Reign supreme Chapter 2: Friendship is magic

Tybald stared into Keldas green eyes.

"You want me to what?"

Kelda, bow in hand and quiver peaking over her shoulder grinned back.

"Yer coming hunting with me" she stated still grinning "Idiots hunt alone, and I aint going tae trust Archie and his lot, so that leaves you. Also, you owe me so pack up and let's go!"

Tybald kept staring, multiple questions in his mind, the first of which was how Kelda had found his cave, the second was how she was so cheerful before the sun had actually risen and the third was whether he could somehow get back to bed.

"I don't know how to hunt," he said without much hope.

"Time ta learn then," Kelda said the grin slightly fading "Yae really don't want to?"

Tybald watched those green eyes dim, he had several jobs he had been planning to do today, herbs had to be pressed and ointments prepared. They were necessary for his meagre income and even more so for his acceptance within the village.

Damn it

"Let me pack some things," he said, then froze as Kelda suddenly leapt forward and wrapped her arms around him. He felt the shock run through him, having no idea why she had attacked him after he agreed to her request.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked he wasn't sure what to do, Kelda wasn't hurting him, was she restraining him for Archie?

Kelda pulled back grin back in place and eyes almost glowing, she seemed to catch his expression and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What's up with you? I'm giving yae a hug ya numpty." she searched his eyes frowning harder at what she saw "Tybald, ye know what a hug is right?"

"Intellectually or emotionally?"

Kelda rolled her eyes and pulled him to her again. They were both in heavy clothing, so all he could really feel was the weight of her against him, but Tybald had to admit it felt nice. It, unfortunately, also didn't last long as Kelda let go and danced away.

"Ok, well pack up and let's go!"

Tybald felt a grin spread across his face, what he could only imagine was excitement running through him as he watched Kelda pick up a pack that had been behind her. He turned and went into his cave, there was some food and medical salves that he could spare for the day.

OOOoooOOO

There was no sound as Kelda released the arrow, only a soft "thwack" as it found its target in the side of the snow rabbit that she had been tracking. Walking up to the animal she didn't fight the satisfied grin that developed as she saw that the shot had been clean, the rabbit dying instantly. She turned and waved, waiting as Tybald walked carefully over to her. Tybald, she had realised while great at hiding tracks was almost useless at anything involving stealth or being quiet. He had volunteered to carry most of their stuff while she hunted; she had been against it at first, but the witch-boy hadn't slowed her down even after a couple hours of walking.

Bending to retrieve her arrow, she could feel the tension leaving her bones, she hadn't been able to hunt since she had arrived at Nordberg. Da gave her more freedom than most girls her age, but he had got a promise from her that she would never hunt alone. Since her Da' was so busy with the Yetis and the money he got for it provided the basics they hadn't been able to have their monthly hunts; she had hoped Archie and crew would hunt with her, but they had wanted to chase Tybald instead.

She hadn't been against that in theory, the Empire hadn't got out here and killed all the Wyrd things, so she had thought hunting the creepy kid could have been fun. Dodging fireballs and lightning, figuring out how to break the curses he would lay on them, good fun. Instead, it had been a bunch of kids beating up an orphan; Kelda knew how those stories ended. So she had decided to break it off; better bored than a victim.

Bored and friendless; she had nothing against the "Women's arts" the ones her Da' knew were bloody useful. But there was a quagmire of politics even among the girls her age that she had no interest in getting involved in. An unwillingness to get involved in the "who's going to marry who" game combined with most other girls not being interested in how to skin a deer had left her bereft of willing friends.

So she had turned to the only source of entertainment left to her; screwing with Archie and his gang. But to screw with Archie she had to know where Witch-boy had gone, so she found herself hunting him learning his patterns and the paths he would take through the forest. The kid was pretty good at hiding his tracks, and she found she enjoyed teasing out his hidden trails. She had watched with interest as he carefully watched the hunters set up the Yetis pit; it hadn't taken a genius to figure out his plan when he created a trail between the gangs' hideout and the Yeti pit.

