Kemp

by Francheska Fifield

  “Elainne, don’t listen to them! I meant what I said at your father’s! We will leave and find a place, just you and me! No one to disapprove of what either of us are or what we can do! We can grow our own food, hunt, and live off the land! I know you can and you can teach me! I’ll pay better attention to your lessons, I promise, just don’t leave me! I can’t be without you and I don’t want to be!”

  She hugs back and is crying softly. Any response is better than no response at all. I hear frustrated murmurs and I pull back, looking into her face. Her eyes are focused but pained. She is not blocking me anymore and the pain is overwhelming. Her father said Kemps could bear larger amounts of pain than others can. I wish the spell the healer placed on us was still in effect so I could save her from all of it.

  “Viktor. Run.”

  I shake my head and place my forehead against hers. “Always a team.”

  “Need to fight it.”

  “Take what you need.”

  I am not sure if she can draw from me the way that I can from her. She has the knowledge, I have the mage magic. She annot give me the instructions, but if she can take the magic, she is welcome to it. She kisses my forehead, which shocks me, and then hugs me close.

  “I’m sorry, it’ll hurt.”

  That is all she gets out before I feel her wrest my power from me. I then know what she meant about how I won’t feel the drain because of my dual powers. I feel it now. No wonder she moved so slowly. I feel less than human, and after getting used to her Elvin enhancements that she always shares, it is horrible. The pain stops within a minute though. I sigh and my arms drop from around her as I sink lower to the ground. She stands, breaking contact with my body but not my mind.

  “Viktor may not know what to do with his power, but I do. Now it’s my turn.”

  She is gloriously beautiful and terrifying all in one. Still, it is five on one; how good can she be? Apparently, it is a dumb question. She turns, facing the east, and I feel blood pour out of my nose. She comes over and wipes it off, but instead of brushing it off, she licks it off her finger. I feel the earth roll beneath our feet.

  “You can’t control the collective.”

  She smiles and raises her blood-smeared hand, licking the blood then smiling at the mages.

  “I can now.”

  The winds pick up and she turns the assault onto them. They all grab their heads and drop to the ground. I can feel the collective fighting me, her, us. She is fighting to hold it though and doing a damn good job.

  The sky darkens and she turns her attention to the east. The five stop grabbing their heads and look at their village as lightning stricks all around.

  “Elves don’t have the same limits of power that mages do! We have our own power levels! I may be using Viktor’s mage power, but I am an Elf! There is no limit to the amount of your own power that I can use against you! Now drop the assault, or I will kill you all!”

  I am not sure if she is bluffing, but they take her seriously. They all drop their magic and the collective sucks back into the village, leaving the sky clear again. She dropss to her knees, panting a bit. I feel my power return and feel normal again almost instantly. I rush over to her and kneel. I grab her face with my hands and lift it so I can look her in the eyes.

  “I’m the Kemp; I’m supposed to protect you. Stop making it so obvious that you don’t need me.”

  She smiles and grabs my hands with her own, but doesn’t squeeze. She looks tired.

  “I couldn’t have done it without you, Viktor. It was your magic I was harnessing.”

  I stand, pulling her up with me. She is like a colt shaking on its new legs.

  “You can come to the village to meet your grandfather, but she must leave our land.”

  “Tell my grandfather that I said, ‘It’s nice not to know you.’”

  I turn and walk beside Elainne, towards our packs. Well, I walk and she limps slowly. I am not going anywhere fast in case she falls, I will be here to catch her.

  “Wait, Viktor, you can’t just leave! This is your chance to meet the other side of your family!”

  I spin around, almost knocking her over. Geez, I could blow her over at this rate. I steady her, leaving my hands on her arms longer than needed.

  “If you can’t go, I don’t. That’s the only thing I am unwilling to compromise on.”

  She puts her hands on her hips and glares at me.

  “Viktor, I want to eventually make you an ambassador if I can make a trade agreement for the kingdom. You aren’t exactly making things easier.”

  “I don’t care.”

  The mages stand there staring, waiting for our decision. I pick up both packs and start walking. She has no choice but to follow.

  “Wait!”

  We turn to see the mages walking towards us, slowly and cautiously, but towards us nonetheless.

  “She may come if she agrees to a binding.”

  I see her physically stiffen. This won’t be good. She nods and I grab her arm.

  “What is a binding?”

  She is not agreeing to anything until I know what it is.

  “They will bottle up my magic. Cap it so that I can’t use it. So that I can’t draw on yours either.”

  Why do I sense there is more to it than that? “And?”

  “And I won’t be able to ever use it again until they unbind it. Only the binder can undo it.”

  “No!”

  She turns from glaring at the mages to glaring at me. Why is she mad at me? I am looking out for her. What is she thinking, agreeing to that?

  “I will vouch for her, but…”

  “We don’t know you. That means nothing to us.”

  I now see why she was willing to deal with her father over the summer when we needed help ridding the kingdom of mermen. He is a bastard but he is predictable. She knew what to expect and he would deal with her. These people are ticking me off. I also understand why she called them blasted mages before. Since that is usually as close as she gets to cursing, it leaves an impact.

