16 Can she trust them?

Gia did not know why she was telling Nikolas so much about what had happened, like she needed to confess everything. Perhaps she did need to confess, she had been holding the truth in so much the past three weeks, she had told no one about what had happened in the capitol, told no one who the baby really was and it was all starting to be too much. She had been wracked with guilt every day for three weeks, telling herself that if she had just gotten the Queen and both babies to the stables first then gone back for supplies then they all would have made it out. But she was stupid and let the Queen come last, she thought she was doing what was best, giving the Queen time to dress while prepping the supplies that she thought they might need. And look what that had done to the queen, she hoped the Queen was still alive as well as Emerella and the King. Just the thought of the royal family made Gia want to cry, but she fought back the tears, now was not the time.

"What is going to happen to us now that we are here?" Gia asked Nikolas, her voice weak and unsure. I bet they'll kick us out. She added in her mind.

"I don't think I know what you mean Gia." He said puzzled.

"Will they make us leave for bringing danger to the village?" Gia asked, getting right to the heart of the matter.

"Make you leave!" Nikolas said, not questioningly, but astonished. Gia looked him in the eyes and was confused by the shock and outrage she saw there.

"Only people who pose no threat to the village are allowed to stay, I didn't know where else for us to go, but I worried the whole way if we would even be able to cross into the village with the threat of whoever attacked the kingdom might be following us." Gia had thought almost nonstop about it as she drove the wagon here, she was determined to stay here because she knew it was best for the baby, but she was also worried that it was not safe for everyone else.

"No, Gia, you and Braelyn are welcome to stay as long as you would like, our Reeve will make sure you are given every hospitality we have to offer."

"Reeve?" Gia asked, confused.

"It's like a mayor, he basically runs the town alongside the elders. The reeve takes care of land and political matters while the Elders focus more on the magical and spiritual matters, but the only one with true say over things in town, like laws, is the reeve."

"Oh." Gia didn't know what else to say, this was all still very confusing to her. "Are you sure that your Reeve will let me stay?" She asked unsure still.

"He already said you were to stay. He was the man that joined the conversation at the end earlier." Nikolas was smiling as he spoke for some reason.

"His name was," She had to think for a moment, she was getting so much more info that it was confusing her poor tired mind, "Micah, right?"

"Exactly, and he said that you are both to stay, the elders may be a different story but they cannot make you leave, they are more like a council that gives their opinions to the Reeve so he can run the town." Nikolas seemed to always answer her questions without hesitation, well, all but that one from earlier.

"Thank you for telling me all this Nikolas, it's making me feel slightly better." This was true, in a sense, if they weren't going to force them out of town then she could care for the baby more and think of a long-term plan for them.

"Of course, Gia, I want to make sure that you and Braelyn are well cared for and feel safe, you have been through so much already."

"You have no idea." Gia said wearily.

"Will you tell me what happened? He asked her, and Gia saw that there was a look of passionate concern on his face, like he took what happened to them as a personal attack against him, it made Gia's heart melt.

She told him everything that happened since she had been summoned to the Queen's chambers three weeks ago. Sending Bette away, the doctor never showing up, the King and Queen's happiness at the birth of the baby, their delight at the birth of a second baby, the King's shouted command to run, her getting things ready, the Queen's capture, fleeing the city, running out of milk and running into the elderly couple, feeling like she was on the right path, the unease she felt as she got closer to the village, the fear and danger she sensed being in Willows Edge, the terror of knowing she was so close and that she might not make it to safety with the baby, and the crushing defeat she felt right before she lost consciousness. She was in tears by the time it was over, and he had picked up on the parts she was agonizing over the most. She felt responsible for the Queen's capture, she was heartbroken for lying to the old man and woman, and she was still telling herself that she wasn't good enough. But he did not know what to say to make her feel better, not just yet.

The door to the infirmary opened again, this time shutting quietly behind the man that entered. Nikolas saw Micah walk slowly over toward where he sat talking to Gia and he heard Gia gasp as she took in his appearance. Most people were scared when they saw Micah for the first time, he was six foot six and looked like a mountain, or tree might be a better description because Micah had deep jade colored hair and eyes and his skin was so suntanned that it looked like light brown tree bark, his face was full of lines and angles, no soft edges or curves like Nikolas had. He looked so commanding and fierce that most people thought he was sure to be an angry brute, only he was just the opposite, Micah was a kind and understanding man with a heart of gold, he listened to what people had to say and made his decisions with every ounce of that heart. He could be strong and angry when needed, but in their quiet little village it was rarely ever called for. Nikolas was so used to this man that he had forgotten how people reacted when they met him for the first time, even he had to admit that Micah used to scare him when he was a little boy, and Micah was his uncle and not some stranger.

"Hello there, young miss." Micah's deep voice rumbled, making Gia's eyes widen in fear.

"H-h-hello." Gia stammered, causing Micah to smirk, he was used to this response and he always enjoyed when people learned not to be afraid of him, obviously he wasn't going to make Gia wait long to find out that he was nothing but a big softy.

"No need to be afraid there, Miss, I assure you my bark is worse than my bite." He laughed indicating his leathery skin. Gia's eyes narrowed unsure of the situation. "Oh, the pain of a wounded heart, Nikolas I fear she thinks me a liar, help me here." Nikolas laughed and decided to help out the old man he'd known his whole life.

"Gia, this is Micah, the Reeve of Whispering Willows, and my uncle. I assure you he means you and Braelyn no harm." Gia's expression softened and she seemed to relax a little.

"Sure, she trusts you already, you had to go and get those boyish looks from your mother, while you father and I had to deal with scaring women and children wherever we went." Micah was clearly enjoying himself. "Gia was it, like my nephew here has said, my name is Micah, and I run this here village, and I would like to extend an invitation for you and your baby to stay with us for however long you would like." Micah said smiling, his smiles were the best feature of his face, it made him look younger and full of life, never quite innocent though.

"I was just informing Gia that she would be allowed to stay as well, Micah, thank you for extending the kindness as well." Nikolas didn't want to tell his uncle that he would do everything he could to convince Gia to stay, and if he couldn't, he would go with her when she left.

"I appreciate that very much, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that we can stay, I had been so worried the entire time we travelled here."

"No need to worry anymore, Gia, Nikolas and I will see to it that you and that baby are well cared for. Now I want you to rest up for the rest of today, and tomorrow we will discuss the finer points of this situation." Gia looked puzzled at Micah's words. "We cannot go around telling people that you were the Queen's maid and ran here from the capitol with her baby, word has not reached us yet of trouble in Kingston so people will be quite shocked if they heard that. And I reckon you don't want people finding out who this little girl really is, that's just a hunch of mine however." Gia's mind was reeling, these men both seemed to know so much about her the first time they met her and they both seemed to be so kind and genuine, she hoped she could truly trust them, she needed to trust them.