Born in the Cappard Sea, the wind blew east and crashed into the red-capped mountains that gave the land their name. Bran had set off in the very still silence of dawn, and now a sun without warmth was already high in the sky. Gusts plastered his shirt to his body, whipped his wool pants around his legs, streaming it out. Down it went, flailing into Terrowin, and into the small cliff overseeing it. The wind was carrying an icy chill, as summer was weeks ago gone.

He looked at his coat. It had a big tear cutting it into almost two halves. He let out a cold sigh. He wished his shirt was a bit heavier, or that he had worn an extra shirt. He tucked his arms into his armpits. He felt a little foolish, and regret tugged at his heart. If he knew better, he wouldn’t have fought that ice bear. He looked again at his ripped cloak. He was going to hear an earful about it once he got back home. No birds sang in the forest, no squirrels chittered from a branch. Not that he expected them, really. Not in the soon to be winter.

His hand went into his pocket, from where he retrieved an old cloth. It was dirty, but it will do. He cleaned his short sword from the cold blood. He looked at his side. A big white furred mass was sprawled on the ground. He considered skinning it. Bear’s fur might fetch enough money to treat Elea to something to eat. He frowned, and looked at the back of his hand. Numerous black tatoos were etched on his skin. A sad smile appeared on his face. He had to stop thinking about that. He abandoned his earlier idea of skinning the beast.

His gaze wondered down the cliff. Terrowin was standing as proud as always. He could see some people going about near the wall. There were no farms around. This land wasn’t fertile enough.

He hardened his face, and went down the cliff. As he approached the Bourg, he saw some squabble near the gate. A stout man, with tanned skin, dark eyes, and a face garnered with unshaved stubble, was arguing with an armored man. Bran couldn’t see his face because of the steel helmet, but he could recognize Sir Hadrin. He was a knight of the Bourg’s lord. Bran had quite the liking to this man. His status didn’t put him above mingling with commoners. Maybe it was because his lords’ status wasn’t high even among the lower nobles. Bran wasn’t able of understanding the nobles’ thoughts anymore. There was no difference between men because of birthrights. All of them were claimed by death all the same.

He shook his head again. He had to stop those thought patterns. His close fifteenth birthday was bringing those ideas to his head again. If anything had to happen, it will happen, no use worrying about it now.

The fat man was a merchant, or maybe just a peddler, seeing the carriage full of goods behind him. Merchants were very rare here. Terrowin wasn’t a big enough economical center to have a steady flow of merchants.

As he passed through the gate, Sir Hadrin glimpsed him, as he stopped paying attention to the wildly gesturing peddler. He sent a nod toward the boy. Bran did the same. He continued down the cobblestone road.

His destination was the market fair. As he made way toward it, he let his gaze wonder. The Bourg was as peaceful as ever. The economic situation wasn’t the best. Copper, the trademark of the Bourg, wasn’t that valuable. But the majority was satisfied.

He soon found himself at his destination. His eyes spotted old Will fast enough, as the old man almost never left his stable. He ignored the gazes that didn’t leave him from the moment he entered the Bourg.

“Will, how’s life doing for you? Not submitting to death yet?”

Will looked back at him. The old man was a faded version of his son. Dull blue eyes, sagging leathery skin, a bald head with tufts of hair growing out of his ears, and a chin too weak to grow any beard. Will loved to stay in his stable, even after retirement. Bran had heard about the arguments the old man had with his son about that.

“So boy, quite rare to see ya here in town. Celek’s in need of something?”

Bran liked the man. He was blunt and always direct in his affairs. But he was still stifled as his earlier questions were ignored. He swallowed his pride and said:

“He wants to rent two horses. We’ll bring them back in about two months. I’ve got the money on me”

“Two months… So finally leaving this backwater place? Well can’t blame ya, young men these days want adventure as much as we wanted nice legs to warm our beds at night, back in the time. Or is it a girl for ya boy?”

Bran again wondered if he would become as annoying once he got at that age. That was only if he survived till that age, he reminded himself again. He showed a strained smile, giving a level stare at five nearby men, thinking about the repercussions of Will’s words if they ever got to the right ear…

Feeling a chill, he whispered to the old man:

“There’s no way that’s true, and you know that. Stop trying to make problems for me, Old man.”

Will only smiled a knowing smile, staring deeply into Bran’s eyes. Bran had garnered a lot of women’s attention before, because of his eyes. They were an unusual mix of blue and green, changing color depending on the light. Now, no girl would approach him. His mood sank again as he thought about the reason.

Will’s crackling voice shook him from his reverie:

“Ya should be happy boy. Few have ever garnered a noble’s daughter attention. And fewer also had the approval of the noble himself.”

“I know that. The matter is complicated.”

