Author's Notes

My pityful but heartfelt apology comes in the other author's notes. Sorry. :( like, extra super duper sorry.

Reviews!

ThinMint, I'm glad you like the characters as much as I do! And don't worry about using 'and' a lot. It happens. :P Well, I already apologized, so... :D

GiggiEba, thank you for the support! You'll find out how it goes now. :)

At last at long long last, on with the story!

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Darkness's POV

My generals and I watched as my forces tread the moors towards the closest mob city. It was very boring to watch 11,000 monsters walking in the same direction. Trudy wasn't much help either. She kept asking dumb and annoying questions like 'when do I get to go home' and 'will people die' and shit.

I groaned into the sky. My generals turned to look at me with indifferent expressions. "How long until we get to smell some fresh blood?"

My Poisonaut general, who was standing beside me, leaned in and whispered into my ear. "It takes a long time to mobilize such a large army, my liegé. You must be patient."

I grimaced. "I know it takes time, but for fuck's sake, I've waited a century for this shit. Feel like we should have invested in horses or something."

The Demonaut general chuckled. "That would have sped things along. But, uh, my lord? You... you do realize the ghasts can fly, right? We could mount everyone on there and launch an attack that way."

I shook my head. "See, there's no fun in that. Catching them by surprise. Besides, almost all of their buildings are stone. The ghasts wouldn't do much against them, and there is too many monsters for that kind of assault."

The rest of my generals nodded. Demonaut bowed. "Forgive my mistake, lord Darkness. I will think twice before speaking next time."

I smiled at it. "No, no." I looked around at my generals. "Please, feel free to share your stupid ideas. One does get bored." They all nodded again. I sighed and went back to watching my troops. And then suddenly remembered something important.

"All troops, halt!" Every single monster stopped in their tracks. I cleared my throat. "Argonaut division! I want 200 skeletons to split off! Poisonaut division! I want 200 husks and 200 spiders to split off. Demonauts! I want 200 creepers to split off!"

My monsters did as they were told, each patrol stepping away from the rest. "Now, I want these eight patrols to come to me. The rest of you, keep walking! We're burning daylight!"

The 800 monsters and their captains stood before me now, and the rest of my army kept trudging on. "Monsters, I have a task for you. Towards the west," I pointed in that direction, "is a valley surrounded by mountains and filled with emerald forests. In the center, you will find lush moors and beautiful skies. As well as a wonderfully crafted three-story house."

I leaned in towards the captain closest to me. "I want you to burn it to the ground. And kill everyone living there. Do you understand?"

All 800 monsters nodded. "Good. Go now." I turned to my royal servant, who was busy toying gently with a flower. "Trudy."

The blaze jumped. "Y-yes, m-my lord?"

"Come on. We're going to the nether."

"Wh-What? Why?"

"I need some soul sand. I can send my shadow to command my armies."

Trudy nodded nervously. "O-okay."

I sent her through the portal first and took one last look around. This world will be mine soon. And there is no way you can stop me, brother. Have fun with my welcoming committee.

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Eba's POV

I helped everyone with logging the next day. Simon had gotten to work on the mechanical stuff very quickly, and was already almost done with the propeller. I was nervous because of the announcement I had to make.

Don't worry Eba. You told me yourself that none of your friends would hurt you.

We-well, yeah, but... what about you?

I'll be fine. We need to help your friend.

What if we postpone this until tomorrow?

Eba.

Aw... okay, fine. Right... right now?

Yes, right now.

Okay... here we go, then.

I gathered up all of my friends. They had begun asking questions as soon as I asked them to follow me, and I sheepishly told them that I had something important to say. Once everyone was in the clearing, I cleared my throat.

"Um... hey guys. I, uh, I called you here because there's something... something that I need to show you. Um..."

Thomas gave me an encouraging smile. "It's okay, Eba. You can tell us."

I gulped. "I... I really hope so, Thomas. Please guys, don't... don't freak out. Please." I took a deep breath.

Are you ready, Blight?

No. But, uh, when has that ever stopped anyone?

Okay...

I took another deep breath. "I... have a... demon."

For a minute, nobody moved. Then Jack chuckled. I gave him my best death stare. It immediately shut him up. "Oh. You... you're serious."

"Ye-yes. I'm serious, guys."

Simon stared at me with his usual emotionless gaze. "For how long, Eba?"

I rubbed my arm nervously. "Uh... maybe a week? Or... three? Since we got the obsidian for the portal to save Kaitlin."

