Once Nym learned of her true identity, everything had changed between them. It was a cruel twist of fate that had placed her in Lana’s path and caused them to become so close. Now every time she looked at Lana, she saw Jacob’s face, the look of pain and betrayal in his eyes as he died, knowing she had been the one who had killed him. There was some part of her that felt like if she could just see Lana safely to Thelsamel, she could be forgiven. It was irrational but it was the only thing that was keeping her going.
As a young orphan with no living family, Nym had been raised by the elders and so she was taught and trained to serve from an early age. In the beginning, she was simply tasked with helping to keep the palace clean or running errands. Eventually, they began sending her on small missions like traveling to a neighboring elven city and delivering a message.
Once the elders started sending her beyond the border, the missions changed and she was no longer simply acting as a courier. She was now seeking out spies that were stationed in various kingdoms across the land, passing along orders or even helping them in their missions. She had been trained to fight and to kill and she had many opportunities to use these skills.
Her last mission had seemed very simple. There was a young human prince on his way to offer a treaty from the kingdom of Loral and she was to meet with him to learn of his intentions. They told her to stay with the prince until she received further orders. It had seemed like a boring job but Nym was ready for a rest so it would suit her fine.
She met him near here, Nym realized with a jolt of shock. It was right outside the border of Eva. She remembered that first meeting. She had waited for him, as she’d been told to do, and he had approached her hesitantly, seeming unsure of elves. It was her job to put him at ease and so she was charming and sweet with this young man. It wasn’t difficult to be kind to Jacob for he was kind himself, not to mention quite handsome.
He had the same coloring as Lana but instead of an elven frame, he was robust. Tall for a human, short for an elf, he could look Nym in the eyes. He had a sort of vitality about him, as if he could drop what he was doing and scale a mountain without breaking a sweat. Jacob was the kind of man who not only rose to every challenge, he would seek them out.
He had passed a rolled parchment to Sen, an elf who had come with her to act as courier, and Sen departed at once. It was her task to keep this man company and await orders so that’s exactly what she did. Jacob joined her at her camp on the border and together they waited for word to return from Thelsamel.
During their time together, Jacob spoke of his family and his sister, locked away in her room and pining for freedom. He wished he could have taken her with him on these dignitary missions but she was too precious. He spoke of his father, a harsh man who had little use for his son who could never take the throne. He believed he was sent out to treat with other kingdoms simply to have him out of the way. He spoke of his mother, a woman he had loved but barely remembered because she’d died in childbirth when his sister was born. He’d been only a boy.
Nym was conciliatory and comforting when Jacob needed it. Her job was to get close to this human and learn everything that she could and she did exactly that. Once they were friends, it was easy to take the next step and become lovers. They spent their days getting to know one another and the long nights were spent in each other’s arms.
Nym had performed missions such as this more than once in service to the elders. They never ordered her to bed a man, that was strictly up to her own discretion but it did make her job more enjoyable at times, not to mention simpler. Men had a habit of talking about things they shouldn’t when they were in bed and Jacob was no exception. He spoke freely of his life at court and let slip one vital piece of information: His father was making preparations to wed the princess to a prince from a neighboring kingdom, uniting both kingdoms under one rule.
Nym remembered how she had slipped out of his bedding the next morning so she could sneak to the rendezvous spot inside the border, a place he couldn’t follow. Sen had been waiting there, on his way back from delivering Jacob’s message but instead of carrying back a reply, he’d camped inside the border forest and received regular reports from her. The elves cared nothing about a treaty with any human kingdom but they cared quite a lot about human politics. She had told Sen what she’d learned about the potential marriage and then returned to Jacob.
Days passed and then Sen had suddenly appeared just outside the camp. He’d bowed before Jacob and handed him a rolled parchment, a reply from the elders. Then, he had embraced Nym as if she were a close friend and whispered in her ear, far too quiet for any human ears to catch, telling her that she must travel with the prince and wait for further instruction.
Nym complied, of course. She would have never gone against orders and rather enjoyed spending time with this young man. He was headstrong and energetic. They’d had a lot of fun together, both during the day and at night. She had accompanied him on his trip back to Loral,
