Bound by Honor

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Her wiggling only made his arms tighten, not ready to let her go in the least and Anrar gave a very light growl, almost in demand for the squirming to stop. If he'd been awake, it wouldn't have been a nasty growl, more of a mock-warning, playful and he nuzzled back into her hair with a deep exhale, sounding nothing less than content. It was only a little while later that his eyes finally flickered open slowly and the elemental's first action was to yawn. The second was to stretching languidly, as a cat might, before his body curled back around the smaller frame against his chest. His eyes took in Evel's hair for a moment then before he sensed the slight tension in her body and a thought niggled at his mind.

The elemental lifted his head up enough to look down at her. Ah, just as he'd thought.

She was awake.

A slight smile curled his mouth, his eyes dancing with mirthful amusement that Anrar never woke up feeling. But he'd had no nightmares. Not one. For the first time since coming to the elven city, he'd sleep peacefully and that was enough to put anyone in a good mood. Having Evel in his arms...well, somehow that was just icing on the cake. The elemental continued to hold her for a long minute, his eyes holding her own, watching the blush spread across her face and feeling his entire body warm with the heat of the flames within him. And then he leaned down and kissed her forehead. It was something he'd never done. His lips lingered against her skin for a moment before he pulled back and loosened his grip, allowing her to leave if she wished.

"Morning, little bird."
 
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Evel quickly got out of his arms, her blush reaching the tips of her ears. "M-m-m-morning..." She said, surprised by the kiss and how relaxed he was about holding her in his sleep. She rubbed the back of her head. "You're probably wondering why you're in my bed and not your own... Well, you see you had fallen asleep when I got back so I fixed your lip and let you be. I didn't want to wake you so I sort of crawled onto the bed because I thought you would leave in the middle of the night or something, I don't know, but you didn't and I had no idea how we got into that position I swear!" The poor elf was blushing a hot red as she rambled, completely embarrassed and unsure what Anrar felt about him holding her and that kiss to the forehead! She had never felt his lips on her skin before and it felt quite good in her mind.

She stood rigid as she waited for Anrar to react, wishing she could just disappear. Sleeping next to the one person you happened to love but didn't know if he loved you back was just a predicament that was suppose to happen in bad romances, not in real life. Then again, she did crawl in the bed with Anrar...

She sighed internally. She would never win in an argument against herself. She would kick her ass with cold facts and blunt logic. Though Anrar always had her beat when it came to logical scenarios. She was just sort of the pretty piece in their little duo. Even there she wasn't sure if that could even count since Anrar made a handsomer man than herself.
 
Anrar sat up slowly as she stuttered and then he tilted his head, listening to her explanation with a straight face until the very last bit...and then he smiled. It was that faint smile he gave only her - Anrar hadn't given a full blown smile since the day she'd told him she'd be his friend when they were children - and he stood from the cot, moving toward the small elf. His hand found her face, palming her cheek gently, feeling the heat of her blush against his skin, but not minding in the least. He was a fire elemental. Heat was his thing. He was drawn to it and anything that enhanced it inside himself...and Evel certainly did that.

"Evel." He said her name softly but firmly to get her attention, to tell her silently to stop rambling and then the elemental spoke further, his dark green eyes holding her paler set. "I did wake in the night, and I chose to stay and I chose to hold you. The blame does not lie with you, little bird."

He leaned down again then and he kissed her hairline, his voice murmured into her hair. "I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I do not regret the choice I made. I would gladly do so again." he informed her calmly, surely before drawing back again and brushing her cheek with his thumb before he pulled away completely, giving her another small smile before he moved to the door. "I will meet you at the horses."

And then he was gone.
 
Evel stood there for a minute, processing what just happened. He had wanted to hold her... He even kissed her on the head! Again! Was that in some sibling way or what did it mean? Stars above, Evel was confused as she felt her blush start to fade. She sighed and started to grab a few extra things for the journey. She would ask him later, she was sure of it. She grabbed her book from under her pillow, wanting it with her so she could write down her thoughts on this journey.

As Evel finished grabbing things and walked down the halls, she got to thinking. What did Anrar feel for her? Was it a sibling like love? Or maybe it was something more? Stars, who knew? She was stuck, trying to think of why Anrar did what he did when she would probably never know because she never had the guts to ask! She always shied away from those topics. Maybe she should finally ask him, before they left for the mission. It would make sense, wouldn't it?

She sighed. No, she couldn't do it. That would distract her and Anrar from the mission and they needed to be completely focused. The princess was at stake here. She reached the horses soon enough, ready to leave and slightly distracted by her thoughts.
 
