Author's Note: OH MY GOD FINALLY POSTING! Sorry for the HUGE delay, I just couldn't get it out for some reason. It happens to everyone I guess. I hope you all like it and thanks so much to all of you who are still reading and encouraging me with reviews. :D Man, feelings are hard to write! Please let me know what you think about their reactions and stuff.
Oh and flashback parts are in italics…
Ceileigh wrenched her dagger free of the undead woman's head and kicked the body so it fell back instead of toward her. She found that killing even undead people was distasteful to her, knowing they were once human. As she turned to slit the throat of the undead man behind her, she wondered in the back of her mind if she would still be as bothered by killing people if she hadn't experienced the deaths of so many close to her. She wiped her eyes clear of the blackened, sludge-like blood that sprayed out of the man's neck and scanned the road ahead. Farther up the north road, Leandor skewered a pair of undead on his sword as her two hiree pawns worked together to take down several that had clustered together against the wall of a crumbling archway. Though it was dark, she could make out their positions at a glance by their bobbing lanterns.
They had been approached about this situation late that morning. Ser Jadon, tired and dirty, had found them in line at Caxton's. He and his men had managed to put down a fair number of hobs, saurians and harpies already and were headed back to the castle. He'd complained about how bold and unpredictable the creatures were growing and Ceileigh commiserated. Then he'd told her how undead were now plaguing the north road, rising a few hours after sunset to prey on any who passed by. Jadon and his men had been taking care of them for the past several nights but that night they were needed elsewhere and no other soldiers were available.
So here they were, felling body after body reanimated by some unknown power. What Ceileigh did know was that holy magick weakened them and she kept that in mind when hiring her new party. The female mage she'd settled on was slim and dark-skinned, with striking blue eyes and long black hair. Her name was Jacinta and she wore a blue-gray faerie hood with a dark green robe. Ceileigh also chose a tanned, determined-looking fighter with a brown pony tail named Dinah. The muscular woman wore a sleeveless leather shirt under a simple bronze breastplate, along with steel gauntlets, black boots and a thick metal circlet around her head. It wasn't the most protective outfit, but Ceileigh figured it would be enough for a few undead.
I didn't realize just how many there would be, she thought as she trotted to where three new pairs of arms were breaking out from under the ground. Still, they're slow and we'll be fine. She quickly pinned one hand from each pair to the ground with arrows and sliced off the corpses' heads as soon as they emerged. Despite using them against once-human creatures, Ceileigh was loving the chance to try out her new daggers and armor. She and Leandor had both gotten entirely new sets of armor at Caxton's after talking to Jadon - ones where all the pieces belonged together for once - while the kunai daggers were a birthday gift.
Ceileigh's outfit consisted of a dark lorica with wide metal plates that met in a V over her chest and more that wrapped around her torso to the waist. The arm guards, knee high boots and rear skirt were all made of the same dark grey metal. A pair of dark tan leather pads were tied to the waist of the lorica and hung down to cover her thighs. The outfit's round black helmet was rimmed with a silver band that was wound in black cloth that hung down to Ceileigh's shoulders. The cloth was meant to be pulled across the face and fastened so that only her eyes showed.
Leandor's armor was made entirely of steel, with arm guards that went up above the elbow and full length leg guards. The cuirass had a skirt made up of steel flaps hanging to mid-thigh. The helmet was a sallet that completely covered Leandor's face and came straight down in the back to cover his neck. The visor was pointed almost like a beak, and under that it came straight down to cover his throat. All in all it was a very sturdy ensemble.
In addition to the test run for their equipment, Ceileigh was grateful for the chance to focus on a mission after the uncomfortable events of her birthday night. She had spent the week since then trying to get things between Leandor and her back to normal. She easily blocked the clumsy swing of a short undead man with distracted irritation as she thought about how horrible the next day had been.
The first thing Ceileigh did when she woke up was groan painfully and pull the covers over her head, which was pounding. It wasn't the only thing hurting – her dignity and heart ached as well. She was full of regret over her behavior the night before, and Leandor's decidedly unfavorable reaction.
