A.N: I apologize for yet another long wait. Things have been nuts, consisting of accidentally deleting stories, reviving them and sometimes failing, of switching computers and transferring files, and of Sims 2...

My birthday has come and gone. I am now 18, and have been enjoying playing Sims after a long wait. Finally, I am back in the Snow Walker mood. Unfortunately, this chapter was one of those documents I lost. This is the second attempt...

So far so good...

Jessa was surprised by their luck. Nothing had even threatened to hinder their journey. For two long days, they had rode north, crossing bridged fjords and tame countrysides.

Now came the real wilderness, Galarswood, where they knew from experience wraiths dwelled, giants slept, and maybe even an old friend waited, a dangerous old friend.

Even with that hanging over the horizon, the youth were practically carefree. They were certain they had gotten rid of the trouble in this place, and that there couldn't possibly be anything here that they haven't already seen prior. They rode on down the dark, tree sheltered path, observing the raw beauty as they tainted the natural silence with a conversation here and there.

"How is the Jarlshold taking Kari's absence?" Jessa asked after awhile. She was very curious, and eager to see if he was missed.

Hakon jumped slightly, having been daydreaming. "Ah...Everyone is jumpy now, fearful of the dark. Wulfgar has doubled the nightly guard," he recalled grimly. "Skapti is doing his best to keep the masses calm, while Brochael...He's a mess, Jessa. He rarely leaves their room now..."

The young woman frowned deeply, remembering how anxious some of the holders had been to allow the Snow-walkers to take their sorcerer without protest. Now, she guessed, they were seeing that Kari had became a part of their lives, a part that made them feel uneasy but protected.

Both teens had fell quiet, nervous and thoughtful. A delicate breeze blew around them, shaking the green treetops ever so slightly.

"We have to get him back, Hakon. Not only for us, but for our realm..." Jessa finally stated.

The warrior nodded in agreement and there was another pause of sound. Never for more then a minute had they forgotten they were far from friendly surroundings. There were in the bare wilderness, among wolves, spirits, and outlaws.

After a few minutes of silent riding, Hakon spoke the question that, until now, the both of them had been too nervous to ask.

"I wonder if we'll run into Moongarm..."

"I sure hope not," Jessa answered sharply, making the boy flinch. "He's probably an absolute beast by now..."

The warrior paled slightly at the thought. "But there's also a chance he's still human enough, right? I kinda miss him..." he murmured almost meekly.

Jessa sighed. "I do too...He was very...interesting to travel with. I had grown to like him before we found out he was a werebeast. But he is best left to himself now, Hakon."

The boy stared down at the neck of his horse sadly. "I guess so...I was thinking that he could probably help us. I wonder what would win, a werebeast or a sorcerer?"

Jessa twitched her lips into a swift smile. "I don't really want to find out..."

A powerful howl broke out, sudden and familiar. Both youths paused their beasts, shocked and abruptly spooked. They then cast each other wide looks, trembling slightly. They feared they had just stumbled into the wolf's den. Short of breath with fear, Jessa glanced around, searching the shaking greenery for any movement, heart pounding, while Hakon's horse fidgeted next to her.

"It's him..." Hakon breathed in terror, "I hope he's in a good mood..."

Jessa didn't dare take her eyes off the rustling woods around them. "I doubt it..."

Hakon gulped and placed a shaking hand on the hilt of his sword. Another howl rang out, closer then before, followed by the sounds of stones rattling and rolling under furry paws as well as the feral panting of some beast.

The Valkyrie swung her horse to face the direction from which the creature was racing. "There!" she hissed, reaching for her knives hastily.

Both stared intently into the darkness within the trees, baiting their breath and preparing for the worst. Their fingers flirted with the hilts of their blades, restless and sweaty.

Before they could react, a gray flash leaped out of the sea of jade and raced towards them, tongue lolling and fangs sharp in the sun. But the travelers' short-lived panic turned into confusion. The werebeast's eyes were wild, not with hunger but terror, and it took them just a few seconds to realize that it was possible that Moongarm hadn't even noticed them.

"Moongarm?" Jessa muttered in surprise, looking back when he rushed past them without pausing.

