Hi everyone! This is my first Orphen fanfic *squee!*
I tried my best not to make the characters OOC - thats out of character, right? :S

K, I won't hold you back! Just one little thing:
The beginning of the chappie is a little extreme...Hope it doesn't discourage you from reading onwards!
Aside from the first part, there's some fluff and humour!

*FnI*

Chapter 1

"No, Orphen...Wait..." She pleaded softly with him, the foreboding feeling inside her stomach growing with every passing moment. "It's too much...I'm not ready..."

He laughed, cold and piercing, his hands running along her arms, down to her thighs.

Wasn't she? Hadn't she dreamt of the moment Orphen finally requited her feelings too many times to count?

"You've wanted this since before we even met," he whispered in her ear, his hands travelling further, making her face burn- but it wasn't with pleasure. An image of the man she loved, strong and protective of the things he cared about, flashed through her mind before it shattered. Searing stabs of shame washed over her and she tried to push him away.

This wasn't what she wanted at all. She wanted him to love her, not lust after her.

"I said no, okay? Get off me!"

Cleao shoved his arms away from her and stepped back. She hadn't realized how small the rooms in the hotel were; she'd barely taken half a step before her back pressed up against the unexpected cool wooden panels, her sweaty palms slapping against the old walls.

Why is he being such a jerk? He was acting almost...nice to her, earlier. What's gotten into him?

"Orphen..." she murmured uncertainly, staring at him in fear. This was all wrong. How could she be afraid of Orphen, her saviour, her protector?

"What's the matter Cleao," he taunted, taking a slow, purposeful step forward. There was a strange glint in his eyes that was almost deadly, a look she'd never seen on him before. She shimmied toward the door, splinters digging into her palms. "You're always telling me what a mature young lady you've become."

Another step met with another shimmy, her skin screaming in protest. She bit down on her tongue to keep from crying out.

"There's only one sure way to prove it," He laughed again, that dark, dangerous chuckle, his amber eyes glinting maliciously. Slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, he took another step forward.
Without a thought, she sprinted away from the wall, heading toward the door to their right. Her sandals slammed against the floor as she ran, blind with fear. Her arm stretched out, reaching for the knob.

Gotta get out gotta get out gotta get-

Something slammed into her stomach, sending her flying backwards. She hit the floor with agonizing force, sending the already-painful splinters slicing deeper into her. For a moment she just lay there, paralyzed by the pain, as her vision slowly cleared. She could taste blood in her mouth, whether from the blow to her stomach or the hard landing, she didn't know.

"Did you really think I wouldn't see that one coming? How dumb do you think I am?"

Groaning, Cleao managed to slowly sit up. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, she stared at him in horror. Tears of pain pricked the corners of her eyes, a lump forming in her throat as he leered at her.
Orphen was leaning casually against the door, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her. His left hand was glowing slightly, the last remnants of a spell fading away.

"Well, now, that wasn't very fun was it? I really hope you don't make me do it again." His sarcasm hit her like a slap in the face- almost as painful as the actual blow she'd just received.

He'd hit her. And not a normal hit, either. He'd used magic to hurt her... That was something she thought Orphen would never do.
Only once, in the entire time they'd been together, had he ever raised a hand to her. And even then, he hadn't hit her. He'd been so ashamed of himself after that.
And now, here he was, blowing her across the room with spells.

What the hell is wrong with him?!

"Wh..." the words just wouldn't come. She was still winded from the powerful blow. He pushed himself off the wall and she immediately scrambled backward, using her feet and palms for purchase on the dusty floor, ignoring the stabbing pain it caused her. Once again she found herself trapped as her back met with something soft and silky...

She was sitting at the foot of one of the two beds.

Seeing the glint returning to Orphen's eyes, she scrambled to her feet, one hand clutching her stomach.

"Stay...back..." She wheezed as he moved toward her. "I'm...warning...you..."

Where the hell was Majic? Damn...Hadn't he said something about studying ruins? And what about Leki?

"One...more step...I'll...I'll..."

He was standing in front of her now, close enough for her to smell him. He smelled...wrong. Not the way she remembered him. He'd always had a woodsy, musky scent that made her feel safe and warm. Now she felt like she might puke. His scent was almost sour.
Tiny beads of sweat covered his skin, his eyes rimmed in red. His face was pale, clammy, with an almost wax-like sheen to it.

