The Beast Within Us

Chapter 36: ↭ Yara

↭Yara was not going to die upon her failure to complete the pact.

While the news should have eased her mind, the reasoning itself was troubling to say the least. Chala's reassuring embrace reminded her of the things she had to be thankful for, but the niggling of the collar's mysterious demise weighed on her. It had to be a coincidence, right? The spell could have been a fluke, while the timing of it's break could have gone unnoticed because of the whirlwind of events within the prior weeks. Chala had mentioned it's break around the time of Darryn's death. That did not specifically mean it was related.

Yara allowed herself to file away the skeptical thoughts. It was likely that her anxiety was caused by her grief, or by the shards of her former self attempting to reconnect habitually. The wardeness allowed herself to brush the thoughts away and lean into the comfort of her new lover. A new lover she would never be ashamed of or neglect to make others happy.

"I will not make the same mistake again, my love." Yara truly meant it. She curled against her hewan, allowing the solidity of her love and trust to crutch the affirmation. At this moment, Yara could not imagine any act terrible enough that she couldn't forgive Chala for.

In truth, there were many things Yara wished to discuss with her ward. The decision to lead a new life had been a spontaneous epiphany and while her exterior changes had attempted to display the choice, Yara felt that Chala would need more thorough informing. There were also many other topics and thoughts that she desired to share with her. The warden's aspiration to lead a new life would not follow the same path, and she needed her lover to be by her side when her journey changed course. Everything that pooled on her tongue did not pass her lips, however, Chala mentioned peace before continuing their travels and Yara felt there were better times to discuss the matters.

At this moment in time, everything but Chala was absent from her thoughts. Her daily inner turmoil roared to devour her anxiety, replacing the cumbersome sentiments with nothing but the entirety of her devotion to the woman she loved, the woman she wanted to change everything for.

The two decided to take the day, relaxing and enjoying each other's company where they hadn't been able to before. There was a peace the huntress and the warden found with each other that'd been missing during Yara's seclusion. But now that their mourning period was over, there was time again to capture that feeling together, an opportunity they clung to and grasped with both hands. 

.... 

Yara had found no movement from her softly snoring lover, and flipped the fur-skinned covers over them as she settled into their cocoon of affection. The day had passed quickly, much more so than she had expected, and the sun had begun it's daily descent below the horizon, its orange rays chased by the deep purples and blue of the impending nightfall. She and her lover had long since retreated back to bed after deciding to spend the day together and there they had remained since morning. 

The sound of soldier's footsteps outside and the occasional murmur of voices were the only thing she allowed to breech her tender thoughts of her hewan as the wardeness allowed herself to drift away. 

.... 

 Yara's sleep had been fitful that night, and she found herself famished upon rising from her lengthy rest. While it would have surprised her before Darryn's death and Chala's increasing stress, Yara was not surprised to see her still soundly dreaming beside her. The warden was careful as not to wake her as she dressed and fed herself. The precious extra hour of sleep was needed for her lover, she believed, and only woke Chala when it was truly time for her to prepare for the day.

She allowed her time to dress and eat as well, and Yara set out to begin her day

To say the soldiers were rather shocked to see the wardeness, fresh-faced and with a new edged look, was to say the least. They were perhaps, even more surprised to see Yara command the bullhorn be sirened; the camp's traditional "wakeup for march" signal. As her bannermen gathered before her, Yara mounted her horse, allowing the extra height to aid her voice's distance.

"Bannerman of House Wheiler! As you know, I have taken a rather long, and unbecoming grieving period over the loss of our Captain, Darryn."

The whispers that sputtered throughout her army increased the tension in Yara's stomach and the warden gripped tighter to reigns of her stallion, allowing the beast's eagerness for travel to assist her speech.

"As many of you may not have known, Darryn Wykle, was also a previous lover of mine, and a dear companion." Yara could feel Chala's presence nearby, likely an effect of some remnants of the fading blood pact. Her eyes found the flashing stormed gray of her beloved and she allowed her attentiveness to fuel her strength.

"Although my motives and ambitions for completing our task may have changed, my responsibility for keeping Audor safe, has not. Today we return to our march to Briniel! To investigate the rumors of war and meet with the Whitecloak Syndicate to negotiate terms of peace. After the threat of war over Audor has passed, I will be clear with our king of my own intentions to break from my title as wardeness of the north. I hope you find my decision an honorable and honest one, and if you do not, I advise you to pack your things now and head home." The rumbling of the soldiers lifted Yara's chin and she steered her mount around the edges of the onlooking crowd.

"As my final command before we march for Briniel, I would like to announce the naming of my hewan, Chala, as the standing commander of my bannerman beneath me, until my time as warden has passed. She was a loyal friend to our captain in his last weeks of life, and a respectable peacekeeper in our time of need." The echoing silence was riveting, but in a matter of heartbeats, the soldiers that had remained in Yara's service seemed to all have faith in one thing: their warden and her judgement.

"We were, we are, we will be!" Yara's voice closed her speech, the words of her house rising her men into preparation for their journey once more.

"Honor, Duty, Valor!"

Yara still could not be sure how or why her soldiers were as loyal to her as they have shown, but she allowed it to guide her onward with hope. She and Chala had little time to speak before setting out, and Yara was sure the remainder of the trip would have time for it. She assisted her men in tailoring the captain's armor and trusted the reigns of her foregoing mare to her hewan lover. Yara finished the journey to Briniel mounted on Darryn's stallion, with her lover and new captain beside her. ↭↭