~Authors Note~
Hello readers! I just wanted to thank you all for taking your time to read my story. I hope you are enjoying it thus far. I'd very much appreciate it if you all would kindly write a review so I know how well I am doing. You're input greatly motivates me to keep writing! Thank you all and love your faces!
The young lady's blue eyes gazed over his bare torso, mostly examining the deep wound on his left side. Slowly, she approached him, aiding him in sitting down on the log where she previously resided. Amryn could tell he was making an attempt to hold in his wincing from the pain his his side. The blue eyed beauty examined his face, waiting for his permission to continue and look at the wound. When she received a nod from him, she move his arm into a rather uncomfortable position for him, but at least it was out of the way for her to tend to his wound easily. Grabbing a new gauze pad, and the poultice he used on her, she began cleaning the wound. Her eyes, hands, and mind were completely focused before a voice addressed her.
"You're a mage, aren't you? Can't you just wave your fingers and make 'im better?" Judging from the accent, it was the Free Marcher who had spoken. Briefly halting what she was doing, she glanced up at the Free Marcher.
A small chuckle passed through her lips as she explained to him simply.
"Actually, even magic can't draw out the dirt and other things that cause infection. That's why I always like to have poultices around, It cleans out the wound, then I can use wht magic I know to help quicken the healing process."
"Keeping poultices around? Expecting someone to get hurt, I suspect?" The Orlesian Templar stated accusingly.
"No." Amryn retorted, taken aback by his accusation towards her. "I just like to be prepared. Just in case, y'know." Her voice grew quiet as she returned back to her duty of cleaning the Captain's wounded side.
"Right. Just in case" The Orlesian mocked, earning a glare from the Knight Captain.
"Enough, Clemont." Ian commanded, adding to his order, "I will hear no more of your mockery towards the woman who saved the lot of us. Be respectful. Or at least hold your tongue and keep your thoughts to yourself."
Amryn didn't know what to think, her breath hitched in her throat but she spoke through it.
"Knight Captain-"
"Ian, please."
"Ian..." She continued, eyeing the Templar in front of her. "What he says does not bother me. I've lived in th circle since I was six years of age, I've grown accustomed to being talked down to." She tried to reaon with him, attempting to avoid an argument between the hard headed Orlesian and his Knight Captain.
The brown haired man gave Amryn an almost incredulous look, his square jaw tensing as he clenched his teeth in disbelief at what she had said.
"You are still a Lady of noble birth, born of higher rank than the majority of the Templars and other mages in the Circle. I will not allow the men I lead to further disrespect you." Amryn gave him a soft smile, her eyes softening as they stared at his. Ian quickly caught what he said and added onto it, as if not to look soft in front of his men. "It not only hurts you, but it bodes illy on me as well, as a role model and as their leader."
Amryn only chuckled as the man puffed out his chest in attempts to look tougher. Instantly regretting his movement, he ended up doubling over slightly in pain that jolted through his body from his wound. Amryn gently caught him, her petite hands holding onto his large, tanned shoulders, only letting go once she felt him relax.
"Are you okay?" Her electric blue eyes glowed with concern as she looked at the man sitting before her, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.
"Maker. Get a room you two." The Free Marcher joked at the duo, over hearing the concern in the woman's voice. This caused Amryn to blush and the Orlesian, Clemont, to laugh.
"Looks like our Lady Mage here pines for our Captain." He laughed again, nudging the Free Marcher who stood guard next to him.
Amryn stuck her lip out, making a pouty face as she looked at Ian, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Well, he is quite handsome isn't he?" She stifled a laugh as she looked towards the two men who stood a few feet away from them. Them laughing caused her to look back to the captain only to see his face completely flushed as her averted his eyes away from any of them. Amryn laughed and reassured the poor man that she was only jesting. She always knew how to make the Knight Captain considerably uncomfortable. She did, after all, grow up with him in the Circle. They were always considerably close. Well, as close as a Mage and a Templar could be.
"Hey, Groves. Keep and eye out will you?" The Orlesian spoke to the Free Marcher.
"Where-?"
"I gotta take a piss." Clemont replied, his heavy accent cutting through the Free Marchers sentence who nodded in return, allowing the Orlesian Templar to walk a ways away to relieve himself.
Amryn shuffled lightly in her spot, putting away the supplies she was just using on the brown haired man before her.
"Are you done?" Ian questioned, readying himself to move to put his armor on.
The woman's pale hands gently touched his arm, telling him in a gentle voice to keep still. Slowly, she brought her hands up to hover over the wound on his side, channeling her mana to the one specific spot, allowing the wound to close up after a few moments of doing so.
"There, all better." She chirped at him, the smile that formed on her face caused her blue eyes to become even brighter. She watched the Knight Captain stand with ease, the pain in torso subsiding for the most part. He walked over to his armor and put the plates back on, strapping them firmly to his frame.