  “She comes with me and I take her magic. That’s the final offer.”

  She doesn’t like that idea any more than the last one.

  “Viktor, you have no control and…”

  I shrug. “We are too far into the mountains to use the Elvin magic, anyway.”

  She bites her bottom lip but nods. I feel through our bond. Taking her ability to use magic is harder than using her magic. She doesn’t have much now and I have to figure out how to make her not be able to access it. All I can do is rip it from her. She clutches her chest, screams, and drops. I rush over to make sure I haven’t killed her. It hadn’t hurt for more than a second when she used mine, but she only harnessed it, she hadn’t ripped it away from me.

  “Once you know what it feels like to have your magic, I’m ripping it from you without warning.”

  I smile. She is using that sassy smirk. She is in pain but she doesn’t hate me. I nod.

  “It’s a deal.”

  She sighs.

  “Good.”

  I help her up, and support her as we walk towards the village until she is steady enough to walk on her own. Still, she is scared, which surprises me as nothing scares her but me being in danger, and she holds my hand the entire time, squeezing just a bit too tight. I don’t complain. I am squeezing back.

  Chapter Four

  Elainne

  When we arrive at the village, many look at Viktor in awe and make signs to warn against evil while glaring at me. Viktor happens to notice and his face goes from curious to a scowl. He puts an arm around me and pulls me close, likely feeling all the anti-me feelings going around. He will be on high alert the entire time that we are here because no one will like me, trust me, or want me any way but dead.

  “Why are people so stupid? I thought mages lived longer than normal humans do. So why are they so blasted retarded?”

  I can’t help but smile and shrug a bit. Not enough for him to think I want his arm gone, bu
t enough to answer him. “Perhaps they haven’t liked Elves since your grandfather got placed in a dungeon.”

  “You weren’t even alive then. It’s not your fault.”

  “No. It’s my fathers.”

  “Why do you have to pay for his sins?”

  Viktor

  She smiles at me and shrugs, seeming nonchalant about it, but I can feel the sting it causes. The whole world is full of bastards.

  “I think we should take a vacation once I’m trained up. We can magically spar, you can teach me all of those special Elvin things you had to learn, we could live off the land. It’ll be fun.”

  She laughs. It is the single greatest thing I have ever heard.

  “You have an interesting idea of fun, Viktor. If aunt and uncle approve of it though, I would be glad to.”

  Blasted royals get in the way of everything good. “It won’t happen if that’s the stipulation.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Your uncle hates me and they are looking for suitors for you. It would hardly do to send you off alone with me.” Is that overly honest? Is the jealousy I feel able to be heard in my voice?

  “Perhaps we shall just sneak off and leave a note then.”

  I hug her and nod. “That sounds good.”

  “Viktor, are you afraid?”

  “For you.”

  She nods and pulls away a bit, putting an arm through mine but still clutching it. She can sense it also. All of the evil thoughts being shoved at her for no reason other than her birth.

  We stop in front of a man that has my mother’s mouth, chin, and high forehead. He only looks about mid-forties, his hair still mostly black with only a little bit of gray. In his eyes, I see my own. This is my grandfather.

  “I am told you have come to train. You are my grandson?”

  I nod, speechless.

  “You would have a very small amount of mage blood in you. It is unlikely you would have any powers.”

  Still speechless.

  “We went into the cavern of waking dreams and found the orb. He offered the guardian freedom in exchange for a wish. He wished us both to be able to use the magic's of our blood to their full extent.”

  Elainne holds herself like a princess even though here she is nothing.

  “A wise wish. You are?”

  “I am Elainne. The Elvin king is my father, estranged, but father nonetheless. The Queen of the human realm is my aunt, on my father’s side, and the king is my uncle, by my mother who was his sister.”

  “A complicated family tree.”

  She laughs and nods.

  “It can be rather taxing on a resting mind. Mine never rests, however, so I never seem to notice.”

  “You are with my grandson, why?”

  “Well, that is a bit complicating. You know something of our ways…”

  He nods and looks her in the eyes. He even refrains from making a sign to ward off evil as he converses with her. He might not be a lost cause. I am not holding out any hope for the rest of the village though.

  “…he is my Kemp. My Elvin champion. Trust me; we are as shocked as two people can be. He is only a quarter Elvin, his father being entirely human and I am only half. I didn’t think it could happen to anyone who’s not a full blood.”

  “I heard it said that only those who were to have great power, responsibility and destinies received Kemps.”

  She tilts her head and loosens her grip on my arm. At least someone can talk to my grandfather without sounding like a dolt. It sure as hell is not me. Not that I have said anything to make me sound stupid, especially since I haven’t said even a syllable so far.

  “I’ve never heard that, but then I haven’t read up on it much; being shunned by the Elves, I wasn’t really allowed to participate. Viktor has received some books on it from my father but he wouldn’t hand over everything, hoping to entice us over.”

  Wait, what? “He has more on the subject?”

