NIMUE POV
We continued along the stream, it was a calm path with a very beautiful landscape. Such an environment was of beauty I hadn't witnessed before.
I took turns with Dof in commanding the small boat we were on, while Pym remembered the directions Morgana had given us to get to where Arthur and my sword were.
I asked Pym what it was like to know who her soulmate was and what it was like to have the bond stabilized. I'd never met newly established soulmates as ,usually, it was the already established couples in our village.
My mother told me that since the beginning of time the Feys have been very close to nature from the elements to those who live in them, and so we all have soulmates. Soulmates are the one or the one born to complete you, a soul in two bodies, and when they finally bond the purest love is formed. A smile crossed my face as such sweet recollection, perhaps someday I would be lucky enough to find my own. I look away from the soulmates and glanced toward the water.
We arrive in a small area of land on the river and set down to begin our journey on foot. Climbing a small hill I find a chariot. Fears envelop my mind. There may be people who want us badly, to hurt us. I bit my lip to quickly think. First thing that comes in mind is to usher Pym to hide, Dof enters in front of her like a wall and I hide behind a tree.
"Do you think he's hiding? And he thinks he's smart" says a voice. I look at Pym and say with a look, no noise. "You went against the wind, it's easy bait for dogs to sniff, you walked the branches and not the pasture, it was easy to find them" and with simple words he calmed us "Born at dawn..."
"To pass at twilight" Pym answers from behind her soulmate.
And he helped us up from the ravine "Come on, hurry up, we have to get to the cart, we have a long way to go" and we went there, inside the carriage we found three more people; a human woman and two Feys a man and a little girl who reminded me of my little Squirrel. "We found them this morning, they are part of the Cobra clan, they must have escaped from Harrow Lagoon, about 160 kilometers from here" we entered the carriage, sat down beside the man and Pym and Dof sat beside the woman "Many Feys survivors are here in the forest, the paladins are being very quick to find them".
The Feys were still scared of us, so I calmed them down by telling them that we wouldn't hurt them.
"This is my wife Clothide and I am Dizier." The man introduces himself and his wife.
"I'm Pym, this is Dof and she's beautiful Nimue" says Pym introducing us.
The chariot began to move and I sighed with relief. There are some good humans like Morgana and Abbess Nora and now these two who are risking their lives to save living beings who don't hold any sort of malice against Feys, against those different from them. If only there were more like them in this world.
"Are they part of the people of heaven?" He asks.
"Pym and I do and Dof... Where are you from?" I ask looking over at my best friend's soulmate.
"I'm from the north," he says.
"We've become experts on the different kinds of Feys. Traders during the day and smugglers of Fey Kind at night, Morgana sent you." Dizier says to us.
"How do you know her?" I ask.
"Morgana helped create the Fey underworld, she's the first one to use Abbey as a place to smuggle, she's a very fundamental person for the resistance," he answers. I can't believe she's doing everything to help us.
"Is there a resistance?" asks Pym with the same keen interest as me.
"Small, but growing every day, in the middle of the woods, the survivors are gathering, using nature as trees and stones as signs for all who have survived to go to the refuge, they call it Nemos. We'll take you there," he says.
"We can't, we have business at Grammaire, Morgana said she could take us," he said reminding us where Arthur and Guinevere should be with my sword.
"Grammaire? It's not possible, there's too many paladins on the roads between where we are and the minotaur."
"We have no choice," says Pym, recalling the task. "A guy we thought was our friend proved to be a thief and a liar."
"I believe Guinevere has already got the sword from that thief," says Dof.
"What? She didn't steal the sword along with him?" I ask, mildly surprised.
"Nimue, she asked Dof to look after us while she followed Arthur, to bring back the sword and she said we were very special," said Pym.
"Okay, but we can't go the whole way, we'll leave you with a half-hour walk to Grammaire," says Dizier.
For the rest of the way, I started playing with the little girl.
"Are you very good with children?" asks the Fey
"She is, she's even got a little one that'll make her a puppy," says Pym.
"So you have a partner and a cub? Where are they? " He continues.
"I do not have a companion, but I have a boy whom I adopted after his mother passed away five summers ago, but I do not know if he survived the attack in our village," I answered his question with condolences in my thoughts.
