Hallowed Kaline (1) (MANUSCRIPT)

Issue # 36 Book of Lady Caroline Pt. 3

         "Hey guys!" Aubrey opened up her eyes as she shoved a handful of nuts in her tight mouth. 
        Max walked close to Amy, his black jacket long and overcasting much of his figure. "Hello! I figured I'd actually show this girl the base. Found the trapdoor near the prairie-mountain outside Ehrenburg. Amy wants to 'save the world'." 
        Amy blushed, her eyes narrowing at Maximus like knives. "Um! You don't have to be so public about it." Her lips straightened to a scowl. 
       Max put his hands out. "Right, right." His face reddened. 

      "Well, I'm sure we could get her started on something fun right away." Aubrey smiled, then  sneezed into her right hand with urgency. "UGH. I'm sick! Came down with some sort of cold last night." 
      "Sorry, friend." Max raised his eyebrows. 

      "This all looks so... beautiful. Outrageous. Other-worldly!" Amy looked around a concrete enclosure. 

       Flickering candles, dim as could be. Giant pastoral paintings, landscapes of mountains and rivers. An endless hall expanded out through the darkness. 
       Men and women of all shapes and sizes applied ruby robes to their bodies, their eyes focused on books. The Cardinals, Max had called them, all paced around the infinite hallways and corridors with books in their hands. Colorful books. Green. Black. Brown. Yellow. 
        "What are they -- You know -- Reading?" Amy tapped Max on his green-shirted arm. 
        "Right. Some sort of 'holy book'. It talks about how to defeat faeries and stuff, but also how to worship their Creator and channel energy through cleansing tags." 
        "Cleaning tags?" 

       Her eyes are so cute. Max cleared his throat. "Yes, indeed. The active agents who work behind the scenes of the Complexia Portia use a certain kind of paper which acts as a 'net' for mana. Mana is the energy which powers spells. It's all complicated stuff, really, that ends up really being poured from very simple things. At least, that's what Shinnaffray has told me in these past few months." 
       Amy scratched the side of her pale neck. "Shinnaffray? Sounds like someone just said the name 'Jennifer' in their sleep. The heck." 
      Max Kaline busted out laughing. "OH, THAT'S A GOOD ONE!" 
      Amy blushed, putting a hand over the top of her sternum. "Glad you think so."
      "Hey, are you guys gonna kiss yet?" Aubrey spat out nutty crumbs from her mouth as she stood behind Max. 
     "Aubrey, chew with your mouth closed, please. I mean, I know I've been guilty of that before, actually. But still." Maximus's eyes narrowed. 

       "Says the guy who takes the biggest fuckin' bites out of his food. You eat like you've got rabies or something." Aubrey had now begun to stuff her face full of potato-chips. 
       "Wow. You went through the nuts from earlier that fast?" Max raised his eyebrows twice. 
       Aubrey wiped her mouth gently with a random scroll. "Yes. Yes I did. What can I say? A girl gets hungry sometimes." 

       "What can I say? A girl goes crazy for some nuts." Max winked. 

       "I'm a pure young woman, thank you very much!" Aubrey shook her head, her raven hair flopping everywhere. 

       "Sure. A pious young woman." Max smiled. I remember when I first met her. I thought we weren't gonna get along very well. Boy, how the tables have flipped. 
       Aubrey put on a fake Posh accent, pursing her lips. "Indeed. Quite pious and pure." 
      "If you're so pure, then how do you even know what kissing is? Haven't you lived under the CP all your life?" 
        "Uh, I've seen movies!" Aubrey blushed, pulling her red robe closer to herself. "UGH. This thing is like a dress sometimes, I swear-" Without warning, her head dabbed into her elbow crease as another sneeze began to thrust its way out of her. "JEEZ!" 
        "Say it, don't spray it." Amy put her stout arms up in defense. 
       Max chortled. "Well, my bad. You've seen movies. Of course, how could I be so dense?" 
       Aubrey jabbed Max's shoulder with her forefinger and middle-finger. "Hush! I'm sheltered, I know." 
      "You've had to have had a crush on someone here." Max put his hands to his hips. "'Young woman'." 
       "I'm older than you, boy!" Aubrey laughed. 
      "Fair enough. Age is just a number, though." 
      "Ah. Of course, how could I be so 'dense'?" Aubrey stuck her tongue out. "Goofball." 
      Max tilted his head away from the Cardinal just then. "Well, I'm still waiting. Ever had a crush or two? Maybe a couple thousand?" 
       Amy sniffed the air, the candles giving off their aroma of sand and trees. He's being awfully curious about that, even if they are just carrying on and teasing each other.
      Aubrey shrugged. "Well, there's not really been one person in particular. And these missions get pretty dangerous, you know? It's hard to catch feelings for someone when there's a decent possibility that you might die." 
      How exciting. Max rolled his eyes. 
      "I mean. There was this one boy in the middle-school program I attended-" 
      "No! No, no, no. It's okay Aubrey, I really don't wanna hear any potentially scandalous things about you from back when you would've been a minor." Max scratched the back of his head and put his left hand up in defense. 
      Aubrey stuck her tongue out. "Whatever. Anyway, did you even tell Amy's family where she is? Remember, we did just kinda pick her up and then she tagged along with us." 
       Amy nodded. "My dad knows I'm here. We told him about it over the phone." 
      Aubrey's eyes widened. "So, your dad hasn't seen you face-to-face since you road off with that Temoory guy?" 
       "It's alright, Aubrey." Max put his hand gently over Amy's shoulder. "Her dad trusts her." 
      With the hunter's hand on her body in such a friendly way, Amy blushed.
      Her nose twitched, crinkling a tad. She felt her legs wobble as Max slowly let his arm off her. Looking back up to him, her lips curled inwards a bit as she smiled warmly. Her brownie-shaded irises looked into Max's emerald orbs, an ease of comfort between them.
      For a moment, she felt at home and in utter excitement simultaneously. 
     He's handsome. Amy had her arms down by her sides. He's so-
    "AUBREY. ORDER IN THE HALLS." 
    "Jeez!" Max suddenly began to hop on one foot. 
    "Oh. Hi, Shinnaffray." Aubrey's face fell a tad as she looked to Cardinal Shinnaffray. 
     "There's been an emergency. Cardinal Malcolm went to fight two de'Navra and hasn't returned." Shinnaffray, one eye green and the other blue, hugged his own red robe close to his torso. 
      "What?" Max stepped back. Oh no. There's no way that the Cardinal is gonna make it out of that alive. 
      "Cardinal Malcolm? He was your mentor, wasn't he?" Aubrey looked down. "My condolences." 
      Shinnaffray snorted. "Condolences? Ah, I'm not upset just yet, girly. Malcolm is a tough cookie to crack. Those de'Navra are gonna regret running into him. Nonetheless, we expected him back sooner. There's been a report of faeries tearing up some local park around here. Well... since we apparently have a new member," The manly Cardinal eyed Amy down. "I was thinking this mission would be right up her alley. Especially if you two go along with her." 
      "Of course, Cardinal." Aubrey saluted. 
      Max smirked at this. "Certainly, sir. Amy is someone who said herself she wanted to help us. I'm, uh, training her." 
      Cardinal Shinnaffray shoved his face closer to Max's forehead. 
     "Um. Sir?" Max's breathing turned shallow.