Untitled

Two

Kaine was walking from the furnaces toward his room, some of the wounds he had received over a month ago from the councillors still ached causing him to stop every now and then to rub the muscle to coax it into relaxing again. He saw Thymie walk into her room again yawning, no doubt she was going to head to bed. She had been working double time on the power cores as they'd lost another three women and of course, the councillors had given her their workload. Rage filled him at first, hatred burning inside him for the council. They knew that he was close to Thymie and wanted him out of the equation so they had beaten him after he had refused to cooperate with them, then forced him to say he only pretended to be her friend to get her to lay with him. His chest burned. Since then, she had been with Orion. The council seemed to be pleased with the outcome, but then, why wouldn't they be. It was exactly what they had wanted, and all they had to do was deal with him and everything fell into their perfect places. Thymie had been visiting Orion while he worked on the Machinallistas, even when she had no real reason to be going there. He rarely saw her in the furnaces anymore, but when he did she very obviously avoided looking in his direction. Some of the others had asked what had happened between the two of them, but he hadn't wanted to speak of it then, and things hadn't changed in that time. They all had their own theories about it and it had been a popular topic around the factory for a few weeks but it had since dropped much to his relief. It was enough he had to live with it himself without anything further from the others. He saw someone creep over to Thymie’s door and slip in quietly. Frowning he started over, then stopped. No doubt there was a councillor watching the door, so he turned and took a few steps away, pausing to gather his resolve, then walking away. Whatever happened was none of his concern now... Or at least that was what he had to keep telling himself.

“Good decision boy…” Orion snickered to himself, before locking the door to prevent entry while he was there.

He turned to the bed, seeing Thymie laying on her side, sleeping peacefully. His heart pounded. She had been teasing him recently, that was enough of an indication he needed to know what she wanted. Stripping himself down, he slipped into the bed behind her feeling the rough bed clothes she wore. A frown touched his features. That she was asleep was one thing, he was sure that she had indicated she had wanted him to come to her room that night yet here she was sleeping and in bed clothes. She was self conscious about her curves, there was no doubt of that, maybe these bed clothes were a way to provide her with enough confidence, or at least to make it look to anybody else who came in she was sleeping as usual. He felt her soft, smooth hips and found them turning him on even more. Thymie shifted, lifting her hips as she moved into a more comfortable position, her hand beneath her pillow, the other wrapped around her resting on her waist. He slid his hands down the line of her hips, licking her neck til his fingers slipped beneath her bed clothes. A small moan came from Thymie and she turned over onto her stomach. Grinning a little, he pulled her back onto her side, right against him.

Thymie opened her eyes with a sleepy frown then froze. Someone was behind her. They wriggled their fingers suddenly and she jumped slapping their hands away, turning to see Orion grinning, licking his fingers. “What are you doing!”

“What you want me to…” He pounced onto her and she screamed.

Kaine heard the scream and sprinted back to her door ignoring the pain in his muscles, trying to open it only to find it was locked. “Thymie!” He threw his shoulder against the door repeatedly in an attempt to bust it open. She kept screaming, although it was muffled now and he could almost hear the tears as she cried. Rage filled him and he kicked the door hard, sending it flying off the hinges. He ran in to find Orion on top of Thymie naked, Thymie with her knees up and together holding him away from her while he tried to pry them apart, one hand over her mouth, tears staining her cheeks.

“Get off her NOW!” Kaine lunged at Orion, throwing him off the bed into her work bench. There was a loud crack and they saw Orion slump to the floor motionless. Kaine went over to Thymie who was crying still, trying to put his arms around her while she flailed wildly, still half screaming and sobbing.

“No! No! Get away from me! Get away!” She beat him as best as she could with her weak fists then clung onto him sobbing.

He stroked her hair as she clung to him as though he were the only thing she had left in the world. He looked to Orion, he didn't want to find out if the attack had killed him, or pissed him off, his mind set to the only option he could think of. “Let’s go Thymie…” He lift her up, she was wrapped around his front, legs around his waist and arms around his neck while she sobbed into his shoulder. They turned and ran out of her room.

