Kemp

by Francheska Fifield

  Chapter Two

  Viktor

  The next morning I awake while the sky is still gray. Elainne still sleeps, so I stay still and silent. I am tempted to unravel her arms from around me and jump to see if I really will be pulled back, but I figure it will wake her if the spell activates, and if I do hit a tree branch it will hurt. She made this tree with earth magic to suit our purposes. She is doing amazing things. Making a tree from nothing. The weather trick when we first went back home after the battle.

  She is constantly doing things like that and still saying she doesn’t have enough control. It is not control, it is fear. She can control it and that’s why she doesn’t like to use it. It scares her to be in charge of this much power. This was why I have to learn to use mine, so she won’t have to unless it is for healing purposes or something similar. The only difference is she fears and respects it, allowing her to command it. I am too scared of doing the same things that I have already done to her, to control it. I know control will ensure I won’t, but seeing her hurt by my hand during the learning process sucks.

  “Viktor, stop worrying.”

  She is still half-asleep, but she mumbles and stretches an arm. Her hand rests on my chest and I try to keep my heartbeat steady so that she won’t notice anything odd. I can’t help but cover her hand with mine though. She sighs contentedly and dozes back off. I have to watch what I think about when she is asleep, apparently. Her panic and fear will wake me from a deep sleep seemingly she will be woken by mine as well.

  I was never the type of person to worry over much before I met her. All I have done since is worry, but only about her. Our bond is stronger than most because of our human blood. So she says. It seems true. I wonder if it bothers her that we can finish each other’s sentences, or sense when the other person is worrying over nothing but the other, or that I tell her everything. Well, almost everything. I won’t tell her about my insane dream or the things I have started to wonder about since.

  Her arm snakes around my neck and she is leaning against my chest, pressed so close. She feels soft and our bodies fit perfectly together. I sigh and hold her a bit tighter. She has asked if being her Kemp has kept me from another. The truth is I can’t ever picture myself caring for another enough to want to leave Elainne. I can’t be separated from her for long without feeling anxious.

  When she and Madeline stayed in her room, tried on clothes, and did other female things, I stayed away and I worried that - because I wasn’t there to protect her - she would end up hurt. It is not rational, as she says she is able to care for herself and she knows enough self-defense to protect herself until I get there. I’d seen it for myself during the battle. That doesn’t stop me from worrying though.

  Even when I don’t worry, she is the only person I want to be near. She’d given me a night off, to go see Mason, as she knew it had been awhile since we had done anything together and Madeline said Mason missed hanging out with me. All I thought the entire time was that I wished it were her I was sitting and talking with.

  Mason had been annoyed with my distraction; after hearing of it, Elainne and Madeline had accompanied us on our next try. They just sat apart from us so that they could do girl-talk and I could still watch over her. I had still felt the same, and often just nodded at Mason while watching Elainne across the room, talking to the tavern keeper’s daughter as if they were longtime friends.

  Mason didn’t really ask me to hang out anymore and it didn’t bother me. Still, it did Elainne, so once a week she dragged the three of us off to some restaurant, tavern or other public place. She and Madeline mingled with the commoners while Mason and I talked of what was going on in our lives. I never had anything to talk about except my practices with Elainne, trying to keep away from her uncle who hated me, and watching over her so she wouldn’t be hurt. Mason always had stories. He always left feeling annoyed with me for ignoring most of them to watch Elainne.

  He was right, I had lost my mind. She was a princess and I was a guard. When he had first said it in the Elvin woods months ago, he had been daft. I hadn’t thought of Elainne like that at all, but somewhere along the way respect turned into friendship and now it seems almost more, but I can never be sure if it is just me that feels it or not.

  I close my eyes and rest my cheek on her head, breathing in her scent. It instantly relaxes me and makes me more aware of her at the same time. Aware of where our bodies touch and the places where they don’t. It is a new experience for me.

  “Did I sleep too late?”

