“Daughter, why are you out here? You should be inside celebrating your engagement.”
I am engaged? To who? What has he done to deserve the honor? Is it a love match or was I bartered off because he is a good match to become king?
“I…shouldn’t Viktor be guarding me?”
I put my hand on his shoulder and he looks up confused. He rises slowly accepting my silent command to rise but unsure of how to act with my mother here. I am the heir but she is a princess of this land and older. The chain of command is sketchy at best for someone like him right now.
She looks at me like I am insane.
“Why? He trains the guards. Or so I assume that’s his job since he is here doing so. Your guard is inside.”
“Is Mason there?”
My mother frowns. I can tell Viktor knows the name but is confused as to why I would use it.
“Boy do you know of who she speaks?”
He nods to her and loos sideways at me while answering her without looking her in the face. He braved more than one look into my eyes even before becoming my Kemp. What has made him so timid and obedient? Is this what he was doomed to become without the Kemp tie? Would my decision to be human alter him so?
“Yes, he was part of the guard before he died a year ago.”
I drop and sit hugging my knees to my chest. Madeline and I don’t know one another, Mason has died, and worse of all Viktor doesn’t know me at all except as the heir to the kingdom. He hasn’t chosen to serve me because I deserve it. He is teaching others to serve. He belongs in an honor guard, deserves to be a champion. But this life of mine ruined that.
“This can’t be happening!”
They both look down at me and my mom rubs her hand down my head. She had always done that when I had nightmares. But this, this is the worst one. I want to be here, to be with my mom again. But the life I’ve gotten used to, am now comforted by and happy with would cease to exist. It is too much to handle.
“Dear let's go inside and call the doctor to come to look at you. I don’t know how you knew of these particular guards but you shouldn’t know them by name and be asking about them. Your fiancée wouldn’t think you virtuous.”
“Stupid human rules! I'm not just human I am part Elvin as well!”
My mother makes soothing noises and tells Viktor to run for the doctor. I am delirious obviously.
I can do nothing but cry. To get my mother back I have to give up everyone and everything. My Elvin heritage, my friends. All I have worked so hard for.
“I don’t want this! Let me go! Let me go!”
I try to rise and rip pieces of my dress off running towards the direction Viktor ran. He doesn’t know me…yet. I will make him remember me. I can do it. I will find a way to get my magic back and set things right.
“Give me Viktor back now!”
Viktor
I see a cell. Elainne is chained and bleeding down the side of her head. I try to call her to reach her but she can’t see or hear me it seems. I wonder if this is real or a vision. I look for signs it is real if it is the owner of the voice who has been talking to me will die. Is this what he is doing to her? I push forward and step into the dungeon. I run over to her determined to save her. I know where she is now; I won’t let her out of my sight again. I can save her now.
“Torture me more if you will but I don’t care! I'm not telling you where they went!”
I stop and look at her. What is she speaking of? Is she insane?
“What do you mean?”
Is she not happy to see me? Why does she look at me as if I have done this to her? As if I were guilty of all the horrible things in the world existing.
“You can tell your whole clan and my father that I will never tell them where your sister is. She asked for my help because I am the princess and I have resources. I'm not betraying her confidence. She loves him and they should be together.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
She glares at me obviously believing I am after some information about a supposed sister I have. Something to do with her father. But her father is Elvin. I look closer at her. She looks the same. Same dark hair and light skin.
I look down and noticed something. My skin is light, like hers. I pull at my hair. It is long! And golden-colored! It is not dark like my hair actually is. Are my eyes different as well? Are they still my grandfather’s coal eyes hiding the power within? What the hell is going on?
“The cave shows you what you want.”
“I don’t want her in prison!”
“You want to be Elvin, for her.”
“So, I become one of those that look down on her for being half-human? To hell with that, I want out now!”
Elainne looks at me like I am insane. She can’t hear the voice. I go over trying to pull the cuffs off. They are not old nor are they weak.
“Dammit, I have to get these off of you!”
I try to think of how to do so but the look on her face distracts and disturbs me. She is shrinking away from me scared out of her mind. What have I done to her before now?
I reach out and push her hair out of her face as I have done so many times before while she sleeps. All she does now was try to move further from me.
“What have I done to you?”
She shivers in fear and won’t meet my eyes. I grab her chin forcing her to look at me. She looks scared but determined. Even in the direst of circumstances, she is brave and wonderful. I want to hug her but I can’t. Not here, not until we are safely away.
An idea strikes me. I am Elvin I have magic.
I imagine a fire hot enough to melt the chains attached to the cuffs. She shrinks back and screams.
“Don’t, please don’t! I don’t want to die!”
“I won’t hurt you I promise.”
I let the fire engulf the chains and wait for them to burn off of her so I can get her out of here. Whatever the me in this vision has done to her before now, I have to make up for it, to save her. The fire engulfs the chains and I have a moment of triumph before I realize the chains aren’t melting and the fire is spreading. I try to put it out, try throwing water at it but it refuses to go out.