Then her Da' had told her one of the Yetis had killed a couple of hunters, and he had gone from trap tae "Kill the damn thing." Suddenly the only slightly harmful revenge Witch-boy had planned would result in a bunch of dead kids. She knew what would happen after that, the village would hunt down and burn the kid, wouldn't be the first time.

So she had left a warm house for a dark and mild night, and saved a bunch of bullies. Deciding that Witch-boy and her were going to be friends was a pretty spontaneous decision. But, as she heard Tybald walking up behind her, not one that she found herself regretting.

While she cleaned her arrow, Tybald picked up the rabbit and added it to the other five hanging from the rack on his pack. Kelda stiffened, the wind had shifted, and a new scent was added to the mix of warm copper and crisp snow.

Before she could react a heavy blow slammed into her back and sent her sprawling, the wind knocked out of her she didn't have time to turn as a heavyweight landed on her back pinning her. The scent of wolf flooded her nostrils, the growl in her ear confirming it. There was a hungry wolf on her back.

Shite.

OOOoooOOO

Tybald had been halfway through tying the rabbit corpse to his bag when he heard Kelda cry out, he lept up turning towards her only to see her lying face down on the snow an emancipated wolf on her back.

It must have been attracted by the scent of blood, then decided that Kelda would make a better meal. Still stunned Tybald jerked as the wolf struck aiming for Keldas neck, only able to breathe once he saw that it had only got her hood.

"Tybald, Help!"

Kelda's cry forced him into movement, but he wasn't sure what he could do. His strength wasn't helpful without a weapon, and he had no idea how to use a bow, the wolf had already ignored the rabbits.

The wolf lashed out with claws, this time finding flesh.

Kelda screamed, and suddenly it all became very clear.

Tybald reached out with his hand while reaching within himself, to that area that he didn't dwell on often. When he did the world became simplified in a way he disliked, as if he was being led instead of allowed choice. Even now, he could feel it, attempting to twist his desire to save Kelda into something less, a demand for payment entering his mind even as the energy began to course through him. He pushed it up through his body, up to his arm where it emerged as harmless puffs of light.

Not good enough

He thought then of his cave, wolves occasionally found it and would prowl outside. It was the flame of his hearth that kept them at bay. Fire burning bright in his mind he felt the magic respond, blue sparks flaring red in the morning light until the blue pulses became streams of burning red and orange.

The fire brushed along the wolfs flanks and it lept away, already weak from starvation it could move at barely a walk. It wouldn't be fast enough, it had dared try to take something that was Tybalds. There was only one punishment, Tybald would have made it quick if he could, but he only had the flames.

He moved forward the fire billowing from him now, magic flowing freely for the first time; the wolf whimpered as it realised its escape routes were cut off. Flames streaming down either side of the tree it was cowering against, Tybald imagined this was what Archie felt when the gang corned him; the knowledge that there was no one else with power only him.

It was intoxicating, addictive; he didn't really like it.

Then something hit him in the back of the head. He turned to stare at Kelda, blood covering half her face from where the wolf had clawed her, and her hair was free of its ribbon, framing her face in shadow even as those glowing green eyes burned into his.

"Let it go Tybald," She said, another snowball in her hand ready to fire.

"I was just about to," Tybald said, slightly annoyed "I wasn't going to burn something to death."

He felt more than saw Keldas eyebrow raise, as she looked meaningfully at the streams of flame surrounding the errant canine.

"Really"

Tybald had not realised until this moment that he could actually blush.

"I may have gone a tad overboard I admit, in my defence I haven't actually done this before" he winced at the admission.

Then Kelda smirked at him and launched herself forward, this hug far stronger than the first; even as Tybald returned the hug he frowned, there was something wrong here. Archie and his cohorts had never actually been able to hurt him, their "beatings" annoyed him yes, but had never actually harmed him. As Kelda tightened the hug even further, Tybald felt his ribs protest, and it took an effort to keep the breath in his lungs. Carefully he tightened his own hug, ensuring that he would stop at the first sign of protest. It wasn't until he reached the upper limits of his strength that Kelda showed any sign of discomfort and pushed away from him.

