(Present)
"Rihou!" Naomi banged hard on her brother's bedroom door. "Wake up, you lazy jerk! You can't sleep in on your birthday!"
Rihou lifted his face out of the pillow enough to mutter, "If I can't sleep in on my eighteenth birthday, then when can I sleep in?" His sister was still banging on the door and he groaned. Irked, he rolled out of bed and went over to yank the door open. "I'm awake, okay? Jeez, Naomi! I didn't do this to you when you turned eighteen!"
She smirked. "That's because I had the maturity to wake up by myself!" She turned on her heel with a flounce of her hair. It had grown over the last few years and hung straight as a pin to her waist. At close to nineteen, she was one of the loveliest young women in town. Courters would have been knocking on her door if they hadn't been deathly afraid of her temperamental nature. "Put your clothes on, would you? The caravan is here!"
Rihou sighed and shut the door behind her. He couldn't begrudge her forcing him awake not long after dawn. It was going to be a busy day. He and Nick were going to enlist in the Foresalia Army, and that very evening they would travel to the camp for their first training. They could have enlisted at thirteen but had wanted to wait until they felt more confident in their own skill.
By the time Rihou had gotten dressed and made his way outside, there were several females gathered in a cluster around the steps. It couldn't be helped. Not only was he absolutely gorgeous, he was also genuinely nice. He was always smiling, always upbeat. Many girls had discovered woefully that exposure to his constant smile did not diminish its rather lethal impact on hormones.
"Oh, come on!" Naomi bumped past Rihou as she came down the stairs. "Let him at least have a day or two before you throw yourselves at his feet!"
Rihou coughed as the crowd cleared. A hand slapped him on the back, and he grinned as he looked at the blond who had come up beside him. "Hey, Nick."
Nicholas Luminarie was just as handsome as his best friend, though he was blond haired and had green eyes. Both males stood just shy of six feet tall, had the strong physiques of true warriors, and similar outgoing personalities. The older women in town had been calling them heartbreakers since they were sixteen. The younger women in town were more than willing to have their hearts broken.
Though they looked nothing alike, more like negatives than anything, people often forgot they weren't related by blood. Naomi certainly did. To her, Nick was as much her little brother as Rihou was, though she wholly admitted she was much more protective and possessive of Rihou. Overprotective, in his book, but she didn't see it as that bad of a thing. He was too nice. Eventually he would get a broken heart of his own, and she would have to be there with the broom and dustpan to sweep up the pieces.
"Happy birthday," Nick said to Rihou. "Welcome to being an adult. It's not as big a deal as people think it is." He elbowed his friend. "Except for the part where you're now the most eligible male in town."
"Ha!" Rihou snorted. "I hate to tell you, but that's still your standing. I'm not the heir of the richest man in town."
Nick sighed. "I can dream, can't I? I feel like there's a 'for sale' sign around my neck! Naomi, why won't you marry me to keep me safe?"
"Because it'd be immoral in my brain." She rolled her eyes and shoved them down the road toward where lively music played. "Now behave yourselves or everyone will think you're the hooligans that Uncle Daniel just happened to bring home."
"I am," Rihou offered helpfully.
"Just don't act like it!"
He laughed and swung an arm around her shoulders. Half the fun of having a sister was to tease her mercilessly, but he and Nick were the only ones allowed to tease Naomi. Rihou had more than once made it very clear that he would fight to the death for his sister's sake. Not that Naomi wasn't almost as skilled with her nunchaku as he was with his tonfa. It was the principle of the thing. They had a very give and take relationship.
The caravan had camped at the eastern edge of town and was a whirl of music and color and light. A young man with tremendous balance walked around on top of a rolling ball while he juggled anything people tossed to him. Currently, he had a dagger, a piece of fruit, a smaller ball, and a relic. Another young man was playing with fire—literally. If he wasn't juggling torches, he was showing how to breathe fire without being a Dragon. Or maybe he was one. It was impossible to tell sometimes since Dragons could take most any shape, especially the uncomplicated Human one.
