Recapping

John lay there quietly, slowly patting Velvet’s hair, and listened to the conversation on the other side of the door. He hardly had much choice of going elsewhere, even if he was willing to wake and move Velvet, so instead, he just kept slowly patting her hair and waiting. Well, he could jump out the window, but…that might be a bit ****.

An accented male voice came through. It was clear, sounding as if it was directly on the other side of the door. “Lady Warden, I don’t know what you expect of me.”

The reply came sharply, “What I would like, not expect, is that your guild respects my assistance in this matter and fulfils my request!” A sharp inhale at the end, then a slow exhale. The woman’s voice spoke again, now in a much softer tone, “I’m… sorry. I’ve not had a chance to relax since the raid, and it’s beginning to grate on my nerves. Regardless, I shouldn’t be taking it out on those around me.”

The man replied, and John realised the accent was a very light Irish lilt. “Apology accepted, my Lady. I understand the worry. Certainly when it’s someone that you seem to know.” The man’s voice made John think of steel wrapped in silk, soft and fine on the surface, yet unwavering and certain beneath. “However, just because you can claim a link to the lad doesn’t mean I’m going to hand him over.”

“But surely-”

“Vel vouched for him herself before she fell asleep, and until I hear otherwise, that places him under our protection. My protection.” There was the steel John had expected to come.

There was silence, and then a sigh. “Understood, Eion. I have no wish to create turmoil between us. I was just hoping… nevermind.”

“I know, Lady Warden. I understand your position and I sympathise, I truly do.” And there was the silk once more. He paused for a moment. “If you’d like, you can join me in speaking with him to make sure he’s all right?”

“Yes, please.” The doorknob turned while she paused for a moment. “Speaking of Velvet, how is she?”

The now-named Eion made a fondly exasperated noise as he began to push open the door. “Well, before she fell asleep, she was physically fine. A little exhausted, perhaps, and suffering from some relatively minor mana fatigue. Only thing is, one of the enforcers said they saw her leaving her room sometime in the last hour, and nobody seems quite sure where she’s gone.”

John slowly widened his eyes, and looked down at the happily snuggled brunette beside him. ‘…Oh, dammit. This is going to be so much more awkward now.’

As he finished his thought, the light came on, and two people entered the room. The first, he easily recognised as the man who had been behind the door in… in that basement, when it had burst open.

He was dressed in what John assumed were the same clothes, the only difference being that John could actually focus on the specifics of the outfit now. Perhaps some kind of magic? All in dark colours of black and deep shades of navy, the outfit was made up of a long overcoat which covered some form of waistcoat. Both were adorned with brass fittings. Beneath was a simple long-sleeved shirt, paired with dark trousers that weren’t quite form-fitting but gave no impression of being baggy, and a pair of high quality leather boots.

His face was made of strong lines: a square jaw, a sharp roman nose, thick straight eyebrows. A heavy stubble covered his lower face, meeting his sideburns at the side and melding into the thick black hair he sported.

The woman, however, the one Eion referred to as ‘Lady Warden’? She stood out.

She wore strangely normal clothes, compared to the man. A neatly kept blouse in a soft shade of cream, a pair of matching cream leggings under a clean-edged skirt that sat at exactly the right length to appear professional but not prudish or shy.

She may have been very careful not to appear suggestive, but that didn’t stop John from noticing her not inconsiderable assets. Which was a nice way of saying that he looked at her tits. A pair of comfortable handfuls of chest were hiding beneath the carefully arranged blouse, and she had enough ass to make her skirt hang just a little further away from her back than it seemed like she had planned. Fiery red hair made its way down her back and over her shoulders, leading up to her face. Green eyes with just as much fire in them as her hair and a pair of full lips that couldn’t help but be attractive, no matter any efforts she could manage.

It was stark enough of a change that, if not for the hair, John might not have recognised her as the woman who had been armoured in gold and silver, who had stood beside Eion, back before he… before he fainted. Out of armour, however, she was oddly familiar to John, but he had more important things to think about at the moment.

There was a moment of dead silence that hung in the air. The pair stopped after entering the room and stared at John. John lay in the bed, Velvet still clutching his side tightly. He stared back, feeling the crimson rise in his face whilst the blind brunette slept, blissfully unaware. The ‘Lady Warden’ woman’s face also went red, her eyes widening in shock and her lips parting slightly.

Even worse, however, was the reaction of the man, Eion. All he did was stare. Then, ever so slowly, the corners of his mouth rose into a small smirk of amusement, and one eyebrow quirked upwards slightly.

Very rarely had John so whole-heartedly wished the earth would swallow him whole.

A slight chuckle broke the silence, and Eion shook his head before speaking. “I guess there’s no need to worry about her, huh? Lass went and sneaked her way in here.” He spoke with laughter in his voice and there was a twinkle of amusement in his dark eyes. He slowly walked around the bed to the side she was lying on and began to reach forward, then glanced at John’s face and stopped, his eyebrow lifting slightly again. With barely a beat missed, he softly asked, “Mind if I wake her, lad?” John nodded slowly, confused why he would ask for permission. Eion reached forwards to gently grip the girl’s shoulder, and in following the man’s hand, John realised that he was holding quite tightly onto the slender girl’s arm. He carefully removed his hold on her as Eion gently shook the girl’s shoulder, speaking in a quiet murmur, “Rise and shine, Vel. C’mon.”