  She wakes and stretches, pulling away as she does so. I want to tell her to go back to sleep so I can hold her just a bit longer, but we can’t put off our journey just because I am a nutcase. I need control before the Queen will let me back in her kingdom, and if I can’t go back, Elainne won’t either, I can sense the truth of it, and she needs to be there. She is the future Queen; one the people need. Try as her father might to sway her back to the Elvin lands, the human kingdom is her home now, where she belongs.

  “No. The gray just left the sky.”

  She smilea and put her arms down as she finishea stretching, as well as one can do so in a tree.

  “Good. Did you sleep at all, Viktor?”

  “Yes. I awoke less than half an hour before you.”

  “Good. But how much later did you go to sleep?”

  “Once you fell asleep, I did as well.”

  Once her breathing deepened and our shared warmth had spread to my limbs, I couldn’t stay awake anymore. I closed my eyes to revel in it and fell asleep. Much as I wanted to stay awake, I hadn’t been able to.

  “Did you spell me to sleep last night?”

  She shakes her head.

  “No, but I would have if I had thought of it.”

  She laughs and I want to hug her. I always have the urge to grab her and pull her close when she laughs. It is like music. She hums to herself all the time when in her rooms and it always makes me smile. She also has a beautiful singing voice. I always stop to listen when she sings to herself, thinking no one is listening.

  “Perhaps making the dream spell stronger made you more sleep inclined?”

  She says it as a question while chewing on her bottom lip, head slightly tilted, looking off into the distance, and deep in thought. I sigh. Yup, that’s it, Mason is right. I am an idiot.

  “Maybe. So how do we get down?”

  She smiles and throes the packs down after I reattach the blankets.

  “Stay here. I’ll do the hard part.”

  She slides, jumps, and gracefully goes from branch to branch, making it to the ground quickly and tugs. She makes it look so easy. I go up and out, landing on my feet without hitting anything on the way down. She dissolves the spell and picks up her pack.

  “You will have to teach me that one so that I can keep you out of trouble as well.”

  She laughs but doesn’t agree. Instead, she starts walking. I would have complained, she hasn’t eaten yet, but I can tell she wants out of here. If she gets tired later, we will stop to eat. I toss her a canteen after digging one out. She drinks and tossed it back to me. To set a good example, and so she won’t be difficult in the future, I drink as well, attaching it to a hook on the outside of my bag for easy access once I am done. As if she knows what I am thinking, she laughs and walks on merrily.

  Elainne

  Viktor is vigilant but we don’t run into trouble for most of the day. The day is not the problem; people are less likely to attack you in the open during the day, when you can easily see them. The only reason we had trouble the day before is because the gorge made us easy targets, or so they thought.

  I can’t sense anything, but I am not constantly casting to do so either. When the sun is near the time to set, Viktor stops and freeze. He drops his pack and pulls out one of his swords. I drop mine as well and prepare to cast. I keep my power locked up but at the ready. I don’t want to give away what we are capable of beforehand if it is a mage.

  It doesn’t turn o
ut to be a mage. It is a bear. The largest bear I have ever seen. The thing easily stands twenty feet tall on its hind legs. It definitely is not a normal bear. Viktor waves me back and I do as he says. I want to armor him up with magic but we haven’t practiced and I can throw him off, which will only make him more likely to die. Still, when the thing rushes us and Viktor meets it - one sword out, the other still sheathed - I want to close my eyes and throw fire at the same time. I do neither.

  I feel him pull and freely give my Elvin enhancements. He moves with grace and elegance, dancing around the warped monster faster than it can move. He is not hit but he can’t land one either. I cast a sensing spell and let it expand farther than I have so far.

  To the east are so many life signs. They are not small animals. To the west is a false trail. Magical life signs, all fake, to misdirect. Silly mages. That will work against some, but not one of my powers.