The creeper boy nodded. "Three weeks sounds about right. Can you prove the existence of this demon, Eba?"

I nodded and extended a palm beside me. Time to show them, Blight.

Yeah. Okay.

I felt Blight's rot-sand trail down my arm and onto the dirt. It began forming one of Blight's shadows, which looked just like Thomas but with light-grey eyes. He gave everyone a little wave.

"Good afternoon. I am Blight."

The 'gang' looked taken aback. Everyone but Simon and Lila. The creeper boy simply nodded. "Afternoon, Blight. Nice to meet you."

My demon nodded with a smile. "I'm glad someone thinks so."

Kaitlin looked mortified. "D-demon? Y-you have a demon???"

I grimaced. "Don't worry, he's a good Uh... spirit."

The blaze girl slowly began to back away. "No no no, you don't understand! H-he killed my dad! Th-they killed my dad!"

Blight gazed at her calmly. "No, I Didn't. Darkness did."

Kaitlin stopped. "Ho-How do you know?"

Blight took a single step towards her. Jack, who stood beside the skittish blaze, stiffened. "I saw it in your nightmares. You've had them for a while, haven't you?"

Kaitlin nodded. "Y-yes. For an entire week." She sort of shrunk, staring at the grass. "Every night I wake up in cold sweat, dreading the next time I have to close my eyes."

Blight took another slow step towards her. "They are about your parents, right? You fear for them."

Kait nodded again. "Yes. Mostly for my mother. I know that Darkness has already killed my dad. But it just... it haunts me."

Please be gentle with her.

I'm trying. But I fear mister skele-guy might start filling me with arrows.

Just don't do anything too sudden.

Blight gave Kaitlin a gentle smile. "I know it does. My... I get my own nightmares sometimes."

Jack gave him a disbelieving huff. "I didn't realize demons could have nightmares."

Blight returned Jack's glare with a steady gaze. "I am not a regular demon. I've changed."

Thomas took a step forwards. "How can we be sure of that, Blight? That you've truly changed?"

It ticked me off that one of my best friends was doubting my demon's word. "I'm still here, you know! I haven't changed. Isn't that proof enough?"

Valory stared at me with distrust. "You never know with demons."

I blinked at her, hurt. "Y-you don't believe me?"

Iza gave me a sympathetic smile. "It's just... kind of hard to."

I plopped down onto the grass, utterly heartbroken. They don't believe me. They think you've taken over.

I told you this was a bad idea.

B-but we only want to help! Th-that's it! I just wanted to help Kaitlin!

I felt an idea from Blight flow through me. I blinked. Are you... sure that'll work?

No. But it's worth a shot.

Okay. Um... will you be alright?

The freedom will blind me, and you'll feel the same pain from when we met, but I should be fine.

Okay... okay. Let's... let's try.

I stood back up and looked at Thomas dead in the eye. "I'll prove it to you. Watch. Blight's gonna separate from me, and I will let him back in."

Valory gasped. Jack narrowed his eyes. Kaitlin still looked nervous. Simon looked exited, which was weird. I closed my eyes and sighed. "Okay, Then. Go on."

Blight's shadow dissolved and the rot-sand came back to me. I opened my eyes. Blinding pain seared through me, and a sharp throbbing began on my forehead. I watched through watering narrow eyes as Blight's spirit form slowly leaked from my head.

And then the pain stopped. I gasped and fell back down on the grass. It felt weird to not have my demon anymore. I felt empty, and dull. Bligh was floating less than a meter from my face, staring worriedly at me. "Are you Alright, Eba?"

I nodded rubbing my head. "Ye-yes. I'm fine. What about you?"

He looked around at everyone. Kaitlin looked Ike she was about to have a mental breakdown. Simon was smiling lightly. "There's... so much green. So... tempting."

I tried to grasp his smoky form. "Blight, keep it together. Come back."

He turned to me with a worried gaze. "But I'll hurt you."

"And you'll break your promise if you tear down the forest."

Simon raised an eyebrow. "Tempting? Promise? Could one of you elaborate?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. Please be patient. Come on, Blight."

He 'sighed'. "Okay. Are you ready?"

"Yes. I'll be alright."

He returned to my head as fast as possible. It was much less painful than the first time, but it still hurt a lot. I was in a daze afterward. But it felt better to have him back.

Simon walked forward and knelt down beside me. The creeper placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Are you Alright?"

