Lady of Nyv

As the men dropped their weapons to reach for the food, Ona could sense the concern in Nikola’s deep brown eyes.

“Is there something wrong?” She inquired.

Nikola furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out how to voice his feelings.

“You may not bring the weapons into my inn.” He stated firmly.

“Why not?” Ona shot back, feeling instantly uncomfortable at the thought of having to leave her weapons behind.

“There is no need for them. The South is a peaceful kingdom, it is nothing like where you have come from.”

“How would you know what it’s like where we come from?” Ona snapped.

“I have seen the destruction that your kingdom has caused.”

“Then why do you allow us to stay here in your inn?”

“Because one of us has to take the high road and try to make peace.” With that, Nikola returned to his place inside the inn.

Ona was confused by Nikola’s desire for peace between the kingdoms, but quickly pushed it from her mind when she saw the food that had been served to them.

It was mostly overcooked game, but it tasted as though it had been blessed by the King himself. Ona and her men gorged herself until they were as full as they could possibly be, and quite a few of her men had become seriously inebriated.

As the sun set behind the hills, Ona motioned for Kol, Dom, and Qua to follow her to their rooms. They removed their weapons, as Nikola had told them to, leaving them with the other men who would sleep in the barn.

As Ona walked up the stone steps behind Nikola, who was leading her to her room, she felt lighter. She wasn’t sure if it was the thought of sleeping in a bed, the ale she had ingested, or the lack of weaponry, but she quite enjoyed the feeling.

“This is your room, M’Lady.” He said, gesturing to a large wooden door at the top of the stairs with a large number 6 engraved into it.

“Thank-you, Nikola. Good night.”

“Good night.” He said with a smile.

Ona entered the room, followed closely by Kol. As she looked at the worn out young man, she thought of the conversation that she and Qua had had before entering their rooms.

“How will you defend yourself against him without your weapons?” Qua had asked.

“I’ll be fine.” She had reassured him.

Ona chuckled under her breath. I’ll be fine, she whispered, and then shook her head. Sometimes she wondered if she was really ever fine. Ona didn’t doubt herself often, but it seemed like she had doubted herself at least a thousand times over the course of this journey.

“You can sleep there.” She said, pointing to a large arm chair in the corner of the room.

Kol didn’t respond. He just hung his head and shuffled toward the chair. He looked defeated. Ona felt a pang of guilt in her chest, but she would not allow him to break her.

“Can we talk?” Kol asked, looking up at her through his thick lashes. His red eyes burned into hers, and it felt like she was melting.

Ona sighed, putting her face in her hands as she sat on the edge of the bed, facing away from him.

“Please. I don’t want to die, Ona.”

“It’s Lady.” She shot back.

“My apologies, Lady Ona.” He corrected himself sarcastically.

“You don’t seem very sincere when you use that tone.”

“I just want to get this sorted out. We cannot continue on like this.”

“I think we can.”

Kol placed his hand on her shoulder, Ona stiffened.

“I know we can’t.” He said softly.

Ona stood up, backing away from his touch.

“You know nothing.”

“I know that this is hurting you as much as it’s hurting me. You know that I didn’t do any of those things that they accused me of doing. You know I would never hurt you.”

“It seems that I don’t know you at all, Kol.”

Kol stiffened noticeably as he registered the acidity in her harsh tone.

“You don’t mean that.” He mumbled.

“What makes you think you know me? We met only a fortnight ago. You are a stranger to me, Kol. Now more than ever.”

“Please-“

“That is quite enough.”

With those final cold remarks, Ona threw herself onto the bed, burrowing between the two wool blankets. She was the warmest she had felt in weeks, but her mind would not quiet enough to allow her to sleep.

She was filled with immense anger. Part of this was directed at Kol, and part at herself. If she had not been weak enough to fall into a comatose state, then none of this would have happened. However, she had saved her men.

She sighed aloud; she had had enough of her thoughts for one evening. Finally, she forced herself to sleep.