William Winthrope
A teardrop of blue blood rolled down the woman’s steel blade. The tip of her gleaming long sword was pressed firmly into Kate’s throat and nicked her. Kate, to her credit, had regained consciousness and the animalistic nature that had taken control over her seemed to have faded. Her eyes met William’s in a show of strength, but he could see through her hard front into the confusion she was experiencing.
As for the woman, it was a wonder she had clung to consciousness. Four long trails of slashes crossed against her front leaving her white robes in tatters, likely a wound Kate had inflicted when the battle first began. A myriad of sword marks also scarred her body, the most prominent of which was a deep wound crossing her right eye partially blinding her.
Most importantly the stone pokeGirl she commanded was nowhere to be seen. The group of guards had been wiped out but they took out his biggest hurdle by removing the Lithipi from contention.
She spit a mouthful of blood out and gave a sly smile before continuing on, “If you would be so kind to get off my little pet there you can try your luck at taming this feisty baby dragon here.”
“Fuuuck youu!” A slurred cursing came from Eli still pinned to the ground beneath him.
He didn’t know this woman and she sure as hell didn’t know him, so why would she give up the chance at taming a Wyvern for her own party? Perhaps she doesn’t like her chances of conquering a Dragon’s strong will even if she was weakened. She surely didn’t know of William’s close relationship with Kate that would allow him to form the bond, seeing him as just another guy who got trapped in this shit show.
“Move your sword away and maybe I’ll consider it.”
“Tsk Tsk,” She clicked her tongue at him, “Do you believe I am so naive to fall for such a simple trick? I’m being generous enough as it is letting you live.”
“It would appear we are at an impasse then. I have no reason to believe that once I let this rat go you will hold up your end of the bargain.”
William met eyes with Kate once more, trying to gauge her response to their tense situation. All she could do was give him a slight nod before jutting her head back when the sword sunk a little deeper into her neck with her foolish move.
“Maybe a show of good faith?” He asked.
“Hmm… Perhaps that would work. What would you purpose?”
“You answer some of my questions truthfully and in return I will let Eli go first. Provided of course that you let the Wyvern go immediately after you confirm my commitment.”
The woman considered his offer, clearly thinking it over before answering, “Very well. I will answer your question. But I reserve the right to refuse, there are some things that even little Eli isn’t worth.”
“Fair enough. I will start with the name of the group those robes belong to?” William already knew the answer from Jameson of course, but wanted to see if she would try to lie to him with the only thing he knew about her for sure.
“We are the Order of the White Rose. You really don’t know that? Surely anyone who has paid any attention around her knows of us by now.”
“I am a-” he paused, “Let’s say I’m a bit of a traveler, a hunter really, and I’m looking for something. Or someone.” He let his words hang in the air, clearly hinting at what he wanted.
She sighed, ”And I suppose you think I know where this ‘someone’ is?”
“Perhaps. I am looking for a woman in her early forties. Shorter in stature, maybe 5’2 or 5’3. She has long dirty blonde hair and a cute face. She is also - Ahem - naturally gifted in her curvature.”
Kate gave him a long glare at his description of her mother despite the circumstances. He couldn’t help it, Layla was truly a beauty. Lucky for him, it was just a preview into what Kate would turn into in the years to come if they got out of here alive. Although he wasn’t sure how the whole pokeGirl thing would play into now that it crossed his mind.
“Eh I don’t know,” she waved her hand dismissively, “Gythaden mentioned some woman that sounded a little like that, but he left and took her with him.”
Gythaden. He had no idea who that was. Maybe the other man he had seen earlier today who had matching red robes to her? More importantly it sounded like she had left Nollemburg, dashing any chance they might have had at catching her before disappearing into Thalen.
“Left? Left to go where? Did he tell you what he wanted with her?”
“Now now, those are things that I can’t reveal. Secrecy of the Order and all.” She looked him over and looked to come to some conclusion, “A hint maybe, to really show my commitment to my good faith.” Her words dripped with a playful sarcasm as she spoke, toying with him.
“They went off into Thalen, for some research for his grand plan. He’s the great hero that will save the Kingdom after all. No point in chasing after him though, his almighty strength would crush you after all.”
The woman kept her sarcastic tone as she spoke. Clearly she detested this Gythaden man and mocked his holier than thou attitude he supposedly possessed.
“I think that is sufficient in showing my genuineness. Please remove yourself from my adorable little pet and send his cute butt my way.”