He had disappeared back into the forest.

"What in the world was that about?"

The duo was completely bewildered, and slowly, a chill set in, not only in them but in the woods around them. An icy wind whipped through, gifting whatever it touched with frost. Then, this breeze became a gale, carrying snow with its cold fury.

Next to her, Hakon was on the verge of panic, but to Jessa, this was all too familiar. They were in the right place.

"Maybe we should get out of here..." the warrior yelped.

But a determination had seized her. This was what she had been looking for. Kari was near, she was sure of it.

"No! We can't turn back now. This is what happened last time. The Snow Walkers are here, I'm certain!" she yelled back at him, struggling to be heard over the rising volume and power of the brewing storm.

But Hakon still seemed hesitant. "Wasn't it you that made me promise that we would turn back if it got dangerous?" he protested, frowning at her deeply from across the dancing streams of snow.

Jessa was startled. She had forgotten and didn't want to go back on her words, but Kari seemed so close now. Were they going to ruin perhaps their only chance over a little snow? She wanted desperately to go on, but she was scared to go alone.

Suddenly, their horses reared and screamed, as if spooked by something. Jessa fought to steady hers, but to no avail. She soon found herself on the cold ground with the wind knocked out of her while the horses galloped away, back towards the Jarlsrealm. She willed away the pain, cursing under her breath, but stopped cold when she realized someone was standing before her. Her heart thudded as she slowly glanced up, then nearly stopped.

Frost gray eyes stared down at her, cold and almost dead.

"Kari?" she gasped, barely daring to move.

Then he was gone, as if he had dissolved into the snowy wind.

Jessa wasted no time in glancing around frantically, hoping to catch a glimpse of him once more. But she saw nothing but the white whirling around her, and Hakon, as he made his way over to her with understandable difficulty. By now, the gales weakened into gusts, then back into a summer breeze, though the settling snow was just beginning to melt as the sun once again broke through.

"Are you okay?" he questioned. "You look as though you saw something."

The Valkyrie gave up on her search to answer. "Kari...He was here, right in front of me. Then he was gone..." she gasped out.

Hakon stared at her as though he was questioning her mentally stability at the moment. "Are you sure? He didn't say anything?"

Jessa was working now to put everything together. "He didn't seem himself. His eyes were...strange. He didn't recognize me; he just stared down at me before disappearing."

There was a silence as the wood struggled to return to normal and as the teens recovered their breath and thoughts.

"I told you he was here..." Jessa reminded sharply.

"You did..." Hakon agreed meaninglessly. "The horses took off. It's going to take days to gets back, if we're lucky."

Jessa sighed and ran a weary hand through her disoriented hair. She knew that what he pointed out was very true, but she was too exhausted to dwell on it much.

A yelp broke the quiet of their recovering. Their heads snapped towards the direction of which it came, to where birds fled from their green perches to a clearing blue sky.

Jessa found she wasn't tired anymore, as excitement flooded her. Suddenly, a good part of what had happened made sense.

She jumped to her feet, alerting Hakon. "Come on! He's after Moongarm!" she called as she raced off recklessly into the trees.

She heard the warrior struggle to keep up with her as she fought through the unkempt majority of the wood. It wasn't uncommon for her to be smacked by some branch or stumble over some root, but they didn't stop her. They slowed Hakon, and sometimes herself, but they didn't halt her in her quest to find her fiancé and his apparent victim.

Her mind raced as she went. Why would Kari be after Moongarm, or rather, what did the Snow-walkers want with him? It was obvious, when she thought about it, that they were controlling him in some manner. Jessa had never known him to be that agile in such a wild place. He may have been a Snow-walker, but he had been raised like a human.

At last, a clearing shone between the gaps in the trees and the sounds of a struggle came into earshot. Snarling, often interrupted by yelps, were now loud in Jessa's ears, as well as noises of human and sorcerous effort. However, by the time she set foot in the small, tree-less area, they had been silenced, so abruptly it was eerie. Someone must have lost, but Jessa wasn't sure who she hoped was still standing.

Hakon stopped at her shoulder, very short of breath. On the other hand, hers was baited as she surveyed the scene before her.

