Chapter 65: The Full Snow Cave Experience

"Have you ever done this before?" Al asked as he dodged the snow I was flinging behind me.

"Nope!"

"That's comforting," he muttered. "What happens if it collapses in on you?"

"Then you'll have to dig me out or I'll freeze to death and you'll become a young widower," I said dryly. "Don't worry about it. It's not going to collapse on me because I'm building it to last! Aren't you going to help?"

I turned back to look at him and he was like a deer in headlights. "Me? What do you want me to do?"

"Help me make it wider. It's no fun if only one of us fits in it."

"Oh, alright."

Al knelt beside me and copied my motions, flinging snow behind him. I showed him how to pack the walls of the cave as we dug so it wouldn't collapse in on itself so much and we got into a groove.

I'm not sure how long it took to dig our cave but in the end it was barely wide enough for two people to slide down into side-to-side. I fit into it completely but since Al was so much taller than me his head stuck out.

"It needs to be deeper," I insisted. "You're missing out on the full snow cave experience."

"I think I'm fine with missing out on the full snow cave experience."

"Don't be such a killjoy! We both need to fit."

He sighed dramatically. "You're the queen."

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about being queen. Too much tea, not enough fun," I said while screwing up my face to indicate my disgust.

"That's a fair point. You have a hard time just being a princess. So what do you want to be once you're free from the palace?" he asked conversationally as he continued helping me dig.

"A librarian." I really hadn't minded my job at the school when I wasn't in excruciating pain and hadn't been on earth long enough to find a more suitable career path.

"I can picture it now—Katie McLeod, librarian extraordinaire. You certainly read enough. I imagine the inside of your head is a library all its own."

I purposely shoveled a bit of snow into his face with my hand while rolling my eyes at him. I was in a good mood.

Building a snow cave was more fun than I expected though the makeshift snow clothes were not nearly as insulated as the stuff back home so my extremities were going a bit numb. We would have to head inside soon.

"I think that's good," I declared, leaning back on my knees and admiring our handiwork. "Let's test it!"

We slid down next to each other head first. Al didn't stick out of the top this time. Mission accomplished. I giggled to myself. If only Abby could see me now, two feet under the snow. She would never believe it.

Al gazed at my giddy face with adoration. "I stand corrected; the full snow cave experience isn't so bad."

My breath hitched in my throat a bit. His face was so close to mine that I could see every tiny crinkle in the corner of his eyes as he smiled. He was really cute when he was happy. What was I thinking?! Al wasn't cute!

These were just lingering emotions from the kiss yesterday. Anybody would be a little moved after being kissed like that but this girl wasn't about to fall for his tricks.

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"We should probably go in now."

"Right, it is getting colder," he agreed quickly with a cough to clear his throat.

He shimmied his way out using his arms first and then pulled me up by the ankles, which felt very strange since I slid upwards. It made snow touch my back under my sweater too. Ugh.

We army crawled our way back to the door and it was stuck so he rammed his shoulder against it, spilling onto the floor below when the snow pack beneath him crumbled away. Since I was right behind him, I went down too.

We were an odd jumble of snow, limbs, and laughter as we lay there partially on the floor.

"Princess Catherine? Prince Alpheus? What on earth are you doing?" a monotone voice asked with a hint of astonishment.

Al and I looked up in sync and did not expect to see Duke Orla standing a few feet away from us.

He quickly brushed himself off and helped me to my feet, staring down the duke with his arms around me protectively and his head resting atop mine. I couldn't tell if he was doing it solely for his own benefit or because he knew I didn't like the scary duke.

"Charles, what brings you here?"

"I was in the palace when the storm hit and had no way to leave. I have been here the whole time. Why were the two of you outside in this weather?" He eyed our unusual attire with suspicion.

"My wife was showing me how to—"Al began but stopped when I stomped on his foot. This guy had no need to know our business. Besides, Duke Orla wasn't capable of fathoming the concept of fun.

He noticed what I did and commented somewhat sourly, "I see the two of you are quite close."

"We are," Al said proudly. "Now if you'll excuse us, I need to get my wife into some dry clothes."

He was really playing up the wife card. The guy already lost; there's no need to antagonize him! The last thing I wanted to do was purposely pick a fight with someone on the enemy's side.

"Al," I hissed while tugging on his arm. "Let's go."

"Good day, Charles."

"Good day," the duke responded bitterly before heading in the opposite direction, no doubt reporting to Sigmund what he had seen.

Everyone in the palace knew that the third prince and princess spent most of their time holed up together. This shouldn't be news but still…

Al ordered two baths to be prepared—separately, this time—and we peeled off the coats, boots, gloves, and hats while we waited by the fire. I was impressed by how well the waterproofing held up.

The baths were ready faster than I anticipated and I sunk into the water gratefully, letting the heat soak into my bones. As I soaked, I had time to think.

Since things were deviating from the plot so quickly around here, I couldn't help but worry that Sigmund's faction might have tricks up their sleeves that I wasn't aware of. Especially with my newfound worries about Mariela…what if he decided to make a move against me? In the novel, Marcy and Alpheus fell in love and worked together but didn't get married until after Franz ascended the throne at the end.

As his wife, I might have a target on my back…I couldn't help but feel uneasy after my run in with the duke. What if he said something that made me seem like a bigger threat?

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