Niah didn't pay much attention to the way Brom rode or whether or not he stared at her thighs. It was needless, to say the least, as she'd long since learned to overlook the way his gaze sometimes tended to linger on her, or the touch of sadness in his hazel eyes. She knew the cause of it, and knew that there was no way she could fix it. Even if she could somehow return those feelings, there was no way they could ever work as a pair. The only thing to do about the feelings he harboured was to endure, she felt, and hope that one day they went away. Thankfully he'd learned to hide it well enough over the years, and it didn't interfere with his job.<br/><br/>Nothing could have been further from Niah's mind as they made their way through town. The three crew members were doing as they'd been told by making their way up and down the streets yelling that an attack was imminent. Mild alarm spread through the people like a slow, undulating wave. Much too slow, Niah felt, to save them. Time was running out. A distracting clamoring pressed against her ears, but it wasn't caused by any sound. It was more like a pressure that built with every second - with every step the enemy took towards them.<br/><br/>Free of the constricts of the town and galloping up the well-tended dirt road which would soon become her home's driveway, she frantically tried to think where everyone would be. She'd only been at sea for a week, which meant her father must still not have arrived home from his latest trip up the coastline. Her two elder brothers were with him. That left her sisters, their children, and her younger siblings. Not forgetting her mother, of course. Fresh panic seized her heart when she considered the fact that any of them could be out shopping or visiting friends. She couldn't be in two places at once - she either had to get home and gather them all to leave on the ship, or search the town.<br/><br/>Not a second later the house came into view. Early morning sunlight reflected brightly off it's whitewashed walls. The familiar sight held no comfort for Niah, though. "Brom, go find the rest of the staff," she yelled over the thundering hoof beats of their horses. "Have them get the carriages and horses ready. Tell them to get everyone to the dock, and do a headcount! Nobody gets left behind!"