Twisted love

[Vanaria]

Darkness enveloped the sky, thunder and lightening danced in the clouds with fervent speed. Below the the silhouette of ominous forms stood two figures battling in the ghastly forest. Metal clanked with metal as parries and sweeps were exchanged in the fray. On the corner rested a bored witch. Amel sat, watching as her minion and her love battled to the death. Hammer and ax glided through the air.

"Give it a rest Stefan, you can't possibly have much more fight in you." The witch said irritatedly. The paladin ignored her and brought his hammer into the chest of her felguard, bringing it to it's knees. With a righteous wail, the paladin crushed the head of the demon, leaving it's husk motionless.

"It's over Amel."

"That's for debate." She drew another soul shard. Stefan sent a flash of holy light, blinding her and searing her being with the cleansing energies of the light. Amel fell to the ground, weakened but not finished.

"Where are your demons now, witch?" Stefan barked. "Where are those you swore fealty to in exchange for power? They are no longer here to redeem you."

Sefan hefted his hammer up, making himself ready to take deliver a final blow if needed. A quick word in demonic and the man fell to the ground in pain, cough blood.

"They're still around, but your precious light didn't seem to stay."

The man said a deep prayer and brought himself back up, ready to fight again. Amel was up, clutching a dagger. A dagger? What would a dagger do to pierce the steel plating of a paladin? She didn't point it at the man but instead began carving something into her hand. Stefan knew enough about demonology to know she was summoning something big.

The man charged, dropping his hammer in hopes of gaining more velocity. The witch smiled coldly as she continued to murmur, her being was only half in the physical world, the other half communing with reinforcements in the nether.

"In the name of the holy light, I command your demons to be gone!" Stefan shouted. He smacked the witch to the ground with his plated hand, breaking her concentration.

"I've spent my entire life banishing evil from this world and you have spent yours bringing evil back!"

The girl still smiled despite the deep red mark on her face. "Then you should be grateful that I keep you working, love" She spat the last word.

Stefan snarled, not about to strike the girl again. He had hit her the first time to save himself from an extended fight, hitting her while she was down would be indecent. "Do you not see how illogical it for you to follow such creatures?! They desire nothing more than your death!"

"I seek true power where I can claim it. Just because your blinded by the light does not mean I have to be."

The man snarled again and reached for the bloody dagger on the ground. With a howl of anger, he brought the knife down...

((Hope I can make this a good story. I might change the plot for this forum.))

[Vanaria]

((earlier that month))

The door slammed shut with an angered hand. Stefan groaned at the sight of the tropical storm setting in Booty Bay. He would be stuck indoors for hours, with her of all people. "Look Amel, I didn't want to come down here with you, but Jerome made me, so can we just not fight for one day?"

Amel laid on the only bed, an exotic goose feather mattress with a lavish blanket. She had spared no expense in their accommodations for the dim day. Although her eyes were closed as she laid there, she was wide awake. It may be dark outside, but it was still midday. "Whatever you say, paladin. Just leave me be and I won't have reason to curse you."

Stefan winced. They had been friends since they were young; why couldn't she atleast address him by his name? He stood motionless, until Amel turned to face him, then he stepped back. Here piercing eyes seemed weakened for once. They weren't so... cold.

Removing his plate armor was a difficult task, but eventually he removed the all the pieces, finishing with his boots. He kept his wool tunic on. He was going to sleep on the floor, but Amel seemed to scoot over for him; or was he dreaming? Her, care about him?

She glanced back at him, her eyes even warmer than before. "Well paladin, what are you waiting for? I didn't pay to waste this bed." She almost commanded.

Stefan was hesitant to comply. "But don't expect my to coddle you you light-blinded coward." She remarked.

Stefan took a step towards the bed, paused, then continued. He laid at the other edge of the goose feather mattress, taking only enough blanket to cover half of his body. The paladin's eyes found their way over to the witch. Her back was turned to him, but he could tell there was something she was trying to conceal. Those crimson robes grew less and less intimidating.

"Stefan I-" She said with a sincere tone, but paused mid sentence.

"What Amel? What do you want?"

"I... I just wanted to say that..." A tear caught in her throat. She was sobbing. Stefan was baffled now."That your a bleeding heart!"

How could Stefan had not seen it before? How could he have been so dumb? Warlock's use their negative emotions to battle their foes, but do they ever feel positive ones. there was still a human under those fel energies. She had used emotions all her life to defend herself, from external and internal threats.

"Amelmarola..."

At the sound of her name she turned to face Stefan, her lover and foe. Her opponent on so many fields of battle. Her eyes were beat red from tears. Amel's nose was a rise color, contrast to her pale skin. She was crying uncontrollably now.

Stefan wrapped his arms around her, comforting the girl that had tried to kill him so many times before. Her face pressed against his tunic; tears began to dampen his chest.

"I can't do this!" She cried aloud. "I can't love someone who is bounded by lies and deceit."

"Amel I"

"No. Not another lightdamned word out of your mouth Stefan!"

Her attempts to rebuke him failed as he held her, comforting a long lost friend. How long had she had to endure her own agony at the cost of her demonology?

The day ended as the two souls joined together for that brief moment, understanding each other's confusion and hatreds about one another. Amel pulled her face away from Stefan and gazed at his face. He was forlorn, but understanding.

"Damn you and your... you..."

"I love you Amel..."

"I can't love you Stefan."

"Which of us are you trying to convince?"

Not another word was spoken between the two for the rest of the night. Amel cowered on her own side of the bed, ashamed that her emotions got the better of her. She had shown the enemy her weak side, and that might one day cost her. The two eventually drifted into sleep, knowing that as their souls joined, their physical beings fought tooth and nail to segregate. Amel lost consciousness in Stefan's arms, feeling truly safe for the first time since her parent's had died.

[Vanaria]

The next morning Stefan woke up with a severe affliction. Amel had cursed him in the middle of the night, causing his skin to burn in excruciating pain and body to go numb. It was nothing the light was unable to cure, but such a defense measure was a sign that her emotional armor had been breached; that much the young paladin was sure of.

Amel had been gone by the time Stefan finished dawning his plate armor. He heard he run off, chanting the words needed to summon a demon as she ran. From the nether spouted Thooghun. She used the abominable felguard, Thooghun, to escort her in the paladin's place. An internal debate boiled in the man as to whether or not he should follow her. After all, she was merely going to take a stroll through the Vale, enjoy the sun after a stormy night. Who was he fooling; Amel stroll? She obviously had other other intentions.
---

"Thooghun, come!" The witch ordered as she left her room and traveled downstairs to the inn's tavern. She had been foolish to show her humanity. " have to snuff it out once and for all, lest my emotions bar my path from the will of the legion."

Then demon marched behind her as she exited the bar, not having a destination in mind but Amel needed to get as far away from Stefan as she could.

"What's wrong with me? Had it been any other man he'd be dead." A large fist barred her path from the outside.

((more later.))