Lady of Nyv

Ona awoke early the next morning. Having slept soundly through what was left of the night after she and her men had shared their stories of their pasts, she felt refreshed and prepared to continue on their journey to the capital.

As she stretched, she found that the pain in her leg had significantly decreased. She stretched and moved it without hassle, and she decided that she would attempt to continue on their journey today without the aid of her cane.

She pulled herself to her feet with the help of a nearby tree trunk, and amazed herself as she supported her own weight without faltering. Despite her legs shaking as she took a few steps, she was confident in her ability to walk without the need of her pesky cane.

As she packed up her things and walked toward the rest of her men, she could not help but imagine Kol back home in the North surrounded by his many siblings and loving parents. She felt a dull ache in the pit of her stomach as she remembered her younger siblings and her parents. Sometimes she wished that their fate could have been different, but she also would never trade the life she had been given with Raf and the others in Castle Nyv for anything.

There was an overwhelming sense of comradery that enveloped Ona as soon as she reached the men a few paces away from the now-extinguished fire.

Ona gave the command to begin marching once again toward the capital, and the men obeyed. A few moments after they began marching, Ona could hear the playful banter between her men, as well as more stories of their lives at home. Ona could not help but feel grateful for the time that they had spent revealing personal elements of their home lives to each other around the fire the night prior – she truly felt as though it had helped her men have more of a fraternal bond.

A she listened to the men’s conversations, she could not help but feel that someone was missing. As she looked to the east, she realized that Maevyn was not included amongst the chatting men. T’was then that Ona remembered that Maevyn had fallen asleep much earlier than the others, and had not been included in last night’s conversation. Feeling a small amount of compassion for the girl, she approached her.

“Good morning, Maevyn.” She said with a slight smile.

“Good morning, M’Lady.” Maevyn chirped.

“Could you tell me about your life in the South?” Ona asked, surprising Maevyn and herself with her forwardness.

“Of course, M’Lady. What would you like to know?”

“Tell me about your family.”

“Well, you met my father.” She began, “and my mother passed many years ago while she was birthing my brother. He died as well. It’s been my father and I ever since.”

“If t’was just your father and yourself, why would he wish to send you with us?”

Maevyn’s head dropped slightly.

“I haven’t the faintest idea, M’Lady.” She said, meeting Ona’s amber eyes with her clear blue gaze.

Ona was skeptical of her answer, but decided not to press on the matter immediately.

“Have you any siblings other than Dom, M’Lady?”

“I had many siblings, but they have all since passed. My eldest sister would have been your age now.” Ona replied, tears welling up in her eyes.

“My sincerest apologies, Lady Ona.” Maevyn said, tentatively reaching out a hand to Ona.

“T’was a long, long time ago now, child.”

“Did you leave your parents behind in the North?”

“No, they are deceased as well. Only Dom and I remain, although I believed him to be dead until a few months ago.”

“Who did you live with, then?”

Ona knew that this child had no right to bombard her with such intimate questions, but she felt the need to answer them. She wasn’t sure what t’was about Maevyn, but she felt the immense need to befriend her and to protect her.

“I lived with the King’s Advisor. He adopted me when I was small. I lived in the castle with him after he told the keep and the guards that I was his niece.”

“He sounds awfully kind.”

“He is.” Ona said with a smile.

“Tell me, why is it you have blue eyes?” Ona pried.

“My mother was from the East.”

“What was her name?”

“Myre.”

Ona and Maevyn continued to talk as the group marched forward. The conversations in small groups continued amongst the men for quite a long time. T’wasn’t until Tai yelled loudly that the men hushed.

“What’s wrong?” Ona demanded.

No one answered, instead the men ran towards the trees, some climbing into them, other huddling near the trunks for protection. Ona could not see what they were running from until the group of men in front of her jumped into a nearby tree.

Suddenly, she was able to see what caused her men to run in fear. Before her stood a large creature with six legs and two mighty claws. It haad a large curved tail with a spike on the tip which was dripping with some sort of liquid. The beast was brown in colour, matching the forest floor nicely despite it being half the size of a mountain lion.

Ona pushed a shocked Maevyn into the arms of Tai who was huddled against the nearest tree.

“Keep her safe!” She shouted, removing the dagger from the waistband of her pants.

“Ona, do not go near that beast!” Dom warned.

“We have to kill it, Dom. We cannot just walk past it!” She screamed at him.

“Cas and I will shoot it from the trees.” Kol called from above her.

Ona allowed Kol and Cas to shoot the beast as she huddled with Maevyn who was murmuring to herself and holding her abdomen.

Ona watched in horror as the arrows bounced off of the beast one by one, not even leaving a scratch on the surface of the strange animal. Its beady black eyes studied Ona, and she could feel sweat forming at the nape of her neck. She would not be defeated by such a small animal.

Before she could react, Dom had leapt onto the back of the animal, just inches away from its tail with the spike. He stabbed at the joint between the head and the body of the animal.

“Someone help him!” Maevyn screamed between whimpers.

Ona grabbed her dagger and began to run toward her brother. Suddenly, she tripped on a tree root and her leg gave out underneath her. She fell a few paces from one of the claws of the beast. Ona watched the claw raise slowly, and managed to roll herself a few paces to the west.

While she struggled to catch her breath, Kol grabbed her discarded dagger from beneath the claw of the beast and began to stab at the eyes of the creature.

The creature made a horrible shrieking noise as green goo oozed from its eyes. As it swung its head back and forth, Dom was able to puncture the protective armour around the beast’s body.

He slashed at the small amount of flesh that he was able to see, and blood poured from the wound. In a matter of moments, blood soaked the ground around them and the creature collapsed onto itself. T’was dead.

Kol walked slowly away from the beast as Dom rolled delicately off the back of the beast, landing nicely on his feet. Ona removed herself from Maevyn’s grasp, meeting the two men in the center of the group.

“Thank you.” Ona mumbled to the two men. T’was difficult thanking two men whom she disliked, but they had saved her life as well as Maevyn’s.

“Yes, thank you.” Dom said, patting Kol awkwardly on the back.