Good clean fun, part 2

“You,” You tell Brighid ruefully, “are a tease. After that there’s no way it’s going to go down before the Council meeting. Speaking of the meeting,” you say, “there are some things I need to tell you before then. I haven’t been entirely truthful so far.”

“I figured that much out on my own,” Brighid says with a wry smile. “But you do not need to divulge all of your secrets to me. I trust you completely.”

“I know, and I trust you. That’s why I can tell you. It’s more than that, though. I need help; I’ve been lucky so far but I can’t rely on that forever.” You stand back up and resume scrubbing Brighid down as you tell her the truth of your situation, explaining everything from the moment you logged into the game back on Earth up until you faced the Council for the first time in front of the village. She listens attentively the entire time; you can see that she has questions, but she is waiting patiently for you to finish. You hesitate for a moment, wondering whether you should tell Brighid about your Limitless Trait. Then you decide that if you can’t trust Brighid, you might as well go live as a hermit somewhere. She gasps in shock when you read her the text of the Trait and turns her torso to face you. Her eyes are open so wide that you can see the full green circles of her irises.

“Birgitte, Brigantia, and Braihan! Such a Trait exists?! Aidan, I am honored by your trust but you must be extremely careful about who you tell about it. I do not even know that I would trust Mother with this knowledge, and certainly not the rest of the Council or any of the other Starchasers. From what you said about how you came here I do not think you realize it, but very few people in the Realms have the capacity to reach the highest levels of more than one or two Skills, and no matter what, eventually every person reaches a limit to what they can learn. Your Trait would let you advance truly beyond all limits; you have the potential to be the most powerful single being in the Realms, given enough time. I cannot imagine that those who already hold power or seek to claim it would hesitate to snuff out your flame before it becomes a bonfire beyond their ability to suppress.”

“That’s not all,” You tell her with a grimace. “I have a secret sub-race too: Chosen. I get extra Attribute points every level and I am returned to life, at a cost, whenever I die. And I’m not the only Chosen, either,” You add. “Just before I met you for the first time, I had a--well, I’m not sure it was actually a dream. I got notices afterwards saying I had been in the presence of a Divine being or beings. Anyway, she … they? My Patron, it was confusing; told me that there were many other Chosen in the Realms, with other Patrons, some of whom might kill me specifically because of who my Patron is. Not that I know that, myself.”

Brighid is looking at you with an expression somewhere between shock and terror. “What… are you?” The look on her face, the tone of her voice, and the words she chose combine to drive an icy dagger into your gut. You turn away from her and, sudden tears burning at the corners of your eyes, begin rapidly wading towards the shore.

“I’m sorry,” you rasp out through your too-tight throat, “I should have just kept my mouth shut, I’ll go away, I swear you’ll never--” And then you’re jerked up and off your feet and pressed against Brighid’s chest, one of her powerful arms around your waist and her other hand pressed tightly to your mouth.

“Do not say that, please do not ever say that,” She says in a pleading tone. “I am the one who is sorry. Only this morning I spoke an oath to you and already I am hurting you so badly that you flee from me. I am sorry, Aidan. I did not intend to say that out loud, and my words were not meant in the way they must have sounded. I am not frightened of you, Aidan, I am terrified for you.” You gradually relax in her grip and, feeling this, she lets her hand fall from your mouth. She still holds you up off of your feet for a moment longer, pressing a soft kiss to your shoulder and squeezing you tightly to her again, then setting you down. You turn to face her and she continues speaking. You can see the fright in her expression still, but now that you look you can also see a glint of righteous rage in her emerald eyes and a determined frown at the corners of her mouth.

“Beings beyond either of our ability to understand have brought you from another world to be a playing piece on a board I cannot even comprehend. They have stolen your entire life from you, and with the gifts,” She spits the word out as if it were poison, “they have given you, I do not know that you will ever be able to live a truly peaceful life. You have been set up for naught but tragedy, and I am so sorry, Aidan. However,” She kneels in front of you and takes hold of your hands, twining your fingers together, then leans down and and presses her forehead against yours. A fire burns behind her green eyes as they gaze into yours from mere centimeters away. “I swear to you on our bond as Companions: You will never be alone in this. We swore to face Fate together and I fully intend to keep that oath even in the face of the Divine. I will be your shield and your sword, I will be your friend and your teacher, I will even be your beast of burden. I will do everything within my power to help you, and if ever I lack the power, I will grow my own strength until I can once more help you with your fate.” The fire in her eyes shifts to something more intense, more liquid, more captivating. “Just please promise me in return that you will never run from me, never push me away again. Please, Aidan?”

You squeeze her hands with yours and nod very gently, maintaining the three points of contact you have with her. Your voice is thick with emotion as you say, “I promise. Together, forever, Brighid.” The two of you stare into each others’ eyes for a long moment, then a thought crosses your mind and you begin to giggle helplessly.

Brighid pulls back a little, still holding your hands, and looks at you with curiosity and a tiny bit of warning. “What are you laughing at?”

“That was probably the most melodramatic way,” you get out as you struggle to keep your laughter under control, “to lose an unintentional hard-on in the history of either of our worlds.”

Brighid stares at you, then begins to laugh herself. She pulls you into a hug and says, still laughing, “Who said it was unintentional? I worked hard for that!”