Tears of agony streamed down her pale complexion. She fell to her knees with a thud, hardly able to look at the lifeless body lying before her. She touched his pale hand, and shivered, kissing his cold forehead, “Goodbye my love,” she whispered painfully, “goodbye.” She wailed and sobbed, letting rip all of the tears she had kept from view for the past years. Minutes passed, and all she did was sit there, looking at him, waiting for his breath to come back. She kept expecting him to sit up, and laugh. But he never did.
She pulled herself to her feet, whispering a last farewell to her deceased lover - reluctant to leave him unburied, but she had no choice - and carried on towards her destination; the Great City of Sar Damragh. She walked with her head bowed, scuffing her feet on the rough ground, tears were still falling down her cheeks as she approached the city, the blinding white walls towered above her head, casting a large shadow over her. She looked up at the white walls in awe, she imagined men pointing their arrows through the Arrow Slits towards the distorted figures of the Exèrcit, the killers of her love. She looked down again, as it pained her to think of him. She would have her revenge. She clenched her fists as she stood before the enormous metal gates.
“Halt, who goes there?” Came a man’s voice, it echoed across the land behind her.
“Neveah of Sie Fratar! I come bearing news about the Exèrcit, and… and Abel of Sie Fratar.” She added in barely a whisper. A black door at the corner of the giant gates grated loudly as it was opened. A tall bearded man bounced towards Neveah, giving her a large hug and grinning.
“Neveah, finally we meet again, but at such devastating times.” He smiled at her kindly, “I heard you were travelling with a man? Where is he?” He put his hands on Neveah’s shoulders and looked at her sternly.
“Oh, Leumas! He perished by the hands of the Exèrcit. Leumas, they are coming! They’re so close.” Finally all of the sorrow Neveah had been feeling let rip, and she let out a howl of pain,
“Leumas, Ebel of Sie Fratar, he is dead!” Leumas looked gob smacked. He pulled Neveah to her feet and helped her into the city as she sobbed.
Leumas’s house was a very grand house. The tall walls were of a grey brick, and the door was set in a wide arch. They both passed under the arch, whispering a prayer of blessing, as it was tradition to do so when entering a house. As they came to the blue door, Neveah slipped her shoes off, as they were encrusted in dirt and she didn’t want to ruin the carpet. The warmth of Leumas’s house spread through Neveah’s body, as she sighed with relief to be out of the cold. Leumas led her to a small room at the end of the hallway; she sat back on his soft leather couch, happy for a rest. He handed her a clay cup that contained warm milk and watched her intently as she sipped her drink, and when she had finished it she finally spoke.
"Thank you for your kindness." She whispered, her head bowed, staring into the cup she was holding. Leumas looked at her worriedly, "I sense that you have been through much since we last spoke," he said quietly, but calmly, "you should have a rest before we speak of what has happened." He tilted his head to the side, an enquiring eyebrow raised; Neveah tried her best to smile.
"That would be very nice," she looked up, "thank you."
"Johan will show you to your room, and the bathing room." He waved his hand towards a young man, about the age of Neveah; he gave her an obsequious bow. "Follow me, miss." He smiled warmly, and Neveah followed. Leumas's gaze following her until she'd closed the door behind her, as soon as she had gone Leumas rested his head in his hands, sobbing quietly.
**
Neveah sank into her soft bed, not bothering to bathe. Her tiredness had overwhelmed her and she decided to bathe in the morning. However, she could not sleep, every time she closed her eyes, the events of the day re-enacted. From start to finish:
... “Neveah you are a clumsy one, love.” Ebel laughed, glancing sideways at her. They were travelling on foot. The morning sun shone down on Ebel’s face, illuminating his features like he was an angel. Neveah glared up at Ebel, she had fallen for the second time on the slippy ground, wet from the rain of the night before.
“And you’re a mean old mule!” She mumbled, pulling herself up and patting the dirt from her trousers. He grinned at her, that heart wrenching smile that made Neveah want to melt in his presence. “If you fall once more, I am afraid I’ll have to carry you the whole...” Ebel stopped mid sentence, before he dived towards her, pushing her into a bush of shrubs, she laughed loudly, thinking he was just playing about with her, but his voice was deadly serious as he whispered “Hush Neveah! There’s someone here, I heard stamping... I think it’s an army, listen!”
She listened. She heard. Her eyes widened in terror as the stamping of feet came closer and closer until it was so close that it seemed as if teams upon teams of men were marching right by the bush they were hiding in. She stared up at Ebel, who was still laying on top of her, as if she were going to jump out.
Soon the marching got further away, and it seemed as if the whole armed had passed by. Neveah relaxed, but Ebel still seemed tense, with a warning look he spoke again in a hushed voice, “Stay here.” He pushed his lips to hers softly, a kiss that brought tears to Neveah’s eyes. He then stood, though still crouching, and jumped out of the bush.
The sounds Neveah heard next were ones that would haunt her dreams for the rest of her life. The sounds of her love dying. She heard his gargled cries as the soldiers smote him down, they had killed him. She knew straight away it was the Exèrcit, no other army would kill a man without reason.
She lay there for what seemed like hours, scared that there were more soldiers waiting to kill her, or worse. But finally she left the confines of the bushes. His lifeless body only a few feet away...
Neveah woke with a start, tears streaming down her cheeks as the morning sunlight rays attacked her eyes, she blinked and looked around the chamber she had slept in, and grunted, knowing the memory of that day would torture her forever.