A girl with madly curling blonde hair played a flute as she danced and weaved her way through the crowd. The voluminous red skirts and cropped bodice she wore were as much a mark of her bard heritage as the traditional jewelry she wore. She couldn't have been much older than thirteen, but she was already lovely enough to turn heads.
There was a ring of people gathered, and Rihou pushed his way through to see what they watched. His eyes fell on the bard dancing in the center of the ring, and he stopped breathing entirely, a shocking fist of hunger and emotion slamming into his soul and body. He knew her. He didn't know from where or how, but on the deepest level of his being, he was sure he knew her.
She was slim and willowy yet her body held a surprising and curious strength under its grace. Her hip length blonde hair was full of curls that seemed to have a life of their own as they swirled with her dance. Her eyes looked a haunting shade of green, like glass that had been just formed in a fire. They were lined with thick dark lashes, and her face was both striking and sultry. Her body, in his book, was this side of perfection. Not too curvy, and somehow impossible to ignore. His hands itched to touch, and it was almost as if he knew just how she would feel in his arms.
Elissa turned on one step and found herself suddenly looking into a pair of chocolate eyes that smoldered. Her breath caught in her chest. She didn't know his name, didn't know his face, but she knew him. Knew his heart and soul. Knew that this one person needed her more than anyone else ever had or ever could. And she needed him. Needed his smile and his laughter, needed him safe and whole. It was a need as emotional as it was physical, and her body heated with hunger.
Unable to resist, she twirled closer and caught his hands. The crowd began to cheer and she grinned up at him. "Dance with me," she said. "I'll show you the moves." She placed his right hand on her bare waist and almost gasped at the shocking heat of his skin. She glanced down, but there was no relic mark on his hand. It was a strange thing to see when she was sure she could feel the magic under his skin.
He flexed his hand lightly to savor the resilience of her flesh. He had a feeling he would become very fond of bard clothing. Though the skirts mostly hid her legs, the top was cut above her midriff and dripped daringly over the curves of her breasts. The golden brown color of the skirt set off the green color of the top, which matched her eyes. Both were edged with beads and crystals. "I leave myself in your hands," he murmured.
The fist of desire just seemed to ball tighter low in her body. She knew she wasn't imagining that he was flirting with her. Please let him be legal, was all she could think. "I'll be gentle," she said, a note both saucy and sultry in her voice.
He proved to be a quick learner as well as light on his feet. In only minutes, he was dancing with her as if he had always known the moves. She found herself giggling as he swung her high in the air and then put her down again. Few dared lifts like that, but the muscles rippling under his short sleeves made her pulse ripple too. When he twirled her, she landed in his arms with her hands over his heart. The rapid beat under her touch told her that she wasn't the only one caught in the madness.
The flute had stopped and everyone was cheering and whistling. Some catcalling as well, but Rihou couldn't take offense. "Hi," he told Elissa gravely. "I think we need to be properly introduced. I'm Rihou Royaltine."
"Elissa."
The lack of a last name wasn't surprising. Not everyone had them. Others as yet changed them as they grew. Marriage was most often the biggest reason for a change. The newlyweds took a new last name to represent their new life together. "Hello, Elissa," he said gravely. He took a step back and impulsively brought her hand to his lips. "Thanks for the lesson."
"Anytime. Really." The name dawned on her suddenly and her eyes widened. "Oh, you're the one who is having a birthday!" Relief swamped her. He was, if only since midnight, very much legal. At nineteen, she hadn't been expecting to so quickly meet someone she wanted to court. "I like younger men," she told him.
His eyes twinkled merrily. "We're trainable."
She laughed and grabbed his hand. "Well, then you're going to show how much! You're the birthday boy, so you have to join us for some tricks! We'll let Raine throw daggers at you. She never misses . . . twice."