Anrar watched her come with some amusement, noting that she still seemed to be in deep thought, but any smile he might have given faded at the appearance of Calen. The lieutenant was approaching with a stern look over his face - not that such a thing was new - but he was also approaching rather quickly and the elemental felt a sinking expression move through him. Was he in trouble now? Ticor and the others Evel had mentioned would have had more than enough time to make their complaints to the Captain and Anrar knew what the consequences would be for him. He pressed slightly into Firekicker, wanting to hide completely as he suddenly felt much too cold.

Calen stopped before the two of them, looking from one to the other and then focusing on Anrar. "The Captain has been informed that you started another fight." He waited, eyes coldly factual and Anrar slowly nodded. "I did, lieutenant."

"The Captain wants to know if any flames were involved."

Anrar faltered then, not knowing the answer. He didn't remember the fight and while Evel had said nothing about him burning anyone, that didn't mean he hadn't. He struggled to come up with the right answer and Calen looked a bit more impatient. "Sir StormSky, was there any fire involved in this brawl?"
 
"No sir, he didn't use fire. Anrar blacked out during this fight so he doesn't remember any of it." Evel explained as she stood at attention for the lieutenant. She hoped he didn't ask the three otherwise they might get Anrar in more trouble by saying their was. Then again, nobody had any burn marks so she was sure Anrar was fine.

The small knight wished that the lieutenant would just hurry up and leave so she and Anrar could get going on their mission. The princess needed to be saved and there was no way that she was going to let the lieutenant keep them from going any longer.

Evel mounted her horse, ready to leave. "If you would excuse us, Lieutenant, sir, we need to leave for our mission. The longer we wait the more dire the princess's situation becomes." She steadied Epona, who had never liked being around Calen and waited for him to let them go.
 
An imperious brow rose at Evel's words once she was on her horse and then Calen looked back to Anrar, eyes narrowed. "You should be reprimanded." he stated calmly and the blond Knight resisted strongly the urge to shiver. "Yes, sir." He wasn't going to deny what he knew to be true or shrink from it, but the lieutenant simply watched him for a long moment, silent, before he cleared his throat. "Fortunately for you, the Captain has stated that if there was no fire involved, your offense last time, that it did not count toward your tally marks on this occasion."

The elemental's shoulders visibly sagged in relief and he let out a relieved exhale before looking back to the elf. "Is that all, sir?" His body was already starting to turn toward his stallion, but the lieutenant shook his head. "No."

Anrar turned back forward, glancing at Evel and then Calen, confusion plain in his eyes and wariness. Calen put his hands behind his back, chin tilting upward, ever poised and orderly. "We received word from the Centaurs that their Prince wishes to court Princess Saraca. At this time, the Elven Court, in the absence of the King and Queen, has chosen to accept their proposal."

Dark green eyes narrowed. "Does that mean we're not going?"

"No, you are going, but not on a rescue mission. You are both to check in on the Princess and stay with her within the Centaur city until given further directions."
 
Evel blinked at the lieutenant before nodding. "May we leave then, sir?" She asked, Epona ready to get moving. She hoped that the centaurs didn't kill them on sight when they rode in to check on the princess. She hoped the girl at least had some feelings for the centaur too. Arranged marriages without at least a semblance of feelings were often the worst kind.

She looked over to Anrar, curious as to what he thought about this current situation. At least they didn't have to sneak in and kill anymore people. They could negotiate peacefully and hopefully form an alliance with the centaurs. That would be most helpful as she thought about it. The centaurs were certainly a talented peoples and their help would be appreciated if the Elves were attacked by someone else.

So the small knight sat on her stallion, waiting for permission to leave. she knew that this was going to be either the weirdest or the most fun mission she and Anrar had ever had. At least there weren't any God forsaken mermaids.
 
"You may."

"Why us?" The words came out of Anrar's mouth almost challengingly and the elf gave him a warning look, but answered, cold and factual. "You were requested by the Princess, now I suggest you get going."

Calen stepped back in dismissal before walking away and Anrar looked after him for a moment before he turned without a word and mounted up. A look to Evel confirmed that they were both ready to leave and their horse thundered out of the gate and through the city, once again moving out on the plains. They now had a different destination in mind and a clear path to where they were going, though.

And where they were going had a frown set deep on Anrar's face.

When they'd gained some distance from the city of Chalicia, he looked to Evel and then back at the plains. "Something is not right about this." His fingers went back through his hair, something he did when in deep thought or frustrated about something...or both. "Why would we be requested by the Princess? She doesn't know either of us. Not as much as she knows her own personal Knights. Why would they have me, an elemental, representing the elves? And you? You're not a high-ranking Knight, no titles that you can negotiate with the Centaurs with any true authority."