"Orphen, you're sick," she tried desperately, praying that he would listen. "Something's wrong with you. This isn't you! For God sake, please!"

He laid a hand on her shoulder, resting on top of her dress strap.

"Please..." She begged, the tears finally falling. "Don't...do...this..."

There was a sound of ripping fabric as he drew his arm across her chest, and then her dress fell to the floor in shambles. She stood, bloodied and bruised in front of him, wearing nothing but lacy yellow lingerie.
She slapped him as hard as she could, scratching at his face with her nails. Felt the sting as what little splinters hadn't immersed themselves in her palms finally sunk in.
For a moment the room was silent but for her uneven breathing. She'd given up any hope of escaping now, but that didn't mean she was just going to lie there and let it happen.

If I knee him hard enough, maybe...

The thought trailed off as he turned his head to face her, eyes flaming.
She opened her mouth to scream, to call for help, to pray that this was a terrible nightmare and she was about to wake up. But no sound escaped from her muted lips. She could only stare, terrified beyond words.
His face had been shredded apart, a gaping hole the only remnants of where his cheek had once been. Dark fleshy skin peeled away from his cheekbones, and as he grinned at her she caught a glimpse of his teeth through the mangled hole in his face.
He-it- grabbed her shoulders and flung her onto the bed before climbing on after her.

"He wants it so bad...I can taste the desire." It was saying, climbing on top of her. "I can feel it in you, too. So much lust...I won't let it go to waste."

She tried to kick out at it, but it was no use. Her legs were pinned to the bed under its weight, its arms aiming for her wrists. Doing the only thing she could think, she jammed her hands into its face, pulling and ripping at whatever she could grab onto. And then it was screaming, his agonized yells filling her mind, forever embedded there. The sound of Orphen's agony, even though she knew that somehow this wasn't him, was almost too much to bear, and for a moment she felt herself letting go.

It's not him, she screamed at herself. It's not him, It's not him, It's not him,

"IT'S NOT HIM!" She screamed, wrenching her hands out of its mangled face and pushing with all her might.

It fell back, just enough for her to pull her legs free. Scrambling off the bed, she made a run for the door once more. She saw a sudden bright light form to her right, felt heat warming her skin. Her hand reached out, covered in dark red ooze. Closing around the knob, she pushed with all her might, throwing the door wide open. Diving out of the room, searing heat brushed against her legs. Seconds later there was an ear-splitting crash, and the whole room exploded behind her, throwing her forward. Crashing to the ground she felt a pattern of sticks slapping against her back before everything went dark.

2 Days earlier...

"Uh, Master?"

"Look, Cleao, I don't care how much you beg. I said no."

"But my sword broke after those bandits went after us and now I don't have anything to protect myself with! If you stupid sorcerers just did your jobs right we wouldn't be in this mess-"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"

"Master, this is really important-"

"YOU HEARD ME YOU USELESS SORCEROR!"

"ONE MORE TIME?"

"YOU'RE A STUPID SELFISH PRICK WHO CAN ONLY THINK OF HIMSELF! WAS THAT CLEAR ENOUGH FOR YOU!?"

"Master, really, I think you should look-"

"THAT'S IT! YOU'RE CATCHING THE NEXT RIDE BACK TO TOTOKANTA! AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT WEASLING OUT OF IT!"

"OH PLEASE. MORE LIKE YOU DON'T EVEN THINK OF FOLLOWING ME!

"OH YEAH? WELL-Wait a sec. Where the hell are we? I thought we were headed to Mortala Village."

Majic sighed, waving the map between the two squawkers like a white flag. Once he caught their attention, he held it up so they could see it properly.
"You see," he explained, gesturing to certain spots on the map as he spoke, "we started off here. To get to Mortala, we were supposed to follow this path until we saw this strange rock stat-"

"Where I broke my-"

"OH FOR GOD SAKE SHUT UP YOU STUPID BRAT!"

"Ahem. Statue. Then we were supposed to take a left through this sketchy looking forest, cross the bridge that overshadowed Jahila Pass and follow the road until we got to this freaky tree thing."