Iza rushed towards us. "Be careful, Simon!" The boy gently nudged her away.

"I'll be fine." He turned back to me and repeated himself. "Are you okay, Eba?"

I stared at him for a second and nodded slowly. "Yes. I think... a headache will come on soon, but... I'm fine otherwise."

Simon noddd and smiled gently. "Good. Now can you elaborate?"

I returned his smile. "Yeah, I think so. Um... step back a little?"

Simon nodded and walked back to his spot, dragging Iza with him. I stood up on slightly uneven feet and let Blight summon a shadow for himself. He stared at Jack.

"Do you still doubt my word?"

"With every fiber in my body."

I unevenly stood between them. "Guys, guys! Please! We just want to help Kaitlin."

The blaze blinked at me. "He-help How?"

I gestured to my demon. "Blight says that he can absorb the nightmares and make them go away."

Simon turned to Blight. "Can you really do that?"

The demon shrugged. "I've never tried. But I know it can be done."

Jack stepped up. "You are not trying any of your voodoo shit on my friend, especially if you don't know if it'll work."

Blight still didn't back down. "I do know it will work. I just don't have any experience in that field."

The stray scowled at my demon. "Same difference, pal. You are not touching a single hair on her head."

Jack was now an inch from Bligh's face. My demon began to back up.

I don't want to hurt him, he explained, We'll lose their trust.

I know. Don't worry.

I walked in between them again. "Please, Jack! We just want to help! Shouldn't Kaitlin decide if she wants to do this?"

We all turned to the blaze princess. She stared at Blight with hopeful eyes. "Can you really make the nightmares disappear?"

My demon nodded. "The memories that caused them will fade with time, but I can effectively remove the nightmares for good."

The blaze stared at the ground for a moment before looking back up. "Will it hurt?"

Blight shook his head. "The process will not be painful to you in any way."

Kaitlin swallowed hard. "Uh... are you Sure? Comepletely sure?"

I smiled at her. "Yes. We're both sure this will work."

The blaze nodded. "How long will it take?"

Jack stared at her with shocked eyes. "You're... you're really letting them do this?"

She nodded sheepishly. "Th-the nightmares... they keep me up at night, always festering and making me cry. I... I really want their help. I Need it."

The stray nodded after a moment of hesitation and backed away. Simon raised his hand. "I still have a billion and a half questions."

I smiled at him, sweat beginning to form on my brow. "Uh... okay. A-ask away."

Simon walked up to Blight. "Why did you say you were tempted earlier? With flattening the forest?"

My demon smiled awkwardly. "Uh... this might take a while. Demons need to absorb life much like humans need to eat. This usually means tearing down fields or forests."

Valory stepped up. "That doesn't explain why you said that only once you where out of Eba."

Blight sighed. "When I... possess Eba... my 'demonly desires' are dulled down by a lot. Mostly because of her self-control. But when I left her, my *ahem* needs became more pronounced. Difficult to ignore."

Jack still eyed Blight with naked distrust. "And those are?"

My demon smiled. "I've already stated that demons need to absorb life. If we don't, a massive headache sets in, which will eventually reduce us to ash."

I gasped. "You didn't tell me you could die from that!"

Blight turned to face me. "I didn't want to scare you more than necessary. I wasn't going to die anyway, so what was the point?"

I gave him a frown. "You should still have told me, Blight."

Simon spoke again. "What kind of demon are you?"

My demon turned to face the creeper. "A... regular demon, I guess."

I spoke up before Blight could continue. "Well, he told me that when demons are born-"

"Spawned."

"... spawned-"

"Or summoned, I suppose."

I gave him a glare. Blight shrugged. "... when demons are spawned, they get a sort of ability. Like, Blight has or is rot. He withers anything he touches except for me."

Simon looked intrigued. "Why not you?"

"Because She is my vessel. When I possess her, she is granted immunity to my rotting effect."

The creeper boy nodded. Lila had sat down and was playing with some grass. She looked like the only one who wasn't put off by this, except for Simon. "Could you demonstrate your abilities?"

I turned to face Blight. "Uh... how?"

Blight pointed to the tree beside me. "Use your rapier. But be careful. Such a large tree could fall and hurt someone."

I nodded and drew my Needlepoint. The tree which Blight was pointing to was quite tall, and old. I deftly stabbed it all the way through. It began to rot from the inside out, cracking and turning gray. I backed up as it fell.

