Everheart: Chapter 24

"Oh, for fuck's sake, let us through!" Ginal demanded.

Two guards stood centered at the base of the great, stone stairs that sloped up behind them.  Lances drawn and eyes mistrusting, their posture made it clear that entry was not an option.  Grand iron gates closed the towering walls of gray and black stone, with pointed spires serving as warning for winged attackers to keep their distance. 

Legendary Ishgardian hospitality. 

Selah cold only roll her eyes.

"I'll suffer no witches to taint Whitebrim and bring seduction to our soldiers!" cried the shorter guard, a hyuran woman.

"Witch?!" Ginal repeated, her tail flicking sharply.  "Seduction?!"

A finger wagging up and down, sharply indicating Ginal's eyes and dress, was the woman guard's response.

"I knew your fashion sense would get you in trouble one day, beloved." Selah stated.  She turned her attention back to the soldiers, "Please, I assure you that our eyes mean nothing of consequence."

"Then how can you explain such a devilish appearance?"

Shit.  What's a good lie?

Selah looked back to meet Ginal's gaze, and could almost hear the miqo'te's annoyance in her mind.

"Don't ask me.  I'm a flirt, not a liar."

"We were--ah--caught in an explosion...an aetheryte explosion.  Back in the Twelveswood."

Even tone.  Hold eye contact.  Don't fidget.

"That's right!" Ginal chimed in, struggling to suppress the irritation in her voice.  "You might have heard of it.  Part of a nasty Ixal attack."

"Likely story." derided the second guard, a man.  "Something like that would have killed you."

"Don't give them the chance to charm you with their silver tongues!" the woman solider cried.  "Heretic scum!"

Charging forward, the woman soldier's lance collided with Ginal's gem-forged sword.  The intensity of the emerald glow in her eyes increased, as a low growl warned of pending danger.

"Seriously, honey, I'm giving you one chance to back the fuck off before I really get angry." warned Ginal.

Selah's own lance of shimmering ice was locked with that of the other guard.  With a disappointed sigh, she glanced at the woman solider.  "You won't like her when she's angry."

"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!" cried the soldier.

Through the brilliant glow, Selah could see Ginal rolling her eyes.  The woman soldier shifted her weight in a telltale sign of readying an attack.  Seizing the moment, Ginal gathered aether of black and green swirls in her palm, and aimed forward.  The energies exploded on impact with the woman, throwing her back onto the wide stairs.

The soldier before Selah was clearly caught off guard at Ginal's display against his comrade, making it easy to shift her own lance down and pull his feet out from under him.  A dull clang echoed as his helmet struck the paved stone, and the man lay still.

You were a belligerent ass, but...I'm sorry.

Cries went out from the ramparts as other men and women of service scrambled to their positions.  The towering wooden gates atop the grand stairs creaked and moaned as they opened, allowing half a dozen guardsmen welding sword and shield to meet the lovers.

"Gods damn..." Ginal muttered.  "All I wanted was a bath and a bed."

Apprehension, resentment, and even anger thundered in Selah's heart.  Meanwhile, with her weapon forward, she tried to ignore the agitated squawking of the chocobos behind her.

There's got to be a way out.

The hairs on Selah's neck stood as a whistling pierced the air. With eyes wide, she frantically glanced about for the source, only to be met with a sharp, pained gasp from Ginal.  Blood flowed from the wound and added a splash of crimson to the snow underfoot.

"Oh gods, Ginal!" Selah cried.  

Ginal's legs buckled as another arrow struck below the knee, bringing her to the ground.  Selah held her beloved's hand as anger, worry and desperation collided in her heart.

What do I do?  Why is this happening?  Is this my fault?  Should I surrender?  Should I fight?  Ginal, I'm so sorry.

As the soldiers formed a loose circle around the couple, tears welled in Selah's eyes.  The world around seemed to grow black, until the only thing Selah could see was the wounded young woman beside her.

I should have never helped Geoffrey.  I should have told mother to take her letter and leave.  What have I done?

"Another lovely situation, isn't it, darling?" Emerald purred.

Am I going to die?

Pain enveloped Ginal, and weakness laid claim to her limbs.  In the darkness, the twin flames hovered, narrowed in a smile.

"Shall I take over for a while?"

I cant leave Selah alone...and I don't want to die...not here.

"I'll see us through, darling."

Ginal smiled as Emerald took her hand.  She felt embraced by passion, desire and bloodlust.

Please try not to kill.

"I make no promises, darling."

Emerald flame ignited in Ginal's eyes, knocking Selah back in surprise.  Ginal looked to her shoulder and pulled the arrow free, followed by the other in her leg.  The pain elicited a gutteral growl as she rose to her feet, and her lips curled in a wicked grin as she realized the newly joined soldiers were backing away.  After a moment, her wounds' bleeding had slowed, but not stopped completely.

"Mmm...I feel yummy." purred Ginal.