"Yeah, yeah, we did all that. Get to the good stuff."

"Right, well see how there are two paths going in what looks like the same direction right here?" Majic pointed to the freaky tree thing, where there were two seemingly similar paths going north. "Well, we were supposed to take the path on the left. But that was around the time Master said something about your cooking Cleao, and then you stormed off- taking the path to the right. We had to go find you before, well, something bad happened, and by the time we caught up to you there was no going back."
Majic sighed, rolling the map up carefully before addressing his two companions once more. "So, to put it simply...I have no idea where we are."

A rare moment of silence ensued as both Majic and Cleao watched Orphen's face slowly redden to match the colour of his bandana.

"Well, isn't this perfect. First I'm stuck with a spoiled wretch who does nothing but whine and attract trouble-"

"If you call me one more rude name so help me-"

"-and now I find out that my trusty apprentice-"

"Wow Master, a real compliment! I never-"

*WHAM!!*

"CAN'T EVEN READ A BLOODY MAP! I'M SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS!"

"Ow! All I did was tell the truth!"

"I WARNED YOU ORPHEN! LEKI!"

"No, Cleao! Wait 'til he lets go of me-"

"YOU STUPID BRAT DON'T YOU DARE-"

*KABOOOOOOM!!!*

"Ahhh. Now. Let's see if we can find us a nice hotel for the night, huh Leki?"

Tired, hungry and filthy, the trio trudged through various paths for the rest of the afternoon. The angry bantering that always seemed to push them faster through their journeys was non-existent, due in large part to the fact that Cleao was practically dead on her feet. Orphen had looked back twice to find her wobbling slowly behind them, every exhausted bone in her body determined not to show weakness. Still, he didn't want her to pass out and hurt herself- it would just waste more of their time. So, on his third glance, he heaved a sigh and trudged angrily over to her.

"Look, before you say it, I know I'm slowing us down," she mumbled, defeated by his disapproving glance. "My feet are just a little sore. I'll make it, don't worry."

Orphen glanced at her feet and groaned, internally smacking himself. He should've known she'd wear those stupid sandals. Her feet were red and swollen- it was a credit to her that she could walk at all. And why hadn't she complained? It usually took nothing to get that mouth working.

She probably feels bad about blowing you up, he thought grudgingly to himself. Stupid brat.

"Come here," he sighed, eying her little companion warily. He wasn't going to like this stunt much more than she was. "Don't blow me up, or else," he mumbled darkly before heaving her onto his shoulders. If he had to piggy-back the girl to the next hotel, he would. There was no way he was going to let her walk anymore, and he was just too tired to heal her wounds.

"What are you-! Put me-! ...Ugh."
After several steps, she'd given up arguing. She just didn't have the energy. Besides, it was almost comforting, being carried by Orphen. She knew she would always be safe in his arms, no matter how angry with her he was. Laying her head on his shoulder, she inhaled his scent, wanting to enjoy every minute she had with him. Soon, with the lulling sway of his step, she was fast asleep.
Orphen trudged on, with Majic struggling to keep up with his suddenly insane speed. He was loving the feel of her warm body against his, her arms wrapped snugly around his neck. This way, he knew she was safe.

"How come you never carry me, Master? My feet hurt too, you know."

"It'll be more than just your feet if you don't quit complaining and get a move on." He growled, covering up the moment of tenderness. He didn't need Majic picking up on his feelings right now...
It was odd. The kid always seemed to know what he was thinking. Especially when it came to Cleao.

"I'm just saying. Considering she doesn't carry half the stuff I do. You know..."

Ah, he's not even listening. He's got Cleao to think about. I guess I can struggle for a few more hours. Besides, they do look really happy like that. Peaceful, almost. Hah. If I only had a camera...

"Hurry up you pansy! I'm carrying twice your weight and I'm still beating you!"

"Uh, Master, I hope Cleao's still sleeping. If she heard you..."

"Yeah, yeah, quit stalling!"

"Alright, alright. Geez."

-- Edited this chappie a bit; the paragraphs weren't really separated properly, which was causing some problems when reading it (skipping lines, confusion, etc. etc. xD)
Hope I managed to clear all that up! Thanks again, GilShalos!