She made one of those noises John felt every sleeper made upon reluctantly being made to wake, and she held closer to her pillow instinctively, her soft skin gliding over his own since he was the pillow in this case. Then her eyes drifted partly open as she woke, twisting her torso slightly and yawning, then blinking away the sleep. It seemed to take her a few seconds to recognise his presence, however she was able to do that. “Oh. Morning, Dad.”

John’s heart skipped a beat, and he involuntarily tensed up. He was in bed with a girl, and they’d just been found out by her father. This was how all those redneck **** stories that his mom loved to watch always started. The kid found in bed with his daughter. They would never find his corpse.

Eion must have seen the panicked reaction suffusing John’s every fibre because he burst into a soft yet hearty laugh. John considered his mortality whilst Eion laughed - in contrast to John’s concern, Velvet woke up a little more and moved her head to look in confusion at her father’s unreasonably humorous attitude. She must have twigged that something was different, as she then looked around and clearly realised she wasn’t in her own room. As if struck by lightning, she sat straight upright in the bed, and slowly turned to face John. Very awkwardly, he slowly said, “...Hi.” Gradually, her cheeks glowed red, and she sank down into the covers again silently. Shortly after, a small and squeaking, muffled scream sounded from where she’d vanished.

“Well, that was a much more… amusing introduction than I’d expected.”

It was a short time after, and they’d moved to a different room, now sitting at a table in some kind of meeting room. Velvet’s father was still grinning at the two of them whilst Velvet blushed again and gave him an angry pout. It was clear that her intention was to make it clear to him that she was unhappy and he should stop grinning. Unfortunately for her, however, all it accomplished was making her look sort of like an angry kitten, not helping her achieve that goal in the slightest. It was, John reflected, remarkably cute, however, and that really didn’t help his nervousness.

John spoke up finally, “S-so… can you, er…” His voice broke slightly from nerves and he cursed it for a moment and cleared his throat. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Oh! He does speak! You were beginning to appear mute.” It was said in good humour, and as a joke, but John couldn’t make himself fake a laugh, only managing an uncomfortable smile, and after a moment, the man seemed to realise his discomfort. “All right. I’ll tell you, but let’s have some introductions first. If you’re alright with that, lad?”

John took a deep breath, noticing with surprise the way it shuddered, and nodded a reply.

“In that case, myself first.” He stretched a calloused and scarred hand across the table to John. “I’m called Eion, Captain of the Peacekeepers. Also, about a half-dozen or so other titles, but that’s my chosen one.” John took the rough hand in his own, and gave as firm a handshake as he could.

Eion nodded approvingly, his grin reduced to a small smile, yet still present. “We actually have the advantage here, John, as we all know of you by now. Allow me, however.” He faced Velvet. “This is my adoptive daughter, Velvet.” His smile grew sly again. “Though, I’d wager the introduction is unnecessary for the two of you.” His grin grew slightly as her blush returned and she tried to sink deeper in her chair. “And this lovely lady beside me is the noble Lady Brighton, Shield Warden of the Golden Rose, and my coincidental partner in your rescue.”

The girl in question hummed with a disapproving note. “Coincidental indeed.” She noticed John’s confused expression and faced him directly. Almost immediately, he was struck by the surprising intensity of her gaze, and the sharpness of the green in her eyes. “I had caught the tail end of the ****, failing to stop it by barely a minute, and attempted to follow after, but then lost the vehicle when they left the barrier.” That explained the random golden light and shouting when the van had taken off, at least. “When I eventually found it again, and realised the destination, I had to stop and call for assistance. I’d been there for only a few hours when Eion here showed up out of nowhere. He - rather politely - informed me that he didn’t care to wait for my back-up, and that he was going to go in right then, regardless. Then, he kindly told me that I was welcome to join him.”

Sat beside John, Velvet drew in her breath sharply, her eyes blazing. She then proceeded to spend the next few minutes berating her father extensively on the foolishness and idiocy of his course of action, whilst both the redhead and John looked on with slightly bemused expressions.

It was quite endearing, John thought. The only reason she was so angry with the man was because she cared, and so the worries about what could have gone wrong persisted, even though it had all already happened smoothly. Eventually, she turned to the redhead again. “I’m sorry for interrupting you. Please continue, Moira.”

John definitely recognised that name, just like he recognised the girl; he just couldn’t pin exactly where he’d heard it.

“It’s no problem, Velvet.” She turned back to John with an amused twist to her lips. “From there, we went inside, incapacitated the few guards that were around, and then went downstairs to the two of you. You know what happened down there, of course.”

