Apprentice of Death

Cinder looked back at the King as they stood in the palace corridor. Cinder had let go of his arm when he turned to her after admitting that she reminded him of the first woman he had ever loved. He was still looking at her with a mixture of amazement and disbelief.

He blinked it away and asked, “What can you do? How do you believe you could help us?”

Cinder shrugged and offered up what was easiest to think of, “I can help heal. I could work in your hospital if that is your wish, Your Majesty. You aren’t the only one requiring those skills.” He studied her more closely, weighing his options.

“Is there something you are not telling me?”

Cinder looked down for a moment before she met his eye, thinking, “Celeste’s idea was for me to work here because I am also being forced to work for the sorcerer Dominique. If you can’t use me here, I will be forced into more time in his . . . service.”

She looked away as the horrendous images of what she had seen the previous day filled her mind. She crossed her arms and rubbed them with her hands to try to stop the shivering that had taken hold of her.

The haunted look in her eyes caused a wave of anger directed at Dominique, and a concern for her welfare, to rise in the King. He reached out toward her but dropped his hand before touching her, not wanting to scare her; most shied away from the touch of a werewolf. She looked back up into his eyes, feeling the anger and concern that was welling up inside of him, filling him. Dominique had hurt other people in the King’s life before, and he knew better than most of the evil there the danger she was surrounded by. The more she had to work for Dominique, the more opportunity he would have to harm and hurt her.

A strong desire to help her escape Dominique came over the King, and he thought, “You may work here in the hospital as much as you can and consider yourself the Ambassador to my Kingdom for the rest of the time. We will find a place for you among us. Even Sebastian could be of use, I’m sure. Would you travel here every morning?” She smiled at him, grateful that he was willing to let her come and work for him, grateful for his help.

“Yes, as often as you need me here. I can ride here each morning and return to Celeste’s in the evening. The King thought for a moment, considering things.

Finally, he said to her in his mind, “You will live here among us. That is what an Ambassador does anyway. As long as you are not afraid to do so?” She smiled at him and shook her head. He nodded his approval, continuing, “You will live here and only travel to Dominique’s when you must. I will have two rooms set up for you and Sebastian immediately.”

The King looked at her, thinking some more about everything. A feeling of developing trust in her, hope that she could help his people, and a strong desire to protect her from Dominique’s evil swirled around inside him.

“I have two rooms next to mine. I will have them made up for you and Sebastian. Does this suit you, Cinder?”

She bowed her head and curtsied to him while thinking, “Yes, your Majesty. If that is your wish.” She looked back up at him, their eyes meeting, and he smiled at her, still in awe over how she interacted with him.

“Please, call me Adrian in our private conversations from now on.”

She met his gaze, her lips parting with surprise as she looked at him. He smiled deeper at her surprise, appreciating it. She had not expected him to offer such an honor to her, and she blushed, telling him so in his mind. He had not expected her to consider it an honor; no other witch would have.

Thinking about living and working here, she needed clarification, asking, ”Sire, Adrian, would you please tell me where I can and cannot go, and who will escort me around?”

His confusion was evident on his face and in his thoughts, "What do you mean?”

She blushed, explaining, “I need to know where I may and may not be and which person will be assigned to watch over me to ensure I’m not wandering where you do not wish me to be.” The King was confused for a moment more before understanding that this was her arrangement with Dominique while in his home.

“Cinder.” He placed his hands on her arms so she would look at him. ”You are not a prisoner here. I have nothing to hide and am not afraid of what you will see here. I will escort you to the hospital myself, but only for the sake of showing you the way and making the arrangements with Jenny. Never worry about being held against your will or forced to do something you don’t want to do here. You are not a prisoner and will never be treated like one. We are lucky to have you here with us.” His words had her blushing a little, and she looked down.

He smiled and offered her his arm again, releasing her from his gentle hold. She took his arm, and they began walking down a different hallway. Sebastian kept them in sight but still at a distance, keeping a protective eye on Cinder.

Cinder could feel Adrian’s kindness and righteous anger at Dominique’s treatment of her. She could hear his extraordinary dedication to the welfare of his people and his hope that she would help them, perhaps save lives that would otherwise be lost. The sense of such pure love and dedication almost stole her breath. It was a pure and beautiful love for his people and the woman he had once loved; though that was faded now in his heart, the thoughts of her tasted of rich devotion. His thoughts dwelled on Dominique and her; how evil Dominique was, and how much she reminded him of the first woman he had loved. Both brought him a measure of pain, though it was more dull than acute.

His pain from the past and knowledge of Dominique seemed very old, from its muted flavor, and Cinder couldn’t help but ask, “Adrian, how old are you?” He laughed a little and smiled at her.

“What makes you ask? Can you sense something in my mind that makes you believe I am ancient?”

She blushed, answering, “Yes.” He was quiet and gave a sigh of astonishment.

