To say Delyth is uncomfortable was putting it lightly. She wants to run for the hills and not the ones in Swuybia. She curses her mother's side of the family for the size of her derriere because she hasn't been in Swuybia for an hour and none of them are focusing on her face but on the two globes swaying behind her as she walks. The linen dress that was loosely fitted as well as slightly hugging the curves on her body didn't make the situation any better.

Usually she would ignore the pain but her body was aching due to the amount of hits she took, she had to find a nurse, which she successfully did, thankfully to the kind Swuybians. She knocks and upon permission she enters, meeting a straight haired blonde in a black and white uniform.

"Oh dear, you look like you've been playing with the wolves. How can I help you?" She offers, suggesting she sit on the bed but she declines the offer.

"Hi, can I just get a pack of ice, please?" Delyth asks but the nurse scrutinizes her before shaking her head and gently pushes her down on the bed.

"Let me take a look at you first. What hurts?"

"Nothing, I just want a pack of ice so I can go on my way."

The nurse chuckles, "You know, you remind me of my little brother. That boy could be taking his last breath and he would look at me and go 'Roi, just give me the ice or patch me up so I can go back. I don't have time for all of this, I am fine'. The name is Roisin, by the way. My brother is Tiarnan, he's Captain of the Guards." Roisin tries unsuccessfully to imitate her brother's voice and laughs afterwards. The way she announces her brother's position, she sounds extremely proud of him.

Delyth nods, already knowing that it is possible that she is going to meet this brother soon, that is if she hasn't already. "I'm Delyth."

"How did you get these anyway? These are not normal bruises I see on a woman, unless," Roisin pauses and looks into Delyth's eyes with pity. "Is everything okay at home, sweetie? You can talk to me, I can help you. I have poison or a little drop of concoction so he can't move again. Like ever."

Delyth stares at the girl, wondering what she was rambling about. It concerns her how concerned she looks and she has no idea what she was talking about.

"I'm sorry, what?" Her head cocks to the side and her brows knit together.

Roisin sighs and clasps her hands around Delyth's hands in a comforting manner. "I know it's none of my business but in case you need someone to talk to or help you. I can provide services for both."

Delyth continues to stare at the blonde so confused, she wants to run but the black in her stays to figure out what Roisin was so worried about. It was until she reflected on her words and realized how it looked. Delyth slides her hand out Roisin's hold, pats it, and shakes her head almost laughing.

"No, you misunderstand. These are from the guards." That didn't ease Roisin's thoughts at all and Delyth could see that by how wide her eyes got. "I'm recruiting as one of them. I got this as a—" Delyth trails off, trying to find the right words but gives up and waves her hand in dismissal. "It matters not. You'll probably be seeing more of me from here on."

Roisin's shoulders drop in relief and bring a hand to her chest. "Oh, okay. Well then. I thought you—. Nevermind, that's good. Doing things none of us women are brave enough to do, I mean. Unlike my brother, you were right about only needing a pack of ice. Have you met him?"

Delyth shakes her head because has no idea what her brother even looks like. Taking a guess, he'll probably look like her. Blonde hair with gentle green eyes but the eye color could be wrong. So far, she hasn't met anyone fitting that description. Only big, hairy men who could be relatives to bears.

"When you do see him, tell him I said that he should eat well and take care of himself. If you need any help with the guards, you can count on him to rough them up for you. I remember that first I visited him around his friends and they were just animals. When Tiarnan saw it, he was not happy. He almost killed a guy. Ruadhan was going to give him a severe punishment for it but one of his closest friends spoke up and Tiarnan got a small punishment instead. Unfortunately, the friend died that night. We knew they killed him but no one had proof and no one would say anything.

"Tiarnan got upset. He trained and trained to be the best to honor his friend and he did. Now he gets to bust their balls any chance he gets. He may come off tough but he's a real sweetheart, at least to the women though. Casanova, I call him sometimes." Roisin laughs at the end of her babbling.

In spite of her incessant chattering, Delyth listened keenly. Despite Roisin being a fast talker, Delyth found her interesting enough to listen to whatever story she had to tell. Delyth thought about what Soo and Othmar would think if they met her. Soo Min would probably tease her about how fast she spoke. Roisin would be a good help to Soo in getting her on the good path and preventing her from stealing a lot because Roisin's chattering would scare people away. Not to mention her being so caring, she would probably burst her eardrums on the many different ways she can survive life and do other things to survive. Soo Min would have no choice but to do what she says just to get her to shut up and then she'll realize how much of a good idea it was.