The workers began to come out of their rooms to see what was going on to find Kaine running out of the factory with a half dressed and sobbing Thymie. Kaine ran hard, the councillors would send either the guards after them or knowing the only way they had to go, was down to the town, they would likely have a message prepared to send down via sparrow declaring that he was a murderer and kidnapper. The damn birds were small but quick and carried messages regularly. When he was out of sight of the factory he began to turn down further to the rocky descent. It was difficult finding his way in the dark not being able to see before him as well as he'd have liked with Thymie hanging onto him, but he did the best he could, stopping a few falls by grabbing onto rocks and trees that were within range. His fingers were getting bloodied, the pain in his leg shot through him every time he tried to move it reminding him what he'd be facing again if they caught him. The thought of going by the road crossed his mind. It was dark, and the road would have been much easier to navigate than random rocks he climbed over now, but it would also mean he'd be easier found.

The town was within visual distance, a touch of light hit his eyes. The day was no longer on their side, the sun was rising. At least with the night, they had a chance to hide. He noticed then, that Thymie had fallen asleep while holding onto him. He shook Thymie lightly, rousing her. “Thymie… We need to find somewhere to hide…”

“Can’t we go to the town?” She rubbed her eyes sleepily, still holding onto him.

Kaine shook his head. “I’ve probably been marked a murderer and a kidnapper…” He looked toward the town. “They probably sent one of the sparrows to them last night after we left…”

“But you didn’t murder him… Or kidnap me…”

“You and I are the only ones that know the truth…”

Thymie hopped down off him and yawned again. "Stay here. I'll be back soon." And with that, she was off.

Kaine was surprised at how quiet she was, but then also had to remember that she wasn't wearing big heavy boots like he was. A touch of concern struck him then that without shoes, she may cut her feet on the rocks and whatever else was on the ground around them. He was worried for her, but remembered it wasn't her they were looking for, it was him. She was in no danger at all and as she had been to the town on multiple occasions, she was easily recognised and people knew her and liked her. There was noise and he froze. It wasn't Thymie making that noise, it was too heavy, and it sounded suspiciously like metal. He glanced around frantically trying to find somewhere to hide as voices became audible. He ducked behind some rocks as he heard the metal move by him. He chanced looking out to see what it was and found it was at least half the factory guards. They were laughing between themselves loudly, a couple hiccuped while others had red eyes. They'd been out drinking the night away and he felt relief flood him as they continued their trek up to the factory. Thymie put her hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him.

"Here, put these on and we'll have to move after." She handed him a wrapped bundle then turned and began to look around as though on guard. He noted that she had clothes on now, looking completely normal and proceeded to open the bundle to find clothes. He stripped out of the old clothes he wore and began to pull on the new ones as quick as he could. They were gentle against his skin and he wondered how she had gotten them, or how she'd been able to pay for them even. "Blue suits you." His cheeks touched with pink at her words. "Let's go. There's a cargo ship leaving for the mainland shortly. We should be able to get on it if we hurry."

He nodded and followed her lead, taking hold of her hand so they wouldn't get separated. As they entered the town, two men that he assumed were farmers looked at them pausing between unloading their cart and Kaine realised he had been holding his breath. Thymie continued to walk as though it were no different than any other day and the farmers went back to their cart. The clothes were normal town clothes, but he was still wracked with guilt and fear about being caught and tortured. They hurried along the streets toward the dock where they could see the cargo ship still loading. No doubt the farmers were holding them up. Thymie squeezed his hand tightly and he gave her a reassuring squeeze back noticing her palms were sweaty, probably from fear.

"It's okay, I'm here with you."

She shook her head smiling at him. "I'm not afraid. I'll protect you." She pulled him suddenly from hiding and they slipped onto the boat unnoticed by the crew, finding their way down into the belly of the boat. They crawled into a small open space surrounded by large crates piled on top of each other. Thymie sat down and Kaine breathed a silent sigh of relief, sitting beside her.

The fear had begun to diminish finally. There was still the chance that upon unloading they were found by the crew, but then they would only be stowaways then and nothing would happen to them save for maybe a warning or a fine. But as they had no money, it would probably be the warning. What were they going to do now, no money, no idea of what went on outside the factory and the little factory town. No idea where the war was at, nothing. Thymie's hands touched his cheeks and she brought his head down to lay in her lap. "What?"

Hushing him, she stroked his hair. "Sleep. You must be tired. I will watch over you now."

He tried to protest to say he wasn't sleepy, but the stroking of his hair made his eyes close, his body feeling more relaxed than it had for longer than he could remember.