Kari hung over Moongarm's broken and bloodied body, emotionless and dangerous. The old man barely moved, deeply wounded and seared by a merciless cold; only small, feeble sounds of agony escaped him. After a moment, the sorcerer moved, bending down to retrieve something in the frost dusted earth.

Jessa peered through the sunlight and shadows to see the item glisten, transparent, beautiful, and familiar.

"Is that what I think it is?" Hakon murmured uneasily.

She tried not to tremble at the smile that had come to Kari's blank expression. "It is...The crystal he entrapped Gudrun's soul within...The Snow-walkers must want her back..." she breathed.

"What!" Hakon practically yelped

Jessa didn't answer. She was too paralyzed with horror to utter a word, for Kari's eyes were now on them, intense and cold. No ounce of recognition flashed through them, only confirming Jessa's theory.

It only took a second for the warrior to be just as terrified next to her, if not more. "What...what do you think he is going to do?" he whimpered.

He knew it too. This was not the Kari they knew. The Snow-walkers had done something to him, cast some wicked sorcery on him to make him forget himself and those he protected. And, as certainly as the dying man at his feet, he would not hesitate to do the same to them as he had done to Moongarm.

Without warning, the sorcerer advanced towards them, bursts of ice and fire flickering about him. Apparently, his people wanted no witnesses. He strode swiftly over the frozen moss and soil, tall, silent, and lethal. Their most loyal friend had become a lord of death with their lives in sight.

"Gods, Jessa! We're next!" Hakon wailed, his courage fleeting like a songbird.

But the Valkyrie wasn't about to allow this. While the warrior's bravery shrunk in the face of winter's sheer icy fury, hers flared up.

"Jessa!"

Hakon could only shout after her as she charged right at Kari. She may have been human, but she had learned some vital secrets from the very being she faced.

Sorcery was as much about concentration as it was emotion.

Kari, or rather his body, stepped back quickly in the surprise of being challenged. She had no idea what she was going to do, especially when the last thing she wanted to do was to hurt him. She just had to keep him busy, to constantly catch him off-guard.

Then what?

Grab the crystal, she reminded herself, then run like mad. After that? Maybe find some nice stream to toss it in. Gudrun should be nice and happy at the bottom of some frozen sea.

A brilliant idea came to her, and she acted it out as quickly and smoothly as she could, heart pounding as she danced with death. She dropped to the ground and kicked out the long legs before her, succeeding in sweeping Kari off his feet and knocking him onto his back. This time, she moved instinctively, pinning him to the ground desperately as she snatched for the crystal, prying it from the cage of frail fingers with more difficulty then she predicted.

Snow-walkers were made for battles of sorcery and wits, not for wrestling matches.

But Kari was still putting up one hell of a fight. Jessa wondered if it had anything to do with the fact he was half human. Regardless, she had faith that she could out muscle her best friend and fiancée any day.

At last, the pale fortress gave and she snatched the prize away. She scrambled to her feet and sprinted back towards the trees like a rabbit from a wolf, for just like any rabbit, being caught meant death.

"Hakon!" she screamed for help, not knowing what good it would do.

Restless in the shadows of towering trees, the warrior waited for her, refusing to leave her behind. She swore she'd never been this scared in her life; her heart was pounding in her ears along with the sounds of her own lungs groping for air.

Then her feet were no longer on the ground and she was no longer in control. She let out a gasp of horror. Kari had caught her and had her in his power. What would the Snow-walkers have him do to her? The possibilities were endless and gruesome.

Before Jessa could get a grasp of what was going on, she was thrown against the nearest tree. The wind flew out of her and she slid to the ground, but she refused to be defeated. Choking back sobs of pain, she struggled to her feet in time to see Kari just a few feet away.

"Jessa!" Out of the corner of her eye, Hakon was racing towards them.

This was it. She was certain now. Their recklessness had been their undoing. They had challenged the god-like and now they will surely be executed for their foolishness. They should have stayed in the Jarlsrealm, huddled against the outside world like a flock of sheep.

