Lady of Nyv

Ona walked cautiously, leading the men into the tunnel. Her torch was burning bright, but it did little to ease the darkness that engulfed them. A crisp wind whipped through the tunnel, nearly extinguishing the flame of her torch. Ona shivered in spite of herself.

The walls of the tunnel were caked in generations of ice, showing the cycles of warmth and cold in the Middle Lands. Ona ran a hand along one of the walls to steady herself.

The ice was thick and slimy, and sent shivers down Ona’s spine. The tunnel felt as though it would be a lovely home for a monster. She could hear the men’s murmurs behind her, but she daren’t look back.

“How long do you think this tunnel is?” Kol asked tentatively.

“I’ve no idea.” Ona said, her voice catching on the last word.

Kol placed a warm, steadying hand on her shoulder, and she smiled softly.

“Why is it you trust Murk- or anyone your brother associates, for that matter?” Kol asked, his tone harsh.

“He’s my flesh and blood. We were grown inside the same womb. We are one.” Ona replied firmly.

“You threw him out.”

“He needed to be taught a lesson.”

“Has he learned it?”

“I believe so.”

“I think you’re wrong.”

Ona spun, nearly setting Kol on fire with the torch as she faced him. She grabbed his collar in her empty fist and placed her face up to his.

“Don’t you ever question me again.” She spat, allowing the acid in her tone to flow thickly into those words.

Ona could see the hurt and the fear in Kol’s eyes. Her heart hurt for him, but she needed to prove that she could keep her men in line.

She released her grip on Kol’s shirt and turned back to the ominous darkness.

“Take your place with the rest of the men.” She hissed. “I don’t want to see you.”

Kol bowed his head, clearly holding back tears, and did as he was told. The other men
welcomed him easily, but Ona could see the looks of judgement in their eyes. She hoped the men would chastise him just as she had. No one questions the leader.

Ona continued to walk down the tunnel. Their path seemed to become narrower with every step they took. She hoped that they could reach the end of it before nightfall. She could not have her men sleeping in a presumably-monster-infested tunnel.

Ona did not have to look over her shoulder to know that darkness had engulfed them completely. She suspected that they had lost sight of the mouth of the cave a few moments ago, and they now wandered aimlessly into the dark, inhabited unknown.

As she focused her hearing on her men’s voices, she could hear them telling stories once again. She heard whispers of monsters larger than the mountains themselves, a never-ending dark pit that swallowed all who entered it, and hoards of blood-guzzling goblins.

None of these bothered Ona. T’wasn’t until she heard her men discussing death that she turned to face them.

“Whatever your beliefs regarding death and the afterlife,” she began “None of us will find out the truth for many, many years.”

“How can you promise such a thing?” Lug asked, his voice cracking half way through.

“I cannot.” She admitted. “If we stay together and stay focused, we will make it out of this tunnel alive.”

“What if there is no end?” Qua asked

“Pray to the Gods, and never, ever forget why we are here.” Ona replied somberly.

Ona turned on her heel, and continued marching toward the South. Thoughts of death had often plagued her during this journey, but she had faith in the Gods. She was destined to reach the South. If she was destined to fail, she would have done so by now.

The walk through the tunnel was much easier than the walk through the Middle Lands. Ona felt at ease, despite the walls narrowing with every step.

As the torch in her hand began to burn down to her hand, Ona wondered how many hours had passed. As she looked over her shoulder, she noticed her men’s banter had decreased significantly and they looked as though they hadn’t slept in months. She sighed deeply.

“Shall we stop and rest here?” She asked her exhausted men.

A chorus of groans in agreement greeted her invitation. All at once, the men collapsed in the middle of the tunnel, digging into their bags for the food that Ona had found in the Middle Lands.

As the men ate, Ona tried to decide who should be on guard for the night. They would need two guards, she reasoned. She decided she would be one, and she would leave it up to the men to decide who the other would be.

“We must name the night guards.” Ona stated over the chatter of the feasting men.

“I’ll do it.” Dom offered; his mouth full of some form of deceased animal.

“Dom and I will be conducting the night watch.” Ona announced.

Her men nodded, clearly indifferent with regard to the night watch. Ona could tell they were exhausted, not only from lack of sleep, but from missing their families. She suspected this is the furthest many of them have ever been from their loved ones.

In that moment, she was glad that she had Dom and Kol, and even though she missed Raf dearly, she was thankful for the lack of his presence.

The men finished their meals quickly, and fell asleep against the narrow walls of the tunnel. Ona glanced over at Dom, who was standing at the opposite end of the mass of men. As he met her eyes, he began to walk over the bodies toward her.

He embraced her tightly as he reached her side of the sleeping men.

“How are you doing?” He whispered.

She glanced up into his deep violet eyes and was captivated at once.

“I’m doing well.” She managed after a few moments. She looked away, blushing furiously.

“I know you’re not as innocent as you pretend to be.” He stated confidently.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, brother.”

Gently, he took her hand and led her further into the tunnel, away from any men who could be awake and listening.

When they were a safe distance from the other men, Dom pushed Ona against the cave wall roughly. He took her face in his hands and kissed her.

It was only one kiss, but it took Ona’s breath away and left her mind cloudy. Before she could regain control of her thoughts, she kissed Dom back.

Dom returned her kiss with furious passion. Ona hadn’t realized that she wanted her brother in this way until now. She never knew that kissing anyone other than Kol could feel so right.

Slowly, Dom removed his lips from Ona’s. Her eyes opened and found Dom’s staring back at her. She inhaled deeply.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long.” He whispered; voice gravelly with passion.

“I’m glad you finally did it.” She replied, resting her head on his chest.

As she listened to the strong heartbeat of her brother, she allowed her thoughts to wander. T’was obvious that Dom knew about her and Kol - that she knew for sure. Somehow, she felt the need to protect Kol from the truth about she and Dom.

“Please don’t mention this to Kol.” Ona whispered, kissing her brother’s neck lightly.

“Why should I spare him the torture I went through?” Dom hissed.

“He’s different.”

“So am I.”

“No. We are the same as the rest.”