Chapter 7: A Centaur's Devotion

As Samuel awoke from his alcohol induced sleep he put a hand to his forehead in an attempt to quell his hangover. As he stumbled across the small tavern room towards the door he noticed something was wrong. He grabbed for the cross on his neck and realized it wasn't there.

"WHERE THE HELL IS IT!" Samuel screamed as he dug through his belongings looking for the jade cross. After checking his room he went to the next room over where Miia and Asher stayed the previous night. As soon as Samuel opened the door Miia uncurled and happily greeted Samuel. "Samuel good morning, how are you feeling? You drank a lot last night." Samuel took one look at Miia and saw she was holding his cross in her hand. Asher took one look at his master and hid under the bed.

"Miia what are you doing with that?" Samuel asked his tone held a mix of anger and surprise. Miia looked at the necklace in her hand and smiled "Well when you fell asleep last night I took the cross off of your neck to try and get an idea for a necklace I could make you." she said with much pride. Samuel just walked up to her and ripped the necklace out of her hand "NEVER TOUCH THIS…" he shouted trembling "Do you have any idea what this cross means to me?" Miia just looked at Samuel shocked; she had never seen him like this before. Not only was she surprised he yelled at her, but at the fact he started crying as he put the necklace back on. "Samuel… I'm sorry I had no idea, I j-just thought it was a necklace; please don't be mad at me." She said watching the strongest man she knew break down in front of her. Asher came out from under the bed and rubbed up against Samuel trying to comfort him, but not even the elkhound could make a difference.

They sat in silence for what seemed to Miia like an eternity before Samuel spoke "Miia listen this cross was given to me by my family after the incident that claimed my allies. For months I had nightmares of what happened, of what I did… of what could happen again. It was so bad that I had to take an extended leave of absence from my training and return home, things got worse and worse until my grandfather, God rest his soul, gave me this cross. This cross belonged to my great grandfather William who settled my home and led the crusade. This cross was sent to Earth by the archangel Michael himself to aid my great grandfather in his time of need. As soon as I put the cross around my neck all the pain, fear, and anger was just gone. I was able to continue training and I grew so much stronger. I vowed to never allow something like that to happen again, and now I almost never take the cross off. If I do its only for a brief time, I need that cross because it keeps me from going back, from unleashing whatever it was that made me kill my captors." Miia sat there stunned, all this time she figured the cross was just some trinket that Samuel used to worship God. She never would have believed it was this important to him, that in some way it was Samuel's direct link to God. And as much as she cared about him she knew that this was something she couldn't help him with. It pained her to just sit and watch him slowly bring himself back from the dark place he had just been. "Samuel I'm so sorry I never would have taken your cross if I knew."

Miia moved closer to Samuel each inch she slithered seemed to take years until she was finally just inches away from him. Asher backed away from Samuel allowing Miia to do whatever it was she was about to attempt. Miia then slowly coiled around Samuel holding him tight, just trying to let him know how sorry she was. Samuel wrapped his arms around Miia hugging her tight. He didn't want to let go, he thought it was funny that all this time he had been protecting her but here and now while holding onto each other he was the one who felt safe.

The two stayed like that for a few minutes just enjoying the feeling of an embrace they had both been waiting for for a very long time. For a brief moment Samuel thought about kissing her. Unfortunately Miia broke the mood with her next question. "Samuel what happened to you? What was the incident?" She immediately regretted the question as she looked into Samuel's green eyes; the same eyes that made her feel safe and happy now looked at her with pain. "Miia I already told you once that this was something that deeply pains me, I'm not ready to relive it again especially since I just started feeling better. I think I'm going to go for a walk…" Asher's head perked up when he heard "Walk" until Samuel halfheartedly smiled and finished "…alone."

Centorea through the market district of the city, she figured the best way to try and find the Crusader would be at the place where she could question the people. Besides no one from any of the churches said they saw a crusader. She believed in what the Samurai had said, that her crusader would be in this city, and her heart told her that it would be here that she would be reunited with her master once more. She was so focused on finding him that she didn't notice she had just walked into a merchant's tent. "Oi get the hell out of here, I'll not have any damned centaur stinking up my business" he snarled as he chased out Centorea. "Forgive me I did not mean to go where I was not invited" she softly spoke as she walked away from the tent.

Centorea was starting to feel defeated she had already been to the city's cathedral where the priests said the crusader had already come and gone. She had also been to the finest Inns of the city yet for some reason the crusader hadn't been staying at any of them. Surely someone of his stature wouldn't be anywhere else but the finest of places. Little did she know that even though the crusader loved God, church, and righteousness more than anything, he loved the alcohol served at the cheaper somewhat shadier places in this city.

