If you don't like the way you're story starts, tear out the pages and rewrite it
Storyteller's words proved true, and the day after the meeting my schedule changed. Not only was I thrown into the deep water and forced to interact with others by being sent on errands such as shopping, but I was being pressed to earn funds for my future travels by using magic and knowledge to help others, not to mention the duties that seemed to come with being the lord's ally.
I was also made to study more, train harder with master, and Lia was next to me through it all. The change in routine was also accompanied by her open declaration she was coming with me when I left, I thought of asking her parents to stop her but Storyteller's words on our way home from the manor stopped me.
I tried to train hard enough that she would be deterred and give up on her own, but my body was still healing and when I was too tired to continue, she kept going strong, she was bridging the gap between us in her own way.
By the time I had the last of my stitches removed and was declared fully healed on the 23rd Kealon in the 11th year, she was a completely different person in terms of ability. Her progress nothing short of astounding, I openly asked how she was improving so quickly, especially since she had no elevation to speak of.
The question came as I stood watching the end to a sparring match with Master, which had started while I was having my last stitches removed. As the no longer frail girl walked towards me, I held out a towel so she could wipe herself off and after wiping her face she rested it on my chest.
Her voice was muffled but clear enough that I could hear her correct me. "Actually, I do. Master took me to the manor when I was improving so quickly. I have a new elevation called 'Freedom' it gives me complete free will and the ability to slip through restraints."
I made a sarcastic response about the gods saving face and finished by saying that this also meant she couldn't be grappled anymore, my comment seemingly disappointing her. She asked then if combat was all I thought about, and I answered honestly that it wasn't, I just couldn't help but try to think of practical applications.
Intrigued and in desperate need to stretch after more than a month of healing, I then asked her to spar with me, promising to agree to any one thing and ceasing my objection to her joining me on my travels if she could win. She was excited by the wager but nervous as to if I intended to force her to give up on coming with me should she lose.
As soon as I promised there would be no losing consequences, that I just wanted to see her fight like her life depended on it, she jumped back to a fair starting distance and dashed forward, her elbow arcing upward to where my jaw had been less than a second prior. I couldn't blame her for treating the match so seriously, I had told her to go all out so I could see her full strength after all.
Offering no quarter, she twisted from her opening attack directly into her second, aiming it at my knee which she knew remained mildly stiff from my injuries. However, she was at a severe disadvantage in terms of experience, and I only needed to turn on my other leg to deny her bid at a quick end to this and I now had room to go on the offensive.
Closing the distance in an instant and snapping my fingers as loudly as I could to make her flinch and lose balance. I told her she needed to stop falling for that trick sooner or later, but it was a deception, and she span to punch me in the gut, clever but too slow and I moved my hand to block her fist and a fraction of a second after her hand connected with mine it then connected with my gut.
Caught off guard and still tender, I found myself winded, dropping to one knee and wheezing as Lia danced and cheered as Master who was applauding began making his way back to town. Unable to shake off my breathlessness, I fell back and lay flat on my back running through the fight in my head.
She was far more manoeuvrable than me, even at my best I could never move the way she now did, and her finesse was something I never had need of since I could usually brute force my way through a fight.
I now realised these were oversights, but as I looked at my left palm, red and warm, I was certain that I blocked her and grew even more confused about how exactly she landed that hit.
Celebration at a close, Lia laid down next to me resting her head on my arm, telling me not to hurt myself thinking about it. She then explained that the ability to slip out of restraints stretched to obstruction of any kind, meaning any attack of hers would reach its mark without fail.
My free hand found its way to my face, disappointed in myself for not realising that Master had recently switched up his usual tactics and depended solely on his ability to dodge. Slightly bitter over my loss, I declared her the winner and asked her what she wanted from me as a reward.
Calling me an idiot and telling me we're getting married was enough to leave me speechless for quite a while. I asked her if she knew we were too young to get married, and she confirmed. I asked her if she really wanted to marry a man that didn't love her, she called me an idiot again. I asked her if she asked her parents, and she told me they already have a plan in place, involving Lord officiating and the revaluation hall as a venue since we were most certainly not welcome at the church.
Utterly defeated, I laid silently, and Lia kissed my cheek, calling me a dummy as her hand rested on my chest, asking me how I still hadn't realised, though as to what she was referring to I had no clue.
Weariness fell on me, and I closed my eyes and found myself in a dreamless sleep, the first time in days I had managed to sleep at all, awaking not long later to the sound of Lia humming, my head now resting on her lap. Looking at her face, I had to admit her piercing golden eyes and crimson cheeks contrasted her translucent skin beautifully. I found myself wondering if I loved her, but didn't want to say anything, so I just told her what I believed.
