Protecting the Bonds Created

[DuskRaven]

(This is her, more or less, except with longer hair that's braided. I couldn't find one with a decent braid or long hair that matched her personality as much as this one. ^^)

She was walking down the street from her home to her school when it happened. The girl's feet were taking her down the normal route to her school--turn right at the corner, take the first left into an alleyway, cross a board the covered up a hole in the concrete, turn right and walk for twenty more minutes int a straight line until one hit the school grounds. She had already entered the alleyway.

Her grey-green eyes weren't however, locked on where her feet were leading it. They were locked on the cloudy sky above her. It had been threatening to rain all week but now she was sure she would have to find a way to get home without getting soaked. Finding that way should be the most fun that she'd had all week she supposed as she neared the hole that was in her way. her black hair which contrasted with the grey-green of her eyes flowed behind her in a tightly done braid that ended at the middle of her back. Jeans, black and torn at the knee, adorned her 5'4'' frame as she moved through the trash that littered the alleyway. Black, mid-thigh high boots kept the bottoms of her jeans from touching the ground as well as raising her another inch and a half in height. Unlike her other 'normal' friends at school, the young woman had taken to wearing an old fashion cloak instead of a jacket when it got chilly and was now wearing the black and grey material over a flashy blue top that had an abstract design on the front. A MP3 player was hooked to her pocket before trailing earphones up to her ears, blasting music into her ears. A messenger bag crossed her chest and held only the bare essentials for the classes she would have that day.

Riela Buchan probably should have been paying more attention to her surroundings on that day. However, she didn't and thus did not notice that the board that had always been there to let her go to the other side had been taken away. She found out however quickly enough.

Riela cried out as her foot found that there was nothing to support it over the hole. She toppled forward and screamed as the fall seemed to go on for hours, though she knew the hole only to be five or six feet deep at the most. Finally her body hit something solid and she found herself rolling down a soft, grass covered hill.

When the ride was done, Riela grabbed her head and pulled her earphones out which had miraculously stayed in through the accident. When she opened her eyes however, she couldn't believe her eyes. Where she expected to find crumbly rocks and earth she found that she sat at the base of an old tree in the middle of a large field. she blinked her eyes a few times and tried to figure out if that was just her imagination, or if it was all real.

"All right, what is going on?!" she cried out to the empty air around her.

[Hope this is okay for you Panda. :) If you need me to change anything, just tell me and I'll do what I can.:foxdetermined:]

 

[XC]

As the girl walked down the road, a shadow, aside from hers also followed her, doggedly. That was her bodyguard - Skyler Levitas. From young, Skyler had been made to be beside the Princess and had been training on how to fight in order to protect her from harm. It was his responsibility to tail her to school, join her there, and then tail her back at the same time. Only like that would they be able to ensure the Princess was well-protected. Plus, being childhood friends the two of them were bonded - And that made Skyler want to protect the Princess even more. To tell you the truth, Skyler was already in love with the Princess. He just didn't know yet, neither did he want to admit it. After all, he was bound by duty, not emotion.

Or so he thought.

As Skyler leapt across building to building, maintaining a top-to-ground view of Riela he made sure his equipment was secured on the way. All of it was magic, to keep him from maintaining the guise of a teenage boy. His shirt was armourweave, enchanted and had many intricate runes in it to protect whoever wearing it from harm. The armlets he wore could each turn into a specific weapon when called upon, the necklace he wore could - you get the point.

Skyler's long, silky weight hair flew out behind him as he threw himself across a ledge, through the air over a particularly large gap. As per usual, he donned a black vest whose properties had already been described above and a pair of blue jeans that did nothing except for make him look good. His backpack was strapped to his shoulders tightly, although it was pretty much empty. Skyler liked to keep most of his books in school and he only brought home the relevant ones. The only thing he usually wore that wasn't on him at the moment was his glasses. They were carefully stowed away in a case inside his bag - After all, you never know when you might drop them when jumping from building to building.

Suddenly, Skyler felt his insides go cold as he saw the asset he had been protecting all his life walk towards a hole - He knew about the hole. They hole should have a plank that acted as a bridge! But no. And what was the Princess doing? Probably listening to her music and engrossed with .. Whatever she thought of in her free time. His body almost blurring, Skyler leapt off the building and shot off towards the Princess, hoping to save her before she fell into the hole. Just as Riela fell out of range, Skyler reached the edge of the hole and saw the girl he was sworn to protect fall into oblivion.

