Lady of Nyv

As the sun began to rise in the distance, casting a very light pink shadow over the tips of the waves of snow, Ona arose. She lifted herself out of the shallow hole in the snow that her body had created, and crunched over to what remained of the fire.

She took a stick, which had been placed on the ground next to the fire, and gently poked the burning ashes, trying to somehow rekindle the flames. The flames licked amongst what was left of the wood from last night, but it wasn’t enough for the fire to fully catch. The flames faded as soon as they had appeared and Ona tossed the stick, frustrated.

She paced in a circle around the smoldering ashes, muttering about their pathetic inability to burn. She kicked snow into the pit as she walked, extinguishing the flames and watching the smoke float into the light pink sky above.

Ona heard gruff laughter from the east. As she looked, she noticed that many of the men had awoken whilst she had been muttering and kicking snow. They appeared to be mocking her. She shot them a glare from where she stood, but that only increased the volume of their laughter. Within minutes the men where in a full uproar, laughing at her.

Ona had had just about enough of this. She reached into her waistband, pulled out her expertly crafted dagger, and raised it to just above her shoulder. She took aim, taking care to swing the dagger back and forth for suspense, even though she knew it wasn’t necessary.

She locked eyes with one of the men lying in the snow across from her. The men were about to run when Ona let the dagger fly into the air. It spun rapidly just as Dom’s dagger had when Ona had thrown it at the filthy Southerner in the woods only a few days prior.

She watched the men’s reactions as they remained frozen in horror. T’was as if the dagger was moving in slow motion for Ona- she could see every flip it made and hear every sound it made as it sliced through the air.

It landed in between the group of men, cleanly missing every one of their limbs. Ona smiled, very proud of herself.

“Your aim is impeccable, as usual, sister.” Dom said in approval.

Ona hadn’t noticed he had been standing behind her.

“You’re a twisted cow!” One of the men from the group yelled.

“You could have killed us!” Another screamed.

Ona paid them no mind. “Thank-you, Dom. Unfortunately, the others are not as kind as you. They should be praising me. I allowed them to keep their pathetic limbs.”

The men, however, were not at all amused.

“That is why you should not mock your leader- especially when she is short on rest.” Kol stated confidently as he strode over to join the group.

Ona smiled at him gratefully. It was nice to know that Dom supported her, but having more than one other person siding with her was especially nice.

“We must continue on our journey.” Ona announced. “I would like to sleep at the base of those mountains tonight.” She finished, gesturing at the mountains directly south of their encampment.

The men groaned loudly, some muttered insults that were supposed to wound her, but truly, they only fueled her power.

“I have a feeling you’ll be sleeping alone.” Dom whispered with a chuckle.

“Not if I have anything to do with it.” Ona growled.

She was extremely frustrated that the men were not taking her seriously. Even men whom she had known for years seemed to be mocking her. She needed to prove to her men that she was more than capable of leading them to the South- it was imperative.

Regardless of the men’s displeasure, Ona forced them to continue on their journey. She was sure to increase their pace every chance that came about. It was essential.

Throughout the morning, the tired, whiny groans of the men fuelled Ona’s energy and constantly forced a smile onto her face. She knew that her men wouldn’t dare disrespect her again- not if she had anything to say about it.

Kol and Dom walked on either side of Ona in front of the mass of men. The two walked stone-faced, clearly trying to mask their true feelings. However; it did not do them any good.

“Why aren’t you two smiling?” Ona asked them, pretending she cared.

“What is there to smile about?” Dom shot back.

“I haven’t killed you yet. That’s one thing.” Ona said with a small shrug.

When neither Dom nor Kol responded to her comment, she decided to distract herself by tugging at the rag that was wrapped around her healing hand. It had been a few days since the incident, but the pain had subsided quite a bit- to Ona’s surprise.

As she picked and tugged at the make-shift bandage, she could feel eyes on her body. She felt them studying her, as if trying to see her soul. She turned slowly, coming face to face with Kol’s burning red and gold eyes.

“Can I help you?” Ona asked rhetorically.

“Why do you do that?” Kol asked.

“Do what?”

“Act so vile.”

Ona thought hard about what she could say, but decided that giving Kol an answer wasn’t all that important at the moment. He shouldn’t be asking her such juvenile questions, anyhow. T’wasn’t his place.

She returned to picking at her bandage, wishing furiously that she did not have to wear it any longer. She cursed the foolish man who had shot the arrow into that tree many years ago. She had also cursed Ser- blaming him for the incident, but her sudden hatred for him had passed. She knew he had been remourseful, and she knew that he watched over her- especially in death.