The blond shook his head. "I doesn't make sense."
 
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Evel shrugged at the questions, unsure how to answer them. "I don't know why anyone would request us. All I really know is that something about this is fishy but I'm going to hope to the stars above that this mission goes smoothly and nothing bad has happened to the princess." She kept an eye out, already nervous as they went back to the centaur kingdom.

As Evel thought about it, she laughed. "If I didn't know any better I would think this was a suicide mission that Calen sent us on just out of spite for you." She hoped that that wasn't the case seeing as she would like Anrar and herself to stay alive at least until they got promoted to become great knights and Anrar remembered everything about himself.

For now, Evel just settled with following orders like a blind sheep. She smiled slightly as the wind blowing through her hair calmed her to an extent. Whatever trap this was, she was going to be prepared.
 
Anrar adored his friend, he really, truly did, but sometimes she frustrated him. She was smart, talented, spunky and somewhere inside that small, meek demeanor there was a roaring lion made of courage just waiting to show itself, waiting for the right opportunity he knew, but right now...now she was squandering all those gifts to be a follower who questioned but did nothing about such questions - the worst kind. What good was it to know something was wrong and then turn your back on it? Maybe you didn't have all the answers and couldn't solve the problem right away, but to just bury your head in the sand and hope, pretend everything was going to be fine?

That was just a recipe for complete disaster.

At least go into a situation prepared in more ways than just knowing it was wrong, but perhaps with some understanding of what was wrong and how one might fix it if it presented itself. That was what Anrar firmly believed in, especially when he sensed something was wrong with a situation, with a mission. It had saved his life and the lives of those around him many times.

The elemental remained quiet, pensive and he didn't answer Evel, rather focused on trying to reason through what they'd been told - which wasn't much. That was another thing that was wrong. They should have been completely pulled aside, debriefed by the Captain, told how the King and Queen were doing, given a true objective, instructions for how the negotiations were going. This...this was wrong. Very, very wrong.

This...was a suicide mission.

Anrar stopped Firekicker completely, staring ahead for a moment with a blank expression as something clicked in his head. His dark green eyes flickered to Evel and then back out toward their destination, the Centaur's lands, and back to the she-elf. "Evel...have you ever gone on a treaty mission before?"
 
Evel slowed her horse when Anrar stopped, turning around to see what the man was thinking. She thought about his question. "... as a young child I went with my guardian fairly often on these kinds of missions, but otherwise no. Why do you ask?" She had an inkling of what Anrar was thinking, but simply let him tell her when he decided to. She stilled Epona, who was impatient and ready to go.

The short elf examined her friend, knowing that what she had said before annoyed him. She was born and raised to never act on your questions, never step out of line, challenge authority and you will be hurt. If the knights wanted to get rid of one less member then she would follow without a word. Life had varying importance in the elven kingdom. The life of an orphan, no matter how skilled at a bow, was always the least in value.

Anrar, however, was a fierce warrior and a prince as she recently learned. An elemental that became part of the elf army was a great asset. The only reason he was teased was out of fear. They feared his power, his grace, his utter being. What did they see in her? Just the orphan. And she let them. She lived to make Anrar shine in her opinion. So she asked the stupid questions, hoped that things would turn out right, and try to support her friend in what he did.

She feared the day Anrar caught onto her little act.
 
"I ask, because I have and this isn't right." Anrar shook his head and he looked back at Chalicia and then forward again, to the Centaur lands. "This is wrong. It's...it's so very wrong. When you're sent on a peace treaty with a kingdom you've been warring with for years without end, you don't send two Knights who are ill-suited and qualified to such a task. You don't send ANYONE unprepared to make offers or reject them, to know what the plan is should the worst happen or the best."

He ran his fingers back through his blond hair, mind racing and the frown growing more and more prominent over his features. Tension riddled his body, angry kind of tension and Firekicker snorted and chaffed at his bit, shaking his head a bit. He was every inch the warhorse and his master felt ready to go into battle, something that made the stallion kick out with his front hoof, eager and willing.

Anrar gave him no signal, though, hand secure on the reign, legs tight around the steed's sides, but applying no kind of guiding pressure. "We weren't debriefed and since when can a court make decision for a still-living King and Queen? They can't. They can only make decision for the Kingdom of the monarchs are dead. And the only reason they'd send me to do this is because the Centaurs want it, not the Princess. And the only reason the Centaurs would want me is to kill me, and you..."

The elemental shook his head once more. "They think you're expendable. Wrongly do they assume so, but they do. You were right; this IS a suicide mission, Evel."
 