The pleasure from absorbing the ancient oak's life-force was made memshudder. Then my senses cleared. Can't have you drunk with pleasure while we're showing off, eh?

Right. Thank you.

Simon looked very impressed. "Eba can summon things?"

Blight gave him a weird frown. "Well, some things. I am the one who does the summoning, but sometimes I need Eba's help."

"Like?"

"Like when I'm trying to summon a shadow. I usually need her cooperation for that."

"Okay. What else can you two summon?"

Bligh though for a moment. "Weapons. And... armor, too. I can summon pieces of fruit."

My jaw went slack. "We can summon armor?"

Thomas raised his eyebrow, confused. "Pieces of fruit?"

"Yes. And yes. Not invincible armor or anything, but I could probably make something decent. And the pieces of fruit are comepletely edible. I thought it would poison people, but apparently not. It's just regular fruit."

Lila giggled. I was pretty much jumping from excitement. "Could we try to do the armor thing???"

My demon shrugged. "I don't see why not."

I nodded eagerly. His shadow dissolved and the rot-sand came back to me. Light armor first. Chainmail?

Okay. But not entirely chainmail. It looks ugly.

No arguing there...

The dark grey sand flowed from the center of my chest down my torso and legs, as well as my arms. It began forming the armor as it went. Blight summoned light grey metal plates, which stood out against the black chainmail, on my shoulders, elbows, knees and chest. The cheslate was shaped like a heart.

Valory looked pleasantly surprised. "It's beautiful! The contrast in colors, shape of the plates, it looks amazing!"

The armor had a little chainmail skirt that cut short just before my knees with tiny gems embedded in it. I twirled around a little, mesmerized by the glitter of the stones. "Thank you. Blight deserves the credit, though."

Thank you, Eba.

Thank you for the armor Blight. How about a different set?

Full metal?

Um... sure.

The armor switched to a dazzling set of mettallic black plates. The heart shape was still in the center of the chest plate, and more hearts appeared where the light armor plates had been. Valory walked up to me and began feeling the armor plates.

Is... si it safe for her to touch?

Of course. It may be forged from my rot-sand, but it is still just metal.

"This is amazing handiwork! How do you do that?"

I began to feel flustered as the spider felt the plates covering my chest and stomach. "So dynamic and strong." A blush crawled up to my cheeks.

"P-please don't do that."

She giggled. "Sorry. Look, Simon! You know more about forgery than I do."

The creeper boy walked up to me, much to Iza's disdain. He gently calmed her down and asked the slime girl to come with him. She reluctantly greed. Simon began inspecting every armor plate.

"This isn't Iron. Stronger... lighter... doesn't rust... feels... sandy?"

I shrugged. "Blight made it. You should ask him."

My demon made a shadow for himself. "It's because I forged it with my rot-sand. Every metal plate I make has that sandy texture."

Simon nodded. He was inspecting one of the shoulder plates and moved down to my forearm. "Because of it's reduced weight, you crafted it with multiple plates to increase Eba's mobility."

My demon nodded. "You are very smart, creeper."

He grinned at Blight. "And you seem to be great at forging, for a demon."

Valory returned to inspecting the armor on my chest. She rose and a hand brushed my neck. The spider frowned. "Can't you make a helmet to go along with this?"

Blight shrugged. "I could try."

His shadow dissolved, and more rot-sand crawled up my neck and cheeks. The feeling tickled and made me giggle. Soon, a black helmet reduced my field of vision. I took it off.

It covered my entire head with a single plate. There was another light grey heart shape in the center, it's little circular ends the holes for my eyes. It had a single crest going from above the heart to the top of my head.

Valory gestured to take it, and I handed her the helmet. She immediately put it on and posed. "How do I look?"

I giggled. "Very intimidating. Can I have it back?"

She nodded and took it off. Simon nodded approvingly. "Very well made, Blight. But you could have given more shape to the sides, maybe a few outcropping arrowlike formations heading from the front to the back."

The helmet suddenly changed, flat crests forming at the sides. I smiled at Simon. "That means he agreed." The creeper boy nodded.

Eba, I just got an awesome idea.

I could see what he was planning, and it was very exiting.

Ooh, yes please! Let's try that!

Just be careful not to fall over.

I'll be fine. Go on!

I asked everyone to step back a little. Blight's rot-sand began to furiously encircle me, changing the armor I had on. I rose a little into the air. Soon, the small tornado of rot-sand stopped swirling. I could see my friends through thick purple glass. I rolled my shoulders, hearing the clacking of metal and feeling the weitght of my armor.

