𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐈𝐄 | THE WEEPING MONK

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     Nimue rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Squirrel. "I promise you don't," she muttered. With that, she left the reins of Old Boy in Alida's hands and stepped away.

     "She would be in so much trouble if it weren't for us," Alida commented as she watched Nimue's figure fade in the distance. Squirrel had looked towards Alida, but she did not look back. "I think it's more because of you. Only you could excuse yourself out of everything," he argued, reaching a hand out to caress the side of Nimue's horse. Alida gave him a quiet hum. "Well, come with me. I better get Old Boy to his stable," Alida told the boy as she beckoned him towards her.

     The two walked in a short silence, chattering in Dewdenn becoming more faint the closer the trio was to Alida's shared home. The home which she would share with both her mother and Nimue. The woman who had most certainly taken care of Alida since birth, no questions asked.

     "If Nimue gets summoned," Alida broke the silence. "She won't want it. She'll want to leave so that she doesn't have to face it. If she does," Alida mentioned, her eyes stuck on her feet that peaked from the bottom of her prussian blue dress. "Do you think she will? Be summoned, I mean," Squirrel asked the brunette as his steps fell in sync with hers on her left. Alida gave him a small shrug. "I don't know for sure."

      They stopped before the small hut, Old Boy being placed in his makeshift stable just next door by Alida. She sighed, twisting her body in Squirrel's direction who was standing just beside the stall. "Squirrel," she had begun to speak but a male voice was quick to interrupt her. His breaths were heavy and his eyes had been filled with fury.

     "That witch sister of yours has just tried to kill Benin!" he shouted. Alida and Squirrel glanced at each other before slowly approaching the boy. Her sister was no witch. Just a magical being who had yet to learn to control her abilities. "Her name is Nimue!" Squirrel shouted, stamping his foot against the dirt. The brown substance momentarily clouded around his covered foot. "What happened?" Alida asked, tone calm as she pressed a hand against Squirrel's shoulder. She was always angry when others called her a witch, but she preferred to keep herself contained. She didn't like showing people when things got to her. 

     "She tried to strangle him!" he shouted, his veins prominent. Alida sighed, knowing that when Nimue would come she would not be in a good mood. And neither would Lenore. "Listen, I apologize on the behalf of my sister and for what happened to Benum. But I know she would not attack him without reason. Perhaps he should consider what he is going to say to her before he approaches," Alida stared at him with cold, hazel green eyes. The girl gritted her teeth, left hand clenching into a fist. Her fingernails dug into her palm, but only left small indents in the skin. Without another word, he turned around and left the duo.

     The sky slowly fell dark, and the land around the two darkened completely. Like a light. Alida stepped back slightly, her head turning to glance at Old Boy. She parted her lips, but quickly pressed them into a thin line as the sky began to brighten again. Sunlight illuminated her pale skin, arm reaching to cover her eyes. Squirrel looked down, watching the ground transform from black to a dark brown.

     "It's happened. Someone has been summoned," Alida breathed out. Alida smiled a little, ideas swarming her mind of who it could have been. If it was Nimue. Her head turned, the snapping of a twig gaining her attention. Her hair whipped around, some falling over her left shoulder as she had looked to the right. Out came Nimue's familiar figure, which made Alida crouch to Squirrel's level. Nimue, as expected, was not happy.

     Pym had been trailing behind Nimue, peaking Alida's interest. "Squirrel, run back home. I'll handle my sister," Alida told him with both hands rested on either of his shoulders. He nodded, sprinting away to the center of Dewdenn. With a grunt, Alida stood to her feet with her hands by her side.

     Her delicate footsteps rushed after the pair of girls, pushing her inside her hut. "What happened?" Alida asked, although she already knew. Nimue had been stuffing a bag with necessities. "You've been summoned," she whispered, placing a small hand on her chest as if she was shocked. She was, but she wasn't shocked by Nimue's reaction. She had anticipated it.

     "You're what?" Pym questioned, barely hearing Alida's whisper. Nimue frantically searched the hut for her belongings. "It doesn't matter. I'm leaving. I'm getting on that ship today; it's still in Hawksbridge." Nimue hadn't looked at either of them a single time. "What?" Pym was beyond shocked.

     "Nimue, slow down, you're not making any sense." Alida hadn't said much. What was she to do? She knew this would happen if Nimue was summoned, and she was. Was she supposed to get her to stay? It was her decision after all. "They don't want me here and I don't want them," Nimue argued, looking up to meet Pym's eyes. "They can burn in the nine hells."

     "Who? The elders?" Pym asked. Although, she didn't give Nimue enough time to find a response. "Don't worry about what they think. They're just a bunch of shriveled onions," Pym assured her. In other circumstances, Alida might have laughed at her comment. Nimue rushed past Alida, bumping into her shoulder roughly. "Hey," she's cut short and let's out a frustrated groan.

     The redhead and Alida followed Nimue who was preparing her horse for the trek. "You're mad if you think we're letting you leave on your own," Alida told her, Nimue climbing atop Old Boy. "I'll get my horse." Pym nodded in agreement. Reluctantly, Nimue agreed, but is sure to give attitude with the way she rolled her eyes. "Come on," she muttered to Pym, reaching a hand for the girl to grasp. "To Hawksbridge we go."

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗦 : 𝟭, 𝟱𝟱𝟰
𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗗 : 𝗦𝗘𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝟰 , 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