"Nimue, what did I tell you? Our Squirrel is a survivor and stubborn like you, he's alive and being that feisty one we love helping all the Feys who need help." Pym always there to calm me down.
"I know, he's very much like another person we know well." I said remembering.
"Gawain" Pym answers, reading my thoughts.
"Who is this Gawain?" asks Dof poorly covering up his jealousy.
"Honey I only have eyes for you, he's a Fey who loves us like his younger sisters and he always helped us when we were little. Plus, he often aided us in our mischievous adventures," explained Pym, calming her soulmate. They're perfect for each other. I kept playing with the girl and remembered that I don't know her name.
"Ohhh, I'm sorry I didn't ask what your name was?" I asked the little girl, before answering she looks at her father and he settles down.
"Amvri, my name is Amvri." she says.
"Super powerful name for a super powerful girl." I said to her with a soft smile.
When we hear our driver say he has a knight waiting. Dizier said to the cobra Feys to hide, but the father instructed Amvri to specifically hide in one of the covers and go on the ride with me and my friends, so he hid in the bottom of the carriage, Amvri rolled up in one of the covers and I told her to climb on Dof's lap and cover herself.
He was one of Grammaire's guards.
"What do you want at Grammaire?" says the guard.
"We're selling leather, me, my wife, my daughter and my niece and nephew," says Dizier, making up a story that was bought by the guard.
"They're clean." he warned the other guards and we left.
"How can we pay for this help?" says Pym while playing with the little Amvri in Dof's lap.
"Survive," Dizier said.
"You girls are too serious for your ages," says Clothilde.
"My mother would say that's not true," I replied to her comment.
"We were very careless, childish and fiery, and it was our fault that our village was found. We were in town and we used magic on people who were against it, they sent the paladins after us and we ended up taking them to our village," says Pym with tears of guilt that matched my own eyes.
"And before she died she gave me a very important task and I ended up failing." I continued talking in a somber tone.
"Here you are alone, and afraid, running into danger instead of running away from it, to fulfill your mother's last wish, I can tell you that a mother knows her child well, and if she gave you this task you will be able to do it, have faith," says Clothilde embracing me.
"I wish I had known her better. More and more I think and I run out of answers and I realize that she herself, dead, still has many secrets," I said to her.
"Listen to the Hidden and you will hear her voice. Nimue and Pym any mother would value having a daughter such as yourselves," she says giving us a warm smile in reassurance to me and Pym.
We continue the path to a small piece of land well hidden. Amvri's father comes out of his hiding place and speaks to the little one with words expressing how he loves and is very proud of her.I had no idea that it would be the last words he would speak to the daughter, which reminds me of my mother's last words. He pulls me into a hug and asks me to take care of Amvri. I promise to find and protect Squirrel and I will put the same effort in taking care of this little one.
"Here we separate be careful, when you finish following the river on the left bank, go to the woods at the beginning of the ridge, after a few miles there is a clearing there and remember to protect Amvri with all your strength. Take this knife so at least your group has some weapon" says Dizier
I said I would, and we were on our way to Grammaire. In front of us we met our warrior Red Spear, with her long hair in the wind. But no sign of the sword.
"Guinevere, did you catch the traitor?" asked Dof still holding little Amvri.
"No, when I got here he was being held by the paladins," said Guinevere explaining why she hadn't gotten the sword.
"uhgg I don't know how a person as kind and with character as Morgana can be the sister of a rascal and without honour like Arthur. Amvri needn't be afraid she's on our side," complained Pym about Arthur while quickly switching attitude to comfort little Amvri who was afraid of Guinevere on her soulmate's lap.
"Let's take advantage of the fact that we're at Grammaire, and let's get something to eat," I say by going to Dof and picking Amvri up and tying her on my back like a bag to hide her from everyone's sight.
On the way to town we started to create a plan to find Arthur and the sword. Dof gave us the idea to capture one of the villagers and take information from them. I didn't want us to have to kill anyone in front of the little one. I just met her and there I was with my maternal instincts that every time I spent time with this little girl I brought what I felt with my little Squirrel.
