Author's Notes:

It's been a while since I wrote one of these notes. Anyway, this chapter contains a small lemon. If that bothers you, please skip it. If it doesn't bother you, just know that I am absolute sh*t at writing lemons, so read it at your own risk. Enjoy!

Chapter 69: Maximilien and Mariel IV

Maximilien and Mariel walked through the woods of Gallia towards his old village. Snow covered the ground and the air was cold and dry. Max knew that in these conditions, many of the people in the village wouldn't last long, so he had to act quickly to help them.

"What's the first thing you're going to do to assist them?" Mariel asked.

"First and foremost, the people need food." Max replied. "I'll need you to remove your curse from them."

"They don't deserve such kindness." She said.

"Maybe not, but revenge has never solved anyone's problems." He replied. "It will just create more hatred. Once that happens, all it takes is one powerful human to find the kingdom of Elves or one powerful Elf to decide to get revenge on humanity to send Halkeginia into ruin."

"Very well. I will remove the curse." Mariel replied, although she was slightly irritated.

After another hour, they arrived at the village's front gate. The village was now surrounded by a massive wall. The gate was closed and a rather frail looking man sat next to it. A bit confused, Mariel and Max decided to ask the man about what happened.

"Excuse me, sir." Max said. "Why is the village walled off?"

"There is a plague within the walls." The man said, wheezing slightly. "The government of Gallia has forbade entry into the village until it is cured."

"How long has this been happening?" Max asked.

"The people within the village have been seemingly cursed for nearly a year." He replied. "Rotten food. Pests everywhere. Only the children are spared. This plague arrived about two months ago."

"Have any doctors found a way to cure it?" Max asked again.

"No. The doctors themselves never got sick, but our own people are becoming increasingly ill." The man replied, coughing again.

Max looked up at the walls of the village, thinking about what he should do.

"Let me in." He finally said.

"You haven't been given permission by the government of Gallia. I cannot let you in." The man replied, coughing again.

Max walked towards the man, making him feel rather uncomfortable. The man pulled his sword from his scabbard, although he found trouble in lifting the heavy object. By the time he managed to hold it up properly, Max put his hand on the man's shoulder.

After a few moments, the man fell unconscious. When he fell onto the ground, his shoulder separated from Max's hand, giving Mariel the chance to see a string of blood that was connecting Max's hand to the man's body.

"Max...what is that?" She asked.

"Hm? Oh, I can do certain things now." He replied. "I can't quite explain it, but after you saved me, I was able to...feel everything around me."

"What do you mean?" She said.

"Living things." He replied. "I can feel them and...control them."

"When did you learn to do that?" She asked.

"I didn't. It came naturally to me just now." He replied.

"So what are you doing to him?" She said.

"He's sick." He said. "I can feel the plague in his body. I think my own blood can get rid of it."

"How do you know that?" She asked.

"I'm guessing." He replied. "If I infuse enough of my blood with his, it might be just enough to cure him."

"But your blood might not be compatible with his." She said.

"Once the plague is gone, my blood will leave his body." Max replied.

After a few minutes, the blood that connected him to the gatekeeper disappeared. A short time later, the man slowly woke up. He rubbed his eyes, feeling quite tired. When he realized what was happening, he became alert and held his sword towards Max and Mariel.

"What did you do to me?!" He asked with confusion.

"I cured you of your sickness." Max replied. "How do you feel?"

The man looked down at his body, patting himself up and down. He felt much stronger than before. He didn't feel ill anymore, a blessed relief to him after several weeks of sickness.

"I can cure the rest of the village if you let me inside." Max said.

"Very well." The man said. "And who is your companion in the mask?"

"My partner." He replied, not wanting to elaborate further.

"Well, you healed me so...go on inside." The man replied.

The gates slowly opened in front of them, revealing the decrepit, rotten, and run down wooden buildings the housed so many ill people. Right next to the village's gate was a mass grave. Several bodies were being set inside the long trench and set on fire.

