Ursalo had not meant to stay the full night but they had caroused so joyfully that the snake had lost all sense of time. Jera had been so warm and the castle walls so cold that Ursalo had fallen asleep without meaning to and before they could remember themselves, the sun was already rising.<br/><br/>Ursalo would surely be punished for his insolence but he could hardly bring himself to worry when faced with the sight of Jera waking in his arms, the brilliant flash of his eyes catching the golden rays of the morning. Ursalo would take a hundred lashes gladly just to bare witness to such beauty.<br/><br/>They could hardly keep to themselves even when preparing for the day. A limb would reach out or a finger would brush or a kiss would be planted and Ursalo had to stop what he was doing just to breathe in the smell of Jera carrying his scent. It was heady and intoxicating, and had they not been expected Ursalo might have holed them up in that tiny closet for the rest of the day, or the week, or the month. Until search parties were sent for them or one of them expired from exhaustion or dehydration.<br/><br/>But no, there was a hunt to be had and masters to serve. If only they could keep their hands to themselves long enough to get properly lost in the woods.<br/><br/>Eventually they managed to find food and appropriate clothing. Jera escorted Ursalo to the right gate where the elf prince was waiting.<br/><br/>"Your highness," he said happily, eyes bright and snakes giggling with the leftover delights from before dawn, "or should I call you stepfather? You shall be, once you are wedded to Ranuk."