The Rebel and the Icequeen

Meeting Eliv

Liams POV 

I'm not sure how many days have passed, but every time I wake up I lie in a soft bed. Lou comes to visit me every night, she gives me food and water, and looks after my wounds. I was still too weak to talk to her much, but I'm still happy about every visit. She just has a beautiful personality. Maybe I could persuade her to come with me when I flee. Then she could have a better life with me. Am I actually thinking about living with her right now? Even though I don't even know what she looks like. I know next to nothing about her, but maybe if I open up to her, she will open up to me. The door to my room unlocks and I can see the outline of a graceful person. It's Lou.  

“Hello Liam, how are you?” She asks as always.  

"Much better," I answer her and she sits down on the bed with me. I am still too weak to eat or to stand up on my own. I push myself up so that I can at least sit up a little. Pain shoots through my back and I grimace. Crap! 

“Here, I brought you soup,” she says, holding out a steaming bowl. It smells delicious. I lean my head against the wall and take the first spoon. She is always so gentle and careful. I still breathe a little hard from trying to sit up, but she just ignores my troubles, which makes me very grateful, I don't want her pity, I just want to enjoy her care.  

"Liam, I wanted to ask you something," she says shyly into the silence.  

“About what, you can talk to me about anything,” I encourage her. It is not often that she reveals anything about herself. 

“I heard today that the rebels are attacking and robbing more and more ordinary people. Do you know anything about this?"  

“I'm a rebel, but I've never heard of it,” I reply, a little confused. It doesn't make any sense for us to attack our own people. However, I also have no way of knowing what they have done in my absence. Maybe they have new plans? 

“What a shame,” she says sadly and I can feel that it really concerns her. 

“As long as I was there, with the rebels, we never did anything like that. What would we get out of it? However, I cannot say what happened while I was away. "  

"I thought it was weird too, but the stories of robbers are piling up and I'm worried," she says. 

"But you are safe here," I answer and don't understand why she is so bothered. 

"I know, I'm not worried about myself, but about all the people who are losing their livelihood as a result." She speaks like a very educated woman and you can clearly see her big heart for all of these people. It would be a much better country if Lou were queen. “Maybe someone else is behind the attacks and just blames the rebels,” she says after a while. 

“That is not so absurd,” I answer, “if we can no longer find support among the people, then a rebellion is pointless.” 

"That's right, but who would have such a motive?" 

"And the opportunity to make it look like they were rebels?"  

“I can't think of anyone,” she says, disappointed. "Unfortunately me neither."  

“Oh, by the way, I still have to warn you,” she says and sits up straight, “the queen is coming to you tomorrow to find out who did this to you. Do you remember who it was? " 

"The Queen is coming in person," I ask in disbelief. Why should the queen care about me. I'm just a toy to her.  

"She seems to like you," she replies, and I hear the laugh in her voice.  

"Hardly," I say sarcastically.  

"Wait and see," she says and scurries back to the door, "see you tomorrow."  

She disappears before I can say anything more. Again I miss the chance to learn a little more about her. It annoys me, but unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it. So I sink back on the pillows and listen to the silence. Though it is not really quiet. I can hear voices, they are probably next door. I need to know what they're talking about. So I push myself up in my bed and try to get up, but I don't get very far before the pain overwhelms me. So I sink back on the bed and listen as best as I can.  

“How is he?” Asks a voice that doesn't sound familiar to me.  

"Much better," replies another voice that I identify as Lou. 

"What are you going to do with him now?" Asks the first voice again. I listen carefully so as not to miss anything. Who is the second person to speak there and what do they mean with the last part? 

"You should think about it because he won't be here forever, you know that he is convicted and will soon be executed anyway," says the first voice.  

"I know all of this Eliv," replies Lou annoyed. Is Eliv her friend or a maid? 

"But he ... he didn't deserve this," says Lou, sounding like she really wanted to say something else.  

“Earned or not, you cannot reverse the judgment. You couldn't do that then, you won't be able to do that now either. "  

Then it is quiet. I have no idea what they were talking about, but I'll ask Lou about it next time if I get a chance to. 

“Should I check on him again?” Asks Eliv. No answer can be heard, but I hear steps and hastily lie down again and close my eyes.  

"Liam Cameron," says Eliv gruffly, approaching. I open my eyes and look at her. She narrows her eyes and studies me before pulling up a chair and sitting next to my bed.  

“Who are you?” I ask because she doesn't introduce herself to me. After all, I don't want to just reveal to her that I overheard her.  

"I am Eliv," she replies without further explanation. I raise my eyebrows and look at them invitingly. 

"I am the Queen's personal maid." My eyes widen, she confided in the fears of the queen, she might tell the queen that Lou was with me. However, the two sounded like friends, wouldn't Eliv stab Lou the knife in the back?  

"You know Lou?" I ask carefully. She looks a little confused, her brow furrowing. Have I given myself away? Does she know now that I overheard her? 

"I'm worried about Lou," I say quickly to cover up my possible mistake, "Lou visited me illegally without the Queen knowing about it, but please don't tell the Queen, she would do something to Lou!"  

"Lou is my friend, so don't worry. You'd better worry about your own life, ”she replies, still frowning.  

“I can't leave anyway, the queen would find me and have me locked up again. She can practically do whatever she wants with me. The only bright spot is Lou, “I say, although it is actually none of her business. I don't even know why I told her all this. But maybe she'll feel a little sorry for me and help me protect Lou.  

"You like Lou, don't you?" I look away quickly so she can't read the answer on my face. I'm not sure how I feel about Lou, but I'm almost sure it's more than just an attachment. I care about her more than my own life and I think about her all the time. She is the most beautiful creature I've ever seen and since I've known her, she has only been good to me, even though she always knew that I was a rebel. If I really think about it, I even owe her my life.