"Would you believe I've never actually done this before?" I asked, quickening my pace to keep up with Taimi's effortless stride. It still amazed me how someone so small could move so fast.

She shot me a bright smile, copper-threaded braids swishing with each step. "Getting into the palace is basically a miracle unless you're on official business," she said, her tone cheerful but matter-of-fact.

"That's true," I conceded. "But that's not what I meant. I've never been escorted by a woman."

Taimi paused, turning on her heel so fast her green hair bounced. "Seriously?" she said, eyes widening.

I shrugged, the slightest hint of unease creeping in. "I'm emancipated, so I don't have family or Kin to fill the role. I assumed it would come up eventually…" I let the sentence fade. Maybe on a date or in a relationship, but I didn't need to hand Taimi more ideas than necessary.

I'm sure Maeriel would have been thrilled if I had ever asked her, but since she was someone every Kindred was legally required to kill on sight, going out in public with her was not only foolhardy but suicidal.

A flicker of curiosity crossed her face, but she didn't push it. "So I'm the first?" She grinned, mischievous delight flickering in her eyes. "I guess that means I have bragging rights. Maybe I'll print a badge that says, I Escorted John—Number One in Line!"

"Don't you dare," I retorted, though a laugh slipped out. "Honestly, it feels a little weird. You're what, more than half my height? Yet you're legally in charge of my safety."

"That's how things are," she replied, offering a carefree shrug. "I can use magic; men can't. So if trouble crops up, it's my job to protect you. Call it centuries of social convention rolled into one deadly halfling ready to kickass."

As if to punctuate her statement, Taimi hopped into the air and threw a playful punch, her copper braids shimmering with stored mana. I couldn't help but smirk. "You certainly don't look weighed down by the responsibility."

"Oh, I'm definitely weighed down," she said, pivoting to gesture at the endless hall before us. "Weighed down by excitement! I've been wanting to meet you in real life for ages, and we get to do it in the most interesting building in the entire city. Talk about perfect timing! This place is massive. Did you know there's a wing the earliest governor supposedly had constructed in secret? Some rumor about a hidden chamber behind her appointment tapestry—"

She rattled on without pausing for breath, pointing out the intricate carvings, soaring ceilings, and the occasional statue that lined our path. Her joy proved infectious, drawing me in despite the lingering knots in my stomach.

"Take this decorative panel, for instance," she said, tapping the polished wood with her knuckles. "A lot of people don't realize it dates back to Governor-General Georgette's reign. The scrollwork alone is enough to make any historian drool, I mean, if they even notice it."

I raised my eyebrows. "You remember her name? I can't recall what I had for breakfast yesterday, let alone historical figures from ages ago."

"Eidetic memory," Taimi said, tapping the side of her head with a proud grin. "It's not just for tinkering and gaming, y'know."

I let out a low chuckle, the tension in my shoulders easing. Her chatter kept my mind too busy to revisit the interrogation room and the uneasy sense that had trailed after me ever since. Each historical tidbit felt like a small shield, blocking out those dark thoughts.

As we passed a marble column adorned with gleaming gold filigree, I couldn't help but slow down to admire its beauty. "I knew this place was supposed to be grand, but I never realized it was so…maze-like."

Taimi laughed, her cheeks flushing with delight. "Blame the committees. Every time a new official got elected, they added rooms, wings, or entire floors. On top of the mess that was initial construction. Even magic can't keep perfect track of it all. Ohh, that statue, see it? The one of the first official Atlantica Chapions? She allegedly spent twenty-eight years training before taking her post. Now that's dedication."

I shook my head, a wry smile on my lips. "Hard to believe someone could love their job that much."

"Hey, I understand," Taimi said, flashing a sympathetic smile, eyes locked onto me. "When you're passionate about something, time just disappears."

She wasn't wrong. A soft pang of envy reminded me that my own passion for life had dimmed to embers. But here she was, all blazing curiosity, like a torch lighting the way for anyone lucky enough to follow. Part of me hoped her warmth might reignite something inside me.

We nearly collided with two palace staff rounding a corner, both of whom cast us a curious glance no doubt wondering at the sight of a petite halfling woman acting as an official escort to a tall, broad-shouldered man. The social implication alone was bound to start gossip. Taimi offered them a cheery wave, not missing a beat as she pointed to a set of gilded double doors.

"That's the old archives," she explained, her eyes sparkling. "Totally off-limits now. Probably full of top-secret records or something. But it's so pretty, isn't it? Look at those griffons and phoenixes carved into the lintel, I swear, half of these creatures carved died out ages ago. Kind of sad, really…"

She trailed off, her expression dimming momentarily when she noticed the tension creeping back into my stance. "You okay?"