At first, tears had begun to stream down Skyler's face as he realized the Princess was dead until .. He felt something. It was magic. But not the magic you saw everyday. This was .. Different. This was something powerful yet .. Ambiguous in nature. This wasn't like chaos or holy magic, the alignments being extremely clear. Channeling his aura to his hand, Skyler sparked the aura such that it materialized as a blue orb and he tossed it into the hole, so he could estimate the depth of the hole. Nope. Nothing. The orb vanished into darkness - Could it be? He had to try.

Taking a deep breath, Skyler threw himself forward into the darkness, spread-eagled and he simply fell through it. His heart beated wildly and his hair belowed around him crazily but there was nothing he could do. It was his life's duty to protect the Princess and if the Princess was dead, there was no reason for him to live, either.

But aha.

His hunch was right.

Tucking his head in between his knees, Skyler braced himself for impact as he rolled down the hill and he realized - Sunlight! Didn't he just fall down a dark hole? Why would there be sunlight at the very bottom?! Standing up, Skyler took a moment to readjust to his surroundings before he saw what he wanted to see - The Princess!

"Princess!"

Skyler elated ran over to her, glad that she was alive.

"Are you okay, Princess?"

 

[DuskRaven]

Reila spun her head to stare wide eyed up at her long time friend Skyler. She pushed herself up from the ground and ran to meet Skyler halfway. "Sky!" she called, much happier now that she was in this predicament that stretched even her imagination which could be very large at times. She launched herself at the young man and wrapped her arms around his neck (just to be sure he was real, her logical self said while her emotion based side tried to inch its way through and tell him that maybe, just maybe--no, not now).

When she was sure that he was solid, real, and not some other random person that had come to see if she was okay, Reila pulled away and looked up at the face that she sometime dreamt about. He had always been there to help and helped protect her--first from childhood bullies, then from men that thought it would be funny to trap a middle schooler in an alleyway. It seemed right that he be here to protect her though this crazy space thingie. She couldn't really figure out what was going on. Above them was a nice and gentle sky with a sun that said that it was about midday. Hadn't it been a muddy morning? Had she really bumped her head or something?

No this couldn't be a dream. "Skyler, what's going on? Please tell me you blasted know what is going on." Reila said, turning around to stare at the grassy plain and the tree and the rest of her surroundings.

 

[XC]

Tears had begun to well up in Skyler's eyes as Reila ran over to wrap her arms around his neck. The affection he was receiving from the princess was truly gratifying - It just made him feel so happy. In that moment of bliss Skyler too wrapped his arms around the Princess and held her tight, because for a moment there he had thought that Reila was lost. The fact that she was still alive and well, if not in an unknown place was a good enough reason for him to feel so happy just to see her. The affection he was receiving from her helped his happiness along quite a bit, too.

"I don't know too, Princess. I saw you fall in and I jumped after you." Skyler gave her an embarassed smile and scratched his head while he thought of what to do. The portal had transported them somewhere .. But where? Were they still in the same country? Were they still even in the same world? The Magical Grimoires of their country spoke of portals and other worlds but .. They were all old, vague and obscure.

"I'll try to contact your father, first." That was the best course of action they should do at the moment. Skyler placed a hand onto the necklace around his neck - It was a silver chain connected to a pair of wings. Focusing his magical energy, Skyler channeled it through the necklace that he wore and he tried to contact the other holder of the necklace - Riela's father. It was made in a pair, and it was enchanted in such a way that the holders of both necklaces could communicate telepathically and directly to each other.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Nothing.

"Reila, bad news. I don't know if it's the magic in the necklace malfunctioning or what but, I can't contact your father."

 

[DuskRaven]

While Skyler had fiddled with the necklace that linked him to her father, Reila had taken off her cloak and messenger bag and placed them on the ground. Then she ran up the hill that she had come rolling down moments ago. She was glad that she hadn't worn a long sleeve shirt, just the cloak to keep her warm on the muddy morning at home. The blue lit under the sky's light as she reached the crest of the hill. Before looking down the other side she looked back down at her friend and stared as he spoke. SHe could tell from his expression that he hadn't been able to get in contact with her father. That was okay with her.