Upon hearing these words, Will sent a glare at him. Bran turned his head, unable to keep up with his gaze. This old man may be fooling around at this age, but he was known through the Bourg for his valor and strength in his youth. He had heard from Elea that her grandfather once offered him knighthood, but the man refused it, babbling about how status will corrupt his family. Bran never understood how could Will not lose his head after saying such words.

“Things are never complicated, boy. Ya are making them complicated. If ya love the girl, just tell her. If not, ya are nothing more than a coward.”

Bran could only smile weakly at these words, choosing to remain silent. The matter was really complicated. He looked at his surroundings. Will started talking again:

“Those are yer own matters, but better remember the advice of these old bones. But ya didn’t tell me where ya’ll be going for two months?”

Bran was thankful for the old man for letting the matter go. Talking about Elea always made him anxious. As he mulled over a proper response, his gaze fell again on those four nearby men. They were discussing something, just like earlier. As he was about to sigh with relief, it dawned on him. Weren’t they five earlier? As he frowned in thought, he clearly saw a look of amusement flash through Will’s face. He whipped his head around, glared at the old man and said, his voice seething with cold anger:

“Old bones, stop losing my time. If you’re not giving me the horses, I’ll take them myself.”

He forcibly handed his a pouch of coins Celek had given him in the morning. Without waiting for a response, he strode forward into the stable.

Will’s voice was heard again, this time with amusement clear in it:

“Boy, your noble girl is coming for ya! “

As Bran turned his head, he saw the missing fifth man joining his friends. And then he noticed Eleanor walking slowly toward him. The boy’s eyes were drawn by her figure instantaneously. Her hair was a rich shade of fiery red; it flowed in waves to adorn her mildly tanned skin. Her eyes were a bright azure blue. Her high cheekbones were in perfect harmony with her straight nose, making her look as if chiseled by a master in carving. He stopped the smile he was about to show, and adopted an impassive face. Her gaze wavered a little as she felt his cold indifferent gaze, but she didn’t falter while stepping into the stable. Bran felt a pang of guilt in his heart.

As she came up to him, he got a full view of her small but firm muscles. Bran was very tall for a soon to be fifteen years old boy, but Elea still came up to his nose. Her body was strong, as she was always trained by Sir Hadrin. Her lips parted as she slowly said, her gaze never leaving his:

“I heard you’ll be leaving for months. What is it about?”

He had expected it. He looked at the old man, who was grinning like a fool. He felt anger seeping into him. The two were accomplices.

“I wonder what your father would think if he heard you are eavesdropping.”

His words came out colder than he expected. She at least had the decency to blush. As crimson started to creep into her face and neck, he felt his body shuddering. In his past, he had seen many women with beauties that outstripped the divine, but all this girl’s small reactions were affecting him in more than a way. He had already understood a year ago that his love for her wasn’t fake.

In a softer voice he said, not giving her the chance to respond:

“Let’s talk in another place”

He eyed Will from the corner of his eyes. The old fool waved back at him. He was only in control of the conversation at the moment because she had showed a small weakness. Elea was going to get her composure back soon, and she would be toying with him then. He wasn’t about to let anyone see the sight. He had heard many rumors in the last months about him being her whore.

Elea blinked her eyes. A look of realization appeared on her face as she looked at Will. His grin threatened of splitting his face into halves. She looked back at Bran, her lips morphing into a sly smile. Bran shuddered again. He hadn’t wanted to meet her today. He had many errands to do. He cursed under his breath. He had to stop lying at himself. He knew he was scared of meeting her. He didn’t want to give her farewells, when he wasn’t sure he’ll be alive after two months.

She held his hand in a tight grip, and she started taking him along out of the market fair. He heard whistles and some dirty jokes as they made their way through a mass of people. Bran looked at Elea. Her wide smile was as charming as ever. They soon entered a maze of alleys, until they made it into a dead end.

He looked around. The walls were devoid of windows. He sighed. Just what had she been doing to find such a place? She let go of his hand. He looked back at her. She was standing close to him, looking up at his face, her gaze fixing him in place. He started:

“You shouldn’t eavesdrop aga—“

He couldn’t finish his words, as her lips suddenly rested on his. His mind stopped for a second, uncomprehending, before going at full throttle. As her tongue forced its way into his mouth, his stiffened body relaxed again. He knew this action was wrong. He tried to tear away from her, but his body felt unusually weak. He knew she would only be hurt in the end, but he couldn’t stop her. He loved her, and looking into her misty, dreamy eyes, he understood she felt the same. Their lips parted for a moment, only to repeat the same process again. He knew this act was irresponsible, immature, but his body and mind couldn’t follow the voice of reason in his head. Their tongues invaded each other’s mouth. He felt her big front teeth and shared in the taste of her saliva. Eleanor put her arms around his neck, and kissed him with more hunger and fervor.