Centorea continued walking through the asking the vendors that would talk to her if they had seen the crusader. She then heard screaming and a woman's voice "Help, someone help that man stole all of my money". Centorea turned her head seeing a hooded man run through the crowd carrying a very large coin purse in his hand.

Without hesitation she took off after the thief. "Don't worry madam I'll handle this" Centorea said as she drew her long sword. Her mission to find the crusader would have to wait, she wasn't going to just sit around and let someone get away with thievery.

Samuel splashed his face with water from the marketplace's community fountain. He stopped and looked at his reflection. His hair was starting to get thick and unkempt again just the way he liked, and he was starting to get some stubble. He thought about what he'd look like with a beard. It wasn't like he couldn't grow facial hair before; he just thought it would get in the way of his training. Samuel stood up and adjusted his belt; he only brought his knife with him and was wearing his blue sleeveless training shirt. He just needed a break; also he had washed his tunic the night before and was just letting it dry.

Samuel was about to return to the inn when he heard the girl scream. As soon as he realized a thief had taken gold from a girl he immediately took off after the hooded man.

As Samuel was running through the streets of the marketplace he laughed to himself and said "How come every time I go off without Asher is a time I could really use him." Before Samuel could continue to jest with himself he was hit from the side by a powerful force, although his head was hit by two very soft but very large objects. "Oh by God's grace are you okay how clumsy of me." He heard a soft female voice say. Samuel pushed himself off of the ground "Hey why don't you watch where you're go-…" Samuel stopped as he looked at the woman who ran into him. The first thing he noticed were the beautiful blue eyes that looked down at him, the second and third things Samuel noticed were very large and made him blush, the fourth thing he noticed was the beautiful golden blonde hair, and finally as Samuel finished standing up he realized that this beautiful woman was in fact a centaur.

"Are you ok sir? I'm deeply sorry that I hit you, I was chasing after a thief but it appears through my carelessness I hit you and he got away." said Centorea blushing, obviously embarrassed. Samuel dusted himself off while speaking "That's ok I'm used to pain by now. And isn't that a coincidence I was chasing after a thief myself." Samuel smiled hoping the girl would continue talking. "Well it's good to see that there are people kindhearted enough to try and help out strangers. It's just too bad that he got away, it will take me a very long time to find him now." Samuel thought for a second then decided he would help her; he also had a feeling that this may have been a sign this girl was supposed to meet him. "Well I wasn't planning on giving up the hunt yet either. Maybe it would be better if we worked together. What do you say?" Samuel held out a hand for the girl to shake. At the thought of taking the man's hand Centorea blushed, so instead she bowed her head down and said "I would be delighted to work alongside you."

Samuel and Centorea walked through the city together talking and looking for clues before Samuel stopped "Hey we haven't introduced ourselves yet have we?" he said chuckling. "No I don't believe we have" Centorea giggled to herself. She thought that this man was nice and handsome so she didn't mind getting to know him better. "My name is Centorea Shianus, and I have travelled a very long way looking for a man who I haven't seen in many years." Samuel smiled and said "Well whoever this guy is he's lucky to have a girl like you after him…" Centorea blushed at hearing him say this. "…Anyway my name is Samuel Kirk and I'm a crusader just passing through on my three month mission… Hey Centorea are you okay you look like you've seen a ghost."

Miia sat in her room with Asher crying petting the elkhound for comfort. "Asher do you think he's still mad at me? What if he hates me? What if he never speaks to me again?" Miia said each question making her feel less and less attached to Samuel. The gray elkhound just looked at Miia and tilted his head, he felt bad that Miia was sad but what was he to do? He knew his master wouldn't be mad at her, he was just upset. It happened from time to time, Samuel would get a nightmare or someone would bring up his past and Asher would always be there. He would either comfort Samuel or completely destroy anyone who so much as spoke to him angrily, after all that's what any loyal elkhound would do.

Asher licked the tears off Miia's face to tell her it would be okay, that Samuel would be back and wouldn't be mad at her. And it worked Miia just looked at Asher and smiled, although it wasn't from his actions it was just from his existence. Miia looked at the large dog next to her and studied him.

