Chapter 20
Seraphim of Ancient Water
Sorey was back at The Water Crest Inn, waiting in his bedroom. He hadn't stayed at the library for very long after Mikleo and Edna had left. After all, they were pretty much finished for the day, and reading without a certain water seraph across the table from him seemed a little lonely. And so, he'd checked out that book Mikleo had asked him to get, and had brought it back to their room. There he sat near the table by the huge window that let him overlook the lake and water fall, settling in with a book of his own. They'd been in a library, there was no way he wasn't going to check out a book for himself too.
It was then that a knock came at their bedroom door.
"Just a minute," Sorey called. Closing his book, he got up and crossed the room. Reaching the door, he opened it up to find Edna standing on the other side. And she was looking very cross. She had her arms folded over her chest and the most sour look Sorey had ever seen on her face.
"There you are," she rumbled. "I'd accuse you of being a jerk, but you're too naïve for that. What happened? You forgot about me or something?"
But of course, this only confused Sorey.
"Huh?" he blinked, cocking his head to the side in the way that usually make Mikleo think he was crazily adorable.
"Don't you 'huh' me!" Edna snipped. "You guys ditched me and Zaveid at the library! When we came back, you were all gone!"
Sorey didn't understand what Edna was talking about. And the expression on his face let the earth seraph know that even before he opened his mouth to speak.
"What are you talking about? You asked Mikleo to come talk to you about something while Lailah and I were still at the table reading our books...remember?" the shepherd asked, his face scrunching up in further confusion. "And I told you guys to just meet us back here once you were finished?"
How could she forget something like that? Well, it had been a long day of studying. Maybe her memory was just muddled after trying to cram so much information into it while they'd been doing their research.
It was Edna's turn to look confused. Her arms still crossed over her chest, she gazed at Sorey analytically.
"Uh, no," she sassed. "That never happened. Where'd you get that piece of fiction?"
Turning away from Sorey, she suddenly shouted down the hallway.
"Zaveid, stop checking out the maid and come over here and back me up!"
Sorey, leaning out in order to poke his head around the doorframe saw that Zaveid had indeed gotten hung up. There was a human maid in a cute little frilly skirt pushing a cart of cleaning supplies up and down the hall. She stopped at one of the rooms in order to unlock it and had been heading inside when Zaveid smoothly, or perhaps not so smoothly, picked up a napkin from off her cart and let it flutter down to the floor. The maid turned to look at it, puzzled. Then she went to bend down to retrieve it and Zaveid had just started to lean over when Sorey called out harshly,
"Zaveid!"
Both Zaveid and the maid snapped back up, eyes wide. The maid looked around herself in confusion, looking for whoever it was the man in the doorway was yelling at, but she saw no one. Sorey, ignoring her for the time being, sent Zaveid a critical glare indeed. And the look was so harsh that even the esteemed wind seraph immediately blushed.
"Sorry your shepherdness! That was a little much, even for me, yeah?"
Sorey crossed his arms over his chest. Quickly, Zaveid jogged down the rest of the hallway in order to come and stand by Edna's side. Edna, completely ignoring the entire thing, waved her hand nonchalantly.
"Zaveid, would you please explain to our confused shepherd here that he completely ditched us?"
Zaveid cleared his throat. Overcoming his embarrassment, he focused on Sorey.
"Yes," he replied a bit more robotically than necessary. "When Edna and I got back to the library, you guys were totally gone. We were definitely, officially, ditched."
"See!" Edna said to Sorey. "Now I don't know where you got this weird idea that I came to talk to Mikleo, but that didn't happen. I have a witness. Zaveid was with me the whole time."
"Yeah," he concurred. "We went down to the cold springs to skip stones. Then we got bored and scared a few people by floating objects around them."
Edna immediately elbowed Zaveid in his ribs as she hissed at him, "I told you not to mention that part!"
"Edna, Zaveid!" Sorey scolded, planting his hands on his hips as he stared down his two party members. "That's not very nice! And more than that, people know we're in the city. If they find out the shepherd and his team are pulling pranks-" but Sorey let himself trail off. That would be a completely divergent train of thought. The important thing to talk about was Mikleo, and their mismatched accounts of what had happened that afternoon.
"Anyway," he continued, his gaze softening. Sorey never stayed mad for long. "I promise you both: I saw Edna come back into the library and poke Mikleo in the shoulder, and you wanted to go talk to him. I would never have left the library without letting you guys know where to find me," he said, his voice genuinely concerned and worried about the two of his friends thinking he'd just run off somewhere all willy-nilly.
Frowning, Sorey put a hand to his chin and tried to think.
"Edna, if that wasn't you...then who was it?"
Edna and Zaveid both blinked at Sorey, appearing just as confused as before. They knew Sorey well by that point, and both of them knew that he wouldn't be making things up or pulling a prank. Judging by the look on his face, he honest to God thought that Edna had come by the library and took Mikleo off somewhere to talk.
"And Mikleo left the library when this happened?" Edna asked. Sorey nodded. And when he did, concern started to creep into their confusion.
"So then…where's Mikky now?" Zaveid asked. And just as he did, a flash of light could be seen from behind Sorey through his glass windows that faced the lake. Edna and Zaveid having seen it, both gaped.
