Kelda saw little of her witch boy in the next few days. He was at sea, searching for a way into the Elven sanctuary of Everlight. She spent her time putting the minions to work on cleaning the fortress, organizing and scrubbing, losing herself in the task of making the netherworld livable. From time to time she'd stop, remembering the heat of his lips on hers, would shiver and smile and press on with her work, humming to herself.
"Mistress Kelda!"
Gnarl startled her while she was in the middle of scrubbing the grime from the fountain. She almost toppled into the open mouth of a statue, righted herself and glared at him, annoyed.
"Mistress Kelda, the Master has broken through the gates of Everlight! Come and see!" Gnarl blinked at her. "Mistress, why are you working? The minions can do that for you!"
"I got bored," she replied, rolling her sleeves down. "It keeps me busy."
He shrugged a humpbacked shoulder.
"Oh, fine, suit yourself. Come, the Master is on his way to the Last Sanctuary!"
"Is he alright?" Kelda asked, her heart racing.
"Oh, yes, Mistress, more than alright. He's becoming the conqueror that he was born to be!"
Gnarl led her into the throne room. A vast display hung above the throne room portal, crackling with magic. She saw the prow of a tall ship, waves breaking on the open ocean.
"Are we seeing what he's seeing?" she asked.
"His helmet lets us follow along, yes," Gnarl replied. "Ah, good, he's spotted Everlight."
A spyglass centered on an island, lined with strange jungle trees. Toga-clad figures lolled on the beaches, tended by hollow-eyed elves.
"Well, well, well, this is interesting," Gnarl chuckled. "Everlight is supposed to be a sort of heaven on earth- it's where the elves go when they've gotten tired of the world. It looked like the Empire's found their way into their little paradise. How amusing."
The spyglass focused on a tall, curvaceous woman. She was holding a wine glass and twirling a strand of dark hair around a slim finger, surrounded by men. She looked bored. Kelda felt her cheeks growing hot.
"Oooh, yes," Gnarl said. "Everlight offers many...earthly delights!"
"Gnarl, don't distract him," she snapped.
"What?" She heard, distorted by distance through the helmet, and then, "Oh gods, reverse, damn it, reverse you bastards-"
There was a horrible sound of crunching wood. She caught a glimpse of a vast, insectoid leg, black mandibles the size of a chariot, and then the screen in front of them fizzled out.
"What happened?" She leapt to her feet, raced to the center of the cavern, looking up. "Gnarl, what happened?"
"I- I'm not sure, mistress!" Gnarl reached up and pulled down the crystal above his head, caressing it and murmuring to it in a strange tongue. "I- I can't make contact with him. I can't find him anywhere!"
"Gods damn it Gnarl, if he's hurt or worse I swear I'll bloody throw you into the lava!"
"Mistress, please, calm down! I'm sure he's alright!"
Deep in the depths of the fortress, the wolves began to howl, loud enough to be heard even in the throne room. Kelda picked the old adviser up by his cloak and shook him, hard enough to rattle the teeth in his skull.
"He had better be, or I'll skin you and wear you for a coat!"
They heard a hoarse cough, and the mirage shimmered into place above them again. The Overlord rose, shaking sand out of his armor and swearing eloquently.
"There," Gnarl said, prying her hands off his cloak. "You see? He's fine." He cleared his throat. "Apologies, Master. We lost your signal for awhile there. Glad to see you're not dead."
The wolves were still snarling. She could hear their cries from where she stood.
"Mistress, go calm them down, please," Gnarl implored her. "They like you. Maybe they'll listen to you."
"Keep an eye on him," Kelda snapped. "Don't you dare let anything happen to him."
"I'll do my best," he promised her.
"You'd better." She bent down and locked eyes with him, feral. "You'd make a lousy trophy, but if he doesn't come home, I'll mount your head on a spike. Are we clear?"
"Perfectly, mistress," he squeaked.
"Good." She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.
"Whew." Gnarl wiped his forehead, turned back to the display. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Sire."
He arranged his robes around him and settled his weary, old bones back to watch the show.
-x-
Kelda woke from a cozy pile of wolves, hearing the sound of grating stone and the crackle of magic. She perked up and raced from the den, followed by a pair of barking wolves. They leapt onto the platform, rose towards the throne room.
"Come on, hurry up!" Kelda cried.