I swallowed hard, the memory of what had happened earlier still too fresh. "Yeah. Well…getting there."

Her hand found my arm, a gentle, reassuring touch. "You're safe with me," Taimi said softly, her gaze unwavering. "If anyone so much as thinks about messing with you, they'll regret it."

She had a sincerity in her voice that I couldn't dismiss. For a fleeting second, I felt truly secure more secure than I had in years. "Thanks," I managed, my own voice hushed. She gave a small nod and then continued leading me through the opulent corridor.

By the time we reached the next stretch of hallway, I realized that my usually rigid posture had relaxed. The ever-present dread that clung to my thoughts felt lighter, replaced by a gentle warmth radiating from Taimi's excitement.

As if she could sense my mood improving, Taimi beamed up at me. "So…still weirded out by the idea of being escorted?"

I exhaled a quiet laugh. "Not as much as I was. Who knows, maybe the archaic custom isn't half bad."

Her grin grew wider, and she gave an exaggerated bow. "I'll take that as a win. I will be my honor to escort you any time you want. Now come on I've got at least sixteen more cool facts before we reach our destination."

She bounded off again, eager to share the palace's secrets, and I found myself following her with a lighter step. The ever-present niggling fear in the back of my mind subsided for a moment. If this was how an escort was supposed to feel, someone genuinely protecting me, guiding me, and fueling my curiosity with her own, perhaps I finally understood why this custom had endured so long.

As we neared the final turn of Taimi's impromptu palace tour just a few corridors shy of our destination, her steps began to slow. I watched in growing concern as the boundless energy she'd exuded all evening seemed to ebb away, replaced by a pallor creeping across her cheeks. The bright spark in her green eyes dimmed, and her copper-threaded braids no longer bounced with that same exuberance.

Suddenly, her knees buckled, and she dropped to the polished marble floor. The abruptness of it made my heart jolt.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it," she hissed, voice cracking. "Not now…not when I finally get to see John…" The last part was scarcely more than a whisper.

I hurried to her side, dropping to my own knees with a slap of flesh against stone. My hands shot out to steady her shoulders, and Taimi clung to me, breathing hard. A sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead, and her face was chalky with exhaustion. It felt wrong to see her like this my typically effervescent halfling tour guide suddenly reduced to near-collapse.

She attempted a rueful smile but only managed a wince. "Surprise," Taimi croaked, trying to let out a laugh. Instead, she was seized by a coughing fit that racked her entire body.

"Taimi!" My own voice sounded strangely hoarse. "What's wrong? Tell me how to help!"

She lifted one trembling hand to my chest, her delicate fingers curled in the fabric of my shirt. "Just…keep me steady," she rasped, swallowing hard. "It's easier to do if the room…isn't spinning."

Bracing one arm behind her back and the other around her shoulders, I held Taimi tight. My heart thundered at the sight of her so vulnerable. For a moment, I wondered if I should sprint off to find a healer or call out for help, but as I looked into her eyes, I realized she was already in the middle of something. Her entire mind was inward.

With a deep, ragged breath, Taimi closed her eyes and steadied herself in my grip. The copper wires woven into her braids, the tiny gears attached to her clothes ornamental at first glance, began to flicker with a faint, shifting glow. I hadn't paid them much attention before, but now they seemed to activate, the spark of mana dancing around their edges. Slowly, the wires and gears stopped moving on their own as if being drained of their stored essence. I felt an odd tingle in the air, like the static before a thunderstorm.

She took in several more shallow breaths before her skin began to regain a hint of color. The dreadful pallor receded, replaced by a shaky flush across her cheeks. Each exhalation sounded less labored, and the trembling in her limbs eased enough that she could look up at me without slumping.

"Better?" I asked, my voice still laced with worry.

Taimi swallowed once, twice, then gave a tentative nod. "A little," she murmured, though her voice wavered. "Just… burned through too much mana too quickly, that's all. I have these wires—" she gestured weakly at the copper coils laced into her hair and garments—"they act as a…backup tank, in case I run low."

The explanation came in short bursts, as though each word cost her extra effort. But she forced a wry smile onto her face, trying to inject a bit of her usual humor. "Heh, guess I got a little overexcited…running around spouting palace with you. Didn't realize… just how much mana I was burning."

I kept my hands on her shoulders, not quite ready to relinquish my support. "We should get you to a safe spot somewhere you can rest." My mind reeled with the memory of how easily I had been taken out of commission earlier. The thought of Taimi, in her current state, facing any sort of threat made my stomach lurch.

"I'll be okay," she insisted, though her voice remained shaky. "Just need a second to catch my breath… maybe a minute."

