The general obeyed and swung up onto his steed. “The mission may have taught me a thing or two as well.”
“Oh?” Sixtus looked at him. “What might that be?”
“To reevaluate our friendship.”
Sixtus glowered at him. “That’s what you learned?”
“You made me an old Irish woman,” he said with a snort. “Since I gave up my rank to become a housekeeper, the least you could’ve done was make me a younger woman. Then I would have found comfort in admiring my beauty.”
“You tire of your wife already?” Sixtus taunted.
A sheepish grin played on the general’s face. “With all respect, sir, I may be married and not deemed a scoundrel like you, but my eyes aren’t retired. I appreciate beauty as much as the next man.”
Sixtus erupted in laughter and heeled his horse to catch up with the king and his men.
Valentina
Moonlight poured over the valley, and falling snowflakes blinked against the velvet sky. I strode toward Nisse, my heart pounding with uncertainty, but buoyed with hope. His tawny locks hung loosely over his broad shoulders. At my approach he turned, and a soft smile creased his face.
“Am I to believe your mutter informed you of the outcome?”
“Yes. I’m happy peace will once again find Schläfrigz. I don’t know what will happen to Vater after what he did to Mutter, and with his current state of mind, it leaves me uneasy.”
“The council is discussing it as we speak,” Nisse said.
“What will we do now? Will normalcy ever return to Schläfrigz?”
“In time it will.” He peered down at me with the familiar tenderness that gripped my chest and sent my heart skipping. “Tell me, Valentina: what is in your heart?”
“A mess of confusion,” I said honestly. “The day has been long, and my head is spinning from the aftermath. Mutter is alive. I’ve longed for this day, and the thought of spending another day without her is unbearable. I don’t want to let her go, but now distance will again keep us apart.”
He took my cold fingers in his, and his large hand swallowed up mine. I felt secure in his presence. “She is alive, and in that, you can take comfort,” he said. “Do you recall what I told your mutter?”
The thumping in my chest quickened. “I do, but perhaps you can provide clarity,” I said, needing to hear from him what I believed his eyes reflected.
He took my other hand, and his thumbs tenderly stroked my skin. “Our time has been limited since my return to Schläfrigz, but I’ve spent most of my life rescuing you from a certain fate.” He smiled, and I lost myself in his eyes. “I can’t imagine a life where I didn’t slay the dragon to rescue the princess.”
“I am no princess.”
“Nor am I a prince.” His voice thickened with emotion. “But I do love you. I want to spend each day roaming these forests with you at my side. If you will have me, Valentina Fürst, I would marry you right here, right now. And I promise the suffering you have endured from your vater and Orell will never come at my hands. I am a simple man without riches, but I’d spend the rest of our existence together cherishing your every breath.”
My heart soared at his words and the love radiating in his eyes. “Truly,” I said.
He nodded. “Truly. What do you say? Will you be my companion in this life and the next?”
Tears pooled in my eyes, and I squeezed his hands. “I-I want that more than anything.”
His head lowered, and I rose on tippy toes. Our lips touched, and he released my hands to gather me into his embrace. Our bodies united as one, and his kiss was passionate but tender, as I’d always imagined it would be. Snow danced on my lashes as love ensnared my heart, and I curled my fingers in his hair, hungrily returning his kiss.
I had won my prince. Life had granted me the fairy tale that I’d spent a lifetime weaving in my head.
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Pippa was born and raised in the Maritimes, and moved to Western Canada soon after graduating high school, where she has been an entrepreneur for over a decade.
She has always composed beautiful words and lyrical passages in her mind. When it comes to writing, her passion is to inspire and fill people with food for their souls. The loves of her life are her husband of twenty years, their teenage children, and her two dogs.
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