-Kaden's POV-
"Call your men off," I told Adam as I did the same.
"All is well, carry on as usual."
I tried to make sense of the other things on the lists, but they were very cryptic, they could mean many things.
I passed the list to Adam. Jupiter didn't give us any rules for this, but he did say me, not us. Would it be cheating to have Adam help with this?
"He didn't say I couldn't be there while you do them though, but I think you are right." He frowned. "An offering of peace," he read out the first thing. "Can it be anything?"
"I read about that once. There was a spout between Keepers, a Soul Waker, and a human. The Soul Waker gave their human keeper what they called 'an offering of peace and trust'. It was a piece of fruit picked from a tree in Galtolga. The fruit doesn't grow here on Earth so is seen as rare and special; it is also something that should not fall into the wrong hands. You are not allowed to take the fruit out of Galtolga without my permission, though I must admit, they aren't the easiest to collect."
"It's worth a try," he shrugged. "Do you want me to..." He stopped, his eyes glancing to the side slightly, before returning to me a moment later.
"Need to go?" I asked.
"I'm needed at the pack house," he frowned.
"Go. I can handle this one, contact me when you are free." I kissed him quickly on the cheek, feeling pretty safe with nobody around.
"Will do, love. Good luck." He grinned.
Adam went back to the pack house and me to Galtolga. The two boys from earlier were already waiting outside of my office.
"Come with me," I ordered, not stopping as I led them outside of the building and around the back of the castle. We walked a bit further before the giant trees came into view.
"I need to collect two pieces of fruit from this tree. I will be retrieving one, and I want you two to work together to get the other," I told them.
They looked at each other wide-eyed before looking back at me with hesitation. "Yes, sir."
The tree was about 100 feet tall, but with our powers that wasn't the problem. It was the countless vines and branches that worked together to protect the fruit. It was easier with two people but only if they worked together.
You could feel the power pouring off the tree you higher you got. I could just make them do it for me, but this was something I had to do, and I may as well teach them a lesson while I was at it.
Most people didn't know that the tree doesn't attack until you grab the fruit or attack the tree. Most people rush in with a blade and the fight starts immediately because of this. I guess everybody had their own techniques, but I preferred to just persevere.
The vines and branches created a shield for the fruit, but I could see the orange and yellow fruit sparkling between the gaps. I placed my feet onto one of the higher branches. I couldn't hear nor see the other boys as I practically climbed into the arms of the tree.
I caressed the wood and the branches moved around me, I just had to make sure I didn't get trapped. My exit was clear, and the fruit was slowly being revealed to me, the branches moving just enough for me to be able to grab the fruit.
I had to get the timing perfect.
And then...persevere.
I jumped from the branch, falling into the air as my hand grabbed the fruit, releasing it from the tree. Before I could fall, the vine sprang out and gripped onto my wrist, the branch digging into my hand painfully.
A hiss was pulled from my lips at the pain that rushed through my hand, the vine tightening and slowly creeping up my arm.
"Kaden?!" Adam's worried voice instantly filled my head.
"I'm okay." I tried to reassure him, through clenched teeth.
"Then why does my wrist feel like it's breaking?"
"Think I just pissed off a tree."
"Release me," I ordered. Nothing.
"A tree?"
I summoned my sword and swung at the vine that was creeping even further up my arm.
"Sorry, baby. Bear with me a moment."
I felt awful that this was hurting him too, he didn't deserve this.
"Neither do you. I'd rather we go through this together, than you, alone."
My sword hit the vine again, using my own force this time and the vine broke, falling against the tree.
"Thank you, Adam."
I could see more vines creeping up on me from the corner of my eye. My sword swung at the branch next, but it dug further into my hand, drawing blood. I tried to break it, but it wasn't moving.
Persevere.
"Sorry, love," I apologised. My feet kicked against the tree, creating just a little bit of space so I was now hovering in the air, my hand gripping the fruit tightly. With my feet pressing firmly against the trunk of the tree, I pushed hard.
Using my power to add force and let gravity do the rest of the work. The branch was forced from my hand, painfully, and I began to fall.
I caught myself easily, dodging the branches and vines that tried to stop me, and landed safely enough away that I was out of reach.
"When you said the fruit was hard to get, I didn't think you would be fighting a tree," Adam said.
I laughed. "I got it." I looked down at the fruit in my hand, an offering of peace.
The vines and branches had returned to their usual place, completely unmoving as if they didn't just attack me a moment ago.
It was safe now, and so I walked around to the other side of the tree, my gaze finding the two boys who were clearly too busy arguing to have made any progress with the fruit.
