
Like all things, the joy and innocence of childhood must one day come to an end, sometimes sooner for some than others, sometimes in crueller ways for some than others, when the harsh realities of life make themselves known.  It was growing late one evening, the three found themselves making their way back from delivering gifts to an elder being that left in the faewilds near the borders of Winter.  He was not an ally of either side but would occasionally provide some information, thus both sides maintained cordial relationships with him.  The three wanted to be back to Summerlands before stopping for the night, but they had stayed late having tea and sharing stories of their adventures, so their daylight was fading fast.


It seemed like a warm summer night one minute before Eirva noticed her breath frosting in the air, the sun hanging low in the sky, leaving the forest twilit and falling into gloom.  A harsh, sudden chill settling over the forest, the song of insects and birds falling silent as all three came to attention before the shriek of a winter wind split the air, and whipped around the three wayward travelers caught unprepared, as winter and a ferociously unseasonable blizzard came whipping down out of the mountains, sweeping over the forest.  If caused by magic or a freak weather event, it didn't seem to matter, in a matter of moments, the shrieking winds and near blinding snow ripped the leaves off the trees as it crashed down among the three, and over the screaming winds, horns, and the bay of massive hunting hounds.  The three children looked at each other in shock, Eirva and Orrylth shivering at the sudden cold they weren't dressed for, whispering harshly, "The winter hunt! run!" they cried and tugged Thunra with them, turning and fleeing into the blizzard that blinded them.


The snow was nearly blinding, only a few feet of visibility in any direction, and rapidly growing deeper on the ground as they fled.  Within minutes of their initial flight they heard the howl of the hounds behind them letting them know their trail had been picked up as they fled, dodging between trees and trying to stay close to each other.  They splashed through a shallow creek, cracking the ice and sending shocks of cold up the legs of the two high fae girls as they stumbled out the other side, it was likely the cold might kill them as soon as the hounds on their heels, but still they fled in the growing darkness in a way they were sure was homeward.


The thickening snow hid as many dangers as the darkness.  In the lead, the fleet footed Eirva suddenly screamed, her foot breaking through into an unseen hole and with a sudden, sickening crack her leg broke as Orrylth and Thunra skidded to a stop by her, the stricken girl laying on the ground with her leg twisted at an obscene angle.  The sounds of the hounds howled closer, the hunting horn only a few miles off.  Cursing low, Thunra started extracting Eirva to the girl's whimpers and cries of pain, "Get her on my back, I'll carry her, we can't stop!"  With Orrylth's help, they soon had Eirva on the young dragoness's back, and they started off again, but slowed dramatically, Eirva clutching to Thunra's back but soon delirious with pain.


By now they started to hear howls and growling snarling yaps from the sides, and they shied away from them, trying to escape, but really they were being herded now, a few swift outrunners cutting off avenues of retreat, they were caught already and just hadn't figured it out as still they fled through the deepening snow.  Their fate only became obvious to them when after nearly an hour of flight, with the world painted in black of night and white of snow, they found themselves up against a cliff face.  One they might have been able to scale had Eirva not been so badly injured, but Thunra knew there was no way to climb it in their current condition.


Letting out a low curse, Thunra carried Eirva to the base of the cliff, and with Orrylth's help got her settled on the ground, "Stay with her, keep her warm, see if you can do enough to heal her leg... i'll try to keep the hounds at bay..."  She turned, transforming into as big and scarey a direwolf as she could, even if she got knocked out of form she would still be able to fight tooth and claw, but she didn't have a lot of hope of being able to turn back the hounds and the hunters both... but she would try... the howls coming closer, the sound of the hunting horn closing in...


And they came, at first by ones and twos, and Thunra launched herself to meet them with a heavy snarl and a flash of fangs and claws, driving the first ones back by sheer ferocity and guts, leaving a few bloody wounds to remember her by.  It didn't last though, more came, and soon five or six faced her, every time she launched forwards she took a few bites and claws for every hound she struck down.  It wasn't long before she couldn't maintain the form, and soon was facing the hunters hounds as a dragon, snarling and launching out with her claws and viscous slaps of her tail and wings to drive them back.  The horn of the hunter was close now. 