(Sorry for the late reply, I could have sworn that I replied to this.)

Evel nodded. She noticed the tension and the way his horse moved, keeping a note of it in the back of her mind. "Then what do you want to do?" She asked, keeping a blank face as she waited for Anrar to come to a decision. If they went, they would surely be killed. If they ran, they would be charged as deserters and hunted down to be killed. Either way, they had the possibility of dying. Epona shook his head, giving a snort as he wanted to move. Evel brushed mane to calm him down, knowing that the horse wanted to run into battle just as much as she did.

The plains were strangely quiet as the two considered what they were going to do next. Evel felt nervousness and restlessness creep up on her as she waited for Anrar to say what he wished. She knew that they were expected to be within the centaur kingdom by two to three days time. If they were not going to be there in that time then they would have to find somewhere to hide that would take a while for the elven and centaur armies to find.

This was becoming almost a bit too complicated for the small knight to really care anymore. So many twists and turns presented themselves and her own mind was confusing her with strange thoughts. If she could just have one thing not turn out to be more than just face-value then she would be very appreciative.
 
(Sokay, I've been pretty busy.)


What did he want to do?

What he WANTED to do was leaving this whole damn mess behind and not come back. He wanted to let the Centaurs and the Elves deal with their own problems and keep him out of it. He wanted to know more about his past. He wanted his head to stop hurting. He wanted his heart to make sense regarding Evel. He wanted to keep her safe. He wanted to find his sister. He wanted to simply STOP and BREATHE without the fear that made him look constantly over his shoulder.

He wanted a great many things, but none of them were things he was going to get just because he wanted them.

He wanted to not have to make this decision alone. To not feel so alone.

Anrar sighed, brushing his hand back through his gold hair and ignoring the way it trembled. "I think we should go to the Centaurs, but we should not make ourselves known. Observe them first, see if we can't gain some information about what is going on before we make anymore decisions." It seemed like the wisest course of action to him, but his dark green eyes met Evel's, waiting to see if she agreed or had any suggestions of her own.
 
Evel felt something pull at her heartstrings as she sighed. "Then please forgive me for what I am about to do..." She used the handle of her knife to hit Anrar right in the spot that would leave him unconscious. She quickly hit his horse, making Firekicker run toward the north as she started toward the centaurs. Hopefully, Anrar wouldn't be too mad with her for doing that. She knew that the captain and lieutenant had been talking about how much of a danger Anrar had become. They knew what he could do and they feared him. She would not allow them to send him off to the centaurs to be killed. She would scope it out and if they asked for him, she would say that Anrar fell ill during their travels and had to return to the elves. She was left to make peace with the centaurs instead.

She knew it would take at least a good few hours for Anrar to awaken. It was enough to at least get her close. If wore came to worse she would run. She hated being part of the knights and being under these men. In all honesty, the only reason she ever wanted to join was to master the bow and arrow. She did that, getting near perfect hits every time. She also found a friend who she wanted to be more with, but never could. So her purpose had been fulfilled. Why did she stay? The stars above were the only ones that truly knew.

The small knight felt uncertainty and fear start to creep up on her. Yet she pressed on, urging Epona to leave enough space between herself and the elemental that he would have troubles looking for her again quickly. She felt a wetness start to sting her eyes. Her vision blurred and things became unclear. Where was she? Where was she going? It all felt like a dream as she neared the centaur lands. The grim reaper would be smiling on her soon.
 
He hadn't expected it.

From anyone else, he would have caught it, would have suspected, would have stopped them. But from Evel, the person he trusted above all others? No. Never would he have expected such a betrayal from her. Oh, he knew why she'd done it, the little fool, but that didn't take the wrongness out of it, it didn't take the sting out of the hurt and it didn't take the profound ache out of his temples. Really, like his head didn't pain him enough as it was?

Anrar had woken on the ground in some obscure field, Firekicker grazing some few feet away. He was a battle-trained horse and would not leave his master if he fell. Evel was lucky his horse remembered his training otherwise he would have been left unconscious on the ground with no supplies whatsoever, no horse and no idea where he was...though, that last part was still true. Oh, when he found her, he was going to kill her.

Well...not really, but yell at her for sure!

Of all the stupid, idiotic, moronic, foolish, stubborn-headed...he didn't even have another word for it right now! But of all the things for her do, this was the most ridiculous one she could have imagined! The elemental tightened Firekicker's saddle with a muttered curse as he looked again at the darkening sky. Did she really think he wouldn't come after her? Did she not realize that he'd cross through hell itself to retrieve her from her own mistakes? Did she not realize he was bloody well lost without her?!

