Exiled Prince: I'm the Unexpected Extra in the Novel-Chapter 165: Cold Dawn and Campfire Gossip

The War for The North [53]

Chapter 165: Cold Dawn and Campfire Gossip

Cassian woke up with the first light of morning following the eventful and emotional night before.

He went down outside the walls to the vast area where the people and the army had gathered. As he wandered among the temporary refugee camps his eyes scanned the misery around him.

The situation was far more dire than it appeared from a distance. People were trying to survive shivering against the ruthless cold of the North under makeshift tents and thin blankets.

There was the same expression on every face. Deep fear and the silent anticipation of the approaching apocalypse.

The shadow of the Obsidian Dawn had invaded these lands with its fear before its armies even arrived.

Cassian left the refugee camp behind and headed towards the military tents set up in orderly rows a bit further ahead.

This was the heart of the approaching war. But the beat of this heart was weak. The shoulders of the soldiers were slumped and their gazes were weary. The groans of those who had fallen into the clutches of the plague mingled with the howling of the wind.

As he moved deeper into the camp a silhouette huddled in the morning frost gathered around an extinguished fire caught his attention.

The man was sleeping bent double over a log hugging an empty liquor bottle like a lifebuoy. The furs on him were covered in snow.

Cassian paused. He recognized that messy hair and that posture. A devilish smirk appeared on his lips.

He bent down and picked up a handful of snow from the ground. He compressed the snow in his hand into a hard ball. With silent steps he approached the sleeping man.

The man’s head had fallen back and his mouth was slightly open. Cassian did not hesitate at all. He shoved the snowball in his hand inside the collar of the man’s fur straight onto his naked nape.

For the first second there was absolute silence.

And then... 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"HIIIIIIIK!"

The man jumped up as if boiling water had been poured on him. He was flailing in panic throwing his hands to his back trying to get the ice out. The bottle flew from his hand and rolled in the snow.

"DAMN IT! COLD! SO COLD!"

The man lost his balance and fell while stomping on the snow. He quickly straightened up and looked around with darkened eyes.

"Rod you scum!" he roared his voice tearing through the morning silence. "I will kill you! I swear I will make you regret being bor..."

His threat knotted in his throat when his eyes focused on the person standing in front of him.

Rod was not there. Instead a white haired boy stood there with hands in his pockets and an annoying mocking smile on his face.

"Cassian?"

Kael’s anger instantly turned into bewilderment and then into a twisted joy. He shivered as he shook off the snow on him and grinned.

Cassian raised his hand in greeting. "Haha! It has been a long time Kael." "Since you can sleep so soundly on the snow in this weather you seem to have gotten used to the air of the North. Or you were trying to freeze to death I could not be sure."

Kael combed his messy hair back with his hand and grumbled "You bastard..." but there was warmth in his voice.

"When we heard you disappeared... Damn it we were really worried about you. We thought those witches boiled you in a cauldron and made a potion or something."

He took a deep breath and lightly punched Cassian’s shoulder.

"Anyway... It is good to see you in one piece."

Cassian looked around. The ashes of the extinguished fire were blowing in the wind.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

Kael yawned. "Rod and Hebi are still in their tents they must be sleeping like hibernating bears. And Eric... He probably got up at the crack of dawn to deal with the army and strategy and stuff. That man never rests."

Kael looked with hatred at the high walls of the castle the warm and safe stones.

"That bastard Fredrinn..." he muttered. "While he lives like a lord in soft beds in that warm castle he left us out here outside the walls in the cold to be bait for wolves and birds. Is this justice now?"

Cassian sat on a log cleared of snow and crossed his legs.

"Yes" he said with a serious expression. "That bastard put me in a very difficult situation last night too. We definitely need to punish him. Maybe we fill his bed with snow."

Kael laughed. "I am up for that."

Cassian reached his hand out to the extinguished fire. Black chaos flames emerging from his palm engulfed the wood in an instant and the fire began to burn roaring as if it had never gone out. The heat hit both of their faces.

As Cassian warmed his hands by the fire he asked the question lingering in his mind.

"How is Rose?"

Kael shrugged. "Hmm I do not know. I did not see her after dinner yesterday. She said she would go back to her tent and sleep early because she had a headache. But I think... It is hard for her to sleep with that mindset. You know the Fredrinn issue."

They listened to the crackling of the fire in silence for a while. Then the zipper of one of the tents behind them opened.

Rod stepped out shivering wrapped in a thick fur. The bags under his eyes were slightly swollen and his hair was a mess. He looked worse than a zombie.

"Dude..." Rod said his voice raspy. "The weather is seriously too cold. I was freezing all night even inside the tent. I cannot feel the tip of my nose."

His eyes went wide the moment he saw the white haired figure sitting by the fire and his sleepiness instantly vanished.

"Cassian!"

He quickly approached the fire rubbing his hands. He had the excitement of an auntie preparing to gossip on his face. He leaned towards Cassian and dropped the bomb in a single breath.

"Kael got rejected by two female knights yesterday."

"HEY!"

Kael snarled his face turning red as a beet. He raised the empty bottle in his hand as if to throw it at Rod.

"You promised you would not say that you traitor! It was going to stay between us!"

Rod grinned and turned his back to the warmth of the fire.