"If any physical fighting breaks out, you will both be locked in the cells overnight, I will return shortly, I hope to see some progress," I told them, instantly cutting off their argument as they stared down at me with wide eyes, noticing the fruit in my hand.
I stopped by Keiron's office first, but he wasn't there.
"Keiron."
"Sir?" His response was instant.
"Could I bother you to bandage my hand?" I didn't like to call for Keiron when he was off duty, but I knew he was on-call right now and going into the city would attract too much attention.
"Of course, sir."
A moment later, Keiron stepped through a portal into his office, a dark blush on his cheeks. He quickly got to collecting the stuff he needed before moving towards me and having me take a seat.
"I apologise for disturbing you, I did not want to go into the city like this."
"It's not a problem." Kieron shook his head, cleaning the blood from my hand that had begun dripping down my wrist. "I'm happy to be of assistance."
"How are things with you, Keiron?"
He smiled, wrapping my hand in a bandage. "Good. Really good. Are things well with you?"
"Yes, thank you." I will make sure you can be with your keeper too.
I thanked Keiron again once he was finished bandaging my hand, and let him return to what he was doing, as I made my way to the prisons.
The guards greeted me on appearance, assuring me that Jacob was doing well and still eating his meals.
He was sitting on his bed, writing in a book, when I arrived.
"Jacob."
His head shot up, eyes wide, and a small smile took place on his face. "Sir, it's good to see you." He stood from the bed and bowed his head.
"How are you feeling?"
"Good. I uh wanted to apologise again, I really screwed up, but I know the truth now and I want to make up for it." He stepped towards the bars, the book in his hand extended towards me. "I wrote down everything I know, and I've decided I want to train to be a guard, so I can protect people from things like this in the future."
He seemed sincere in his words, though a little distressed. It was possible it could be from having to stay in the cells for a week with practically no human contact, but we would keep an eye on him anyway, he was still young; he had his whole life ahead of him.
I took the book from him and tucked it under my arm, I would be sure to read it later, there could be some useful information in there.
"Thank you, Jacob. I have decided that I am not going to make you publicly apologise, as it seems unfair to make you and not the others do so. You will be joining the others until their punishment is finished. It is a system we call detention, have you heard of it?"
"No, sir." He shook his head but looked relieved that he wouldn't be called out in front of the whole of Galtolga.
"It is a system used for guards to teach discipline and control, the courses are hard and strenuous but if you wish to become a guard, this will be good experience for you."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." He bowed his head again.
"First, you must resecure your bond with me and your people."
I opened the prison door and Jacob quickly bowed deeply, his knees pressing against the cold floor, along with his forehead.
I called forth the power of Galtolga, my eyes lighting up as I addressed the boy. "You must promise to trust in me, to protect your people, and to abide by our rules. You must swear to not betray me again and accept whatever punishment I see fit with the willingness to appease. And finally, if something like this is ever to arise again, you will seek me out immediately."
"I promise. I swear myself to you and your people, your majesty. I beg your forgiveness, please give me another chance."
"Stand," I commanded.
Jacob scurried from his knees, coming to stand in front of me, looking incredibly nervous.
I placed my hand on his shoulder and pulled forth his soul, his eyes lighting up silver.
"Do you understand the repercussions if you fail to abide by your oath?"
"Yes, sir."
He bore his soul to me, and the rest happened naturally. It takes a pure heart to work, so I knew he meant well when the white glow encased him, his bond with Galtolga was restored, and his soul was saved.
"Thank you, sir." Jacob smiled wide, his eyes watering slightly.
"You are welcome. You are free to leave, I will have a guard escort you to the detention location."
"Sir."
"Yes?"
He hesitated. "You knew because you had already found your keeper, didn't you?"
"Yes, Jacob."
I had a guard take him to where he would serve the rest of his punishment, then I returned to the fruit-bearing tree to check on the boy's progress.
Adrian and Cameron stood at the bottom of the tree looking up, Cameron in concern and Adrian in amusement.
"Good afternoon," I greeted them.
"Good afternoon, sir," Cameron greeted, but Adrian smirked.
"Good evening, sir," he chuckled. Was it evening already? I wondered, sighing to myself.
"Um, what are they doing?" Cameron asked.
"Trying to collect a piece of fruit." The boys were still up there, trying and failing to fight off the vines and branches.
"I love this tree," Adrian laughed. "I call it Treesus." He grinned proudly.
"You up for the challenge?" I asked, already knowing his response.
