elfhame | A Heavy Heart to Carry

"Empty," Anders replies after a moment. He really isn't sure how to describe what he is experiencing in any other terms. He is simply empty.

Nathaniel pulls back to look Anders in the eye for a moment, studying to see whether there are any signs of Tranquility. In case the ritual went wrong somehow.

"Sad? Relieved?"

Those honey eyes are as bright as ever, though a little tired still. "I'm not certain," he answers after a moment and as he regains his energy it's much easier to hear the inflection and emotion in his voice. He sounds thoughtful and a little resigned. "I feel..." He waits for a moment then bites his lip as he thinks about it. "Lonely. Solitary. Empty."

"Look at me."

If Anders does, he'll see Nathaniel's full attention on him, as if he is his entire world.

"You're not alone. You'll get used to having your own head to yourself in a little time, just as you got used to sharing it. And I'll be with you every minute."

Anders does look at him and feels overcome by not only that attention, but the words that come with it. Rather than speaking, he leans up and kisses Nathaniel gently.

Nathaniel returns the kiss with as much gentleness as is given to him. Careful, worried about pushing too far.

"Are you hungry?"

"Mm," Anders makes a sound of agreement. "That spell completely drained me. Food sounds wonderful." Then he chuckles a bit. "This is the moment when we miss all of those modern conveniences back in Eudio."

"We still have battery power in some of the toys we brought back, don't we?" Nathaniel has been using those very judiciously, only when they count the most. He presses another kiss to Anders' mouth.

"I'll be back with food. You just relax."

He climbs off the bed and heads into the hall.

He loves this house so much. He loved their apartment for being their first home together, but this is the real thing. This is where they really begin their lives together, each beautiful day on the way to the end, a fulfillment of the hope of love.

Anders hummed, comforted and pleased, as he settles back in the bed. He still isn't exactly sure how he feels about everything. It's nice to know that Justice is free. That had been so important to him for so long, but it still feels so lonely to be alone with his thoughts.

He ends up rolling over on his stomach and burying his face in his pillow in an effort to block out his thoughts.

That motion might make all the difference.

The bedroom window shatters. Something round hits the floor and starts hissing out clouds of white vapor. The sound of Nathaniel's footsteps charging back up the stairs are suddenly halted by sounds of a struggle.

Anders yelps in surprise and jumps up, but the smoke clouds his vision and makes his throat burn. He coughs and then reaches up to block his mouth. He gropes for his staff. His energy is still pretty low, he doesn't have much spell inside of him.

The gas, when inhaled for a short time, brings a heavy drowsiness. The struggle in the stairway is violent; shouts can be heard, one above all the others.

"Anders!" Nathaniel cries in rage and fear.

Anders feels his head swim and he struggles to get up and get out of the room. He needs to not be near the smoke. He needs to help Nate. He keeps his mouth covered and manages to get to door. He's able to yank it open and try to get out to go to the sound of Nathaniel's voice.

A retainer with a bloodied face is the first person Anders can see. This is no rent-a-guard, but a trained special agent, and there's another behind Nathaniel on the stairs. The one on the far side carries a long knife. Nathaniel wields an identical one, snatched from the other. His face and arms have been cut, but he's fighting like a bear.

For now, the retainers have their hands full with Nathaniel, and Anders can surprise them.

Seeing Nathaniel being attacked fuels Anders with rage and worry. He lashes out, aiming the staff at the nearest one. Despite his thought that he was too drained to fight, he still managed to find strength himself to attack. The spell that hit attacked both of the men and was strong, much stronger than he thought possible.

The shock of the spell going through the man on the far side gives Nathaniel the chance to disarm him, grab his head, and knock him hard against the wall. He drops like a stone. The last man shudders hard and falls dead, eyes wide open.

Nathaniel stumbles toward Anders.

"Are you--"

Noises from the bedroom. More people are entering there, and from the main entrance. No time. Nathaniel readies the knives and starts heading up the stairs, shoving past Anders to close the bedroom door and jam it before the attackers slip through.

"Library window."

It will be a painful drop, but it's not likely to result in broken bones and it's a safer bet than facing their attackers. Their attackers who clearly know who they are up against.

Anders wobbles a moment and then nods. He holds onto the staff and moves to the library. He makes sure Nate is with him as he moves to open the window.

"You first," he says, standing back to give Nate room. "So I can cast a healing spell on you if needed and you can help me when I'm down there." He was planning on casting the spell anyway because of the cuts.

The drug is only settling heavier in Anders' system as time goes on, though the movement and adrenaline staves off the drowsiness for now.

Nathaniel drops his knives down and jumps to the ground, landing with knees bent and rolling. The moment he's on his feet, he reaches up to aid Anders.

Anders feels his vision blur as he gets up to the window. He has to have a moment but he manages to get to the ground with Nathaniel's help. "I don't feel well..." he explains as he ends up leaning pretty heavily on Nathaniel once they're on the ground together. He feels like he's going to pass out pretty soon but he's trying to hold on to get to safety. He can't expect Nathaniel to carry him the whole time.

"Just to the stable. I've my hunting-bow there." If Nathaniel can get to a longbow, this fight will be over. "Come on."

He urges Anders toward the stable.

Anders nods and uses the motion to clear his head. He moves with Nathaniel towards the stables, desperate to get there so that they could escape or at least fight off whoever was trying to kill them. His head was still swimming but he managed, focusing through the haze by thinking about how little help he would be for Nathaniel is he passed out now.

Nathaniel grabs the bow in the stables and strings it as a half-dozen men come around the corner. He doesn't even pick up the quiver. He just takes an arrow and shoots. One, two of the men go down before the rest fall back. One shoots an arrow from a shortbow, but the range of accuracy is too small. The arrow whistles by, several feet away from Nathaniel.

Anders shakes his head a bit to put himself in the present and focuses his energy on the fight. He swings his staff and calls down lightning to attack some of the men, attacking a few of them in one spell. It makes his head swim right away but he shoves that aside to focus on the remaining men.

Anders' spell lands just short of the targets. Only one man is struck with lightning, and he convulses and drops to the ground.

Five more come from the house to join the four attacking, taking cover around the side of the house. Regrouping. Nathaniel turns to Anders, opening his mouth as if to give direction.

That's when a sniper in the trees shoots him.

The arrow plants itself in Nathaniel's upper left arm. Instead of instruction, a cry of pain tears from him and he slams against a stall door, clutching defensively at his arm.

Anders felt his vision getting worse every moment, and then Nate was hit and it caused panic to go through him. He moves closer, wanting to get the arrow out and cast a healing spell, but if he does that, he's likely to lose himself completely after.

A Heavy Heart to Carry - PSL with apostasy

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