Among the bodies, Max could see the burning body of the mayor he spoke to the last time he was at the village. He felt guilt about his death, but chose to ignore it. As he and Mariel walked through the village, people who recognized him cursed at him, believing he was the cause of the plague.

"What is the population of this village?" Mariel asked.

"It was about one thousand when we met." Max replied. "It's less now."

"How will you heal so many?" She asked. "You only have so much blood."

"Well, I can force my body to produce some more." He replied. "It takes a lot out of me, but I think I can produce enough to heal everyone."

"I can hardly believe these people will want your blood inside them." She replied.

"Yeah. That's why I'm not going to put my blood in them directly." He said. "I just need to use a syringe. As long as they don't know it's my blood, they'll be fine."

"Do you think they'll let you do it?" She asked.

"I'm not going to be the one doing it." He said. "You are."

"Me?" She asked, a little dumbfounded. "But I'm an...Elf."

"Yes, you are." He replied. "You are a pure blooded Elf. Once they see you help them, their hatred of Elves will hopefully disappear."

"That's an awfully ambitious plan." She said.

"Ambitious, but if it could work, then some of the hate between Elves and Humans will disappear." He replied.

"Very well, I will help administer the 'medicine' for them." She replied, taking off her mask.

They made their way to the local hospital, where the doctors themselves were very ill, but did their best to care for others. When one of the doctor's noticed Max, they looked at him with hatred.

Because he was often abused in the village, they knew his face all too well. However, they never treated him with the same care as they did the other villagers, suffering from the same blind hatred of Elves as everyone else.

This disdain for him was amplified because of the effects on the village after his disappearance. They quickly deduced that he must have been responsible for the plague and other misfortunes that befell them.

"You aren't welcome here, Elves." The doctor said.

"I can help cure the village." Mariel said.

"Like we would ever trust you." Another doctor said. "Your kind are the ones who caused this."

"This happened because you mistreated him for years." She replied, becoming frustrated.

"Considering the Elves past misgivings, you expect us to treat you well?" The doctor replied.

"All livings things deserve good treatment by others." She said. "Regardless of that, this medicine is the only chance your village has for survival."

Although they still did not trust Mariel and Max, the doctors were inclined to accept their help. They had tried every medicine available to them and failed, so this was their only option. Reluctantly, they led them to one of the patient's rooms.

The particular patient had only recently gotten sick, so they thought there was no risk in trying to cure him before using the 'medicine' on other patients. Mariel dipped the syringe into a large container Max had brought with them which was filled with blood he produced earlier.

Although he felt rather weak from blood loss, he had managed to lift the heavy container across the town and into the hospital. She pulled back on the syringe, allowing the dark red liquid to flow into it. She then quickly pierced the man's arm with the needle, injecting the liquid into his body.

The man was unresponsive for several minutes, making the doctors in the room suspicious. However, after several minutes of waiting, he sat up in his bed, slightly dazed.

"Where am I?" He asked, rubbing his head.

"In the village hospital." One of the doctors said. "How do you feel?"

"Just a little tired. How did you cure me?" He asked.

"We didn't..." One nurse said. "They did."

The man looked at where the nurse pointed, spotting the beautiful woman with pointy ears sitting next to him. He also noticed Max sitting behind her, looking extremely weak and pale.

"Elves?" He asked. "Why would Elves help me?"

"Hatred between our races is meaningless." Mariel said. "That's what Max believes."

"Well, I'm not sure I should trust you. But at the very least, you have my thanks." The man replied.

"Don't mention it." Max said. "Mariel, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to rest for a short while."

"Would you like me to escort you to your home?" She asked.

"No. You need to heal the people here." He replied. "I'll rest in one of the hospital's empty rooms."

"Okay. Don't push yourself, Maximilien." She said.

He smiled and gave her a long soft kiss, then left to find an empty room to sleep in. When she turned back to the patient she cured, he seemed to be surprised.

