I stand up to my feet, looking between Haleema and the man she just killed. Ulrika steps to my right side, standing a foot from me. She brings out her sword from her left hip, then tightly grips the sword on her back. From the dim light behind us, I can see the veins in her hand slightly bulge. Haleema calmly raises her arms up to her chest with her hands open.

“Relax,” I say, resting my hand on Ulrika’s left shoulder. She unsheathes her second sword and puts it right in front of me.

“Kaio, we’re leaving,” Ulrika says.

“He can’t leave until he gives me an answer,” Haleema says, gradually walking up to us.

Ulrika sits down into a defensive stance, which makes Haleema do a similar position, but puts up her hands like she’s getting ready to cast a magical spell. Her ring finger is down on her right hand while her left has the ring finger and pinky down. The left hand is further back than the right hand. By the looks of it, she might be a southpaw fighter like me.

They stare at each other, barely moving their eyes or their bodies. I fear Ulrika will attempt to strike Haleema, so I stand right between them.

“Kaio! What the hell are you doing?” Ulrika whispers in a loud voice.

“Calm down, Ulrika,” I say. She takes a few steps toward me, but I make her stop by giving her a deep squinting look.

“K...Kaioson?”

I turn my head back to Haleema. She drops her defensive stance, then crosses her arms under her breasts with both hands under the bend of the elbow.

“Haleema, are you serious about what you said? I can’t leave until I answer your question,” I say.

“I am,” Haleema says.

“What is a Paladin?”

“A skillful champion with magical capabilities capable of destroying Nite.” Ulrika’s quiet yet loud breathing makes me feel uneasy, so I wave my hand behind my head to tell her to relax. “I need a partner like you.”

“If you’re expecting an answer, I can’t give you one.”

“Huh? Why?” I move back to Ulrika’s right side, then grab her waist.

“For starters, Ulrika is my partner.” In the corner of my eye, I see her look at me with her mouth slightly open. “Secondly, your issues are not my problems.”

“But I need someone like you. The fate of the world is at stake!”

“You can’t just come into my life and expect me to join your mess I haven’t seen or heard because it’s a problem in your world.” Haleema drops her arms down, giving me a doleful frowning expression. “Now, pay us.”

She breaks eye contact with me, rapidly blinking her eyes as she passes her head around. When I let go of Ulrika, she sheathes her swords. I walk up to Haleema and firmly grab her arm.

“Pay us, Haleema,” I say.

“Fine,” Haleema says, lifting up her left hand. A coin purse warps out of thin air and floats over to Ulrika. Before I can walk away, Haleema jumps in front of me and whispers, “Kaioson, don’t brush what you saw off. The threat is real, and if we don’t stop it in time, we’ll all be fucked.” She slips a black crystal inside my shirt and leans up to my right ear. “Keep this with you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s an Ivish rune. If you ever see or hear anything about Nite, throw it into the air. And, please don’t hesitate when you do, okay?”

“Okay...” She backs away from me and looks at the dead body in the corner.

“Leave me. I need to torch this place, and sorry for the troubles I’ve caused.”

She starts conjuring her hands, bending her fingers in a sequence. Orange particles start forming all around us, so Ulrika and I flee out of the building. The whole place engulfs in a giant flame. Out of the fire, Haleema walks out unbothered by fire or the heat. She looks at us for a few seconds, then puts up her hood, walking the other way.

“What a fucking night,” Ulrika says, moving in front of me. She turns to me, examines me from toe to head, then smirks.

“What?”

“A few things. Denying her request to be partners was lovely, plus I need to dress your wounds and filth.” I look at my arms, body, and legs to see how bad I look. “Let’s go, Kaio. I need to go release my stress in a hot tub, or by something arousing.”

She walks past me, keeping the same smirk, leading me out of the alleyway by pulling on my shirt. Her bluntness about wanting to be pleased and eager to get me out makes me keen to return to the Rose Keep. Once we step onto the road, I take a last look at the burning building and recall all that has happened leading up to this entire event.

Jeez, what a day.