"What was that?"
Pushing past Sorey, they both ran across the room and over to the window. There, they pressed themselves up against it in order to look out. And when they did, they both let out gasps of shock.
"It's Mikky!" Zaveid cried. "And it looks like he's taking on Lunarre and Symonne!"
"What?!" Sorey cried in horror. But at the moment at least, it appeared as if Mikleo was holding his own, and holding it well. And both Edna and Zaveid recognized the start of Mikleo's cast for Electric Whirlpool.
"Ooo-ho-ho! They're about to get it!" Zaveid laughed. "They're both soaking wet too! And so's that whole area! It looks like Mikky turned it into a damned swimming pool!"
"Yeah, but we better get down there and help him anyway." Edna said. "They're both powerful and we'll want to go help him before-!"
But Edna's sentence got cut off abruptly as shock overtook her. And when Zaveid looked back out again, he watched as Symonne transformed into Sorey while Mikleo's eyes were closed in concentration. A snarl over took his face, for of course, he knew with one glance what kind of dirty trick Symonne was about to pull. And also with that one revelation of her shape shifting abilities, everyone understood how Mikleo had been lured out of the library.
"Shit!" he snarled. "That underhanded bitch! Come on! We better hurry!"
Sorey couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't know what Symonne had in store for his love, but just seeing someone else take his form was unnerving enough to make him whirl into action. They had to do something immediately to save Mikleo from whatever unholy plan the dark seraph was putting into motion.
"Right!" Sorey said, thinking quickly. Running out of the hotel and through the streets would take too long. It would be much quicker if they could just -
"The balcony!" Sorey cried, running straight towards it, his seraph companions swiftly moving behind him in their haste.
"Zaveid! We're going to armatize and fly down there! Edna, we'll carry you as we go. We can't afford to waste time running through the hotel and through the city," he explained, knowing that Zaveid at least would be on board.
"Yeah! Let's do it!" Zaveid cried. But Edna's eyes grew huge at the suggestion.
"B-but, wait-!"
But before Edna could possibly protest further or throw out any insults, Sorey flew into action - quite literally.
"Filk Zadeya!" Sorey cried, quickly armatizing with Zaveid. And in a flash, they scooped up Edna safely in their arms and leapt off of the balcony.
Edna screamed bloody murder as they went soaring straight down the wall, heading as quickly as they could towards Mikleo. And as they plummeted toward the ground, Edna dug her nails into Sorey and Zaveid's arms as she clung to them like a leech.
Please, Sorey thought silently. Please let us get there before... He didn't need to finish his thought, though. Zaveid was quick to pick up on his emotions, and sent a wave of strong, positive thoughts at Sorey.
Hey! Mikky-boy will be just fine. You know how tough he is! And we're literally swooping in to save the day! He's gonna love that, he said encouragingly, doing his best to cheer up his human friend.
Thanks Zaveid, he thought, even as they made a beeline directly towards the now-downed Mikleo. His eyes narrowed as he saw Lunarre start to shred at his clothes, then to his utter horror, literally started kicking him while he was down...
Both Zaveid and Sorey willed the winds to go even faster, and within seconds, the small team had swooped in, kicking Lunarre away from his love with great force before they landed. The instant their feet touched down, they released Edna, who fell down on hands and knees to literally hug the earth. Safely back with her own element, she trembled and shook from her terrifying scare as she mumbled something about 'crazy shepherd' and 'fucking wind seraph.'
But Sorey paid her no mind. There was no time. Instead, he turned toward his enemies and got ready to kick some serious butt.
"Mikleo!" he shouted. Dearmatizing with Zaveid he wasted no time as he ran straight towards his bloodied, torn- up love, his green eyes wide with fear. "Mikleo!"
But Lunarre and Symonne were still right at Mikleo's side, even after Lunarre had been kicked squarely in his jaw, a serious bruise forming on his face. And now, he seemed furiously angry. Seeing Sorey running toward the fallen seraph, Lunarre lunged forward first, grabbing a hold of Mikleo and roughly hoisting him back up and to his feet where he clutched him as a hostage against his chest.
Mikleo, clearly seriously injured by that point, cried out in both protest and pain as he was handled so cruelly. And now that he was upright, and forced to face his friends, the others could easily see the horrible things that'd been done to him.
His clothes had been ripped and torn, some of the holes revealing the bloody gashes he'd been given beneath. And whatever hadn't been shredded was stained brown from the muddy ground.
Mikleo's once beautiful skin was now littered with dark ugly patches. And what wasn't bruised looked like it was burned. And both of these dark colors seemed even uglier still against his usual, natural, white coloring.
His cloak hung in tatters around his shoulders, both of his wings nearly gone. His silvery hair had a streak of red in it that no one could see the source of, and a part of his lower lip was swelling. It was just awful, and Sorey, Edna and Zaveid all tensed at the sight of their abused friend.
Lunarre faced them down, a vicious snarl overcoming his foaming lips.
"You stay where you are! If you come a step closer, I'll snap his tender little neck!"