Ona’s thoughts flowed into her fatigued, weak mind, consuming all of her senses. She knew it was dangerous to travel in such a mindset as this, but she had so many thoughts. If she repressed them during the day, they would surely haunt her at night.

The sun rose quickly, something Ona was having a hard time getting used to. She understood that the further south they travelled, the lighter it would become, but she still craved the dark, gloomy days in the North. She sighed.

Ona had stopped allowing the men to take scheduled breaks, instead allowing them to eat as they walked. T’was much more efficient that way.

Ona treated the men as she would a small child. She slowly increased their pace every once in awhile so they would not notice- so far, it seemed to be working. Ona smiled quietly to herself as she heard the men begin to grumble behind her, clearly feeling the burn in their legs caused by their exercise.

As Ona glanced around, she noticed that Dom and Kol were no longer near her. She surveyed the area, becoming increasingly concerned as seconds passed. Finally, she caught sight of the two men climbing from tree to tree. As Ona watched closer, she realized they appeared to be chasing one-another.

She opened her mouth to call their names, but remembered what had happened when Ser had done the very same thing to her. She cradled her wounded hand to her chest tentatively, hoping that the men would stop their shenanigans soon.

Ona tried her hardest to return to her thoughts, desperate not to be kept awake by her mind once again; but she could not focus. Her mind kept racing back to Kol and Dom. She wanted them to be back on the ground with the rest of the group. Her anxieties grew every second that they spent in those trees.

She forced herself to pry her eyes from Dom and Kol and focus on the thinning trees ahead. Ona knew that they were close to the mountain’s base, and that thrilled her. She turned to address her men.

“The sooner we reach the base of that mountain, the sooner we may rest!” She announced.

The men cheered loudly, and Ona smiled widely.

“We must press on. Food is scarce, and we must hunt before nightfall.” She continued.

“Are you certain we will find food, M’Lady?” Qua asked.

“No.” Ona admitted. “But we must try nonetheless.”

They pressed on, the men moving much faster now. They were clearly looking forward to the possibility of getting a few extra hours sleep tonight. Ona smiled lustfully at the mere hope of getting more than a few minutes sleep tonight- she desperately needed it.

As they continued on their way, the men began to hum a familiar song of the North. It started off with simply one person, and within moments, the entire group of men were engaged in this surprising outburst. Ona glanced over her shoulder as she walked, and saw many of the men were smiling broadly, some even laughing.

As the men’s spirits lightened, as did Ona’s. Her mind became free of any menacing thoughts; replaced with hope and excitement for the future.

The men continued to hum as they walked, clearly noticing how uplifting it truly was. Ona, however; never joined in on the playful humming. Even though she was in a much better mood, she had no desire to hum along.

Dom was humming and dancing like he used to when he was a child- with all of the innocence and joy that the young mind possesses. Ona was glad her brother still had the ability to enjoy himself and embrace his inner child. She knew she had grown up far too fast.

As the men hummed and laughed, Ona gazed at the scenery that surrounded them. She inhaled the rich, fresh scent that the Middle Lands had to offer, and stared open-mouthed at the assortment of trees that towered above them.

Suddenly, Ona smelled a familiar scent- Winter Bush. She inhaled greedily, wanting nothing more than to submerge her body in the fumes, forever smelling of the North. Her eyes darted from tree to tree, searching for the source of the scent.

Her eyes finally rested on a small clearing to the west. Ona realized that this particular clearing seemed rather peculiar. It seemed to her that the Winter Bushes lined the outside edge of the clearing, providing a border between the forest and the fallen snow.

Her eyes remained frozen to that spot as they marched by. Ona was determined to search the clearing once they rested. The base of the mountains was very close now, and she knew that the men would be eager to rest. She hoped that they would fall asleep at once, allowing her to slip into the forest unnoticed.

T’wasn’t that she did not want the aide of her men in exploring this clearing, but she needed to be alone. She needed to collect her thoughts and form a plan for the ascent into the high peaks of the mountains.

Food was a necessity. She knew this. Ona also knew that she needed to find food tonight, it was essential. Food would be minimal in the mountains, and they needed to take advantage of their extra hours on the flat surface of the Middle Lands.

As they approached their desired resting place, Ona smiled gleefully. T’wasn’t very long of a walk to return to the clearing.

The men had stopped their humming shortly after passing the clearing, something for which Ona was thankful. While the humming had been appreciated in the beginning, it had become vexatious rather quickly.

The men settled near the sparse trees at the base of the mountain, being cautious of their surroundings. The absence of trees provided little shelter for the men, and this was worrying for Ona. She needed to trust that the men would be watchful tonight. She would make sure that they added a few extra men to the night watch. They did not need any attacks tonight.