A promise

The next morning, Zane woke up in the tent he shared with another one of the soldiers. He grimaced when he realized he didn't feel any better than he had felt yesterday before coming in to sleep.

In fact, he felt worse and guilty for how he had treated the princess the other day. She had not said a word again after his encounter with her where he'd lost his temper. She had quietly gone into her tent without any words of complaint after it was set for her at night when the blizzard had gone down, and she took the piece of roasted meat handed to her by the soldiers with a muttered gratitude.

Their eyes had only locked once when they all cramped in a small cave to wait out the storm outside. He had seen in those eyes of hers defeat and resignation from life. She looked somewhat lifeless and utterly lonely, and he'd had a stupid urge to close the little distance between them and hug her after an apology for the harsh words he'd spoken to her.