Keeping Mikleo up against him with one arm, he took the other and grabbed onto a fist full of his silver-blue hair. Viciously, he jerked his head back to show he was serious, causing Mikleo to cry out a second time.
Barely able to stand on his own feet, his body trembling from the abuse, and his face tense with the pain he was so clearly in, he gazed out at his friends. But of course, his sight eventually came to rest on Sorey. And when it did, his face twisted into a terrible grimace. He saw that look on his beloved's face, and he saw the worry, the fear, and the guilt that rested there. And out of everything Mikleo had suffered thus far, this was by far the worst, and that expression on Sorey's face was the very thing he'd been fearing this entire time, ever since he'd been attacked. No…even before that. This expression on Sorey's face was the very thing he'd feared ever since they'd started their journey together, and ever since they'd had that terrible fight in Lady Lake.
Back then, Sorey hadn't wanted to let him remain in the party. When things started to get serious, when they started facing hellions, Sorey had wanted to send him home. He hadn't wanted him to get hurt. Mikleo remembered how viciously he'd fought to prove himself, to show Sorey that he could fight too, that he could hold his own. And he remembered how he had snarled out the phrase, "I didn't come all this way just to be a liability!"
I can do it, he'd thought. If I can't at least be strong enough to help Sorey, if I can't be strong enough to stay at his side and be of some assistance to him…then…what good am I?
He'd proven himself well back then. And he knew he'd been a tremendous help ever since. But now…he suddenly found himself in the very situation that both himself and Sorey had feared. Being held hostage, and being used as a tool to hurt the Sorey, was nearly the very definition of a liability. And that all on its own, made his heart twist from within his chest.
"I'm sorry Sorey," he cried, his voice tight and his tones wavering. "I'm sorry!"
Mikleo's apology threatened to break Sorey's heart into a hundred different pieces. He kept his intense gaze straight on Mikleo, pain hidden in their depths from what had happened to his love.
"You don't have anything to be sorry about!" Sorey shouted in reassurance. "They, however, do!" And he took an offensive stance.
Mikleo was hurt, and badly at that...but all he had to was armatize with his love, and they would be fine. He could heal while within Sorey, and that would get him out of that bastard Lunarre's grasp too. And so, not knowing what Symonne had done to Mikleo, or that his seraphic energy was blocked, Sorey called out Mikleo's true name, thinking that would solve all of their problems.
"Luzrov Rulay!" he shouted confidently, a look of triumph written on his face. But nothing happened. Fear seeped in. What had just happened? Why hadn't that worked? He tried again,
"Luzrov Rulay!" shouting out Mikleo's true name again, and then quickly a third time,
"Luzrov Rulay!" Panic starting to sink in.
What was going on? Why didn't that work!? He had never failed to armatize with Mikleo before!
Mikleo heard Sorey call his true name. He heard him call it in his heart. And as always, that something within him lurched forward, wanting to go to the source of the call. But he couldn't. The curse Symonne had put on him was blocking all of his artes, and that meant he was trapped within himself, unable to respond to Sorey's call for him. And seeing Sorey lift his hand, reaching for him, as he called for him so desperately, was almost maddening. Mikleo groaned from within Lunarre's grasp. Seeing Sorey's desperate, fearful expression, and being kept apart from him when they should have been together, was like torture.
Symonne burst out laughing from the side lines. Her wicked little voice rang out over the wet field, shrill and sharp. Her red eyes lit up with the delight she was so clearly taking in the shepherd's ordeal.
"I'm sorry, sir shepherd, but he can't come to you. Not this time. For I've place a lovely little curse on him that blocks all of his seraphic artes."
"You little bitch!" Zaveid suddenly snarled, his orange eyes flashing. "That's how he lost so quickly! Edna and I saw him kicking your asses from the balcony only a minute ago!"
Symonne sighed.
"Yes…I'll admit he was doing quite well, impressive even. But why wouldn't I use everything in my repertoire in order to win?"
Zaveid growled, and Edna, although silent thus far, was looking just as angry and worried as Zaveid and Sorey.
"You-" and Sorey was so mad he couldn't speak for a second, and clenched his jaw shut and scrunched his eyes closed in an effort to not explode. Then, he turned to glare at Lunarre and Symonne, his green eyes dangerous and determined.
"You let him go," he said steadily. "Let him go," he repeated, gripping his sword tightly in his right hand. "The faster you let him go, the less damage you'll take. Because there's no way I'm letting you get away with this!" And that last sentence was loud and full of anger, and also of promise. Because Sorey meant every word of what he said.
And of course, Sorey's rage was just what the two dark beings before him wanted. And Mikleo already knew their true goal: to turn Sorey's hurt and anger into hatred, and then to turn that hatred into malevolence.
"Sorey, don't!" Mikleo cried, fear creeping into his pained face as he saw the fury overtaking his love. "They're using me to get to you! They're trying to corrupt you! Whatever you do, you can't-!"
But that was precisely when Lunarre sunk his wicked claws deep into the skin at Mikleo's waist where he was holding him, causing Mikleo to cry out, his face contorting.
"Shut up little rabbit!" Lunarre hissed into his ear. "You're only here to be bait!" But Symonne wasn't looking nearly as upset about their plot being told to their enemy.
