Lovers' Oath

Author's Note

: - This story is going to be long, and is not meant for instant gratification. In other words, this won't be a quickie, so if you were looking for that, sorry to have disappointed you. I'll be writing other stories to fit that category. Hope to see you there.

Please bear in mind that the story is located in a fictional world of magic, Cardaera, where our 'normal' world and supernatural world mix and coexist, often without the knowledge of humans. The history and geography of the world is nowhere near our world, since I was never good at those.

There may or may not be some depiction of heterosexual, homo, BDSM and group sex. Rape and horror will only be depicted as a part of story development and NOT for arousal. All characters are of age, and the author encourages safe sex.

Last, but not the least, this story is my very first attempt, and I'm kind of "testing the water." so be generous with the constructive comments and let me know if you liked it.

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A huge thanks to Gabriel for the editing of this chapter. He's the one doing the smoothening of all the rough edges in the chapters and polishing them.

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Rayn slowly walked out of the room a little over 5 minutes after Kiel had left it. She had needed that time to think. Think about what he had said, about what she should do, and most importantly, about Kiel himself. She had never thought he was so cold. She always thought of him as the source of the warmth he had given her on the very first waking moments in the Den, as the concerned and caring man he was in her dreams. But the last few minutes had shocked her into realizing just how much the dreams deviated from reality. She had felt hurt, she was pained by the coldness of his behavior. How can someone be this cold to anyone? As she had sat there, she had remembered the last dream she had had, about how good the mental connection between him and her had felt. Piggy backing on that memory had come the memory of the news she had heard.

A chill ran down her spine, her eyes closing as she remembered the horror of what had happened. Her thoughts went to the families, wives, husbands, lovers and kids of those that died in that attack. She hugged herself tightly. Then, opening her eyes, she somewhat realized the implications of that news for Kiel. He was their leader. He was responsible, not only for their success but for their safety, too. And right now, she could bet that he felt guilty for their deaths. He blamed himself, because their death meant his failure as a strong leader. And she would double the bet that he never even thought about the role of the attackers in all this. She shook her head, slowly rising from the chair. She decided to forgive him. Perhaps he had good reason to be this cold. As she had walked out of the room, she had also decided to first hear the rest of the story from Kendra, she had to know how Kiel was so confident that she will fight for them.

Taking a few steps away from the room, she stopped, looking around for some clue as to where Kendra might be. Although her sweeping glance didn't give her much idea about that, it did give her some idea about this place. As of now, she was standing in front of the opening of a corridor, the corridor that connected the White Room to the enormous hall partially visible to her. As she made her way into the hall, she realized she was standing inside the main hall of the building. There were various corridors leading away in different directions. And in the middle of the hall, there was a round hemispherical unit, apparently made of a glass like substance. The unit was divided into two semi circular panels, she could also see some screens on those panels. A few people were working there, almost in a frenzied way.

Hearing footsteps to her side, she turned around, finding herself face to face with Rohan.

"Hey." she quietly greeted him, noting his somewhat stiff and wary expression. He nodded, surveying her features with curiosity. After a moment's hesitation, he started,

"Did you talk to Kiel?" at her replying nod, he proceeded,

"Am I forgiven?"

At the almost pleading touch his voice lent to the question, she couldn't help but give a wan smile and nodded,

"Actually, both of you are."

"Both?"

"Mmhm... You and Kiel." Seeing Rohan's confused stare, she added, "Kiel for his annoyingly cold and expressionless manners. But I understand. He must be under so much pressure now. So I decided to forgive him." she smiled.

At that, Rohan nodded, "I know what you mean by annoyingly cold." he finished with a slight curve of his mouth.

"So, now that we agree, tell me, what exactly is this place?" she asked, hoping for details.

"Didn't Kiel tell you?"

"He did. But as we know, he's not very high on details, is he?" making a face, she added, "He said in way of explaining, that the details are with Kendra."

Amused at her expression, Rohan gave a short bark of laugh, "Right. To Kendra then. And she's not annoyingly cold." He generously informed her, more amused at her responding glare.

