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Chapter Thirteen
Engagement Oath; Tricked into Love
Sun light filtered into
Marium’s chambers from an open window. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes
and noticed that it was dawn. She was never up at dawn by her own will, but
today she was so full of energy, she didn’t know where it all came from.
Marium sat up on her bed,
and tugged her khaki shorts on. She hopped down and straightened the covers
quickly, then she saw her sword. It was standing up against her crude wooden
nightstand, and the blade had a strange, dark liquid on it. Marium inspected it
closer, and found that it was blood. Fresh blood.
“What is this..?” she
knew she hadn’t cut herself with it last night. And even if she had, her blood
would have been dried by now. When she tried to wipe the blood off, it wouldn’t
come. She was hardly concerned. Blood and swords were supposed to come hand in
hand. So she propped the sword back up against her wall and ran out her door.
“ALTAIRE!!! ARE YOU UPPPPPP-ACK!”
Marium collided with the
white cloaked priest, and slumped into a crumpled heap with him on top. The
priestess smiled at him, gazing up past his unkempt bangs through her long,
black eyelashes. “I found you.”
So it would seem, Marium. Why were you calling my name? Did something
happen? He asked her, managing to stand, then helped her up. Marium shook
her head in reply, but then hugged him and turned to enter the dining hall.
“I just wanted to see
you, that’s all, Altaire! Don’t be so jumpy, okay? The world’s not going to
explode any time soon, so just chill!” with a quick smile to the bewildered
priest, Marium dashed into the dining hall, heart skipping with happiness. It
was like all her former troubles were gone just like that, disappeared without
a trace. “Morning Cadillac!”
She grabbed the
aggravated master mage and spun around in a circle, then placed a carefree kiss
on his little cheek. He had been trying to scramble free, but suddenly stopped
when her lips touched his face. Cadillac all but went limp in her arms, a silly
smile on his mouth. Marium set him down on a nearby chair, and played with his
tail in mirth.
“Uh, hello Marium. You
sure are in a good mood this morning…” Jonah noted from his seat across from
Cadillac. The miniature mage had his head resting pleasantly on his folded
arms, and spoke with a sleepy slowness.
“I like her better this
way.”
“So it would appear, Guru
Cadillac. It seems all you caretakers of Yang have a certain affection toward
the Priestess.” A familiar, cold voice drifted from the shadows of the doorway.
“I hope you enjoyed your rest, Priestess.”
A smile flashed onto
Marium’s face when Faede stepped out of the shadows and made his way to the
seat next to her. “Heyya Faede, you know you can call me Marium!”
With a swift, almost
invisible grin to the High Priestess of Yin, Faede corrected himself. “Marium,
then.”
As Marium nodded,
Cadillac glanced back and forth between the two. “Did I miss something here?
You are never kind to someone, Faede. Especially your enemies. Why the sudden
change of heart, huh?”
“Ah, simpleminded Guru…
there are certain ties that are stronger than hate.” This innocent sentence
from Faede sunk into Cadillac’s mind with chilling consequence.
“Ties? From blood?” Faede
didn’t respond, which was as good as a thousand words for the horrified mage.
“Marium, you didn’t… make a blood oath with Faede… did you?”
Marium suddenly realized
she’d made a mistake. Perhaps even a fatal one. “Why, Cadillac?”
“Blood ties are used by
sorcerers… to seal a bond between two people.”
“What kind of bond,
Cadillac??” Marium demanded, face hot. She’d been lied to… about something
important…
“An engagement bond. One
that cannot be reversed. That’s why they were outlawed by even the Sorcerer’s
Guild. They are only used by royalty now… to ensure that the royalty will have
a wife. Regardless.” Cadillac stated, face pale. Then he laughed. “Wait! If you
didn’t mean to, or were unwilling… then there could be a way to turn it around!
You are the Priestess of Yin…”
Marium shook her head,
disgusted at her own stupidity. “I… didn’t know. All Faede told me was that we
wouldn’t fight anymore…”
Altaire walked through
the doorway, an unusually grim expression on his face. “Were you unwilling,
Marium?”
After a stunned pause,
Marium shook her head in regret. “If only I’d known… I knew he wasn’t telling
the whole truth… but never…”
“Faede. I want you to
leave. I speak on behalf of the Priestess as well. Leave and go back to your
father. And do not speak of this blood oath again.” Jonah commanded, making
Faede smirk.
“If you wish to bring
such a pain to your priestess, so be it. Not only will I feel the pain from
being away from the one whom I share my blood with. She will feel it too.
