Threads of Fire

The bramble did not really bother Sabelle. Yes it was annoying, but that was the price one paid when cutting through the woods and in all truth it could have been much much worse, thus her surprise when she looked behind to find Calden so vexed as to pull up a bush and then abruptly take the lead. It was easier to navigate, but Calden's frustration did not seem to ease by the act.

Further through the woods they went. Occasionally Sabelle had to get Calden to pause so she could get her bearings. The woods had changed greatly, but there were still small hills and outcrops of rock that helped her find her way, and as they started to noticeably go uphill she knew they would be to the temple grounds shortly.

Instead of the well manicured clearing she had expected, the first sign of the temple grounds was a broken pillar among the deciduous trees. Sabelle completely stopped and went over to one of the larger pieces. She said nothing to Calden, nor made a sound. A small shiver went down her back when she noticed traces of glass imbedded into the broken fragments, suggesting great heat had been involved.

Standing up straight she looked around. Getting her bearings once more she dashed off. She had to get to the heart of the grounds and to the sanctuary!
 
Calden became more and more frustrated as time went on, but by the time they reached the pillar, he'd gone back to being tired and sullen instead of ragey and frustrated. However, Sabelle's sudden discomfort and tension cut through his exhaustion. As she ran, he followed, doing his best to keep up despite the fact that, by now, muscles were screaming in protest and his mind was playing tricks on him, sudden flashes of color and light dotting the edges of his vision.

"Sabelle, wait," he hissed, reaching for her shoulder and trying to draw her to a stop, only to be shrugged off as she raced onward. For a moment, he lost her as she rounded a rock outcropping. There she was, in the distance! He pushed himself to full speed, feet thudding against the ground. It was getting too hard to run, and he couldn't keep up. Calden lost his footing, slamming into the ground next to what appeared to be a rather ruined set of steps. Groaning, he pushed himself to his feet, plodding onward when he could no longer run.

"Sabelle!" This time, the call was desperate. She was out of his field of vision!
 
This had not been what she had expected to find when she returned home. She knew there would be changes, changes she would be unable to predict, but it never occurred to her that it would be destroyed. Sabelle had expected people here. Priestesses tending to parishioners, young orphans playing, priests from other orders visiting to share wisdom and happily debate doctrine. She had not expected the woods to be hiding her home.

The worse part was she knew what happen, surely as if she had been there and not locked away in her own spell. The Red had come. He had come to take vengeance on the order for the one he wanted was completely out of reach and in his fury he wished to punish someone, who better then those she loved. He might have too thought to find someone like her. Like her in what respect she still wasn't positive. The Red had not been exactly diplomatic to her, demanding she come with him, and when she refused he tried to coerce, and when she fled he persued.

Even now she was fleeing while she was coming home.

Upon the steps leading to the Sancurary she saw it still stood. It was perhaps the one light in this dark observation for her. As she almost reached the doors she heard Calden. Moments before she had shrugged him off, wanting to know how badly the Red and destroyed this place, but Calden's voice cut through her focus and she paused. Looking behind her she didn't see Calden right away. It didn't make sense, Calden was more physically fit then her, a faster runner and obviously stronger. Sabelle was confused as she started backtracking. Confused and worried. She did not take not account his exhaustion.
 
When he reached the top of the stairs, it was obvious that, not only was he exhausted, but that the spell was in danger of slipping. The air wavered around him and his form seemed to sit atop itself like a badly worn mask. Calden slumped to the ground, looking around. Confusion was evident in his features and he was unable to go any further.

"Sabelle... so sorry..." There was regret in his voice, agony and shame. He should have known. Even as a whelp, he should have come here and given aid. But he'd been living a life of blissful ignorance and it had cost these people. And if he didn't get up, it would cost Sabelle.

There was a spell, a dragon spell, that would give him the strength he needed. It would keep him whole and going, but it was a costly spell. He'd be eating his own life. What he needed would only take a few months from the end. A few months of old age for a few years of magical youth and vitality. He fought through the fog to begin to mutter the syllables. Technically, this fell just outside of darkest magic, a type of not-quite-necromancy. Naturally, the remaining wards on the temple immediately snuffed the magic. Thankfully, it wouldn't exact its toll, having never been implemented, but the interruption caused the frustrated man to shout an angry expletive.
 
Seeing Calden, Sabelle sighed in relief. He had only fallen behind, but he looked far passed worn out. When he apologized she assumed it was for not keeping up and she was about to tell him he had nothing to apologize for when she noted him starting a spell. It could have been because she had assisted him in a very personal spell only the day before, or it could have been because she was a priestecasein could have been even because of something much deeper and primal, whatever the case as her began her face paled. "No!"