"I didn't think he could ever find someone who was into him." He said.

"He is a good man." She replied, standing to go and cure the next patient. "Had you given him a chance, maybe you would have seen this."

Throughout the rest of the day, Mariel would inject the surviving villagers with Max's blood, which seemed not only to cure that particular disease, but every ailment the villagers had. By the time night fell, more than two thirds of the village had been cured, which began to change their opinion they shared about the nature of Elves.

Still, many villagers still distrusted Elves, believing there had to be an ulterior motive to assisting the village. Despite those who still held doubts, Mariel continued to work throughout the night until finally, everyone in the village had been cured of the disease.

The next day, with Max having rested enough to be of use again, he and Mariel decided to begin reconstructing the village's rotting wooden buildings. With his control over living matter, Max used the trees that surrounded the village to create new homes for everyone.

He then killed several animals for food and delivered them to the village to replace their foul food and water supply. In only a few hours, the village was completely rebuilt, although Max was exhausted by the end of the day.

Before there were any celebrations, however, a mass funeral had to be held for those who were killed by the harsh living conditions. When the sun had set, the bodies of everyone who had passed away were silently paraded through the center of the village.

They were buried in a nearby graveyard, with each of their graves dressed in colorful flowers and candles. For several hours, the villagers prayed for those who died, with Max and Mariel also taking part in the funeral.

When everyone had finished mourning, celebrations in the village began. The food that Max had brought to the village was cooked and made into a large feast. During the party, Max slipped away to his old house.

It was still surrounded with the lush paradise that Mariel had grown around it. Children happily climbed the trees and played with rabbits, since they were the only villagers permitted to enter the house's premises.

He sat on a chair inside his house and began to rest his head. Before he could finally fall asleep, there was a knock on his door. When he opened the door, the same men who always used to abuse him, the very same ones who nearly killed him when Max met Mariel, were standing in front of him.

He raised his guard, expecting them to try and be violent with him. However, after rather forcefully entering the home, they bowed towards him.

"You saved our wives from death. You have our gratitude." One of them said.

"I couldn't let people die because of me." Max replied, still a little on edge. "This village took care of me. I had to do something."

"We mistreated you for your heritage. You could have left." One of them said.

"Hatred and revenge never helped anyone." Max said. "I have no hard feelings towards you. We may be different, but we all have those we love. We all want to protect someone. In essence, we're all the same, so we should treat each other the same way."

"Please forgive us." They said, feeling guilt that they abused such a nice person.

"It's okay, guys. Trust me." He replied. "Go and celebrate with your families."

They nodded and quickly left him alone. As soon as they were gone, he fell onto a chair and quickly fell asleep. He rested for several hours. By the time he had woken up, it was already well past afternoon the next day. Mariel sat by his side, reading a book until he woke up.

"Good afternoon." She said when she noticed he was awake.

"Good afternoon." He said groggily. "How is everyone?"

"Healthy." She replied. "They seem to be thankful that we helped them."

"That's great. Sorry to make you give them my blood." He said. "I thought that since you're obviously an Elf, it would help us make a better impression."

"I do not mind." She replied. "So what's next?"

"I want to help people throughout Halkeginia for a while." He said. "We need to make sure people know that Elves can be allies instead of enemies. With the way the world is right now, there's lots of people who would gladly accept our help."

"Very well. Shall we depart?" She asked.

"Yeah. I think everyone will be healthy enough to hunt soon, so the food I brought them should be enough." He said, standing up and strapping his bow to his back.

Mariel nodded in agreement and followed him outside the house. They walked towards the village's gate, showered with thanks from the villagers they had saved.

They would spend the next 10 years working hard to make sure that equality would be restored between every race. Their efforts did not go unnoticed, as the leaders of Tristain, Gallia, and Albion at the time had all, at various points, invited the two to discuss their mission.

