The Vampire & Her Witch

”I actually came here to make a request of my own,” Ashlynn said, feeling like she could no longer hide from the topic. ”You can say ’no.’ You don’t owe me anything, so please, don’t feel obligated because of any debts between us; there aren’t any.”

”When Her Dominion gives you a chance to say no like that,” Old Nan said from her seat next to the fire where she was carving ornaments to hang above a baby’s crib. ”Consider her words carefully. Don’t answer today, no matter how much you want to. Think on it overnight so you don’t get caught up in things.”

”Unless your Dominion needs an answer now,” Old Nan quickly amended, feeling like she might have overstepped in giving advice.

”No, not now, but soon. Maybe very soon,” Ashlynn said, nodding her head at the old woman who had done a great deal to help Ollie turn this village into a place that people called home. ”But Old Nan is right,” she added, turning back to Samira. ”I will need an answer soon. Very likely within a day or two.”

”I’m going to confront Owain,” Ashlynn said firmly. ”If things go according to plan, I’ll force him to confront me at the Village of Maeril, and he’ll have to bring an army with him if he has any hope of retaking the village from us. But... now that Bors has died, things may change, and I don’t yet know how.”

”You want to take her with you, to confront Owain,” Noomi said, setting down her own half-finished carving and looking at Samira with a conflicted gaze. ”You should avoid that man, Sami,” she said. ”Everything he touches suffers, and he already touched you too much. You’ve suffered enough from him.”

”Why?” Samira asked, keeping her pale green eyes focused on Ashlynn. ”Why would you want me to confront him with you? Is it, is it because you’re going to kill him?” she said, resting her hand on her belly.

Samira had long since made up her mind about Owain. Seeing what he’d done to Noomi and Saku, and hearing about what he’d done to their village, was all the proof that Samira needed to understand the sort of monster that Owain was. Everything she’d learned since coming to the Vale of Mists only made that more clear.

Combined with the way Owain had abandoned her once Jocelynn arrived in Lothian March, it was obvious that any thoughts she had of forming a family with the Lothian lord and their child had been a naive fantasy that would never become reality. He was far more likely to have her and her child murdered, or to do it himself in order to prevent any challenges to his legitimate children’s claim to the Lothian throne, than he was to take her in and legitimize their child.

”I won’t lie to you,” Ashlynn said, biting her lower lip as she chose her words with care. ”Mostly, I’m asking you to come to provide proof of Owain’s crimes to the barons who are certain to accompany him. I don’t want to fight any more battles than we have to. But, if there’s anything you want to say to Owain before... before the end,” Ashlynn said in a voice that grew quieter.

”I want to at least give you that chance,” Ashlynn finished awkwardly as her eyes fell on Samira’s large belly.

Owain had to die, and nothing Samira could say would change that. But Samira had loved Owain once, perhaps as much as Ashlynn ever had or maybe even more. She’d given herself fully to the man, and she was carrying his child. Bringing her to the battle where he would fall could be considered incredibly cruel... And yet, Ashlynn had to ask, because the testimony that Samira could offer had the potential to do too much good to ignore.

”I’ll go with you,” Samira said firmly, giving an answer after thinking about it for less than a dozen heartbeats. ”I, I need to see him again... one last time,” she said as her eyes grew misty. ”I need him to know that our child is real...” Samira said as she gently stroked her belly.

”I, I think I know how he’ll react to the news,” she added with a smile that was bitter and heavy with irony. ”But I need to see it. I need to know the truth of his heart so I can finally remove him from mine,” she said, glancing over at Old Nan.

”I’m sorry, Old Nan,” she said. ”I know you mean well, giving me time to think about it, but... in a day, or a week, I don’t think I’d change my mind. And, if by going, I can do some good... If it has a chance to help her Dominion end things peacefully, then that’s all the more reason I should go.”

”Thank you,” Ashlynn said, giving the young woman’s hand a reassuring squeeze. ”I know it won’t be easy, but I’ll be right there with you. So will Sir Ollie. You won’t have to face him alone. We’ll do it together...”

”I’m coming too,” Noomi said, looking between Ollie and Ashlynn. ”I won’t lie, I want to see that man fall. I want Sami to be free of him,” she said firmly. ”But more than that, I want to be there with you, Sami,” she said, turning to face the pregnant woman. ”So you have someone else to support you when you face him.”

”This...” Ollie started awkwardly. ”Noomi, it may not be possible, or wise, for you to come with us. It’s one thing for Ashlynn to confront the Lothian Court with me at her side. No one knows that she’s a witch, or that I am. And we’ll bring others with us, like Sir Hugo and Lord Liam so that this looks like a fight between the nobility of the March,” he explained.

”But the instant we bring you along... it changes things,” he added, looking to Ashlynn for support.

”I know you mean well,” Ashlynn said, smiling at the young mother from the Heartwood Clan. ”And on almost any other occasion, I wouldn’t refuse you. But this time... I’m only bringing the army to camp nearby in case things go very, very badly. If we actually have to use them, I’m afraid we’ll have to take most of the March by force this winter.”

”I won’t have Heila or Virve with us either,” Ashlynn added. ”But, I can bring Isabell to help keep Samira safe,” she said offered. ”So, just this once, can you trust her with us?” Ashlynn asked. ”I promise, we’ll bring your Sami home to you,” Ashlynn added. ”And we won’t let any harm come to her, or her child...”