A/N: To all my readers, thank you. I hope you're all safe during this troubled time, and I hope you and yours remain safe and healthy. I apologize for the delay in uploading this chapter, but like most of you, the spread of the virus has impacted my personal and professional life, and that will always come first.
Speaking of firsts, this chapter contains the first sex scene I've ever written. Based on how it's received, I may include more, or go back to writing this as a non-erotic series. I hope that makes up for the shorter chapter.
To any first-time readers, the rest of this series is under the Non-Erotic category.
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
*****
Chapter 12- The Lady
25
th
January, 2013
7:54 p.m.
Outside the Food Hall
The first thing that struck me as soon as I stepped outside was how cold it was. Night had fully claimed the world while we ate, and in keeping with most forested areas, had brought with it an otherworldly chill— or maybe a
worldly chill
, since this place counted as another world? Did this place count as another world? I was just about to call out and ask, when Mathias turned around and noticed the shiver that swept across my body.
"Sorry about that!" he exclaimed, as he squinted at my clothes, "I keep forgetting that you can't Wield!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed what looked like a bright yellow barrier come up around him and reach out towards me, but as soon as I tried to focus on it, it was gone. Chalking it up to the strain my brain was going through to process everything that had been dumped on me over the course of this long, long day, I just smiled tiredly at Mathias, the question obvious in my gaze.
"I just activated one of the embedded spells in your clothes," he explained, "and gave it enough juice to run till tomorrow night, by when you should have enough control to do it yourself. The spell basically encloses you in a bubble that adapts to external temperatures to keep your body at a cool 24º Celsius. It's basically a watered-down version of an elemental barrier spell that you'll learn more about as your studies progress."
"Thanks." I said, with a tired smile.
He just nodded back at me and we set off again, the Academy itself to our right as we plunged into the forest again, following a well-worn path through the trees. Contrary to what I expected, it wasn't pitch black under the canopy, though I couldn't see any discernible sources of light.
"Enchanted trees." Randal called out behind him, seemingly predicting my question, "They shed enough soft light for everybody to see. There's a darker path too, for Wielders Bonded to Companions who see better in the darkness."
"About that," I said, pensively, "why do you think I don't have a Companion yet? I mean, how could I have access to magic without a Bond? Isn't that a paradox?"
"We don't know, to be honest." Randal answered, sharing an indiscernible look with Mathias, "Most of us assumed that since your parents' Bonds were severed decades before you came around, that you wouldn't Emerge or have any Gifts at all. We were all taken aback when you displayed budding Gifts that day in school, though we wrote it off as some of your parents' lingering magic affecting you in some way. The entire reason that Vaishnavi moved in with you was so that she could keep a closer eye on you and document and study anything else that happened. Even so, when you Wielded Power against the Darks that attacked us, it took us all by surprise. I think that was one of the strongest Emergences I've ever witnessed, mine included!"
"When we brought you to the Academy," Mathias pitched in, "we half-expected a Companion to just pop into existence and make itself known. Since that hasn't happened either, all of us are eager to see how you get on with actually accessing your Power tomorrow, and whether doing that would spark something off. Failing that, I'm afraid none of us have any answers for you. Never, in the history of the Wielders, has there been someone who's Unbonded and yet Wields."
We walked in silence for a while longer, my mind abuzz with questions and theories, slowly but surely processing and internalizing everything that I'd learned since waking up in this strange place. An indeterminate amount of time later, I could see the tree line thinning up ahead, the woodland path changing to one paved with stones. A mishmash of noise and music started filtering through to us, and I had to stand still and let the sounds of civilization wash over me.
"That has to be the longest I've ever gone while only hearing the sounds of the forest!" I exclaimed, some of my fatigue washing away at the thought of experiencing something akin to normal after what felt like years.
"Yeah, I remember our one and only attempt at camping," Mathias said, grinning.
"Oh, shut up!" I retorted, "It wasn't all that bad!"
"I mean," he replied, "you did fall into a patch of poison ivy while foraging for berries, run into a hibernating bear— that stayed asleep, thankfully— fall into a creek, get lost for hours, get bitten by a jillion mosquitoes, and then finally, at the end of the day, somehow make it back to camp, covered in cuts and welts, soaking wet and shivering, and simply beg us to pack up and leave right away."
"Fine, it was bad!" I huffed, embarrassed by his retelling of my ordeal, "Let's just get out of this stupid forest already!"
I rushed forward, the remembrance of my harrowing foray into the woods overriding all the chaos in my head. In that moment, all I could think about was stepping onto some nice concrete or asphalt, rather than crummy dirt and grass. In later retellings of that day, Randal would insist that he called out to me to stop, but right then, nothing was getting through to me, other than the overwhelming need to see
anything
man made again.
I really, really wish I'd listened to him.
Right as I cleared the tree line and saw a cobbled pathway in front of me, I felt like I passed through a sheet of ice. As my foot hit the cobbles, I was blasted backwards and slammed into a tree, the impact nearly knocking me out. A loud, clanging noise rang out around me, and as I looked up groggily from where I'd slid to the forest floor, I came face-to-face with the business end of a blade. A deep-set instinct recognised that a spear was being pointed right between my eyes, and that the person holding it was male, unarmored, and positioned rather well for a swift kick to the gonads. Before I even realized what I was doing, I swung both legs upwards, right into his sweet spot, which unfortunately pushed him and the spear forward. I moved my head to the left, the edge of the spearhead gouging the right side of my head as the man holding it lost his balance and fell atop me. I struggled out from under him, my ear and the right side of my head now warm with the blood flowing down my face, as my assailant rolled over, cupping his jewels with his left hand as his right somehow maintained his grip on his spear. I scrambled to my feet, but immediately fell back onto my hands and knees, my head reeling from my impact with the tree and the blood loss.
"Stay down!" a voice boomed, as a small iron ball bounced into view, stopping below my chest. There seemed to be something inscribed on it, but try as I might, I couldn't make it out. All of a sudden, it felt like a crushing weight slammed onto my back, and I was driven into the ground, hard. I felt it as a bunch of my bones shattered under the weight, the cumulative pain threatening to knock me out.
"Stand down, goddammit!" I heard Randal cry out, as I struggled to stay conscious. I felt more than saw him crouch down next to me, and I heard a lot of blades being sheathed.
"That's Commander Michael's kid you just attacked!" I heard Mathias yelling, as Randal rolled me over, though I couldn't see much aside from a blurry outline where his head should have been.
"Chris?" he asked, concerned, his face coming a bit more into focus as he came closer, "Can you stand?"
A gurgling sound was my only response as warm blood gushed out my mouth and down my chin, the darkness finally claiming me as I fell into the painlessness of unconsciousness.
*****
When I opened my eyes again, I was surrounded by nothingness. True nothingness. There were no sounds, no smells, and no sources of light at all. It was like I had been reborn, albeit devoid of my eyes, ears, nose, and presumably my entire body, since I couldn't move nor touch anything, either. I couldn't tell you how long I was in that void; I had no sense of time whatsoever. It could have been a minute, an hour, a day, or even a year. All I know, is that it felt like forever had passed, before I heard what felt like scratching.
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.