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

Ulrika enters our room, and I lock the door behind us. She puts the coin purse on the table, immediately begins stripping off all her armored clothing, then takes off her shirt. Parts of her back and the right side of her arm has bruises, but they don’t look serious. Before she pulls down her pants, I place a hand on her back. She lets go of her pants and stands straight up, looking at me over her left shoulder.

“Is everything okay back there?” She says. I take a second look at her damages, then look down at her ass. There’s a red bruise on her right cheek.

“How hard did you land on your right side?” I pull down her pants, putting it under the lip of her butt. “That’s a nice mark.” She twists her body to the right to look behind her.

“Ugh! Fuck her!” She aggressively takes her legs out of the sockets, throws them on the bed, then sits down on it with her face in her hand. “We could’ve died there! I knew this will end up bad. What bullshit was she talking about? Nite? Paladin?”

“I share your anger and confusion, Ulrika.” I sit down by her side and put an arm around her.

“You could’ve died,” she quietly says with a slight whimpering voice. She keeps her face covered, mainly her eyes. “I fucking told you this was shady, Kaioson! We should’ve accepted a different bounty.”

I stare at my hands, agreeing with her and feeling bad for stressing her out. From the corner of my eye, I see her look at me. I feel compelled to look away, but I stay staring at my hands.

“I’m sorry for raising my voice at you,” she says, hugging me from my right side. “Forgive me, Kaioson.”

“It’s alright. I deserve it. I shouldn’t have been hasty to accept it. When I saw the reward, all I thought about was our time off. The money was more than we planned on getting.” She rubs my back while holding my right hand from the top. “I’m sorry for stressing you this entire trip and getting you,” I stop to look at her wounds, “injured like this.”

“Kaio,” she whispers, smiling with some sparkles in her eyes. “It’s okay. You saved my life, Kaioson. You’re my hero.” Her reassurance of my actions doesn’t dim down the fact of what happened. “Hey, stop looking glum.”

“I can’t.”

“If you’re sad, then I’m sad, so be happy for me.” I try to smile, but it feels forced. “Oh, my love.” I lay back, keeping my hands to my side as she lays on me. “Please, Kaioson, cheer up.”

Her tantalizing half-nude grip on my body lifts my mood enough that I hold her. She rubs her smooth nose up and down my neck to the point I have to pull away so I can control my laughter. She continues tickling me. I try to sit up, but she pins me on my side, using her whole body to restrain me.

“Please, stop,” I shout, laughing hysterically.

“Alright, I’m done. You can breathe now.”

I watch her look down on me with gentle eyes as I recover my stamina. I’m mesmerized by her emerald jewels, not feeling the need to blink. She’s doing the same and coming down on my face at a slow pace.

“I love you, Kaioson,” she whispers, laying back on me. She kisses my neck, then gives me a poke with the tip of her tongue.

“That’s new.”

“Hmm, did you like it?” I nod, yes. “What about this.” She gives me another, then gnaws down on the base of my neck near my shoulder.

“I’m not sure about that one.” We laugh at a quiet volume as we rest our noses on each other, kiss for a bit, then cuddle.

“I can’t wait to go to Thaa Alora.”

One of the most delicate, beautiful smiles appears on her face when she looks up at me from having her face tucked into my chest. Picturing the cabin, the peaceful relaxation of nature, and her desire to please me with the things I enjoy, makes me excited for the days we’ll spend there.

“I’m glad you chose that for our vacation. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that first,” I say.

“Maybe because you had too many good moments with me in Kromagia. And, that was the recent one.” She snuggles her face into my neck, giving me a few kisses, then leans away, pulling her underwear off. “Time to bathe. Do you mind making our bath again?”

“Again?” I stutter to say.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“Mhmm,” she says, elongating her word with a broad cheeky smile. “It’s up to you if you want me in again.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Awesome!”

She lies on her left side, with her right leg over her left knee, and props herself up using her left forearm. Even though her body is bruised and cut up, her beauty is overwhelming.

I grab a coin from my coin purse, then head out of the room. As soon as I close the door behind me, the thoughts of what Haleema said to me come to remembrance. I pull out the rune to closely examine it. It’s an average-looking crystal with strange small etchings of a moderately old elven language I’ve seen but can’t remember the name of it.

