Xaden's Pov
The Rider from far away, despite having soft features, most definitely knew how to handle a sword.
Since I wanted to test them, I'd called them on the mat. They drew out their sword and whispered to it something I couldn't catch.
"Nice sword."
It glimmered copper in spite of being in an enclosed space, as if it had light within.
"I know. I made it myself. And its name is Heill."
Who the hell named their weapons?
-Foreign riders, it seems.-
-Quiet time now girl,- and I slammed my walls on her sapphire bond.
"On your guard."
Back in Basgiath, I'd been impossible to best in combat. Most of my opponents tapped, the tip of my blade a breath away from their jugular, while the rest of them crumbled unconscious.
Thankfully for me, I'd never backed down from a challenge.
Aifos was the first to move; they swung deep their sword, but I jumped backwards. The copper tip brushed my leathers.
They quickly shifted away, and we started circling.
Under their shiny eyes, I tried catching their intention, but my second signet strained, for their mind was well closed within their walls. As if they knew.
They moved again, this time aiming for my side. Our swords clashed, but quickly retreated.
I didn't waste time: with swift steps, I brought myself close to them, but they spun away from my blade and knocked my back with the pommel of their sword. I staggered forward, my feet sprinting under me so I could face them as fast as possible.
My whole muscles, in the meantime, were locked, ready to absorb an impact that never happened; instinctively, I reached again for their intentions, only to get slammed against a solid wall.
My head whipped to have them under my sight and I rose my sword again.
For the first time in my life, I struggled to have them tap the mat; their movements were quick and so fluid they somehow resembled a dance.
But so did mine.
At one point, we found ourselves straining against the hilts of our swords; their face was taut with effort, their lines now sharper. Someone shouted something behind me; most probably they were losing a bet.
It was a thing so sudden it knocked every breath out of my chest; I felt my mind getting split apart by an entity so powerful it effortlessly pierced my walls as if they were parchment. It didn't matter how hard I tried building them back up, now the Rider from far away controlled my mind. Their low, foreign voice echoed in every corner of my headspace, -Why is your mind this untrained?-
The room hushed.
Slowly, my eyes looked down to look at the copper tip an inch away from my throat. It vibrated softly.
Fuck me.
-Intimnistic. A mind-reader, I see. A crime punishable by death.- Upon this knowledge they'd just plucked from my thoughts, annoyance flashed on the Rider's face as they took a step back, -Such a waste of power.-
Then, slowly, they retreated from my mind. Now that my mind was my own again, rage fueled my body up to the point I let loose a holler and flung myself against them, my sword clanking on the mat. With a swift kick at their belly I had them staggering backwards and before they could catch their breath, I'd already flicked a dagger to their throat. But it stopped a breath away from their skin, where it shook before falling.
For some reason, they leveled me a frustrated glare, as if they'd expected me to know better.
Perhaps I'd suffocate them in their sleep - after all, I missed the quietness of a single bedroom.
-Such an entitled prick!-
Shadows rippled around me, as Sgaeyl rumbled I should consider their offer. The way their eyes had pierced mine sent shivers through my back, out of a feeling I'd been sure to forget ever since I bonded with Sgaeyl.
Fear.
Shadows whipped and the edge of the parapet got splinted. It was the closest to Basgiath I'd found in this location. The closest to Violet, to her stubbornness when she'd crossed the Parapet with a skirt only to stay with me, before everything would go downhill. Back when I could still kiss her.
-Look at you. So self-assured you actually thought you had become undefeatable in battle.-
-But I am!-
-You are one of the most powerful dragon riders, I am not going to deny it. But not undefeatable. Do not ever think you can be such a thing. Not even dragons can boast to be so.-
-Nobody has ever defeated you!-
-I've been alive for far longer than three years.-
Her voice was grim. Suddenly I was reminded of the fact that her previous Rider, my grandfather, had died, despite being bonded with her.
Gingerly, my shadows retreated and the moon shone once again.
-You know how much I can't afford to be weak.-
-That's why you must accept their offer.-
- I'll think about it.-
-You won't have to, because I have already told Chex myself. His rider is coming to you.-
-Joy.-
-Make me proud, Xaden.-
-You always say so!-
-It's because I chose you.-
I rolled my eyes, -I can't wait for Tairn to be back.-
She snorted and retreated from my mind.