The cheering started again as he was stood very precisely in front of a tree. The girl, who looked too much like Elissa to be anything except a younger sister, picked up three daggers and juggled them for a moment to show off her dexterity. Before Rihou could blink, she suddenly threw all three and they landed safely in the tree over his head and on either side of his arms. "Tada!" Raine said. She grinned at Rihou. "You're the second person today, by the way."
He had to laugh at that. There was something about her that instantly put him at ease. She felt, in a way, just like Naomi did. The male juggler was introduced as Tyce, and after a few patient lessons, Rihou found himself helping keep a set of relics in the air. He also learned how to breathe fire from Orpheus (the trick was to take a quick mouthful of ale), and found both males to be fun, friendly, and as welcoming as Raine. It was like finding long lost friends.
The celebration continued on for a few more hours with the caravan performers keeping everything lively as they taught others how to dance and juggle. Through it all, Rihou found his eyes constantly straying to wherever Elissa stood. He didn't even realize how expressive his face was until Naomi suddenly appeared at his side and said, "Most people buy someone dinner before they start stripping him or her naked."
"Do admit my eyes have great taste." A note of longing entered his voice as he said, "I looked at her and saw everything I ever wanted without once knowing that I wanted it."
"That much was obvious," his sister said softly.
He didn't get much of a chance to talk to Elissa as the day passed. When the celebration wound down, he had to go home to get his packs for the road. He had packed them the night before so that he and Nick could leave right from the party. One carried extra clothes; the other carried one or two items from home just in case he got homesick. The physical packs were a requirement of the Army because they could be checked for contraband not allowed to recruits.
When he met up with Nick at the stable, his friend was in the process of putting a harness on his horse. "Let's hear it," Rihou said as he began to prepare his own horse for the trip. He dropped the packs over the edge of the stall.
Nick quirked a brow. "Which 'it'?"
"The part about where I just lost my heart to a bard I might never see again and how the two of us probably upset two-fifths of the girls in town by my looking at her as if she was the only woman in the world that interested me."
"Only two-fifths?"
"The other three-fifths prefer blonds."
"Pfft!" Nick attached his pack to the back of the saddle. "Well, I think you just said it all. When the two of you locked gazes, I swear I could feel the heat in it. It was so wild. I actually felt the charge between you. And it was odd too, 'cause it felt like I'd been expecting to see it. Naomi says that she even felt it resonate in her Fire Relic, and we both know that means you two were affecting the magic in the air."
Relics were globes of what looked like glass. Once fused to someone, they would allow the owner to use magic. All normal relics were ones that had been derived, or born, from what were known as Pure Relics. Legend said that there had been a mirror in the sky, and when it broke, the twenty-five shards became Pure Relics. Those relics not only gave immense power, they also gave eternity to the owner. A Pure Relic user would never die of old age. They would be forever stopped in time. Tyrian was a Pure Relic user, and the Pure Relic had, in fact, been a critical part of his destiny.
All relics of similar type (lesser or Pure) were supposedly equal in raw power, so it was the user that made them truly potent. Nearly all people were born with what was known as a magical capacity. It was literally their capacity to produce magic through a relic. Naomi was average in strength while Nick and Rihou, though neither wore relics, were in possession of exceptionally strong capacities. Perhaps for that reason, neither had ever fused a relic. It just didn't feel comfortable to them. The capacity was part of a person's soul; therefore, a relic was technically fused to their soul.
For Naomi, of average strength with a normal Fire Relic, to feel the charge between Elissa and Rihou meant that the output they'd had was indeed great. Rihou could only sigh. "I can't say what happened, Nick. I don't understand it myself. But . . . I'm okay with that. Am I a bit scared? Absolutely. Will it stop me from trailing behind Elissa like a lovesick puppy? Absolutely not. I figure that we do our time in the army, and as soon as we get a break, I'm going to track down the caravan and throw myself at her feet."