"Hell no," he laughed. "I remember it being a part of my training. It's easier than it looks and harder than it sounds, they told me. Do you think they'll succeed?"
"Who knows? I have released Jacob from his cell, he will now serve in detention with the others. Adrian, I will need your help with talks of my Keeper, I am sure word has gotten around by now, so I will need you to address the public concerning my soul being bound with another's, I will address them myself in due time, but things are finally moving along so it should not take much longer if I can help it. Cameron, I would like you to take a look at something and tell me what you make of it."
"Yes, sir."
I would check back on the boys in another hour.
"I'm done and I miss you," Adam spoke, forcing a smile onto my face, he was turning me soft.
"I'm coming to get you." I turned to Cameron and Adrian. "I will meet you in my office."
I used a portal to Adam's bedroom, but he wasn't in there. I knew he would instantly get hit with my scent and aura, with me being so close, so I lay down on his bed, my arms behind my head and waited.
Three seconds. That's how long it took before Adam came racing into the room. His stoic expression broke out into a smirk as he stalked towards me, pulling a smirk of my own to my lips.
I knew it was a bad idea the moment he moved to hover over me, his knees settling on either side of my waist, and his hands pressing into the pillow on either side of my head.
"Before this goes any further and I lose all track of time and space, I still have work to do, and Adrian and Cameron are waiting for me," I spoke the words quickly before I risked getting distracted.
Adam groaned, his forehead falling down onto the pillow next to my head. "You work too hard."
"It's been a busy day," I smiled.
He suddenly pulled back, pulling my arms out from behind my head and examining my hands. He took the injured one with his own and placed soft kisses on the exposed skin and over the bandage.
"I didn't know you were going to get injured," he frowned.
"It's not that bad, and it will heal quickly. Oh, speaking of which." I summoned the fruit and handed it towards him.
Adam took the fruit gingerly, his eyes widening slightly in wonder. "Wow, fruit from Galtolga. An offering of peace," he smiled. "I would have preferred if the tree didn't try taking your hand off, though."
I chuckled, leaning up to place a kiss on his lips. "For you, Mya Setio."
Adam grinned, rubbing his nose tenderly against mine. "Thank you, Angel. I'll have to find somewhere safe to keep it, or should I eat it? I mean it is fruit, right? It goes bad."
"This one doesn't, it will last for centuries. Though, I'm not sure if you can eat it. It is a gift for you, so I suppose you should be able to do what you like with it."
"I'm not sure I want to risk it."
"I can always get you another," I smirked.
"Yeah...no. I'll keep it safe," he frowned.
I chuckled, pulling us both up from the bed. "Would you like to join me for the last of my duties?"
"Definitely."
Adam stored the fruit in a safe location before I teleported us both to my office in Galtolga, where Adrian and Cameron were sitting waiting for us.
"Ah, I wondered what was taking you so long," Adrian grinned, he was writing away on a piece of paper, half distracted.
I ignored him and instead handed the list to Cameron, his eyes reading over the words immediately. "They are quite cryptic, and I was wondering how you would take the words when given to you. Think of it as a list of things to do."
The list read as such:
1. An offering of peace
2. An exchange of knowledge
3. Confess, forgive, and forget
4. Baring of souls
5. Of Keepers and Mates
6. A sacrifice
7. The end of a King
8. Confessions between Werewolves and Soul Wakers
9. Risk it all
10. A promise to serve
"The end of a king," Cameron frowned.
"I do not think it means me, I was thinking it may mean the old King, as this whole thing would be rather pointless if it were referring to me."
The conversation had caught Adrian's attention and he was now looking at the list along with Cameron, his eyes widened.
"Is this what Jupiter gave you? A sacrifice?!"
"We shouldn't jump to conclusions, a sacrifice could mean anything," Adam said.
"The first one is crossed out, have you done that one?" Cameron asked, catching my attention.
I stepped towards him, looking over his shoulder at the paper, and just as he said, an offering of peace was crossed out.
"It worked," I spoke to Adam, the words coming out softer in my surprise. Adam moved to look too and smiled.
"At least we'll have a way to know if we did it correctly now." Adam looked at me and grinned. "Nicely done, Angel."
"Angel?!" The word jumped out of Adrian's mouth before he could stop it, and I did everything I could to not react or sigh loudly. "Sorry, sorry!" Adrian quickly looked away, busying himself with his writing, if he weren't at work right now, he would have said more on the matter, but I could tell by the way he squirmed in his seat and tried to force away the reappearing smile on his face that he really wanted to.
"Sorry, love," Adam smiled bashfully. "It slipped out."