“Whatcha looking at, sir?” The innkeeper says, leaning over the counter, looking at me.

“Nothing,” I say, hiding the crystal back in my jacket. “I need a sagwas (Water Rune).”

I pay for the item then return back. Ulrika is facing me, swinging her legs back and forth, looking like a curious, anxious child waiting for something extraordinary to happen. She’s cupping the sides of her face, stretching out her smile. Seeing her waiting for me like this makes me more excited about the various things she might do once we reach Thaa Alora.

TWO WEEKS LATER

“Kaio, breakfast is ready,” Ulrika shouts.

I wake out of my sleep, slamming my eyes open. The brightness of our room strains my eyes back shut. Using the spaces between my fingers, I gaze down at the doorway where it opens into the kitchen. I sit up and feel something soft rub down my leg. My blanket is partially covering my crotch. Only my left leg is under, and everything else is exposed.

“Kaio,” she says, peering her head in the doorway. She takes a quick up and down glance, then momentarily puckers her lips. “Get dressed and come eat.”

“Give me a moment,” I mumble, swinging my body to sit up at the end of the bed.

“Looks like I kicked you out of deep sleep. Sorry about that.”

I scoff while I try to ease myself awake by shutting my eyes. She enters the room, walking near me. I squint open my eyes, keeping my head down to see what she’s doing. The blade of her sword catches my attention. I open my eyes all the way to look up at her.

Her eyelids are a dark black trim, and her hair is combed. She’s wearing a white sleeveless shirt that goes down to her upper thigh. The collar is up, and the chest window is loose enough that I can see her breasts. Around her right waist is one of her swords, but it’s not in the scabbard. She has on black pants that conform to her muscular legs. To finish off the intriguing attire, she’s wearing off black laceless shoes with yellow trim.

“When did you get that outfit?” I say. She walks over to a table, picks up folded clothes, then places them near me.

“I bought them in the market while I was stocking up on our food. What do you think? Do I look...good?”

“You look great.” I examine the detail around her eyes and remember something she confessed during the first few days of our love. “What made you wanna do that again?”

“Oh,” she blurts in a scoffing tone with some laughter.

“It’s a rarity seeing you in makeup. The last time you had full-blown makeup was when we visited my friend in Kromagia.” I look at the folded clothes, realizing it’s mine.

“Yeah,” she sighs, standing over to my left side. “I still have that set your friend gave me. I was thinking about going all out for you tonight. You know, look more like a woman again.”

“Stop that, Ulrika. We’ve talked about this.”

“I know, Kaio, but I wanna at least show you my true feminine side. I’m always adorned in protective gear or casual men’s attire.”

“But you like wearing that stuff.”

“I know,” she whispers, crossing her arm, looking away momentarily. “I have something romantic in mind I want to do with you tonight, but it’ll be a surprise on what it is.”

“Can I get a tease?” She leans down to me, gripping my shoulders with her face inches from mine.

“Nope,” she whispers with a smile and gives me a quick kiss. “Dress yourself and come eat.”

As she’s walking away, I quietly admire her beauty and grace from behind. Coming here is the best choice she made for us. Every day is so wonderful with her. She’s always finding things to do. I’m kinda bothered that I haven’t done anything special for her in a week. Tomorrow I gotta find something to offer, or I’ll lose it.

“Kaioson,” she angrily growls, leaning in the doorway.

“Sorry!” I quickly put on my clothing, then head out. “What do you ready?”

“Loaf of fresh bread, chicken, scrambled eggs.” She sits at the table, then pulls out my chair. “I got some butter too for the bread.” I touch the bread to feel its warmth. It’s cool, so I warm it up. “Thank you, Kaio.”

We feast, enjoying our meal together without saying a word. Today, Ulrika decides to eat her food with exaggerated grunting and chewing. I can’t help myself but strain not to laugh.

“Ulrika, please stop, or you’ll make me spit out my food,” I say, with a fork in my mouth.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop.”