He saw Thymie standing in the distance, a pure white dress on, a gentle breeze shifting her hair as he noticed it was left out. She looked so beautiful. He approached her and she loked over her shoulder at him, brushing her hair from her face as she gazed at him. He could see her green eyes perfectly, nothing to stop him looking at her. No councillors to beat him, to get him away from her, no Orion trying to take from her what he could never have. Just him, and just Thymie. She smiled at him and he joined her. They stood beside each other, just looking out into the distance, the breeze the only sound. He didn't need to look beside him to know she was there, he could feel her. even if she were leagues away, he could just stare out into the distance and see her eyes gazing back at him. He wouldn't ever be apart from her. He would protect her, even if it meant his life, he'd give it for her. His decision made, he made the silent vow to her. This was what he wanted.

---


Kaine woke to the gentle and rhythmic swaying of the boat. Glancing around he checked, they were still in the holding bay, seemingly undisturbed. He couldn't tell if it were day or night, the constant semi-darkness making it some sort of weird permanent dusk. Thymie sat nearby, something beside her wrapped in red material that could easily have been silk to his untrained eye. She looked to him and smiled, he returned it.

"Hungry? I managed to grab some bred." She held up a tough looking loaf to which he nodded. Breaking it in a rough half, she handed him the larger of the two. He took itgreatful one of them had thought to bring something. But he remembered then, she had nothing when they left.

"When did you get this?"

She shrugged. "About the same time I got the clothes."

They sat in silence for a while, simply eating the bread and enjoying something to settle their appetites, before consequences finally caught up with Kaine. "We were pretty sheltered at the factory..."

Thymie looked to him then nodded her head after a moment. "It may not have been ideal circumstances and always pleasant, but we had a roof over our heads, good food, not always terrible company. The councillors may have made life miserable at times but we were kept out of any real trouble."

"We don't even know anything about this war. We don't know where the fights are, if where we're going is destroyed, if it's populated with Humans or Elir, for all we know we could be heading into prime Elir territory. We have no money, no food, only the clothes on our back and the skills that are only worth anything in a factory." Kaine tore off a chunk of bread. He was mad at himself for not thinking anything through before he ran off, ultimately ruining not only his life, but hers too.

"There are always places looking for someone of skill. You might be able to work as... As a miner."

He snorted. "Sure. I could be a miner. People can tell what you are still. I can pass myself off as a miner, but everybody can see the gold in your eyes."

She was silent and went back to eating her bread. The truth was, she already knew what would become of him at least. She too had had a short nap while he slept. She closed her eyes, the vision of her dream came back.

Thymie stood watching the distance, red ribbon tied around her wrist. She stood on a rocky outlook watching a battle rage before her, a full moon making the fighting figures shadows. Two men stood out through the bloodshed, she couldn't see their appearance. The battle became bloodier and she felt her heart pounding, afraid of the outcome. Finally the two men were victorious and she could see now the features of Kaine. He was wounded and she went to run over to him, but she couldn't move, it was as though she were here only to observe. He came closer and a woman hurried over to him, something held tight in her arms. Thymie's heart pounded in pain as she realised what it was. Kaine took the woman in his arms tight, protectively. His wife. His child.

Thymie opened her eyes again and looked to him. Part of her wanted to have him promise her they'd never part, but she knew this was what he was to do. She could see what would become of him after this trip, but what of her? She saw nothing. There was the chance she wouldn't make it, the possibility made her shiver.

"Maybe I don't..." She muttered.

"What did you say?"

"Maybe I could... Do something. I don't know. I just don't have all the answers."

He sighed. "Nobody does Thymie, nobody expects you to." Kaine looked around trying to find some way of seeing where they were, still sailing, stopped, anything. But of course, there was nothing. "How long do you think it takes to get to the mainland?"

"Maybe a day or two. It wouldn't be long, there's food in some of these barrels, that aren't pickled or salted at least."

"How long have we been going now?"

Thymie shook her head. "I honestly have no idea. There's no way to see outside for night or day, no crew come down here, nothing."

He looked to the red pack she had beside her, the bread having managed to satisfy only part of his hunger. "You have any more food in that?"

"Just some for later. You don't want to eat it all now and starve later do you?"

He grumbled. "I guess. I could eat even the salted fish Jim cooked, even if it was more rock salt than fish."

"I know. It won't be long. Just try to stay resting, that way at least your body can go without food for as long as possible."

"I don't like fasting." Was all he grumbled before leaning back against a crate.

Thymie felt her leg cramping. She wanted to get up and start walking it out like she would back at the factory, but this was a relatively confined space, and not to mention that if any of the crew heard her walking around they'd come here and check what was going on. She groaned and Kaine looked to her asking the question with his expression rather than words. "My leg is cramping and I can't walk it out."