As they made their way through the hall, Rayn could not help but marvel at the way the whole set up was designed. As her eyes went up to the ceiling, she stopped in her tracks and simply stared at the black glass-covered part of the slanting wall. Something told her it wasn't just a part of the wall. She grabbed Rohan by the elbow and pointing to it, asked,

"What's that?"

Following her pointed finger, he smiled gently,

"That's the main control room; Kiel's Office. It overlooks most of the floor, and that black glass is a one way window. Well, actually, it can be made two way, but Kiel prefers to keep it dark when he is doing something confidential. The dome like set up on the floor to your left is the communication center." Cocking his head to the side, he took in her inquisitive look traveling around the hall, taking everything in, and added, "You know, you are quite fast. It usually takes newbies a while to start noticing and taking everything in."

"Well, these things are quite unmistakable. Hard not to notice." she replied absently, her eyes fleeting back to the main control often, as if something in there was calling her attention to it. She didn't see the slight amusement play on Rohan's face as he shook his head at her,

"That may be. But usually they are a little jaded after their first briefing with Kiel, and they take time to just take in the idea of something this big and secret."

"Big and secret?" she wonderingly asked, her attention now completely riveted on to Rohan.

"Hmm... To Kendra's office. Now." Rohan firmly stated, putting a smile on her face.

Taking one of the corridors leading away from the main hall, he led her up a staircase that took them up two levels and joined a walkway at a peculiar looking door. As Rayn stood perplexed in front of it, looking for a door knob, Rohan reached out and touched a particular spot with his finger. After a beep, a small square metal piece slid aside, revealing a blank pad that looked like it was made out of stone. Rohan placed his right palm on it and muttered a few words in a language unknown to Rayn. As they waited, the door slid aside, letting them on to the walkway. As soon as they stepped through the door, the only intimation of the door closing felt by Rayn was a slight, almost inaudible hissing sound followed by a low beep. As she looked around, she noted that a part of the walkway led off to the left, too. At the end of that stretch, she could see a door slightly ajar, hinting at the huge library that lay behind it. Tearing her eyes away from the inviting looking room, she looked to the right to find Rohan a few paces ahead. She had covered the distance with a few long strides, when he came to a halt in front of another door like before. As he went through the same motions, he stated in a low voice,

"This is a high security area. This door leads to Kendra's office. The door on the right side a few paces ahead leads to the Central Control. And you have already spotted the Main Library and Records room. Not many people are given access to this level." pausing for a moment, he turned an intense gaze on her, "That you are given access only goes to show the amount of trust we put on you. No matter what happens, I know you will never betray the trust." as Rayn tried to find words to express what she felt, he interrupted with a smile, and simply stated, "I know." then turned and walked down another short corridor and into Kendra's office, followed closely by a still somewhat confounded Rayn.

On her entering the office, two things greeted Rayn instantly. One was the warm, beautiful smile that Kendra offered her, and the second was the beautifully arranged vines and ivies on the walls of the office. This office and its occupant were so different from what she had seen outside, that it didn't almost seem like a part of the whole building, apart from the various computer screens and video feeds that adorned some parts of the walls.

" Hello Rayn. You seem well." Kendra's low, soothing voice invited her, capturing her attention.

"Hello." Rayn smiled at her. For some reason, Kendra's voice always reminded her of Honey and... And lavender. Nodding, she added, "Yes, I am quite well now. Thank you. I had a nice doctor take a look at me." noting Kendra's amused expression at her reply, her own grin broadened.

"Well, I do prefer the title 'Healer', personally. It has a touch of mystery to it." Slowly, as she spoke, Kendra's feelers reached out to sense the mental state of the new recruit. As soon as her feelers came in contact with Rayn's psyche, something happened to surprise Kendra. Something like an electric shock traveled through the feelers and into her own body, stunning her into silence. Without letting her expression give away the surprise and pain in front of Rayn's inquisitive gaze, Kendra grasped the corner of the table in front of her and slowly sank down into the chair, her soft smile never dropping. This had never happened before, and she didn't know what to make of it, either. After sitting down and taking a couple of slow, deep breaths, she spoke up,

"Oh, where are my manners? Please sit down, both of you."