She groaned again when she heard a knock on the door. Probably Madeleine, she thought. I can't believe she came over this early in the day just to bring my presents over though. Reluctantly pulling the covers down, she glanced out the narrow window toward the back of the room with blurry eyes and realized it was already well into the day. She chuckled softly and put a hand to her head as she slowly sat up.Glancing over at Leandor's bed, she was grateful to see that he wasn't there and must be getting dressed in the bathroom already. The knock came again. She sighed and ran her fingers quickly through her tangled hair, throwing it all back behind her, then gingerly crossed to the door.
"Hiiiiii!" Madeleine whisper-screamed when she opened the door, giving her a small but enthusiastic wave and her usual big smile. Her feet were surrounded by bags and boxes full of presents, but first she handed Ceileigh a few pieces of an herb that she recognized as a headache remedy.
"Thank you," Ceileigh croaked whole-heartedly before chewing them up and swallowing them down her dry throat. "Come in." She grabbed as many presents as she could and dumped them on her bed, then sat down and took a swig from her water flask while her friend brought in the rest.
Madeleine sat next to her on the bed and studied her face. "What is it?" she asked. "You look more than just hung over."
"I told you I was going to make a mess of things with Leandor, and I did," she said in a defeated tone. "I kissed him – just on the cheek – and completely scared him off."
Madeleine patted her hand sympathetically. "What did he say?"
Ceileigh let out one tearful gasp, took a deep breath, and then continued in a strained voice. "He just said…'I can't'," Ceileigh replied, wiping her eyes and glancing toward the bathroom, knowing Leandor could come back out at any minute.
"He did not say why though?"
"No, he only looked at me like I was crazy. Almost like he thought it was wrong somehow. And then he left the room."
"I cannot believe it, I was so certain he felt something for you!"
"I'd finally started to hope so. He did say he thinks our world is influencing him over time - maybe he is only becoming more emotional in general, having nothing to do with me. But then he gave me that great gift last night, and the flowers – thanks for helping with that by the way – and I thought perhaps it meant something. I suppose it was all wishful thinking."
"I am sorry it turned out that way."
Ceileigh shrugged and looked down at her hands, swallowing down any further sobs. "Either he has no feelings for me beyond friendship or he does not even have the capacity for love. Either way is…unfortunate, but I can't let this come between us. I'll simply have to get over it."
"My…my clothes are dirty," a tall undead man rasped tonelessly as he reached for Leandor's shoulder from behind. The pawn thrust his sword backward under his other arm, stopping the man in his tracks before pushing another down with his shield. He and the other pawns had been leaving a steady trail of dissolving undead behind them. Now he was continuing down the road while Dinah and Jacinta dealt with a small swarm to his left and Ceileigh trailed behind. She was doing plenty of damage but she was missing her usual determined enthusiasm and Leandor thought she might also be hanging back to avoid him. If he was right about that, he was sure it had to do with the kiss.
Her behavior shocked him greatly. He knew kissing between male and female humans meant they were more than friends. Did his master feel a romantic attachment to him? The possibility had never entered his mind. If she did, that made him nervous because he had no idea how to respond.
His own reactions worried him even more. His master's body had been close to his plenty of times for one reason or another, from hugs to holding her up on the battlefield, so he didn't understand why that night was so different. The way she slid against him and the feel of her breath on his neck somehow managed to both cloud his thinking and make him extra alert. He noticed how she was soft yet firm, and had the sudden urge to explore every inch of her in great detail.
When Ceileigh pulled away and he saw her beautiful, flushed face and the way she was looking at him from under her lashes, another undeniable bolt of desire ran through him. He recognized it as the same brief feeling he'd had when he pulled her to him while they were dancing, the same thing he felt seeing her in that dress. In that moment he knew that was what other men experienced when they looked her up and down.
In the same moment, Leandor knew if he didn't reject these new feelings, he would be no better than those other men. He would be a hypocrite, becoming the distraction he always wanted her to avoid. Besides, he was so far below her, sworn to serve her and not even human. The idea of anything more than friendship between them had to be unheard of. Thankfully the feeling faded quickly after he left the room, leaving only uneasiness in its wake. He still didn't know what to do by the time he came out of the bathroom, so he merely shuffled toward his bed in awkward silence. He was extremely relieved after her explanation, and that night in bed he decided to forget about the incident altogether.
He'd had some trouble reading her since that night. She claimed to have kissed him out of drunk confusion and was now acting herself for the most part. But there were times when she would fall silent for a long time or seem to purposely keep too busy to pay him any attention. Perhaps she was still embarrassed over her actions? He didn't know if he should tell her again not to worry about it, or not bring it up at all. He certainly didn't want her feeling bad on his account.
