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Chapter Twelve:
Sworn in Blood; Unbreakable Oath
Marium found Faede in the
library, studying a book of history. She eyed him in silence for a moment,
waiting for a confession of his stalking. None came. “Mage Faede, why must you
be so difficult to get along with? What do you wish to accomplish here besides
make me a nervous wreck?”
“I don’t have to explain
myself to anyone, not even the ‘High Priestess Yin’. In fact, I find it
disgusting that anyone at all should have to worship a higher being to gain
power.” Faede spat, seemingly out of the blue. Marium blinked twice, not
understanding, then it sunk in.
“So, you’re mad because
you have a superior, basically.” Marium said. “I see that the prideful,
arrogant sorcerers have to siphon their powers from a god. How utterly
heartbreaking that you aren’t all powerful.”
Faede turned sharply and
clenched his fists tightly. “Marium, you are far too patronizing for your own
good. I wasn’t looking forward to fighting with you tonight.”
“Oh really? Why’s that?”
The slightly taller boy
spun to face her, gracefully. Marium saw him in the pale light that poured into
the room from the window. His already pale skin was porcelain, smooth, being a
perfect contrast to his jet black, sleek, long hair. It was pulled into a
ponytail on the back of his head, and the tail flowed all the way to the
ground. His long bangs looked like they could get in the way easily. It was no
surprise that he was a sorcerer apprentice with the style he sported.
“I don’t wish to fight
with you anymore. At all.” Somehow he was holding Marium’s hands in his,
gently, almost caressing them with his own. “Such hands. I’ve never seen such
womanly hands before. Everything about you reminds me of a dream. A heavenly
dream sent on divine wings to cleanse this world. Marium…”
He was touching her cheek
now with the same, silky caress he’d held her hands in. Her body tingled, it
felt so nice being here like this with him. So calm, so tranquil… Despite the
little voice of reason in her head that told her not to give in to this
strange, new emotion, Marium’s eyelids drooped, sleepily. She was really tired.
“Marium, there’s nothing
I wouldn’t do to stop this meaningless bickering we carry on. If it is a game…
then I forfeit, you win. I wish to prove my worth to your cause.” Faede stated,
in a whisper. He traced his fingertip down her cheek to her lips. “I wish to
prove my worth… to you, Warrioress.”
Marium’s lips parted in
speech, but he mistook her gesture as something else. Faede lowered his head to
hers and Marium felt the same caress on her lips. Her eyes widened, and she was
suddenly very aware of her surroundings. Her hands found their way to his
smooth, cool cheeks and she placed them there. Then with decisive pressure, she
pushed him back, firmly yet gently.
Faede understood that
he’d made a mistake. His cheeks turned a shade of red. “You can’t have these
feelings. You’re the son of the Head Sorcerer, and soon to be one yourself.
Don’t throw your future away for this.”
Her voice was drenched
with concern. She really did feel something for him, but she wasn’t sure what
exactly. He switched his unnerving gaze from the ground to meet her eyes
straight on. “Warrioress of Yin, I’m not throwing away my future. I’m merely
ensuring it.”
“You say you want a
truce, no more fighting between us.”
“Yes, but there is a
tradition among the sorcerers. They all quarrel with each other regardless of
stature or lineage. The only thing they care about is if the person is… tied to
them in blood.”
Marium glanced at him,
uncertainly. “What does this blood tie do?”
Faede grinned. “It’s as
you would call, a truce. Between two people.”
“You’re not telling the
complete truth. I know it.” Marium accused, face red with embarrassment. Faede
shook his head.
“The whole story is too
long to tell. In a nutshell, it means that we don’t argue anymore.”
“So it stops us? Just
like that?” Marium inquired, still hesitant. After a moments thought, Faede
nodded.
“Yes, basically.” He
said. “And all you have to do is give me your hand.”
Marium, being naïve, but
not too trusting, nodded slowly. “Just give you my hand, huh?”
“Well, after you cut it, of
course.” He added, crossing his arms relaxingly. “What do you think?”
The Priestess was quiet.
She stared at her right hand in silence, then glanced up to Faede. “You have a
knife on you?”
After Marium and Faede
tiptoed past the residential section,
they came to her room. “I think we should move the library closer to my room
after this.”
Faede nodded once,
without talking. They shut the door quietly. “Alright, get your sword, I’ll use
my dagger.”
Marium sat on her bed,
sword sheathed, without speaking while she thought. Finally, after Faede had
his dagger in hand, she spoke up. “… Faede… I dunno about this…”
“It’s easy, Marium.
Watch.” With a quick flick of his hand, the dagger blade flashed and blood weld
up from a fresh cut on his right hand. “Now you.”
Marium eyed her blade
with grim determination, but when she pressed it against her soft flesh, the
blade didn’t cut. She tried again and almost dropped the sword with her
quivering hands. She bit her lip, she didn’t want to admit that she couldn’t do
this little act for Faede, when he laid his uncut hand on top of hers that was
gripping the sword. “Personally, this is my first time in making the blood tie,
Marium. It’s yours too, no doubt. But I’m more experienced in wielding sharp
objects, obviously. Let me help you.”
The way he offered his
help, it seemed like he was happy to help her as much as he could in this. She
blushed. “Well, back on my world the only thing sharp that I had to wield was a
little plastic knife, and it was very dull.”
“Plastic…? What a funny
word. It must be a mineral from your planet, right?” he asked, cleaning off the
dagger he’d used on himself before he poised it above her hand. She saw him get
ready to bring the dagger down, and she flinched and squeezed her eyes shut,
she couldn’t help it. And once again, Faede couldn’t help but feel compelled to
respond to her reaction. He kissed her lips, barely touching them, it was more
like a breath on her lips more than a kiss. She was surprised, and didn’t
notice that he’d made the cut already.
“Now, we’ve wasted
precious time, haven’t we?” he asked, but he was smiling inside. “I think we
say something to each other before we put our hands together. And it better be
quick. My blood might dry any second.”
“Well…” she thought for a
second. “Faede, I hope you aren’t as wicked as you want everyone to think. I
know I’m not making a mistake by trusting you.”
Faede was touched to the
soul, but didn’t show it. He couldn’t, not in front of her. “Marium, I hope you
aren’t as much trouble as I know you are. Because this…” he clamped his hand
together with hers before she knew what was happening. “Signifies the beginning
of our adventure together.”
“How nice. We don’t have to fight now.
Gee, I’m tired, do you mind if I go to sleep for the night?” Marium asked, with
a smile. He left without answering, and Marium went straight to sleep.