While she knew that her father would worry, Reila almost didn't want to return home. This was a surprising new adventure! Cupping her hands around her mouth, she called down the short rise with a grin.

"I'm going to look over here to see if there is any wildlife or cities Skyler," she called before turning and taking the last few steps to the crest. SHe knew that her stuff would be all right there with Skyler. He wouldn't let anyone take it.

Reila stopped when she saw what was on the other side of the hill. Her mouth opened in a small 'o' as she stared at the city that spilled out before her about three miles away from the foot of the hill. She had, at first, thought maybe it was her home town, but then she noticed that the buildings were small--no sky scrapers like she was used to. She couldn't hear the sounds of cars either. But she could see however three horseman riding her way.

 

[XC]

Realizing that the Princess was walking away and going off to explore, leaving her items behind Skyler swooped over and picked them up as he followe the Princess. He wasn't about to let the Princess out of his sight - Not when they don't know where they were. Well, Skyler knew that they were somewhere far, far away but he didn't know anything else about the place except for the fact that it was similar to where they had come from. That was all.

With the Princess' messenger bag slung over his body and the cloak folded around his arm, Skyler stood beside the Princess and looked at the city before the both of them. It wasn't a metropolis, like where they came from with all it's tall skyscrapers and such but it wasn't exactly a shabby place either. They had nice looking, solid buildings and that was good enough.

Spotting the three horsemen galloping towards them, Skyler channeled his magic once again, ready to active any of the weapons that he had on him to protect the Princess in the event that they were hostile.

"Aye! Who goes there?" The youthful, white-haired boy shouted this out to the three, his voice betraying his age.

 

[DuskRaven]

Reila tilted her head as Skyler joined her, her eyes locked on the horsemen that were still nearing. Something in her screamed. She looked around her. She hadn't heard a scream. She supposed it had to do with the magical aura that Skyler had. But then she looked down at the quickly drawing near horsemen and that scream in her mind repeated. It was like an alarm telling her that the me had no good intentions.

"Skyler..." Reila started before falling silent as the horsemen arrived and surrounded them.

"We should be asking you that question mage," said the tallest of the three. All three had helms on and swords at their waists. They were ready, it seemed, for fighting. The scorn of the word 'mage' was audible to all present.

"Skyler..." Reila said again, stepping so that her back was to his back. She was used to fights. She wasn't a damsel in distress on normal occasions.

"And why would you let your woman take such a fighting position?" asked the second man from the group.

Reila had been about to suggest they run, or better yet, submit and hope for the best, but the way that the men had acted stopped her short. Her mouth formed a small 'o' as she stared at that horseman. Her cheeks slowly became a bright pink. Her normally well controlled temper bloomed. She was no man's 'woman'. How dare he! She turned darkening eyes on the last speaker and glared. She was very tempted to go over and take drastic measures to make that man see just how Skyler could let her get into a fighting position. She would start with his most sensitive area and then work her way up.

 

[XC]

Skyler felt reassured once Reila took her position, going back to back with him. Over the years Reila had learnt how to fight and frequently fought alongside Skyler. Even though she wasn't as good as her bodyguard, she was one of the only people Skyler would trust to watch her body. Now, in such a dangerous situation he couldn't be even more thankful. He didn't know how good these men were with their swords but they outnumbered them and had them surrounded. Furthermore, they didn't seem to like Mages. Men who fight on the basis of hate will fight to their very last breaths. Skyler didn't like fighting men like that. He didn't like to kill.

Blushing a deep scarlet when Reila was called his woman, Skyler felt a sense of pride rising within him and he could feel his mind wander - What if Reila was truly his woman? What if? Yet that was not to be, and Skyler shook his head to get it out of the clouds and back to the dangerous situation beforehand.

As they had physical contact, it was easier for Skyler to pass on a thought into her head, and all Skyler had to do was focus very hard on her and then project his thought out towards her. What he projected was how they should move if this comes to a fight. "Reila, go for the horses first. If they go for the kill, feel free to do the same."

