Youth

#66 - Friend

[Y/n] didn't dress in her training clothes this morning.  She'd had her blood extracted by Hetti first thing after waking up, though Olli wasn't around.  [Y/n] knew why, despite having tried to ignore the upcoming event like it didn't exist. 

Today was the day of the challenge.  Today, Olli would fight Draka in the kingdom's 'colosseum'.

[Y/n] looked at herself in the mirror, inspecting the clothes she wore.  Most days the girl wore dresses - not by her own choice as Hetti chose her clothing for her.  [Y/n] had felt slightly uncomfortable in the fancy gowns at first but now she was getting used to it.  The corsets were definitely something she was still adjusting to, however.  Today she wore a red silk a-line dress with a brown belt around her waist. Hetti marvelled in the look, though departed shortly after finishing her duties with [Y/n] claiming that 'someone had asked her to be gone for a specific time', though not clarifying who.

    Soon after Hetti left, a knock sounded on [Y/n]'s bedroom door. The girl stood up and walked over to it, opening it and tilting her head curiously. That look of curiosity was instantly replaced by something entirely indecipherable when she realised who stood at her door. The brunette's head was hung, though he slowly raised his gaze to face [Y/n] when he heard the door open.

    "Nyais," [Y/n] said quietly, "good morning." There was an element of formality in her tone that made Nyais almost... angry. It was like she'd decided to cut him off. To pretend they had nothing. She knew how he felt about her, even if he'd never said it in so many words. It was painfully obvious that he loved her. And, for a while, he'd thought she loved him too. Had she turned against him?

    "Do you hate me, [Y/n]?" Nyais asked, his gaze searching hers for an answer. This wasn't the first time Nyais had asked that question. It felt... unsettling. She looked away.

    "Of course I don't hate you, Nyais," she whispered, "but I'm confused. I..." she turned her gaze back to him. "I realise now that I clung to the kindness you showed me like it was a lifeline... I guess it was. And I'm so grateful to you for the opportunity you gave me. I thank you for allowing me to live." She paused. "I just... I don't know who you are. I don't know anything about you, and the few things I've learned while I've been here—"

    "What did he tell you?" Nyais cut her off, his gaze suddenly dark. [Y/n] looked a little panicked at his sudden change. He noticed this and softened his gaze a little. "Sorry," he muttered quietly, "carry on."

    "I... I was just going to say, the few things I've learned about you only tell me of things that happened. Not who you are." Nyais was relieved that she didn't bring up any of those things in particular. Even he knew how fragile his mental state was right now. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally turn on her. But despite knowing he had to be so careful, he looked past her and into her room.

    "May I come in?"

    [Y/n] turned and looked back into her room, her gaze unsure. She then turned back to him. It hurt to see her hesitate and feel the need to decide what the best course of action would be, but Nyais understood.

    "W-why don't we talk in the library? My room is a bit messy..." she whispered. Right, the library, where there are plenty of entrances and exits so she could escape if need be. Nyais was a little surprised, but he knew he shouldn't be. She'd been subjected to a world of hell by the boys and she was probably worried that he'd end up like them. Though it wasn't like she could escape him if he were to try anything, maybe the security of feeling like she could would make her more at ease around him. So, of course, Nyais nodded his head.