throwing themselves at him more this time around. A misunderstanding as the gossip spread made perfect sense. Now if only it would stop.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Bart brought out a tray of beverages for him and his knights as Betty asked.

“How have your searches for Lady Iredys gone?”

“Not as well as I have hoped,” Prince Kelton admitted, “though I feel this time might be different.”

“Oh?” Betty wondered, turning to Bart.

He looked at his wife in confusion, but shook his head.

“Tsk. Too bad. I’ll be right out with food,” she said, before disappearing into the kitchen.

“Have you caught wind of something we’ve missed?” Bart asked, grabbing a stool from the bar and sitting.

Prince Kelton shook his head. “Not in the sense you are thinking.”

He gave Prince Kelton a solemn nod. The edges of his mouth turned down some. He stood, put the stool back then entered the kitchen to help Betty gather plates of food for their guests.

The two of them returned in short order before Betty grabbed a chair and proceeded to tell Prince Kelton all about this disagreement and that disagreement. The absence of a few people, “who might have just gone on a journey”, and her hesitant well wishes to him and whomever he decided to marry.

“Thank you,” he told her. He paid for their meals and a little more for the information before he left.

He missed Betty’s confusion at the abruptness of his exit. Since there was no news that warranted his attention, he needed to continue on his journey to Pride Town. He needed to know what was there, but knew that, in his desire to travel swiftly, he still needed to maintain as safe a pace as possible as the amount of snow on the ground and roads increased. Prince Kelton had just settled himself into his saddle when Sir Houton caught his reins, preventing him from leaving.

“The air has warmed, Sire,” he said. “We won’t make it to Palion City before this storm arrives. We’d best wait it out.”

Prince Kelton grit his teeth while keeping his face relatively neutral. The air had warmed and the clouds had grown darker since they stopped. As much as he wanted to shrug off his knight’s words and leave anyway, he knew getting caught in a blizzard in the wilderness would be worse than being stuck in Salgon Town.

Prince Kelton climbed off his horse and removed his travel bags as his knights came out to do the same. The stablehands then took the horses so they could be housed. A chill joined the warmth as the first tiny flakes of snow started to fall. Prince Kelton followed Sir Hett back inside. Each of his knights paid for their room before climbing the stairs to put their things down. Prince Kelton listened to the rattle of the panes in the window as the wind continued to increase. He glanced out to the darkened sky and watched the flurries grow in size as they made their way down to the ground. He just hoped that the storm was small and they’d be able to make their way to Palion City by the following morning.

Prince Kelton remained in his room after that and ran through all of the combat stances, just to keep his mind distracted from the swirl of emotions running circles around his heart, until evening fell. He returned to the main floor then to eat with his knights. The wind had kicked up and the amount of snow falling continued to grow.

By the time he had finished a bowl of hot stew, visibility out the windows was nearly gone with how thick and heavy the snowfall was. Bart brought him another bowl of stew and more bread. Prince Kelton tried hard to keep a pleasant expression on his face, since Bart and Betty were doing her best to maintain their excellent hospitality, but seeing the thickness of the snow and hearing how much louder the wind had become, not even the soothing taste of the warmed barley drink in front of him could soothe his anxiety.

When he had eaten all he could, Prince Kelton returned to his room. He paced the floor and looked out the window often, searching for any indication that there was going to be a break in the storm before he slept for the night. However, the wind and the snow were content to continue their raging. He did his best to sleep, but was woken every so often to the glass panes rattling in their frames and the increasing screech of the wind as it wormed its way through the panes.