Leandor jabbed the heel of his hand into the nose of an undead woman approaching from his left, recoiling slightly when the blow caved her entire rotting face in. Low gasping phrases coming from behind him caught his attention, and he realized several more corpses were shuffling toward him. Some of their arms hung limp at their sides while others were stretched toward him, fingers slowly grasping at the air. They had formed quite a large group and now he had to work a little to kill them all before they swarmed over him. Three shambling figures were almost on top of him already, with more right behind them.
"Must keep working…," said one young lad right before Leandor took off his head.
"I'm so hungry….," said an old man with patches of a white beard remaining on his sagging face. His fingertips brushed Leandor's chest before he was run through. He knocked another man down with an elbow to the face and sent yet another sprawling with a hard kick to the knee that bent the leg at an unnatural angle.
A woman lunged at him, moaning, "My baby…where's my baby?" He sidestepped her easily and chopped off her head, then glanced around and noticed Ceileigh working her way toward him from the far side of the mob.
"This is the last of them!" she called to him over the susurration of despondent voices. Her voice was just slightly muffled by the veil on her helmet. They skewered and sliced their way to each other until they stood face to face in the center of a large circle of bodies.
"I guess that does it!" Ceileigh said in a cheerful voice. "That was a lot of undead!"
"Should they not be called re-dead at this point, master?" Leandor joked, and she barked out a genuine laugh at his unexpected humor before heading over to the other pawns. He was surprised given her withdrawn manner so far tonight, but he was pleased that, at least for the moment, she seemed to have put that night behind her just as he had. He smiled in relief and, as always, followed after her.
Ceileigh sighed, flipping one of her daggers lazily as she and Leandor walked back to the Inn.
"What is it, master?" Leandor inquired as they entered Fountain Square.
"Between hardly doing anything for most of the day and just coming back from a mission, I know I won't be able to fall asleep any time soon," she replied, meandering toward one of the food stalls that was empty for the night. She hopped up to sit on the edge of it and swung her legs restlessly.
Dinah wandered around the square, bending down to inspect various areas of the ground, while Jacinta sloshed around in the fountain, gathering coins. Ceileigh chuckled and shook her head at them.
"Then what do you suggest?" Leandor asked, leaning his hip against the stall where she was sitting.
"Well…how about a sparring match, just the two of us?"
Leandor gave her a sideways look. "'Tis not safe outside the walls at this time of night, as we have just experienced…"
"Not there." She jumped down from the stall and called the other two pawns over to release them, then turned back to Leandor. "Come on, it'll be fun," she said with a small, sly smile, motioning him to follow her.
Ceileigh took them into a stairwell leading to the top of the city walls. They made their way northwest over the stone walkway until they were looking down on the stairway and gate between the Craftsman's and Noble Quarters.
"We are going to the royal training ground," Leandor stated, his eyes flattening.
"We sure are," Ceileigh replied, sitting on the edge of the wall and jumping lightly down to the walkway below. She stood against the wall and peeked around through the gate to make sure no guards were there.
"The way is clear, come on down," she called softly to Leandor. He jumped down and followed her through the gate with his mouth set in a grim line, and closed it quietly behind them. Ahead and slightly to the left they could see the fenced-off field that the Duke's men used every day.
"Master, you well know this could be dangerous," said Leandor in a slightly angry tone.
Ceileigh waved away his concerns and rolled her eyes. She felt like doing something dangerous to take her mind off things. She crept to the corner of the next wall and peeked around before proceeding. Two guards stood outside the castle gate but they were a ways off and engaged in conversation with each other. Taking care to stay in the shadows, Ceileigh sprinted across the main road and onto the practice field with Leandor right behind her.
Made it! she thought with a burst of exhilaration as she trotted to a stop. Leandor's head swiveled continuously as he watched for soldiers or anyone else to happen upon them. Thankfully they were far enough around the corner now for the gate guards not to see them. Leandor scratched the back of his neck in agitation, wondering why his master was taking this chance.