Eion then joined in the narrative. “After you fell, lad, Miss Brighton here used one of her prayer-spells to heal you a bit. You were pretty damn well knocked about, but she managed to stop you from dying. We carried you up out of that basement, and came here, here being the headquarters of the Peacekeepers.” The man’s mask seemed to fall away and he lapsed into seriousness, his eyes showing that his mind was a mile away. “Velvet told us what you’ve done, John. She’s got a few gaps in the story, either because of her sight or due to sleep, but she knew enough.”

Suddenly, it felt to John as if his stomach was full of stones, and his breath caught in his throat. A flashed imagery of Toby’s brutalised skull came unbidden to his eyelids as he blinked, and for a moment he could feel the wounds in his stomach again as they tensed and clenched in an attempt to heal and rejoin and- “I find that I must thank you.”

John was sharply pulled out of his panic, and stared dumbly at the man, not quite comprehending. “Wha…”

“John.” His gaze held John’s. “You may have only been there a short time, but for someone without training or significant power, a mana factory is no walk in the park. More than that, Velvet told me a little bit about the jailer who had it out for you.”

John involuntarily tensed at the mention of Toby, then **** down the memories again whilst Eion continued. “And yet, despite all of that, Velvet tells me you shielded her at every opportunity. In fact, as she tells it, you were only there because of your attempt to prevent the **** from taking place. For that, my guild, and I, myself, will always offer you protection, and should you wish it, you’re welcome to join us.”

John continued to stare cluelessly at Eion for a long minute, before realising what was happening. He was being offered an invite to a guild he knew absolutely nothing about, and only because he’d saved the boss’ daughter. This had transitioned from being uncomfortably close to the redneck **** stories his mother liked, and was now uncomfortably close to the plot of the bad mafia movies his mother liked.

Moira cleared her throat. “Alternatively, John, I offer both an invitation to look at the Order’s grounds with me, with an invitation to join us if you would like - provided that you meet our standards.” She threw a glance at Eion, and then cast her eyes down. “...And also an offer of my personal support, should you ask for it and it doesn’t oppose the Order’s mission.”

John slowly stared between the two for a few seconds, nerves getting the better of him at first. He finally managed to reply uncertainly, “Er… I-I’m really sorry… no offence, but…” Both of them seemed to appear disappointed for a moment, predicting his rejection.

At least, they did until he continued speaking. “...I have no idea what either of you do. What your g-groups do? Or guilds? I don’t know what they are, or what joining them w-would mean for me? Honestly, I don’t really know anything about all this magic stuff. Could I wait a bit and learn about them first?”

Eion and Moira exchanged startled glances, then both looked back at John with confusion. Moira spoke, “You… haven’t heard of the Order? Or the Peacekeepers?” He shook his head. Somewhat incredulously, she asked, “How in Gaia’s name could you possibly go to Ashcroft of all places and not know of two of the most well-known guilds in the area?”

“Ashcroft?” John asked, confused as to why his school would be relevant here. Then it clicked where he had heard her name before. “Oh! You’re that Moira Brighton! I knew I remembered your name from somewhere, I just couldn’t work it out.”

Her eyes narrowed and John realised he could feel the air around her become sharp with danger. She began to reach toward her chest, causing Eion to reach a cautionary hand in her direction. “Lady Warden, please refrain.”

Her eyes remained on his, the emerald of her eyes harsh and suspicious now. “Eion, there is absolutely no chance that an Abyssal could be attending Ashcroft Academy and remain unaware of the plethora of Abyssal students. A blind man could feel the magic in the air.”

Velvet winced slightly. If he hadn’t been watching, John wouldn’t have noticed. She was pretending otherwise, but the mention of blindness clearly hit a sore spot for her, and that carelessness from the increasingly aggressive redhead irritated John.

“I could accept that I, personally, might have missed him, certainly if he was weak, or careful to hide it, but to have no knowledge of the only two policing forces in Springfield? That pushes the limits of believability just a tad too far.” John was trying to keep a tight control on it, but just as he could feel the imminent potential for **** rising in the air, he could also feel how his own body was tensing up in preparation.

The anger was starting to rise in his chest again, almost as if instinctual, and his eyes were totally focused on the redhead’s hand, which inexorably moved closer to a badge of a shield on her chest. It didn’t take much for John to put two and two together, even with his hazy memory of the rescue. He only stood a chance if he could stop her from equipping-

“Emm… this is my fault!”

The tension shattered like glass. Velvet’s voice was gentle as always, but squeaked slightly from the attention. Everyone turned to face her, and she shrunk a little in her chair. John wouldn’t swear to it, but he thought that he actually heard her make an ‘eep’ noise of alarm when the focus shifted to her.“I… I may have… forgotten to mention it before I fell asleep.”

“Mention what, Vel?” Eion asked, his demeanour still calm.

“I-I think John’s a late-bloomer.”

They swung to look at him instead, and never in all his years of school had he felt so out of the loop, which was really saying something. “A what-now? What’s one of those?”

They both reacted strangely, as far as John was concerned. Eion sighed slightly in relief and sat back, an inscrutable look in his eye as he watched John. Moira, on the other hand, looked at him with what seemed to be a sense of wonder, or curiosity. For an uncomfortably long minute, it was quiet, then Eion spoke, “I think this is one of those tales that we would rather like to hear."