What was about to happen crashed down upon her like a wave, and she allowed a few tears of despair escape down her cheeks. The man she had given her heart to stared back at her, unfeeling and empty-eyed. Jessa wondered briefly how Kari would take the news, that he had murdered his fiancée and left her body to be fought over by the wolves. She could only hope Hakon would escape.

"Kari..." she whimpered.

His frosty eyes bore into hers when she finally dared to meet them, and suddenly, she was no longer afraid. Something within them promised her no harm.

"Allow me to have the crystal and I will not hurt you..."

A chill shot up her spine and froze her to the spot. Kari had spoken and it was his voice, but it was so alien. Like everything else about him, it had become void of emotion. It was him, but it wasn't.

Then, like a soulless puppet, the sorcerer boy slowly held out a thin hand, silently demanding his prize. He said nothing more to her. He just waited and stared.

Jessa glanced over his shoulder to see Hakon standing a yard or two away, uncertain in the sudden lack of danger. She knew he didn't want to risk Kari's, or rather the Snow-walkers', wrath.

As if the sorcerers had control over her as well, Jessa unconsciously lifted her own hand, the one that held onto the crystal for dear life. Realizing what she was doing, she steeled the muscles in her arm. No matter what, she would not just let them release this foul witch back into the world.

But that would mean death. She would never again see the Jarlsrealm or Thorkil. She would lose her chance to experience the constant adventure life had to offer. She would never experience the pure bliss of being married to a man she loved so deeply.

At that last thought, her heart took over, and her primal instinct to preserve herself moved her hand into his.

"Here..." she whispered, and allowed the precious, precious crystal to fall from her grasp as she entwined her warm fingers with his.

The Valkyrie then closed her eyes and did what she thought she would never be able to do again.

She kissed him, as long as she could manage without air. She felt Kari stiffen, but he didn't pull away. In fact, she noticed how his natural warmth seemed to return steadily and how his movements regained the nature she knew and loved. Maybe this would be more then a kiss farewell...

Jessa pulled away slowly, but opened her eyes with even least speed.

"J-Jessa?"

Her heart leaped into her throat at the sound of Kari's true voice, and allowed her eyes to open completely. She was greeted by the sorcerer's bewildered and puzzled expression, and his wide, blinking gray eyes.

"You're back..." was all she could murmur, which she knew only confused him further.

"What?" Kari questioned before glancing around in utter surprised at where he found himself. "Where am I? Last thing I remember is being in the Snow-walker Country..."

Jessa's joy died like a candle flame in the face of a cold night's gust, and she wasn't sure how to explain what had just happened. Meanwhile, Kari searched her grave face, his own going paler and paler with dread. He knew something horrible had happened, but he didn't have the heart to touch her mind and see for himself, to see the raw memory.

The darkness was broken by Hakon, who had realized it was now safe to approach.

"Jessa, you have got to teach me how to kiss like that..."

The young woman went pure red. "Hakon!" she yelped, embarrassed. "You'll have to learn on your own."

"Um...Jessa, you can let go of my hand now..."

"Huh? Oh!" She yanked her hand away without thinking, and scolded herself for her mistake as soon she caught the familiar shine of the crystal now snug in Kari's hand.

Her fiancée stared, almost in horror. "Jessa...Where...did this come from? Is this...?"

Once more, the Valkyrie could not find the perfect words. She fidgeted, her mind whirling. She understood his fear completely but did not have the heart to tell him that he had blood on his hands. So, she turned her head and motioned.

Both boys looked. Hakon quickly jerked his gaze away while Kari stared, once again, in sick horror, at the dead body of their mad old comrade, sprawled and bloody. He gulped and seemed to understand all too well.

"Moongarm...I see..." the pale boy muttered so quietly they barely heard him, beginning to shake slightly. He then gazed down somberly at the cursed prize in his open hand. "I remember...They need Gudrun back. I knew Grettir had some method up his sleeve. I didn't...expect this..."

The humans' attention was completely ensnared by curiosity.

"Need her? For what? What could they possibly need a witch like her for?" Hakon wrinkled his nose at the thought.

Kari didn't seem to want to answer. "...War..." he finally murmured, as if it would bring some horrible creature down upon them.

It did...

A.N: Review? I'm really unsure about how this one went down...