However, Skyler was not inclined to fight against such odds. He knew that he would be able to down all of them men without much difficulty but what about Reila? It was her that he was worried for and he wondered if there was a way he could get her out of the picture first. He thought of something to tell the men, but he knew that Reila was not going to be happy. Even if she wasn't going to be happy .. Her safety came first, so Skyler spoke out to the men.

"How about you leave the girl alone and I will fight all of you, at once. Give me your word that the girl will not be harmed."

In a show of his own power and skill, Skyler channeled his magic to the bracelets he had on each wrist. There was a single flash of light and in their places was a sword and a shield. The sword was without a bladeguard and the hilt was white, the blade a shiny metallic silver. It was a blade enchanted with magic - It could cut through steel easily and he knew for one that none of these men would be able to stand before it. The shield was a kite shield with the emblem of a wolf's head in white at the very center, bordered by a black outline of the shield. The shield absorbed energy from every strike it took and added to the power of the blow behind that of the sword.

"And I am not merely a mage. I am the bodyguard of the Princess.A battle mage."

 

[DuskRaven]

The sense of having Skyler projecting his thoughts to her caused a shiver to run down Reila's back. And then he had to go and act all macho. Reila turned her head slightly to look at him through the corner of her eyes. Skyler, what the hell do you think you are doing?she asked herself mentally before turning her gaze back at the two horsemen in her sight.

"I'm tired of your talk boy." said the last person who hadn't spoken by this time. "There hasn't been a princess in these parts for well over twenty years. They are all too busy getting killed by the Valkish. She may be a princess in your heart boy, but she won't be a true princess unless she is related to the king and queen, and as far as I am aware, their last daughter was killed three months back in the capital, in her own room."

"You are rather forthcoming with information." Reila snapped, backing up closer to her best friend, "My friend Skyler challenged you. Will you accept, or are you going to decline?"

"Hah! you have a mouth girly. Are you so sure that your little knight with shining sword'll be able to protect you from the king's own army should he kill one of us?" came the voice from the second that had had called her Skyler's woman.

Reila twitched. Her control was on the verge of snapping and this idiot was only making it worse. "Do you think that you'd be able to make them yield without killing them Sky?" she asked in the softest voice she could.

 

[XC]

It's my job to keep you safe, Reila.

For the mental communication Skyler had opted to use the Princess' name, which he made use of during only more intimate or private moments between them, say a heart to heart talk and such. In addition to the fact that they did not even answer to his challenge, they were threatening the life of the Princess. Now they had crossed the line. His duty was to keep Reila safe and that was the very first priority in his life. Next was her happiness and only after that would it be his own life. Furthermore, the man was truly asking for a savage beating, calling Skyler boy. He hated, with a passion being called boy. His abilties surpassed those of many, if not most men and so did his responsibilities. He deserved to be treated like a man.

Skyler did not even answer to the Princess - That was his way of telling her that yes. Her wish was his command. Skyler's eyes darted from one horseman to another as he considered which one he would take down first. Finally, his gaze rested upon the one that had called him a boy and shit talked him constantly. He would be the first to fall, first so suffer.

Lunging forward Skyler's body was barely more than a blur as he cut out the horse's legs out under it and it toppled forward, spilling its rider too. On the way of the rider's fall he pulled an arm back and bashed his shield into the man's knees, effectively shattering his knee caps and rendering him unable to walk, plus a huge load of pain to deal with.

Just as the man hit the ground Skyler rapidly turned his sword into a bracelet again and pulled Reila behind him with his free hand, away from the reach of the two horsemen now that their formation had been broken. Once he let go of the Princess the bracelet burst into light once again and turned into the sword he was wielding before.

"So which of you bastards are next?"

 

[DuskRaven]

Reila hadn't turned to see what her friend was doing. She had learned that lesson during their first fight together in this way. She had turned when yells had begun and had received a kick to the midsection and a black eye for her interest. Once she was spun out of the way however so that Skyler could watch the other two she stared at the horse and man that were laying on the ground. She felt no sympathy for the man, but her heard screamed for the horse that had been simply doing as it was supposed to.

When she was released, she scrambled over to the horses side, placing a gentle hand on the horses heaving side as it gave a horrible scream of pain. "Hush, hush, please, it'll be fine, we'll get you a healer, or something." Reila said, her voice holding a kindness that she only used with Skyler and other animals. "You'll run with the best of them when they heal you up, I promise."