She leaned against me, resting her head near my chest, and I felt another surge of protective instinct. This entire time, she'd been so busy looking after me that I hadn't stopped to consider how she might be pushing herself beyond her limits.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Cautiously, I let my hand drift to the back of her neck, fingers tangling in the soft green hair that framed her braids and copper adornments. "I'm not letting you go until you're steady on your feet," I said firmly.

A faint chuckle escaped her lips, though it morphed into a shallow cough. "Bossy," she teased in a whisper. "I like it. Don't worry, I won't…collapse again."

An image of her toppling to the marble tiles replayed in my mind, and I tightened my grip. "Please don't," I muttered. "I nearly had a heart attack."

For several moments, we stayed like that her leaning against me, drawing in slow, deliberate breaths while the last shimmer of mana flickered along her mechanical accessories. The corridor felt unnaturally quiet; even the murmurs of passing staff seemed to fade away, as if acknowledging our need for privacy.

Finally, Taimi managed to straighten her back. She blinked a few times, focusing her gaze on my face. "Thanks," she said softly, her breath still slightly ragged. "I know that must have freaked you out."

"I'll live," I said quietly, mustering a thin smile. "But you almost didn't. At least, that's how it looked."

Taimi's cheeks flushed, and she averted her gaze with a hint of shame. "This…doesn't happen too often," she murmured, though her shifting eyes revealed how uneasy she felt about confessing it. "I usually manage my mana better much better, actually. It's just that my output can't keep up with my body's demand. All Gnomes suffer from this to some degree, we were designed by the High Elves for a world that's drowning in mana, not one with barely any. But I'm one of the strongest Technopaths alive, so it's worse for me."

She swallowed, a faint tremor running through her shoulders. "I, um…didn't realize how low I was getting. I was too Focused on you."

Her voice dropped on that last sentence, and the way she said "Focused" struck me like a gong. I knew exactly what that implied for a halfling, especially Gnomes. The High Elves had designed their halfling slaves with meticulous care, instilling them with a near-obsessive drive to complete tasks assigned by their 'masters.' Even though the ages of overt slavery had ended, the underlying biology what they called the Focus still lingered, surfacing at inopportune moments.

"Taimi," I asked, my voice softening with genuine concern. "Have you been Focusing on me?"

She tried to answer, but an involuntary yawn slipped out, revealing the depths of her fatigue. When she finally managed to speak, her words came out slurred, almost like someone teetering on the edge of drunkenness. "Surprise," she said, flashing me a crooked, apologetic grin.

My stomach knotted. "How long?" I forced myself to ask, even though I was terrified of the answer.

Her shoulders sagged as she lowered her gaze. "Four years, two months, thirty-six days, eight hours, seventy-three minutes, and sixty-four seconds," she recited in a tired monotone, as though reading off a data log.

Shock stole the breath from my lungs. "Taimi…that was the night we met, wasn't it?"

She nodded, biting her lip in a mixture of shame and worry. "I'm a Technopath," she explained quietly. "The moment I heard you speak over the comm, I knew you were using a voice modulator. I got curious wondered why a man was going to such lengths to hide. So I dug up some info, read your file, saw your picture. The instant I laid eyes on you, I…became Focused."

The weight of that admission hung thick in the air. It suddenly made sense her unwavering devotion, the way she'd come to my rescue the moment I was in trouble, how she always seemed to have an answer for everything that concerned me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, trying to keep my tone gentle, even though my heart pounded against my ribs.

"This is my problem," she said, voice laced with self-reproach. "I know what you've gone through. Your file…there's so much pain in it. I wasn't about to dump my own issues on you especially this. You don't deserve to deal with a halfling who's obsessed with you, day in and day out, fantasizing about…about being with you in every sense of the word."

She paused, and color flared in her cheeks, equal parts embarrassment and raw honesty. "I've had to burn through my mana like an idiot just to keep from, well…" Her breath caught, but she pushed on. "…kissing you, sucking you, or riding you until I'm too stuffed to walk." Her cheeks practically glowed with mortification. "That's the Focus messing with my mind. It's…constant. I even go to counseling, do the exercises, keep privacy safeguards in place so I don't spy on you. I've got a plan like, a really long and detailed plan to manage it. I work really hard at controlling my Focus. But now you know…and you'll probably want nothing more to do with me."

She spat out the last words in a rush, her breathing rapid and shallow. The panic in her eyes was unmistakable like she'd just lost any hope of a future that involved me. Her hands trembled as she tried to keep from openly hyperventilating.

I reached out and covered her shaking fingers with my own, pressing them down gently. There was a storm of emotions whirling inside my chest astonishment, confusion, a sharp pang of pity, and something else I couldn't quite name. All I knew was, I couldn't let her spiral.

