Life after the War - A Throne of Glass Fanfic

Holiday

She sat in the carriage alongside her mate, waving goodbyes to her court. They were late, it was almost midafternoon. They should have left at noon but now Aelin doubted if they would able to reach the place before dinner time. Rowan and Aelin both wore heavily hooded robes and had sworn the driver to secrecy. The ride went on silently till they reached the edge of a forest. The sun had gone two hours ago or maybe even three. The horses stopped and the driver said to them respectfully, "We are there. It is a pleasure to serve you, your Majesty."

He bowed low but Aelin gestured him to rise. He walked back to his carriage, pulling out three suitcases and fumbling for a torch. Aelin held her hand and bright blue flames erupted from her palm. The driver looked astonished for a second, his eyes fixed on the flames which danced on the Queen's hands. He recovered after some time, walking with them with the suitcases, not caring for the torch now that the flames provided enough light.

They walked towards a solitary wooden cottage Lysandra had told them about. It was a modest abode just at the edge of the now snow-covered forest which shone in the moonlight. The door was open and they all went inside. The old man kept the suitcases on the floor and smiled lightly to them before bowing again. He went back and soon afterwards, the sound of horses died down.

"Want to eat something?" Aelin asked, eating some of the biscuits Emrys had packed for the ride.

Rowan shook his head and said, "No, I think I will just sleep."

"I guess I will sleep too." She replied, lying beside Rowan. The bed was not very soft but they were tired and even the forest seemed to sing a lullaby. Aelin woke up first next morning, the sunrays falling directly on her face. She turned around to see a familiar silver fuzz. Oh, she thanked the gods every time she woke next to him.

"Get up you lazy ass. The sun's already up." She shouted, giving violent jerks to the tattooed male still asleep beside her.

"Language." Rowan muffled lazily.

"Come on, Buzzard. I was the most infamous assassin in Adarlan. My fire could burn the whole world if I want to, yet only thing you care about is me using swear words. Ass isn't even that bad a word actually." She jabbered on and on.

"Forgive me for trying to bring some manners into your Majesty." He replied and even Aelin laughed. They looked at each other then at the room they were in. They were too tired to notice it last night but the house was very small and almost everything was made of wood. It had only one bedroom, one kitchen and a bathroom.

She looked out from the window near the bed. The endless sight of tall pine trees and snow-covered forest floor greeted her. The smell of pine and snow now came from not only her mate but also the forest which seemed to invite her. She walked towards her suitcase to choose a dress to go out in such cold weather but something else caught her attention. There was a note stuck on her bag written in a feminine scrawl.

'You can only feel the nature if you live in it. Enjoy your holidays. – Lysandra.'

She smiled and would have remained doing so if she had not been disturbed by the urgent call from Rowan. The water was freezing cold and there was no heater. In less than a minute, she warmed the water in the bathtub and went back to the bedroom in a trance. Rowan came back some time later, telling Aelin to go have a bath.

She returned in half an hour, wearing one of Rowan's plain white shirt and cozy jeans.

Why did she even bother to pack her dresses if she was just going to wear mine? Rowan thought but smiled at his mate covered in his scent.

Aelin turned towards the door, ready for a walk through the forest had Rowan not caught her hand.

"We haven't eaten last night. I suggest we have a breakfast before we go." He said.

The walk through the forest ended nearly two hours later with Rowan lying on the ground wholly covered in snow and Aelin standing next to him with a triumphant smirk etched on her face. Rowan had used his magic to throw seven snowballs directly on her face one by one so Aelin made him pay for it. Both of their dresses were soggy with all the snow filled in the gaps.

"Let's race till the hut." He said, brushing off the snow from his clothes.

Aelin nodded and they both ran towards their temporary home in their fae speed.

"I win." She said as she touched the entry gate. Rowan was there a second later, breathing heavily.

**MAGICAL TIME SKIP**

It was their last night here. They had been there for a week and tomorrow morning they would have to go back home.

"Nothing is better than a hot stew in this cold weather." Rowan declared after dinner. There was a light snowfall going on outside and the leaves rustled continuously which made the stew Aelin had cooked taste a lot better than it would normally have. Aelin doubted if she would even want to eat it again at the castle.

"Let's make this night hotter, shall we?" Aelin said, her nimble fingers already opening the buttons on Rowan's shirt. One by one. And then she teasingly left a small peck on his neck when the last button flicked open.

That was too much for Rowan to hold on. He pulled her so close that their breaths mingled and fell on the bed.

Well, this is the longest chapter I have written and I am quite proud of it. See you soon.

Love,

Memeismeme : )