Truth of the Whisper

Chapter One.

"Milady, how are you today?", the soft voice of the maid that used to look after me ripped me out of my thoughts. "Fine, thanks.", I answered and shared her timid smile.

"His Lordship is waiting for you in the library.", the girl bowed and left the room, leaving a tray of food behind.

Sighing, I began to eat slowly, but steady, impaling the vegetables with my fork in absolute silence. Tilting my head a bit to the side, I rolled my shoulders and tried to sit more upright, as my gaze fell onto my wrist. Onto the burn mark that had now, after two weeks, healed. But it still was there, it had scarred and the skin was a bit pink.

My eyes lingered on the spot where the mark had once been, but then I shook my head, trying to clear my mind, to push all those thoughts away.

But it didn't work.

It never did.

It almost seemed, as if a part of me wanted to go over it all again, to dive back deep into my memories of what had happened the last few months.

It had only been months, but it felt, as if it had been longer. So much longer.

A few months... such a short time compared to all those years I had spent before, just me and mother. But so much had happened within those months, good and bad.

Or maybe, only bad.

I sighed again as I put my fork away, stood up and got over to the mirror, made sure that I looked presentable and sighed again, my heart getting heavy upon seeing my reflection in the mirror.

They made me wear dresses.

Shitty dresses.

I didn't like it, but apparently, in Assdirn Flenn it wasn't appropriate for women to wear pants. At least not for high born women.

And I had been told that I was just that.

I just wasn't able to not compare the situation I was in now, to the one I had been when I had arrived at High Ilryn. I'd escaped one Lord to just fall into the hands of another.

But while Nyshard seemed to had tricked me into all of this right from the beginning, he had also – and that was the contradiction – he had tried to make me learn on how to defend myself. And he had let me be myself. While here... Phylon – or better his father Phynah had made it pretty clear that I wasn't allowed to continue any training here. Because I was a woman. And I didn't know if that was the truth about things were handled in Assdirn Flenn, or if it was just an excuse.

I didn't know.

But A few days ago, I had decided to try and use whatever opportunity I had to my advantage. I had to get away from here.

Headshaking, I tried to plaster a gracious smile onto my face and left my room.

Outside, a guard was already waiting and brought me to Phylon.

The library was a sunlit room, and even though it was only a dull day in early winter, the view from the tall windows that looked westwards was amazing.

Westwards, towards High Ilryn.

I couldn't help myself than to think about the Fleyr and the one Lyrarn that had tricked themselves into my heart, only to rip it out. Smashing it right in their strong hands, and maybe even laughing about the way they had tricked me, about the way they had succeeded in binding my life.

Phylon had confirmed some things to me.

He had told me by himself, that he had seen Brayhd fight in the last war in his wolf form. And right after arriving in Fersia, the capital of Assdirn Flenn, he showed me a family tree of the Rylbnan's. And right there, just like he had told me before, was Rhydomir's name.