She rests her left-hand flat on my lap as she takes a bite out of her bread while indirectly looking at me. I take hold of it, rubbing the fingers with my thumb. This small gesture is enough to spike my heart and yearn to kiss her. Her light brown tinted skin around her cheeks blushes a pinkish red. Before I can call out her blushing, someone knocks on our door.

“Who’s that?” I say.

“I don’t know. I’ll go look.” She puts the bread in her mouth and walks over to the door. “Hel-.” The sudden cut makes me turn an ear in her direction. “Kaio.” I jump out of my seat and jog over to her.

“Yes?”

She’s looking down at someone, so I come up close behind and look over her shoulder. It’s a young elf boy with a cut-up face and bloody clothing.

“Help,” he mumbles like there’s some liquid in his mouth.

He falls backwards to the ground. Three arrows puncture through his stomach. Ulrika backs up into me, and I move her out of the line of the doorway just in case someone shoots arrows at us. I call my sword to my hand, then send it out to recon the cabin.

“Strange,” I say, returning my sword to my hand. “No one’s around us.” Ulrika and I head outside to see the boy. The arrowheads are jagged at the edges. “These were designed for maximum damage.”

“What the hell,” Ulrika murmurs. “Kaio, look.” She points at the trail of the boy’s blood leading up the pathway. “He managed to walk all the way here with three arrows in his back?”

Out of the town’s direction, I sense a pulse of magical energy that turns my stomach and gives me a slight headache. Ulrika stumbles around, holding her head looking towards the town.

“By the gods, what was that, Kaio?” She quivers.

“I don’t know. I’ve never felt anything like that. We need to go check.”

“Get my other sword. I’ll ready our horses.”

“Take one. Get my horse.”

She nods her head, then whistles, making my ears ring. Once I hear my horse come over to us, I rush back into the cabin. I head into our room and grab her second sword from the bedside. Flushed against the wall near the bed’s head is our upper armor.

“I better take this,” I say, grabbing it, then returning back.

“Kaio, what about the boy?”

“We’ll figure that out later. Right now, we need to head into town.”

“Right!”

She kicks my horse into high gear, galloping down the trail. The boy’s blood trail is visible as we continue along.

“Poor kid,” she says in a mournful tone. “I’m gonna kill that fucker who did this!”

“Relax,” I whisper right behind her left ear.

Once we make the turn that views a portion of the town, an archer fires a volley of three arrows at us. Ulrika and I evade them by swinging our upper bodies out of its path. I move so fast, that I lose my hold on the horse and fall off. She immediately goes into combat as swords collide at a rapid rate. Once I get to my knees, she takes the person out.

“Kaio, are you okay?” She says, running over to me.

“I’m fine.” I glance over to the archer and succumb to a sinking feeling in my stomach. “Shit.”

“Wait, I’ve seen this outfit before. Kaio...Rainor!” I slap my hand in my face dreading what lies ahead of us and our future.

Hoards of people screaming and metal clashing come into my focus. Three soldiers from the town retreat, moving to our right while defending themselves from three armed cultists. Ulrika and I rush on foot across the stone bridge over to them. One cultist turns their head to look at me, so I lunge into his body, striking him down. She takes out the last two with precision stabs through the gaps of their helmet around their neck.

As soon as I become aware of my surroundings, I’m immediately consumed by the death and chaos around me. It feels like an invading army has attacked us. Children, men, women, soldiers, and cultists lay dead in the streets.

“Why are they here?” Ulrika yells.

I turn to her about to respond, and suddenly she gets blasted back by a purplish circular vapor force. The same attack slams into my back, making me do a front flip and landing my left leg on her stomach. She lets out a subtle grunt, then quickly brings up her sword to block a striking blow to her face.

She sends high-speed air into the assailant, pushing the person away a few feet from us. I take it a step further, using the same force that put us down unto them, but with greater power. Their body flies into the corner of a house back first, folding backward on it. The body doesn’t move, so I look around to see if any more bastards what to mess with us.

“Kaio,” she says, tugging my arm. I raise my hand, getting ready to blast someone, but she’s looking down at something between us. “What’s this?” She picks up the rune Haleema gave me, closely viewing it.

