Vivian closed the door behind them and her pack hit the floor by the door. She still held her spear in her hand however. She looked at him with a sternness that didn't quite hide the affection still in her eyes. She sighed and closed her eyes and put her spear up near the bed as he turned to see what she had to say before he used the washroom. She came forward and touched his collar bone with the tips of her fingers going into his open shirt collar. She touched his face and tilted his head back, the curious sternness the only thing keeping him from leaning in to kiss her.

“How did you know?” She said looking straight in his eyes and running thumb over his eyebrow. She touched his neck and then his face with her other hand. “I saw it when you came in with her and learned her name. You were terrified.”

Her eyes opened wider as under so close inspection there was no way he could hide his expression of surprise. He touched her hands and tried his best not to look away from her gaze, but this would have to be the time. He had to at least tell her something. She stared up at his eyes, the sternness fading into other emotions.

“Well?” She asked, still holding her hands to his face.

“I..” He began unsure of how to continue. “I know things I shouldn't.”

She was quiet for a few short moments and her fingers moved on his face. She touched his lips and cheek bones as her expression and the light in her eyes ran through a number of emotions. Betrayal among them, but she did look at him and her touch was still gentle.

“Is this what you were talking about?” She asked in a level voice. “That’s what you meant when you said it wouldn't make sense?”

One of her thumbs and then another ran over his eyebrows. Her doing that made him shiver each time since his mother had done that to him as a baby. Now having someone do that to him almost forced the tension out of him in waves. She watched her fingers affect him and her eyes softened to affection more than suspicion.

“Yes.” He admitted. “I'm not very sure if I can explain it well enough yet. I can try, but I will need you to do your best to understand that I hardly know for sure what's going on. I..” he began, but looking into her eyes it brought back all the emotion from when he had met Windreah.

For a moment irrational fears took him. If he told her or said it aloud would the illusion fade? Would he lose Vivian either way? No she was...She was right here. Her fingers touching his face, and her eyes shining as she left herself open to try to accept what she might not understand. She had been angry, but was clearly giving him a chance. He had warned her after all.

“There are things I know about certain people here. Things I know about the world. Maybe about people's fates and this world. Everything seemed to have changed though. These marks...Olivarch, and Windreah aren't what I thought they...should be?” He managed to say and her eyes darted between his trying to understand just what he was saying. “Sarraleah is one of the people I know about and I could tell you things about Jakcova just depending on how many of his secrets you know. And what he knows.”

Her eyes widened at the mention of Jakcova.

“What is it you know about Jakcova? It shows enough that you must know what Sarraleah is, but he's my friend. If there's something you know that he should then tell me.” Vivian said gently, but with a firmness behind her gaze.

“It would have been easier to say he was older than he seemed before it turned out he found a way to keep himself young with magic. He might remember some of what he used to do before, but I could explain why he doesn't remember his parents. And who they are actually, but that might be too much of a blow to him. I just don't know how to explain how I know or at least how to put it in the right context. -And I don't know if you'll believe me if I tell you and I have no proof at all.” He explained with watery eyes.

“I love what this world has become—most of it at least. You and the others. The adventurer's. The Mages guild. But there's a fate to this world that I'm not sure when we're going to face. I will be here with you to face it—its just...” He said almost in a rant before emotions crashed back down on him.

He touched her hands and looked into her lovely and very confused eyes as she tried to understand. He took a few moments to look into her eyes and breathe.

“I don't know if you could accept it even if I said it plainly. I'm clearly bad at explanations like this and you might think I'm mad right now and have lost my mind or had something shaken loose when Pel glued my head back together with her healing. I want you to be real. This place and everyone. I don't want...” He said cutting off as hesitation overwhelmed his urge to speak.

The truth came spilling out in the mess of his words with his waves of emotion and he knew he was making less sense the longer he talked, but he just wasn't good at this sort of thing. He tried to reel himself in and to get back control, but Vivian beat him to it.

“We're all real.” She said in a gentle tone staring up at him. She touched his forehead and ran her fingers down the side of his face.

“You're not mad. You're from another world and I believed that before I knew for sure. Let's just start with who you say Jakcova's parents are. It will be a little hard to prove of course, but I will believe you until we are able to ask him even if he doesn't know. If its true maybe it will make sense to him.”

