"From this day onwards, you shall be my husband."
"W-what?!"
Was the only thing Frost could say. He simply stared in confusion at the woman in front of him.
"Grab him and keep him warm; we need to get back." She said it coldly.
Then Frost was grabbed by a tall, burly man, put in a thick fur blanket, and strapped to that same man's large back. Shocked and confused, he mutterd.
"U-um..."
"Shush boy, don't speak; conserve your energy."
But he was quickly silenced by the burly man's rough voice. Tired, Frost resigned to his fate and relaxed, glancing at the man's rugged beard, the rest of the group in their knightly attires, and the beautiful woman who had just declared him her husband. Unlike others, she wore just her regal silver and light blue dress, accompanied by a fur-finished blue coat. Despite that, she seemed affected by the cold even less than the rest of the group. She led the group with incredible poise and grace, yet the group traveled silently. Slowly but surely, Frost, feeling the warmth of the fur, fell asleep. Because of his sleep, he didn't notice the weirdly sympathetic looks he got from other group members. As he slept, they all continued, with their leader, the beautiful woman at the front, who seemingly made the blizzard split around the group.
After some time had passed, Frost was woken up when the man carrying him shook him. As he opened his eyes, Frost noticed that they had arrived at some settlement, but because he was still tired he could barely see any discerning features, he only saw the beautiful woman talking with someone. He could not hear the conversation as he once again fell asleep. When he came to, Frost, still half-asleep, felt himself in the new environment, feeling the soft and warm fur underneath and the thick blanket over him. But his comfort was disrupted when he heard some voices.
"The guy still hasn't woken up?" a young woman voice said
"Seems like it..." a gentle but deep man's voice answered
"Hey... You don't think he's... You know... dead?" a worried young man's voice chimed in
"Come on don't say things like that... It's a bad omen." the voice of a slightly scared mature woman rebuked
"Hmpf... He was still breathing the last time I checked." a serious man's voice said
"Yeah, if he were dead that would be the shortest marriage ever. " the young woman continued
"That wouldn't count, would it?" the young man's voice asked
"Yeah, since they aren't married yet so it wouldn't" the man with a deep voice answered
"Lame..." the young woman said
"Don't be like that... we have to hope for the best... after all" the mature woman interjected
"Sush all of you, let him sleep in peace for heaven's sake!" the voice of the burly man silenced everyone with his sudden outburst
At this point Frost was awake, but still resting feeling awkward to stand up during their conversation, but the sudden shout made him jump. He jolted out of his makes shit bedding, opening his eye wide and scanning his surroundings. A fairly big wooden cabin, with some tables and chairs, a hunting trophy on a wall, and a big, quite decorative fireplace, which he just laid in front of. Then he looked at the people talking, a small group of what seemed to be knights, and the burly man that carried him.
"Um... Hello there?" Frost said awkwardly to the group.
"Hi, hi, hi" exclaimed the young woman
"Yes, Hello" the deep-sounding man continued
"Greetings." the mature woman said next
"It's a pleasure, sir" the young man continued
"Good to see you awake," the serious man said
"Ha, ha, ha... Finally feeling alive I see." the burly man exclaimed
As he got the responses Frost scanned the group, noticing how they all looked. Besides the burly man, they all wore the same armor, simple but protective, made from steel with a slightly blue hue, and ornamental surcoats in a blue gradient color with a silver six-winged eagle emblem. The burly man wore a much simpler fur armor with a cape and hood. After observing their attire Frost started looking more to see more details of their looks. The young woman was shorter than him, slim with smooth skin, medium-length, wavy, dark brown, hair , green eyes, and a mischievous smile. The mature woman, taller than the younger one, has a more curvaceous body, medium-long dark blonde hair and brown eyes, and a kind smile. The young man, still nervous, was visibly the youngest of the group, slightly taller than the young woman, fairly fit, with short green hair and gray eyes. The deep-sounding man was taller and of more robust stature than the rest, with a puffy face and calm expression, short curly blond hair, and barely visible aqua-colored eyes. The last man of the knight group was sitting by a table behind the rest, equal in height to Frost, with a well-trained body, short black hair, a sharp handsome face with a serious expression, and dark blue eyes. The burly man, now seen more clearly, tall and wide, muscular with shaggy brown hair and beard covering most of his face, haggard and showing signs of graying, but his gray-blue eyes covered by all his hair.
