Chapter 248

Nesta eyed the small cabin she would be staying in with Cassian, her eyes moving critically over it. It was cute enough, she supposed, but that wasn't all that important overall. There had been a large fireplace inside, and Cassian had gotten a roaring fire started within minutes. The heat of the fire had quickly dispelled the cold within the cabin, and she had almost been surprised when they had gone back outside into the icy wind. As she took a step away from the cabin, Nesta's eyes swept over it. It was only small, and she had at first been worried about being locked in there with Cassian for however long they were here for. As the minutes passed, however, she was relaxing to the idea and it seemed almost cosy to her now.

The bedroom had been tiny, barely space for a bed and a table beside it. She hadn't been sure if they would be sharing a room or not as they didn't in the Night Court and that hadn't yet been a part of their relationship. One bedroom in the cabin seemed to make that fairly clear however. The idea both thrilled and worried Nesta. She did really like the idea of being able to curl up beside Cassian of a night, to have his warm arms to wrap around her against the chill outside. But, she thought, she was worried that she might get a bit snippy without her own space. She had always needed space and time away from others in order to decompress. If she didn't have that time she was concerned that she might say or do something to Cassian that she would regret.

As smoke curled from the chimney only to be ripped away by icy winds, Nesta turned to face the little path that she and Cassian would be taking into the little town nearby. He walked beside her and she was surprised by how silent he was being. Until now, she hadn't thought that he was capable of such a thing.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, eyeing him in her periphery. Cassian cocked his head to the side, eyeing her in return.

"What makes you think that?"

"You're rather quiet."

"I…" he shrugged and gestured around them, "being back here always brings back memories."

Nesta nodded. "Ah…" she couldn't help a small smile when he took one of her hands in his as they walked. His large hand felt strong and was pleasantly warm in the cold wind.

"Did you get that cloak when you visited the Winter Court?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Yes."

"Lucky…"

He fell silent again after that as they approached the main street and Nesta turned her own attention to looking at the shops. There were all the usual things, clothing, food, supplies. She eyed what appeared to be a shop selling weapons out of the corner of her eye. This looked like a simple town, as she had imagined it would. She hadn't been expecting luxuries of any kind up here, and it didn't appear that she would find any.

"So what are we going to be doing here?" she asked, wondering yet again what trouble he had been referring to.

"I'm hoping being a presence will be enough." He replied. Nesta eyed him and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Devlon is away." He added, "He's been gone for over a week apparently, and there have been raids…"

"From other camps?" Nesta asked, and he nodded.

"Creeping down here, often during the day to harass the women running their businesses… thinking they can take what they want…"

"Because Devlon isn't here?"

"And the men he took with him…"

"Where is he?"

"Nobody here knows…"

Nesta frowned, thinking about that. If the Lord and his men were absent, she could well believe that opportunists from other camps would feel entitled to come down here and help themselves to whatever they liked. "So, you're going to put a stop to whatever is happening in their absence…"

"That's the idea."

"Alright…" Nesta lifted her chin as they strode down the main street and Illyrians on both sides of the road came outside to look at them. They all knew who Cassian was, she knew that, but she hadn't expected the whispering when they saw her. It wasn't clear if they knew that she was the sister of the High Lady of the Night Court or not, or perhaps they were just excited by seeing her at Cassian's side. Either way, she didn't want to be seen as anything other than formidable.

Cassian led her to a small clothing store, and Nesta looked at the rack by the front door. Several long skirts of multiple colours hung there and she lifted one up to look at it better. Lightweight and well made. Whoever had sewn it had obvious talent. When Cassian opened the door and went inside, Nesta followed him. She looked at the young Illyrian woman behind the counter whose eyes were wide for a moment until she evidently recognised Cassian and she smiled.

"You've come."

"Of course, Emerie." He replied. "Your letter didn't seem to give me much of a choice…"

The young Illyrian seemed to blanch at that. "I… didn't mean to sound demanding." She said.

"Nor did you." Cassian replied, smiling widely at her, "I did say you could let me know when you needed help."

Nesta approached until she was standing beside Cassian and she watched Emerie adjust her stance. "Some of the women…" the young Illyrian hesitated, "they're not so good at standing up for themselves when they come…"

"We'll see to that." Cassian stood a little straighter and then wrapped an arm around Nesta's shoulders, "This is Nesta."

"Hello…" Emerie smiled in a friendly manner and Nesta returned the smile. This was something she thought she might be able to help with. She could definitely work with some of these women to help them feel more confident in themselves and able to stand up for themselves when these men came to take what did not belong to them. Cassian would obviously be all too good at this as well, and she was pleased that she thought she might actually be able to contribute to what they had come to do, and be of quality assistance.

"Shall we get started?" She asked.

Elain sat up with a stretch, Lucien sprawled at her side. His metallic eye clicked and whirred as he looked up at her, his vibrant hair still splayed out across his pillow. "Did you have an interesting dream, Petal?" he asked, and Elain smiled at him.

"I think I saw Nesta…"

"In your dream?"

"I don't think it was a dream."

"Oh…" he sat up, and her eyes moved over his bare chest. "What was she doing?"

"She and Cassian are going to help some of the women in the camp defend themselves against raiders…"

Lucien looked thoughtful as he nodded. "That sounds like them…"

"It does." Elain swung her feet around and off the bed and got to her feet. "Maybe we can go up there one day…"

"You want to see the camps?"

"Yes…"

Lucien nodded again, getting to his own feet. "Alright…" he grabbed his clothing for the day. "I'm sure Helion could find something to send us up there for…"

"Excellent."