"This is your punishment for not sharing your drink with me and guzzling that last bottle all by yourself! Besides Cassian should know. He is a member of our team."

Cassian laughed lightly. "It is good to see your spirits are high. Everyone looked quite gloomy like they were marching to their deaths. Seeing you like this... is comforting."

Rod pointed to the purple circles under his eyes and sighed.

"High spirits? Dude I could not sleep a wink because Hebi snored like a dragon all night! My ears are still ringing."

Then he turned to Kael and confessed "Actually I wanted to sleep by the fire too. But when Kael passed out... I put out the fire on purpose. Just to watch him shiver in the cold. And believe me it was worth it."

Kael’s jaw dropped. "You scoundrel! So it was you who put out the fire! I thought it was the wind! I was freezing to death man!"

Rod shrugged. "You should be more careful when sleeping buddy. I was just teaching you a lesson. You know we are in a war zone. You could be attacked at any moment. You need to be prepared."

"You..." Just as Kael was about to lunge at Rod a sound resembling a growl rose from another tent nearby.

"What is this noise at this time of the morning! You are not letting people sleep!"

The man who came out of the tent was young and built but he did not have a single strand of hair on his head. His shiny bald head was gleaming in the morning sun.

Kael left Rod and turned to the man.

"Morning?" he said in a mocking tone. " The sun has already risen it is noon old man. Are you still sleeping?"

The bald man’s veins bulged. "Who are you calling old man you prick? We are the same age!"

Kael put his hand to his mouth and laughed with fake surprise. "Ahh sorry! Because you are bald I thought you were an old grandpa. That shine blinded me so I could not tell your age."

The man grunted in anger but did not prolong the fight because he was cold. He sat by the fire next to the others and drank water from his flask.

"You..." said the man looking at Kael. "You recovered quite early after becoming the laughing stock of the whole army by the girls yesterday. If I were you I would not be able to leave the tent out of shame."

Kael wagged his finger knowingly.

"One who has not tasted defeat cannot reach victory my friend. Every rejection brings me one step closer to true love. You guys would not understand."

Then he held his stomach. "Ahh anyway. Philosophy does not fill my stomach. Have the cooks not distributed food yet? I want to eat something hot. Preferably with meat in it."

As time passed the camp continued to wake up. Sleepy and frozen soldiers coming out of the tents began to gather around the fire captivated by the allure of the warmth.

Kael instantly straightened his posture fixed his hair and put on his most flirtatious smile when he saw an armored woman approaching.

"Good morning Lady Monica!" he called out his voice dripping with honey. "The sparkle of your armor dazzles my eyes today."

Monica sat by the fire and warmed her hands. Then she turned to Kael with one eye open sleepy and utterly uninterested.

"Who were you?"

Kael’s shoulders dropped as if a mountain had been placed on them. The smile on his face froze.

As if getting rejected by this girl in front of everyone yesterday was not enough... He was not even remembered. This was a greater insult than being rejected.

Rod put his hand on Kael’s shoulder biting his lips not to laugh. Then he pointed at Kael and explained to Monica.

"Last night..." said Rod clearly. "You know that playboy who got drunk stepped on his sword and fell and then proposed to you without getting up from the ground? Hah that is him."

The girl’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Ohh..." she said and an expression of mixed disgust and pity appeared on her face. "Now I remember. The vomit smelling knight. Sorry... Um what was your name?"

"KAEL!" shouted Kael in pain. "My name is Kael!"

"Sorry Kael" said Monica turning back to the fire. "My answer is still the same. I will not marry you. In fact if possible I would rather not even sit around the same fire."

Kael mumbled "You did not have to reject me again and while I was sober..." burying his head in his knees.

While the soldiers around the fire giggled at this situation a lightly bearded tough looking soldier turned his attention to something else to the quietest person among them.

"So..." said the bearded soldier scratching his chin. "Who is this kid?"

He pointed his finger at Cassian who was watching the flames and observing this chaos with a silent smile.

"Is he a relative of one of yours? Your lost brother?"

Everyone’s heads turned curiously towards Cassian who had remained in the shadows until that moment. The bald man also lowered his flask.

"I was wondering too" said the bald man. "Why is there a child inside the army? Is this a nursery?"

Cassian smiled enjoying these curious and condescending gazes turned upon him. He said nothing he just continued to watch the dance of the fire.

Kael lifted his head from his knees. His previous goofy demeanor was gone replaced by seriousness. He spoke pointing at Cassian.

"This is Cassian" he said. "A part of our team. And probably the person who will save everyone’s lives here."

The bald man scowled in disgust.

"Do you hire children as mercenaries in Veythral?" he asked. "Or do you use them as human shields? Bringing a child to war that does not sound humane at all."

Kael sighed deeply. Rod shook his head in the same way. It was funny that these men did not know what they were facing.

Kael threw another log into the fire and looked at the bald man.

"A child..." murmured Kael his voice more eerie than the crackling of the fire.

His eyes wandered over Cassian. He remembered the darkness beneath that innocent looking face the destruction lying inside that small body.

"Calling him a child..." said Kael laughing slightly. "Calling him a monster... would be more accurate."

_ _ _

Hey everyone, I’ve started a new novel: "Rising from the Ashes."

I won’t say much about the story. But if you like academy-themed stories and weird main characters, you might want to check it out.