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Somewhere in the world (Candira and runawayninja)

Lionel looked down for a moment. "I seem so serious because I am serious about protecting you and your family. I take my duty seriously because...it's an honor to be allowed into the palace, even just as a guard. It's...an honor to be allowed near you." To her question, he gave serious thought. "I think I would enjoy myself, have more fun...but...I don't think I could take as much pride in what I do as I do now. Defending you..."
 
Ah, so he would stay....because of pride. Well, at least he wanted to stay. Right? She sighed and shook her head. "But would you be happier with us? Or would you be happier out there?" She sighed and kept walking. She had the authority to let him go and do as he pleased. She could let him leave when this was all over. All he had to do was say it, so why wasn't he?

"Anyway, thank you for staying as long as you have." She smiled and then found the door to Candira's room. "Here we are."
 
Before Lionel could muster up a response, they were there. Rafe looked up from some reading, smiling a bit. "Well, good to see the both of you." He got up and helped Lionel, setting the tray down on the nightstand next to Candira. Soon the room was flooded with the scent of food.
 
Candira woke soon after the others entered the room, the smell of food coaxing her back to consciousness. She felt a bit better--more able to focus now, but she still had one horrible fever. She looked around and saw that Rafe had been reading and it looked like Nora had as well. She smiled softly though she was sure she looked awful because she felt that way. "That smells really good... I've missed the food at temples," she said, smiling drowsily.

Nora smiled and gave her friend a bowl of the chicken soup to help her get better. "Here you are," she said with a smile. It's still pretty warm, so be careful. The princess handed Rafe a plate of food and served to Lionel as well before she took one of her own. "Thank you all so much for helping me get here. It was actually really fun traveling with you." She smiled and sat next to Candira, digging in.
 
Rafe smiled and took a bowl, slowly eating it. Lionel did the same in silence as Rafe looked over to Candira, smiling softly. "So, how are you feeling now? Any better?" Rafe had been reading a book called The Men of the East, a fictional book of the foetid jungles and mysterious peoples of the Easterlands.
 
Candira smiled back and nodded. "A little. I still feel pretty awful though," she said with a chuckle. "But at least I'm not going to faint. And now I have soup," she said, cheerfully. She ate it slowly, blowing on it before eating since it was still steaming impressively. "Did you guys do anything interesting while I was asleep?" She asked, looking around the room. "I haven't been to windfall before. Is the rest of it nice?"

Nora smiled and nodded. "I think you'd like it. Maybe when you're feeling a bit better I'll give you a tour. Or maybe Rafe or Lionel could do it." She left out, conveniently, that he'd been lost before. Of course, she did that for his benefit. "Anyway, I just did some busy work stuff." She shrugged and went back to her food, enjoying the flavors. Candira had a point about the food.
 
"Oh..." Lionel remembered. "I spoke with the Abbess, she knows about our little deception and she is sympathetic to our cause, but the others here won't know, so just keep our guises around them."

Rafe had a pained look before sucking in air. "Ith hoth..." He said as he started blowing on the soup. The heat didn't seem to bother Lionel in the least. "Well, I did get some books, I thought if you're going to be stuck in bed, you might as well have some reading."
 
"That sounds fair enough. Once I get better, I can help out a little more with priestess duties. I don't mind paying them back for all the help they've given me." Candira smiled and leaned into the wall. She and Nora chuckled at Rafe's reaction to the soup. "Yes, the soup here tends to be," she said with a chuckle. The redhead smiled at him and tilted her head, pleased that he'd thought of her. "Thank you, Rafe." The admiration was very clear in her eyes and she continued to eat her soup, liking how it made her feel warm and soothed.

Nora smiled and kept eating her food. "Well I'm sure they'll be happy for the help. But you should focus on getting better."
 
Lionel nodded slowly. "I do hope you get well soon, and if you have to be sick...what better place than a temple? I'm sure the magic in these walls will help you to recover your strength. For now I think I should go see if I can help out with something..." He nodded to them and took his soup out of the room. It seemed his desire for duty wasn't limited to the palace. Rafe ate his soup more slowly now before giving a yawn. He was quite tired after the traveling.
 
"Thank you, Lionel. Don't work yourself too hard. You don't want to end up like me," she said with a smile. When he left she watched Nora, whose gaze seemed to linger a bit after he'd gone. Ah, so something was going on there. Figured. She kept her mouth shut...or at least until she ate more of her soup.

