1831 A Rough Start (Part 1)
"But, there are also mistakes that no one can accept or forgive." Kamila said.
"Indeed, but I prefer not knowing such things. I just want Zogar to tell me where he goes, with who, and why." Zinya replied.
Kamila stared dumbly at her sister for several seconds, too stunned to speak.
"Kami, there's no such a thing as a perfect man. If you wait for someone like that, you'll wait your whole life. I love Zogar and he loves me and the children. We make each other happy and that's all I want from him.
"It doesn't bother me that he has secrets, they are part of his job. It bothers me that he doesn't trust me enough to shoulder even a bit of his burden with him. Loving someone is about sharing your happiness to double it and your misery to halve it.
"Otherwise, you are better off single, dealing only with your own problems."
Kamila thought back at the words Lith had used to ask her out the first time, claiming that being a Ranger was a dangerous job and that she shouldn't deny the last wish of a dying man.
Never before had a stupid joke sounded so true to her. The idea that his life was hanging by a thread because of his life force, the war, Orpal, and all the things that haunted him veiled her eyes with tears.
The thought that she might have waited too long and there was nothing left to fix between them, crushed her heart.
***
Gorgon Empire, city of Gima.
After Dusk had cleaned Kelia up and given her a decent set of clothes, the homeless orphan had moved into one of the worst ratholes that dared to call themselves taverns in the slums.
It wasn't much, but it still beat sleeping on the street and offered rooms for their guests, no questions asked.
The owner doubted that a dirt-poor child dressed in rags could have honestly earned the copper coins necessary for the bed and food for a day, but as long they ended up in his pockets, it was none of his business.
Then, the more the Red Sun improved her looks, wardrobe, and manners, they had moved up the luxury scale of the hotels. They had now reached the middle rim of the city, where the young girl could easily pass for the daughter of a merchant.
Kelia had spent the first two weeks of her new life eating non-stop while the Horseman fixed her body. During that time, she had refused any form of contact with Dusk.
Right after bonding with her, the Red Sun had performed a mind fusion that showed her everything he did in the past and given him full access to her memories.
Dusk was no idiot. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Kelia started asking him questions he couldn't avoid answering. So he had given her the whole truth the moment she couldn't back down from their deal anymore.
The girl now knew how the Horseman had followed her around for days, checking some sort of dormant Griffon bloodline in her body, and letting everyone beat Kelia until the Red Sun was certain that she would accept his offer.
At the same time, she was now afraid of ending up like Dusk's previous host, Wynwald the Lich who the Horseman turned into a vegetable to be the sole master of their shared body.
Yet the Horseman had done it early exactly because they had just met.
There was no trust to breach, no love to betray. It was the moment when the blow would hurt less and as soon as Kelia got over it, she realized how great her powers would become if she removed the seal that Baba Yaga had inflicted upon the Red Sun.
Spirit Domination, Origin Flames, Life Maelstrom, Doom Tide, all the abilities of the most powerful creatures of Garlen would be at her fingertips. Kelia knew how it felt to be weak and craved power above everything else.
"This is dumb. I'm already thirteen now and regular people enroll in an academy at twelve. Why should I wait any longer?" Kelia said while pacing furiously around her hotel room.
"Because you are still too weak. Despite my relentless work, your body is still a mess filled to the brim with impurities. I brought you safely to the bright yellow in a few months, but if you try to break through the deep green so early, you might die.
"Thirteen or fourteen makes no difference. In times like this, the Empire will gladly accept you at any moment as long as you possess enough power and discipline." Dusk replied from the mirror.
To not freak Kelia out by speaking with her own mouth nor invading her mind as she wanted, the Red Sun spoke via tier zero air magic only when she looked into a mirror that yet reflected his image.
Kelia had conflicted feelings about that. On the one hand, she liked looking at her new figure. In those last few months, she had gone from her 30 kg (66 pounds) of weight to 60 kg (132 pounds) and she had grown from barely 1.2 meters (3'11") tall to 1.63 meters (5'4").
Her lips were now rosy and her mouth filled with perfect teeth. Dusk had grown new ones to replace the empty spaces and regenerated the broken ones. Her tight-fitting mage clothes in Red Dragon scales emphasized her figure, making her impatient for her growth spurt to turn her from a girl into a young woman.
On the other hand, as time passed as her rage faded, her hormones made Dusk quite attractive to her eyes. He was a tall, handsome man with blonde hair that seemed to dance in a wind that was only inside the mirror.
His bright red skin was odd and his flaming orange eyes that always stared at her were supposed to be creepy, but she liked being the only one he could see.
"Puah! I saw how your sister took that trash Orpal and turned him into a powerful stud. Are you telling me that you are inferior to her?" She asked.
"I'm not!" He replied with a fury that made him hot in more than one way.
"Then the issue is closed. No academy would accept me with my measly bright yellow core. Deep green is the bare minimum and I don't want to waste any more time." She shrugged.
"But-"
"No buts! I'm already a nameless orphan and the older I get the more shunned I will be by my peers." She cut him short. "On top of that, none of your teachings can replace an academy. Until sixteen I will be a minor with no place to go nor an honest job I can do.
"In an academy, they will take care of me, nurture my abilities, and give me all the background I need to become a respected and powerful mage like that Verhen guy. I'm tired of hiding inside my room like a rat, giving you my body whenever people want to speak with an adult.
"I want more from life than living in fear of being discovered."
"I agree with you, but not like this!" The Red Sun replied. "Without human interaction, you would turn into a Lich. Also, without a proper environment, you would add nothing to our union and become nothing more than another Orpal."