She looked to Selah, who, judging by the wide eyes and gaping mouth, clearly didn't know what to do or say.  Another arrow whistled as it took flight, only to meet a barrier of dark, rippling webbing that vanished as quickly as it appeared.  With a smirk, Ginal grabbed Selah by her breastplate and met the hyur's lips.  The magical barrier again deflected two more arrows as Ginal refused to let her lover go, purring playfully as she grabbed and groped at Selah's figure. 

"Gods, woman!" Selah gasped as she broke free.  "Can't you wait?!"

A wicked cackle was the miqo'te's answer, and she readied her sword for battle.

"You're with me, aren't you?" 

Selah nodded, her lance forward.  "Always."

"Din, Peri!" Ginal called.  "Get out of here!  Stay safe!"

The squawking and rapid flutter of wings was their answer, and Ginal knew how to translate.

"Fuck, no."

With sword pointed toward the hesitant soldiers, Ginal again gathered aether in her palm, a wicked grin exposing her canines. 

"Come on, boys.  Slay yourself a demon for your goddess." she purred.

The orb of energy exploded as it met a target, throwing him aside with a pained cry.  The others charged forth, shouting their challenges and swinging their swords.  Within a heartbeat, Selah's legs had carried her to the ramparts.  Two archers flanked her, arrows drawn, but expressions of shock told of their surprise at her presence.  Two deft swings of her lance rendered their bows useless.

Satisfaction and joy swelled in Ginal's heart, a grin on her lips as she watched the archers flee their post from the corner of her eye.  The swordsmen had surrounded her, each uttering some epithet regarding her race or being a witch of some sort.  She purred playfully as she felt her aggressions stir in her soul, and the ground around her exploded in dark energies and sharp, curved spines jutted from the ground.  Two of the swordsmen were pierced through the leg, one in the abdomen, and two more tossed aside by the concussive force.  The soldier still standing lunged, his sword catching on Ginal's gauntlet and leaving him off-balance.

"At least this witch can actually hit someone." she taunted the soldier.

Her ears twitched as her armor-plated boot connected to his knee, the distinctive snapping sound of the joint drawing a smile to her lips.  The man fell, howling his agony, as Ginal sauntered through the gates.

It is so good to come out to play!

Beyond the sapphire glow, Selah's eyes sparkled with pride and love as Ginal strolled through the gates.  Whistling pierced the air as a sharp pain bit into Selah's thigh, the arrow scraping her and drawing blood.  Gritting her teeth, she forced her natural reaction aside and launched herself skyward.

Idiot.  Mind your surroundings.

Lance forward, Selah angled herself down and set her sights on nearest archer on the ramparts.  Her foe released multiple shots into the sky, but the volley missed its plummeting target.  The weapon pierced the elezen's chain-link armor as though paper, and bit into his shoulder with enough force to pin him to the ground.

Selah quickly turned her attention to the vast courtyard of the fortress, twirling her weapon defensively before her as she took stock of the place.  Another troop of soldiers were rushing to engage Ginal, wielding sword and spear both.  There was also a mage of some sort present, like nothing Selah had ever seen.  She wore a flowing black robe trimmed in gold and silver, and above her palm hovered a spinning globe, orbited by some sort of magicked cards.

Dinornis and Peridot both charged forward, sharply squawking as they sprinted by Ginal.  Dinornis lowered his head and rammed it straight into a soldier's presented shield, hitting with enough force to knock the man over.  The soldiers parted as Peridot sought to barrel through them, putting the bird on a collision course with the mystery mage.  The cards around the mage's globe spun and briefly scattered as the woman threw her palm forward, and a great flash of white detonated, tossing the chocobo aside.  

What kind of mage is that?

Peridot rolled back onto her feet, stomping and fluttering her wings defiantly.  The bird resumed her attack charge as the mage again scattered the cards around herself, this time finding Dinornis ramming his head into her side.  Knocked breathless by the assault, the mage-woman struggled to her feet as the two great birds kicked and pecked at her, tearing her robes.  Her flight from the battle only drew the birds to persue, drawing a smile to Selah's lips.

Arrows bounced off Selah's makeshift lance-shield, drawing her attention across the courtyard to a duo of archers taking aim.  A piercing whistle filled the air as arrows flew free.  One, two--six of them met the resistance of her lance, but the next found its mark and lodged into her bicep.

"Fuck!" screamed Selah, dropping her lance.  Blood leaked from under the arrowhead, the pain biting and intense.

She saw that her scream had gotten Ginal's attention, as the miqo'te sneered viciously at the archers.  Her rage took the form of black and green orbs she threw, which exploded against the stone of the ramparts and tossed the archers from their perch.  A lancer exploited the opportunity of Ginal's distraction to drive his weapon through her gut.  

Time slowed to a crawl as Selah's blood froze.  Memories of a time Ginal had suffered a grievous wound at a monster's doing flashed through her mind, as did the memories of the aftermath.

No, no, no, no, no, no!

Ginal's fearures twisted into an expression of wrath and pain like Selah had never witnessed.  It chilled the very heart of her, and she could see, that of their enemies.