Thankfully, the Rider from far away didn't waste too much time from the bed to the parapet. What was his name again?
-Show some manners. It's Aifos.-
-Mind your own business for once, Sgaeyl.-
"Xaden."
"Aifos."
"Your dragon said you've accepted my offer."
"Of course. That's why you're here."
"Right."
I noticed they stood to the safe border of the parapet. Just because I could, I sat on the other border and propped up a knee, while my other leg dangled in the void.
"You're a shadow wielder too, aren't you?"
"Yes."
Shadows curled around the edges of the Parapet.
"That's an amazing skill."
I tilted my head at them; they looked so different out of the mat, more relaxed and gentler. As if the role of a warrior wasn't their true core as a Rider.
They wouldn't have made it past the first year of Basgiath; maybe not even past Threshing.
With pleasure I realised they were purposely keeping low their shields, for I felt their intention of crossing the border to reach me, only to abandon the idea and shuffle backwards.
"Not a fan of heights, are you?"
"Not necessarily."
Their shields tightened, so I had to sharpen my second signet. They cocked their head and flexed their fingers, while their walls grew as thick as they'd been back on the mat.
I closed my eyes and focused my whole attention on them. They weren't made of bricks, but rather I could hear a foreign melody anytime I tried moving my signet towards them. Needless to say, I could barely push against it; I could just listen to the swirls of that song and wait for it to slow or waver. Then, carefully, I felt the song shaping, curling around my bricks. My first sensation was to be torn apart; but now that I was ready, I could realise their mind was rather slipping between one brick and the other to delve into my wall from inside out.
-Good effort, but not enough.-
I glowered at them, "It's not like there'll be someone able to do it."
"Of course not. But what if you're the one attacking? If I'd pressed strong enough, your core would've been mine to command. You could do the same."
"I'm not this type of intimnistic. I can only feel emotions, the leaning of someone towards an action."
A small smile, "Your ability can be sharpened. But don't you worry, we'll go at your own pace."
I crossed my arms on my chest, "So, this is it?"
They stared out on the horizon.
"How far can you stretch your shadows?"
"I can engulf this whole fortress."
"How long could you hold it?"
"Long enough."
They nodded and went down on their tiptoes, "Your mind can be trained to go as far as your furthest shadow. It has potential, but it's still. It has never moved beyond the borders of your bonds. Besides, a mind can't be made of bricks and walls. It must be liquid. Fluid. Like a music or a breeze or any memory you like. This will be your first lesson, to turn your wall into something alive. Let's try again. Close your eyes and think about anything you want. Then, tap on the floor and I'll start pushing into you."
"Anything I'd want?"
"Yes."
I thought about her. The way her hair turned silver; the way her eyes had crackled with lightening within even before Tairn's claim; how perfect her lips were, how exquisitely they could slide against mine. How flawlessly the lines of her body pressed against mine.
I felt a push, so I flung myself even deeper in her warmth. In her arms, in the swirls of her tongue. If only I could feel it again against my own. But she requested candor, before I could tug her in my arms and sink in her presence. How could she trust me wholly again, after what happened in Resson? Her skin pale. Her chapped skin. All of it, my fault.
-Xaden.-
Their voice was low, soothing.
-It's alright, she's safe, she's alive.- They showed me a recent memory they had of her -laughing, her head thrown back, her friend's arm slung across her shoulders. My heart ached.
-You did good. It's something we can work with. You did good.-
They slid out carefully and when I opened my eyes (when had I closed them, in the first place?) I was met with their soft smile.
My muscles locked and a snarl twisted my face. I didn't want anyone's pity, much less theirs.
They lowered their head and took a step back, "You're a fast learner."
"Your trick didn't work. My bricks were safer."
"I couldn't get in until you started wandering in your memory. So, it did work."
"Bullshit."
They shrugged their shoulders, "Believe what you want to believe. It's the truth, Xaden, and we both know it. Have a good night."
I watched their back getting away from me.
-I am never wrong.-
-Shut up, Sgaeyl.-
YOU ARE READING
Redemption
Fanfiction"With that brush, I felt as if I was Nature and Nature was me; I was the ant that scrabbled to hunt down food; I was the plant stretching out to reach the sun; I was their teacher who was currently organizing a couple of scrolls; I was their dragon...