"The bright side being that she's so graceful that you don't need to worry about her stepping on you too hard." Nick's brows shot up as he saw a familiar figure step into the doorway to the stable. "Speak of the devil." He grinned as Elissa walked in further. "We were just discussing you. Rihou was lamenting that we have to leave when you've only just met. I'll just go outside so you can say your goodbyes."
Elissa stepped aside so he could lead his horse out and then turned to Rihou with a smile. "I was lamenting the same thing," she admitted. "That's why I decided to come see you off." She walked closer and absently patted the horse's head when he sniffed at her curiously. "I wasn't expecting to meet you, Rihou," she admitted. "But I'm not sorry I did. There's something special that could be between us. I don't want to toss that away. And I . . ." she blew out a breath, "I can't shake the feeling that you're in danger somehow."
He studied her for a moment. "What kind of danger?"
"I don't know. I just . . . promise me you'll be careful." She stepped closer and rested her hands on his chest. The red tunic edged in gold thread made his eyes glow like melted chocolate, and it was open enough at the neck to hint at more muscles as defined as his arms. She had already noted his sturdy brown slacks covered one rather perfect example of a male butt. There seemed to be little that wasn't perfect about Rihou Royaltine, in her eyes at least. "The caravan spends only about a week in each city," she told him. "But . . . I suppose we might come back this way on purpose if we had reason."
He threaded his left hand into her hair and let the locks curl around his fingers. His other hand rested lightly on her waist. "Training is two weeks long. After that, we get to come home while our assignments are determined."
"Maybe we can just . . . take a little longer here. It's decent-sized city. There's a lot to see and do."
Vella hovered at the ten thousand population mark, just big enough to have a militia unit for personal defense, but not big enough to be considered a large city. "There would be plenty to occupy a caravan for two weeks, even a small one," he agreed. "Would you wait for me, Elissa?"
"Every day," she promised. She suddenly sighed. "Oh, to hell with it!" She slid her arms up around his neck and went on her toes to kiss him with a hunger that made his head spin. Hers was spinning too. That smile. She had wanted to taste it for hours, and it was more thrilling than she had expected.
He didn't lose his footing at the embrace; he had been a second away from kissing her anyway. His hand slid up to cup the back of her head and he deepened the kiss hungrily, his tongue sneaking past her lips and surprising a gasp out of her. Her flavor was more spicy than sweet, with a touch of exotic, just like her personality hinted. He was instantly addicted.
A whistle from outside cut into the moment, and he forced himself to let her go. She stared up at him for a few moments and then gave a sultry laugh that flicked along his already sensitized nerves. "Wow," she said. She lightly touched her swollen lips. "Well, now you have to come back and court me. That was my first kiss you took."
"You gave it to me," he reminded her. "And I promptly gave it back, so we're even." He stole a brief but hard kiss. "There, I took a kiss as accused. And you can be sure I'll come back for you." He grimaced. "Providing I survive riding to the camp."
Her gaze slid downward and then up again, and her lips curved slightly. "I won't apologize." She linked her hands behind her back and walked away, her hips swaying with a gait that was wholly feminine. Her every movement looked like fluid music, but, again, there seemed to be a curious strength as well. She was somehow not wholly a civilian, and he just knew it for sure.
He was smart enough to get on his horse before he went outside, but it was uncomfortable to say the least. "Not a word," he warned Nick.
His friend didn't say anything though he smiled. The camp for training wasn't far from the river; Rihou could always jump in if needed. Nick felt sympathy for both Rihou and Elissa. When the bard had walked past, she hadn't looked much happier about the current situation. Not going to the army was an option for Rihou, but he wanted to honor his father's legacy.
The new recruit training camp was located at the V made where the two primary rivers of Foresalia met. The river running east-west cut through the upper and lower portions of the land before continuing into the City-States to cut it in half. It eventually ended near the Y Border shared with Melodina and Taron to the east and then ended at the mountains in the City-States to the west. The other river ran north-south and served as the border to the City-States.
