Lady of Nyv

Kol’s face turned white as he realized what Dom thought he had done. His mind raced with things he could say to try and placate Ona’s brother. As soon as he saw his eyes, however; he knew that he was in massive trouble. Kol watched as Dom picked up a dagger and came charging at him.

Dom tackled Kol, pressing him to the ground, his entire weight on Kol’s ribcage. Kol struggled to breathe.

“Why did you do it?” Dom managed through gritted teeth. He was visibly upset.

“I didn’t mean to.” Kol stammered, struggling with each word.

Dom pressed the knife to Kol’s throat.

“Maybe I didn’t mean to do this, either.” He growled.

Just then, Lug and Qua lifted Dom to his feet, allowing Kol to breathe. Nix pried the dagger from Dom’s grasp, placing it on the ground once again.

“It was dark.” Kol began as he stood up. “I couldn’t see. I had no idea she was on the neck of the monster. How could I? I was shooting so fast; trying to kill it. I swear on my life I had no idea she was there.”

A tear slid down Kol’s cheek as he recalled those painful events. He stared at Dom, who was kneeling on the ground, sobbing.

Qua patted Dom’s back, trying to console him.

“That’s enough for today.” Qua mumbled, shaking his head.

“We need to find somewhere to camp.” Nix said, rocking back and forth on his heels.

“We will camp here.” Kol stated. “It’s too risky to try and move Ona now.”

The men nodded solemnly and began gathering wood and supplies that they would need for tonight. Kol looked around, searching for something to do. He felt like he needed to get his mind off of what he had done. He didn’t want to end up like Dom, who was an inconsolable mess. He just sat there, holding Ona’s hand and crying. Kol sighed.

As he walked around, he noticed Nix was standing in an open field at the side of the hill. His head was tilted upward and he seemed to be staring at the bright blue sky above.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Kol asked, placing a hand on Nix’s shoulder.

Nix grabbed Kol’s hand, digging his fingers into Kol’s wrist.

“Don’t touch me.” He growled.

“Nix, is something wrong?” Kol asked.

“I’m fine.” He said, shaking his head. His entire persona had changed in an instant.

“Are you sure?” Kol said, stepping backwards cautiously.

“Yeah.” Nix said. “I feel great!”

“Okay.” Kol said, hesitantly.

Kol stood and watched as Nix ran to help the other men with the supplies. Once he disappeared from view, Kol studied the surrounding area.

He knew that they were on a hillside. He could see the mountain that they had been in in the distance. It was covered in snow and towered into the clouds. Kol reasoned that the tunnel had to have been on a slight slope in order to bring them out onto this hill, as opposed to onto the mountainside. The hill was covered in grass and some form of shrubbery that he didn’t know the name of. The sky was as blue as ever; nothing like the blue that they had in the North. No matter how far he looked in either direction, he couldn’t see any people or villages.

Kol decided he needed to return to camp to check on Ona. The sun was setting and he was worried about what creatures may lurk during the night.

He returned to camp, thoughts filled with Ona and the possibility of never executing their mission. He wondered if they’d be able to tell Raf that his beloved niece had passed due to his negligence. He’d surely be executed if that were the case. After thinking these things, Kol realized that if Ona died because of his actions, they wouldn’t have to kill him, because he’d do it himself

Kol walked over to where Ona lay in the grass. He sat next to her shoulder, feeling thankful that Dom had left them alone for a bit. Kol gently ran his fingers through Ona’s hair, feeling every strand as it passed through his grip.

“Wake up.” He whispered to her. “We’re all worried sick. Please, Ona; just wake up.”

He never received a response.

As night fell, Kol lay awake. He and Dom slept on either side of Ona, guarding her from any danger. Kol could tell that Dom was asleep because he had finally stopped crying. He sighed in the darkness, still wishing that Ona would wake up. He just wanted to see her beautiful golden eyes one more time.

Kol closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep. He had nearly relaxed himself enough to sleep when he heard a noise. He rolled over silently, facing toward the fire where the other men lay sleeping. He studied their unmoving bodies, trying to figure out the origin of the noise.

As Kol stood, blinking into the darkness, he felt a presence next to him. He turned slowly and saw Nix, standing at the foot of Ona’s body. Kol lay there, frozen in shock, as he watched Nix attempt to bite Ona’s foot. It took Kol a few moments before he realized that Nix was attempting to eat Ona.

Kol rolled over, grabbed his bow and arrow and aimed before Nix could realize what was happening. Kol let the arrow loose and it hit Nix, sending his body to the ground. He didn’t make a loud noise because he’d been sitting when Kol had shot him, but he had made enough noise to startle Kol.

He crawled over to Nix’s body and found that his arrow was stuck directly in Nix’s eye. Kol grimaced. He was glad he had saved Ona, but he had just killed one of his men. All at once a wave of guilt and despair hit him like a snowstorm.