Asher was an elkhound, a very noble breed of dog. Elkhounds were large dogs that resembled a German Shepard only bigger. What made elkhounds different than most other dogs was that they chose their own masters. An elkhound would only choose a master that they deemed worthy in some way, whether it is by purity, combat skill, or just the soul of the elkhound telling it where to go. An elkhounds' bond with its master was so deep, they would have an epic lifespan that usually lasted as long as their master's. What made Asher stand out from the normal elkhound was that he came from a long line of elkhounds bred exclusively for the church. The original elkhounds were said to have been given to holy warriors by Archangels as a sign that they were blessed. The descendants of these holy canines all bared a cross somewhere on their body, a gift from God that gave these canines of the lord an extra edge against evil.

Just by knowing Asher had chosen Samuel to be his best friend and partner filled Miia with a sense of happiness as she uncoiled herself threw the new clothes Samuel bought for her on and slithered toward the door. "Asher I'm sick of being sad, let's go do something fun!" Asher barked in agreement and the two happily left the room.

Centorea looked into Samuel's eyes and kicked herself for being a fool. How could she not have seen it before the brown hair, the green eyes, how he carried himself, he was calmer and more mature, not to mention stronger and better looking but this was the same boy she fell in love with years ago. "Samuel do you not remember me? It's me Cerea, we met when you were a trainee and you saved me and convinced me to become a hero." Centorea was so happy that Samuel felt horrible he didn't remember her. "I'm sorry Cerea, I mean Centorea but I don't remember you all that well even though you seem vaguely familiar." Centorea was crushed; she trained for years for the day she would be reunited with her hero. Tears ran down her face as she felt like a failure, she began sobbing right in the middle of the street. "Y-you are m-my master, I pledge to follow you wherever you go…" she wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke with conviction. "To uphold honor and strength, to be your shield whenever you need protection, to be your sword when you lack strength…" She blushed before she continued "To be your love and keep you warm if all others turn you away. And if a day should come when you love me as I love you then I shall be your wife."

Samuel had no clue what to say even though he wasn't familiar with centaur customs and culture he knew what this was. It was the centaur oath of binding. Once a centaur knight reached adulthood they left their home in search of a master they could serve, someone they considered a great hero, someone they could love. In centaur knight culture choosing a master was the most important thing a centaur did, besides raising a family.

Samuel walked up to Centorea and hugged her tight. "Even if I don't remember how we met or what did for you. I promise to be the best master I can. However this plays out Cerea I promise you I'll do everything in my power to remember. I only have one condition though." The two looked into each other's eyes. Samuel saw true happiness while Centorea saw the same eyes that saved her from an early death. She blushed and pushed Samuel away from her before bowing and asking "What is your condition master?". Samuel looked at her and smiled "You shall not call me master. You are not my slave, but by partner, and friend. You may call me Samuel or another nickname if you like."

Before Centorea could say anything the two heard screaming and another person shout "That damned thief took my money!". Samuel and Centorea turned and saw the same thief running away with more money, and they took off after him. The two chased the thief into an alleyway where he was blocked off by three walls two pissed off warriors.

"Hand back what you stole and I won't beat you to a pulp" Samuel said cracking his knuckles. The thief dropped his loot and smiled "I have a better idea. How about I keep the money and just kill you two bleedin' hearts" he then pulled out a large wicked sword. Centorea charged the thief. "You shall pay for your crimes brigand!" she screamed as she brought her own sword down from above. The thief smiled as his sword shined a bright white. Before Centorea could react she suffered a large gash on her front right leg immobilizing her.

Samuel drew his knife and rushed in himself. He realized what had just happened; the thief had a flash sword. It was a normal blade enchanted with a spell that gave the user unimaginable speed. As the thief came towards Samuel, he gripped his knife in reverse and deflected what would have been three blows to his left leg. When the thief switched tactics and went for a neck slice Samuel ducked down and stabbed the thief in the arm. The thief screamed and kicked Samuel in the face sending him back. Samuel couldn't get his knife out of his enemy's arm in time.

The thief realized he couldn't hit the man he was fighting from the front so he came up with a plan. Kill the centaur the hit the guy in the back before he could react. When the thief moved Samuel held up his fists ready to counter the attack, however Samuel noticed the thief's eyes were looking at Centorea and not Samuel. So Samuel only had enough time to do one thing.

As the thief brought down his blade he was surprised when his blade hit Samuel who had jumped in the way instead of the Centorea who he was aiming for. The large gash on Samuels chest went from his right shoulder and stopped just before it would have hit Samuel's cross in the middle of his chest. What none of them noticed was before the blade would have hit the cross it glowed a bright green and stopped the blade completely.