Sitting up, facing away from her I admitted I didn't think myself capable of love, she was important to me, that was undeniable, but even if I was capable of such a thing, I certainly wasn't ready for such things.
My sins weighed heavily on me in that moment, and I then wondered if I was even deserving. I was a mess inside, I honestly considered leaving then and there, escaping the very thing I had hated the world for denying me. Lia's arms wormed their way under my arms and wrapped around me as her face rested into back. She told me to stop being stupid and squeezed tighter, for the first time she said that he loved me and all I could do was activate unity and the feeling that had been unknown to me since that night on this very hill was finally revealed.
She had loved me in some form from the moment I saved her and I had been scarcely able to tolerate her at first. Whether I deserved such things as a whole or not, I could never deserve her's specifically and she deserved far better than me. The thoughts of someone ignorant and self-deprecating, but the only thoughts I could manage.
Lia stood and pulled me to my feet, telling me we were going to be late for dinner, and I wasn't to worry about anything. I asked magic what it thought, but it didn't understand, choosing to ignore me when I called it useless. My relationship with magic was changing along with everything else in my life and I was growing tired of it, things got better and then before I could even learn how to cope, they changed, and I had to start over.
I began to spiral and sensing that, Lia jumped on my back demanding I carry her then repeating herself and telling me not to worry, adding that I 'm not alone, kicking my thighs when I blurted out that that was the problem, and telling me that I better get used to it because she intended to make 'til death do us part as long as she possibly could.
One sarcastic utterance later I continued on our way, Lia continuing her humming from earlier, it wasn't immediate nor was it delayed but I started to feel at peace as I listened to her tune I even swayed as I started to feel my eyes grow heavy. Lia stopped humming as we made it to town, the guards saluting us as we entered, an annoying side effect of me stamping out the flames of civil war.
I keep telling them to stop before I reignite them, but the guard captain had apparently told all the guards I had a taste for making dark jokes which tragically only fed into the past view everyone had of me. Neutralising my ability to intimidate in situations as ultimately inconsequential as guards saluting me and placing me in a position where I am forced into the spotlight for better or worse. I had to admire the strategic difference that white lie made.
Lia utilising me as a mode of transport wasn't anything new, but the smile that occupied her face as we arrived at home for dinner, was all the confirmation they needed that Master's report of our deal, and my loss was genuine. The adults all had things to say, it was obvious to everyone how she felt about me, and from the sound of it her parents knew that she felt that way from the day I destroyed the divine hand. Of course, they knew what she was going to ask of me, with the stakes of that match they knew she only desired one thing.
Lia's face was flushed crimson when they revealed she barely left my side while I was unconscious, not that she had left my side that much in the weeks since, and not that I didn't already figure as much, so I didn't understand why she was blushing about it.
My weariness returned continuing to build, the table was well stocked, but I was the only one eating, the others to busy talking. Apparently, the Lord's involvement was the result of the discussion Lia's father had with him after I was excused from our meeting and he was all too happy to grant said permission, even offered to officiate and provide both festivities and a dowry after seeing her cling to me and my reaction to her anguish. I started to flush redder than Lia when I realised how oblivious I had been, much to Storyteller and Master's pleasure. My weariness reached its limit though.
Stomach full, I excused myself wordlessly. The others made to stop me, but Lia told them to let me go, her understanding making it even harder for me to be around her. I made my way back to my own home and the next thing I knew I was dreaming.
Standing in a vast white emptiness, empty except for an obsidian throne, which at first glance seemed to be vacant. As I stared at it though I noticed a humanoid shape veiled in the darkest black. I heard someone ask how I came to be there, and I admitted I didn't know. They remarked on their astonishment I could stand in their presence; I sarcastically noted my stiff knee. They declared my ability to look upon them as unnatural, and I asked why I should be opposed to looking at something barely even visible. I asked them who or what they were, but they just stated their curiosity had been satiated for the time being and told me to leave them.
I came to and found myself holding Storyteller as he knelt before me, one hand on his shoulder and one around his neck. Shocked at the scene I released him and jumped back, asking magic if someone was controlling me, but there was no magic around to answer my query. I returned to Storyteller's side and asked him what happened. Luckily, I hadn't been gripping with any strength, and he told me not to worry, that I used to do much worse when I first came to live with him, and he found me sleepwalking.
I continued to apologise as I led him to his armchair, taking a seat opposite him as he began to answer my question. He recounted the events of the night, stating after he returned when Lia's father exceeded his tolerance for liquid merriment. Upon his arrival he found me sitting on the same chair he now rested on, and I asked him how he came to be there. Immediately putting the pieces together, I recounted my dream, and he simply accepted it, reassuring me that it was certainly a side effect of the stress from my engagement and recent events.