"Not to worry, Mya Setio," I said the words aloud, mostly to reassure my Keeper, and I knew he would take pleasure in me calling him that in front of others, but also to wind my friend up a little. I heard him release what could only be described as a sort of strained squeak as he willed his lips to remain shut, and a smirk took place on my lips.
"Can I have a sheet of paper?" Cameron asked Adrian. He began to copy the list in rather rushed handwriting, which I was fairly sure only he would be able to read.
"Can I look this over for a while?" He then asked me, handing the original list back over.
I took it from him and safely tucked it away into my inside chest pocket with a nod. "Of course, we can discuss this more tomorrow. If you need any help with the history of Galtolga, Gabriel should be able to help you."
"Thank you, sir."
I turned to Adam. "Cameron reads a lot, and even though his time in Galtolga is not that long, he is very intelligent and sometimes sees things a lot differently than the rest of us, because of that I want to know how he would understand the cryptic instructions on the list, we will look over them too but the sooner we know what it is that is being asked of us, the better.
Adrian is drafting a speech to give to the people of Galtolga, with the change in my aura, there is no denying that I have bounded my soul with another, they just do not know who, and they will want to know. Adrian will delay the questions until I can give them the answers.
The two boys that were fighting on school grounds earlier are currently trying to collect another piece of fruit from the tree. I am not bothered if they fail or succeed, but the task will be easier if they work together, I simply wish for them to bond for a while, this task will force them to do that if they do not wish to be there all night. I will check on their progress again soon."
Adam nodded, taking in my every word. "I have a feeling that there is a lot to this job of yours," he smiled subtly.
"Some days are better than others."
Adrian and Cameron took the work home with them, and I made Adam and me some dinner. I also made a couple of sandwiches which I wrapped in cling film and stored away for now.
We talked about our days while we ate, Adam telling me more about his own duties at the pack house, and then it was time to check on the two troublemakers again.
"I feel bad leaving you here," I confessed. I looked forward to the day I could walk around freely with my keeper.
"It's fine, love. We're so close now, just a little bit further." His hand caressed my cheek, pulling a content sigh from my lips.
I nodded. "You're right. I won't be long," I assured him, and after placing a kiss on his cheek, I exited the room, once again returning to the tree.
When I got there, I was surprised to see the boys sitting underneath the tree, calmly talking. This may have gone even better than I thought it would.
They stood when they saw me, bowing their heads and presenting me with fruit from the tree.
"I am impressed," I admitted. "That was no easy task, seems you both are capable after all. Have you put an end to this unnecessary feud between the two of you?"
They both nodded but only one of them spoke, he was the one that had called it a stupid fight. "Yes, sir. Thank you. We've fixed the...misunderstanding between us." He looked towards the other, who nodded, and the guy smiled.
"Good. Get yourselves to a doctor and remember what I said. You can punch each other to your heart's delight, but NO. MAGIC. Here." I handed them the sandwiches I had made earlier and hurried them along.
"Thank you, sir." They both bowed before rushing off, once they were far enough away, I saw them talking again.
They didn't look like they sustained too many injuries, just some cuts and scratches on their hands and arms, they shouldn't take long to heal, and hopefully, they learned their lesson. I can't have our existence jeopardised because of some pointless school fight.
What a long day.
I was quick to make it back to my office, ready for the day to be over already. But knowing my keeper was there waiting for me, made it all worth it.
He was leaning against my desk when I got there, reading the journal that Jacob had given me. He held a deer-in-the-headlights look, the moment he saw me.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have..."
"Shhh." I pecked his lips softly, my hands slipping around his waist as I leaned my body against his. "What's mine is yours. I haven't actually looked at it yet, anything of value?"
"A lot of drabble about Amelia. Just seems like a more detailed version of what we already know," he shrugged.
"I thought as much. It might be worth reading in full though, you can never know too much, knowledge is power after all, just as long as you know what to do with it."
Adam placed the book back down on my desk and took me into his arms. "Are we done?"
"Yes," I nodded. "Eager to get out of here?"
"I would like you to myself for a while. It's not too late, would you like to watch a movie?"
"That sounds great, can we go to your cabin? It is wonderful there."
"Of course, Angel. I'm glad you like it so much." He smiled sincerely, taking my hand in his and intertwining our fingers. "I can't wait to be fully alone with you again, being so close and not being able to touch you is torture," he chuckled.
"I know what you mean, love."
School was becoming unbearable. I could finally sympathise with my friends on that subject. I wanted my keeper near me always, surprising for someone who was quite used to being alone.