"Calm down Lunarre," she said coolly. "It doesn't matter if the shepherd knows our goal or not. We still have his boyfriend hostage. And fight it as he might, he will become filled with hatred as he watches us torture him." A cruel, wicked, gleeful, grin, spread over the young girl's face as she laid her eyes on Sorey. And the others in the party stiffened with rage of their own.
"You mean to tell me you're not planning on letting him go at all?!" Zaveid cried.
"You can't do that!" Edna suddenly screamed, true upset of the likes no one had seen on her face until now, overcoming her. "If you're goal is just to hurt him and never release him to us, than there's nothing to stop us from smashing you into paste right now!"
"Oh but there is!" Symonne sung merrily. "We still have your little water angel captive! If you attack us, Lunarre will simply snap his neck. You can't rescue him if he's dead. But if he's still alive, there's a chance we'll let him go! Actually shepherd, if you want him freed quickly, all you have to do is turn into a hellion. Just stop fighting it and let your hatred and despair fill you. It's easy. And if you do that, I promise we'll release him to you."
"Sorey no!" Mikleo cried. "If you turn, I'll turn too! We'll all turn! You wouldn't save me if you allowed that to happen! I'd only become-!"
Lunarre's claws were still at Mikleo's side, and he only sunk them in deeper when Mikleo once more tried to interfere. Pain tore through his lithe body and he couldn't help the scream that came from him, his usual stoic voice lifting up and echoing over the lake. A dark red liquid started seeping out onto his blue cloak, and as it did Lunarre leaned by his ear a second time. Whispering in the most vulgar of ways,
"I thought I told you to be quiet, little treat. I'm trying to have a talk with your lover."
Very suddenly, Edna burst into hysterical tears. They dripped, fat and full down her cheeks. Her face twisted horrifically. And then she was screaming,
"Stop it! Stop it! Don't hurt Meebo!"
Sorey ground his teeth together so hard he thought he'd crack them. A look of utter rage had crossed the normally gentle shepherd's face as he struggled with the emotions he felt inside.
He knew...he knew that Mikleo was right. He had to fight this. If he didn't, if he gave into these emotions then everyone would be in danger. He knew. He knew!
But every tortured sound that escaped Mikleo's lips brought him further and further towards a darker path. And the emotions he felt were so strange, unfamiliar and terrifying but he wanted to hurt Lunarre and Symonne so bad for what they were doing to Mikleo! They had to pay for their actions!
And at that thought, a darkness he'd never experienced started to seep in. And Sorey made a loud and terrifying roar from where he stood, his eyes darker and more intense than anyone would've ever seen them. He'd been mad in battle before, but this was completely different. Because Symonne had indeed known exactly what button she needed to push to make Sorey start to turn...and it was working.
The other's immediately felt the difference. Connected to their shepherd, they had no choice but to feel his hatred as if it was their own. His pure, clean, clear energy was turning, and through their connection to him, the new tainted energy he was emitting came into each seraph through a direct channel. Something shifted in each of them, and they started to turn too, whether they wanted to or not.
Mikleo felt it. And as a rage that he knew wasn't his started to come to life inside of him, he understood what was taking place, and terror started to fill him. He'd already been afraid before. Being held hostage as he was, and being in so much pain on top of it, proved to be one of the most frightening things he'd ever been through. But seeing that darkness on Sorey's face, and seeing the kindness he always had in his eyes leave that green coloring, was somehow so much worse.
That was not Sorey. At least not the one he loved. Sorey was kind and gentle and sweet. His innocence and nativity were some of Mikleo's favorite things about him. And to see all of that starting to melt away, seeing all of that being stolen from him, and knowing that it was because Lunarre was using him as a catalyst for that corruption, started to drive Mikleo mad. And so, his own emotions working against him, Sorey's hatred started to fill him, and Mikleo turned it into a hatred of his own.
He started to seethe in Lunarre's grasp. And even in knowing that they were dooming the entire world wasn't enough to quench the sudden swell of hatred he was feeling. His lips twisting into a snarl, he suddenly let out a furious growl, then started to twist and turn in his captor's grasp, trying to earnestly break free. It didn't matter that this made his injuries bite and sting. He writhed in Lunarre's grasp all the same.
"You son-of-a-bitch!" he roared. "Let me go this instant!" he demanded. "If you dare hurt Sorey, if you use me to make him turn, I'll rip you into pieces! I'll drown you in the bottom of the lake!"
"Ho ho!" Lunarre grinned, seeing the change in not only Mikleo but the other's as well. The look on Zaveid's face was becoming murderous, and Edna's tears were starting to stop as anger took the place of the fear and horror she'd just been feeling.
"It's working!" Symonne said with sudden elation. Her eyes aglow, she turned to Zaveid. "Do something else! Rip off his ear, pull out chunks of his hair, make him bleed! I don't care, which, do anything! They'll be hellions in another minute, tops!"
Lunarre, more than happy to oblige, looked to the seraph he had in his grasp, his golden eyes aglow with delight. Greedy with the opportunity, he seemed to take his time deciding what it was he should do next.
"Maybe a little something here? No…no…here? A nibble? Maybe his neck?"