Nothing had felt particularly off about the dream, I certainly didn't feel threatened by it, so I accepted his evaluation of the scenario and asked if he needed help to his room or was sober enough to do so alone. Ever proud of his tolerance, he waved me away, asking if I would return to rest or not. Raising a hand instead of actually saying good night, a habit of his when in that condition so he could focus on the task at hand, I offer the same gesture to his back and decide to go and find some magic.
As I round a corner, I sense some making its way to the reliquarian's shop, one which I had come to enjoy visiting and I had become quite friendly with the artisan, Palto. A man of too great a talent to for this town, but he told me busier cities were too noisy for such delicate work.
I entered the shop against my better judgement, and inadvertently startle the older gentleman as I thought I might. I apologised for my disruption, especially given the hour and explain my reason. As one of the few who knew of how I commune with magic, he frequently hired me to help him meet deadlines on items that required multiple layers of enchanting.
"I heard the news, but all I'll say is this. Just because you are different, does not mean you should be alone." As keen eyed as ever, he saw everything from my perspective and offered sage advice, I'd thought myself a fool plenty those several weeks, so I took those words to heart. Since I was there, he asked me to enlist magics aid on his behalf at my usual pay, but I merely gave magic the instruction and insisted his counsel payment enough before leaving.
Magic didn't have much to say, apparently, I reprimanded it for being too noisy whilst half asleep, and it thought it best to let me rest in peace. Our bond had become an almost pseudo-sibling relationship at this point, we played, grew, bickered, and teased each other. For instance, when I turned a corner and found Lia standing in the very spot where I had freed her, it started cooing at me. Not that I paid it any heed, I was entranced by the otherworldly vision before me.
The layers of her dress and the fiery red hair she had bundled into a ponytail gently flowed in the breeze. The blood red twilight glow providing her a spotlight, almost as though the world and stars was placing her centre stage. A stark contrast to the last time the moonlight illuminated her like this, when the melodrama left me choleric.
I silently begged her not to turn her eyes on me, a plea she quashed immediately as she turned to face me. She stepped from her stage light and into the night, moving toward me with uncharacteristic expression, as though once again possessed she stopped and cupped my face in her hands. That simple gesture had me spellbound completely, faced with my own pathetic expression reflected in her eyes.
"Sorry my love, it seems I'm most selfish when it comes to you. I know you have no concept of marriage, but you will be my husband. I know you probably don't want to look into my eyes right now, you're always telling me how uncertain they make you feel, but if you are present, I will look at you. To be honest, I don't think I really care how it makes you feel. So, as I said before, don't worry about anything, you can be as selfish with me as you wish." I was used to her childish impositions; they had practically become a constant in my life. This was different however, not childish imposition but the forceful seizing of the object of her desire, backed by indomitable willpower and equal parts enthralling and haunting mannerism.
I wrap my arms around her for the first time and say good night, I didn't know it at the time but as I released her and said thank you for the consoling, I smiled genuinely for the first time in my life. Turning on my heel and shouting back to her that she should go home for the night as I intended to do, I found myself needlessly concerned for her safety and in the midst of some kind of awakening.
Light from the hearth shone through the window as I reached our cottage, I let myself in expecting a lecture for my night-time stroll but reading me like a book once more, Storyteller told me he has no place lecturing me for such trifling things anymore. He placed the book he had been reading on the table next to him, one of my favourites titled 'What we know of Kellis'. He then stood and approached the bookcase, retrieving a tome which I had yet to read, the deep green leather binding embellished with gold made it seem too important to risk me accidentally damaging.
Stating the midnight rendezvous with my fiancé seemed to have balance my humours, he added that I now seemed ready to make a choice. I was confused, wondering if they had discussed her being there tonight, when Storyteller assured me no such conspiracy existed, he claimed my demeanour sufficient to make an educated guess, then handed me the tome and told me it was my story.
Declaring it was now my choice whether or not I read it and taken aback when I so hastily returned it to its shelf. Remarking on how empty the shelf looked without it, telling Storyteller to collect himself and stop staring, explaining that I have no right to read it alone since it is inevitably intertwined with Lia's. Furthermore, if I wouldn't go on to destroy town as his tome told him I would, reading it would prove pointless, or more worryingly a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Storyteller approached and embraced me for the first time, telling me he how proud he was he had me for a son, the first time he called me such. I thought to call him father, but flashes of my actual father parading my starved siblings and the unmarked grave of the one I never met. The word stalled in my throat; I instead thanked him for his effort in raising me.
At my limit of drama, I retrieve a book from the case I had been studying the night before and retired to my room.