Twokinds AU Chapter 2

I'll admit that laying in bed with Kathrin, no responsibilities and no obligations, felt wonderful. But as wonderful as it felt, it couldn't last. I reluctantly rolled off the bed, drawing a questioning noise from her.

"I don't know what time it is, but it's late and I get the feeling that sleeping here would not turn out well. Let's get you home, yeah?"

She nodded, then climbed out and stretched. I began to walk back towards the main room when I heard a loud scraping sound, like the turning of a mill. I motioned for Kathrin to stay back and edged forward, eyes darting back and forth for the source of the sound. When I had a clear view of the room, I was surprised to see nothing. No movement, at least. I carefully walked forward, but there was still nothing. It wasn't until I neared the teleport pad that my combat senses tingled, subconsciously warning me of a threat.

I spun and dived, only getting a glimpse of a massive grey fist before hitting the floor. I quickly got to my feet, then watched in horror as a stone golem, one of the protectors of the tower, strode towards me. This was bad. This was really bad. My sword laid forgotten in my chambers, and a dagger wasn't going to do much against this monstrous thing.

The worst part was that every golem we had encountered so far had been unaffected by magyk. So, while I tried to develop a plan to destroy this thing, I also considered ways to make sure that Kathrin got out of here safely. I briefly considered teleporting us out of here, but I didn't want to find out what the golem would do if left alone with a room full of important and tactically useful documents.

I created a plan that, if successful, would solidify my reputation as a genius. Of course, if it failed, chances were that there wouldn't be enough left of me to classify as a bug. I called forth the magyk inside of me and began heating the air and ground around the golem to temperatures surpassing those of the great ovens I had visited this morning. It wasn't long before the golem noticed, then paused in its pursuit of me.

It looked around, as though searching for the source of the heat, then turned back towards me and began attacking again. After a few more minutes of dodging and heating, I ceased the spell and readied another one. I thought of the coldest place I had ever been, somewhere far North of here, and called another incantation.

"Aguamenti!"

Dozens of liters of water flowed from my hand, striking the golem and staggering it slightly. Nothing happened for a short moment, then a loud cracking came from massive stone construct, and it shattered into dozens of chunks. I smiled at my victory and for a minute, all was still. Right after that, I was tackled to the ground in the most ferocious hug I've ever received.

"Are you okay?!"

I grimaced at her bone-crushing hug. "I can't - exactly - breathe," she loosened her grip, very slightly, "but other than that, yeah. I'm fine."

She backed up, "I was so worried! That thing was so big and you didn't even have a weapon!"

I hugged her back, "Please, I'm fine. Better than fine, actually."

She sighed, then leaned against me, surprising me and almost causing me to fall backwards. It was about then that I realized how tired I was. Casting any spell for more than a few minutes was incredibly draining, no matter how simple it was. I pushed aside my exhaustion and swept Kathrin off her feet, causing her to yelp slightly in surprise. I headed for the teleport pad, eager to get back to the comfortable chambers of the Head Templar.

By the time we reached the castle that served as our headquarters, Kathrin was fast asleep. I garnered some odd looks as I carried her through the halls to my quarters, but I ignored them. I'll be damned if I was going to wake her up because some people didn't like my treatment of my 'slave'.

After reaching my bedchambers, I gently lowered her onto my bed, then reluctantly headed off to find some nice pillows and a blanket to sleep on. The room was actually pretty cold if you didn't have fur, but I wasn't going to sleep with her. Regardless of the fact that she had done it a few times before, it felt different when I was the one awake. I had only taken about two steps when she began whimpering in her sleep. I looked at her, her adorable sleeping form, and was surprised when she muttered my name in between cries.

There was no way I could let her dreams be restless, so I removed my outer clothing and laid down beside her, placing a comforting arm on her shoulder and crooning to her softly. Before long she calmed and I smiled, glad that I could help her with that much. I had planned to leave after she was alright, but I was tired too and she looked so peaceful that I couldn't bring myself to leave her there by herself. As soon as I made the decision, I was asleep.

The first thing I noticed when I woke was that I couldn't remember falling asleep in such a comfortable place. I could feel silk rub across my fur and something warm and comforting embraced me. It wasn't until I was more awake that I realized it was an arm, and I rolled to see that it was attached to Trace, my friend, master, and crush.

I snuggled closer to him, my back pressed against his chest, immersed in his presence. I don't know how long we laid there, but an eternity later I felt him shift behind me in wakefulness. I rolled over and found myself face to face with him, his dark sapphire eyes sucking me in and causing me to blush heavily.

"Good morning, sunshine."

I desperately hoped that my fur concealed my blush, then collected myself and spoke, "Good morning, Trace."

He smiled warmly and softly at me and I felt my heart soar.

"What a beautiful sight to wake up to. Am I perhaps still asleep?"

I practically melted into him, hugging him as closely as possible and resting in his arms. "I don't know, but if this is a dream I don't ever want to wake up."

I could feel him smile into my fur, then he hummed, sending shivers of pleasure down my spine. "Mmmm, me neither."

I don't know what possessed me to do so, but I pushed back slightly and licked his cheek. The Keidran equivalent of a shy kiss. I don't think he knew exactly what it was, but I certainly hoped he did because he nuzzled his face into my neck. A sign of affection for the Keidran; and not the kind between family members.

I would have been content to just lay there all day, but fate had other plans. A number of clanking, thundering footsteps emanated from outside the door, and Trace quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed his sword, flicking the scabbard clear of the blade in one fluid motion. The Templars may have been a mage guild, but they put a heavy focus on martial training as well.

The door slammed open to reveal six or seven fully armored Templar battlemages - the equivalent of shock troops - with various different weapons, and a combat caster at the back.

"My liege, hostile forces are at the gate!"

Trace quickly put his sword back in its scabbard, then handed it to me and began dressing in his armor. The previous Grand Master had been a female, so his armor wasn't fancy or embellished with anything valuable. I think that even if he planned on remaining Grand Master, he wouldn't change his armor. I watched his face scrunch up in confusion,

"Hostile? What enemy have I made?"

The leader hesitated uncertainly, "My lord, the previous Grand Master was not on the best of terms with any group, but she was especially disliked by the Keidran."

I watched his eyes narrow in anger,

"Of course. What kind if forces do they have? If I can't talk them out of it, what are our chances of victory?"

The captain of the guard hesitated again, obviously disliking to be the bearer of bad news,

"Sir, I - I think it would be best if you saw for yourself."

I handed Trace - now fully outfitted for war - his sword, and he thanked me with a nod before going to the window and throwing open the covers that kept out the cold morning air. I saw his eyes widen in surprise and his mouth moved wordlessly before emitting an eloquent and horrified

"Oh shit."

There were thousands of them. Tens of thousands, maybe more. And even from up here I could tell they were angry. I knew that the Keidran races rarely got along, if ever, but now I saw every species I had ever seen, along with a few others that I had only heard of, gathered outside the fortress. I could hear them chanting, and even though I was too high up to understand them clearly, the meaning was apparent. They wanted blood.