Bran felt his body shudder. He wanted her very badly. He pulled away for the kiss, a line of saliva trailing between their lips. Elea looked at his lips, her azure eyes full of longing, and then she looked at his eyes, the confusion in her eyes betraying the questions in her mind.

Bran inhaled deeply to steady his breathing, and said:

“Elea, let’s stop here. This isn’t prop—“

He felt his heart react as she once again sealed his lips. Not a thump, exactly. Not even a leap. But a kind of swish, like a frog kicking off from a muddy bank. His mind was moving between three emotions: excitement, fear and guilt. Elea tugged his black hair, holding his head still, as her tongue swirled inside his mouth. All sounds stopped reaching his ears, as she and her movements became his only focus. Her free hand took hold of his jaw, and her body pressed on his own. As she took a second to catch her breath, he unconsciously pulled her hard against him and kissed her back. Her eyes showed joy, contentment and excitement. He closed his eyes. She groaned softly, low in his throat, and then his arms circled her. All they knew is that no one existed around them. He felt her moist lips tugging on his own.

He felt a faint throbbing in the black tatoos etched on the skin of his body. His eyes snapped open. All his senses came back, and he looked up, pulling away from the kiss. A small boulder was falling right on top of them. It was mere moments before they would be crushed. He tightened his hold on Elea’s body, and twisted his own, rolling out of the boulder range. The girl was staring at his face wide eyed, then she looked at the big piece of stones. Her gaze settled on him again, and she pushed some of his hair locks out of his face. He felt something warm trickling from his face. Seeing the horror filled look on her face, that slowly morphed into a sad one as she looked at him, he understood that it must be blood.

He held her hand in his and said in a reassuring voice:

“It’s just rubble, don’t worry about it.”

She used her free hand to touch his cheek, slowly. Then she pushed him off her and stood up unsteadily. Bran was already used to her being unpredictable. He stood up in turn, dusting off his clothes. He looked at the boulder. It was made of red stone, and looked like a piece of something bigger. He sighed and looked up. The top corner of one of the walls surrounding them was broken.

“I’ve never seen someone as unlucky as you Bran. How many accidents has it been now? Five? Look, your coat got ripped. Celek will definitively be angry.”

He cursed under his breath. If it was only five, his life wouldn’t be so crappy. He looked again at Elea. She was looking at the coat he had flung on his shoulder with her smiling face. Her eyes contained a hint of worry. He sighed again. She had only now noticed his coat.

“I came across an ice bear this morning. It wouldn’t leave me alone so I killed it. The coat paid the price though.”

Her eyes widened a little. She hung her head and took a deep breath.

“You are too much! How can someone be so unlucky! Our best hunters kept tracking him for a month, without avail, and you just come and meet him?!”

Her outburst surprised him a little. Nobody knew better than him how unlucky he was. It was as if the world wanted to kill him off.

“Anyway, what was that about being away for two months?”

A sigh escaped his lips. It was foolish to hope she would forget about that. She rested her hand on his chest.

“Celek wants to go to the capital. He got something to do there.”

She narrowed her eyes, her left hand brushed his cheek, and with her right hand she started to feel the muscles of his chest. All the tension in his body faded, and he felt limp in her arms.

“Why would Celek ever need to take you to the capital? Doesn’t he always leave you when he travels?”

He opened his mouth to tell her the truth, but he stopped. He never understood how she could control him this way. He summoned all his willpower and said:

“He wants to see if I can learn magic”

He didn’t lie; it was the truth, or at least part of it. He looked at her lips. After that earlier, he was carving of more from her. He almost bent down to kiss her. She noticed her gaze, and made a sly smile again, her azure eyes deeply burrowing into his. She brushed her lips against his, pulling back right away. She then said:

“Why can’t you just learn here? We got a priest of Azelf; he can teach you all you need“

She gave him a light, chaste kiss on the lips, unlike what she usually do, and whispered into his ear:

“Your birthday is in a month and half. I want to spend it with you. While Celek is gone, you can come live in our manor. My lord father allowed it.”

“I will never learn gods’ magic. The matter is complicated. I mean, there’s someone who’ll be coming from far away to teach me another branch of magic. I really have to go.”

He hung his head in apology. She stared at his face, fully engrossed into the mixture of colors in his eyes. After some time, she said:

“I want to see the capital too, so I will go with you”

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A/N: I know a lot of readers will be cursing me as I made a lazy job, as the chapter only had 3000 word... in my defense I say I was planning on a 8000 word chapter, but then I noticed this fic got its first review! and it was a positive one! so I couldn't stop myself and posted what I had already written... ANYWAY I'll make the next chapter a 6000 word chapter AT LEAST! I PROMISE!