Valory gasped in astonishment. Simon took off his goggles. Even Jack looked surprised. Everyone began to crowd around me. I raised one heavy hand. Blight helped me with some of his strength. I walked around, testing my mobility. Then I turned back to look at my friends.

I flexed my arms. "How do I look?"

Simon walked up to the armor. I had been at least four inches taller than him before, but now? Now I was almost a foot taller. The creeper boy began inspecting the plates.

"This is... next level craftsmanship. It looks strong enough to survive a half-kiloton blast."

I raised an eyebrow, even though I don't think they could see me. "How much is that?"

He stood back. "Maybe... five hundred sticks of tnt."

I looked at the armor. It was kind of hard to see with the helmet, so I took it off and examined myself. The armor was very slim, and there were cool shapes everywhere. My knees had sharp things on the end of the plates, as did my elbows. The gauntlets had crests on the outside of my forearms.

It got too heavy very fast. Okay... can I take it off now?

Of course.

The armor dissolved and left me standing on the grass. I smiled at everyone. "How did you like that, huh?"

Everyone chuckled. I was bone-tired. Summoning so much left me exhausted and hungry. I turned to Sarah. "Could we... maybe have an early dinner today? As well as our regular dinner?"

The skeleton girl smiled. "Of course."

"Yay!"

Everyone looked quite happy. Even Jack, who had tried to use a poker face. We all walked towards the house. Simon kept asking me questions, which I answered with Blight's help. Valory was talking about ways to 'make the armor look even better'.

Honestly, I was glad with the way everything turned out.

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Theridas's POV

I woke up feeling disoriented, and my eyes hurt. I touched my face to find dried tears on my cheeks. I cried? From what? A... a nightmare? I chuckled to myself. Guess I really miss Pepper, then. I stood up and looked around.

Both Lady Anastasia and Ella where still in the bedroom, sleeping the day away. The late morning sunlight cast shadows with it's golden rays.

Oh, shit. Shit shit shit shit SHIT SHIT SHIT. It's almost noon!

I changed as fast as I could. My cloak stayed, though. I put on a black suit and white undershirt, black jeans, and my 'sofisticated' black shoes. Most of my clothes are black...

I dashed out the door as soon as possible. I freshened up and combed my dark hair, put on some cologne, and essentially flew down the stairs. I barely acknowledged miss Brekelbaum who was sitting on the couch reading another newspaper.

I passed by a lot of stands to get to Pepper's apartment. Some of them sold food, others toys, clothing, materials, flowers...

Flowers. Need flowers.

I hurriedly bought a rose bouquet with my one remaining ring and kept running. I'm going to need a job... I arrived at Pepper's apartment after about a half hour. I quickly combed my hair back in place with my hand and knocked on the door.

The nerves were killing me, and I started to squeeze the bouquet involuntarily. There was a few muffled thumps and a quick series of deep breaths. It made me feel even more nervous. I began pulling at my shirt's collar which suddenly felt much too tight.

Soon, a lock was turned, and the door swung open. I had planned to greet Pepper with a smile but immediately deadpanned, my jaw going slack.

Pepper had tied her hair in a tall, neat ponytail. She was wearing a green v-neck shirt which showed off her cleavage, a brown leather jacket, and tight black pants. Her feet were clad in brown boots, also leather. There was a massive smile on her face.

"Hey there, handsome."

I stuttered. There had been a million ways to greet her going through my head, and I couldn't choose a single one. "H-He-hi, p-pah, y-you... *gulp*... hi?"

She giggled. "Aw, that's adorable. Left you speechless, have I?" Her hand trailed down to her bottom very enticingly. I tried to look away, but my eyes were glued to her body.

"I, um... I'm s-sorry for being late."

She raised an eyebrow. "Late? I barely had time to throw on my jacket."

I smiled sheepishly at her. "W-well, I kind of just woke up, so..."

Pepper giggled again. It was a very soothing sound. I suddenly remembered the roses I had brought her. "Oh, uh... here." I extended my arm out to her.

The bouquet was on fire.

We were equally surprised by this. "Oh, shit!" I tried to put them out by whacking them against the wall, which worked moderately well. All of the roses had been burned to a crisp, but one of them was still standing proudly in the center. It's beautiful red had turned to a matte black.

I chuckled nervously. Pepper giggled again. "Thank you." She took the only remaining rose, snapped off the stem, and tucked it into her orange hair right above her ear. I smiled awkwardly at her.