The blessed protections of the place would not allow such a thing to be manifested and for that she was grateful even as he vented out his frustration. Sabelle walked to him and wrapped her arms around him. Her grip was tight and she had no intention of letting go. "You've pushed yourself too far. You can't do this. I thought I lost you once, no, I did lose you! You know what that did to me. Will you have that happen to me a second time, for eternity!"

If he wasn't going to take care of himself she would guilt him. Normally she would find this a lovely way to get anyone to do something, but in this case she knew she had to appeal to something other then logic. He wasn't being logical, he was feeling, and his feelings were all twisted and negative because of fear and hate. "I love you so very very much. I promise I will protect you this time. Please..."
 
He resisted, fighting against the power of her words. He couldn't sleep! He just knew if he did, the Red would come and it would be over. He wouldn't be able to protect her, and he needed her in his life. The thought of ever existing again without her was overwhelming.

The need for sleep was turning him into a rather petulant mess, and he reached up to trace her cheek with his thumb, wincing as he did so from the pain of the numerous thorns still nested in his flesh.

"I can't sleep. I need to stay awake. You are in danger. I cannot let you be hurt. Please. I love you." He was a mess, well and truly, and was going to fight onward no matter what. Stubbornly, he tried to push himself to his feet, shooting what he hope was a winning grin her direction before stumbling onward. "I'll always be here for you. Always." It was a mantra to keep himself awake as much as anything else, but that did not lessen the intensity of the meaning behind the words.
 
Sabelle could have shaken him just now. She wasn't even sure that would get a response out of him at this point. She looked up at where the Sanctuary stood, and back at Calden and made her decision. It wasn't something to be done lightly. She was granted entry into the Sanctuary since her first vows as a novice. As a priestess she could enter on her own. Technically it was only the high priestess that could grant entry to any other, but there was no one to ask permission from and of later she had to she would ask forgiveness. They would be safe there.

Once Calden, fought his way up the last step, Sabelle skipped ahead of him and went to the door. It was an odd sensation to open the portal, but it was the peculiarity that let her know how much magic and blessings were still here. The woods might have taken over, all the other buildings in rubble, but this place still held its holiness.

With the door opened enough to grant passage, Sabelle held out her hand to her lover. She did not think about the words she spoke, she just did so. "If you mean no ill well. If you come out of kindness, compassion md love, then you are welcomed."

With his hand in hers she led him in, the doors gently closing on their own. "Now my dearest love, sleep!" There was no great magic involved. In fact it was barely a trickle. His body needed sleep, his mind craved it, it was only his stubbornness that kept him going to this point. She made sure his decent was gentle though. The floor was not exactly soft and would not give, but with just a touch more of magic she could ensure he was physically comfortable as he slept and drempt. "I'll be hear to chase the nightmares away," she told the sleeping man.

Assured that Calden would get the rest he needed finally, she took a moment to actually look at the building she was in. The Sancuary was not a large building, not compared to some that had once stood on the temple grounds. It was here though that the treasure of the temple stood. The heart of the place. Half imbedded in the floor of the building was an outcrop of beryl, taller then a man and taking about three women to encircle it. The stone in and of its self would have been impressive, as would the magic it held, but the magic was completely useless to any ordinary mage they would not even be able to feel it let alone touch it, for it was not material magic, but magic of the heart and spirit. The crystal in fact was just a physical representation, and not a natural stone by any means.

The Sancuary housed other artifacts as well, each with their own history, garments worn by some of the most holy, objects made and found. Some were ordinary objects to serve as a lesson and reminder, some were magical, and a few precious ones were indeed holy. None of these items were present and Sabelle found great relief in seeing this. The temple might have been abandoned, but the priestesses had not. If they survived or not she could not be sure, but a sister temple had come, that she knew, and a the history of this place was not lost.

With little else to look at she went over and sat beside Calden, noticing how beat up he let himself get. She was no great healer, that was not where her magic was strong, but even she could pick thorns out of his hand. It was something to do other then look at the crystal in awe. After all, she was amazed it was still there.
 
Slumber was, for once, a restful experience. His dreams were formless but present, and he felt welcomed and comforted. Slowly, his form settled back upon itself. He did not wake even to her gentle removal of thorns from his hands. Only after many hours did he stir, green eyes opening and blinking slowly. The man looked up at Sabelle, smiling drunkenly at her and leaning up to press a kiss to her lips. As he pulled away from the quick kiss, his expression suddenly hardened. How had he gotten here? Why had he slept?

