Claiming His Relucta Cost of Freedom

Gillian doubted whether he had enough courage to face Rayna.

He heard the Chieftains voice as he warned the men outside to give them a few minutes of privacy; not that he needed it.

He was already too disoriented to formulate any sentences.

The duel had been fresh in his mind until a few moments ago. He could feel the rush of adrenaline, followed by the jarring defeat. The humiliation of being granted the scrape of mercy, was burning his throat.

And as the men escorted him back to the dungeons, he was forced to face the dreaded moment of disclosing the shameful results to the Chieftain.

His disappointed and helpless face as he had quietly acknowledged his words, would be forever etched in his memory. He had failed to fulfil the wishes of the one man he had vowed not to disappoint.

While chieftain Edgar had been kind enough to remind him that it wasn his fault; that having a blunt sword had already put him at a grave disadvantage, he had not been able to shake off the feeling of being a failure.

What if the boy decided to change his mind, and kill the chieftain?

And what will he do with Rayna?

They had been in the middle of a discussion on what course of events to follow now, when she had entered with that minister.

Gillian had decided to stay hidden in a corner, avoiding the pity and distaste that he was certain to find in her eyes.

She had witnessed the duel upfront. She was part of the reason, why that bastard had granted him mercy.

Huh. She was probably scoffing at him, revelling in the knowledge of being his saviour.

In some part of his heart, Gillian knew that his mind was simply constructing excuses to avoid the sympathy he was feeling for the woman.

He did not want his pity to cloud the injustices and tricks that this woman had subjected him to.

He wanted to feel nothing for her.

Hence, he had made sure not to intervene in the moment shared between father and daughter. Even when she disclosed her intention of staying here, he had remained quiet.

While she spouted the gibberish of feeling safe and happy in this hellish place, even though he had seen the uneasiness and terror on her face- first hand in the arena, he remained quiet.

How did it matter to him anyway?

She was deciding to live here on her own discretion. Although, he knew it was a because of his failure to defend her. But then again, it wasn his task to save her.

She should not matter to him.

They were getting to leave this place with their lives intact. Chieftain Edgar, and his comrades will be safe and sound.

No one was going to die.

As for Rayna, though he pitied her, he knew she will pull through; hadn she managed to survive this long?

They didn really have any other choice. She was right. Whether she was forced to say this, or not- they had to leave here without her. This was the only option for them.

Meanwhile, just when he had convinced himself of the validity of this decision, the chieftain posed the one question that he had not dared to consider; and all his resolve went through the drain the moment she made the wretched revelation.

Raynas words replayed in his mind in a torturous loop-