“You don't understand.” He complained softly. “Telling you that could change the world as badly or as fast if I were to make weapons and tell people here of the technologies of my world. I don't know if it's even safe to tell you. The powers involved...I don't know exactly what they can do here after Windreah and...” He cut off having already said too much.

Vivian' s sharp mind guessed at the connection and where he was going. She looked in his eyes deeply concerned.

“He's only half. His mother was a human, one of the first to learn magic.” He admitted feeling a bit of dread in his chest at how her eyes went wide. Maybe that wasn't what she had been thinking after all.

“But that would mean...” She started searching his eyes.

“Thousands of life times.” He said, meeting her gaze hesitantly. “He might even have started to guess at how old he is. He might have found the spell work of his ancient travels somewhere already. Or maybe he knows who his father is and hasn't told anyone. He already knows about Yddrasil and maybe...and maybe the Weaver's transformation into a proper Goddess--if that's happened yet. I don't know anything for sure.” He whispered.

“-Not while being just another person in this world. I don't have any power to change...” Micheal went on before he trailed off into even more hushed tones.

“I can't change or know anything for sure any more. Only what...” He trailed off again as he touched her hands, his fear of speaking the truth overwhelming him even as he came tantalizingly close to having it out in the open for her.

He couldn't really look into her eyes any more and he was having trouble even keeping his thoughts straight. It was always like this when he tried to talk about his story, and the setting, his mind wasn't set up to tell it off the top of his head. He needed his notes, outlines and timelines, and other tools to keep everything straight.

“I'm just a part of this world now. Like anyone else. I...”

Memories of the camp suddenly overwhelmed him. The powerlessness. The hopelessness. It poured into him and flooded out his other thoughts and feelings. He remembered a moment then moments before the first time his will was broken. A hazy memory. The earliest days in the camp; Gorgaan's hand was like an iron clamp around his neck...

Her fingers touched his eyes to wipe away the few tears that leaked from them. She looked up at him searching his gaze with her eyes full of worried wonder and concern. She stroked his hair as he lost the words he might have said about anything further. Emotions rolled in his head as he tried to muster and wrangle them into some kind of order. His heart was pounding. He was nervous, his palms sweating even as his fingers and hers touched. He was panting. He realized with objective clarity that it was a full panic attack. It had him before he even felt it coming. His heart beat like he was sprinting and he couldn't catch his breath to speak.

“You wouldn't have put yourself in the hands of those orcs if you had the choice.” She said softly.

Her arms slipped around his neck as she almost was able to predict the shudder that ran through him. In his emotional state it was all too easy to remember the whippings and beating. The sickness, the harsh healings, the horrible food, and the cries of the people he was helpless to do anything for.

“The Tree is more or less a secret to my people.” She whispered in his ear. “I think, since the beginning, I've felt it's touch in you. I just hadn't really seen it until now. It's part of why Windreah loves us so much. We've been reborn time and time again to be with her in another fresh life just like you. You're here and for the most part your life is new. Whatever happened...” She trailed off whispering and touching his hair and running a hand down his back. “Whatever will come...” She whispered and kissed his cheek. “You're here with us now to live as part of it.”

“But I...” He said feeling an incredible weight beginning to lift at her words. It just couldn't be that easy. He hadn't told her all of it yet. She had to know...

She shook her head against him, and held him firmly in her arms.

“You've told me enough. For now at least.” She said with firm finality in her voice and in her embrace. “There's no need for you to carry on with this when all it causes you is pain. There's nothing to be changed now and nothing that can be forgiven further. You are just like us. Your pain is real. -And thank you for telling me what you could manage and for trying.” She snuggled herself against him.

“Now I'm going to take you into bed. It's probably bad that I want it this bad after only a day, but I just don't care.” She whispered in his ear, clearly starting to smile somewhat as she spoke.

“I want to see love and desire in your eyes again, not pain and fear. Whatever you were, you're mine now.” She whispered almost playfully in his ear, but her tone was still washed with feeling, hunger, and a touch of a possessive growl.

“So you can always lean on me.” She added in a whisper. “You're not alone here and I'll take care of you...whatever you were before.”

“Just—just talk to me whenever the weight of what you know...” She trailed off still pressed against him in a hug. “The Tree...” She started and trailed off again. She shook her head.

“Now I don't know how to explain. I think I have the words in elvish, but suddenly I can't think of how to say them in Ruldian.” She laughed softly against him then, but after a few moments she seemed to smile with her face up against his cheek as he was able to catch his breath.