"Do you trust me?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "Yes... Or should I have a reason not to?"

"Not as far as I know. I just wanted to make sure you won't try to fuse my head into the wall if I try to relieve the cramp in your leg."

Her eyes narrowed as she watched him. "Just what are you planning on doing?"

"Trust me. After I'm done your leg will not be cramping again." He put his hands on her knees and pushed them apart a little. He noticed she was fidgeting, obviously uncomfortable with the movement. "Trust me. I won't take advantage of anything." Running his hand down her leg he came to her ankle and began to massage it. She remained watching him curious and still somewhat suspiciously.

Moving up her leg slowly, he massaged each part deeply but not to the point of pain. He noted that the muscle just above her ankle made her grimace, a tightness telling him that she had hurt it but had apparently forgotten to tell him about it. He reached her knee and moved to the other leg, moving his hands down to her ankle to repeat the same process. She had relaxed since he'd started, trusting him entirely though still watching his hands intently. He reached the knee on the other leg and looked to her.

"How's the cramp now?"

"It moved up to my hip." She laughed a little nervously, the cramp evidently painful.

"Show me where it is?"

Hesitantly, she took his hand bringing it to her hip, twisting it so his middle finger was just out of reach of her pubic bone while the palm of his hand lay on the side of her hip. "Just there. It is rather painful."

He nodded. "They often are there." Her expression showed her obvious discomfort, whether it was at the cramp or the situation he was unsure of, but had a feeling it was the latter of the two. "I won't do anything to you. Don't worry."

"I know... It's just-"

Kaine nodded holding his hand up to quiet her. "I know. Hush now." He pressed down on the cramped area and began to massage it as best he could without causing her any further discomfort with the closeness of his hand to areas she never wanted touched. She laughed a little, a nervous tone just audible in it.

"You would think this sort of thing I could deal with. They always said I was good with my hands and the best crafter."

"It's something of a different specialty. In this case, it requires specific pressure on specific points to reduce the pain."

"You think I'm weak?"

He shook his head then paused for a moment and grinned. "Maybe a little." Thymie shifted her position, revealing her underwear unwittingly. "Now, that is not very lady like, I can see your underwear."

Her hand flashed out and Kaine managed to grab it just before it hit his face, her own a dark red. "You should not be looking at things like that."

"Well, you were showing me. How do you expect me to refuse something like that?"

"You can never concentrate on one task at a time."

"I can't concentrate on anything with you here." He put a hand on her cheek. "All I see is you. Your beautiful red hair, deep green eyes..." He touched her lips, still looking at her intently.

"Kaine... What are you doing?"

He could see she was uncomfortable, but she hadn't moved away, she hadn't turned from his touch or gaze. "Whenever I'm with you, nothing else matters. I just see you, nothing else. Nobody else. They don't matter to me..."

"This is going too far. Stop."

He moved away from her, the relief in her body was almost instant and visible even to him. "Sorry Thymie. I just wanted to let you know."

---


Kaine sat against a crate staring at one beside him. Thymie was nearby, a bit of distance between them both. He cursed himself for being so insensitive to her earlier. She had just had an encounter that had left likely a permanent scar, and he had tried to proclaim he cared for her. The desire to hit his head against a crate grew when the crate he leant on jerked behind him, hitting his head. They both sat up suddenly completely awake. They were coming in to dock. Kaine looked to Thymie who looked back to him, both having expectant looks on their faces.

"I hadn't thought about getting back off the boat..." Her eyes were wild in panic.

"I never even thought of it." He took her hand and squeezed it before letting it go again, lest he make her uncomfortable again. "I'm sure we'll be fine. What's the worst that can happen?"

"They feed us to the Elir?"

He looked at her with a look of disbelief. "Well aren't you miss cheerful today."

"I don't know how to get off the boat. We managed to sneak on because they were loaded, but they have to open it up and start unloading, we can't just wait for them for finish and then run off the boat, there will be nowhere to hide, we could try running out soon after we dock and open. I don't know. It needs to be unguarded, or at least people not looking in our direction. Where do we go after this? I have never been outside the factory save to that little town a few times. Now we have ended up coming to an entirely different place, we have no idea what the people are like, if they even speak the same language we do, what they wear, what they do, nothing. How are we meant to blend in or anything?"

"Breathe Thymie. This will get us nowhere. We'll know when to run for it. I promise you."