I run to the door and scream for help. Some soldiers come in but do nothing. They stand and watch as she writhes and screams slowly burning alive. I try to go to her but they grab me holding me back. Are they that cruel? She is burning, in so much pain her face twists in agony, her body shaking from the stress. Her screams taunted my ears endlessly as the flesh starts to melt off of her.
“You know there is no way to stop the fire boy. I can’t believe it only took her three days before she committed suicide. She knew the cuffs use your magic against you should you cast. I expected her to hold out long enough to tell us what we wanted to know.”
Her father stands there watching as she stops moving and drops. The fire goes out and they all leave. I drop to the ground, my legs unable to support me. My eyes forever burned with this image of her.
I had killed her. I had interrogated her and killed her with magic.
“I don’t want this! I don’t want magic if it’ll do this!”
How does Elainne live with this inside her every day? How does she live with the potential to do this? She had used fire to stop those creatures from killing us. What if instead, it had done this?
“Do you hate her for it? Do you want her to die? To wipe all magic off this planet? The orb could do that.”
“No! Her magic isn’t evil! She is not swayed by its seductions! I want her back! Give her back to me now!”
Elainne
I slam down onto the ground. I am not sure why I fell I wasn’t exactly walking on the ceiling before getting out of the dreamland. Maybe I slipped while tearing off my fancy dress.
“Now my butt hurts.”
I look around and sigh. It is still too dark to see very far in front of you.
“Elainne!”
I rise and turn. Viktor is running towards me relief
evident on his face when he gets close enough.
“Viktor you’re safe!”
Once he gets close enough, I hug him. Protocol be damned we are both alive and this alone is cause enough to rejoice in my opinion. For once he doesn’t lecture me on protocol. Instead, he hugs me back. So hard I feel like my ribs will break. But the relief of it all makes me not care one bit.
“I was so worried. I didn’t want it to be real but it felt it.”
I assume he means the dream he had been in. I let go pulling back and looking at his face. It is helpless and pained. He looks haggard and aged. What had he seen to haunt him so?
“Was it bad?”
He nods and grabs me in a hug again. Something bad happened to me I assume. Viktor is never clingy.
“We should keep going Viktor. I don’t want to be trapped there again. I'm not so sure I could pull away another time.”
“What did you see in there?”
We hold hands’ walking towards what we hope is an exit. I refuse to let his hand go again and he seems likewise inclined. However, we still need to find the orb before leaving.
“Two Visions. In one I was a full-blooded elf. I had a different mother I assume. I was sitting next to my father; he was trying to auction me off to an Elvin lord or something. I was bored, haughty, and arrogant.”
“Why would you even want that?”
I shake my head.
“I don’t. The thing I wanted as a child was my father to be proud of me. Now I know the only way he would be is if I were something I can never be.”
He squeezes my hand but I don’t acknowledge it. I keep walking looking for any sign we are going in the right direction.
“What was the other?”
I stiffen and pull my hand away wrapping my arms around myself. Viktor stops walking and puts an arm around me.
“What happened?”
I look up at him tears streaming down my face.
“I saw my mother. Alive and still with me. I was human. A full human. I was the heir to my uncle’s kingdom; he had a human wife and no children. And I was engaged.”
Viktor
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
She shrugs and shakes. What happened in this dream? It doesn’t sound that bad.
“Madeline and I were not friends; we had barely met even. And Mason had died in the line of duty a year before my dream picked up.”
“I suppose not everything would be the same as it is now.”
She shakes her head and hugs me.
“You didn’t recognize me. You knew I was a princess but you didn’t know me at all.”
I sigh. Oh. Well if she were human, I wouldn’t be bonded to her. I wouldn’t have the feeling of being a Kemp because there would be no need.
“Well, we could get to know each other.”
“I wasn’t allowed to speak to you. My mother wouldn’t let me. I tried. She, and you, everyone I met all thought I was insane. You were training guards in the rain. I ran out to find you during my engagement party.”
“That is likely why everyone thought you nuts. But at least I wasn’t dead. Poor Mason.”
She nods still not letting me go as she cries. I sigh and hug her tighter.
“I wouldn’t blame you. Your mother….”
“She’s gone Viktor. My life is going how the fates deemed it should. There is a reason for everything, it’s not always a good one or one we understand but there is always a reason.”
“Okay. Then let’s find this blasted orb and leave. I honestly do not like this place. It preys on us. And we are not prey.”
I wipe the tears from her cheeks savoring the contact of her warm skin. She is alive and well. Haunted by her memories but alive. We continue on our way. This place is far more dangerous than any foe we would ever meet. It hurts us from within.
Chapter Fifteen
“Are you sure you are alright Elainne?”
She nods and I sigh. There is a noise ahead of us. I drop her hand and unsheathe a sword. What is that?
“Look a light!”