Within ten minutes she had left half a dozen of the hounds badly wounded, but she was covered in numerous small, bleeding wounds herself, and her energy was starting to flag, panting heavily as she back off a pace, dozens of the hunter's hounds in a semicircle in front of her, too many for her to drive them all off.  The hounds looked like they were bracing for another attack that would drive the silver dragoness under when a sharp whistle made them instantly fall silent and draw back, as the Hunter and his entourage emerged from the blizzard into the sudden stillness, astride huge, wicked steeds.

Sat astride his wicked looking stallion was a tall sidhe, removing his antlered helmet to reveal cold, cruel, beautiful features, pale skin like chiseled stone and eyes like frost, pale blue and sharp, his voice sharp like the crack of a frozen lake, "My my my, what a beautiful little dragoness, and two wayward children caught out in the storm, trespassing on winter, whatever shall we do with you?  Shall I feed you to my hounds? after such a chase and battle, surely they deserve such a treat, wouldn't you say?" he cooly taunts the younglings.

Thunra crouched defensively before Orrylth and the injured Eirva, wings spread a little, ignoring her many small injuries that bled, staining the snow around her, "Just let us go and be on your way, we are no threat and only wish to return home, we'll cause no trouble in winter territory."

The Huntsman shook his head with a deep laugh, "Oh no no no, it is too late for that, you've not only trespassed, you injured many of my hounds, there is a price to pay, if you lay down and die, that would be the swiftest option for you, it will be over before you know it," he draws a long, curved sword, showing it to the children, a wicked sharp edge glinting in the light as the children shied back.

Thunra shivered as she eyed that cruel blade, ears laying back as she looked back at Orrylth and Eirva who were both staring with terrified eyes and whimpering, they would be little help against the foe, looking to Thunra as their salvation as only she seemed to have the strength to face this.  Thunra looked back to the hunter and shook her head, "We are too young to lay down and die, let them go, escort them back to their lands and take me as your prisoner instead, surely a silver dragoness as your trophy would compensate you for this trouble?"

The hunter sat back in his saddle and chortled, "Oh ho, a willing silver dragon wyrmling as a willing trophy? oh the ways you would serve the court, I don't think you can even imagine the cost, would you really give yourself for them unconditionally?" he asks, leaning forwards again with keen interest, eyeing the little fierce dragoness and trailing his eyes greedily all over her body.

Thunra shivered at that intense stare, shaking her head, "Not unconditionally, and not forever.  Its such a minor offense, surely six weeks would be enough to pay off the debt?  And I am to be kept alive, fed appropriately, and injuries tended in a timely fashion, then delivered back to summerlands when my time is up."  Thunra, negotiating with the winter court? she knew deals with the fae were always bad, but she had no choice, it was the only way to save her friends, she was their guardian after all.

The hunter considered but shook his head, "Your other conditions are fine, but to carry the penalty for three of you? No, we need much more time to extract punishment from you.  A decade.  Ten years of servitude in the Winter Courts."

Thunra's eyes widened, "I'm only that old! That is too much of my life! We are merely children, how about six months?"

"Still old enough to work for the summer court, five years!"

Negotiating, but it seemed like years were going to be on the table, "We tried to return back to summerlands as soon as the storm hit, if you hadn't chased us we would have caused no problems for you, how about one year?"

"Intentions or not you still injured my hounds, you must pay a price for this, three years!"

"I will use my healing skills to mend what damage I can to your hounds, two years?" Goddess, two years with the winter court!

"You will pay my hounds back much more than healing, and two years service to the Winter Court, deal?" 

Thunra lowered her head for a moment, but nodded, "Deal."  How was she going to pay back his hounds?