“I am about 400 years old now.”

It was Cinder’s turn to be amazed and taken aback this time, and she pulled up to stop their walking. Looking at her face, he laughed again, loudly this time, while the smile it brought to him reached his eyes. She enjoyed the sound and found herself smiling back at him before blushing and looking down.

“You’re not surprised very often, are you, Cinder?”

It was her turn to smile at him and laugh, “No, I’m afraid not. Secrets are not possible around me, I warn you. If this means you need to limit your exposure to me, I understand.”

The King turned to her and took her hands into his, saying, “Cinder, I already told you I have no secrets. It is unnerving that you can so easily see into everything about me if you wish, but I am what I am. Your presence doesn’t change who I am. I find that you are easy to trust, Cinder. The words you speak in my mind ring out as truth. Why is that?”

“Because they are the truth. It is part of being a Seer that serves our people. Normally a Seer looks into the minds of others for the truth and then reports it back to those determining judgment or needing resolution to something. The truth of a Seer’s words can be felt when they are the truth.”

He searched her face with his eyes and let what she had to say sink in before thinking, ”So it would seem you have no secrets either, then?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, still smiling, “Yes and no. I don’t have to reveal what I don’t want to, nor do I have to infuse every true thought with the feeling of truth. If I lied to you, you would simply not experience the reassurance that I was speaking the truth; you wouldn’t know for sure that I was hiding something.”

His gaze quickly traveled the length of her, evaluating her with this new information before returning to meet her eyes.

“Do you have secrets then, Cinder? Is there anything else I should know about you?”

His thoughts were on the welfare of his people again and whether she was any sort of danger to them. His thoughts also strayed to Sebastian and if there was any threat that he could pose.

She made sure to continue to allow him to feel the truth in her thoughts as she answered, “I don’t have secrets, Adrian. I have a past like everyone but no secrets. You may send us away if you ever feel like we are a threat. There are a few things you should perhaps know about us, though.” He looked into her eyes with anticipation, and she felt a small amount of anxiety about what she was about to reveal to him; he could choose to send her away knowing it, which would mean more time working for Dominique. She continued, ”Sebastian and I were trained as Eradicators, and as you know, we are Bondmates.”

He had heard of Eradicators; their entire world knew about the Eradicators and Hunters, even if Eradicators were extremely rare in the witch community. Most Eradicators were of other races because of the witch community’s exclusivity. The King took a new evaluation of her with this in mind. She was far more deadly than she appeared, it seemed. His mind couldn’t help but speculate just how deadly Cinder was, even though he knew she could hear him as he did. He also couldn’t stop comparing her to the woman she reminded him of. She apparently looked like the woman, but that was where the similarity with the woman he had once loved ended. That woman had been innocent and sweet but unable to fend for herself to a large degree.

Looking at Cinder, the King could hardly believe the similarity to the girl’s appearance that he had loved centuries ago; however, Cinder had a quiet strength that that girl had not possessed. He found himself drawn to Cinder in more ways than one, appreciating how she reminded him of the woman and how she was different. Adrian admired the strength he was reading off of her, especially with her humility and open-mindedness; her lack of prejudice still baffled him. Looking at her beautiful face while she was dressed in a beautiful gown, he struggled to imagine her as an Eradicator.

"And you will not use this to harm my people?”

Almost whispering mentally, she said, “I would use it to protect them if I can.” She had shocked him once again. He felt the truth and couldn’t deny her words, but it was so different than any other witch he had ever dealt with.

“I now see why Celeste sent you to us,” he whispered. His eyes continued to search her face, holding in them the awe he felt at her words. Feeling shy under his gaze, Cinder looked down.

She took his offered arm again, and they walked down another long corridor to the hospital. It was located in another open-air courtyard. It was a clean and open place for the most part, only having a few closed in spaces needed for surgery and sterile operations or procedures.

Jenny approached them and bowed low to her King, “Your Majesty. How can I be of service?”

“Jenny, this is Cinder. She will be helping you here at the hospital, in any way that she can, in the future. While she serves here, she will be under your supervision but do pay her the respect of a healer and an Ambassador to our people.” Jenny bowed in acceptance and turned to smile at Cinder in welcome.

Cinder dipped her head at Jenny and asked, “May I see Riley?”

“Certainly. Follow me.” She led Cinder and the King into one of the enclosed spaces, where Riley was lying on an examination table. Sebastian followed them into the room.

Riley looked up as they entered and was obviously happy and relieved to see them at last, sighing and smiling. Cinder released Adrian’s arm and walked to Riley with a comforting smile. She looked at him to see if he was alright, hearing the nervousness in his mind.

She swept his shaggy hair out of his eyes, saying affectionately, “Looks like we will need to get you a haircut after this.” He grinned up at her and laughed as she caressed him.

