They had been digging for hours and Kazune was feeling the strain of keeping up his magic. He imagined that Karin was feeling the same. They could not stop though. They had to reach the edge of the plain before anything could stop.
"How do we know when we get there?" Karin asked in a small, exhausted voice.
"We'll run into a wall of tree roots and swampy earth."
"Have you don't this before?" She joked.
Kazune glared at her a bit at her snarky comment but he was far too tired to make a comeback. Letting his thoughts wander, Kazune started to think about the last few days. After all the time he has spent with Karin, there hasn't been much progress with getting to know her. Sure he knew that her country was prestigious and that she seemed to think that someone suitable is all that is needed for breeding. If she didn't have such a big mouth that spouted off remarks, Kazune might not have minded. Aside from what she had told him and what he knew from his geographical studies, he knew nothing.
"What was your life like before the war?" Kazune suddenly asked.
"What?" Karin said surprised by his probing.
"I want to know more about you. If we are going to be together, I should know what kind of background you come from, what you hate, what you love and what you want to do with your life."
"Oh, well, I guess I can tell you... but you'll have to reciprocate later."
"Fine, fine, go on with your story. It'll keep us awake anyhow."
"Alright then. Well, first, I was born into what you would call a middle class family. Not rich or poor, just comfortably average. Since I was of two different bloods, I was revered and gained status for my kin. We got offers for money and power in every direction but there was always a catch. All those people who wanted to give us fortune wanted me to do something for them in return be it marriage, servant, sports, you name it. My parents regretfully refused all the offers because my father didn't want me to be treated like something to be bought. My mother however; was more than willing to give in to those offers."
"It sounds like your family was a bit messed up..." Kazune butted in.
"Let me finish! Anyway a series of events all happened around the time I turned ten. My father had been killed in the war since our country drafted out all able men. This was also around the time the royal family was astonishingly murdered in its entirety. Our country was lost and confused because of the war. Somehow, the idea came up that my family should become the next royal family if I were to lead the war. My mother tried to take that offer. When I had heard about it, I ran away from home. I thought I was doing alright but my mother sent out a rage. It was a blizzard everywhere.
I had been on the run for a year when I met a kind boy. He let me hide in his cabin whenever there was a storm. I was very happy and thought about staying there forever till one night he wasn't so nice. I learned that he had been broadcasting where I was each day, trying to turn me in. When he was sure they would come for me that night, he tried to bind me to his bed so I couldn't escape. I turned into my ice form and escaped, but I was still being chased. That's when you found me. So just so you know, I still don't trust you very much, you might be like the boy before, but since you have the same amount to lose I am not too worried."
"I'm not a creep." Kazune remarked quietly. "I won't take advantage of you like that."
"I am glad you found me, I wasn't in danger though. Ironically you put me in more danger by trying to save me."
"Yeah, whatever... so, did you want to become royalty? I mean, if you did you could stop the war."
"Well, I doubt my country would allow that. They want the war to continue because of two reasons. They hate your country and they have a great economy because of the war. I would probably be killed like the last royalty. They wanted to stop it too."
"So, this whole war is really your country's fault?"
"No, yours has a part in it too."
"Enough of this, I want to know about you, what about what you want?" Kazune asked, changing the topic with his usual tone.
Karin blushed for a moment as she thought about what she wanted most.
"Well... I'm not too complicated. I have lots of power, so I feel like I should use it to help others. I want to get into farming, to help my people stay fed. I want to help other places stay healthy too. I love the environment so I want it to be cleaner. As for my personal life... I do have my own dreams but they are a little average and silly sounding."
This made Kazune's interest rise a bit. He loved secrets. He instantly wanted to know what she wanted out of life and whether he could use it as blackmail later or to help her.
"What are you wishes?" he asked in a playful way.
"I can't tell you, it is too embarrassing and average!"
"Please?" He begged tauntingly. "I won't tell a soul, who knows, your dream might be more admirable than you think."
Karin fell silent for a while. She seemed to be going over all the out comes to her confession.
"I'll tell you, but you can't laugh or call it stupid."
"I won't." Kazune grinned.
"I am very attracted to beautiful things and the romanticism of them. To me, the best thing I think that could happen to me is to..."
"To what?"
"Become a bride..." She whispered.
Kazune went quiet. He stared at Karin's flushed face wondering if she could really have such a simple dream. This was the girl that tried to force herself on him and now she is saying that she wants something as sacred as marriage.
"I don't think I want kids." She said suddenly. "I just want to be married to someone who loves me and the thought of someone like that under the same sky makes me happy."
Kazune felt himself grow soft to her words. He didn't particularly like women. He thought they were beneath him, but their ability to convey their emotions through words escaped him. He was a warlock, he knew the power of words and the creations of magic they could produce but somehow beautiful words from non-witchcraft people awed him.
"I don't think your dream is stupid." he whispered. "It is very average, but it is a beautiful wish."
As he said those words, they came into very damp soil. Karin couldn't dig any further because of a blockade of roots.
"We've made it!" She exclaimed. Karin quickly opened the earth above them to reveal a cool wade open night sky. The air was damp from the surrounding swamp and it felt good on their faces. Kazune put out his flames and ceased creating oxygen. Nearly collapsing from exhaustion, he climbed out of the ditch into the open air. He saw Karin looking up at the stars. Each twinkling light reflecting in her huge pine eyes, the soft blue light illuminating her golden hair, she had never looked so beautiful. The two could see their breath as they exhaled. Not knowing how he felt, Kazune continued to watch as Karin's amazement of the night sky grew. She was looking for constellations. He thought about how she was interesting to him and how she was strong and useful. He reached out and grasped her waist and pulled her to his side. She made clumsy steps to get there. When she looked up at him, Kazune just continued to face the stars. His eyes reflecting the moon. Karin looked away feeling calm. The two of them stood and watched the dance in the heavens till the cool light was broken by warm light rising from the mountains so very far away.