"I'm surprised Conrad is still out." Amryn said, looking over at the unconscious body of the older man that was chained up. Her attention turned to Clemont who was now making his way over to them.
"Just how hard did you hit the man, Ian?" His voice was filled with amusement. He had never liked the man, he was far too rude, even for his liking.
The three faces turned to face the Knight Captain, all half expecting him to answer them. He just stood there looking between all of them, guilty.
"I get it now! You hit him, full force, because he threatened your lovely Lady Mage over here." Clemont nodded, piecing it together, patting the significantly shorter woman's blonde hair before walking up to the unconscious Conrad.
Groves let out a chuckle, his voice much deeper than the Orlesian man who stood a few feet away.
"Maybe you should stop with that, Clemont. You're going to get on Ian's nerves. Best to stop now before he knocks you out too." The sound in his voice, Amryn could tell he was amused by the playful banter they were sharing. These two almost seemed to not mind Amryn's company, now that their captain had reassured them that she was trustworthy.
"I'll kill you, you bloody bastard." All four of their attentions snapped back to the origin of the voice. Pierre Clemont had no time to step back before he found he had hands clutching at his throat. A choking sound found it's way past Clemont's lips, his face turning an unnatural shade of red. Immediately, Ian and Groves drew their swords, pointing it at the man, about to take action against him. Amryn reacted first, charging up her mana and shocking the attacker. The majority of the electricity was sent into Conrad, but Amryn couldn't stop a small jolt from hitting Pierre as well. The quick attack caused Conrad to let go of Clemont, allowing him to scoot away, which Amryn ran over to help him.
"Sorry!" She said in a panic, afraid of him being upset. Lending him her aid, she helped him stand up and leaned him against a nearby tree, although a ways away from Conrad, who now had two blades at his throat.
"Are you alright, Pierre? I didn't mean to shock you too." Her voice was sincerely apologetic towards the taller man. He was breathing heavily, bracing himself against the tree. She awaited an answer from him, fearing the worst. Instead, he roughly, and carelessly patted her shoulder which was closest to him and let out an exhausted sound that sounded almost like a laugh.
"Hell of a lot better than being choked to death." His deep brown eyes looked at her in a silent thanks.
"Yet again this woman saved my life. She should receive an award or something for being a good sport." The Orlesian half joked at the others, trying to lighten their serious expressions before continuing, speaking directly to Amryn.
"Any other mage would have let us die, and ran. You're an odd one. I owe you my life, doubled." He patted her shoulder again.
"I misjudged you." His voice was quiet that time as he walked away from her, towards the other three, two of which still held their offensive stances, blades at the ready. Clemont grabbed the chains, handing one off to his companion, Groves, noth tugging the angry man up from the ground. Ian still held his sword in hand angling it upwards, still at Conrad's throat.
Conrad spit at him.
"You would trust a mage but not me?" He looked down at the chains. "and get these damned chains off of me!" He yelled, lashing his arms angrily.
"You attacked our charge." The knight captain motioned his head towards Amryn. "Without reason. You marred her face, which will leave permanent damage. Her family will not be happy about this, and neither will the Knight Commander." Ian tried to explain Conrad's fault to him calmly, his patience with the man wearing the thinnest it's ever been over the course of the years.
"Fuck her family." Conrad's eyes glared daggers of ice and steel at the captain, adding onto it after, spitting while emphasizing the words.
"And fuck the Knight Captain. Fuck the Mages, and..." His rant was cut short by a fist connecting hard with his face, sending him to his knees. Conrad's head faced to the left as he spit out a mouthful of blood, the crimson substance running down his chin. His head turned slightly as his eyes glared harder than before, a smirk playing at his lips.
"and. fuck. you." his voice was even more spiteful, blood, sweat, and spit flew from his mouth as he put even more emphasis on his hateful words.
The captain didn't hesitate to take this as a challenge, connecting his boot straight to Conrad's chin, forcing him onto his back. His drawn sword now at the man's throat once more, he raised it up and then down in one swift motion, but was stopped by Grove's sword.
"Knight Captain!" Groves yelled his commanding officer's name, which didn't seem to phase him in the slightest.
"Knight Captain Ian. We should not execute him. We need to take him back to the Knight Commander so he can receive proper punishment decided by the Knight Commander himself. If you don't, we all will be punished. Is that what you want?" His reasoning seemed to get through to his Captain who slowly lowered his sword and sheathed it after exhaling.
"Very well." Was all the Knight Captain said before turning and signaling the others to follow suit. Amryn decided to give the men comfort by traveling behind the Knight Captain, and in front of Groves and Clemont, who dragged their new prisoner along behind them in chains.