The road was very busy, there were families walking everywhere, with or without horses, with bags and goods to sell. We entered the gates without being recognized, which I gave thanks to the occult. We walked around the city and found a small market with many traders, we went to the tents and paid for some bread and some milk. It's a good thing that Guinevere had some coins. As I passed by one of the stalls I saw a face that my chest was filled with anger at the betrayal I had had. There was Arthur, still alive, but soon I would end his life, I saw that he was without the sword. I poked Pym with my elbow to look in the direction the traitor was. She saw and threatened to walk to him, I held her, because if anyone was going to take satisfaction from him it was me, he saw us and looked relieved.
"Nimue, thank God you're alive," he said.
"You lying bastard," I say, going towards you, with the knife in my hands I attack him in his belly. "Where is my sword?"
"The paladins have it," he says, "that's all I know."
"How could you do that?" confronts Pym behind me, along with Dof and Guinevere. "You said you're our friend and steal the sword we're protecting and you take it right into the hands that couldn't even be close, they're killing everyone of our race."
"Don't be surprised, you knew what I was," he shouts. I feel little Amvri tremble as Arthur raises his voice.
"Pussycat, I can finish him if I want, just say the word" says Red Spear to me
"You don't have to, he's not worthy of it, you filthy traitor," I said, debating against Arthur.
"Now tell me where they went?" Guinevere asked
"I won't say anything, out here in the open, where you can all be burned." he says.
I'm starting to lose control of my powers, I feel the ground moving a little bit.
I ended up scaring him and he told me everything "They went north, I managed to free myself and I came back here and lost them in the woods.
"Guinevere hold him down and he'll show us where my sword is." I told her and he took us to a small part of the road.
On the way I untied the little one from me and gave her to Pym who took it as she took my Squirrel. While we were walking I started to feel very sick and had to stop, the bread I ate wanted to come out of my stomach, I also felt very tired and with a big weight on my breasts it seemed that from one minute to another they grew like five sizes.
Arthur, still in jail for Guinevere, says he had lost them to the east.
"Nimue remembers that Dizier and Clothilde are waiting for us, we have to warn them that we're not going with them anymore" Pym reminded me of the conversation we had with Dizier and his wife.
"Remember we have no horses, continuing in this madness will only kill us, for what a simple sword" said Arthur.
"Speak only when we ask if I won't kill you," Guinevere threatens.
"It is not a simple sword, this sword is the most important weapon of my people and whoever has it will have the greatest power of all, so we should not leave it in the hands of paladins who want to kill us, they would do much more damage than they are doing," I tell him continuing the path.
"Nimue, you're not gonna like this, I have two pieces of news. One, I found Dizier and the other is he won't be able to help us". says Pym looking at the road, holding Amvri's head on her shoulder and not letting her see the scene in front of her.
I went to Pym and saw what she was seeing, the cart was all destroyed, all the hides were scattered on the ground in pieces with pools of blood between them, on the side of the cart was the poor driver, with all his limbs with several cuts leaking blood, next to him was Amvri's father with his chest pierced by a sword.
"Pym doesn't bring Amvri here, I think I know why her father asked us to take her under our care on our own trip, he knew it would happen," I told Pym, controlling my will to vomit. I kept searching to see if Clothilde had managed to escape, but I had no luck. There she was, on the floor with all her dress filled with her blood that was gushing from her wounds, it seemed that she had died of the bleeding.
"Nimue, I found Dizier, he's in that tree," says Dof pointing to the tree a little further on. There was the good soul called Dizier chained to the tree, hanged dead, his chest marked with the symbol that the paladins burn us, the cross of his most holy.
I ended up losing all my strength and collapsed on my knees, I started to hear voices in my head and I realized that it was the hidden ones calling me, who were agreeing to my anger to put an end to those who had caused this.
It seemed as if I was possessed by my anger, I couldn't hear my fellow travelers calling me, I just kept going where the occult was guiding me. When the voices were almost shouting I found a wagon from the paladins and there was what was calling me, the Tooth of the Devil, The Sword of Power, my sword. I took my sword and a force from the bottom of my womb came to all my limbs. I began to hear murmurs, laughter, I went in his direction, I was close to the woods, but when I heard them glorifying themselves for the task well done I decided to approach. There were two paladins laughing while they were cleaning themselves in the river, the blood of my people on their hands, my anger came back, my power manifested itself and an idea passed through my mind, since they were so happy with the deaths of my relatives, as they would have my sword taking their lives. I started to descend towards the small stream, I ask the Sword to help me, to give me strength and to lend me its powers to finish these bastards. I felt a fire running in my veins and I knew I would make it. I took off my cloak and went into the water, I swam to one of the paladins and like an animal attacking its prey, I went through my sword in its jugular and in a second it was gushing dead blood like my brothers. The other paladin turned towards his companion laughing, but when he saw me laughing he died the moment I killed him. I soon discovered that there were many others nearby, I used the power of the sword to kill each one at a time. I was feeling great, until a fucking paladin came from behind and took me by the neck into the water, I couldn't breathe, I started to feel my death, and in her I saw my mother and she keeps telling me you need to take the sword to Merlin. I don't know what happened. Almost as if entering a blackout state until I was pulled up by someone and I see it's Dof. He's helping me get all the water I swallowed.
