No Wish to be Alone
Chapter 1
The blue lights of the
As he fell, he saw her friend
raise his own sword, responding as he himself had to Mother’s cries. Then,
something happened: Mother’s voice was no longer in his mind, it was gone, and
his grip changed on Masamune’s hilt. Instead of
stabbing her in the back, he defended the girl, stopping the boy’s wide blade
with Masamune in one hand even as his other arm went about her waist. He
crushed her small form to him, leaping back in the same motion and across the
staggered platforms to the other side of the room. The cries of her shocked
friends pursuing him and going to the other boy’s aid followed him out of the place
even as he disappeared out through the roof and into the darkness.
*****
The girl fainted somewhere
along the way. He ran with her for hours, sheathing Masamune single-handedly
and shifting her to carry her in both arms, all without breaking stride. He had
to be sure her friends wouldn’t foolishly try to get her back from him right
now, especially now that he knew Mother had been able to control the boy as
well. Somehow he knew that she was safest with him until she was awake and
could travel on her own. She could make her own decisions then.
He stopped running when he was miles away from the City. He walked for a long
while in the forest until he found a suitable place to rest. He gently placed
her on a bed of moss, under a low-hanging tree. She would wake soon, and he had
to make a fire, and plan.
*****
Warm...I’m warm now, was her first thought when she opened
her eyes. What a strange dream. She could swear she’d actually seen her friend
raise his sword against her. Why is it so warm in the City? There had
been the solid metallic clang when his sword descended. Then she had been
caught up by a strong arm and pinned against an unyielding body that smelled
pleasantly of leather...great speed, crossing over mountains faster than anyone
could actually run, smooth speed, carried in the arms of...Him.
Her eyes snapped open and she
sat up suddenly. She was lying in front of a small magefire,
her legs covered by a rough woolen blanket. She stared into the flames for a
moment, trying to reconcile the facts in her mind. She was no longer in the
City of the Ancients. She had been attacked by a man she trusted implicitly, then rescued by her dire enemy! It hadn’t been a dream...
"How are you?" A
deep, cultured voice spoke from the shadows. A tall form seemed to materialize
before her in the firelight, black boots, black pants, black gloves, black
leather coat, white pauldrons, pale face, shining
silver hair...Eyes widening as she looked up, up, up, she met the glow of his
own Mako green ones and felt her world wrench away and spin out of control. The
last thing her battered mind registered before the blackness hit her was the
image of him kneeling down beside her to catch her, concern in his eyes.