"Weapons will make too much noise," Ceileigh told him quietly. "We'll have to use hand-to-hand." She quickly undid the belt holding her daggers and dropped it to the ground, then lifted off her bow and set it down behind her. Leandor shook his head just barely in displeasure but obediently did the same with his sword and shield. They took up fighting stances and eyed each other for a moment before Leandor made the first move, aiming a powerful punch at her face that he knew she would dodge. She did, knocking his arm aside and forcing him to jump back to avoid her kick to his stomach. Distracted by his annoyance, he made the mistake of moving toward his sword and felt his foot twist when he stepped on it. In the time it took for him to glance down and back up, Ceileigh was coming at him again. He took a surprised step back, barely blocking a flurry of punches aimed at his torso.
He pushed Ceileigh back and took up his stance again, ready for her next assault. She looked very determined and even angry, he was concerned to see. Perhaps because I objected to coming here? But she has always welcomed my opinion before, and it is my duty to take care of her. They circled each other for a moment before she lunged again, ducked under his swing, whirled behind him and landed a solid blow to his kidney, making him grunt. She certainly has gotten stronger, he thought with a grimace.
"Are you not concerned, master?" he asked her as he spun to grab her wrist. She smacked him as hard as she could across the ribs with a high kick but he didn't let go. "Mercedes could happen to see us at any moment," he continued, gesturing toward the high castle windows behind him.
"It's the middle of the night," Ceileigh argued, trying and failing to jerk her arm out of his grasp.
"'Tis not that late," he countered, pulling her a little closer to stop her flailing.
"Late enough," she responded flatly, rolling her eyes.
"Perhaps she has trouble sleeping," he said half-jokingly, but he couldn't let it go. He didn't understand why his master wanted to do something dangerous for no good reason. The last thing they needed was to be harassed or attacked inside the city, or get thrown in the dungeon. "She could be walking the halls right now."
"Maybe so," Ceileigh said sarcastically through gritted teeth. "I hope she does look down here so I can give her the finger." She looked really angry now and she was getting louder so he finally let her go, ready to block another attack. Instead she turned away brushing her face quickly with one hand.
"Why-," Leandor began, reaching a hand toward her, then let it drop. "I am confused, master. What is bothering you?" He waited but she just remained silent, turned away from him with her arms folded and her head down.
He took a step closer, hovering over her hunched shoulders. "Are you angry with me?" he asked, fearing he had unknowingly done something wrong.
She was, but she knew it was misplaced. The anger was only a result of her crushing disappointment that they couldn't be together, but that wasn't his fault. She sighed and spoke with a quaver in her voice. "Not really. Well, no. I was only thinking of…this life and the challenges it presents," she lied. "Nothing will ever be easy, we will never really get to rest until Grigori is gone. And we've yet to find all the pieces of the puzzle so we know why all this is happening or how to stop him. We don't even know where he is. 'Tis very stressful. I started getting angry about it while we were sparring and it was too easy to get carried away. But taking it out on you is wrong, and I'm sorry." It was an easy lie because everything she said about their situation was true.
Ceileigh sniffed a little and wiped her eyes again, then went to pick up her weapons and Leandor silently did the same, wondering what he could do to help. When they reached the gate again he opened it for her but put a hand on her shoulder before she could walk through.
"'Tis alright, master. I…forgive you," he told her gently, though the words felt presumptuous leaving his mouth. "I realize that humans need to let out their emotions." When she smiled up at him he could see relief in her eyes and was sure he'd said the right thing.
"Thanks," she said, then sighed wearily and stretched her arms above her head as they walked on. She was very ready to turn in for the night, feeling especially drained from days of emotional turmoil.
When they opened their door, Ceileigh nearly stepped on a letter that had been slid underneath at some point. She sighed tiredly again and rolled her eyes as she picked up the envelope and sat on her bed. After a year or so of being the Arisen, she really wished she could have some time to herself for a bit, where she didn't have to think about anyone else.
Leandor sat on his bed and pulled off his boots, then began taking off his armor. "What does it say?" he inquired.
"A station up north is asking for assistance. They aren't getting the supplies they need because monsters are attacking the caravans. 'Tis farther north than we've ever been."
"Did they say what kind of creatures?"
Ceileigh covered a yawn. "No, but that would have been helpful. We'll figure it out when we get there I suppose. We won't be getting much sleep – it's pretty late and now we have to get up early and travel. We'll stop by the Pawn Guild before we head out." After they each got washed up and changed, Ceileigh fell asleep wondering what exactly kind of menace awaited them the next day.