Chapter 3: A mage and a sister? The man was hunched over, hands on his knees, completely out of breath. Whatever purpose he had here was sure to be of utter importance for him to be this exhausted and enter the lord office without permission.

  “Sir, we have an emergency!” after catching his breath, he restarted to talk. “Three intruders, one is very strong and defeated ten of us before I started running to get help.”

  “A mage?” asked Corantin, knowing one of his current shortcomings being the ck of battle worthy mages under his employ. This meant he was the only answer to magical threats currently.

  “Most probably, sir, a girl, she looks like the leader. She hasn’t used any spells while I was fighting, but no insara can be this strong without magic.” the soldier responded confidently. Not unexpected; without at least strong suspicion of a mage attack, he would not have bolted into the office like he did.

  His approaching free time ruined, Corantin started cursing internally while standing up motioning Emily to follow him. Albeit, she was not a fighter, the symbiotic link they shared made her stronger than a normal insara. Nevertheless, she could provide support with her spells if she kept a safe distance. Moreover, against an enemy of unknown strength, he felt like he would need any advantage he could muster.

  While following the soldier back to where he had st seen the assaints. Corantin asked him what had transpired; what started the commotion. He answered that he unfortunately didn’t know much other than the whole affair had started at the town’s tavern. The guards had been called to calm a brawl that had started between the three travellers and some drunk. However, rather than cease hostility, when the guards got there, the three strangers especially the woman had beaten the guards. At which point, he was ordered to run and get the young lord. The guards needed his help stop the woman everyone not on the ground knocked out identified as a mage.

  After a few minutes, they reached the bar where the commotion had erupted. As they were approaching the door, Corantin turned towards Emily.

  “Remember, your dress isn’t enchanted, say behind, let me do the fighting.”

  “Yes, master…” as she was responding obediently, she was interrupted by the sound of the door being suddenly smmed open. Standing in the newly opened doorway was a woman, lit by the sunlight shining throughout the open pza. She had long brown hairs flowing down to her ass. She wore a silver armour covered with a blue tabard with a distinctive coat of arm. Still, what intrigued Corantin the most was her face. She felt oddly familiar, yet he knew she was a stranger.

  “Emily…” gasped the woman. Then suddenly her face deformed in anger, and she shouted. “Give back my sister, you monster!”

  When she said sister, it finally hit Corantin. Her face was an exact copy of Emily’s. This would support her cim that she was her sister. To confirm the allegation, he turned toward his maid. She was currently cowering behind him and even grabbed his hand without him realizing. Seeing Emily’s reaction and the crest embroidered onto the woman tabard, he concluded the woman’s cim must have been false and he refuted it. This crest on her mantle marked her as a member of the knight order under the Blue Temple’s command. They were a zaelbulian order based in the neighbouring Cydonia. His decision had nothing to do with the recent conflict involving the two countries as his own nd was far away from the border. Also, zaelbulism was the dominant religion in both countries. No, the reason his decision came from his dislike of the order itself. The Blue Temple was the zaelbulian sect opposing all forms of svery. Their knights were the dogs doing whatever it took to free sve often acting more like thugs than knights.

  “Are you talking about Emily? Looks like she doesn’t want to go with you,” asked Corantin.

  “Don’t py fool. She just scared of punishment. I can see the abhorrent colr around her neck,” the knight oozing spite.

  “And how about your cim of being sisters? Would someone reuniting with their sister act like this? I knew you, blue temple order dogs, would go to any length to ‘liberate’ sves but after taking the effort to learn her name, trying to pass for her sister seems desperate.”

  “She’s only reacting like this because she doesn’t want to look like she wants to leave with us. Every sve knows horrible punishment awaits them for fraternizing with the Blue Order knights!” she was now so enraged; you could almost see the fumes escaping from her head.

  “Then why don’t we ask her?”

  “Her opinion would be pointless. She won’t risk punishment.”

  “You bring punishment over and over again, but she knows I’m never cruel with her. So, I’ll promise to not retaliate to whatever she says. I even order you to be truthful. Emily,” he countered now petting Emily’s head to calm her.

  After a moment, Emily finally talked, “I want to stay with master! He’s always being loving with me I won’t leave!”

  “Why? Why do you want to stay a sve?” replied the knight fbbergasted,

  “Because I’m not a sve against my will! I swore to master, I would be his sve forever!” finished Emily sending the knight down on her knees.

  As the knight id on all fours, Corantin did not feel relief; he already knew how she would respond. But because of this commotion, Corantin was reminded of how he met Emily and the arduous path to form the bound they had today.

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