"Hey," I said quietly, sliding a hand under her chin so she'd look at me. Her face, still pale from mana loss, was streaked with anxiety and unshed tears. "Breathe. Just breathe, okay?"

I demonstrated with a slow, deep inhale, watching as her gaze darted around and then settled on me. She tried to mimic my breathing rhythm, but her exhalation was shaky, ragged around the edges.

"I'm sorry," Taimi repeated, her voice cracking. "Everything I do, it's to keep my Focus under control. I swear I never wanted to push you or creep you out or—"

"Shh," I whispered, shaking my head. "Let me think, okay? But first, slow your breathing. You're going to give yourself a panic attack."

She closed her eyes, nodding vigorously, and I could feel her nails digging lightly into my palms. We stayed like that in tense silence for a few long seconds, until her breathing steadied enough that she could open her eyes again.

I could see the worry etched in every line of her face worry that I might flee or recoil or condemn her for this. And yet, all I felt was an odd sense of closeness, like some wall between us had suddenly vanished. Sure, the circumstances were…unsettling, to say the least. But it wasn't all horror. There was a part of me that almost…admired her devotion, twisted as it might be by the High Elves' old meddling. We all suffered even today from the many twisted legacy they left us.

"Taimi," I began, searching for the right words in a mind spinning with questions. "I'm not sure how I feel about…everything. But I don't hate you, and I'm not going to storm off or cut you out of my life."

She blinked, a single tear slipping down her cheek. "You're not?"

"No," I said firmly. My voice steadied as I glanced down at our joined hands. "Focus or no Focus, you've been a good friend to me. You've saved my hide twice in less than twenty-four hours, and you've done your best to respect my boundaries, even if it meant burning yourself out. That says a lot."

I gently wiped the tear from her face with the pad of my thumb. Taimi's lips quivered, like she wanted to speak but was afraid of what might come out.

"Thank you," she managed at last. "I…I wasn't expecting you to react like this."

I tried to smile, though it felt like it came out a little wobbly. "Honestly, neither was I. But I guess we both have to cope with what the High Elves left behind, right? You're not the only one they played with."

She nodded, relief warring with lingering apprehension. "I know," she whispered, gently squeezing my hand. "I just didn't want to burden you with one more messed-up thing. Especially not my messed-up thing."

"It's a weird situation," I said, letting out a short, humorless laugh. "But if it's something that bothers you more than it bothers me, then maybe we can figure it out together. Yeah?"

Taimi bit her lower lip, fresh tears threatening to spill, yet there was a spark of hope in her eyes now a fragile kind of joy that cut through the gloom. "Together?" she echoed.

"Together," I confirmed, nodding. "Now please take a deep breath, and let's try not to pass out in the middle of this fancy hallway."

That finally coaxed a shaky chuckle out of her, and she inhaled slowly, pressing her forehead lightly against my shoulder. "Deal," she murmured.

For the first time, the corridor's ornate walls and intricate tapestries felt almost trivial compared to the raw honesty passing between us. Even though the ancient architecture had seen centuries of political drama and clandestine dealings, I couldn't help but think none of it held a candle to the intimate confession unfolding here. Taimi's confession and my unexpectedly calm response had turned a well-trod corridor into sacred ground.

And in that moment, I realized just how far we might go for each other, Focus or not. Taimi was terrified of chasing me away, and I was terrified of being consumed by forces I couldn't control. But for now, at least, we were on the same page facing it together.

----------------------------------------

Codex

The reply from the Freeriders to the High Elven Imperator of the Legions, Age of Greentides.

"The cursed Imperator, Legions Julia's daughter, and attendant of the infernal Lilith in the abyss of hell, Anatolia Empress, footstool of the Hellas, cook of Alexandrians, locksmith of Babylonia, wheelwright of the Holy City, drunkard of Assura, swineherd of greater and lesser Aegypt, sausage of Helenos, and bitch of Dwarves, the cursed childish knave upon earth and the world, the great fool of Erda and the country, and a nasty slime in the world, the Legions licker of women, the commander of the whole hellish empire in the deep abyss of hell, a spirit of the infernal devils, a mocker of the sacrificed Cystal Dragon, enemy and persecutor of his servants, below all those who live above, the downfaller of the bishop women: We report to you that we have no thoughts of surrendering to you, but are bravely, womenfully, and eternally resolved to fight you and whomever you call a sister, together with a great queen whom, according to your legends, as a sister fells the wood in the forest, so she will fall down upon you, and your busurwomans, and all your followers, and especially you, who can be compared not to a sister, but rather to a cursed old man, if one may even call you so, you sit in a hole like a devil, or a cock-thief, who changes her nest in the war to another, one which shows that you are a fool, instead of the one you call a girl, who is a brave, powerful monarch and invincible queen."