Three dozen other young men and women were already at the camp when Nick and Rihou arrived. The lieutenant overseeing the entire thing was a man in his mid to late thirties, and though there was nothing expressly unpleasing about his appearance, neither Rihou nor Nick liked him on sight.
They left their horses where others had been tied and then went over to the table where people checked in. The soldier at the table offered a genuinely friendly smile and asked, "Names?"
"Nicholas Luminarie."
"Rihou Royaltine."
The second Rihou said his name, he had everyone's attention. The lieutenant walked over and studied Rihou intently. To be honest, he would have noticed the boy was the late General Royaltine's son even if he hadn't given his name. He looked quite a bit like his father, and he also carried himself with the same inner regality. There was something in Rihou's eyes that spoke of a strong will and spirit, the type of glitter that the lieutenant had only seen in the eyes of heroes and leaders.
He wasn't happy about it. The last thing he wanted was someone with that much bedrock integrity running around. If he was lucky, Rihou wouldn't be very talented and could be dismissed home.
After check-in, everyone grouped off to demonstrate their assorted abilities. The recruits ran the gamut from magic to healing to blunt force combat to bladed weapons. Magicians were grouped, Healers were grouped, and combat only was divided by the length of their range, either short or long.
Rihou and Nick set the bar very high from the get-go. Nick was by far the most skilled staff user present, and Rihou was simply the best. He defeated any challenge given to him, even when fighting someone who wielded a sword. The tonfa were close-range combat, and yet he had a way of using them that made it very hard for an enemy to get close themselves.
However, as the sun was setting, Rihou had begun to think he wouldn't like being in the army. He didn't like taking orders, for one, and for another thing, he wasn't seeing anyone being utilized as they really should be. The training tasks issued were being given as if to ignore anyone's specialties. If you used magic, it didn't matter what your elemental specialty was. Healers weren't even allowed to try out the lightning spell in the Resurrection Relic. The lack of real leadership left a bad taste in his mouth and offended him on a deep level.
Nick suddenly sat down beside him. "I'm ready to go home," he said in a low voice. "How about you?"
"I was ready five minutes after we got here." Rihou tossed a stick into the fire. "If this is how the army is run, I'm shocked we've won any battles." He thought of his father's legacy and then he thought of the disorder in the army. Finally, he thought about what Tyrian had told him years before about following his heart. He trusted his long distance brother's instincts. "I'm done." He got to his feet. "We can join the city militia or something."
Nick got to his feet as well, more than glad to follow Rihou's lead. He had always been comfortable with letting Rihou take charge because he was so damned good at it. "And there's a beautiful bard waiting for you," he noted.
Rihou shot him a grin. "That too." He walked over to where Lieutenant Vandel stood and said politely, "Lieutenant, Nick and I have decided that we're not cut out for the army after all. We'll be heading home tonight."
They weren't the first to leave on the first day, though it was certainly the biggest surprise Vandel had had in a long time. Both males were physically fit, years ahead of older peers in terms of skill and strength, and they took orders graciously. It made him a little suspicious, to be honest. "May I ask why?"
"To be frank, sir, I don't like taking orders." Rihou smiled as he said it. "I can take them, but I'm not much use to a commanding officer if I'm always cranky about being told to do even the simplest things. I guess I'm not as much like Dad as we all thought."
"I'm not cut out for structure," Nick decided. "Everything here is very methodical. I like to think on my feet."
"Well, it's a shame. You both would have gone very far, but I'm not going to force you to stay when it isn't your calling. Before you leave, though, may I ask for you to do one quick task? The river is running very strong this time of year, and we're missing a few people. I'm worried they fell in. Can you check the bank for any signs?"
Rihou had already noticed the missing people, both recruit and soldier alike. "Of course," he said instantly. "We'll be back shortly."