GET YOUR ASS DOWN THERE AND HELP HER!

Free of her paralysis, Selah grit her teeth and pulled at the arrow, freeing it from her muscle with a ripping pain that threatened to drown her in waves of nausea and dizziness.  Blood poured forth from her wound, and the pain as almost too great to ignore.

Lance forward.  Fight through the pain.  Control the fear.

Her lance was enveloped by a brilliant blue-white glow as Selah twirled it intrcately before her.  She leaped to the sky as the frozen wind pierced and bit, her hair tossed and tangled by the wind's malicious playfulness.  She angled down, lance forward as the sapphire glow of her eyes increased in intensity.

Ginal tore the spearhead off the weapon that pierced her and freed herself from the lance-shaft.  Even from the skies, Selah saw that her beloved was already paling from blood loss, and that the pain was making standing a struggle for the miqo'te.  A green-black glow of aether surrounded her sword as she lunged forward with a scream, her weapon piercing the lancer's midsection.  The man's skin paled quickly as he gasped for breath, his eyes sunken.

The lancer's fellows had backed away, weary of the possible fate that seemed to await.  Ginal's skin regained some of its color, and the blood dripping from her chest slowed.  Her opponent keeled over, trembling through ragged and shallow breaths.

The image of a great wyrm, cerulean and snaking, materialized around Selah as she neared the ground.  Her lance pierced the stone base of the courtyard, and a great explosion of fire erupted forth in a grand ring.  The force of the explosion knocked several of the Ishgardian soldiers over, the flames washing over them as its own roar concealed their pained cries.  When the fire subsided, a quick glance found at least four soldiers' armor was burnt and charred, leading Selah to imagine the severity of the blisters underneath.   A thin glow of blue-white aether blanketed the wound on her arm, and the flow of blood slowed.

Back to back the lovers stood as the soldiers regrouped, forming a circle around them as a handful of additional soldiers ran to join the fray.  Ginal's ears and tail twitched frantically, her breathing ragged and her warning growl laced with pain that was plain to Selah's ears.  Selah's heart sank as she reached behind, finding the miqo'te's tail for a gentle pet.

"Why are you always the one getting so badly wounded?"

Ginal scoffed, "If this were a story I'd castrate the asshole writing it."



Again, a sharp whistle pierced the air, and though Selah's lance twirl caught some arrows, a determined one found its way into Selah's thigh.  The gasp of pain was unmistakable as Ginal whirled around, and found Selah kneeling as blood trickled forth from the wound.  Selah was struggling not to make a sound, but the tears in her eyes spoke volumes of the pain she was enduring in the battle.  Ginal gripped her beloved's hand tight, her own trembling as her heart swelled with fury for her fiance's agony.  Desperately summoning her sword back to her hand, she spun to face the soldiers as they closed in.

"Leave Selah ALONE!" the miqo'te screamed.

Green-black aether swirled about her body, the long, wild curls of her hair dancing with the wind the magicks created.  Ginal planted the sword in the stone flooring, and threw her hands forward.

"STOP!" called a man's voice, older and worn.

Ginal halted her retaliation as the soldiers, too, froze in mid-swing.  Boots hit the stone with a commanding gait, and the troops parted to allow the speaker through.  He was tall for, even for an elezen, and his stride confident.  the scars across his forehead and cheek spoke of hard lessons learned in battle, and his dirty-blonde beard was beginning to gray.

Standing at the front of his soldiers, he peered at Ginal, and quickly shifted his gaze to Selah.  His lips curled into a frown, and Ginal recognized a sadness in his eyes.  He drew his sword from its sheath, and handed it to the soldier nearest, holding his palms forward toward Ginal.  Tentative steps brought him to Selah's side, where he knelt to whisper to her.

"Are you Selah Darkmoore?"

Indignation pushed aside the pain of Selah's gaze, her nose wrinkled and eyes narrowed.

"I do NOT take that name, Drillemont!" Selah snapped.  "And I swear to your goddess, if you address me as that one more time I'll drive this lance through your heart!"

Drillemont was clearly taken aback at the words, but nodded his understanding as he rose.  He offered a hand to Selah, but Ginal slid between them, helping Selah to her feet as she eyed the man with mistrust.  The lord turned to his men, his expression stern and commanding.

"These two are NOT enemies of our people, and this battle will cease IMMEDIATELY!  Give them lodging and fetch a healer to tend to them.  Any harm that befalls them, and I mean ANY, will be answered by my steel.  Do you all understand?"

The soldiers glanced at each other, shifting uneasily as they failed to find sense in the situation.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Drillemont demanded.

"Sir, yes, sir!" they replied, immediately and in unison.

Ginal supported Selah, watching wearily as the soldiers began to scatter, tending to their casualties or returning to whatever gods-forsaken duties await them.

Hardly a necessary sentiment, good knight.  If anyone tries one more thing against my Selah, it's me they'll answer to.