The King curiously watched their interaction, still noting how she interacted with his kind. Her relationship with Riley was full of tenderness and affection; it was evident to him that she cared for Riley beyond the immediate help of getting him settled.

“Riley, now that you are with your people, I want to work with you to calm your wolf form. Are you rested enough to see if we can get him to calm down?” She asked him, still looking at him and caressing him with affection. Riley nodded.

“Alright, Riley, just close your eyes and calm your mind if you can.”

Cinder closed her eyes and touched Riley’s face for a stronger connection. She sat on the side of the examination table. Jenny and the King watched with fascination, unsure of what to expect.

Cinder entered Riley’s mind and projected an image of herself there. His human form and Lycan were calm. The wolf she had caged inside his mind seemed relatively calm as well. When she approached the cage, though, it started snarling.

“Shhhh, be calm. Riley, come and help me soothe him.” Cinder began flowing some soothing magic over the wolf, helping to calm him, while Riley’s human form talked to him in a low calming voice. He commanded the Lycan to come over and exert its dominance over the wolf form. It did, and Cinder backed away some before releasing the wolf form from the mental cage she had placed it in. The wolf still moved like a wild animal but seemed more in control and calm as its eyes darted around.

“Perfect, Riley. I will leave your mind now, and we will speak.” Cinder withdrew from his mind, drawing in a breath, opening her eyes to look down at Riley. His eyes opened, and he looked up at her with a gasp. He was breathing heavily from the mental exertion of calming the wolf but had a sense of freedom and control now, bringing him almost a giddy sense of joy; he smiled at her, laughing a little in joy.

She smiled knowingly, “You should avoid using your wolf form for some time until we are sure it won’t take back control. I believe it would be best if you lived in your human form for the remainder of the month until your forced change on the full moon. No more avoiding the change, alright?” She raised an eyebrow at him and gave him a look with narrowed eyes. He met her reprimanding gaze with a guilty look and nodded his acceptance of her words. “I can help you through that first night if you wish?” she asked him. He nodded sheepishly, the fear of the change entering his mind.

“Cinder, you cannot be next to him with the change. It will be too dangerous,” stated Sebastian as he approached her.

She looked into his eyes, smiling at him, and replied, “I don’t need to be touching him to help, it only makes it easier for me, as you know. If there is someplace secure he can go through the change in, I could help him from outside.” Cinder looked at the King, who had been watching her with Riley. “Is there such a place, Your Majesty?” she asked.

“Yes. We have change cells that we place wolves in for their first change. It would suit your needs, I believe,” Adrian answered her. He inquired, “What do you do to help him exactly?”

“I use my magic to aid his in the change, speeding up the change, so the suffering is not as long, and I take some of his pain into my own being to bear, to lessen his,” she explained. The King’s look of confusion was replaced by wonder and astonishment.

“You have done this before?” he asked her.

“Every full moon,” she whispered. Adrian’s mind was in disbelief as he glanced at Sebastian, who met his eye calmly, giving a slight nod of affirmation. The King turned from them and brought his hand to his face to rub his shadowed jaw, sinking deep into thought. His entire belief system of witches and their abilities was being turned upside down in hours because of Cinder; she again had him on unsteady ground. She was challenging all that he thought he had known about witches, the very foundation he had always stood upon when dealing with them or considering them. The King had never heard of someone without the curse, being willing to bear its burden to help one of his own. He stared at the floor, rubbing his shadowed jaw, as he tried to process the foundations of his knowledge being turned upside down.

Cinder looked back to Riley, smiling at him as she confirmed, “Then it is settled. As soon as I have finished helping Sebastian with his transformation, I will come to you in your change cell and stand outside to help you through yours.” Riley nodded with relief, reaching for Cinder’s hand. Jenny walked up to Riley and continued examining him while Cinder remained sitting on the side of the table, holding his hand and reassuring him.

When Jenny was finished, the King excused himself from the tent, and Cinder and Sebastian followed him outside. The King had so many questions burning up inside of him that he wanted to speak with Cinder about.

“Cinder, would you like me to send someone for your things?” he asked.

“I will go,” offered Sebastian, “That way, I can tell Celeste about the arrangement and work out whatever we need to with her.” The three walked to the courtyard so Sebastian could use Cinder’s horse and return the borrowed one. The King waited to the side, eager to speak with Cinder, watching them with continued fascination.

“See you soon,” Sebastian offered to Cinder, looking deep into her eyes where they stood next to Obsidian. “Be safe while I’m away. I’ll be back before nightfall.”

She nodded at him, smiling up at him, her eyes holding an intimacy in them. He stroked her hair and let his hand linger on the side of her face for a moment. He gave her a reassuring smile, still holding her face, and kissed her on her forehead, caressing her cheek with his thumb before releasing her. He then mounted her horse and took off in a gallop, heading back to Celeste’s, leaving Cinder standing in the middle of the courtyard looking after him, alone and surrounded by strangers. By werewolves.