“The roots hold the weight of the tree together.” She said suddenly, sounding satisfied with her words again. It had the sound of old wisdom to it. Simple, pure truth.

He sank into her embrace after that feeling the need of his soul and mind to do so. He was shaky and had been after that fight. He hadn't been ready for that, but it might not have been much better had he stayed in Mayonn. She leaned almost all of her weight back into him and held for a time before eventually guiding him to the bed with a playful smile on her face that quickly distracted him from the shaking in his hands and the roiling emotions in his head.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Later Micheal deflected Vivian's attacks with the practice staves. He struck back and stepped forward keeping his stance balanced; being too aggressive or defensive with Vivian would only end up with him on his ass again. She caught his thrust into her guard with a flick of her stave, and spun the other end of the stave around to strike for his head, but in a similar move he caught the blow with the back end of his stave and again launched into the next attack. He pressed her, catching her stave with his superior length of reach and strength. She had the endurance over him and was faster, but if could catch her with more powerful strikes that didn't overbalance him he could drive her back into dodging rather than blocking, and then if he pushed himself for a little while he might be able to pin her down long enough with aggressive advance. He just had to watch for her counter attack and overwhelm that too.

Vivian's eyes shone with delight as she turned up her speed another notch. Micheal did the best he could against her as he pressed her closer and closer to going all out against him. He was gaining ground on her, but she was smiling and dodging and parrying every blow and thrust. It was only a matter of time unless he could land a blow. Then he must have done something she was waiting for as she dove forward forcing a clinch and driving their weapons up into the air. Then his feet were suddenly tangled and he began falling backward finding both his feet tangled in with her own. Vivian laughed delightedly and forced their weapons out from their hands and threw her arms around his neck as she bore him to the ground with all her body against him as their practice staves clattered to the ground.

“Got you.” She laughed as they came to rest with her laying atop him, her lovely amber hair spilling from behind her head in the loose confines of her ponytail.

Micheal sighed. It obviously wasn't as bad as just being pummeled by her, but with all the adventurers more or less forced in doors by the return of the sudden and violent storms coming again it almost was. He looked big and strong and intimidating from a distance, but all that mattered little when everyone saw the pretty woman sparring with him tie him up and knock him to the ground with an improvised flying tackle instead of just clubbing him over the head.

“You're cute when you blush you know right?” She said laughing as she teased him.

The heat in his cheeks aside, he knew he was doing better. That was what made Vivian so happy during their sparring. She wore one of the leather helmets now at least and the pads that went over her shins and ankles lest he find whatever small weakness she had shown the last day in here. In fact he had almost gotten her with that again, but it looked like that only pointed out whatever lapse in footwork she had made and the opportunity never rose again.

He sucked in a deep breath and sighed very loudly. Vivian kicked her feet in the air and laughed as she cuddled into his neck as much as she could wearing the practice gear; an act which was uncharacteristically girlish coming from her. They had gotten up first thing since waking up after another rather lovely night together and she had dragged him down to practice and train again.

“Take your glove off and let me see.” She said sitting up a little while still laying on him.

He rolled his eyes and did so, setting the padded mitten hand guard aside.

“Yup. That felt kind of like iron skill level to me.” She said smiling and giving his hand back.

She didn't seem to pay any attention to the adventurers who stared at them from paused sparring matches or gave them odd looks as they ran a circuit around the outside.

“We should go into town when it's nice and get you a proper polearm instead of just a good stick now that you won't stab yourself with the pointy end.” She said in a casual tone while gently tapping the tip of his nose with one delicate seeming long finger.

“Maybe if I got armor like Leah's that wouldn't be a problem. Just seal up the helmet so I don't take an eye out.” He said laying his head back.

Vivian chuckled, but seemed to shake her head.

“I don't think you would look very good in pink, but the helmet with no holes is a good idea. We can have Jack lead you around by a leash.” She said with happy notes in her voice.

“You'd have to get him away from Luna first.” He countered.

Vivian laughed and pulled herself up to where she could put a light kiss on him and then got on her knees first straddling him and then pushing herself up to her feet. Already people were whispering and a couple who were dueling with blunted swords had their steel face masks up as they watched what they were doing. He got to his feet and sucked in another breath as he wiped the sweat from his brow. The staff who took care of the training area here did a fantastic job cleaning all the gear, but still the leather got sticky quickly. He went to bend down for his water skin laying on the floor near their sparing area when he heard a voice.

