An Oath Of Lords And Ladies (ARTK, Book 1)

Chapter 58

Noveno 2nd, 3328 A.G

  Time seemed to move slower than usual. As Nara reached her hand out, she half-expected the creature to snap and snap her neck- but it didn't. She refused to make eye contact as her fingers stalled in front of it's arm, and she felt a coldness coming from and seeping into the air around it. No one had ever been close enough to feel that coldness and live, but it didn't surprise her. The creatures were almost pure ice.

  Finally, her fingers made contact with it. She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but it felt exactly like ice from a river. She was shaking from fear and confusion, but when she could finally make herself look it in the eyes- it did not try to attack her. It only stared back, unblinking.

  Then it did something she'd never seen or heard of them doing; it sat. When it did so, she saw a second creature standing behind it. She took the time to look around then- but there were no others in sight. She finally picked her dagger up, holding it tightly in her right hand.

She jumped a little when the creature reached out to touch her, as all she could think of then was her father's voice.

  "In any case it's better him than one of us." He'd said about Rain- her bastard half brother she hadn't known was her half brother at the time- while an ice giant was standing paces away from him.

She thought of the bastard then. How could the same sort of creature who'd killed a child be so calm now? Why did she feel calm in their presences?

The one close to her removed it's hand from her arm and she shivered, but finally got it:

These two would not attack her. They would not attack anyone unprovoked. They were docile, and she wondered what in the hells it could possibly mean.

The one closest was so tall she could still make eye contact with it sitting, and it finally hit her: If anyone saw them so close the creatures would be shot in the eyes immediately. For whatever reason, she didn't want that. There was a voice in her head, barely audible- but that told her to let them live, that if they hadn't killed her yet it was probably for a reason.

There was only one person she trusted enough not to scream and alert guards immediately if she brought her to the creatures, one person who could give her real advice on what to do with them. She was an intelligent and religious woman, and Nara felt like she needed that at the moment.

So she slowly walked away, looking back every few moments to make sure it was still there. They did not budge, almost as if they could understand her thoughts. When she was out of sight, finally having made her way around that long section of wall to the next- she saw a gate with guards at the top. It didn't take long to walk to or through it, and she smiled at the guards- though inside, she was trying not to have a breakdown.

  She asked a nearby servant- a man that couldn't have been older than forty, to find Aises. While she waited, her mind went to a thousand different places- a thousand different incidents she was taught of and that happened growing up.

  Rain.

  Thorne.

  The attack on Narene's shore market not too long ago.

There were countless others killed by the creatures since their creation during the time of the gods, people who were lost in history. Nara could have easily been one of them just a few moments ago, but she wasn't.

  And if the giants could be docile, what of the ocean dwellers and sand crawlers? Could some of them be docile too?

  No- Nara rolled her eyes at herself. The only encounters people had ever had with The dwellers and crawlers were attacks, and those who survived always talked of how empty the creature's eyes were. It'd also been written hundreds of times in thousands of years how their only purpose seemed to be killing people. There were similar stories of the giants- and Nara had watched such an attack herself, but she hadn't seen it in them just now. She was left more confused than ever.

  Her mind went back to the same thoughts over and over again until the servant came back with Aises, who was in the old dress she wore while making salves and powders, teas and herbal mixtures. There were old green and black spots that would never come out- but she didn't mind. It showed that she actually did her job.

  She raised an eyebrow when she finally spotted Nara. "You sent for me, my queen?"

  "Yes just... are you carrying any sharp objects?" Nara asked, fingers clenched around her own dagger.

  "I...no.... your grace?" Aises eye's drifted to the dagger, then back up. "Why?"

  "Do you trust me?" Nara looped an arm through hers, pulling her closer to the gate.

  "Should I?"

  Probably not- Nara thought, though she kept it to herself. Anyone who could read her mind would think she'd gone mad. Maybe she had. Maybe it was the months-long poor sleep, but she just couldn't see aggression in the giants that'd just saved her from getting her head bashed against a wall.

  Nara glared at the gate guards again, who knew better then than to try and keep her in. When the gates were let up, she almost dragged Aises through them.

  "Where are we going?" The older woman asked.

  "Just...don't scream." Nara said. "The only way I know how to ask for advice on... whatever the hells this means is by... showing you them."

"Them?" Aises questioned. In response, Nara pulled her along faster- stopping only when they were near the corner the sections of wall met at, where she saw one of the larger trees just a few paces from where she'd left the giants. A few more steps- and they'd be able to see them.

  Nara took a deep breath and walked forward until they were visible. They were just as she'd left them; one sitting, the other slightly smaller creature standing behind.

Aises froze. She'd been taught the same things Nara had of the creatures growing up, but there were forty four more years of conditioning to work through. Nara acted like she expected her to do so in just moments, but her mouth was still opening and closing when she pulled her forward and placed both of their hands on the sitting creature's shoulder.

Aises had felt and used river ice to treat burns before, but touching a giant was something entirely new to her. Her entire body shook, and not from the cold.

"What in the hells are you doing?" She forgot her formalities for a moment, asking through gritted teeth.

"These creatures were created by the goddess you were named for, right? So what am I supposed to do? You must have read something that told you something while studying to become a witch."

"I...." Aises sighed. "I could not begin to tell you what this means, my queen. But.... the..... best chance you'll have at finding answers is in Dedor... at The Temple Of Fenthos."

Because she was struggling with what else to say, Nara simply nodded. "Very well. Go... gather the others and.... the Alymere family. Tell them it's time for my speech."

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Next chapter is the final one in this part :)