"I'm sorry about that."

She gave me a hug. "Don't be sorry, love. It's okay. Where should we go?"

I took her hand. "Maybe... lunch? I haven't had breakfast yet."

Pepper smiled. "Lunch it is."

We walked down five sets of stairs and emerged onto the streets. They were just as busy as ever. We wandered around looking for somewhere to eat. Eventually, we came across the cousin's bar. Or, restaurant I guess. The large sign on top of the building remained unlit. It read Los Primos Restaurant Bar

I looked at Pepper. The beautiful creeper woman shrugged. "How about here?"

I grimaced. "I don't have any money. How could I pay for anything?"

She smiled. "I can pay. And we'll get you a job later, how about that?"

I thought it over. "Are you Sure?"

She hugged me again. "Of course. Come on."

She lead me by my hand into the restaurant. There were a few families eating here, and Ronaldo was leaning against the counter. He had a white shirt and black vest on, as well as a little bow tie. He walked up to us.

"Ey, Therisito! Hi Pep! How are you guys?"

We shook hands, smiling all the while. "Hi, Ronaldo. We've been fine, thank you for asking. You?"

He shrugged. "Same old, same old. What can I get you?"

Pepper sat us down at a nearby table. "What do you have today?"

He thought for a moment, "dunno. Let me get the menu."

He dashed away into the kitchen. Pepper held my hand and smiled. "Did you plan anything for us?"

"Uh... n-no. I don't really know how this works..."

"How what works?"

"Dating. I've been a royal servant since I was sixteen, and everything before that was shadowing my father. I didn't really socialize much."

Pepper nodded slowly. "That's okay. We could explore the city. There are some places I really want to show you."

I smiled at her. "I'd love to explore."

Ronaldo came back with two pieces of paper, with the names and prices of dishes written on them. "Here you go. Just call me when you're ready to order, Kay?"

We nodded and he dashed off to attend the other customers. I turned to look at the menu. It listed off many food items and their prices, and I didn't know what more than half of them were. Picadas... club sandwich... hamburger... flautas... hmm.

I settled for a fajita dish, and Pepper ordered a chicken torta. Ronaldo nodded, took our menus, and dashed back into the kitchen. Pepper leaned in.

"You know, we could ask if they're hiring."

I raised an eyebrow. "Ronaldo and... what's his name? Eric?"

She smiled. "Erik, with a 'k'. But Yeah. I work at the bar Monday to Thursday, so we could ask for you to have the same schedule."

I frowned thoughtfully. "I... guess that could work. How do you know they'll hire me?"

Her smile widened. "You see how Ronaldo runs around? You can never have too much help, wether it's at the restaurant or the bar."

I nodded. "Okay. We'll do that, then."

We talked until our food arrived, and kept talking afterwards. She was very curious about the nether, our traditions and such.

"What do you use as currency?"

"We don't have any currency. Most of our riches and gold is used as a method to show Uh... social ranks, I guess. The monarchs use it to decorate things, and couples gift each other trinkets made from it."

"Really? So nobody buys or sells anything? How do you tell apart the rich and the poor?"

I shrugged. "There is no rich nor poor. Everyone trades or helps in exchange for material things. Food is given by the kings, as well as housing and building permits."

She nodded slowly. "So... communism."

I raised an eyebrow, confused. Um... sure. I don't know what that means, but alright."

"What kind of trinkets do couples give each other?"

"Usually rings. Or piercings. Sometimes tools or weapons, as well as armor pieces. Mostly little things, though."

"Like the rings you used to pay for things?"

I lowered my head. "No. Those were given to my dad by the king as a thanks for so many years of loyal service. I... hated having to give them away." I clutched my hand, feeling my fingers where the rings had once been.

Pepper placed her calloused hand over mine. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to upset you."

I smiled at her. "It's fine. Was there anything else you wanted to ask?"

She placed her elbow wide apart on the table. "Have you really never been in a relationship?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Um... no, I have. One. But... it wasn't more dating than just... *ahem, fooling around. We celebrate our 18th birthdays with a ball, usually. I invited some of the castle residents.

There was a maid whom I was very fond of, and uh... we danced for a while. She got bored eventually and lead me to her dorm and, well, that was that. We 'fooled around' for the next few weeks, until she got bored of me."

I stared at Pepper, nervous of her reaction. She didn't look too upset, actually. "So that's why you're so good in bed."