Perhaps even more than I, considering I have a pain dulling elixir on hand.”
Faede stated, standing. But deep inside, he did not want to leave Marium’s
side. Ever. He reprimanded himself. “Heh.
I’m a fool, it’s the blood tie that I’m feeling. I couldn’t have grown attached
to that little cyst. She’s such a weak willed inconsequential girl. Maybe if
she’d been born a sorcerer, then she’d be stronger… No, idiot!! Do not succumb
to the stupid oath!”
“He’s right.” Cadillac
admitted, reluctantly. “A blood oath between two regular people is strong
enough… but one between the Priestess and a potential guru… The pain would be
too much for her body to handle.”
Altaire, enraged at the
slight sorcerer who was obviously at ends with his inner voice, growled in low,
escalated anger. “He’s going with us. But he’s staying away from Marium.”
Faede grinned in the
short priestess’s direction. “I told you we would have an astonishing adventure
together. Don’t look so betrayed, it’s my duty now to protect you, you should
be honored.”
Marium jumped up with
such haste and force that the power of her passion slammed her chair down and
sent it spinning across the room. “Like hell! You lied to me!”
“Not exactly. Not telling
is not precisely lying.” He spoke the last word of his sentence, and was
stunned into silence as a long fingered hand struck his left cheek, knocking
his head to the side with its force. He blinked back the tears that
instinctively rose to his eyes and glared at the priestess that had smacked
him.
“It’s just as bad when
you’re doing it to someone that… oooohhhh…. Forget it!!!!” she stormed out of
the room, leaving the men in shocked silence, wondering how her sentence was
supposed to end.
Cadillac knocked on
Marium’s door, listening for a welcome. He got none, so he just entered, seeing
that Marium wasn’t in very good shape. “Hey Marium.”
“Cadillac, just leave me
alone. You guys go on ahead of me and I’ll catch up to you.” Her voice made it
obvious she’d been in tears. Cadillac shook his head, only he knew exactly how
serious the blood tie was… and how dangerous. Marium was, in all rights and
means, now engaged to Faede. And the tie also made it impossible for either of
them to see someone else in any non platonic sense. They belonged to each other
now…
Why did he feel a sudden,
disheartening sadness when he thought of that? Not only were they enemies, they
were in all rights and meanings, lovers. Cadillac couldn’t help but shudder. He
had been Faede’s mentor, but when he’d been teaching the youth… he’d been much
different from now.
It was about 10 years
prior to then. Faede had been placed in Cadillac’s care by his kind, but ill
mother. She’d entrusted the guru with Faede’s future, confident that he’d be in
good hands. But the guru was a warrior of Yang, and it was Faede’s destiny to
become one of the warriors of Yin.
He remembered the day
Faede’s father came to take his heir to his castle. Cadillac had put up a
fight… but it was to no avail. Even a decade ago, Faede’s father had been too
strong for even the so called ‘most powerful guru in the land’ to handle.
Cadillac knew, from when he’d tutored Faede’s mother on the magic arts, that
she’d had a natural gift. And the boys father went without saying. So if Faede
inherited both of his parents’ gifts, he’d be unstoppable.
After that day, Cadillac
had heard rumors of what was going on at the Sorcerer’s guild. A new potential
guru had been discovered, and he was also the next in line to lead the guild!
How exciting it all seemed! For everyone that didn’t know what sorcerer-guru
training was like. The light magic was hard enough to learn, but dark magic…
due to its much more destructive nature, was almost too much for a grown man to
bear. Not to mention the stress it could put on a child.
“Cadillac? Hello, little
squirrel boy?” Marium was up close to the miniature guru, waving her hand
repeatedly in front of his face. “Earth to Cadillac…”
“Hm? Oh, quit that,
Marium!” he stepped back, then sighed. “Perhaps Faede has no better way to
express his feelings for you.”
“Well, I still won’t
believe it unless he tells me straight to my face. And even so, I don’t see
that as good enough reason to trick someone into marriage.” Marium said,
turning to leave the room. Cadillac felt his face grow hot.
“Marium. Promise me
something, okay?”
Marium stopped, her hand
on her door. “What’s that, Cadillac?”
“When Faede finally tells
you about his past… and why he did that… don’t kill him. Try to listen.”
A faint, hushed wind flew in from
Marium’s opened window, fluttering through her hair. “Of course I’ll listen,
silly guru. C’mon, I feel a little better. We’d better get a move on if we’re
gonna go on this adventure!”