"Eveline, you had better be alive when I find you..."

The blond mounted back up and without hesitation, he took his stallion back in the direction the torn up earth created by running hooves had caused.
 
This was not what she had expected.

Blood spilled on the ground as Evel shot through the hordes, barely managing to keep herself aloft. She had arrived at the centaurs only to find them holding the princess. The young royal shivered, a knife to her neck. Save the princess, Evel's mind told her. An arrow hit her shoulder, piercing through and causing her to mess up her shot. The arrow flew through the wrong target, still taking down a centaur. Arrows flew. People fell. The small knight simply fought. Epona raced past the centaurs. They did not aim for the horse; Evel was their true target.

The scene of war comforted Evel. Dead falling at the hands of her bow. Fierce eyes blazing in the setting sun. She was in her element. The princess looked completely horrified. Evel shot the centaur holding her captive and took her into her arms, keeping her safe. As the pair rode, arrows flew through the sky. Three managed to bury themselves in Evel's back, the armor she was wearing doing nothing to protect her from the sharpened arrowheads. A yelp of pain tore through her throat, but she kept riding.
"You're hurt! You need to stop, you're hurt!" The princess cried. Tears fell onto the small knights chest. She felt her vision blur again as she raced away from the centaurs who dared not to follow her. Her rescued damsel was bawling. Cries flew, and tears flowed. Yet this all calmed the knight. She shushed the princess, moving a hand to slowly run through the girl's hair.

"It is alright, your majesty... you are safe now... don't worry..." She whispered. The gates neared. This seemed to go too fast. Black started to edge into Evel's mind. She wanted to sleep... Yes, sleep would do her good. She would wake up in Anrar's arms if he didn't hate her for what she did. The princess shouted out. All fell silent.
 
Anrar wasn't entirely sure he was going in the right direction. He'd followed the tracks left by Firekicker the best he could in the dark, but it wasn't easy and the horse had gone in circles at some points. It frustrated him to no end and he swore when he saw Evel again, he was going to give her the lecture of a lifetime. Worry had started to seep into the irritation, though, something he'd not wanted to feel yet when he was so helpless to do anything about it, but as time dragged on, it came relentlessly.

She'd gone to the Centaurs alone and while Anrar knew Evel was skilled, greatly so and braver than she would ever admit, he also knew she was grossly outnumbered and he wouldn't put it past her to do something foolish without thinking first. He only did that when it came to HER safety. SHE did it for ANYONE. Her heart was too big, too kind and she so desperately wanted to prove herself when she shouldn't have had to.

He couldn't shake the feeling that she had gotten herself into a world of trouble.

And he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Firekicker sensed it, too, his head tossing nervously and his hoof pawing the ground when Anrar urged him to a stop. The elemental looked around carefully, hand around the hilt of his sword, but when the two people appeared, they still startled him. Both of black hair, one was male and the other female. They appeared to be siblings and they watched the blond with eyes that were completely gold, no pupil, no iris, solid gold and cold. Such cold gazes they had that it sent a streak of fear down the Knight's spine that he could not explain, but he sensed something about them, something he could not name but recognized in the very depths of his memory, the blackness that smothered such memories from his sight. He knew this feeling. Somewhere in his past he'd felt it before, but he couldn't name it now.

"Who are you? State your name and business." Anrar commanded, hand still on his sword.

He didn't get an answer as the two looked at each other with amused smirks and suddenly the fire elemental found himself wrapped up in ice. He'd seen it flare from their hands in the split second before it hit his body and Anrar felt his body start to freeze almost instantly, blood slowing, heartbeat slowing, the fire inside him trying to flare in protest. He fell from Firekicker, numb and blacked out as soon as he hit the ground.

His last thought was of Evel and how worried he still was about her.
 
The doctors were quick to take her back to the hospital and start to fix her up. They were quick to find out the knights true gender as they needed to take off the bindings. A servant ran to the knights, explaining the situation. The lieutenant and the captain were not happy with the news. One of their archers turned out to be a female, the one that they were going to promote no less, and the man they had sent to kill was not confirmed dead. What were they to do?

A messenger was sent out to go find Anrar's body so they could say he died in the field. No muss, no fuss. Hopefully the body would be found, and they wouldn't have to guess. The young lad was given a horse and a week's worth of supplies. Off he went to find the elemental. Hopefully he would find the poor man soon.

The kingdom was curious about this knight that saved their princess. The people were not able to see the savior of their royal family which was uncommon. The people were starting to talk, wondering why this person was not being revealed to them, why they were not able to give this person the proper praise they deserved. People murmured and second guessed the king and queen, wondering.
 
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