She runs ahead and I curse as I follow her. She is weakened from the draining spell that took its toll on her on the way here and the horrible dreams that plague her now. Why can’t she just stay next to me and let me protect her? I understand wanting to be rid of this place, there is nothing I want more than that myself but not at the expense of her life. Which it could be if she doesn’t stay by my side.
“Wait!”
“We don’t know which way is in or out Viktor we could be attacked from any angle or side so there is no point in me waiting.”
I sigh. She is the hardest person in the world to protect.
“Oh, my goodness!”
I catch up with her about to scold. She stands on the edge of a cliff not looking down or for a way off but up. Her face is shocked and she is speechless. I followed her gaze and see a dragon. A large, silver dragon with scales flashing in the sunlight. I don’t look down either. I can only stare and think ‘oh shit the legends are true’.
“Do we really have to fight that?”
She shrugs.
“I hope not. I'm drained. My magic is protecting you from the effects of the cavern and trying to stop us from being pulled back into dreams. Now that I know what the pull feels like I am fighting it for us both.”
So, this battle will be mine. That’s okay. I wouldn’t want her fighting the dragon anyway.
It lands and we step back. I try to shove her behind me but she refuses to move from my side.
“You made it through the cavern and fight its pull. Interesting. No mortals have ever done so before whether they be human, mage or Elvin.”
Elainne
“We are here to ask you about the orb.”
I suppose from the standpoint of a dragon even an Elf is mortal. We die, it just takes longer. I still am not sure I will get the Elvin lifespan; it is fifty-fifty with half-breeds. I only want it if Viktor gets it as well. Viktor who is trying to be valiant and shove me behind him for my own safety forgetting that I care about his as well.
I step in front of Viktor and ignore his tugging. He will push me over the cliff if he keeps that up. He finally stops; obviously, he realizes I am not moving. His compromise is to put an arm in front of me with his unsheathed sword. The other hand is over his still sheathed sword.
“This one seems here to fight.”
I push Viktor and his sword back and bow long and deep before looking back up respectfully.
“No, but we were not met kindly. He fears for my safety”
“All who enter are tested. He shouldn’t fear for you unless it’s from him. His alternate life made him powerful. Powerful enough to destroy you which he did.”
I can hear Viktor about to protest. I put a hand on his shoulder but don’t look away. We are still being tested.
“We both had visions. Neither of us liked them and all of them had something horrible in them. I do not fault him and you should not either.”
“You are a kind soul. But this orb is all-powerful and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I was given the orb to guard, to never allow it back into the world at large and I won’t now.”
I sigh. If we fight we will lose. We need the orbs magic, what the hell are we to do now?
“Can you not just let us use it once? To make one wish? We will leave here and you can take it back as soon as we have saved our home.”
“You have everything you need to save your home already. I know of the deal you have made with the king of Elves. Long ago the orb was entrusted to them. They made war. They will again. I have seen this. The orb influences the minds of those that have it. I cannot chance you leaving with it. I am trapped here you see. Until the orb is destroyed.”
“We just want to save our kingdom!”
Viktor steps forward unsheathing the other sword and yells at the dragon. I sigh he is not subtle and he is not winning us any favor. I wish I could spell his voice away but you cannot spell your Kemp nega
tively or you suffer the same effects.
“Could we make a deal with you great dragon? Could we use the orb to save our kingdom and then perhaps destroy it for you? Is there any way to do that?”
“What of your deal with your father?”
I sigh. It would be easier to do this if it weren’t for that.
“He will have to accept that it was the guardian’s will that it be destroyed.”
The dragon tilts its majestic silver head. It is thinking our deal over. Good.
“How would you have the orb grant your wish to save your kingdom?”
What to wish for?
“Give me the ability to use Elvin and mage magic so I can be Elainne’s Kemp in full and save her kingdom for her and protect her after from any future threats.”
Is he kidding me! One person even with magic wouldn’t be able to do what needed to be done.
“Viktor!”
He turns to me sheathing his swords and taking my hands in his. He links our fingers and looks at our clasped hands before looking me in the eyes. He is determined and full of hope and promise. He wants to be the best champion he can for me, he will use the power to do whatever he needs to protect me and do as I wish. I know what he says next will determine how our relationship progresses. I have to trust him, he is asking for it with nothing more than his eyes. I was won over before he even chose to speak.
“I will save your kingdom for you if that is what you want. If not we can travel to the mages find my grandfather if he still lives and then finds a place to live peacefully. I meant what I said yesterday. Wherever you go I go as well. If you want to find a corner in the world to be safe and happy we will. If you truly want to battle the merpeople I will lead the resistance and get you your future kingdom back. I can do this Elainne, trust me.”
I do trust him. I have no idea how he will do it, how we will do it. But I do trust him. I nod and look up at the dragon.
“Give us both the ability to use our blood power as if we were full blood and we shall destroy the orb for you.”
Champion Complete Series Page 16