Some of Samuel's blood hit Centorea's face. Samuel grabbed onto his knife, ripped it from the man's arm and in one motion brought it across his neck killing the thief instantly. As soon as the thief hit the ground Samuel fell backwards, and even though it put her into intense pain Centorea launched herself forward catching Samuel. Samuel looked into her eyes and spoke. "I remember you now. I was thirteen you were fifteen; I and some other recruits were brought to your village for a few months for training. You were the daughter of the knight captain there. And you wanted to train with us, but you weren't strong enough and your father didn't give a rat's ass about you. One day I found you crying, and I knew what was wrong. So I gave you a hug and introduced myself. The n I told you "Anyone can be strong. Right now you're weak, you think that just because you put in some time you deserve to be strong, well you don't. You have to pour your soul into it become the hero you strive to be! I mean look at me I wasn't happy with all the evil in the world, so chose to become a crusader so that one day I'll be able to defend all those who can't defend themselves. Now you have the strength to change you just have to find it." after that day we trained together for weeks until you were kicking all of the trainees butts. And I was so happy for you, but I had to leave shortly after and I didn't get to say goodbye." Samuel stopped for a second as a single tear went down his eye "Cerea I'm so sorry I forgot about you I promise till the day I die I'll always remember you and be your friend even if I don't turn out to be the person you wanted".

Centorea had never had anyone talk to her like this before, well no one except Samuel years ago and even though she had rehearsed what she would say to him a thousand times, she forgot it all and just spoke from her heart. "Samuel I trained every single day to become a centaur knight. I trained until I was numb and couldn't move, and I kept going. I kept going because I knew I needed to become strong and find you, to make you my master. To help you accomplish your goal of helping people because after you left I knew that I was in love with you and I would do whatever it took to show you I was worthy."

"YOU FLOOZY, DARLING SAMUEL IS MINE!" Miia shouted from the end of the alleyway. Samuel opened his eyes and whispered "Oh shit…" before passing out from blood loss. Centorea had a dazed look on her face as she just said "Darling?"

Samuel woke up a few hours later in the cathedral where he was now healed up thanks to some of the priests. "Hey father where are the girls, and my dog?" Samuel asked. Samuel heard two female voices arguing from the other room. The priest smiled and said "Take a guess." before walking out.

"I don't care if you knew him when you were kids Samuel is my darling and you can't have him" Miia shouted. "I'm not trying to take him from you, Samuel is my master and I shall serve him until my last breathe leaves my body. If you and he are lovers I shall not interject but I will offer him anything he desires, it is my sacred duty after all" Miia and Centorea both started blushing as they realized Samuel had been watching.

Samuel put one hand on Asher's head and said "Well Jesus please have mercy on us because you and I both know the two women won't, right Asher?" Asher licked Samuel's hand in approval. Miia then immediately Slithered up to Samuel and squeezed him tight pressing her chest against his causing him to blush. "Samuel I'm so sorry about what happened please forgive me about the necklace." Miia squeezed tighter and tighter around Samuel "I…forgive… you" Samuel said before nearly passing out. Centorea then pulled Samuel away from Miia and hugged him tight; his face was on her large chest. "He was suffocating, control yourself please. And by the way thank you so very much Samuel it means a great deal to me". Miia shouted "keep your hands off darling" Pressing her chest against the other side of Samuels head. "He is my master and so long as he wishes I shall keep my hands on him to protect him".

Asher tilted his head and whined unsure of what to do. Samuel just sat in between the two women and thought to himself aloud "I'm not sure if I'm in heaven or hell".

Author's notes: Well here it is every one chapter 7 and I must apologize for how long it took me to write this one. But I tried to make it worth the wait so I hope you all like it.

P.S- She is here finally here, if you like Centorea well I hope you're happy and if you don't like her… why would you be reading this?

Answer Time: Ok so I know in my "Author's notes" I always tell you guys you can leave comments, ideas or questions about my story and I'll see what I can do. Well I've finally been asked my first (and so far only question)

Namz89 asks- is Asher something you added in on your own, or did you get the idea for him out of the manga too?

My answer for this is Yes Asher is a completely original idea (Kinda) and so is Samuel (kinda). See when I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my first Fanfic I started with the world I wanted and how all the characters and events would go together. But the one problem I had was finding a lead character I wanted, and after a lot of thinking I couldn't make one. So I kinda did a somewhat narcissistic thing and wrote in Samuel based off me and Asher based of the elkhound I had growing up. So I'm at least happy with the way things turned out and I hope you guys are too. Oh and btw thaks for reading it means a lot and Namz89 thanks for the question and support.