She leapt from the platform when it was still feet away from the terrace, landed in a crouch. The wolves bounded after her, barking and whining excitedly, raced past her to the armor-clad figure in the center of the portal.
"Witch boy!" she cried, then gagged, covering her mouth. "Oh, gods. What is that smell?"
"I found the green minions!" He said cheerfully. "They're fond of...interesting stenches. Oh. here, I brought you something."
He tossed an enormous arachnoid head in front of her with a sickening squelch.
"Ooh, this will look perfect hanging from the wall!" she said delightedly. "Was this the thing that took down your ship?"
"A spider Queen, yes."
"She's gorgeous, "Kelda sighed, admiring the trophy. "I can't wait to hang her up! She'd look nice above the fountain upstairs, don't you think? Or maybe in the study. Hmm."
"So, you like it?"
"I love it." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed the bridge of his nose. "We were thinking of going hunting today. Come with us."
"We?"
"The wolves and me."
"I should really get back to Everlight-"
"Oh, please!" she stretched up, twined her arms around his neck, smiling up at him, cheeks flushing. "I've missed you while you were away. Surely the minions can manage without you for just a few hours?"
"You've met them, haven't you?"
"Oh, come on, they'll be fine!"
"Oh...alright, but only for a few hours." He clenched his fist. "I'm so close to conquering Everlight, I can taste it."
"I can smell it," she said, scrunching up her nose. "Go change out of that armor into something a little...stealthier. And for gods' sake, bathe. You smell like a week-dead seal. I'll meet you in the den."
He joined her and the wolves a few minutes later, dark hair still faintly damp, wearing a heavy black cloak. Kelda checked her bowstring, slinging her bow onto her back, tested the point of her spear with her thumb.
"Right," she said, and grinned up at him. "Ready? Try to keep up!"
She raced from the den, followed by the wolf pack. He followed her more slowly, shouldering his way through the tight confines of the tunnel. She grinned at him, sunlight glinting off her coppery hair.
"Come on!" she cried.
The wolves raced like shadows over the snow. She followed them, fleet-footed, leaping from rock to rock. He ran after her, plowing through the drifts.
"Slow poke!" she called back cheerfully. "Keep up!"
He quickened his pace, caught up with her and pushed her down into the snow. He raced after the wolves, laughing, as she swore, dusting off her parka.
"Oh, you, you're dead!" she shouted.
She dropped her bow and spear, shrugged off her pack, and hurled herself after him. She flung her arms around his waist and brought her full weight to bear, trying to drag him down with her into the drifts.
"Huh."
She tugged at his waist, trying to knock him off balance. He stared down at her, amused. She hurled her shoulder into his hip, straining with all her strength.
"Oh, come on," she cried. "That's just not fair."
"I don't play fair," he replied, pushed her over again.
She lay on her back in the snow, winded.
"I submit," she gasped. "You win."
He reached down to help her up. She tossed a handful of snow into his face.
"Ha! Gotcha!" Her eyes widened as he scooped up snow and slowly, deliberately, shaped it. She started scrambling to her feet. "No, no, don't you dare-"
He dropped the snowball gently over her head. It bounced off her nose. She grinned up at him, and he helped her up. They sat in the snow together, watching the wolves tussle over a marmot. She bumped his shoulder with her own shyly.
"So...this may sound a little strange, but...even though it's been thirteen years, I feel like almost no time has passed at all, when I'm with you. It's...it's just like it was, back when we were children."
"But we're not children anymore," he pointed out.
"No." She put her hand over his. "No, we're not."
He bent and kissed her. She pushed his hood back, tangling her fingers in his hair. He pulled her into his lap, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, holding his face in her gloved hands, staring breathlessly down at him.
"My witch boy," she whispered.
The wolves raced past, spraying them with snow, barking excitedly, tails waving like flags. Kelda looked up after them and grinned.
"Oh! They've caught the scent of something. Caribou, I think!"
"How do you kno-"
She cut him off with another kiss, slow and lingering, rose from his lap to retrieve her hunting gear.
"Come on, witch boy!" she called. "We'll have caribou for dinner tonight!"
She followed the questing wolves, hiding a smile. He made an exasperated noise deep in his throat, rose and stalked after her.
The wolves stopped in front of a copse of evergreens, lowered themselves to the snow, growling. From the shadows, she heard the hoarse cough of a caribou. She pushed under the dark boughs, gripping her spear tight, picking her way carefully over fallen branches. She crouched behind a rotten log and peered cautiously over, heart hammering.