I blinked. "Beg your... pardon?"

She giggled. "I'm sorry, that just popped out of nowhere. You really are good, though. What kind of fooling around did you do?"

I shrugged, suddenly feeling flustered. "Uh... l-lots. I'd... rather not talk about that here."

Pepper shrugged. "Okay. How do you guys survive if there's no water in the nether?"

"We get all of our hidration from the air, kind of like fish with water. Except we don't have gills, we just breathe and... that's it."

"Oh. That's cool, I guess. What did you do for fun?"

"N-Not... not much. I spent most of my time helping around the castle. The few times when I did have fun were during my free days, when I just sort of relaxed. B-but there is plenty to do in the nether. Or so I was told. Again, I didn't go out much."

"Okay... should we go?"

I sighed. The conversation was making me feel very self-conscious. "Alright."

Pepper was already up, and she ran a hand through my dark hair. She was smiling at me. "Come on, flame-head."

I stood up and she lead me out onto the streets once more. We wandered around for a few hours, talking and looking at the stuff sold on the stands. She then guided me to large quartz building that with triangular stone roofs and windowsills.

There was a large stone sign under the main roof; Grand Library.

Pepper smiled. "Come on. I want you to meet one of my friends and then have a look around."

We entered the beautifully detailed building. There were bookshelves everywhere, grand staircases leading up to the second floor. Many people moved about their business in surprising quiet. Pepper dragged me over to the front office.

There was a woman reading a book there. Pepper tapped the desk, and the woman put down her book. She smiled at the creeper woman.

"Hey, Pepper! Come to chat with Kyle?"

Pepper smiled. "Yeah, and I also want to show my boyfriend the place."

The woman looked at me with interest. I gave her a wry smile. She smiled back. "Man, I pity you. What's your name?"

I extended my hand, and the woman shook it. "Theridas. What's yours?"

"Acaria. I'm the head librarian."

I nodded. Pepper began to walk away. "Where's Kyle?"

Acaria turned to her. "Thirty-second row to the right. Bottom floor, fiction."

Pepper nodded and lead me away. There were just so many books! I had never seen such a large mass of them. We stopped maybe a dozen rows before reaching the end at a little table. There was a man sitting at the table, reading a book. Pepper walked up and gently slapped his head.

The man put down the book and smiled at her. "Hi, Pep! How nice of you to come visit."

Pepper smiled. "Hey, Kyle. How are you?"

He shrugged. "I'm good. Finally finished paying back miss Brekelbaum."

She giggled. "Ha! I paid her almost a week ago." The man smiled and stood up. Pepper pulled me closer. "This is Kyle. Kyle, Theridas. Theridas, Kyle."

We shook hands. "Nice to meet you Kyle."

The man nodded. "Nice to meet you too, Theridas."

Pepper gave me a hug. "He's my new boyfriend." Kyle raised an eyebrow.

"Really? How long has it been since the last one? A month? Two?"

Pepper slapped him again, although less gently. "Four. But that doesn't matter!"

Kyle snickered. "I guess it doesn't. Hey, did you know Pepper and I dated for a while a couple years ago?"

Pepper frowned. "You'll never let that go, will you?"

Kyle beamed. "Nope. Still kinda proud about it."

I began feeling very awkward. "Uh... th-that's great." I looked around again. "What is this place?"

Kyle put a hand on my shoulder. "This, my friend, is the Grand Library. It has the biggest and most complete archive of anything and everything. If it ever happened, or someone though about it enough to write that down, it's here."

I nodded, looking around. The golden light filtered in through the blinds on the building's windows, casting a warm glow on all the bookshelves. You could see dust mites floating in the wind.

"It... really is grand."

"Yeah, I know. What books have you read?"

I turned to Kyle. "Uh... none. I- we. We don't read."

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Who's we?"

Pepper took my hand and stood beside me. "Theridas isn't from here. He's a blaze, from the nether."

Kyle raised both eyebrows now, something I hadn't seen before. "Really? From the nether? What are you doing here instead of down under?"

I stared at my feet and rubbed my arm. Pepper saved me again. "It's a touchy subject. So please, drop it Kyle."

The man in question stared at the beautiful creeper woman beside me for a few moments of hesitation before nodding. "Okay. I understand."

I gave him a tiny smile. "Thank you. B-but... I'd like to read. If you have any books you could recommend me."

Kyle's smile returned. "Sure! Let's see..."