And simply hearing Lunarre talk about it was maddening enough. The entire group seethed, and although no physical transformations had started to take place yet, Mikleo let out an uncharacteristic hiss of rage,
"Don't touch me! Get your filthy hands off of me!"
Symonne crossed her arms over her chest and let out a frustrated groan.
"Will you hurry it up? I don't want to be here all day!" Lunarre frowned, clearly unhappy about being rushed.
"Fine, fine! Take all the fun out of everything!" he complained. "I'll just start to eat him then, if that's alright with you? That'll turn our shepherd quickly enough."
Symonne waved him onward nonchalantly as if what he'd just proposed was no big deal. And seeing that he'd gotten his bosses approval, Lunarre grinned triumphantly. Eagerly, he licked his lips, running his tongue over them slowly. He started to salivate as he imagined what it was a pure water seraph must taste like. His hand still gripping Mikleo's hair, he forcefully pulled his head back, exposing his smooth white neck. Mikleo was still fighting wildly, but even ignoring his painful injures, he was simply too injured and too small to break free.
Lunarre lowered his face to his skin, then inhaled his scent deeply.
"Mmm…so pure. Even now while you're being slowly corrupted by malevolence. I can't wait to taste you…"
Purposefully, he opened his jaws wide, revealing the sharp fangs he had hidden beneath his lips. Then, moving his mouth nearer, his hot breath washed over Mikleo's neck. Positioning himself just over his jugular, he was just about to bite down.
"NOOO!" Sorey screamed.
But just before Lunarre had a chance to do anything, a sudden and immediate burst of holy energy washed over the entire lake region. It spread outward, and it spread fast, overtaking the entire group of hellions, seraphim and the lone human. The holy domain was so powerful, and so perfectly pure, that it certainly would have rivaled that of Heldalf's malevolence. And as it washed over all of the beings involved, it seemed to almost hum or sing as it moved over them.
Like someone striking a bell, immediately the evil that had been taking seed in Sorey was pulled up by its roots and dissolved as if it had never been. And of course, this freed the others from its grasp as well.
Lunarre let out a horrific wail as the holy energy came over him like a wave. And seeming to be incredibly crippled by it, he suddenly dropped Mikleo to the soggy ground ungracefully. And after he did, he fell to the ground himself, cowering and throwing his hands over his head as he started to shake in seeming fear. He seemed frozen and unable to move, much how Sorey and his party once were at Glaivend Basin.
"What's happening?!" Symonne cried out. And although she wasn't crippled by the domain the way Lunarre was, since she was in fact a seraph, she did however seem incredibly terrified by it. Her red eyes were huge with fright, and her skinny legs trembled as she stood, looking around herself for the source of the holy power.
The holy energy washed over Sorey like a wave, drenching him in its pureness. In no more than two seconds, whatever rage he'd been feeling inside was dissipated completely, leaving Sorey breathless and relieved. He'd felt so helpless and scared, and so utterly unlike himself. Not anymore.
And of course, the mysterious holy energy had effected Mikleo's captors too, and by the time Symonne and Lunarre were petrified from its effects on them, the shepherd flew into action. He could protect and save his love now.
"Mikleo!" he cried. He bolted forward as fast as he could, his boots slapping against the soggy wet ground. And as soon as he neared Mikleo, he fell to his knees and reached out. Quickly, he picked up the fallen water seraph, carefully and tenderly in his arms. Cradling him to his chest, he looked at his love, eyes full of nothing but worry and concern.
"Mikleo, it's okay now!" he shouted, tears starting to well up in his leaf-green eyes as he looked over his love's battered and bloodied form. He wasn't worried about Lunarre and Symonne at that very second; the potency of the blessed domain was great, and Sorey knew that he at least had a little bit of time to make sure Mikleo was alright. And he needed to know that, far more than anything else at the moment.
Mikleo felt the blessed domain wash over him, and relief filled him as he was instantly freed from the malevolence that had been invading him. But what was far far more relieving was being freed from Lunarre and being in Sorey's arms, where he belonged.
His body was throbbing, and everything hurt. Parts of him still felt like they were on fire since Symonne had burnt him with her spell, and the rest of him was aching from the beating he'd taken from Lunarre. And worst of all was his side, which had deep, abysmal, puncture wounds from Lunarre's cruel claws. But…
…as soon as he saw Sorey's worried face, and as soon as he saw his kind green eyes fill with tears, as always, Mikleo prioritized the person he loved over himself. He suppressed the groan that threatened to come up and out of him, and he did his best to control the discomfort he was in. Instead, he forced a small smile onto his face, unaware of how sad it really looked. Smiling as best as he could for his love, he lifted one of his battered hands. Gently, and with as much love as ever before, he caressed Sorey's cheek.
"Don't make that face," he said tenderly. "I'm fine. Really. I'll be ok…"
The tears Sorey had been trying to hold back finally fell, streaking down his face the instant Mikleo smiled at him. He was trying so hard to be strong for him. Sorey knew he was in an impossible amount of pain, and yet he was still trying to take care of him, to reassure him. Mikleo had always been strong and selfless like that.