"Nimue, thank you to the gods, to the warrior Sigurd, who protected you, I managed to kill the wretch who was drowning you". He exclaims super relieved that no paladin had killed me.
"Dof, thanks for the help" I looked around and didn't see the sword, shit they took it again" Where's the sword?".
"Here, I held it for you as I brought you to shore." I sighed in relief trying to control my breath.
I looked into the river and saw the damage I'd done scared me, floating bodies, a sea of blood. "You're not walking alone, you don't know how much Pym was crying after you left in a trance, it looked like you were going to drown, I'm glad he's following you. But I have to say I was impressed by what I saw, you really have very sharp claws," says Dof taking me where the others were.
When we arrived I felt two bodies jumping on me, one well known who pushed me with his weight to the ground and one like a little cub clinging to his mother.
"Nimue don't do this to me anymore, every time we have to run and stay alive and you do the opposite, don't kill me with a heart attack, I wouldn't live if you died," says Pym being usually dramatic.
"You must be very proud of this warrior kitten, she ended up with about ten paladins, she only lost one because he came from behind and hung her and tried to drown her, this paladin met right with my knife," says Viking to his captain.
"I knew you were something very special, now you're looking like a warrior," says Red Spear with a respect that a warrior only has with another warrior with the same reach. "But we need to find shelter, I feel that if we stay here we will have to finish with some paladins.
"Before we go, can someone help me here? I have two bodies on top of me?" said Pym pushing aside. She let her soulmate handle her with such gentleness as he put her on her feet. "Okay, one less. That cute thing, I can take it," he said, lifting with little Amvri and tickling this little one.
"It hurts, I'm done, I'm not your friend anymore" the dork that I love speaks to me with a little pout.
"You can't not, you promised since you were little that it would be us against the world" I say showing her the tongue and he replied by showing his tongue.
"You can stop being children, we need to go somewhere to hide," said the traitor.
"Honey, you may be handsome and charming, but you can't give us order, you betrayed the kitten, she's much more important than you," says Guinevere slapping him on the head. These two have a future, I'm sure they'd be a very cute couple together.
"We must go to Nemus, the refuge of the Feys survivors." said Pym with the thought of meeting people from our tribes mostly my dear son and our older brother.
"Come on, I remember Dizier saying that the Feys are putting hints of paths to Nemus." I say walking towards the road with the little monkey on my back, and along the way we saw the signs.
"This is written from the old Feys, Pym help me here remember what my mother taught us" we gathered to decipher the directions
"The first means to the west," says Pym.
"and that one says follow" continuously and we follow west.
All the way we found signs that kept pointing us to the west and we followed, until we arrived in a small forest where me, Pym and little Amvri heard the voices of the occult saying welcome my children.
"We're close." Pym speaks while holding the hand of her Soulmate.
And there was a druid ruin with a little hole. We went in and at the top we found a Moonwing flying and it brought me happiness
"We have arrived," she said to the humans present.
There were all sorts of Feys survivors who lost everything like me, Pym and little Amvri. I put her down and I realized I had an old lady of the snake people who reminded me of the little one, I poked her and pointed in the direction the old lady was, she ran out screaming grandma, grandma. I was happy that Amvri found someone from her family.
I hugged my sister and cried in her lap until I went to sleep.
