CHAPTER 885: WARM EMBRACE

Carwyn leaned in close against his horse’s neck as the pair galloped toward the opening gates of Raek Village. White steam flew from the horse’s nostrils, trailing behind him only to be shredded by the flapping of his cloak in the cold wind of their passage.

Home. Finally, he was home, and for a moment, nothing mattered to him more than racing as fast as he could toward the person who meant ’home’ to him more than any village or house ever would.

The heavy wooden gates of the village had barely opened wide enough for him to pass when he thundered through them, kicking up clods of frozen earth as the horse charged into the village without breaking stride.

All around him, villagers who had been making preparations for a demon attack stopped in their tracks, staring in shock at their returning lord. Some raised a cheer, and others started running behind him, but Carwyn barely noticed in his haste to reach the village square and the manor where Olwyna would be waiting.

"Eeee hee he he he he!" The horse whinnied and protested when he reined in to a sudden stop as soon as he heard its hooves ringing off the earthen pavers of the village square. Only years of experience on horseback allowed him to remain in the saddle as the horse reared up, swiping at the air with its hooves before settling down with a heavy -CLOP- -CLOP-

"Carwyn!" Olwyna’s clarion cry cut through all the noise in the village square, hushing the villagers who had begun to cheer as everyone held their breath, watching the scene unfold before them.

"My love!" Carwyn shouted as he slipped from the saddle, his hands already working at the buckles of his gauntlets as he strode across the village square. A handful of rapid heartbeats later, both gauntlets clanked as they fell to the ground only a few additional heartbeats before Carwyn threw his arms around Olwyna, pulling her into a gentle embrace as if she was a piece of porcelain that he was afraid of breaking against the cold steel of his armor.

"You’re home," she sobbed, staring up into her husband’s soft, watery eyes. One of her hands wrapped around his waist, pulling herself close despite the cold of his armor, while the other hand reached up gently, tracing her fingers along the stubble of his jaw as though she didn’t believe he was real.

"I’m home," he whispered back, reaching out with one hand to catch the edge of his cloak and wrapping it around her shoulders as he held her close, shielding her from the cold. "I’m sorry, I," he started to say, only to stop when Olwyna put a finger over his lips to silence him.

"You were brave, my sunshine," she said, reaching up with trembling fingers to brush his wind tousled hair from his eyes. "Dyfad told us all. You fought a duel with a demon so the villagers could go free."

"I, I always knew the kind of man I married," she said softly as she caressed his face. "You have always been my hero. But when they needed you, you were their hero too. I just, I just hated that... that I thought I lost you," she sobbed, pressing her head against his armored chest and wishing she could hear the comforting beat of his heart through the layers of steel and padding that kept him safe from the demon’s claws and spears. "I hated that they hurt you," she cried. "I..."

"Shhh," Carwyn whispered as he gently stroked her hair. "I’m home now. Safe and sound," he said as he lowered himself slowly to his knees so he could press his ear up against her belly, listening for the slightest sound of a heartbeat while he gently stroked her belly.

"Silly," she whispered as she tousled his hair. "It’s still weeks too soon to hear anything, even your mother said so," she chided him gently, though she made no move to step away.

It seemed like a quarter of the village or more had gathered in the square by now, standing silently or whispering among each other as they watched the tender moment between their lord and lady, but no one made the slightest move to disturb the couple.

"He’s so big already," Carwyn marveled, feeling as if his wife’s belly had doubled in size while he was gone, even though the truth was that her belly hadn’t grown that much in such a short period of time. "Surely he’s close to being born," he said as he gently stroked her belly, feeling the faint kick against his hand.

"He has to grow up big and strong to be a hero like his father," Olwyna said, looking down at her husband’s handsome, rugged features through misty eyes as she imagined their child growing up to be a brave, heroic knight who could still hold a woman with soft, gentle hands the way Carwyn held her.

"But I know my body well, husband," she chided gently. "Your heir is still more than two moons away, no matter how much I wish he would come sooner. Trust women in this," she added as she playfully tapped his brow with the tip of a finger. "Our little hero still needs time to grow."

"I love you, my little hero," Carwyn whispered to the child within Olwyna’s belly. "I came back for you and your mother, and I promise, as long as there’s strength in my body and breath in my chest, I’ll always come back for you."

"We know you will," Olwyna said softly as she felt a slight kick from the child in her womb, almost as if the child in her belly could hear his father’s promise.

Now that he was here, kneeling before her, she found herself resting a hand on cold steel of the pauldron that protected his shoulder just to keep herself upright as relief washed over her, bringing with it a wave of fatigue she’d been pushing off ever since her husband was captured.

"Olwyna!" Carywn said sharply when he realized she was tottering on her feet. Moving slowly while she leaned on him, he wrapped an arm around her and stood, supporting her as he did and looking out over the crowd until he spotted the familiar figure of his mother, slowly making her way over from the direction of the village’s small temple.

"Mother," the young knight called. "Clear a path for her, and clear a path to the manor," he shouted. "Let me help her inside. You shouldn’t be out here in the cold, my love," he chided gently as his mother emerged from the crowd.

She clearly wanted to embrace her son, but seeing the subtle shake of his head, she took her position on the other side of Olwyna to help the young woman back into their home. There were dozens of questions on her lips that she wanted to ask as they helped the pregnant woman up the steps of the family manor, but looking around and not seeing a second armored figure, she asked only one.

"Carwyn," the snow-haired and stoop-shouldered woman asked once they’d helped Olwyna into a plush, overstuffed chair. "Where is your father?"

"He’s waiting with the rest of my men outside the village," Carwyn said carefully. "Mother," he said as he took her slender, almost bony hands in his own. "I need you to trust me right now. I’ve told Father a little bit, but there’s so much more you need to know in order to understand," he said as he glanced between the worried eyes of the two women who mattered most in his life.

"I need to clear out Millside for our guests," the young knight said carefully. "We’re going to need their protection to get through the winter. And by winter’s end... they may even be our friends."