"Y-you will," he sniffed, trying his best to smile too, although it came out just as sad-looking as his lover's. "Because I'm going to take care of you," he promised. "I'm gonna make sure you'll be alright," he promised, even as he realized he knew very little of first aid. Mikleo had always been the healer. It was Mikleo who'd always saved everyone's hides in battle with his powerful and potent healing spells. But he would do his best. He had to. He couldn't stand to see Mikleo hurting like this.
It was during their tender moment that Symonne screamed out in horror,
"Oh my God! What is that!?"
Everyone turned to look, and when they did, they all spotted a white figure standing far off across the lake near the caves. Even from a great distance, they could all easily see that it was the figure of a woman. Slowly, and purposefully, she started to move toward them. And as they watched, the group and everyone in it gaped in awe, for the woman was walking silently and effortlessly across the top of the water.
As she started to draw near, they all saw how impossibly beautiful she was. She wore a long, flowing dress that was transparent and light as silk. It flowed around her like water as she moved. Her hair was as long as Lailah's, and pale blue in color, with white tips on its ends, this also flowed effortlessly around her as if made of water. And as she grew even nearer still, more details came into focus.
As if being carried with her, or perhaps exuding from her, mist gathered round her bare ankles. Her entire body sparkled as if she were covered in morning dew. And her eyes were a pale gray, the same color as the lake in early morning.
Mikleo had met plenty of other seraphs during his journey with Sorey, but as soon as he laid his eyes on this one, it was instinctual to understand how impossibly old she really was. There was something in how she moved, held herself, and even just in the way she existed in the world around her that let him know…she was thousands of years old. And simply in being in her presence, he couldn't help but to feel like an infant.
Zaveid and Edna seemed to sense this too. And Mikleo knew Lunarre and Symonne did as well, for their terror only seemed to mount. Lunarre literally started to sob, his fear was so great, and he only cowered against the ground all the more. Covering his head with his hands he trembled. And Symonne suddenly appeared petrified. Her feet and legs seemed plastered to the ground and she was unable to move. Her red eyes as huge as saucers, she watched the ancient seraph approach, her voice stolen from her, she seemed to gasp in air.
The ancient water seraph reached the shore. Stepping up and onto it, her mist came with her, and alongside it came a clean, clear, wonderful scent of pure water. As she stepped across the earth toward them, dew drops formed on the tips of all the grass around them, despite the ground already having been completely drenched from Mikleo's previous attack.
The woman moved purposefully forward, her silver eyes fixated on Sorey and Mikleo. She never tore her sight away. But in order to reach them, she had to first pass Lunarre. As she did, she reached out a slender, delicate looking hand. Stopping beside him, she turned her gaze from Sorey and Mikleo only for a moment. Then, with compassion she gazed upon the trembling, sniveling Lunarre.
"I release you from your burden…"
She tenderly touched her fingertips to his forehead. And the very second she touched him, he disintegrated into ash at her feet. Mikleo gaped, his lilac eyes widening in awe, for she had purified Lunarre with almost no effort at all.
Continuing to move forward, the water seraph came upon Symonne next. Turning to her, her perfect brow furrowed only ever so slightly, but seeing any amount of displeasure on the ancient's face was terrifying, even for Mikleo who wasn't the source of her disapproval.
"You," she said, her voice still soft, but somehow carrying important weight to it. "You leave my domain at once. Never return."
Symonne looked like she was going to wet herself. Still unable to speak a single word, she quickly turned and went to scramble away from the seraph. But she moved too quickly, and she was too frightened. She slipped in the mud and wet grass and fell down flat on her face. But that certainly didn't stop her. Terrified, she pushed herself back up, then continued to run as fast as she possibly could for Tolrin's exit. Within only seconds she was gone.
With both evil parties taken care of, the ancient water seraph then turned back to Sorey and Mikleo. Her eyes fixated on them, and she continued the last few feet toward them. Reaching them, she stopped. Then there was a long, stretching moment of silence where all that was heard was the roaring of the waterfall a great distance away. The three stared at one another, taking each other in. But then, carefully parting his lips, Mikleo addressed her,
"Nadia?"
There was another second of silence after the name was spoken. But then, to Sorey and Mikleo's shock, tears started to brim in the ancient seraph's silver eyes. Her face remained stoic, never twisting or forming a wrinkle, but even so, they could see the sorrow she held. Her face, although unchanged, suddenly appeared to hold more sadness than many lifetimes put together could manage. It was such a heavy grief that Mikleo could almost feel it himself.
"You two…you two are beautiful," she said, her voice still soft. "You are more beautiful than you could ever hope to even realize. And you are still so painfully young…"
Mikleo and Sorey had no idea what to say or how to respond to her, and for another moment, only the waterfall spoke. Nadia's tears fell. They dripped like pearls to the watery ground. Then, she spoke again,
"I've been watching you two ever since you entered my domain," she said. "I can see everything in, on, or near the water. I saw how you were during the boat ride, and I saw everything that took place just now." Her tears didn't stop, and with a steady voice, she spoke through them. "You're love for one another has reached a place inside of me that I thought had died long ago. I have not seen love between a human and a seraph so pure and wholesome since my own. And with you being a shepherd, and with you being a water seraphim, I am unable to do anything else but see myself in your place."
