Clara and Kwon walked silently most of the time. Kwon was still tired, considering he didn’t really sleep the night before.

Clara caught him yawning and shook her head.

“And I thought you didn’t want to go on this trip. Yet here you are tired. I can tell you didn’t sleep.”

Kwon chuckled. “This trip was your idea. I just didn’t want you to hurt yourself trying to sneak out if your old man hadn’t of said yes.”

She rolled her eyes at him as they continued walking forward. Kwon would occasionally look at the map and nod when he saw a landmark mentioned on the map.

The day dragged on and soon Clara began to get tired.

“We should have bought a horse.” She said sitting down.

"Can we even afford one?" Kwon said looking at her sideways. She shook her head and chuckled slightly.

They stopped to sit down and have lunch. They didn’t have much, so they ate some bread slices.

Clara leaned over on her forearms to try and read the map in Kwon’s hands. He held the bread in between his teeth as he continued to look at it.

“So what are we going to do by nightfall?” Clara asked taking another bite.

Kwon shrugged and finished off his bread. Clara sighed. They had walked far enough out that the town they left was no longer in their view. But now that they were out in the middle of the path, they were looking for the next town to rest for the night.

Kwon put his lips into a tight line and scrutinized over the map. It said the next town wasn’t for at least another day.

“Looks like we’re going to have to spend the night outside tonight.” He said after a moment of silence. He looked at Clara, who was kicking at the ground. The snow was beginning to show since they were further away from civilization.

She looked up at him and nodded.

They decided to continue on walking for a few more hours until they found a decent resting spot for the night.

“I’ll go get some firewood. You go ahead and set up the rest of camp.” Kwon said walking off into the dense forest.

Clara went in one of the bags she packed and took out a small broom and began to sweep away the snow, making room for the tent. After traveling so much with their father, they managed to have many things for travel collected over the years, including a few things to sleep in.

When Kwon had returned, Clara had set up stones in a circle and the tent was up.

“I see you still remember everything.” Kwon joked as he set up the kindling and wood.

“My dad taught me well. If we have to sleep outside at least we’ll be prepared.” Clara retorted sitting down on the hollow log close to the tent.

“Well at least we’ll always have someplace to sleep when money gets a little tight.”

“Then why did you bring the violin? Decoration?”

Kwon laughed and shook his head. “Decoration. Sure. What’re we gonna do for dinner? The river won’t be for a few days and I don’t think the bread and cheese will last that long.”

“That, your highness, I already thought of.”

Kwon side-eyed her when she called him that but when he saw her smile, he just let out an exasperated sigh.

She was more excited than him to find out if her theory was correct. Even though that knight had told them that, the chances of him being of royal blood was very low in his mind.

Clara got up and went into another bag and took out what looked like meat wrapped in parcel paper. She grabbed a pot from the other bag and put it over the fire Kwon had just made. She unwrapped the parcel and put the meat in the pan.

“How in the world are you so damn crafty?” Kwon asked an eyebrow raised as he watched her take out butter and herbs.

“I tend to think on some of these things. Though this is our only meat. We’ll have to reach the next town to get some more.”

He shook his head and watched as she made their dinner. His stomach growled and he was glad for Clara’s readiness for this trip.

~~~

Hours later, the two of them had eaten the meat with another slice of bread and were just keeping warm by the fire.

“Ahh, I’m going to bed now.” Clara said yawning walking over to the tent.

“I’ll be in later.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged. She walked into the tent and got into her sleeping bag. It didn’t take long and she was off to sleep.

Kwon looked at the sky and stared at the stars. The fire had died a short while ago but he still felt the warmth of the fire surrounding him somehow. Something about going back to the capitol made him excited.

After sitting outside for another half hour, he finally felt the cold cover him and he went inside the tent. He smiled at Clara’s sleeping figure and pulled her covers over her more tightly before crawling into his own bedding, falling fast asleep.

~~~

The hooded man hid beyond the trees watching as the two of them travelled all day.

He huffed out a breath as he waited for them to fall asleep.

It had been a day since he sent the messenger bird. He was waiting for the reply.

“Finally.” He said silently. The young man had gone inside the tent with his travelling companion. He walked over to the campsite and sat on the log.

He couldn’t do anything without an official reply from that bird. As he sat there, he wrapped his cloak around him tighter to keep in the warmth. Soon the hooded man had nodded off, until he heard a small bird call above him.

Shaking himself awake he let the bird land on his arm and he took the letter out. The bird sat on his shoulder as he read the letter silently.

                So the young prince is still alive? Follow them. Keep me updated on his activities and if possible for now keep him from learning the truth. I almost have things taken care of here. Once that is done, then I will send you the message on what to do next.

                Duke Choi