The Blight Chronicles: Odalia & Alador

The Oath

"Is your hand ok?" Asked Odalia as they sat at the dining room table drinking tea. She had caught Alador staring at the hand he hit Darius with multiple times since they left the school. She was worried that he might have hurt it with Darius’s thick skull.  

After they had arrived home they both had gotten ready for bed but neither had been able to sleep. Even though they were tired after all the excitement from Grom. They had slept through most of the day so sleep eluded them. Odalia had suggested that maybe a cup of tea would help them relax enough to go to sleep. 

“Yeah, I didn’t feel a thing,” he mumbled, still looking at his hand. “It’s just odd how my body moved on its own.” 

“You think so? I think it’s normal besides he had it coming. Did you see the look on his face? He was so surprised,” said Odalia, smiling as she remembered Darius on the floor fuming and trying to cover his face. “It was great.”

“Normal?” asked Alador as he watched Odalia smiling. He loved seeing her smile even more so now after the previous night. He never wanted to see her hurt so much ever again.

“Of course, normal, you were defending my honor after all,” she said matter of factly with a soft smile on her face. Alador supposed that made sense. There were many things he would be willing to do for Odalia that he would never do for anyone else. At first, it was something that would confuse him but now he just accepted that this was the way things were. This is the way he wanted things to be. Just the two of them alone together forever. 

"Alador?" He was staring at her with a small smile on his face that made her blush. She still wasn't used to this side of him. There was so much warmth in his eyes. He probably didn't know that he was doing it. She wished she knew what he was thinking about but she was afraid to ask. She didn't always know how to react to his honesty.

"Alador? Can you hear me?" She asked again, still blushing at the intensity of his gaze. 

"Hmm, yes" mumbled Alador after being pulled out of his thoughts. 

"Hey…just now… what were you thinking about?" asked Odalia as she played with her now empty cup trying to avoid Alador's eyes. Curiosity got the better of her. She wanted to know what thoughts ran through his mind when he looked at her like that. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask.

"Us," as expected Alador did not hesitate to answer honestly. Even though it was just one word she felt her heart start to raise. 

"Oh? What about us?" she asked, trying to pretend she didn't care about the answer but she couldn't keep her hands from fidgeting. 

"I want us to always be together," he responded in a serious tone.

At that moment she felt that Alador's honesty would be the death of her. She could have sworn her heart stopped after hearing those words. She knew Alador loved her; he had just confessed the previous night but still, she wasn't ready.

"Odalia," said Alador, placing one of his hands over hers to make her stop fidgeting with the cup. She stopped but she still didn't want to look at Alador. Even now she already felt her face burning. She didn't think she could handle eye contact. 

Alador let go of her hands and from the corner of her eyes, she saw Alador make a magic circle. Curiosity caught the better of her and she couldn't help but look. She saw Alador's hand was outstretched towards her through the magic circle. 

"An everlasting oath," whispered Odalia. Part of her thought Alador was going to ask her to marry him but this went beyond that. This would bind them together for eternity. 

"Odalia, will you stay by my side forever?" asked Alador in a serious tone.

How was he so calm? He was always so confident. He never doubted himself, he just acted. But she wasn't like him. She wasn't as confident and liked thinking things through. But this was Alador. It has always been Alador. From the first time they met, she knew they would spend their life together. She could never see herself with anyone else. 

"As long as you stay by mine," she responded, placing her hand through the magic circle and holding on to Alador's hands. As soon as she did she felt a warmth run through her hand but it was gone just as soon as it had come.

"The everlasting oath is sealed," mumbled Alador with a smile on his face. "We should go to sleep now." He didn't say anything else before getting up and heading to his room. 

"Huh oh ok? Yeah it is pretty late," mumbled Odalia as she watched him walk away. Just like that Alador had already moved on from the moment. While she was left feeling like the floor had been pulled out from under her. "Together forever," she whispered to herself as she got up.

When she got to her room she threw herself on her bed and looked at the hand she had made the oath with. She could not see anything there but she thought she could still feel a warmth wrapped around her wrist. Maybe it was just in her head but still. She could not help but smile at the thought that they were bound by the most powerful magic on the boiling isles. They would be spending the rest of their lives together. 

Her attention soon went to her bedroom door which slowly creaked open. "Can I come in?" muttered Alador from the other side. 

"Is everything ok?" Asked Odalia. Now, why did this feel so familiar?

He peeked his head in enough for Odalia to be able to see his eyes. Those big golden puppy dog eyes. While the rest of his body was still concealed behind the door. She had to admit some of her cunning was starting to rub off on him. Part of her wanted to say no just to see how he would react but she could never say no to those eyes.  

She let out a sigh before letting him in. Just as the night before he went to the other side of her bed and settled in to go to sleep. 

"Alador, can I ask you something?" she said while Alador was getting comfortable. He turned to look at her and only nodded. "What are you doing?" 

"Going to sleep," he responded in his usual monotone voice. 

"If I recall correctly I thought I said you could sleep here for one night only," she stated matter of factly. 

"You also said that you would stay by my side as long as I stayed by yours," he responded. 

So it seems that Alador had learned something from her after all. She would have never imagined that Alador would ever come up with a scheme like this on his own. That's when a thought occurred to her. 

"You didn't invoke the everlasting oath just so that you could sleep here right?" Probed Odalia while raising an eyebrow.

In response, Alador closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Never before had Odalia seen Alador try to lie or keep something from her. She thought it was adorable though. It just goes to show how terrified he was of losing her. He had invoked an everlasting oath so that he could get some peace of mind. He wanted to make sure she would always be there. 

She had to admit that she also felt comfort knowing he would always be there by her side. She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him on his forehead "good night dear," she whispered.