He and Nick set out into the trees and began to make their way toward the river. With every step, Rihou's dread sense began to get stronger and louder. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong. Nick picked up on his agitation and walked with his staff in hand, his skin crawling as Rihou's tension seemed to effuse the air.
The river was indeed running hard and fast. Falling in would have you swept away instantly. The good news was that the shore didn't show any sign of people having been by. The odds of someone falling in were slim to none. The bad news was that when Rihou and Nick turned around to head back, soldiers suddenly leapt out of the trees and surrounded them. None of the soldiers wore the uniform of Foresalia. Instead, they wore the familiar garb of the City-States.
"You're on the wrong side of the river," Rihou told them. "Now, I'm not the best person when it comes to directions, but I'm pretty sure of at least that much." As weapons were drawn, he grabbed his tonfa. "I didn't realize the City-States were looking to cause trouble." His voice stayed calm, but his stomach was sick and rioting. Some of these faces looked very familiar.
The soldiers leapt for them, but Rihou and Nick made quick work of them. There were only a handful, and none of them were as well trained. In fact, both Rihou and Nick recognized the style of at least two or three people, having sparred with them only hours before.
Recognizing that they were outmatched, the soldiers escaped. Rihou cursed softly. "We need to tell Vandel that we have traitors in the recruits!"
He and Nick rushed back toward the campsite, but when they got there, it was a sea of blood and fire. City-State soldiers ran everywhere, killing everyone who couldn't defend or get away in time. It went against every law of engagement that existed for war, reducing the events to little more than a bloodbath.
Soldiers came after them, but they spared no quarter for those who had none themselves. Both had killed more than their share of monsters. It was the first time they had been forced to take sentient life, though, and even though the enemy was certainly trying to kill them, it didn't take away the sick feeling Nick got when his staff broke someone's neck. Rihou took the experience with the same spirit he took everything else: he pushed away his feelings until there was no room for anything except survival.
There was no sign of Vandel at first. Rihou ran forward to drag a soldier off of a Magician trying to escape and found himself looking at a familiar face under the City-State hat. The Magician fled into the woods as fast as he could, but Rihou barely noticed. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded of Vandel. His chocolate eyes glittered as bright as the stars overhead. "Are you mad?"
"Just shut up and die!" Vandel swung his sword with all his strength at Rihou's head, yet was blocked by one of the tonfa. The other slammed into his stomach and drove the breath from his lungs. Recognizing he was by means no match for the other male, he signaled for other soldiers to join him.
Rihou retreated back to Nick's side and they watched as fifty or more soldiers came toward them. There was no way to fight all of them without magic. Without hesitation, they turned and ran into the trees back toward the river. The unexpected retreat gave them a head start, and they made it to the river moments ahead of the soldiers. "Staying is definitely death," Rihou told Nick. "But jumping in might not be. I'll jump if you will."
"We sure as hell don't have anything to lose!" Nick gripped his hand tightly for a moment. "See you on the other side of the river."
"Done!" Rihou turned and threw himself into the river without hesitation. Nick hit the water right behind him, but they were swept away from each other as they got hurled down the violent waters. Before the violence of the river knocked him out, Rihou's last thought was not for his safety. It was for Elissa. He didn't want to break his promise to her.
When Vandel and the soldiers reached the shore, there was no sign of the two friends. Vandel pulled off the City-State hat he wore and hoped deeply that both young men drowned. Things were starting just the way they had expected them to, though they hadn't anticipated the resistance Rihou and Nick had shown.
As they walked away from the shore, one of the soldiers glanced at the sky and saw a star he had never seen before glowing very brightly. It seemed to shine so bright as to draw other stars closer, and there were already a few small ones clustered around it. Another star shined as if to shelter the brighter star. It seemed a curious sign, and one that sent a shiver down his back of trepidation. Something was indeed starting.
That was for damn sure.
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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