The Iron Pillars

Chapter 12

Later that morning, Aaron stepped up to a plywood shelf nestled in the corner of a storage room on the bottom floor of the temple. A dim fluorescent light flickered above. 

Aaron grabbed a metallic maroon boot off the shelf and studied it with pleasure. He puffed his cheeks and blew several particles of dust out of the hollow cavity in the bottom of the piece of footwear. Then, with a satisfied nod, he crossed over to the middle of the room and placed the boot on the ground beside its twin. 

"You finished loading those wrist rockets yet, Sila?" he called over his shoulder as he snatched a thick metal bow from where it sat in the corner. He pulled at the bowstring appraisingly and nodded a second later. 

"I'm almost done." Sila replied from across the room, where it held two gauntlets matching the boots in color. 

"Awesome." Aaron answered. He retrieved a quiver of arrows and placed them on the ground beside the bow and the boots. 

Aaron looked up when the moth-eaten closet door creaked open. Wendy stepped out in black skin-tight leggings and a long-sleeved top of the same material. His eyes swept up and down her body, and he grinned appreciatively at her figure, small and feminine, but also solid and muscular. 

Wendy padded across the concrete floor in her bare feet and stepped over to the maroon boots. She wiggled them on, one foot at a time. 

After Wendy had donned the boots, Aaron darted over to the wall and retrieved six more pieces. He knelt before her and opened up a pair of hinged greaves, shaped to fit her legs perfectly. With a click, the locking mechanism fastened the armor around her calves, and Aaron moved to do the same on the other leg. 

Next, he attached the cuisses over her thighs, and then moved back down to buckle knee-plates over the other pieces with leather straps. He used similar bands to fasten faulds around her hips and a breastplate to her body. As he worked, he mused to himself how Wendy had once stubbornly opposed his helping her get into the armor, but now offered no resistance whatsoever. 

After clipping all the required pieces onto her arms, Aaron grabbed her helmet. They locked eyes as she tied her blonde hair into a ponytail and he rotated the protective-wear to face correctly. Then he slipped it over her head, staring into her icy blue eyes until they disappeared behind the red faceplate. 

With a playful smirk, he grabbed the back of her head and planted a kiss on the spot her lips lay beneath the helmet. He pulled back afterward and smiled. 

"Bloody coward." she said, tugging it right back off and dropping it to the floor. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled his head down to her lips. 

Aaron's eyes widened when he felt their lips connect. After a second, he wrapped one arm around her body and cupped the other behind her head. The kiss wasn't long, but his heart beat several dozen times during its duration. He could swear he saw fireworks. 

After Wendy pulled back, Aaron coughed into the crook of his elbow. "Well...that was...unexpected." 

Wendy sent a rare smile his way. "You deserve a surprise every now and again." 

"Aww, how sweet. You rock, love." 

"You're not half bad yourself." she replied, flashing her teeth one last time before pulling the helmet back over her face. 

"Beautiful first kiss." Sila commented. 

Aaron chuckled. "I agree, buddy. I agree." 

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