And what was this place?!

Awestruck, he rose to his feet, starting to walk in a slow circle around the room. He knew he should stay away from the crystal. He knew it. He forced himself not to look at it, but eventually, draconic greed overcame human sense and his current life drove him toward it. Extending his hand, he approached the giant gem. Why, if only he were to transform into his own body, he could carry it back to his horde. No other dragon would ever dare question his station in life again. He would have it. It would be the prize of his life and, though he felt the press to keep him from it, he sidestepped it, reaching out to put a hand upon the stone.

"It's perfect..."

Skin touched gem.
 
Seeing her lover fly across the room and hit the far wall was not why she had brought him to this place. When he had awoken she thought he was perhaps not completely awake, still groggy from his ordeal and could see the merit of walking around to clear his head. It had been her own fault to forget he was a dragon, and as such would see the crystal as a gem to hoard. She should have foreseen what as to happen instead of blinking at the green arch. Scrambling over to Calden she could quickly see he was not seriously injured, which she doubt was only because of his dragonic nature.

"Calden Evanson that was the single most idiotic thing you have ever done!" she scolded him, her hands on her hips. The accusassion was not as bad as a stranger might have thought. She had been accusing him of doing the stupidest thing ever since she was old enough to scold him in the temple orchards as he tried to steal fruit as a youth. This did not diminish the fact she was upset at him, she just wasn't enraged by any means.

"You do not touch a holy relic! You do not touch it without asking permission! You do NOT covet it. Are you awake now to see how stupid that was or do you need to fly into another wall first?" By this point she was helping him up and now checking for incidental injuries. "Now apologize." Before he spoke she shook her head. "Not to me." She then pointed at the now glowing green crystal.
 
He flinched at the yelling, curling up slightly before being helped to his feet. Blast, but his head hurt! He rubbed the back of it before checking his hand for blood. She was still yelling at him. He must have done something really wrong this time. For the moment, he was much less Ny and much more Calden. Both, however, winced at the harsh scolding. A relic? Oh. Right. That's what that was. Suddenly, he felt incredibly stupid. He should have known. And yet...

"Apologize?" he grunted, not quite understanding. It was a thing, not a person, after all. And yet it certainly looked angry. Angry rocks were not a good thing. It might be smart to do as Sabelle said before it did take a mind to throw him again. Still apologizing to the stone felt almost stupid in and of itself. "Uh, how do I?" He shook his throbbing head.

"Well, uh. Sorry. I didn't mean to disrupt." Even Ny was somewhat cowed. Glowing rocks usually meant strong magic and had potential to explode. This one, however, seemed to just want to soundly kick his ass. "Forgive me?"

 
Glancing at the stone then at Calden she sighed and shook her head. "Just don't touch it again. That was a friendly warning." Reaching up she pushed at the hair around his face with her fingers. "We are safe her, I want you to understand that. Really understand that, because I do not want to have to make decisions on my own, but if you start acting irrational again I will."

She was looking in his eyes. It seemed she was trying to determine something in him as she did so. "I think we should stay here a day. Eat, rest, and then, I guess try to find a sister temple. I don't want to just keep running like we did before. I know we though we could just out fox him and that he would eventually give up, but... Tell me. If there was something you wanted, would three hundred years matter?" It was odd, but as a dragon he now had a perspective they never had before.
 
He listened to her, arms wrapping around her and tugging the woman to him. At her question, he looked down into her eyes, gaze intense. He didn't need to say anything. The answer was clear. She was the one thing he wanted and, after all this time, he had her. It was a terrifying thing. The Red would never stop hunting his beloved. Deep down, Calden knew right there and then that someone was going to have to die. That would be the only way to end it. The thought chilled the human and riled the dragon. He grip upon her tightened and he held her closer still.

"He'll come for us. I know this. He will not stop until he finds you. He will not cease until you are his." Calden inhaled, skin rippling slightly. "I will not let him take you. Ever. As long as I am near.... No, he shall not have you, Sabelle. You are mine. I will never give you up. Not to the Red, not to anyone." His mouth found hers and he kisses her fiercely, protectively, all of his draconic possessiveness and human love wrapped up in the kiss.

He didn't realize that he looked like hell, that his hair was messy or his arms and chest scratched by thorns. It didn't matter. What mattered was that she understood and had no fear, that she knew that he was going to fight for her. That he would protect her forever.

