During
the first hour of the ride, she glimpsed the presence of their troops only
twice and understood how Lieutenant Benlof had expressed surprise at seeing how
well hidden these men were. She knew
that there were hundreds of men in position to battle the Valkea's forces. General Ghesor was brilliant to be able to
disperse his men so skillfully. It gave
her a deep sense of security to know that the general and so many soldiers were
hiding beyond observation and just waiting to spring into action.
As
the sun rose higher in the sky, the low hanging clouds peeled away from the
peaks revealing the new snow glinting with dazzling beauty in the
sunlight. Occasionally, the weight of
snow on a tree branch would bend the limb too steeply and the snow would fall
in a crash of powder that sparkled in the air like a shower of rainbow
dust. She remembered that as a child she
would look at a snow covered landscape and could imagine that the sparkles in
the snow were in reality an infinite assortment of delicious sweets. Once, when she was very young, she had tasted
an especially beautiful icicle and had welded her tongue to the frozen
treat. She smiled at the comforting
silliness of her childhood memories. She
left her mind focused on other pleasant memories of her childhood for it gave
her a sense of peace and comfort.
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