He picked out a book from the many on the nearby shelves. It had a grey cover with golden letters written on there; Legend. By Marie Lu.

He passed it over to me. "You can look through it now, or check it out with Acaria so you can take it home. It's the first of one great triology."

I nodded, inspecting the book. It did look quite interesting. "Thank you, Kyle. I think I will check it out."

Pepper squeezed my hand lightly. "Thanks, Kyle. It was nice to see you again. We might end up coming back soon."

The man nodded with a smile. "I'd love that. Have a good day, you two." He then turned back to the shelf and began sorting some oddly-placed books. I turned to Pepper, and she nodded towards the entrance.

We walked up to Acaria, made some small chat, and 'checked out' the book. Then back out to the streets we go.

We wandered the concrete pathways for a while talking between the two of us. Then we came upon an empty dead-end alleyway. Pepper leaned against the wall. I was playing with a little fireball, and she watched intently.

"That's really pretty. What can you do with it?"

I gave it a few shapes; a butterfly, a flower, and a heart. She smiled at me. "Not what I meant, but thank you."

I returned the flame to it's original shape. "What did you mean?"

"I meant, it's potential. What exactly can you do with your fire?"

I shrugged and put out the flame. "A lot, actually. Blaze fireballs have the potential to become more powerful than a tnt blast."

She 'hmm'ed and walked up to me. I extended a hand out to her and summonedthe flame again. She reached out to it. "Careful," I mumbled. She gave me the slightest nod and touched the palm of my hand through the fire.

She didn't recoil or anything, and the tiny flame did not burn her hand. "So... warm."

I grasped her fingers and gave them a squeeze. The flame began to trail up her leather-clad arm towards her shoulder. She gazed at it with naked wonder. "Warm and... pretty."

Pepper placed her free hand over the flame, and it was immediately engulfed by it's gentle warmth. It took everything I had in me to keep the flame at such a low caliber. Letting it go is easy, but holding it down requires real work.

She pulled my hand with both of hers up to her mouth. She kissed it gently through half-lidded eyes. I shivered a little. Pepper smiled and slowly let go of me. The flames on her arms died out.

"I love that. It's so... soothing. And lovely. I like it."

I gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm glad you do."

Pepper snuggled up to me, our backs against the wall. The alley was pretty dark, but some sunlight from the streets still stretched towards us. Pepper gave me another slow, loving kiss on the crook of my neck. I shivered again.

I could feel her smile against my sensitive skin. "I love you, Theridas."

I turned to look into her mesmerizing dark-green eyes. "I love you too, Pepper."

She pulled our mouths together with her arms, enveloping me in a comfortable embrace. I held her hips close to me. After a few heated and wonderful seconds, she pulled away. We were both breathing with a little difficulty.

"Why don't we..." *kiss* "... head over to my apartment..." *kiss* "... and finish this 'conversation' there?" *kiss*

A moan escaped one of us, I'm not sure who. Might've been both, actually. I pulled away "I-I can't. I... need to... take care... of Lady Anastasia... and Ella. Th-They... need some... food."

Pepper drew me back and took every last particle of air from my lungs. Another moan flew out, but it was definitely me this time. She gave me a chance to catch my breath and spoke. "We could... get some food... leave a note... knock on the door... and then run back... yeah?"

I stared at her with lustfull eyes. I just couldn't help myself... sh-she... lords. I hungrily picked up on the kiss. Now she moaned. "I love you..." *kiss* "and your crazy ideas..." *kiss* "come on, then..." *kiss* "let's do this quickly." *passionate kiss*.

After a few minutes, I dragged Pepper away. We wandered the streets looking for someplace to buy food. My girlfriend made it impossible with her little touches and kisses. I couldn't focus on anything.

We ended up buying some very overpriced bread and baked potatoes. We rushed towards the apartment. Pepper pulled out a dirty old pencil from her jeans and scribbled a hasty note on a piece of paper.

I dropped off the food, knocked on the door, and dashed back down the stairs. We actually managed to reach Pepper's apartment in record time. We made out furiously, against the wall, on the couch, the bed...

So, uh... yeah. A lot of heated things happened in there...

And we loved every second of it.

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Author's Notes

I'm so so so so so so so sorry! It took me four freaking days to finish the chapter! Please forgive me! I'll try to do better next time, I promise! D:

ahem*... uh... sorry.

Thank you all for your time, support, and patience. I hope you have a great day!

~ LeMafiaKreb