Brightening up her own smile, she added, "My age shows in such moments when I lose myself in the memories of the past while the future stands in front of me."

As they sat down, Rayn still admiring the decor of the room, and Rohan somewhat concerned at spotting the stiffness with which Kendra was sitting, Kendra herself was busy with studying the other woman closely. As if sensing her stare, Rayn's eyes turned away from the surroundings and locked onto Kendra's. Instantly self-conscious, she asked,

"What?"

As Kendra kept staring at her without speaking, she squirmed in her chair a little, wishing she could get into the other woman's head and know what was she thinking. As if reading her thoughts, Kendra gave a small laugh and said, leaning back into her chair,

"You remind me so much of myself, Rayn. I was wondering whether I looked just this uncomfortable when once I was in your place." As her words visibly put the younger woman at rest, she slowly shook her head and continued in her soft tone, "Kiel has briefed you, I believe?"

Her query yielded only a short nod accompanied by a little irritated expression. She smiled gently, nodding,

"Yes. For Kiel, briefings do tend to be brief. For any sort of detail you wish to know and he hasn't told you, you can come to me or go to the library." after a brief pause, she smiled warmly and continued, "chances are, if he hasn't told you, then it's not really necessary to know and in that case I won't be of any help either, but there are exceptions. Like this time. So, what do you want to know?" Finishing with the light smile characteristic to her, she stared expectantly at the girl, curious to know which of the important questions she would think of asking.

Keeping her waiting, Rayn slowly leaned back into her chair, gathering her palms on her lap. Then, looking up into Kendra's eyes, she gave a bright smile and almost startling the older woman, uttered one word,

"Everything."

At Kendra's somewhat bemused, somewhat startled expression, she repeated herself, this time slowly,

"Kendra, I want to know absolutely everything that I can know. But, for starters, why don't you tell me about this war and the role of this organization in it?"

After eying her a little speculatively, Kendra smiled,

"Of course. But first, tell me, what do you know of the Great War that started two millennia ago?"

"Nothing much, really." Rayn replied, scrunching her brows a little, trying to summon up the memories of an almost forgotten history class. "That war has very little documentation, and although it continued for a millennium, almost no records can be found about it. At least, nothing that is reliable."

Kendra nodded, once. Standing up, she walked around to the side of the table and leaned against it, her eyes staring at nothing in particular, her fingers clasped in front of her.

"Yes, that's right. There is a reason why the history books offer so little, next to nothing in the way of details, and why the religious texts tend to... Er...over embellish... the facts."

Without almost realizing it, Rayn spoke out,

"So that everything but the truth is revealed." as her comment received a confirmatory nod, she saw Kendra shoot an unfathomable look at Rohan. Unable to make heads or tails of it, she continued, "So, what is the truth then?"

At this question, Kendra turned and smiled at her,

"Well dear, even we are still trying to find out the whole truth. But, there are a significant amount of facts that we do know. You see, Cardaera, has long been divided into two worlds, almost from the start of life. One is the OuterWorld, the one that receives the blessings of the sunshine and rains, the one that is above the ground.

And the other one is the UnderWorld, the shadow lands, the world that lives underground. And yet, you won't find it if you dig the deepest of holes through the planet. Their existence is more on a magical level than a physical one. To find it, one must have some of the primal magic that created the two Worlds in one's blood.

The Demons, a race that has adapted to life below ground, thrive in the UnderWorld, while the OuterWorld has been devoted to the other magical beings and of course, to the non-magical ones, too. Two millennium ago, the OuterWorld witnessed the most brutal attempt made by the Demons to occupy and take over control of the OuterWorld, too. We, the non-human residents of the OuterWorld, collectively called the Children of the Elements, resisted and built an army to check their invasion. Initially, the resistance was not as organized, consequently it was not as strong. That is when we decided to build one Center and make it the rallying point for the defensive efforts. So, La Lumière came into operation."

