Chapter Two: The Order, Part One

The horses were exhausted. Their breath exhaled heavily; from their nostrils spouted thick smoke in the early morning air. Primine clinched his reigns tightly, lowering his head to the side of his caramel bay horse. After straying far into the flat golden plains, Primine looked over his right shoulder. The kingdom was lost and Athena was right behind him. She had been loyal, even in all of her confusion. He noticed that her eyes were full of a fear though. 

Primine’s eyes however had calmed themselves. The color was still, displaying his natural blue. It was a very beautiful blue. Athena often commented that his eyes must have been carved from sapphires by the Goddess. Primine usually laughed, not knowing how to respond to the comment. Every time she said that though, it reminded Primine of their difference. Athena was a princess and Primine was an arcane healer. His practice was outlawed centuries ago. Magic was evil in the eyes of the Christians and other religious Templar wielding groups. Magic could control others or destroy their bodies once it had been implanted in them, like a parasite.

Athena was a loving girl who gave everything and everyone a chance. She had hope in the world that she called beautiful. She was not as ruthless as her father and the other tyrants in her bloodline. She cared for others, and that is the story of how the two met. Primine was found in a river by the young Athena who followed her hand maids to fetch water, as she usually did. She loved to accompany them and gossip along with their gossip. It was fun, way more entertaining than sitting in her room, idle. 

One of the hand maids shrieked when she saw his limp body washed up on the bank. He was nearly naked, with clothing singed and other parts ripped. His flesh was torn in several places and his chest neither rose nor sank. It took two days for Primine to awaken, and once he woke he fled from the curios princess. He returned one day later to thank her. Once she asked what had happened to him, he only responded, ‘A man tried to slay me.’ but that was the truth. Athena did not ask furthermore but begged for him to stay and have dinner with her. He complied.

Needless to say Athena, being the young lady and seeing her first man, claimed to be in love with him. After the allotted time, three months, Athena had lost her innocence to this vagabond. He did no such out of love but out of compliance and friendship. He did not claim she seduced him but she claimed she did. She asked him and he denied not. The princess was a sweet child but she desired the man. It was the first and only time she had been with a man. From there, the relationship remained plutonic. The two only assisted each other in certain things.

Never did the mage reveal his sense for magic. He feared her power over him. She knew something made him unique. She sensed it every time she witnessed the slight stirring of color within his eyes. She did not mind his reclusiveness though. She accepted him for who he was and did not ask many questions. She spent time with him and listened to his moral concepts. She was someone he could talk to. He told her that for years he had searched for a place that he could call home. He had roamed the plains searching for some place where he could live a normal life. 

He wanted the life in the city. He wanted to set up a stall in the city and later evolve it into a shop, selling poultices and elixirs and items alike. She would only smile and ask him why he did not just start in Septire. He would only smile to her, replying… ‘Maybe I will.’

There they were, fleeing Septire. The city could no longer be seen with the naked eye. Primine pulled on the reigns, forcing the horse to slide in its tracks. He felt his robes for a long narrow tube. He pulled it from the inside and elongated it. Looking through the telescope, he smiled to himself. He was satisfied to see that the empire existed no more. It had taken long enough to escape from. 

“We can dismount now.” Primine climbed off of his horse and assisted Athena from her splotched white paint.

“What the hell are you doing? Who are you Primine?” Her voice followed by her shoving him away after his gentlemanly assistance exposed her outrage and bemusement. He tried to speak with her but she rambled on, shouting aloud. “You were wicked this whole time and never told me a single thing! Through your veins, blood of evil breeds and you dared not to tell me once! Oh my goodness…” Her thoughts hastened themselves. Now, she thought she may have been in danger, for they had made love. “Am I tainted?”

Primine’s delicate fingers pulled the hood from his head. His bleached hair was exposed and his blue eyes seemed to illuminate a bit more naturally in the sunlight with the exposure of his hair color. His hair was always kept manageably short.

“Hush, Athena,” he sighed, touching her single dressed shoulder.

She continued. “And you brought me! Why would you do such a stupid thing?”

“Athena!” He spoke a bit louder and she decided to silence herself.

The silence was odd. Never had Primine had to raise his voice at Athena. She usually never doubted him. Next, he ordered her more to oppress the silence.

“So, we must send the horses back.”

“What?” Her tone was sharp and scornful. 

“We can’t have any evidence of where we are going.” 

“Do you even know where we are going, Primine, all mighty Wizard o’ Knowledge?”

“Athena,” He slapped the horse’s tail end and it ran from their presence. “I really wish you would cease this childish mockery. I do know where we are going.” 

“Then why shall I come?” She expelled in outrage.

“You like living, no?”

“What are you saying? You said they sought after mages and witches and all of the like.”

“Athena…” He spoke her name, attempting to hint toward her essence.

“What? You are the only one in danger!”

“No, I am not!”

“Are you trying to accuse me of being such hellspawn?” She held her hand to her chest in dumbfounded astonishment. 

“If that’s how you see it.” He began walking from the fields.

She could not reply. After she gasped once more in aggravation she stood still, contemplating upon his words. “That is how I see it; furthermore, I have never shot some sort of heebly-jeebly voodoo garbage from my fingertips! I have never dispelled flames from my mouth as the devil himself.”

“No, not yet you haven’t.” He looked over his shoulder, smirking. She was following him no matter how resilient she was. “But they have a test… Regardless… Can you guess when I shot the first flame from my fingertip?”

She continued walking in an immature aggravation. She folded her arms, finally giving in to the nice soul that was Primine. “I don’t know. Four years of age?”

He turned, walking backwards and confabulating casually as nothing had happened. “Close. I was eight. I was outside taking shots at birds with my bow that my father had made me. I continued to miss and miss and miss. Finally, I grew angry. I threw a stone rather than the damned arrows. I noticed as the stone left my fingertips that the stone was ablaze. I saw sparks as the bird fell from the tree. From there I harnessed it. I played with it for years as a tool, but then I got bored. I began developing tricks and fighting styles with it. It was a grand moment.”

“So now you are the master of flames!” She laughed sarcastically.

“No,” He allowed in agitation but after a moment he relieved it. “I am the master of every element.”

She looked to him with the most agitated glower. Then he returned a look of comedy. She again, caved in and began smiling. “You are such a fool, Primine Terros. A fool, indeed.” She laughed with her breaths.

It was relief to see her smile. It eased his soul about his type of kidnapping. There was no other way to explain what he was doing. He had abducted the young princess of Septire. She may have not been resilient but it was still abduction. The Order and the Empire of Septire would have him torturously executed… Burning or drowning… That was common punishment for those with magical qualities. Of course, there would be a trial first, unless key witnesses had claims that said he was, in fact, arcane. The Order was well ahead of that notion. They had ruthless tests that proved the magical qualities of those cursed with them. No one cared of the subject as long as it proved or disproved the condition they feared.

Primine cared. Primine had been tested before and he knew of the pain it inflicted. That is why he had changed who he was. That is why he never told of his past. Not even the dearly beloved Athena knew of his past life… Especially not the famous princess Athena.