With each night, Nila gripped him all the tighter. She could not help the tears that came unbidden to see him so. Before her eyes, she saw the man that she loved beyond all things grind away in his suffering.
She wondered if she was selfish when she said it, but she cared not for more than their village – no more than Solgrim, and perhaps Ernest. If the rest of the country demanded more of Oliver, then let them be ignored. He was still a child truly. Could he not be allowed his peace and his happiness?
Let someone else rule – let Hod take the crown.
Nila sat down again in the snow. She had not walked far, but her legs felt weak. The dread in her heart, and the pounding pain in her head. She knew not what to do. She felt her own mind weakening, as if she was on the point of snapping at any instant.
