Yuuri's hurt.

Yuuri's hurt, hurt, hurt.

Yuuri's hurt.

I shouldn't be behaving like some flustered female.

But Yuuri's hurt.

Wolfram Von Bielefeld, stand to attention!

Yes! The soldierly command issued by the sane part of my mind has managed to snap me back to rational thought.

Yuuri is unconscious and his breathing scares me, it is so shallow. I have healed all the wounds that I could get to, but there were so many. I am tired but I cannot rest, not until Yuuri is safe. I promised to protect the wimp, whatever happens.

It is unprofessional, but I am in a foul mood, so I am holding my sword in an overtly aggressive attacking posture. I bundle Yuuri on to my back, sighing in tiredness.

I will not stop, not until I get Yuuri home. Being tired is immaterial to that fact.

I will find them and make them pay for hurting Yuuri.

I will find them and they will burn.

Urgh. The horses have run away, smart beasts.

Now that I have Yuuri held close, and we are actually moving, I remember how the day began and force out a pained, ironic laugh at the way it has ended.

Why? I can't help but quietly scream to myself. Why, of all the times and places, I had to choose late evening and the woods for horse-riding practice?

Oh yes, now I remember. Yuuri had avoided me all week after I set a tent on fire when I saw him there alone with some female. Though I would sooner die than tell him this, I have missed the wimp quite terribly. So I had used riding lessons as an excuse. The further away we get from the castle, the greater the chance for privacy.

And it had gone so well. Yuuri had relaxed and had actually managed to stay on Ao at a gentle gallop.

And when Yuuri was just a horse-length ahead of me, they appeared.

I had felt an ancient Mazoku curse pass my lips as I forced my own horse into a gallop to reach Yuuri's, sword already unsheathed and screaming for fire particles to obey my command, damn it!

A scorching fireball had hit the first man squarely in the chest, knocking him off his horse. All I could see was red. How dare they attack Yuuri? My Yuuri! I had brutally hacked at the arm of the assassin pointing a dagger at me before arching my arm to hit the man behind me. The impact had forced me off my horse, but I hadn't cared. I had to keep Yuuri safe.

But it was too late.

I was too slow.

I was not strong enough.

By then Yuuri had already pulled out his sword, but couple his inability to sit still on a horse with his fledgling sword-fighting technique, Yuuri was no match for a trained murderer. A man I had missed viciously knocked away Yuuri's sword before stabbing him in the shoulder. He was about to deal the killing blow before my anger had exploded.

Fire as an element is dependent upon the extremes of my emotion. The stronger the emotion, the more furious the fire.

Never in my life have I ever felt so angry. I was angry at myself for putting Yuuri in danger, angry that no one had tried to stop me from coming here, angry that this bunch of men were trying to hurt us and absolutely FURIOUS at the world for allowing Yuuri to have his shirt stained with his blood.

My fire responded with, I am ashamed to say, unstoppable glee.

The man who stabbed Yuuri exploded in brilliant blue flames, while a protective barrier of spitting, blood red fire encased Yuuri. Wimp had fallen unconscious onto the ground. I didn't kill the man; I only burnt him bad enough to make him forever fear the very sight of a candle.

When I looked up I was surprised to see that my entire body was alight as well. I wasn't worried; my fire would not hurt me. By the time I came to that little realization, the men had run off. I could've chased them; I could smell burnt flesh even in my stationary state. I had allowed mysmiled a nasty smile at a job well done before I remembered my fiancée. All thoughts of pursuit had left my mind.

I shift Yuuri's limp arms further up my shoulders as I recalled my panicked attempts to heal Yuuri. I didn't have much magic left after the impassioned show I had put on, but it was enough to close the wound in his shoulder, and to attend to minor injuries and ailments. I am cut and bruised from the fight, but I do not dare heal myself in case my magic is needed to defend us.

Realistically, I know I barely have enough energy to light a campfire, much less seriously injure anyone.

But I can't help the small smile that grows, because I remembered the wonderful advantage of being a fire wielder.

We are born with a flame, and as long as there is life, it will NEVER go out.

If I truly need fire, it will come. The flame of the fire wielder.

I'd have enough magic to keep Yuuri safe and alert the others. Possibly send a fire lion into the sky.

But with that I die.

Fire burns both ways.

I have never complained, and I most certainly am not complaining now. It only makes sense. I am using energy that is not mine, my body pays my debt; I die.

But no one else will.

Except for the unlucky idiot that tries anything stupid with me. I can not guarantee his safety.

The sun has set and I am still walking. Yuuri is not awake, but I have been observing his breathing and the beat of his heart against my back; my wimp is alive.

I am tired, deathly tired. My feet drag against the ground; my boots feel small and are becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Yuuri's weight feels a thousand times heavier than before. The strain on my body has caused a lot of closed wounds to open up, and I sigh as I feel my pant-leg grow wetter with blood and sweat. I had not emerged unharmed from the fight, though my mind cannot remember when I had injured myself so.

I don't know how much longer I can continue. I can't see even the hint of a village nearby for us to stop and rest in. Exhaustion is setting in, it is dark and my wimp persistently remains unconscious.

Wait... I can feel his eyelids fluttering! Poor wimp, I feel his face smashed uncomfortably against my back. But he's awake, at least. I seek out a sturdy tree for us to rest under, as far as the darkness allows me to see. We might not be sheltering from the sun, but my soldierly instincts are appalled at the thought of leaving our heads unprotected.

I settle myself under the tree with Yuuri sitting pressed up against me before he feels well enough to speak.

"Wolfram! What happened? I remember us getting attacked, and then…" the wimp grimaced and touched his shoulder. I hope it was more a reflex action than anything else, because I had used so much healing magic NOTHING should hurt.

My state is greatly different.

"Yuuri, you wimp! That amateur nearly killed you, though he looks like he doesn't know which end of a sword to grasp! Have I taught you nothing, that you could not defend against such a pathetic attack?" I hoped my scathing rant would deter Yuuri from worrying about me. The last thing I need right now is for him to look at me with big tear-filled eyes and whispering sorry while attempting to heal me.

Stupid wimp, you have to keep your strength. If I can't protect you, I can at least hope the Maou has more sense than you do.

All hope was in vain, sadly. Almost immediately after my tirade Yuuri's wandering gaze snapped to me and I could see worry arising. "Wolfram, there were a lot of people trying to kill us. And I don't care what you say! They weren't ordinary bandits!"

End chapter 1

Written in my brother's Geography notebook. I'm running through it again to give it the editing it deserves :) Read and review!