I was in a super open clearing, but I was not alone there. Next to me was a man and two children, they seemed calm and serene, I could not see the man's face but he was bringing me the quietest thoughts. I realize that one of his hands is on my round waist, that he was feeling small kicks from his seed that was in my womb, and his other hand was holding my Squirrel's little hand and in my lap was the other child he seemed to be about two years old and was playing with his father . "Dear you know we can't be here, soon your little brother or sister will be here and we're not safe," I said to my beautiful son
"But Mom, we got Dad and he's the best fighter in all the land," says the little guy raising their hands together.
"Percival, listen to your mother, remember. She's in charge." he says, making a cuddle in my round belly.
Weeping Monk P.O.V.
We found one of the sisters with her eye all bruised saying that she was brutalized and that the witch used magic and ran away. Father Carden asked if the witch was going east or west and she answered that Fey was going to the Hawk bridge.
"I want you to check all the roads between Hawk Bridge and Grammaire," said Father to me, I went as fast as I could to find my horse to go on my next mission. I chose some brothers to help me warn the two towns three went towards Hawk bridge and the others went with me and Father Carden to Grammaire. Along the way I saw a carriage that looked like it smelled Fey, so I went to check it out. I came down with my hand on the sword ready to kill any Fey that appeared in front of me, and also needed more information about the one that leaves my pure and dedicated respect for the church, with instincts of the most primitive, my inner man who wants to hunt it and do things that no devotee for his sanctity would think of breaking this law.
I found some Feys, and I killed them the quickest so that the divine Lord can cleanse their impure souls, I used the driver to take information necessary for next hunts, before finishing I let one of the Feys run away so it is easier to track Feys down with a recognizable scent . I went to one of the brothers and explained "I found out that there are Feys being smuggled by caravans and their leader is called Dizier, they pass themselves off as leather goods sellers, spread it to others and be prepared to kill this demon helper" said to the brothers present "Go as fast as you can".
Father Carden meets me and says I let one of the Fey survive to be bait to find other Feys.
"They're in the trees and on the ground,'' I show the symbols I found were circles inside circles.
"What are they?" he asks me.
"Directions" I answer with the odd knowledge of knowing what such symbols mean.
"Can you tell me where it is?"
"I've got a few bits, they say north towards the Minotaur. That there's a refuge for all the Feys, I've managed to find out that the surviving Feys caravans move one or sometimes two feys at a time and those indications are where we can find them, all at once," I informed the priest and we made our way to our camp before we arrived I started to feel very sick and I had to stop, the bread I ate wanted to come out of my stomach, I also felt very tired and with a big weight on my chest it seemed that I was carrying a lot of heavy things in it, I tried not to think about it.
On the way, near our camp, there was a stream and I felt a Fey presence in it, it was the witch's, my sin, only the smell of her already drives me crazy. I want to do things I never wanted in my life, enough of those thoughts, I am a devout man.
I smell the blood of men inside the river, I warned Father Carden and we went with some brothers to the creek, there were about ten bodies of paladins floating and the waters full of their blood. Father Carden commanded the paladins to take out the dead brothers and pray for their souls to be with the most holy. I kept looking over the damage this witch did.
"This" begins Father Carden "this is a message, this witch provokes you, my devout son, she provokes you with the bodies of her brothers there in the river, Let us pray, for this poor soul of our lost brothers, the Almighty, we ask that you purify us from our weaknesses and free us from mercy, that you send us a Heavenly Flame, to cleanse our desolate hearts, and if you consider us unworthy, send us your purest soldier. Your avenging angel" he ends his speech.
"Father, let me find her, I can put an end to this demon," he said, feeling angry.
"No, I need you in the next attacks, there are many other fetish villages and you, my darling, are my most precious weapon," he says to me and we return to our camp.
I went to my tent and got ready to go to sleep, lay on my mat and closed my eyes.
I was in a super open clearing, but I was not alone there. I had a woman and two children, they seemed calm and serene, I could not see this woman's face. She was bringing me quiet thoughts like I never had, I realized that one of my hands is in a rounded waist, that I felt small kicks from my seed that was in this woman's womb, and my other hand was in the ugly boy I had met a few days ago. Squirrel and on the woman's lap was a boy of about two years who looked so much like me and I was making faces at him and he laughed.
"Dear! you know we can't be here, soon your little brother or sister will be here and we're not safe. "says the woman
"But Mom, we got Dad and he's the best fighter in all the land," says the little guy raising his hand.
"Percival, listen to your mother, remember. She's in charge." I say, making a cuddle to the woman round belly.