  How sad that the first thing I say is to her? She looks at me as if I am being rude. Who cares? I am here for training so I can better protect her, not to have a big, happy family reunion.

  “Of course, Viktor. Not giving them all to you will make you want to return, and of course, I will have to go as well. Then he gets his way.”

  “You have come into your magic so now he wishes to be a part of your life.”

  Elainne smiles, inclining her head in acknowledgement and respect.

  “Yes, sir. He spent over sixteen years not accepting me, now I have magic and a Kemp, so of course I must return upon his bidding. Only, Viktor and I answer to no one, and go where we please. He needs training, so here we are. He keeps setting fires. I can teach him the Elvin magic, he is doing well. However, his mage magic is melded and I can’t teach him that. Also, he fears fire of any kind and has no control over it at all.”

  “It flares when he is angered?”

  She nods. Well, don’t they just understand each other so well?

  “Yes. I’m afraid the cavern lived up to its name. His vision had lots of fire; he used it after first getting it and lost control because he pulled from my magic as well, to protect me. I was in a coma for a week and in recovery for another couple of weeks after. Because of those things, he can’t harness the power and control it. Such a shame. He does so well with the others, especially healing. His grandmother’s specialty, if you remember.”

  For a moment, my grandfather smiles and looks into the distance. He looks years younger, like a lad in love. Will anyone ever wear that face thinking about me?

  Elainne

  Viktor's grandfather obviously remembers his time in my father’s kingdom and thinks it time well spent. It warms my heart to see that not all the mages are Elf-haters. His face shows love, the kind that lasts centuries, that endures against space and time. Viktor’s grandmother refuses to talk of it. When she does, she cries. The only thing to ever make her cry other than the loss of her daughter. For two people thinking that they are so tough and have life figured out, it is obvious that they still are in love. Why can’t people get over their prejudice and just let love exist where it will? I hope someday someone will feel that way about me and that it will be just as visible on his face.

  I squeeze Viktor’s arm so that he will speak. I have done all of the talking so far. I hadn’t expected hugs; Viktor is too reserved for that, but geez, not even a hello. He casts me a quick, indecipherable glance and sighs.

  “I have come to learn, but if Elainne isn’t welcome then I’m leaving as well. I go where she goes.”

  “Are you a slave?”

  He laughs in his grandfather’s face. Of all the nerve! Viktor has no respect for his elders.

  “She has told me to go on without her tons of times. I choose not to leave her side, ever, for any reason. She is my charge; she stays with me and vice versa, until she wishes me away.”

  I smile and squeeze his arm, silently reassuring him that that won’t be anytime soon.

  “Very well. She will be safe. I cannot promise the people will be friendly, but she won’t be harmed while here.”

  Viktor nods and takes his hands off his weapons. Who meets their grandfather for the first time and expects a battle?! I can’t believe the man. He is such a dolt.

  Viktor

  “So you said your father was human. That means…"

  Actually, Elainne told him that. I nod anyway. The important part is not who said it.

  “Yes. My mother.”

  He gets tears in his eyes and smiles.

  “Is she as beautiful as her mother?”

  “She had your hair and eyes. A few other features from you. Otherwise she looked like my grandmother.”

  “Looked?”

  With that one word, I see him wilt as he drops to the ground. Elainne leans down and puts a hand on his arm, squeezing lightly. She looks up at me, tears in her eyes. How would it feel to find out you had a daughter and that she is dead, all in one day?

  “What happened?�
�

  “She was living in the human kingdom, married to my father. She got sick and died.”

  “Was it drawn out?”

  I shake my head then remember that he is not looking at me and he can’t tell when I do something silently, as Elainne can.

  “No. She was sick for only a few days. I was young, she could have been hiding it I suppose, but I only saw the evidence of it for two or three days before; she just didn’t wake up one morning.”

  He nods and the tears continue to fall. Elainne joins him in crying. I haven’t grieved much since I left home and it makes me feel like an ass now.

  “I’m sorry, sir. I wish we came with better tidings.”

  His hand covers hers and squeezes as she tries to console him. Elainne is like that. Once you see even a glimpse of who she really is, you can’t hate her. All you can do is bask in her presence, feel the warmth of her spirit, take comfort from her and spill all of your secrets.

  “Thank you. You are Elvin, tell me, how does my beloved do?”

  Elainne rises, laughing.

  “Ahh, well I was unconscious last time I was there, but I hear that when she met Viktor she told him how things would go and he told her the same. Sparks flew, but I hear she is very proud of the man he has become.”

  She hadn’t told me that. My grandfather rises, laughing as well.

  “She always did have a mind of her own. She was a sassy one.”

  Elainne nods. Anyone who knows my grandmother would have to agree, and Elainne knows my grandmother well.

  “All the best women are though. If you get a tame, docile one you grow bored. One that keeps you on your toes, and keeps you alternating between infuriated and in love is a perfect one.”

  My grandfather is either a dolt or very wise. I can’t decide which. Elainne laughs, I am not sure if it is because she thinks he is a dolt or because she agrees with him.