A bull caribou lay on its side in the clearing, flanks heaving. Blood leaked from deep red gashes on its neck. She hesitated, frowning. The wind shifted, and the wolves began to snarl. She smelled a heavy, animal musk, heard a gurgling growl from the trees.
"Shit," she whispered. She backed up hastily. "Witch boy, we have to go!"
There was a blur of white fur and yellow claws as the saber cat leapt from the trees, knocking her back with casual ease. She raised her spear to block it. Its jaws snapped closed around the shaft, showering her with splinters. She struggled to reach her dagger, knowing it was futile, that she was about to die-
A guttural roar shattered the air, and the witch boy slammed into the saber cat from the side, wrapping his arms around its neck. It snarled, twisting and raking at him with long claws, jaws scything. Black blood splattered the snow. Kelda staggered to her feet and picked up her shattered spear, staggered towards the struggle, head ringing.
"Leave him alone!" she snapped, staggering up, plunged the spear point into its shoulder.
It snarled and broke free, whirling to face her. The witch boy was kneeling in the snow, hand pressed to his bleeding side. She swallowed hard, gripping the broken butt of the spear like a club.
"Come on, you bastard!" she shouted.
The cat roared and charged her. Grey bodies broke from the woods, tearing at the cat's sides, harrying it. It turned, roaring, to face the new threat. The wolves circled, darting and snapping.
"Witch boy, are you alright?" she shouted.
He picked himself up, shook his head hard, spat blood into the snow.
"I've had worse," he said. He pulled his black axe from his back. "Time to end this."
The cat snarled, bounding across the snow towards him, maddened, white fur stained red. Kelda pulled her bow from her back and swore- the string had snapped in two. She struggled to restring it, boots slippery with blood and snow. The Overlord hurled his heavy black cloak into the cat's path, tangling it as it pounced. It fell, roaring furiously, ripping at the cloak as his dark axe whistled down. The cat rolled out of the way, tearing its way free, gained its feet and circled him, snarling.
The bow string slid into place. Kelda knocked an arrow and aimed swiftly, fired. The cat yowled, whirled to face her. She put an arrow through its throat. It staggered, gurgling, and pitched over into the snow, back legs flailing pitifully. The witch boy's axe flashed down, and its body stilled.
"Holy hells." Kelda fell to her knees, panting. "I've never seen a saber cat this close to Nordberg before." She felt around in her backpack. "Here, I have some bandages in here somewhere."
"I'm alright." He retrieved his shredded cloak, slinging it around broad shoulders. "I'm pretty durable. It comes with the job. What about you?"
"I'm fine, thanks to you. And the wolves." He held out his hand, and she stood, wincing, cracking her back. "Where are the wolves?"
She heard a snarl and a sharp cry, cut off abruptly, as the wolves found the wounded caribou in the woods. They dragged the carcass out, tails wagging, looking up expectantly.
"Good boys!" Kelda cried. "You keep it, you earned it."
They tore into the caribou eagerly, muzzles steaming red, howling to summon the rest of the pack. The witch boy picked up the saber cat, flinging it across his shoulders with a grunt of effort.
"That pelt will make a lovely rug," Kelda said happily. "Aww, it's our first kill together!"
"Funny, the way I see it, I was the one who struck the killing blow."
"Yeah, but I softened it up for you first! Come on, admit it, you couldn't have done it without me."
"I wouldn't have done it without you. You were the one who insisted we go hunting."
"Oh, but you had fun, didn't you, witch boy?"
"Aside from the assortment of brand-new holes in my side, yes."
"Don't worry! Women like scars."
"All women?"
"I like scars," she said sharply. "What does it matter what other women like?"
"I don't know, I was just thinking-"
"Oh, I know what you were thinking," she snapped, stalked off in front of him.
"Wait, Kelda. Are you angry?"
"Yes, you idiot, of course I'm angry!"
"Why?"
She stared at him, exasperated, then deflated.
"I- I don't know," she admitted. "I- I'm just touchy, I guess. Sorry."
"Gnarl says that...um...that women have a time of the month when they-"
"Oh, for gods' sake!" Kelda snapped. "Don't listen to Gnarl, he doesn't know what he's talking about."
"Kelda?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes?"
