Lady of Nyv

Ona awoke as the sun was rising. The beams of light shone through the leaves and branches which surrounded her, causing her to blink rapidly as her eyes slowly adjusted to the daytime. She was very much aware of Kol’s arms around her, holding her to his chest as he slept. Her head lay over his heart, and she could hear his steady, strong heartbeat and his relaxed breathing.

She gently lifted her head, nuzzling his neck with her cold nose to awaken him. As she felt him stir beneath her, she kissed the tender skin beneath his ear lobe. He groaned softly.
“Haven’t you teased me enough for one day, Ona?” He asked, his voice gruff from sleep.

She smiled slyly as she met his eyes, which were struggling to open, still heavy with sleep.

“Mayhaps I enjoy teasing you.” She said with a giggle.

“I know you do – tis one thing I wish I could have the strength to stop you from doing.”

Ona kissed his lips gently and then sighed.

“We must go now. The Members will be wondering where we’ve gotten to.” She said, a twinge of sadness in her voice.

Kol groaned loudly, but did not protest.

He allowed Ona to descend from the branches first, following her lazily when she was nearly at the base of the trunk.

As he reached the ground, he peered over his shoulder and saw a small amount of Ona’s snow white flesh as her shirt lifted slightly around her midsection. Ona stopped mid-stretch, arms above her head, when she saw Kol staring at her from the trunk of the tree.

“What are you staring at?” She demanded.

“Just you.” Kol responded with a smirk. “We’d best join the others now.”

Ona finished stretching and followed Kol back to their camp.

As she walked, she tried to recall if she had dreamt the night before. She vaguely recalled an intimate conversation between she and Kol, but she quickly dismissed it as a figment of her imagination. She and Kol would never have said such things to one another. After all, she was practically betrothed.

As they reached the campsite, Ona could see that none of her men were awake. She smiled as relief flooded her body. Kol placed his hand gently on her shoulder, stopping her before she walked into the center of the circle of sleeping men to awaken them.

As she turned to look at Kol, she saw something in his eyes that she had never seen before. T’was as if his eyes had sparks of gold running through them. She looked into his eyes intensely, and he brought his hand to her face, gently caressing her cheek with his fingertips.

“I hope that we can do this again before we reach the Capital.” He said wistfully.

“As do I.” She responded with a slight smile.

He gently pressed his lips to hers, but pulled away only seconds after.

“You had better wake the men.” He said quietly. “We’ve a long day ahead of us.”

Instead of putting Kol in his place and refusing to take orders from him, Ona took his suggestion and gently shook each man in turn. As the men groaned and stretched by the fire, Ona made her way to the trees to the Northern edge of their encampment.

She saw the blonde hair cascading over the forest floor before she had even reached the sleeping girl. Ona kneeled down beside her, gently pushing her hair away from her face and rubbing her back to awaken her.

After a few moments, the girl’s bright blue eyes opened, focusing lazily on Ona’s face.

“Have I overslept, M’Lady?” She asked, suppressing a yawn.

“No, Maevyn.” She replied softly. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“I am feeling well, Lady Ona. Thank you for asking.” She paused for a moment, brushing the hair from her eyes. “You have been very kind to me; much kinder than you had to be.”

Ona nodded in response. She wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to the girl at the moment, but she knew that she felt as though she had to protect her. She hoped that when she realized why she had such fiercely protective feelings about her, she could find the words to explain to Maevyn why she was so different from everyone else in her life.

“We’d best get going.” She murmured before setting off to gather her men.

The morning was a rough start for her men. Ona suspected that they had slept better than they had in many weeks, but their bodies were very slow to wake up. As a result, the men did not walk very far at all, however, this was not an issue. As they emerged from the trees when the sun was highest in the sky, Ona saw the glimpse of a castle in the distance. She inhaled sharply.

“We’ve nearly made it!” Maevyn exclaimed, running toward Ona.

“Is that the King’s palace?” She asked, awestruck.

“Yes, Lady Ona.” She replied with a huge smile on her face. “That is our new home.”