After saying this much, Kendra straightened and slowly walked to a particular screen on the opposite wall. As her fingers elegantly pressed a few buttons on the touchscreen, a view of the entire planet came up on the screen, the screen next to it bringing up some facts and more thumbnails of maps. Coming back to her listeners, Kendra sat on her chair and taking out a small bottle and 3 glasses poured them a clear, sparkling liquid. Smiling up at Rayn, she gently said "Drink. We... Or rather, you, my dear, are going to have a long day." Taking up her own glass and sipping from it, she continued,

"La Lumière, as Kiel must have told you, is kept secret from the civilians. Civilian means anyone not involved in the War, be it human or Non-human. Apart from our enemies and our allies, not many are aware of it's existence. This was done to stop a mass breakout of panic and chaos. A millennium ago, the War was made covert so the civilians remain as unaffected as possible. But, that also requires that we take the responsibility of keeping them safe, too. So, the objectives are clear - resist the attack, stop and destroy the invasion and keep the civilians safe." after finishing speaking, Kendra took a long sip of the liquid and looked up at Rayn expectantly.

Somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of the new information, Rayn sat staring speculatively at the screens showing the map of the planet. Sipping her drink slowly, she tried to process what Kendra had just told her, and decided on her next query.

"So, is this the only defense force?"

"No, not really. The non-human beings are varied on the OuterWorld. The library should provide you with information related to the types and numbers of other such beings. Although, Lumière is the largest and the oldest defense force, there are other armies, too. Most of them are comprised of homogeneous beings, meaning, all vampires, all were-, or all witches. Ours is the only one that has almost all kinds of beings and human employees too. We have sub-stations - branches, all over the planet and we are, so far, the only independently operated resistance army."

"Human employees?" Rayn raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. Mostly humans with gifts, but we have normal human beings working for us, too. I believe they deserve an equal opportunity as the Children of the Elements to keep their world safe. We offer that opportunity to people who we think are capable and willing."

Nodding, Rayn asked the one question that has been gnawing at her ever since her briefing with Kiel.

"Do you think I am capable?" Her eyes locked onto Kendra's face to detect the slightest possibility of duplicity. After a brief silence in which the older woman tried to decipher the younger woman's true query and thought of how much of the truth should be revealed, Kendra gently answered,

"Yes, we do. But the willingness, is of course, to be decided entirely by you."

"Is that the reason you kept me in? I mean, I had recovered quite a while ago. You could have just told me to go home. But you didn't. You kept me around. You let me go wherever I wanted. Is that because my fighting impressed you, or you thought I would be a good addition to your army?" Rayn was trying very hard to sound objective, unaffected, to keep her voice level... To not let out the tears that threatened to roll out any moment. She heard Rohan shift uncomfortably in his chair.

"No Rayn. That was simply out of gratitude. And also, we are fighters, warriors. We respect people who are good fighters. Keeping your freedom intact is our way of showing you our trust." Kendra's voice, once again, took on the soothing lilt.

Rayn nodded slowly. Looking up, she asked,

"So, what does my deciding to join you involve?" as she looked, Kendra's expression became somewhat guarded.

"It involves an oath of loyalty and nondisclosure. You will swear to be loyal to our cause and to us. Also, that you will, at all instances, keep this secret guarded with your life. Once that is done, you start your training. All public records that you have will be erased from all databases and it will be as if you never existed."

"So I don't get to see my friends? My family?" Rayn's voice was once again on the brink of breaking; for some reason, the knowledge that she had to leave the world she has known for so long behind and become nonexistent to it made her heart heavy.

"Friends who will miss you? How many are we speaking of exactly?"

Kendra's query was gentle in its tone. Thinking about the answer, Rayn slowly shook her head,

"None."

Kendra nodded, her eyes softening. Then continued in that soothing tone, "Your parents will be informed of a report of a disappearance from work. They haven't spoken to you for the past two years, so we're not expecting much reaction from them." At this point, in answer to Rayn's sharp look, Kendra paused and said, "Yes, we did a background check on you." as Rayn's expression slowly transitioned from angry to uncaring, she again continued, "Although we may not fill the blank left by your parents, I hope that you will one day perceive this organization as a part of your family. The way we all do."