"Sabelle. I promise to watch over you. To fight for you. To give my life if necessary to protect you. I shall let none harm you if it is at all in my power to prevent that harm. I shall let none take you from your rightful spot without a fight. I shall remain yours, your servant, steadfast and forever by your side. I've followed you through lifetimes. I will always come for you, no matter what. You know the name that is my heart's. You are the soul that matches mine. Sabelle, I promise, I am yours. I promise. There will come a time where I may have to go, to fight. But I will return. I cannot help but do so. I'm yours, Sabelle. Only yours."
 
The intensity of Calden's words were matched by the kiss. Never before had she seen him so possessive, though it was matched equally with devotion. A devotion he had more then proven in his previous life. As he kissed her, her arms wrapped around his neck, feeling like if she didn't do so she might drown. Once he broke off, she did not let go. She felt out of breath and in awe as she looked at him, it was almost like he was on fire, which as far as analogies went was maybe too close to truth.

"I don't want you to give your life. I lost you once because I could not do enough, but I will do better from now on. I want that life we promised each other. A life together that we can grow. I don't care what shape it takes place, where we might be, as long as we can be together." Moving her arm she touched his face. "Protect me if you must, but do not do so without regard for yourself, for I can not bare to be your demise. So you must do as you've promised, you must always, always come back to me,where I shall care for you and love you for I do not know any other way to be. You are a part of me, the best part, and I am all joy when you are here with me."

Then she kissed him again. Perhaps her passion could no longer match his, but her love and devotion easily could. "I am yours, truly and completely and all of you are mine," she whispered after barely pulling away, her breath on his lips as though the words were partly his.
 
He lingered there, smiling down at her happily. She was his. He was hers. He knew none could ever part them and, if someone managed, they would find their way back to one another. He reached a hand out to play with a strand of her hair, the smile on his face almost a draconic smirk. But in his eyes, that was all Calden's gentleness.

It took a moment for him to realize that something was wrong, that the stone was once again glowing brightly. Quickly, he spun, eyes widening. Great. He'd broken it or something and now the gods were going to take vengeance upon him. He gave Sabelle an apologetic look, then turned the same look to the stone.

"That thing's not going to toss me into another wall, is it? Cause I really am sorry that I touched it. I apologized!"
 
Sabelle was easily entranced in Calden's embrace and until he turned to look at the great green crystal she really hadn't noticed the change. Once she did look and then looked at Calden, she knew he was worried for nothing. "I do not think you need to fear the stone," she told him taking his hand in both of hers. "You are genuine in your regard after all."

Eyes a bit wide, she turned to look at the stone again. "Your words were true and from the heart," she said slowly as she tried to actually hear what she said. She bit her lip as a notion came to mind. What if the great crystal had taken their words as solem vows? Blinking she realized it didn't matter. They were after all true words, but the implications were heavy. "I think we may be being blessed again." By Sabelle's reckoning they had been blessed once with his reincarnation, but she had not had time to convay that idea yet to Calden, for she had been still thinking about the amazement of that herself when she had a quiet moment.
 
"Of course my words were true. Sabelle, there is no one in this world who could compare to you. I love you." He laughed softly, pulling her tight and kissing her hand. Seeing the look she was giving the stone, his expression slipped and he frowned slightly. Was she worried, despite her assurance? No, that didn't look like worry, but still, best to know. Despite his incredible curiosity, he waited for a moment.

"Blessed again? What do you mean by that, love?" His expression was serious, almost stern, yet his words were soft. He was concerned at the tone of her voice, but reassured by the reverence she held for this place that any blessing must be something desired. "Please, tell me it is a boon that will help us escape the Red and truly start our lives."

It was important to him, after all, and until this moment, he hadn't even considered that they would have a chance to stop running. He'd had a break of three hundred years, but she'd only had a few nights, and now they were pulled into this fearful cycle once more. He mourned the days they would spend running, those that they already had. He did not wish to keep fleeing, he never had, but now more than before, he knew what he wanted.

To a dragon, a hoard is a place that one returns to, one protects, one treats with respect and love. It is more than treasure. He wanted to share this with her, to take her with him and find home and hoard. He wanted to give her a life of splendor and treasure and anything she wanted. Fleetingly, he wondered if he would be better doing so as man than dragon. But whenever he thought on it, his thoughts were of his true form. It was who is was now. He was tied to it. He might be Calden, but Calden's body was not his real being.
 