“Thirsty? How about a little of this!”

He spun and gathered his will into his hand as he held it out. Water sprayed off the haze of the ward and splashed onto two jogging adventurer's on the circuit.

“Hey!” One of them complained as they continued on.

“Sorry sorry.” Micheal said to them as they went on round the track looking a little miffed.

Lindsey laughed nervously from where she stood in the doorway, waited for another pair of joggers to pass and then trotted over to him.

“How's it going?” She asked. She was bouncy and energetic as usual.

“Fine.” He said looking her over.

She wasn't exactly showing yet, not in the magically fortified robes she wore for fighting or in the loose dress she wore now, but she certainly was gaining something in the breasts. They almost looked bigger than they had yesterday.

“How are you? Did you get sick this morning?”

Lindsey looked up at him with curious surprise in her eyes as she watched Vivian put the practice staves back and waved to her when Vivian did so to her.

“Oh I was fine today.” She said as idly twirled her wand in her hand. “I thought I was dying at the Inn yesterday morning, but today was just fine.”

She slid the wand back into the sheath on her thigh. It was always interesting to see her flash a little leg when she took it out. She like many of the other girls, favored knee length dresses and tall boots. She was wearing a pair that only came up short of her knees, but did have a pair of higher topped ones she wore when she went out. As far as Micheal could tell this pair was the ones she wore in town. They were a good deal less beat up.

“Is Polearm training going well?” She asked looking at the rack Vivian was leaving as she tossed her padded gear into a cloth bin in a wooden frame. Micheal started pulling off his practice gear too.

“Iron skill rank now.” Micheal answered.

Lindsey started and looked up at him.

“Already huh?” She smiled and looked at Vivian as she was heading back to them. “Having a teacher like her helps too I guess, but that's fast. I heard you have bronze fishing too?”

“Yeah.” Micheal said, offering his hand to her.

She took it in her small strong hands. She still had soft skin like any woman, but Lindsey had been an adventurer since she was fifteen and been marked since birth. It seemed to be the general practice that a child marked that way was let go at fifteen to face their curse after gaining whatever blessings of skills their family could provide. For Lindsey that had been being sent to the Mages Guild from the time she could walk. She had trained and practiced, lifted weights, and run laps almost every day of her life when other kids just studied. Her attribute sheet was almost all C's. She had the best stats beside him and now Leah who's were staggering to say the least if not a little limited by her size.

“The designs in your outline are strange. I wonder if being an outworlder or whatever affects how your skills grow. Dexter said you knew a lot about fishing in your other world so I guess that transferred to here, but what about polearms?” She asked curiously. “Did you break your girlfriend's ankles with sticks in the other world too?”

Micheal laughed and Vivian put her hands on her hips as she came over. She leaned in and flicked Lindsey on the nose which made her squeak and let go of his hand.

“No, I hardly had any attention from women there really. They were all too busy with drama, drugs, and social media culture than anything to do with my boating and fishing.” He said.

“Social what?” Lindsey asked but he just let it lay as he took a long swig from the waterskin and handed it off to Vivian who did the same.

Lindsey saw how empty it was and took it from Vivian when she was done and fished her wand out from her thigh strap flashing a bit of leg again. She put the tip into the end and it filled slowly. She returned it to Micheal full and was beaming thereafter with her usual self confidence.

Vivian looked at him suddenly, a little curious.

“I suppose I should have asked if there was someone missing you there.”

Micheal shook his head as he put the cork back into the waterskin.

“Just my family. I miss them, but they are probably alright by now. At least...” He frowned. “At least if time passes at the same rate here as it does there.” He finished soberly.

Lindsey's face twisted in puzzlement then to confused revelation. Vivian just stared at him sidelong.

Micheal shook his head.

“Guess it doesn't matter. Gravity, Timey Whimey things, and the Higs Boson or whatever. Who knows what effects magic would throw into that mess.” He said getting looks from the other two.

Lindsey stepped forward smiling, but did feel his forehead.

“Well there's no fever so maybe it's not sickness.”

He gave her a flat look and poked her belly making her jump back defensively.

“Hey!” She said making a pouty face. “You'll hurt my baby doing that.”