William had gotten more than he expected out of her, but the more she spoke the more his curiosity about the woman grew. But staying true to his word the same as she had, he lifted himself off of Eli and kicked him lightly on the side to nudge him towards her.
GAHH!
Eli let out a pained groan, and instead of making his way towards her began to crawl desperately away. Desperately and pitifully really. It was a slow, meandering crawl, leaving a trail of blood behind as he inched his way towards the door.
The woman sighed and released her deathly grip on Kate.
“Take the baby Dragon, I wish you luck in taming her. We will give you some privacy if you have the good fortune of succeeding.” She calmly walked towards Eli, and William was shocked to notice that her wounds were healing rapidly even as she moved.
“Come here little Eli!” She yelled out in a sing-song voice, “Your Mistress is here to take you home!”
“N-NO”
The woman reached him and grabbed him by the hair, dragging his limp body up off the ground. With a swift chop of practiced ease, she knocked him out and slung him over her shoulder. Giving a slight wave back towards him, she crossed the rest of the way and the doors closed loudly behind her, leaving the room in a stunned silence.
William quickly composed himself, and hurried over to Kate’s sitting figure where he could fully take in her new form. She was mostly the same, a woman with an athletic build, beautiful brown hair with her golden tint. A devilishly enchanting face and the greenest eyes he had ever seen. But that is where what he remembered of the woman he loved ended and the new features began. Two white wings sprouted from her back, big enough to the point that she could probably fly in that form. Along with her wings, a pair of black horns that matched her dragon form stuck out of her forehead and curled above her head. Similar to Perilla, William noticed sifting scales beneath her skin that would take form randomly on her body.
“KATE!” He reached her and immediately brought her into his embrace. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“I’m alright.” She pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes, “I-I’m not sure what happened. Jenna and I went to see the Queen and the next thing I knew that woman had her sword to my neck.”
“Did Eli do something to you? He said something about doing something to you, do you remember?”
“I-I don’t know,” Her eyes trembled and she broke down, letting her tears fall to the ground. “I’m a- I’m a pokeGirl Will. What’s happening to me?”
William didn’t respond, just pulling her into him again to comfort her. She had been holding her emotions back for so long during the negotiations that once the tears started they didn’t stop. They spent a long time tangled together, and William offered her his warmth as she cried. It took a long time for her tears to stop, and William built up his courage, fearful that Kate might not be in a good headspace for what he was about to ask.
Withdrawing from their embrace he began hesitantly, “Well, in the time being while we figure out how we move forward,” He removed the Ring of Binding along with the matching Binding Collar from his Storage Rune. “We could- we could form a bond.”
Kate’s eyes sparked with recognition at the sight of the ring and collar, before letting out a dark bark of laughter. “I don’t have to call you Master though, right?” She joked as the remnants of her tears still clung tightly to her cheeks.
William smiled warmly at her, trying to make her feel even slightly better after what she had been through, “Of course not. Unless maybe… if you wanted to,” William joked back.
Kate nodded her head at his answer, “If I am trapped like this, I could think of no one else I would rather be tied to, no one I would rather be bonded to.” She leaned forward and William matched her movement until their foreheads were locked together.
William swallowed hard before sliding the simple golden band with a small, clear gem inlaid on the top onto his finger. He grabbed the collar with both hands, a simple black leather band with a matching clear gem attached and hanging from it.
He met her eyes, now only inches from his, and she gave him a soft nod of affirmation. William reached up and wrapped it around her neck before sliding and clicking it into place. Kate raised her right hand in offering, already prepared for the final step.
William pulled out one of his scimitars and nicked her index finger, drawing a big drop of blue blood to the surface. He gently grasped her hand in his and brought her bloodied finger to the ring. He held it there for just a moment before it gave off the familiar ethereal glow, leaving behind a black gem with a swirling green once it faded.
It was now his turn. He handed over the scimitar to Kate and offered his own index finger. Usually he would have just pricked his finger and gotten this over with, but he wanted to show Kate that they were in this together, a team. She got his meaning and nicked his finger, drawing a spurt of red blood. With a final look of reassurance, William brought his finger to her collar’s gem.
Again the glow emitted outwards, and a matching color appeared in the stone. Once the light of the ritual was complete, Kate’s eyes glowed and William could see an altered shade of green, a darker shade, infiltrate her pupils. Although there looked to be another infiltrator that was present in her eyes at the end of the binding: Lust.
