The Prince of Nothing

Chapter 17 - [The Split]

"I'm sure she knows... but I'll tell her if you want."

She smiled. "Nyla," Lady Iva started, "I know it troubles you to think that your grandmother has told you so little about her past... but something you must understand is that her past was not particularly a happy one. It's highly likely that she chose not to tell you because she wanted to forget it."

I nodded, remembering that her family was killed.

"She... was under a lot of pressure for almost her entire life here. As a youth, she was the only child of the head of the family. After the murder of such an important family, she was the only one left and a lot was expected from her," she said. "She only really ever found happiness when she met the man she fell in love with. A regular human."

"The exile... she was happy with it."

"I don't think she ever wanted anything more than that."

I felt sad.

"The woman you know is the woman she is. She did not lie about the important things. Remember that."

"I will," I said with a smile. "Thank you."

Lady Iva then proceeded to give me some instructions. Her instructions were unsurprising as all she was pretty much telling me was to stay out of trouble, let Saphryn handle any trouble, and not to try to be the hero.

Saphryn and Vairyn joined us while she went on about safety, and after passing the rant off to Saphryn as well, we were met with two masked warriors, a male and female, along with Nile.

"Nothing?" Lady Iva asked.

The handsome Nile shook his head, but only after raising a brow at me. "We know he's going east but that's about it."

"You couldn't catch up?"

"We did," a masked warrior said, "a battle ensued between us and him and his partner, who is definitely one of our warriors."

"But he was able to escape," Nile finished, his green eyes looking annoyed.

"Who helped him?"

"We are unsure," Nile said. "But we believe it's Royan."

Lady Iva was frowning. "Go look for Royan, Kil. See if he's in the village."

"Yes, my lady," one of the masked me said. He put a hand over his chest and bowed before vanishing.

"Nile, I need you to go after the King with Daya," she said.

"The King?" Saphryn asked.

"She needs to know what's going on," she said. "We have people from within our forces turning on us. Besides, there are a few things I'm suspicious of, particularly the True Kings recent interest in the jewel."

Vairyn raised a brow.

"I apologize, Vairyn," Lady Iva said, "I must ask... do you know why your father was interested in the disappearance of the mirror?"

He crosses his arms. "My father has men who keep an eye on Saphryn," he started.

Saphryn groaned and rolled his eyes, "still?"

Vairyn nodded. "My father came because he was informed of Saphryn relationship with Nyla," he said. "It's only a rumour there that she's Lady Meera's granddaughter. He wanted to see her for himself, as you know my families conflict with the Ahar clan. I tagged along to make sure there is no trouble."

Lady Iva frowned. "I suppose he won't be pleased to hear of her presence. He also was probably unhappy to see the two holding hands."

I felt my cheeks flush.