Sorey and Mikleo remained silent, still in too much awe to speak. Nadia slowly turned her gaze so that it rested solely on Mikleo.
"I'm very sorry I didn't interfere earlier on when you were initially attacked young one," she said. "But I had taken an oath not to interfere with the outside world unless it was something of dire importance with consequences that would affect the world. You were defending yourself and your love spectacularly for some time, and so I wasn't needed. I was unable to come and help until the shepherd began to turn."
Mikleo still had no idea what to say. Nadia was so ancient and her holy energy was so powerful that he felt breathless in her presence, even if he felt so akin to her, and was able to see himself in her place just as she saw herself in his.
"You two have a difficult road ahead of you," she said. "Just as Ulric and I did. But it seems you both already know this, and you understand perfectly how precious it is what you have. You already treasure each other and the fading seconds between you. Mikleo…you're courageous words that you spoke to your enemies earlier made that very clear. And so I don't need to give warning or to explain what type of fate awaits you."
Mikleo's cheeks pinkened at the mention of the words he spoke, for he knew exactly what it was Nadia was referring to, and knowing that anyone had overheard was a little embarrassing. But when Nadia saw the look on his face, a soft, but brilliant smile spread over her lips.
"Do not be discomfited," she said. "After all, it was those words that brought life back into the hollow place in me. I didn't think I could ever feel anything but sorrow again after Ulric died, but you…you and your passion for your human love moved me to my very core. Your devotion left me nearly breathless."
And then, Nadia gracefully got down onto her knees, her dress settling on the grass around her as she knelt before Sorey and Mikleo. Then, she elegantly reached out her arms to her fellow water seraph, and gently embraced him. Closing her eyes, her tears seemed to fall even faster.
"Don't be like me," she said to him. "Don't let Sorey's passing break you. Don't die of heartache. Don't shut yourself away for centuries, grieving alone in the dark. Don't make an oath." Gently, and more kindly than any mother, Nadia slid her fingers through his hair. She knew perfectly well the fear and panic her words were stirring up inside the other seraph. But even so, she knew he needed to hear these words now. Perhaps if she passed on her knowledge and experience to him…he wouldn't need to suffer the same ways she had.
"Instead…do all the things that you know would make Sorey happy. Go out into the world. See others. Be with other seraphim and other humans too. Live your life in a way that will make Sorey smile as he watches you."
Mikleo couldn't take it. Even just those few sentences were enough. And having already been through so much pain and trauma that day, adding this onto the end of it was just too much. Heat built up behind his eyes as his face started to twist in on itself. And with only one breath of Nadia's clean, wonderful scent, his tears were falling.
Nadia squeezed his shoulders lovingly, her tender heart breaking at the sight of his tears.
"You will be different from the others for having loved a mortal," she said. "You already are. And I believe it makes you wiser, for you will understand both sides of mortal and immortal alike. You will walk between both worlds, never belonging to either, but always belonging to both. And it will make your soul immeasurably bigger. Nothing makes a human or a seraphim grow as much as love and loss."
Mikleo let out a quiet sob. He couldn't bring himself to speak, which was perhaps for the best anyway, since there was nothing to say. The things Nadia spoke of…where things no one could prevent or change. It was what it was. She had used the word 'fate,' and Mikleo knew that was exactly right. Fate: a future no one could change.
"Shh…" she soothed. "I'm sorry to say these things to you. But I wish that someone had said them to me when I was young. I could have handled myself better, lived better after Ulric's passing. Perhaps I wouldn't have disappointed him…"
Gently, she ran her fingers through his hair one more time.
"For now, forget my words," she said. "Focus on Sorey, and Sorey will focus on you. Live fully and live your best. As you said to your enemy, throw yourself into him with all that you are. That is all you can do. Then, later, decades from now, recall my words when you need them."
Mikleo buried his face in Nadia's shoulder as if he'd known her for all his life. He held onto her as if she was family, and in a way Sorey had only ever seen him hold onto Gramps.
"I'm sorry they hurt you," Nadia said comfortingly. "They hurt you both inside and out, and I'm sorry…" She gave him a gentle squeeze. "I wish I could heal you with my artes as a parting gift, but alas, the dark one's curse prevents any artes from being used on you as well as it prevents you from using your own. You'll have to wait for the curse to wear off naturally. But do not fret, that should happen in only a few hours, perhaps up to a day. Until then…"
She turned her silver eyes to Sorey,
"Until then, your shepherd will be more than happy to care for you. I've seen the love and kindness in him just as well as you have, and I know even after just this one meeting with you both, that he would be delighted to nurse you back to health. If I were you, I would revel in it."
Nadia gave Mikleo one last hug, then gently, she handed him back over to Sorey, laying his head back up against him. Keeping her eyes on Sorey, her smile remained.
"Take care of him," she instructed. "He will love you for all time, as I know you will as well. But your time is much shorter than his, and you will never have to go a day without him. So while you're here…give him perfect memories."
Everything Nadia said was so difficult to think about. Sorey knew that the lady seraph was only doing her best to help Mikleo, and also himself, for the difficult times that would lay ahead for both of them. He knew that. But the thought of leaving Mikleo alone was simply too much. Sorey couldn't think about it. Not when just now, he'd been so afraid of losing Mikleo to Lunarre and Symonne.