“It’s an Ivish rune Haleema gave me before we left the broken-down house. She told me to throw it in the air if I ever saw or heard about Nite.” I go to grab it out of Ulrika’s hand, but it’s with some resistance. “Give it to me. I need to throw it in the air.”

“Wait, you can’t be serious. Do you even know what that thing does?”

“Not a single clue.” Right as I’m about the toss it in the air, she grabs my arm with both of her hands.

“Wait! Are you crazy, Kaioson? You’re just gonna take heed to a woman who almost got us killed? What if this is another trap?”

I think about the mess we’ve been through as well as the chaos that is happening now all around us. My trust in Haleema is enough for me to snap the rune out of Ulrika’s hand, throwing it as hard as I can into the air. I’m prepared to take the repercussions of what she might think of me, and I hope what I’ve done won’t fuck us over.

The rune suddenly warps back down a few feet above us. It twirls so fast it becomes a blur then expands into a red cloud as vast as a wooden carriage wheel. In the center is a white void that’s drizzling white particles down to the ground. Anyone near us stops to look at the spectacle, including the assailants.

Out through the void comes Haleema equipped with a staff and a sword on her left hip. The sides of her hair are braided and end with a high ponytail. Around her neck is an elegant teal cape with gold-looking trim designs. Her waist and pants are made of what seems to be a multi-layer black leather design. Even the wrapping around her boots is leather, but it’s brown with a golden tip.

“Are you guys, alright?” Haleema says, sticking her staff in the ground. She extends us her hands, but Ulrika stands on her own.

“I’m fine,” Ulrika says, with some aggression. I blindly grab Haleema’s hand while keeping my eyes on Ulrika.

“I’m alright as well.” The floating cloud moves over to my left, shooting out three more people. “Who are they?”

“These are fellow Paladins. I’ll introduce them to you after we handle Nite.”

Her three companions break away in different directions. She pulls her staff out of the ground, and it levitates beside her as she pulls out her sword. Ulrika stands by my side, tapping her sword on her thigh while looking at me.

“Ready?” Ulrika says with her left brow raised.

“Let’s put an end to this,” I say, facing Haleema.

Haleema, her allies, the soldiers, Ulrika, and I successfully liberate the town from the sudden attack. We capture ten wounded Nite soldiers out of the carnage and hold them in a massive prison house. Ulrika and I sit on the ground outside, catching our breath and waiting for Haleema’s team to uncover information.

“How are you holding up?” I say, clutching my right arm around her. She scoots closer, nearly shifting me off balance.

“Physically, fine. Mentally, hurt.”

I lean forward to see if I can judge what type of emotion she’s in. Her face is relaxed as she stares at the ground.

“Was it the boy?” I say.

“That and a few other things.”

“Roll it out for me.”

“Because of what happened today, our peaceful days here is about to end. I really loved our time here. Waking in bed with you, cooking your meals, planning our days was so enjoyable. I had something planned for you, but the mood has soured.” She digs her face into my chest as she pulls on my shirt. “Now that damn woman and this stupid cult are back in our lives.” Her grip tightens, pinching my skin.

“Ouch!”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” she whispers, gently rubbing my chest with her fingers, easing away the pain. “This peaceful town will never be the same.”

“These poor people,” I say, looking at the door behind me. “Haleema, better find out what’s going on.”

“Hey, Kaioson,” she says in a soft voice.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I’m going to head back to the cabin and bring the boy into town. Maybe someone’s looking for him. Will you accompany me?” She sounds quiet, calm, and smooth. I feel like she’s genuinely disturbed by all of this. “I’m gonna walk over there. I need some time to comprehend this mess.”

“That’s fine. I’ll join you.” I show my horse a closed fist to tell him to stay put.

She stands up, then she puts her head down while covering her eyes. I hear her faintly sob, so I comfort her with a hug. She’s not the one to cry, so what happened here must’ve broken her. I share her grief, tearing, but no tears fall out. If what Haleema says is correct about this cult, then I’m willing to help her eradicate them. I’m inclined to become a paladin.