Othmar would definitely try to sleep with her at first but once she starts talking he would try everything to ignore her. He would most definitely find her annoying. It would be fun to watch.

Just thinking about them made her miss them. She reminds herself to write them a letter as soon as she settles in.

She thanks Roisin for the treatment, who tells her to come by again even if she isn't injured—Delyth couldn't promise that, but she smiles and nods anyway—and bids goodbye.

She goes back to the castle which she notes is almost the same size as Hias', where she is informed about the sleeping arrangements. The guards who have families, sleep with their families while the single guards sleep in what they called Holdings. For now, there are two Holdings. Each room has a specific amount of beds to fit a certain number of guards. They all sleep closely together to fit in the rooms.

The beds are tough, which she is used to but they weren't creaky. The sheets are thin, something she is also used to. Most nights, she would sleep without a sheet to cover her body, in order for her parents to be warm. The days were hot in Naelund but the nights were cold from the snow in their neighbor nation, Esadom.

Obviously, Varusa was their neighbor as well but not in the sense of taking care of them. There were people in Esadom who would risk their lives to give a little food to the Naelundians while the Varusans wouldn't even bat an eye in their direction. It wasn't their fault. They have a bad King who forbade them to.

It started with the Wicked King, Boaz Casteron, fifty years ago—ten years after he killed the Frecka magic in Naelund—and made it law that they were to be cut off from food and any supply needed to keep them alive. When he died, his son granted that the law be lifted and they got several years of hope and life. Naelund was so happy and thought that that was the beginning of new times.

They knew the older son, Ishaem, had a good heart like his father and the Naelundians were even more happy for him to be their King. Then he died not long after his parents did, no one knows how. Everyone in the Kingdom felt sorry for Silas. When he started killing, they thought it was his way to cope but when he continued doing it for years, they started to worry. It wasn't a coping mechanism or mental health problem, he is just a cruel king who loves spilling blood.

To put the icing on the cake, he rewrote the law his grandfather decreed and made it official again. That was the moment everyone knew they knew they were all doomed. Those who didn't believe in a God went to Priests to repent of their sins. But it continued, so they tried to stay out of Silas' way and obeyed his ridiculous and heinous laws.

Delyth wants to watch him die in front of his eyes for the pain he and his grandfather put them through for years. Even if it meant to die trying. All of it needs to end before it gets any worse—if it could get any worse.

She jolts awake when she feels hands going under her tunic. She sees the two men beside her watching her, feeling sick to her stomach at the lust in their eyes. She is frightened when she sees another one on the other side of the room, sitting up in his bed, watching the entire thing happening with his hand in his pants.

"Lay back down, little girl and leave us to our business," The one on her right says in a sickly tone that sounds like a snake was crawling up her body.

Their business, she shouts in her mind. They're making it sound as if they have a right to her body and she has no say in it but to let it happen. They are pigs. Pigs ready to be slaughtered.

She pushes them away but they over-power her and hold her to the bed. The guy that was jerking off on his bed is now at her side, trailing his hand under her tunic and into her loose pants. She feels so disgusted she wants to scream but can't because one of them has his hand over her mouth. One was holding her hands while the other was covering her mouth and keeping her body down.

Her legs are free so she raises them up and connects it with his dick, causing him to cower sideways falling to the floor, holding his jewels. The two were ready to pounce on her but she was faster. She grabs her sword from under the bed and starts swinging. The two start backing up to avoid getting hurt.

Suddenly she is grabbed from behind. When she turns around, she notices it is the same guy whose balls she kicked in. She takes her sword and turns the blade in her direction, twists her body to the side and brings her forward so it stabs him. She has no idea where he got injured, as long as he releases her.

She turns to face the two but finds them lying on the floor and a blonde hair man looking down at their unconscious bodies. Her chest heaves up and down to match her heavy breathing, trying to make sense of what happened in the span of the minutes that went by. He finally looks up, meeting her eyes. His striking green eyes are an uncanny resemblance to what he thought they would be. Except they're even more beautiful in the night with the light from the moon gleaming on his face.

"Nice to finally meet you, Delyth Aiken. I'm Tiarnan Holian."

04/03/22

Au revoir...

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