"I do not know... no maybe you're right, maybe the first was a boon." Sabelle started, still thinking as she spoke. Her blue eyes sought his, and it seemed to bring comfrimation into her mind. With more certainty she continued. "That Calden died trying to save me, that my own protection spell entrapped me, that Ny was born of Calden's soul, and that he once grown found his way to the cave he died and I slept. That is no meet coincidence is it my love. We were given a blessing, a chance, just a chance, to try again. It was more then we earned, but blessings are not so easily understood as to why they are granted. Thus we were blessed once."

She then turned and looked at the stone. "I know for you it is a crystal, and perhaps now you can assume its importance, but for me and every other priestess of our order, it is much more. It is milk and honey of the most esoteric sense. It is alive, not as you and I are, but still it lives. As we spoke to each other, our hearts uncovered, we might as well have made vows." There was a slightly mischievous look upon Sabelle's features as she looked at Calden. "You never had any doubt that when two became one such vows were blessed, did you my dear?"
 
Calden listened for a time, nodding along. He'd never been very religious, despite being beloved of a priestess. And yet what she said made sense in some odd way. Something had brought them back together, and that fact left a bit of worry in his mind. He knew so little about religion. Was it likely that the powers would expend so much energy to bring two lovers back together? Or was it for some purpose?

That thought made both Ny and Calden puff up a bit emotionally. To be important, to be useful! The thought of being a hero! He'd never been in the position to be a knight and signing to a mercenary company didn't seem a very heroic thing to do. But this! Maybe they were meant to do something great!

However, before he could express his excitement, her words of their second blessing hit him like flying into a canyon wall. Blood rushed his hearing and he collapsed hard to his rear on the ground. Wide eyed, he stared up at her. "What... but... we're... ?"
 
Sabelle's amusement was obvious. She couldn't have hid it even if she wanted to, but she didn't nor wouldn't laugh in his face. It was a startling realization for her, but she was at ease with the conclusion. Calden it seemed wasn't so ready for what she had told him and perhaps despite all the love he had for her, some things made him squeamish.

Leaning down she looked at him, he was hers, he had said it himself. Sabelle did not want to lord it over him though, so she sat down beside him. "I have a question. When we were in the cave, after you broke me free from my crystal spell, and you were getting ready to fly me to town, you gave me some money, and I tried to give you this," she touched the bracelet. "Why did you say no then? Are you upset now that I had been willing to do so?"

For Sabelle the change in topic wasn't random, for in truth it was the moment he had gifted her the bracelet that she felt she could actually dream and hope for a future with Calden. Before then she had had her doubts. She knew he cared for her, but a young priestess was a poor choice for a wife and she had been trying desperately not to fall so completely in love with him that when he eventually left her that she would be devastated in heartbreak. She wanted to be able to love him, and she thought that meant knowing someday she would lose him. With the bracelet the idea of losing Calden to another had vanished, and they had talked about the future since then. Not perhaps with the words of marriage, but she had been thinking that would come once he had established himself in trade. Now that was meaningless though.
 
For a long moment, he was silent. In truth, he did not know how to think of it. He'd not been mad then, not had time to think of it since. She'd tried to give the symbol of his love to another. Had it pained her? No, she'd been relieved to keep it, he was sure. But then...

"You would never give it away. It knew me from the beginning, taunted me so that I freed you. I cannot think you meant to give it away. You wanted something important to connect us, somewhere deep down." He picked at his lip for a moment before continuing. "I am... mildly concerned that you would part with it at all, however. It is yours. It was a gift for you. It belongs to no others. As a human, it was a symbol, but now that I am Ny, it becomes even more. Sabelle..." He closed his eyes for a moment, leaning back on his hands now. "I trust you. I know you would make the right decision and that no other could have hoped for you to part with the bracelet. I am not upset."

He opened his eyes, reaching out to take her hand in his.

"My mate. My ... my wife. I think, mostly, it was a show of trust. We knew one another without knowing. You trusted me as you would trust no other." He lifted her hand to his lips, holding it there for a time before lowering it and looking up at the ceiling.

"I cannot give you all I hoped to. I can give you more, give you different. But I cannot... there are things... I simply hope I am enough for you." It pained him to say it. He'd always wanted a family, children and a house and his own store. These things were not so possible now. In a way, though, discussion of past and future was calming, here. He remembered being younger and teasing her about their future children. It was a melancholy memory now of days when he'd just wanted to see her blush and storm off so he could run after her and apologize and fish for a kiss.
 
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