  I hear cursing and let my spell drop, my power snaps back into me. Viktor has been clawed on one arm. I rush forward, catching the attention of the bear. I have been in battle, I have fought with fire against animals with too much intelligence before, but this is a bear compelled and enchanted by battle mages. The look in its eyes as it glances at me is pure hatred. They know what I am and that I am coming.

  “We aren’t here to fight you! Look at his eyes! Do they look familiar! He is here for training and I’m his charge! You are making a mistake!”

  It stares me down and swipes. I drop and roll but it is fast, landing on all fours and charging right at me. Viktor manages to catch it in the leg - distracting it - but is hit again in the process.

  His side is bleeding too. Fine, if they want to play that way, I will as well. I summon the wind and fire, combining them to make a hell-storm.

  “We wanted to come in peace! If you don’t want to play it that way, that’s fine with me! Let’s see whose power is stronger!”

  The thing turns from Viktor to stare me down. There is no fear in its eyes. I will change that. I unleash balls of molten lava accompanied by winds strong enough to easily pick up the two thousand pound bear. The thing roars in pain and I can hear it yelping for mercy. The mage is still connected; the bear is a magical creation or I never would have been able to bring myself to do this. Not to a real living creature. No, this is like a puppet being run by a mage. One that I have magically locked in, so he can’t escape. I wave an arm, making everything disappear. It drops to the ground, and this time the human looking through its eyes is very afraid.

  “If he dies, your entire village will feel this same pain. Make sure they know that.”

  I catch it in a fire hot enough to turn it to ash and run over to Viktor. I kneel down and heal his side first. It is bleeding the worst. Then his arm. He is unconscious due to blood loss, so I make a fire and wait. Unfortunately, for him, I had to cut off his shirt to heal him. I grab a bandage and wet it down with water from the canteen. I will make it rain if we need water.

  I wipe the blood from his waist and arm. Underneath is newly knitted pink skin. I sigh. I almost lost him because I tried to reason with them. I had told him they wouldn’t like me being here. If not for me, he could have walked in completely welcome. He looks enough like them to be considered one. I look mostly Elvin. Mages and Elves do not care for one another, to put it mildly.

  Viktor

  When I come to, I feel cool and wet. I open my eyes a bit and see Elainne wiping me down with a cloth. Why am I shirtless?

  “What’s going on?”

  She sits up and hands me a clean shirt. I put it on and look around. A large pile of ash sits where I remember the bear being.

  “You were talking to it.”

  “Fighting wouldn’t defeat it, Viktor. It was magically made, not real. It was a battle for magic. The driver was listening; he could have called it off. He didn’t.”

  “You killed it?”

  She nods and looks to the east, sighing.

  “If you go on without me, it will be safer for you, Viktor.”

  “No. I know you can defend yourself Elainne, but I'm not leaving you alone here. We aren’t even out of no man’s land yet. Why are they attacking us already?”

  She shrugs and bites her lip.

  “I think perhaps they own no man’s land. Or, part of it. At least have spies around. They saw an Elf coming and are determined to make sure it doesn’t make it there alive.”

  “But neither of us…”

  She looks at me, sad and serious. I remember the conversation she and I had while she played ambassador in her father’s kingdom, trying to get help against the mermen. More of an argument, really, about going to the mages for help and forgetting the Elves. She said they wouldn’t accept her there either because she was half Elvin. Ahh, hell.

  I could have embraced her training, learned to control the damn fire, and avoided this. Instead, I’d been selfish and now she is going to yet another country full of people who think she is not worthwhile. That because of what she is she is evil. I can’t stand that no matter where we go she won’t be accepted. I am a bigger mutt than she is and yet no one has a problem with me… unless I access her power.

  “Elainne I…”

  She shrugs and stands, walking away from me a few feet.

  “Don’t worry about it, Viktor. I’m used to this kind of treatment.”

  She walksoff into the dark, and I pay close attention but don’t follow. She doesn’t need me right now and I can’t save her from everything, no matter how much I want to.