Frost still nervously observed the group, not knowing what to do or to say. The awkward atmosphere began to linger until the burly man opened his mouth.
"Ho, ho, people, it seems that our guest is confused. Let us make ourselves more familiar. I'm Bruno, a veteran hunter, and trapper" he exclaimed energetically.
"Well then... I'm Senia, an expert knight" the mature woman continued.
"Now me! I'm Rena, a junior knight, but I'm quickly moving up." the young woman enthusiastically continued.
"Um... I'm Luke, sir... a novice knight, sir" the youngest man nervously said.
"You don't have to keep calling him sir Luke... Ah, I'm Gero, an expert knight" the deep-sounding man responded.
"I'm Darien, a senior knight" the last man introduced himself dryly.
"Oh, um... I'm Frost..." Now feeling more comfortable Frost continued talking with them. "Can I ask where I am?"
"I think I'm safe now, so knowing more about my surroundings will be helpful," he thought
As Frost started to think his situation over, now that he felt relatively safe, he waited for a response. Yet the group simply gave each other confused looks before addressing him.
"You... Don't even know where we are? Are you stupid or something?" asked Rena.
"Oh, don't be mean Rena, you remember how he looked when we found him, his head must still be in shambles from almost dying," interjected Senia with an awkward giggle.
"Come on, ladies you're being too mean, he probably hit his head and doesn't remember anything" Bruno added
"Um, maybe he is from a remote region and stumbled here accidentally?" pondered Luke
"Hmmm, what if he fell out of the carriage in the middle of the journey?" asked Gero
"What? Was my question so weird?" asked himself Frost
As Frost continued to stare at them in confusion, the group started arguing loudly. The arguing caused the calm Darien to snap.
"Oh, will you all just shut up!" he shouted out, silencing them. "I apologize for their behavior, as the captain of this unit, excluding Mr. Bruno, I should keep them in line better." Darien stood up and cleared his throat before continuing. "To answer your question seriously, Mr. Frost, we are currently in the northernmost part of the Estesia continent, specifically in the land of the great Norththallen empire, the village Garga in the outer regions, close to one of the imperial garrisons."
"Thank you!" responded Frost, glad he finally got an answer. "And your group is?" he asked wanting to know more about the people gathered
"Oh I'm sorry, we are the 5th battalion of the Ferghall Garrison fortress" answered Darien.
"Thank you..."
After Frost replied in gratitude, the awkward silence once again enveloped everyone. The knights were either whispering to each other or smiling dryly at Frost, while Darien went back to his seat and continued scribbling something. Bruno, to lighten the mood, pulled out a bottle of ale and cups and started sharing them amongst the group. The first person he offered a cup to was Frost, who accepted with unease, but upon trying the ale, he happily clanked his cup with Bruno's. With alcohol in tow, they all cheered and drank together for a while. After a few hours passed, Darien who kept writing his notes, stood up and finished his drink, before exclaiming.
"Well, now that you are awake, and I finished the report we can leave."
"Do you have to leave?" asked Frost
"Yes... We have other duties to attend to, and I'm assuming you are still tired"
Frost thought for a moment before realizing that indeed, his body still hurt. Sighing in defeat he nodded as the knights started leaving, while also dragging away Bruno who wanted to keep drinking.
"You don't have to worry, we will keep guard outside of the hut in shifts... As for you, I suggest you get more rest... After all, a long day awaits you." Darien said to Frost sympathetically as he was leaving.
"Well, that's over... But he is right, I should rest some more... After all, I don't know what will happen tomorrow... Maybe I will wake up from this nightmare..." Frost thought as he laid on the warm fur once again, quickly falling asleep.
He was suddenly woken up the next day when knights outside started moving around.
"Are they going somewhere? No... If I remember correctly I'm supposed to go someplace different..."
The moment he stood up from the fur, Bruno burst in with a laugh.
"Ha, ha, young friend it's time to go!"
"Oh, I see... Am I going to be given some warm clothes? And also, I would rather walk by myself this time"
Frost waited for an answer to his question, but Bruno just smiled and then proceeded to grab him and wrap him in the same fur blanket the man carried him before.
"This... sucks" exclaimed Frost with an annoyed expression, as Bruno and his knight friends laughed. He knew he had a long journey ahead of him.