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She would have to be.
Rharreth pushed himself onto his elbow, then flung back the covers.
Cold air washed over Melantha, and she stifled another groan before she forced herself to get up as well.
She and Rharreth dressed, and thankfully Melantha had managed to do a good job of packing their warmest clothes and boots during those frantic moments during the attack. When they exited the troll couple’s bedchamber, they found Inersha packing leather-wrapped food into a bag while Mymrar and Zavni were kneeling on the floor, packing more items.
Inersha stuffed one last item in the pack, then she held it out to Melantha. “I baked travel bread and packed as much smoked meat as I could.”
Melantha took the pack, feeling its heaviness. Surely this couple did not have this much food they could spare. “This is too much. We cannot take all your food.”
“Please take it, milady. It is our honor to provide for your journey.” Inersha bowed, her hands clenching and unclenching as she smiled almost tentatively at Melantha. “I sought out my neighbors, the ones I know are loyal, and they provided food as well. I did not tell them exactly why I needed the extra food or for whom, though I am sure they might have guessed some of the reason. They gladly gave what they could.”
Rharreth bowed to Inersha. “We thank you and thank your neighbors. It seems that there are those with honor left in Kostaria.”
Mymrar straightened, his mouth pressed in a tight line. “It is because you have shown yourself to be an honorable king, and we know what the alternative will bring for our families. Drurvas has already sent squads of those loyal to him to confiscate food from the citizens so that he and his men may feast. We would rather give our food to your cause than have him snatch it to fatten his own belly.”
Rharreth’s jaw worked, and Melantha clenched her fists at the heat burning through her chest. She and Rharreth had worked so hard to feed the starving people of Kostaria. They had lived on the same rations that were distributed to common people and had enforced the same restrictions on the warrior families, even if they had not liked it.
And now Drurvas would undo all of that, right during the dead of winter when such measures would cause mass starvation among the people.
But he did not care. All he cared about was his own power, just like the warrior families backing him only cared for their power. They wanted starvation to drive Kostaria into a desperate war once again because war gave the king and the warrior families more power, esteem, and standing.
Melantha glanced between the troll couple, her back straight. When she spoke, her voice was low and held even more of the tight, flaming emotion than she had meant to display. “We will fix this. I promise you that we will not allow Drurvas to triumph.”
The couple both gave even deeper bows, their faces tightening with such a mix of devotion and determination that Melantha wanted to tell them that she did not deserve such loyalty. Rharreth might, but not her.
But, she held herself back. Rharreth needed his citizens’ loyalty more than ever right now, and Melantha was not going to protest when they gave it, no matter how undeserved. While she could never prove herself worthy of it, she could give her all in gratitude.
Zavni buckled the larger pack closed and held it out to Rharreth. “This was all the supplies we could put together for you. We also procured a set of skis for each of you.”
“Skis?” Melantha glanced from Zavni to the pair of long, flat boards that Mymrar picked up from where they had been leaning against the wall by the door. The skis were polished and lacquered smooth with one tip curled upward. One side held what looked like a leather buckle where they could attach their boots. “I thought we were going to take snowshoes?”
Her stomach churned just looking at the foreign skis. She had mastered snowshoes, since those were something used in Tarenhiel occasionally and used all the time here in Kostaria for even basic walks around the town of Osmana after a large snowfall.
But she did not know how to ski, and this seemed like a bad time to have to learn, considering their lives depending on speed and secrecy.
Rharreth glanced over his shoulder at her as he shrugged on the pack. “I was going to teach you, once you were fully comfortable with snowshoes and we had a day to ourselves. Skis are easier and faster for long distances. Don’t worry. It is easy to learn, especially since you already have a good sense of balance.”
“We have two sets of snowshoes, if you would like to take them, Your Majesty. Some of the paths you will be taking will be too treacherous for skis.” Mymrar nodded toward where the snowshoes hung from a peg by the door.
Rharreth seemed to hesitate, probably knowing just as well as Melantha did that they would be taking this couple’s only set of snowshoes. But, after a moment, Rharreth nodded. “Once again, we thank you.”
He did not promise to return the items or offer recompense, and Melantha finally understood enough of troll culture to understand why. This couple was offering their food, their snowshoes, and everything else freely because it was the honorable thing to do. To offer money in return would only shame their free gift. It would be as if Rharreth were trying to buy something that could only be given.
Instead, when Rharreth regained his throne and when he was able to return these items, any money or gold or recompense that he paid them would be done in gratitude, not because he was trying to earn anything from them.
Perhaps if Melantha had understood the concept of free gifts and gratitude better, then she would have treated Farrendel better. She would not have seen love as something filled with taking and earning, but instead would have realized that love was filled with freely giving and gratitude for what was given.
Zavni helped Rharreth secure the skis and their accompanying poles across his back. “Are you sure about this, Rharreth? A blizzard is descending out of the mountains. It will be a rough night for travel.”
“It will be rough, but a blizzard will hide our tracks. We have no choice but to risk it.” Rharreth glanced over his shoulder as he took the snowshoes from the peg. Zavni secured them to Rharreth’s pack as well.
Melantha settled the pack of food on her back, buckling the additional straps across her upper chest and around her waist that kept the pack secure and distributed the weight. When Inersha offered a red wool scarf with matching hat, Melantha took the items, wrapped the scarf around her neck, and put on the hat without argument about taking more items from this generous couple.
With the fire going in the hearth, her face was burning, and she would start sweating if she did not step out into the cold soon.
After donning his own, smaller pack, Zavni opened the door, and he, Rharreth, and Melantha stepped into the nighttime street. Melantha gave the couple one last nod before the door closed behind her.