"Are you still angry?"
"Ugh." She rolled her eyes at him. "I couldn't stay mad at you, even if I wanted to. Come on, let's go home."
They took a portal, black stone seizing her around the ribs with inescapable force. She staggered, leaning against him.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that."
"Master!" Gnarl hobbled across the throne room, irate. "Master, where in the hells did you get off to? I turn around and you've gone, and nobody knows where you've got to-"
The Overlord threw the saber cat onto the floor in silence. Gnarl gaped at it, looked up.
"Master, you're wounded."
"I'm fine."
"You most certainly are not fine. And where's your armor? By all that's dark and putrid, boy, you're the Overlord, not some besotted village lout! Start acting like it!"
"Is that what you want?" The Overlord said, very, very softly, his voice low and dangerous.
Gnarl blinked, backpedaling.
"Er...of course, I'm glad you're alright, Master, what I mean to say is-"
"Witch boy," Kelda touched his arm. "Come on. Please. Let me look at those scratches."
He looked at her for a long moment, and then at last he nodded and limped up the stairs in a swirl of black cloak.
Gnarl clutched at the bones around his neck, frowning. He heard the jingle of bells behind him, turned to see Quaver digging in a long ear with a yellow claw.
"That one's more trouble than even his father was," Quaver observed, licking his finger with relish. "You best watch out, Gnarl. We won't be able to control him anymore before too long."
"What are you talking about?" Gnarl snapped. "What do you mean, 'control'? He is the Overlord, and we are his minions. That's the way it's always been!"
"Are you so sure?"
"He needs us, just like we need him."
"Do we, really? Do we really need an Overlord?"
Gnarl stared at him, yellow eyes hard and unforgiving.
"I'm going to forget you said that, Quaver," he said slowly. "If there's anything at all rattling around in that addled skull of yours, you'll forget about it, too."
Quaver shrugged a misshapen shoulder and gave him a lopsided grin.
"Forget what?" he said innocently. "I don't even remember what we were talking about."
"Just...get somebody to deal with that, will you?" Gnarl gestured to the cat irritably. "I don't like the way it keeps staring at me."
-x-
"Sit, witch boy."
Kelda pushed him into a stone chair and stripped the cloak from his shoulders.
"Shirt, too," she commanded.
He pulled the black tunic over his head, looked around the quarters.
"You did all this?" he asked.
She looked around, flushing.
"Well, with the help of your little minions, yes. They're not half bad workers if you can keep them from chasing each other up the walls. This place is starting to look a little less 'cave troll', and a little more 'dark overlord'." She probed at his side gingerly and winced. "Does it hurt?"
"Does what hurt?" He looked down at her fingers. "Oh. That. Not really. I don't think I feel pain the same way humans do."
"You don't feel this?" she asked incredulously, poking the slash.
He grimaced and leaned away.
"Oh, no, I feel it. But it's just unimportant. A little annoying, maybe, like someone humming in the background when you're trying to remember something."
"Huh." She dabbed gently at the scratches. "Must be nice." She frowned as a thought occurred to her. "You're really not human, then. At least, not entirely."
"Kelda, look at me. Have you ever seen another human who's seven feet tall with eyes like mine?"
"Well, no...but somehow, I don't know, I just didn't fully realize it until just now. What do you reckon you are, then?"
"What they say I am, maybe. A demon." He stared down at her, unreadable. "Does that frighten you?"
"I've said it before, and I've said it again, Witch Boy. You don't scare me." She smiled up at him, reached up and took his chin in her hands. "I don't care what you are. All I know is that I- I care about you."
"I-"
She trailed a finger down his chest, tracing the strange scars. His skin felt like well-worn leather, hot as a heart beneath her palm.
"Kelda-"
"I don't care what you are," she said again, suddenly fierce. "You'll always be my witch boy."
"I- I need to get back to Everlight."
"Please. Stay."
She traced her hand lower, felt the taut strength of his stomach. He took her hand in his and kissed her wrist.
"I can't." He rose, pulling on his bleak armor. "I've been away too long already. Gnarl's right, I have a job to do."
"What have I told you about listening to him?" Kelda said lightly, trying to hide her disappointment.
"I won't be long." He pulled her to her feet and kissed her, hard enough to bruise her lips. "I'll crush Everlight, and we'll rule it together. You'd like it there."
"Happy hunting, Witch Boy."