All the same, he felt his own heart swell with emotion, and he recognized the sincerity and kindness that emanated from the water seraph as clearly as the mists that surrounded her. They'd moved something in her during their time together here in Tolrin, and Sorey owed her everything. Without her intervention, he very well may have turned into nothing but a shadow of himself, incapable of resisting the pull of the malevolence when Mikleo was hurt.
He met her soft gaze earnestly, and nodded in response, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'll take care of him, always," he promised, before daring himself to look down at his injured love. He'd been hoping that Nadia would be able to heal Mikleo, but whatever curse Symonne had used, they'd just have to endure.
"And he'll have perfect memories." he finished with the best smile he could muster. "Thank you Nadia. You've-" Sorey paused, gathering himself, before he spoke again. "You've saved us. I will always be grateful." And he would. No matter what happened, whether he died in battle fighting Heldalf or some other minion, died of old age, or...or even if he truly was able to become a seraph as well, this moment would forever be engraved in his memory. And he'd never forget the kindness and importance of her words.
Nadia's smile softened and she seemed very pleased with Sorey's response. But she had said all that she'd wanted, and so now, there was nothing left. Gracefully, she stood back up, her dress flowing down around her long legs.
"I'm so happy I had the chance to meet you both. You've made me feel whole again, for however brief a time, and I feel content to know that this world is in good hands before I leave it behind."
It was at these words that Mikleo finally found his voice. Alarm taking over his features, he struggled to sit up a little taller from his place in Sorey's arms.
"What're you talking about?" he asked. "Leave? But you're a seraph, you're immortal."
Nadia's smile seemed knowing, and her eyes crinkled with delight as if she thought Mikleo was just precious in his youth.
"Yes," she confirmed. "But even seraphim don't usually live forever. You're too young to have seen another seraphim depart, but after thousands of years, most of us usually choose when to pass on. I would have passed on myself back when Ulric died, but that would not have been good, since I was so grieved at the time and I was still young by seraph standards. Instead, I made an oath. And now that my oath has been fulfilled, and I know the world will be looked after, I can pass on peacefully. I can go and be with my Ulric without the sorrow that has plagued me for centuries."
It seemed nice enough. It was certainly a better way to die than what humans got stuck with most of the time. But all the same, Mikleo had already grown attached to the other seraph. She was so much like him: she shared his element, had loved a human who was a shepherd, and she had a similar personality. He liked her immensely even though they'd just met, and even in hearing what she was saying and sensing that it was indeed her time to move on, he didn't want her to leave.
"What about the blessing in this region?" he asked, perhaps just as a measure of trying to convince her to stay.
Nadia seemed to know exactly what Mikleo was doing, and her smile remained sweet and delighted at Mikleo's efforts.
"I am such an old seraph that my blessing will remain over this region for the expanse of my lifetime," she explained. "If a seraphim chooses to pass on and isn't taken from his or her region forcefully, than they can bestow the blessing of their entire life onto the area they loved the most. Tolrin is most certainly that place for me. It's where I met my Ulric, where we fell in love, where we built this city, and where we lived for as long as we were able. I love this city, this lake and this waterfall. And I could never leave without knowing it would be protected. I will do so as the last part of my oath."
Mikleo stared at Nadia. He knew he was young and he knew there was plenty he didn't know, but he'd never realized that there was so much about simply being a seraph that he didn't yet understand. Gramps had taught them much, but this seemed like a lesson he would have waited on. Teaching Sorey and Mikleo how seraphim died seemed like a heavy lesson indeed. And Mikleo was sure it was something he would have held back on until they were older.
"I must go," Nadia said. "I must be reunited with Ulric. We've been apart for far too long."
And that was something Mikleo understood. He understood perfectly. And he couldn't help but to recall his previous fear of the malevolence and how the reason he'd been so afraid of it was because it seemed like something that could separate him from Sorey. And only a moment ago when he was being held captive by Lunarre…it was agonizing to have Sorey in his sight, but to be unable to go to him.
Mikleo simply couldn't imagine being apart from him for thousands of years the way Nadia had been. And so, slowly, he nodded.
Nadia smiled once more, then gave a small, polite bow to them both.
"Keep working on your artes," she said cheerfully, even as she started to gradually fade away, sparkles and dewdrops appearing out of nowhere and lifting up into the sky above. "I was impressed with Roaring Surge, and whatever you were about to cast before you were interrupted sounded so beautiful. Let your spirit sour into your spells and you'll be unstoppable!"
She continued to fade, bit by bit being lifted up and away. But her smile remained until the very end, until finally, she vanished from view and Mikleo could no longer see her.
((Cliffhanger resolved! Hope you guys liked it. Also, did you catch the foreshadowing I hid in there? Hehe! I'm quite proud of myself. Anyway, feel free to leave a review or even PM me with anything you like. Next chapter, as always, is being worked on and I hope to have it up within the next couple of days, at the very latest next Thursday. I try very hard to update at LEAST weekly for you guys so the wait isn't so bad. As always, thanks for reading! ~Spotofpaint))