[Amelia/Kurt] Chapter 16.3 The Oath of a Guardian

[Mysticsage]

Location - Mendritch Castle Courtyard
Day - 17 Early Morning

The sounds of a sword whistling through the air can be heard ringing out through the empty courtyard of the castle. The sky was still slightly pink from the sunrise as Kurt used his own shadow as a sparring partner. The courtyard had been his own arena for this kind of image training for years now, ever since he was old enough to hold a stick and a nuisance enough to require an instructor. This kind of image training was perfect for a young boy with too much energy and not enough friends or rivals his own size. The goal was to build his ability to focus, study the world around him, then use it as practice to better himself.

Kurt had gotten so good at the training that over the years his opponents had become more solid things taking fuel from his subconscious. Problems he had no idea how to solve were laid out before him like dragons to slay from the stories, abstract problems became ordered in his mind allowing him to approach things clearly. He needed clarity more and more these past few weeks as a new kind of challenger arose from his mind. An opponent not to be bested or stopped but to be protected. Amelia, a girl from another world, who he could not make heads or tails of no matter how hard he tried. In the realm of his shadow he saw others clear as day and yet she refused to be seen, she forever wore a mist like cloak of contradictions.

His shadow took the form of that girl, standing before him with no armor and few weapons and yet her aura was palpable. She struck out at him with feral blows using everything at her disposal, her intellect, her strength, her charisma she focused everything on offense. Defense was not even in her vocabulary, the concept that something could be 'too dangerous' was something she simply did not comprehend, and so neither did Kurt's shadow. He was almost immediately placed on the back foot and he was bewildered by her near-ceaseless attacks. She just made no logical sense.

Amelia was the summoned Hero, meant to save his homeland like the legendary founder of the royal family, and yet she was more fragile than glass. The simple act of summoning her alone almost lead to her death save for a miracle. She stood before the king, his father, defiant to the last and even went so far as to attack Kurt in the process. He felt however how she shook like a leaf the whole time first hand. She refused to back down from her beliefs putting her life on the line more than once, sprinting headlong from one dancer to another, when she showed limited power and no means of self-defense. She even went so far as to kiss her jailer a man who would drag her away in the name of repaying a debt.

How was he supposed to protect someone who is their own worst enemy? Someone strong, yet fragile, someone who refused to back down from their beliefs yet shameless in their execution, someone with an entirely alien view of this world and yet expected to run a kingdom on the edge of destruction. Every aspect of her was at odds with itself and yet she made the chaos seem almost elegant. Her smile was warm and intelligent and it always felt like she saw right through him. Her touch alone caused his body to run with energy as his hair stood on end. And that was before she pumped her magic energy directly into him. His cheeks grew hot as memories from the bath flooded to the forefront of his mind.

He form broke, only for a moment, but his shadow gave no space to maneuver, as it struck at every possible opening. Kurt knew he had to fall back on the fundamentals if he didn't want to lose. So that's what he did both with his sword forms and his thoughts. If Amelia was to complicated for him to handle right now then just take what he knew to be true and look at those things that threatened her. His shadow shifted to take the form of duke Hallam. This man would take Amelia away to the front lines of the war, and based off of what he heard from the meeting, he knew that she would follow him. One, because it was the most dangerous action she could take, and two it protected the common folk from both sides from fighting. Her words about tossing her own pride away without hesitation rang in his ears.

So the problem was simple, he had to find a way to protect her that didn't start any additional conflict. That took killing the duke off the table, along with locking her away until this war was over. She would want to experience Felencorp first hand no doubt to demand an audience to lecture their leaders. That being the case he should try to find a reason that all parties, her included, would agree to so he could follow along. That and get stronger than he was now to actually protect her. Though, if he could not figure out the first problem then the second problem didn't matter. If only there was some way to link them together by some irrefutable means of sorcery that would connect them.

Or at least a means to turn himself into an unassuming beast. He did not like to admit that but of envy for the closeness Amelia had for Nyx where he could not reach. Though he knew she would not accept it he daydreamed of having a relationship like the founders even when he was a child. Two people from different worlds bonded together to make a home.

That was when an idea struck him, perhaps the family records and histories from the founding of the kingdom might provide hints to a means of forging a tether between them. Someway that he could protect her and possibly grow stronger in the process.

Finally slaying his shadow for the morning he made a promise to himself to go to the library and study the Royal archive for mention of anything even remotely close to what he needed.

[Throndir]

Reputation earned with Kurt.