The Mist and the Lightning. Part IV

And I turned away, hiding my face in mom’s skirt, and she took me away.

That’s how our first meeting ended, and our relationship still adjust…

But I still love Arel…

And I know he loved the toy I gave him…

My name is Carina. Carina Kors, but I often call myself Carina Iness. Adding the name of my mother, whom unfortunately I don’t remember at all.

It’s been about two months since I came to the Castle, came for the Winter festival and stayed. Stayed with the prince and his friends. During this time I got to know them better, learned to find a common language with them, even though it wasn’t easy.

Along with them I took part in the response to the Black Bey and his ally. And I saw how Orel and his warriors fight. How they pair up and work in a total harmony with each other. And each one adjust his attacks to another, and puts up a guard if his friend is under attack.

And along with them I’ve spent some fun nights in “Bakar” at the Lower City, and in Orel’s Castle. And I’ve seen them quarrel, unable to agree. They argue so fiercely, each one tries to convince the others he’s right, but at in the end nothing changes, and everyone remains with his own opinion. Their arguments are pointless, they cannot hear each other, and everyone is talking to himself, but cannot hear himself, just as he cannot hear the others.

Chapter One.

“The First Time”

“I agree to gamble on the wishes, if whoever loses won’t refuse to fulfill them” – said Tol, picking out of habit his gapped teeth with his fat fingers.

“Yeah”, – Orel nodded, “Screw you and your wishes! You’ll just make the looser lick Asa again.”

Everybody laughed.

“Hey, you didn’t lick her!”– Tol protested with outrage, and everybody roared with laughter.

“So what do you suppose I did?!”

“Poured a bottle of wine into her and took a sip!”

“But she came! The deal was licking her till she comes, it’s not my fault she comes with me faster than she comes with you!”

“Now the looser would lick Tol’s ass” – Lis said, laughing. His black hair framed his pale grey face like dark tangled icicles.

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about”, – Tol agreed, “You wouldn’t, and nobody would!”

“Nikto might!”

“Very funny,” – Nikto grunted. His had was at Orel’s lap, and he fumbled Nik’s hair involuntarily. His fingers softly untangled thick white strands, all mats and tangles.

“You mean not a single one of you would do it!”

“We could make normal wishes, like to tell something, some interesting life incidents, for example” – Enriki suggested.

“It’s boring!” – Tol whined.

“Not at all! Besides, if Carina wakes up, comes down here and sees all of us fucking Asa, she might not understand it was just a game!”

“For how long can we fuck Asa?” – Orel mumbled, “Aren’t you fuckin’ fed up?”

“We are” – Lis responded. “Tol, we’re fuckin’ fed up with fucking your Asa”.

“So you won’t get her anymore!” – Tol snarled.

“Oh, like she needs your permission to fuck! I personally fucked her, back when you weren’t giving her away to anybody, wouldn’t even let anybody touch your precious Asa.

“Me too”, – Enriki pitched in. “She’s a whore”.

Tol twisted his lips: “No”.

“Should I summon Mina?” – Orel asked.

“We are fed up with her, too! We don’t even have a single normal girls here, Arel!” – Enriki sounded displeased.

“Call your sister then!” – He snarled back.

Everybody froze, and Enriki went pale.

“So, we are going to tell stories” – Tol said gingerly. “Nik, tell us about your Rosa, how did it all happen?” – He added, seeing that everybody are still quiet.

“How did the two of you fuck?” – Lis specified gloomily.

“I didn’t lose yet” – Nikto argued, touching his scarred cheek involuntarily, “and I don’t like reminiscing it”.

“Why didn’t you follow her to the “upper world”, if you are still suffering? What stopped you from going up there and finding her?” – Enriki asked.

“Looking like this?!”

“After all, if your story is true, it was all Rosa’s fault!”

“And if she truly loved you, would she reject you?” – Orel added, “Regardless of what you became.”

“While protecting her!” – Tol added meaningfully.

“And be like an endless reproach to her?”

“I never thought you would sweat it so much!” – Enriki was surprised, “You are now talking as a common man, not even a warrior”.

“Like a weak kid” – Orel said, “‘I couldn’t let her see me like this!’ Beaten, mutilated. Who is she, she’s just a woman, and that’s it!”

Nikto was silent.

“You don’t get it” – he finally said. “She was a ‘white’, a genuine ‘white’ “…

“And you are Nikto, right?” – Lis snorted.

“Right”.