Lady of Nyv

As the men finished their meal, Ona ended her daydreaming. She pushed all thoughts of Kol from her mind, and focused instead on the treacherous climb to the top of the mountains that they would have to begin today.

“We must depart.” Ona announced. “Today, we shall move with great haste. I sense that a storm is brewing.”

The men began packing their belongings- or rather, what little remained of them- at once. Ona smiled at their obedience. She knew that they were eager to make it to the South. She, however; was more nervous than anything. Their entire future rested on her shoulders.

“Are you sure you’re alright to continue, M’Lady?” Nix asked, concern dripped from his tone.

“Yes.” Ona replied hastily. “You needn’t worry about me.”

The men seemed unconvinced, but continued to clear up their encampment, nonetheless.

Ona reached down and grabbed a large chunk of hardened snow. She pressed this between her palms to soften it with what little remained of her body heat, and placed a small chunk of it into her mouth.

The unbelievably cold water trickled down her throat, making it nearly impossible to feel her gums or tongue. Despite the cold, it soothed her dry throat, and returned some life into her dulling eyes.

The men marched toward the base of the mountain, with Ona in the center of their mass. Ona admired their efforts to keep her safe, but she knew that ultimately, t’was her who was saving their lives.

Ona continued to melt small chunks of ice in her mouth as they walked. The ice made it increasingly difficult for her to speak effectively, causing the men to laugh at her commands.

“We can’t understand a word you’re saying, M’Lady.” Lug said with a chuckle.

Ona glared at the men individually, causing them to stop their laughter immediately.

“She means to tell us to speed up.” Dom translated with an exasperated sigh.

Ona nodded, confirming his rough translation.

“Well, why didn’t she just say so?” Tai asked, feigning innocence.

Suddenly, the men broke into a run, leaving Ona behind to trudge through the thick snow.

Ona spat the remainder of her soggy ice chunk into the snow and sprinted after her men. They weren’t going to be able to escape that easily.

She could hear the men taunting her from ahead, and she was sure that their loud, vexatious laughter could be heard from all of the other Kingdoms.

Ona focused on the tumultuous clamour her men caused, and ran just to the west of them.

She managed to cut behind the trees and come out in front of her very surprised men. She could hear them gasping for breath as they tried to keep up with her pace.

Ona cackled as they begged her to slow down. She repeatedly refused. They had started this, after all.

Soon, they reached the base of the mountain.

Ona paused, allowing her men to catch their breath before they ascended.

Her men muttered various obscenities at her under their breath, but her laughter drowned their insults out.

“You are a cruel little lass.” Lug managed between ragged breaths.

The other men murmured words of agreement.

Ona laughed harder, unfazed by their harsh words. She had heard every insult at least a hundred times before.

“Mayhaps we need to be more fit.” Kol suggested with a chuckle.

“Mayhaps my sister needs to stop working us so hard.” Dom replied.

“Oh, you poor things!” Ona called out sarcastically.

As the men caught their breath, Ona surveyed the landscape.

The mountains weren’t extremely high, nor were they very steep. However; they were covered in layers of ice and there was always the potential of running into inhabitants or animals.

Ona took all of these factors into account as she planned the route which they would take to their first encampment on this mountain.

She turned toward her men, who eagerly awaited her instructions. She met each of their eyes in turn. Their suspense and excitement was thick in the air.

“We cannot turn back now. As soon as we step onto these mountains, there is no one to help us. No one will come should we need help. No one will ever know what happened to us.” Ona began.

“These mountains are treacherous. I’ve never known anyone to make it across them successfully. No one knows what inhabits the many caves and cliffs. We shall have to be even more careful than we were before.”

“Be sure to stay alert, focused, and nourished. To die of the cold is one thing, but to die of dehydration or starvation is a fate that is very much preventable.”

The men nodded as she talked, although she wasn’t sure if any of them were taking in any of her instructions. She shrugged, t’would be their death, not hers, that would result in them feigning their understanding.

Ona nodded, giving her men the command to ascend into the mountains.

The men rushed forward, throwing caution to the wind, as they began their ascent. Ona counted the seconds under her breath. She knew t’was only a matter of time before one of her men slipped on the icy terrain. T’was inevitable.

She only managed to count to eighty-six before she heard the muffled groan of one of her men. She ran to the front of the pack, pushing men aside as she ran.

“Dom!” She exclaimed. “I should have known you would be the first to slip.”

“You needn’t worry, sister.” Dom snapped. “I am fine.”

He stood, brushing the snow from his clothing. Ona watched his cheeks turn scarlet as the men began whispering and chuckling.

“Onward!” Ona barked.

After Dom’s slip, the men tread more cautiously. Ona watched them second guess every potential step. She knew they were not going to make their desired location by nightfall at this rate.

She sighed heavily and pushed to the front of her men. She would lead the way. If they could not keep up, they would die. They had no choice.

Ona walked ahead of her men, oftentimes too quickly for them to keep up. She heard a distant call from behind her. She turned and saw that her men were very far away from her. She sighed loudly. She silently wished she had convinced Raf to allow her to travel alone.

“I will only wait this once. Keep up or die.” She roared down the mountainside.

Her men increased their pace at once, mumbling swears under their breath as they jogged up to Ona.

Ona did not wait for all of her men to gather on the ledge where she waited. She turned her back on the approaching men and continued her ascent. She had no time to waste on petty fools like them.

She heard loud footsteps crunching through the thick snow behind her. She looked over her shoulder and exhaled a sigh of relief. T’was Kol.

“Is everything alright, M’Lady?” Kol inquired.

“I am fine. We must hurry.” She replied hastily.

Kol did not question her. Thankfully, he learned faster than her other men.

“How are your men adjusting?” Ona asked, feeling the need to be polite.

“They are used to moving about. Never to this extent, but always on the move.” Kol replied.

“You were nomads?”

“Yes. We were heading South before you recruited us. A new beginning.”

“What were you and your men trying to escape?”

“We don’t have the fondest of pasts.”

“No one does. Why run from it?”

“It was necessary at the time.”

Ona desperately wanted Kol to elaborate, but they were interrupted by the sounds of the approaching men.

The men said nothing, but continued to walk closely behind Ona and Kol. As the silence consumed them, Ona’s thoughts swirled with unanswered questions. Mayhaps Kol had run from exactly what she had embraced – the desire, the need, to kill.