Tybald looked over his friend carefully, but it seemed Kelda had taken nothing from their exchange and had instead turned to the still cowering wolf.

"So" she started "Wha' do we dae with ya?"

"We could eat it" Tybald suggested, pulling his eyes away from her.

"I have a better idea," Kelda said, grin widening "I'm gonna keep him!"

Tybald's just stared.

OOOoooOOO

The gaps were always the worst.

The platform smoothly slid into place, and Gnarl shuffled forward, feeling every one of his years. Evil had not yet shown his new lord, and he could feel Good slither itself across the world, seeding itself like a weed into areas where Evil regularly kept its roots.

How he missed the Tower Heart, with it, he could have put up a defence no matter how token, but with it having spectacularly exploded he could do no such thing. Even for his centuries of experience, this was a first, he could not remember a time in which there was no Overlord, no Tower and no Tower Heart all at once. Without them, the forces of Good were overrunning the world, seeping into the Wyld places and slaughtering the ancient Evils that had sat there for centuries.

Here deep beneath he was safe as were the ever-loyal Browns, but the other colours had moved on as they always did when bereft of the iron hand of their lord. He worried for their hives, frequently such worries were beyond him minion hives where pillars of Evil power tied so tightly to the rise of the Overlord that they should be beyond destruction. But there was no Overlord, no Tower and no Tower Heart and without those he found himself… what was that word? Confirmed? No… Concerned. Yes, he was concerned about the hives, there were always more minions, but without the Hives, an Overlord was little more than a rather angry man in armour.

His slow shuffle stopped as he reached the throne, he stared at it and allowed the memories to flow over him. A small distraction from the current reality; the throne was filled by a mountain of a man eyes burning red through the slits in his helmet. His posture was relaxed as he watched dear Lady Rose gesticulate wildly, yelling about some new problem in the Empire.

The memory collapsed as he felt more than heard something come up behind him, he turned his head slightly watching as the cloaked Green stalked up beside him.

"Reminiscing old man?" Gnarl found a small smile forcing its way onto his lips as he looked back at the throne.

"Just remembering the good old Evil days," he sighed "The old Overlord would never have allowed this Empire to build itself up. Magic or no magic as long as you quivered at his iron feet he really didn't care where you came from. So many subjects, I think sometimes he did it just to drive Lady Rose a little bit crazy. The woman so did love her Order."

The Green shuffled a little.

"I don't remember much from back then" a knife emerged from the shadows of the cloak. To Gnarls gimlet eye it was an impractical thing, gems and gold ruining the cruel curve of the blade, but it was pretty. "But I remember He let me keep this."

"Ah, that would be after the fight with that rather rotund halfling." Gnarl mused "Only you survived that particular battle unscathed."

"He brought them all back, even when we failed, he still brought them back."

Gnarl shrugged "He was a sentimental sort, I betrayed him after all and didn't even get a slap once he reclaimed his power. Just told me he was disappointed because he thought we had been friends."

"You never betrayed him again."

"None of his challengers showed any true ambition."

"They were all eviler."

Gnarl was saved from answering as the only shard of the Towerheart, reverently held at the top of the throne began to glow. Both minions stared eyes wide as the dark throneroom lit, torches on the surrounding pillars blazing to life sounds filled the room as ancient mechanisms stirred to life, and beneath them, Gnarl felt the smelter hum to life, hungry for energy.

The gaps were always the worst, but feeling Evil surge to life as a new Overlord claimed their power always made it worth it.

Gnarls worries burned to ashes in the torchlight, he reached up and pulled the location of the new Overlord from the Heart revelling in even this fragment of its dark power.

"Get Mole" He commanded "We have a tunnel to build and an Overlord to find"

Garnet nodded once and vanished into the tunnels.

Gnarl looked around the ancient throneroom, feeling as fresh as when he first emerged. There was an Empire to fight, minions to find and people to subjugate, what more could a minion ask for?

So real life got in the way of writing, but hey finally got the chapter out and hope everyone enjoys. Next time the Minions meet their new Overlord, the Empire arrives in Nordberg and Kelda adopts a confused wolf.