Nora did not know what to say, yes, she knew that she was the one that asked to speak to him, but in the moment, it was all just too much for her to bear.
Mero was rarely brought to silence and incapable of speaking, but now he was. He felt guilty, absolutely guilty.
Nora opened her mouth to say something, but words would not just come out. She sighed.
"You can ask me anything you want... I will answer it... truthfully," he said.
Nora nodded as soon as she heard his words. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, "When did you start your relationship with the queen?".
"When we went to the village to help the people that were distressed... things happened, one thing led to the next and we... we decided to pursue a relationship.".
Nora looked away, hearing this again, it made her heart boil. She thought that she was strong enough to hear it and bear it, but it seemed that she was wrong.
"I am sorry, if my words hurt you... but you deserve the truth..." Mero said, his voice barely a whisper.
Nora turned to him, "When did you start to develop feelings for the queen?".
"I do not know exactly... but a few months ago, I started to see her in a different light... and what happened at the summer festival for the knights caused my feelings to be stronger.".
"What happened at the festival?".
"Wura drank too much, she mistook me for Liam, and then she kissed me.".
Nora sighed, she simply wished to know if the explanation Wura told her was true. She would no longer believe her like the dumb, senseless girl that had been. She wanted to make sure that neither of them were taking her for fools as they had for the longest time.
"She was so unhappy and guilty when she did that, and I was guilty for allowing myself to dwell on it. I just...".
"Mero... tell me, when you approached me, in order to start a relationship with me... did you already have feelings for the queen?" Nora interrupted.
Mero paused, he did not want to answer, he knew that the answer he would give would completely shatter Nora, and the last thing she needed was more hurt from him.
"Nora... I have always admired you as a person," he said.
"That is not the question Mero, answer the question," she insisted.
"I have to admit that yes... I had feelings for her when I approached you," he said softly.
Nora fought back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. He had spoken the words that she had never wished to hear.
"So, you only pursued a relationship with me in order to forget whatever it was you felt for her?".
"Nora, I knew it was unfair to you, but I really tried my best... that was when when we returned, I realized that I could no longer continue to hurt you, that is why I ended things with you," Mero said.
"It does not matter... I do not care that you fell in love with another woman. What hurts me so much is that you both lied to me, you played me like a fool, and I fell for it miserably," Nora began to cry.
"To think that I even asked her to find out who the woman you had left me for was, and it only turned out to be her... I was asking the woman who caused me so much pain, I was allowing her to comfort me, you all lied to me, you broke my heart," Nora cried.
"I am sorry Nora, I wanted to tell you... truly, I want to... but I could not.".
"Why? Because she asked you not to due to her shame. She knew that what you both were doing is wrong and unfair to everyone, yet you went ahead and did it.".
"I feel so betrayed, so betrayed by the people I trusted the most. We all trusted you, we expected the best from you and stab me in the back. I loved you Mero... I actually thought that we would have a future together," she cried.
Mero felt helpless, he knew that there was nothing he could say or do that would be able to comfort her in this moment.
Nora stood up, she turned away, she did not want to allow Mero see her liked this. She had promised to never allow a man cause her to cry unnecessarily like this ever again, and here she was doing the same thing.
She could understand Mero, he was a man, he spent so much time with Wura, by Wura's side. Wura was an exceptional woman, or at least that was what she had thought for the longest time, but the person she would never forgive was Wura.
Wura lied to her, she deceived her, she pretended to be a friend who cared while in truth she was an enemy. A selfish person who cared for no one but herself.
Mero stood up, he walked slowly and hugged Nora.
"I am truly sorry for hurting you Nora. That was never my intention.".
Nora sniffed, his apologies made no difference, the damage was already done. She only hated that she still cared about him.
"I just hope that one day you find a place in your heart to truly forgive me and Wura.".
As soon as he mentioned Wura's name, she pulled away.
"I can never forgive her... never," she said.
"I cannot believe you are even pleading for her. I hope you get well soon Mero," she sniffed and took her leave.
Mero sighed, he knew that she was hurting, he only hoped that she found a way to forgive them all.
...
Wura rushed out into the camp. She was feeling relieved, overwhelmed, sad, anxious and scared all at the same time. She did not know where she was going, a moment of confusion washed over her.
Suddenly she continued running and remembered where the camp's gates were located. She could not slow down, she would not slow down. Her heart was pounding in her chest, she was breathing heavily. She ran as if her life depended on it, and it did.
Wura reached the camp's gate, she ran out of it. She stopped right in her tracks when she saw fire burning everywhere. The smoke was thick and covered the area like fog. The smell of the smoke made her eyes burn, she coughed.
She could hear the crackling of the fires that refused to die out. A thick black cloud of smoke floated into the sky.
Wura looked ahead, there was no way she could continue any further. The fire was spreading everywhere. She felt the ground shake once again and she had a feeling that the shaking would continue for a longer time.
As the ground shook, her heart, and her mind were in a complete mess. She could not even begin to imagine what was going on further on the battlefield. She could hear the faint sound of men's voices.
She squinted her eyes. The smoke made her eyes burn. It was painful. She raised up blouse and used it to cover her mouth and her nose. Inhaling smoke for a prolonged amount of time was not good.
The fire seemed to have no end. She was stuck, trapped, waiting here. She could not go forward, she could not go and find Liam, it was too risky and that made her feel even more terrible.
To see the terrain that had once been green and lush, filled with life now reduced to nothing but a burning field was more than saddening.
Wura just stood there looking at the flames. Her heart tightening every single moment. It made no difference if she was tied up in a tent or here, regardless, she was helpless, just helpless.
Suddenly, she heard the sounds of horns. Instantly, she knew that was not a good sign. In that moment, it seemed like everything stopped. Wura heard the loudest explosion she had ever heard in her life. Her heart stopped.
It was as if time stopped. The fires burning paused, the wind blowing stopped, the heat being emitted stopped. Wura did not know when she fell to the ground, but she had. Her hands were over her ears, she had covered them instinctively.
After the sound of the blast, what followed was nothing but absolute silence. Everything was still, but not in a calm way.
It was as if the blast had cause a wind that put out most of all the fires. The thick, black smoke still remained.
Wura did not like the sound of silence... something told her that something was wrong, something was seriously wrong. Hurriedly, she stood to her feet, and the ringing in her ears stopped.
Her heart started to beat quicker than ever. She looked around.
"Liam..." she called in a whisper.