The other two horsemen had taken a few steps back after the display of strength, and then took another step back when Reila calmed the screaming horse. The horse was no longer writhing in pain but lay, gasping for breath as the woman calmed the horse. When the creature should have been kicking with it's legs, it was looking at the girl as if she was it's rider and knew that she would protect it.

"Skyler, not the horses next time all right?" Reila asked, turning her eyes up to her protector before jerking as the man with the bashed knees pulled her back to put a knife to her throat. She cursed herself for not paying attention to the other enemy.

"Tyler, enough. Let the girl go. You are better than the mages we deal with, Skyler is it?" said the last of the horsemen who got down from his horse and took off his helmet. Her hair fell down around her shoulders, and she threw her sword to the ground. "I, personally, would like to be able to ride horses and walk for the rest of my life."

The other horseman was no as smart as his commander and reared his horse before galloping towards Skyler, sword drawn as the man holding Reila remained where he was, using the princess' body as a shield.

 

[XC]

"Yes, Princess."

Skyler said an affirmative to her before his eyes opened in alarm at the fact that the Princess had been dragged down with a knife to her throat and being used as a meat shield. He should have taken better care of the man, disabled him better instead of simply making sure that the person cannot walk. The white-haired teenager gripped the hilt of his sword even tighter as he looked back and forth, wondering what he should do at the moment. Whether he should save the Princess first or take down the other two horsemen.

However, Skyler let out a small sigh of relief as the horseman - Or horsewoman, whatever you call a woman who is riding a horse took off her helmet and revealed herself, before she dropped her sword and surrendered. That was good. That was the point that he was trying to make. Make them surrender, instead of beating all of them into the ground and leaving them half-dead while Reila tortures the shit out of them and make them wish that ethey were never born.

With a giant backflip, Skyler's body blurred in an arc as he landed behind the man who had Reila hostage, before his sword fell in an arc of deadly steel and the man's grip on Reila slackened, his head having been sliced open by Skyler's sword. The cut was clean and just enough to kill him - Skyler had to be careful with the cut, he didn't want to injure Reila either. However, just as Skyler flipped the man had enough time to cut Reila - A small cut barely a centimetre long and merely scratching the surface of the skin.

Again, Skyler kicked off from the ground and he soared at the other charging horseman, the shield held out before him. Skyler felt the satisfying impact jar up the length of his arm before he tumbled to the ground with the swordsman who he had just knocked down. Pinning the person to the ground with his shield and knees, Skyler hurled the brass pommel of his sword into the man's bare temple - The helmet had fallen off when he got knocked down and immediately caused him to go out cold.

Breathing hard, Skyler stood up and he sealed away both of the weapons, them returning to their forms as bracelets on both of his hands, and he evenly met the gaze of the remaining person standing.

"Tell no one of this."

 

[DuskRaven]

Reila had winced when the knife had cut into her neck, but had tried her best to remain silent. Screaming and and carrying on would only distract Skyler. when she felt the man behind her fall away, Reila refused to look back, sure that the man could no longer be alive. There were some things she couldn't stand, one of which was dead men. Instead of looking, she returned to reassuring the animal next to her, her eyes locking on that instead of the mayhem that was going on around her.

The female knight had watched with a steely face as both of her men were killed. She tilted her head to examine the two strangers and frowned deeper. The lad was telling her not to tell anyone? She couldn't help it. The woman rider laughed. She laughed so hard that she ended up doubling over. "Mage, if I return to the city they will think that I negotiated for my fellows to be killed." She said between laughs. "As of this moment I am a traitor to that city. I have no one to tell, even if by some show of fate that they believe me. Mages are not normally this powerful, nor do they know how to use swords and shields. They rely too much on their magic to fight."

Reila looked up from the horse at that. "So there is no way to get a healer for this horse without you getting into trouble?" she asked, worry in her voice.

"No, milady, there isn't. It would be simpler and far more humane to kill the beast--" the woman said, as if it was the most simple thing in the world to do.

"Humane!?" Reila snapped, her eyes glittering dangerously. "This horse served you and your men for who knows how long and you can't get a mage to help heal her? Tell me what is so humane about that." The horse, under her touch, started to make noises again as it sensed her anger. Reila shot the woman a glare before turning her attention back to calming the horse.