Vindictus: Origins
Evie Chapter
~ Love
Love is an odd emotion. It's something that grabs you and forces you to do anything for it, but even then, you're not even sure if what you feel is what they call "love". Even while knowing this, she followed it blindly. She was, she believed, in love.
It was long ago, when she was fourteen years of age, when her father introduced her to the son of a noble family. As was custom among the nobles and royalty, their marriage to each other were being fixed at that time, but she had no idea of that back then. She fell in love, nevertheless, and so did he.
She gave him a smile, and he gave her a blush. She politely greeted him and introduced herself as Evie. He greeted back, introducing himself in shy stutters. It was the start of something innocent, something precious.
The two grew close quickly, so quickly it would've alarmed their parents were they not promised to each other. They oft skipped their classes so that they could be together, trotting through the forests where no one could find them, hands held, fingers intertwined. They would climb trees, pick fruit. They would play on the stream, splashing cold water all over each other.
Four years since their fateful meeting, Evie had grown up to be the most renowned mage in the academy, while he had grown to be the military's most cherished soldier, the greatest swordsman of the country.
They had snuck off to their beloved forest once more, hands grasping each other.
Herself on top of him, she kissed him, her lips pressing to his tightly. He returned her kisses, his hands up in her hair as she struggled to remove him off his robes. He smiled at her, and the next thing she knew, he was on top of her.
His lips sucked on her lower lip, his right leg between her legs, his hands on her wrists as he pinned her down to the ground. Her hot and frantic breath on his face; he gradually moved downward to her neck.
She grinded her body against his, taking advantage of the thigh between her legs. Her arms were free; his arms had started to focus on her sides, trying to work off her silken robes. When he succeeded, he immediately went back to her lips.
She shivered at the cold wind, shivered at his warm touches. She gave a soft moan into his mouth when his hand went to a soft, perky breast, cupping it while a single finger dragged slow circles around her nipple. Her head rolled back, her chest pushed forward, and her hips bucked.
It didn't take long for both of them to rid themselves off all clothing, their moans and gasps echoing throughout the forest. His hand ran down her back, pressing into her milky skin.
His fingers knew where to touch her, to make her moan and sigh with pleasure; which ways to knead her breasts to bring a heated flush to every inch of her; the right corners inside of her to caress to make her entire body arch above the ground, shuddering, his name falling from her lips.
Once she'd regained her breath, she rolled over and began touching him. The sounds of him moaning softly under her finger and lips, of him voicing his ecstasy as she nipped along his shoulder, of him whispering encouragement as she crouched above him, breathing deeply, shutting her eyes in anticipation.
They made love twice, resting briefly in between. The entire time, Evie couldn't help but think of that one word, that one emotion. Love. She was in love. She knew it. It was hidden beneath his shy exterior when they first met, but it had always been there.
His fierce determination, his indomitable courage. His gentle yet strong eyes that glimmered with his honesty. He was always there with her, like a prince who would come to her rescue whenever she was in trouble. No, he wasn't like a prince. He was her prince.
And she loved him.
She curled up against him, a smile dancing on her lips as she drifted off to her sleep, his lips pressed against her forehead for several minutes before he went off to dream with her.
The sudden explosion of magic blasted her awake, the following explosion of fire tossed him back into reality. From within the walls, screams both of human fear and something else unnatural were flying through the air.
In fear for their families and the people of their city, the two lovers quickly rushed back into the walls to the sight of fire. Fire, crackling flames in every direction. A burning house. A burning man. A burning child, grasped by a pair of skeletal hands that lifted the child up.
Evie, separated from her lover in the chaos, watched in horror as she watched the tall skeletal being tore him into bloody shreds as he cried and screamed. The horned skull turned to face her, and she was assaulted with the sounds of hundred inhuman shrieks.
The tall robed skeleton dashed towards her; more out of fear, she whipped out her hand as tears flew from her eyes, and the skeleton flew far away in an explosion of mana. She heard more shrieks from behind her, and his voice calling out her name, both coming closer, and the next thing she saw was the horned skeleton on her feet, his sword sticking through it.
A red-robed skeleton appeared from nowhere then, its hands flaming,; then it threw those flames at him. He rolled away, instinctively going for his sword before realizing he threw it to save his love. Then he heard the familiar words of magic, and the red-robed skeleton froze, then burst into flames, its unnatural shrieks echoing through the wind.
Then three more of the skeletons appeared, one of them armored and carrying a lance. The two black-robed skeletons dashed for him, and the armored skeleton went straight to her, its lance thrusting out, glancing off her mana shields. It immediately made to grab her with its hand, but she jumped back, and the ground exploded with ice.
Then she held out her hand, her lips moving in chant, and then a huge spear of ice went through the skeleton. It died with the same unnatural shrieks.
She saw him struggling to hold off and evade the two skeletons; Evie sprinted for his sword, and tossed it to him. It landed right behind him; he rolled back, grabbed it, and then the two skeletons died.
When the skeletons dissipated, she ran towards him. She held his hand to her trembling ones. She asked him about his family. He fell silent, and closed his eyes. Her tears fell, and he shook his head, raised his hand to wipe them off her cheek.
She nodded tearfully, then they immediately ran for her family's home.
The normally lively city had gone silent, save for the crackling flames and the occasional shrieking of the skeletons. Each house was in flames, every body they found was motionless.
They had been fearing the worst, and when they got to her family's estate, their fears had proved correct.
Standing above the burning mansion was a dark figure that vanished. Going by his instinct, he pushed her back, and an immense Fomor stabbed through him with one of the six huge blades resting above its hands. It snarled then whipped its hand out to its side, flinging his body away.
Pushed by him to the ground, she watched as the massive blade tore through his chest and burst out his back. It rendered her speechless, too shocked to even cry out. Frozen in fear, she merely watched as the Fomor unceremoniously flung his body away.
Its empty white eyes beheld her, and it roared loudly before vanishing.
Trembling, she slowly rose. She glanced at his direction. She almost fainted in relief when she saw his body move; he had lifted himself up, hand held out at her as she called out her name. It wasn't a call of longing, though. It was a call of fear.
Her eyes widened as she realized that the Fomor was right above her, its claw bearing down on her.
All her mana shields shattered, and she flew away, screaming in pain.
Then it was the Fomor that howled in its own pain as his sword tore through its back. It whirled and tried to reach towards it back but its claws wouldn't allow it to, and it had to stick to trying to shake him off. Then it vanished and he fell back to the road, his body slamming to the cement, his blood splattering all over as he coughed and winced in pain.
The Fomor reappeared right above him its claws raised, until a powerful blast of mana blew it away. And another. And another. More than a dozen blasts of mana assaulted the Fomor before he grabbed his sword and stabbed it through its ankle.
Crying out, Evie drove a spear of ice through the Fomor's knee, and resumed blasting it with a perpetual and unending assault of mana before driving another spear through its chest.
The Fomor howled, and vanished. After waiting for several moments waiting for it to reappear, Evie rushed towards her love. Panting and bloodied herself, she took his face into her hands, and turned it towards her.
He smiled at her, then coughed up more blood. He whispered to her.
In front of the ruins of her family's home, within the hometown that she grew up in, and her lover's head laying on her lap, she quietly cried.
The flaming city quietly crackled, its remains crumbling.
She lay her face close to his, touched his cheek with hers, and brushed her lips with his. She kissed him.
Evie sobbed. She cradled him close to her, whispering through the choking tears.
"I love you. I love you.
"I love you. Don't leave me.
"Don't leave me.
"I love you."