Micheal shook his head again and pointed to her abdomen. “Liver. Stomach. Lower and upper intestine. Gallbladder. Spleen. Pancreas. Appendix.” He said poking her gently in each spot he was naming at least more or less where they were. She laughed and danced with each place he poked. He ran a finger down past her belly button and made a circle around the inside of her pelvis. “Until you're really pregnant all that baby stuff is right in here.”

She wiggled and giggled every time he poked her, but she ran her hands down to her lower belly as he pointed that out. She looked a little red faced, but was still smiling a little as her hands rested on the small little pudgy rise in her belly over the top of her dress.

“You know...you know about pregnancies?” She asked a little sheepishly and a little eager.

Micheal scratched his head.

“Not as much as maybe a mid wife here would know about the fine details, but I know the process of how it happens. The menstrual cycle and all that were a part of our health classes in school and I took some biology and other classes that expanded on that. Basic anatomy and physiology- even a course on child psychology.”

Vivian looked at him tilting her head with an interested look on her face. Lindsey seemed amazed and came forward to grab his hands.

“I teach you. You teach me.” She said eagerly. “I came down to ask if you wanted to try some offensive magic. You seem to be getting ward down nicely though that's pretty easy and it will be no time at all before you've got it to iron like your polearm skill. I think if you have some sort of benefit that makes you gain skills faster, then it would be good for you to know all sorts of things. As a Binder you will have a lot of areas you can kind of dip into and pick up all sorts of magic.” She frowned a little, but her eyes still showed with enthusiasm.

“Not like me. I don't really have any talent for what I do, but I practice really hard and make it work. You should be able to learn just about everything I know.”

“You are a treasure to everyone around you, and a moral boost to boot.” He said, giving her hands a squeeze. She looked up at him smiling and twisting her hips a little obviously pleased. “I would love to learn whatever I can from you.”

She pulled away then still smiling to herself with her normal energy coming back out after that small stint of self depreciation.

“I'm going to get some things ready before lunch. I think your staff will do for your focus, but you'll have to use the one you have upstairs. It's better if it's something you've had for a long time or kept with you.” She said touching her knees together and wringing her hands a little. After that she waved and turned about to trot her way back upstairs.

Vivian gave him a warm, but still very sidelong look.

“You're not feeling very greedy are you?” She asked with a sly smile sneaking onto her face.

He narrowed his eyes on her. That was a reference to something Dexter had said to him some days ago.

“How much of that talk did you hear anyway? It wasn't all serious, you know.” He said, matching her sidelong gaze.

“Most of it.” She said with a shrug. “I slipped you up today by smiling if you hadn't noticed. You get sloppy when I'm not serious, but I wanted to see how well your focus had improved.” She said with a big grin as she motioned for them to take to the track.

He sighed loudly as they broke into a jog and took up a place between the other adventurers. He had once liked jogging. That hadn't really come back to him yet. Maybe that was just a young person thing. He was only twenty eight now, but it did feel like it have been so much longer since high school.

“Luna told me about the whole cuddling thing too.” Vivian said half way into their first lap grinning as she kept her gaze ahead.

He nearly stumbled and fell on his face, but kept pace with Vivian nonetheless.

“She said your hands felt so good she nearly let you continue before she thought about what was really happening.” She added in a completely serious voice.

Micheal closed his eyes trying to convince himself that she was just teasing him as his mind tried to pull forth the memory of Luna's thighs and hip and mix them with the feeling of washing her back. He fought it down, but it was a close thing and took up a great deal of his attention. Damn his wild libido. Damn it to hell.

“I'll just have to wring you out in the stables or behind a shed or something next time we share a room with them I guess.” She sighed with a mockingly casual shrug not paying attention to a young male adventurer behind her who overheard and actually fell on his face after tripping over his own feet.

Micheal understood that boy. He really did. His face was burning hot and not from running.

“It's hard for you to keep your eyes off her in the bath too I know, but I appreciate the effort.” She said with what could only be mock casualness meant to be a jab.

The grin she gave him then was so insolent that he gave her a little shove with his shoulder toward the wall and she laughed aloud breaking into a big smile as she easily took in the blow and stayed on the track without touching the wall. She looked at him with her eyes full of mirth. She touched his arm as they jogged side by side and then just shook her head and laughed again.

“Can't keep anything from you can I?” He asked as they got through their second lap, and she only laughed more.