She took a few deep breaths then slowly breathed out to calm herself. He was right. Things weren't terrible. They were still alive, and they would make it. Somehow at least. She believed it. They made their way toward the entrance of the holding bay slowly, listening intently for anything that would say when it would open and submit them to the world, whether it were dark or light. They huddled beside a crate and waited. Their waiting was rewarded shortly after by the loud noises outside, voices yelling to each other and the bay finally creaking open to reveal morning sun allowing it to filter in only slightly between the crates.

"Yeah grab the food barrels 'n all that first eh? A'stjor needs some'a them fruits."

"Dunno why we gotta bring fruit from around that factory for A'stjor, know they got fruit o' their own round that place."

"Heard them Elir ate em all. Yeah them barrels."

A couple of shadows appeared before them before moving away again and the voices became a little more distant. Thymie poked her head around the crate and breathed relief. "Quickly, they're moving the barrels. We can get out."

And they did. They darted out as quick as they could, jumping off the boat onto the dock as quick and quiet as they could manage before slipping away. They leant against the wall of one of the buildings, or a house, they weren't too sure here. It was early morning, they assumed most people would be still asleep or at least still inside preparing for their day. "Well, we know those fruit barrels are heading to some place named A'stjor. Maybe we could catch a ride with the people delivering them."

Thymie nodded. "Worth a try. It sounds like a populated place if nothing else. Maybe we can find out more while there."

They moved again from their place in hiding to the cart that was being loaded with the barrels. A man came from the front and eyed them. "What can I help you two with?"

"We were hoping that we might be able to come to A'stjor with you if we help with the fruit."

He was a suspicious man, but then who could blame him. Two people obviously not from around here, staring at the fruit looking as though they hadn't eaten in days asking a stranger for a ride in his cart. At least these strangers were willing to work. He nodded. "Sure, could use a second pair of hands. You any good with a horse girl?"

Thymie's eyes widened a little startled at the sudden address to her and she nodded a little. "I have looked after them before."

"Good. You watch Nivi here and the boy can help me load this here cart up. And if I catch either of you stealing from the barrels then you wanna hope you can live without your hands." He slapped Kaine on his back, turning him to the barrels to load while Thymie moved around to the horse the man had called Nivi. They did their work without complaint, Thymie enjoying the touch of Nivi's muzzle on her hand. The cart was now mostly full with barrels and the man nodded, wiping his brow in the rising sun. Kaine had proved to be quite a help as they loaded it faster than he would have by himself, and even if he had help by another man, Kaine seemed to have moved things faster than hired help had before. "You two aren't from around here are you."

They looked at each other quietly before Thymie shook her head. "No, we aren't."

"Well, I said I'd take you both to A'stjor and you did your part of the bargain so I'll uphold mine." He cocked his head indicating for them to climb in and they did so. "What brings you to A'stjor anyway?"

"Due to meet someone there." Kaine answered as they started off.

"Oh? Joining the military are we son?"

"Thinking about it yeah. How far is A'stjor from here?"

"Oh we'll be there by about sundown, not too far away."

"Thank you."

Thymie yawned, struggling to keep her eyes open resting her head against Kaine's shoulder. Eventually she lost the battle to stay awake and was sleeping, Kaine chuckled to himself. "Your little lady is a mage isn't she." Kaine looked at him startled, trying to deny it. "I saw her eyes."

He sighed, dropping his head. "Yes."

"How long have you two been running?"

"We aren't-"

The man held up his hand. "Denial will do nothing. I know you are running. A'stjor will be a good place for her."

"Why? What is A'stjor anyway."

"It's a decently large town. Military often meet there to recruit more members, pick up artisans and crafters, drink, eat, be with women, and often the mages are in town. They give the men readings and blessings."

Kaine frowned. Mages, readings and blessings? Thymie was a crafter, all crafters had mage-like abilities with their touching and fusing, maybe the man was confused. "Readings and blessings?"

"Aye boy. You'll see when you arrive. Ask for Kayla when you arrive. I have a feeling you two will be needing her help."

This man seemed to be quite calm considering he knew he was talking to strangers, not only was he taking them to a town to run away, he had given them a contact. Kaine had no idea whether or not to trust him, but when given the bleak other option open to him, he would find this Kayla and that was as far as he'd thought. They needed food and somewhere to sleep, but with no money, the likelihood of either of those happening were quite slim. Maybe this Kayla could help them with food and a place to sleep, that may have been the help the man spoke of. Whatever it was, they probably needed her help.