  Elainne

  Viktor doesn’t follow and I am glad. I knew this would likely happen, but aunt was right, Viktor needs to be taught or he will be a danger to everyone. I can’t keep him with me if he might accidently torch people’s houses when frustrated.

  Still, it hurts that I am here - in this position - again. Another group of people that know nothing more than my birth but think it is reason enough to hate me. Sometimes I want to just give up on being good and nice; burn it all to the ground. I only don’t because then I will become exactly what my father wants of me. Heartless. I refuse to let him win our battle of wills.

  As determined as I am, I still can’t stop the tears that fall. I can’t stop feeling that I want just once to worry about my own happiness. To just go far away, somewhere where people don’t know or care about my birth; where they judge me for my actions and words, not my pedigree. To let me just be myself.

  “Elainne.”

  I don’t turn, don’t respond. I can’t. Not this time.

  Viktor

  She says nothing, but I can feel her pain. Not physical, no, this cuts more deeply than anything I have ever felt from her. She feels despair, sorrow, hurt, anger, and hopelessness. The last worries me the most. She always holds on, no matter who or what is in our way.

  I am not sure how to help her. I just know I can’t stand so far away when she is standing here alone in so much pain. Besides, she has to know she is not alone anymore. I am here and I am not going anywhere.

  I stand, slightly behind her, letting her cry in peace but staying there for as long as she does, so if she needs or wants anything she will know I am there for her.

  After an hour, she goes and unrolls her blanket, casts a couple of spells and rolls away from me, going to sleep. I am worse than an ass bringing her here. I am not sure if it is me or the world she hates right now. I just know I can’t comfort her and she doesn’t want me to, even if I could.

  Elainne

  The next morning I awake before Viktor. I set out a sensory spell and am shocked to find myself pulsating. Those bastards! While I’d been destroying their creature, they had been working on me, using my own fears and doubts. That’s why I felt so much despair last night. Crafty bastards, but I won’t go down that easily. Still, I am not sure how to break the spell; it is not one I recognize. I go over and shake Viktor, waking him. I will need his unreliable magic for this.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Those bastards spelled me so I
would attack myself. That’s what last night was about. It will make me falter, I can fight it for a while but I don’t know for how long, as we get closer to their territory I will weaken and they will strengthen. I don’t know how to break it and I don’t have the right magic to do so without injuring myself.”

  “What do we do?”

  “You’ll have to break it with your mage magic.”

  He looks shocked and afraid. What is he going to do make it worse?

  Viktor

  “I can’t. You know I have no control.”

  “Of your Elvin fire, yes. We don’t know anything about your mage powers and maybe if you use them they will believe me and stop attacking us. That… and… well, it will make me… falter at some point. It won’t end well.”

  “What will happen when you can’t fight it anymore?”

  She sighs and looks away, biting her lip, refusing to answer. I can sense the fear in her. Not just for her but for me as well.

  “Elainne.”

  She looks at me as if she doesn’t want to say but she doesn’t want to lie either. The indecision is terrible. Still, she is trying to keep from telling me even though she wishes to be honest.

  I grab both her wrists but don’t squeeze them, not trusting myself to not hurt her accidently.

  “What will happen to you?”

  “When I can’t fight it anymore, I will kill myself.”

  I release her wrists because I know I will hurt her. Not on purpose, but I feel the rage filling me.

  “The mage’s are left alone because when a mage dies he releases his magic into the land they live on. The others can call upon that mages as a group, combining everything together to create battle magic, to get enemies to turn around or die. However it is easiest to kill the intruders, the magic will find that way and make it happen. My emotions are my weakest point, having lived so long without belonging anywhere and still… well, it’s the easiest way for them to kill me, so the magic is leeching onto me and doing so. It can only be called off by a mage, Viktor. I know you worry about hurting me, but if you don’t I will die before we reach the village. That’s how it works.”