Of course, the decade they spent in Halkeginia was not all just comprised with work. Eight years into their ten year long journey, they stopped in a town famous for its hot springs to take a break from their relentless work.

"This water is so nice!" Max exclaimed as he sat in the warm hot spring.

"So relaxing..." Mariel replied as she let herself slide into the water.

"We really should take breaks more often." Max said.

"It's hard to take a break from helping the world." Mariel replied, letting herself sink until only half her face was visible above the water.

"Still, we have to take care of ourselves too." Max said. "I mean, we barely have time to ourselves."

"Well, it's not like there's much else we'd like to do." Mariel replied.

"Well...yeah." Max said, clearly hiding something.

"Oh? You had something in mind?" She asked, catching onto him.

"Well, we've known each other for a long time, right?" He asked.

"It's been nine years, so I would say so." She replied.

"And we love each other, right?" He asked, sinking deeper into the water to hide his cheeks.

"Of course I love you. What are you getting at?" She asked.

"I...thought of a way that we could bring humans and Elves closer together." He said.

"We're here to relax. No work." She said, slinking back down into the water.

"It's technically not work." He replied. "Have you ever...wanted kids?"

Mariel stared at him when he finished his sentence. For several seconds, they stared at each other, with Max anxiously waiting for her reply.

"I never thought of having children." She finally said, seemingly not realizing why he asked her.

"Not ever?" He asked again.

"I've never given it much thought before." She replied.

Max's heart sank when he heard her reply. He had recently been having daydreams about starting a family with her, so he was greatly looking forward to having a child with her.

"I never gave it much thought until I realized I loved you." She said, facing him as she sat on his lap.

His eyes widened and his cheeks turned bright red as he felt her skin on his body. It was very slippery because of the hot water and its own natural smoothness.

"You have?" Max asked, looking away from her since her chest was in bare view.

"Yeah." She replied, softly turning his head back towards her. "I'd be happy to start a family with you."

"I'm a nobody though." He said. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." She said, moving her face closer to his. "You're the only one for me."

"I'm just human though..." He said, although feeling her breath on his lips erased any hesitation from his mind.

"I don't care..." She said, finally letting her lips touch his.

They slowly started to kiss each other, holding each other's bodies close as if they'd disappear. The water in the spring started to ripple as they started to move more. Their chests moved rapidly in and out, touching each other as they're tongues wrestled in their mouths.

Max's hands slowly moved down her back to her waist underwater. As his slid over her soft rump, he became more and more aroused. Believing it rude to do such things in a hot spring, they decided to go to the resort's hotel.

When they arrived in their room, they continued where they left off, with Max pinning Mariel to their bed. Already extremely aroused by their previous foreplay, he quickly moved inside her. She let out a very feminine moan as he started to move back and forth.

For several hours, they would pleasure themselves, switching between various positions, tasting each other, feeling each other until finally, they were nearing their limit.

Max was about to remove himself from her before he climaxed, but then realized he was trying to start a family. With both of them letting out several moans, saying each other's names, they reached their climaxes at the same time.

They remained in the same position for several minutes before Max finally moved out of her, laying at her side. He was panting from exhaustion. Because Mariel was a particularly powerful person, her stamina wore him out.

"Thanks..." Max said after catching his breath.

"For what?" Mariel asked, clinging to his body.

"The chance to start a family with you." He replied. "It means a lot to me."

"Of course." She said. "I want this just as much as you do."

"I love you." He said, hugging her close to him.

"I love you too." She replied, smiling as she let herself be hugged.

Max felt incredibly happy to have deepened his relationship with Mariel. Little did he know, however, that this day would soon bring tragedy to both him, and his new family.

Author's Notes:

So what do you guys think? The next chapter will be the last in this series about Maximilien's past. I wanted it to be rounded off in a nice number of chapters, so I made sure it made it to 5. Send me a PM. I'm always on the lookout for new ideas. Especially since one of the characters will attain new powers very soon. No spoilers! Thanks for reading guys (and gals)!