She looked up at Rafe and smiled softly. "Well, I think you all should get some rest soon. It's been a long day for everyone." She smiled at Rafe who was yawning. He'd been so good about everything. She lifted the bowl to her lips and drained the broth, effectively finishing off her soup. She put the bowl back on the tray. "Thank you all for your help. I hope you sleep well.
 
Rafe nodded slowly and stepped out for a moment. Before long, he had an extra blanket and pillow and he started to make himself comfortable in the chair near the bed. "I don't think they'd appreciate us sleeping in the same bed much...and I wouldn't like to get sick. But I told you I wasn't leaving you until you're better. If you need something, just wake me." He started to nestle into the chair and he pulled his book back open.
 
Nora shook her head and took the dishes away on a tray. "I'll have a cot sent in so you can be comfortable," she said. With that, she took her leave, heading back for the kitchen. She wondered if he'd gotten lost again. She hoped not. Sighing, she continued on her way softly humming one of Dima's psalms.

Candira smiled at Rafe. "You're sweet, but Nora's right, you need a cot. And they might not approve of us sleeping together here, but they wouldn't try to stop us." She smiled and snuggled back down into her bed. "But I don't want you to get sick either. I'm still really glad you're here. I hate being by myself when I get sick..." she closed her eyes and smiled.
 
Rafe nodded and smiled softly. "I know...when I'm sick I like to be taken care of. Don't worry, I'm true to my word, I'm not going to leave you alone." He helped the others when they brought in a cot and he made himself comfortable on it. "You know...I've actually slept in the saddle before, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it."
 
Candira opened her eyes as he finished messing with the cot and looked up at him with a smile. "It's nice to have you here with me. I know that Nora would stay if I asked her, but I've gotten used to having you around. I'm not sure I could sleep without you now," she said with a smile. "I can't imagine that sleeping in a saddle would be comfortable in any way. But I can imagine you doing it." She smiled and watched him.

Nora came from the kitchen and stretched a bit, heading back toward Candira's room so that she could be settled into her own quarters. She wondered if Lionel would sleep--she was well aware that he hadn't slept for the past two days... was he really alright?
 
Rafe smiled and walked to the bed, kissing her cheek before he got comfortable in his cot. "I just...need a nap..." He yawned out before he covered himself up.

Lionel was, in fact, in the library. He was slouching low in a chair a book collapsed against him as he napped. There was an irrate looking male acolyte over him, looking as if he was going to poke him or whack him with a scroll.
 
Candira smiled and let him kiss her cheek. "Sleep well, Rafe." And then she closed her eyes and feel into a deep sleep, her body resting...

Nora frowned and started looking for Lionel. She hadn't seen him around and was wondering if he'd found his room. She wound up in the library and found the acolyte looking rather upset. She chuckled and shooed the man off before gently putting her hand on his shoulder. "Lionel?"
 
Lionel started awake as if expecting something to attack him. Looking around he found Nora facing him, smiling. "Oh...Nora...I guess I just...dozed off..." He yawned a bit, looking around. "I suppose I should get on to bed..."
 
The princess jumped a little too, but smiled when he woke up. She let go of his shoulder and chuckled, taking the books away from him and setting them aside. "I thought you might have gotten lost again. Come with me and I'll get you to your room, okay?" He was cute when he was like this. The poor guy must have been exhausted. "You're right across from me, just in case something happens, but we're pretty safe here, so rest up, okay?"
 
Lionel nodded slowly, getting up out of his chair and following Nora. He yawned again and looked more sleepy now than he had let on. He smiled a little in relief when they reached his room. "I am dead tired...it's good to know we're close but..." He yawned again. "I need to sleep, I'll see you...tomorrow probably." He slipped into his room and collapsed upon the bed.
 
Nora smiled and watched him go into his room, slipping in after him to make sure he made it to the bed. She chuckled and covered him up before she left, closing the door quietly. She smiled and sighed softly. "Good night, Lionel." She said it softly and then moved into her own room for the night, resting.

Candira was in a deep sleep induced by the soup she'd eaten and her illness, not to mention the strain of travel. The room was silent but for the sounds of Candira and Rafe's breathing. It was probably the best sleep she'd ever gotten, but it was interrupted by an event she never could have predicted. Her body began to glow golden as the goddess Dima came to her dreams.

The goddess appeared before Candira in the form of a tall and beautiful woman with a blonde pixie cut and a thin, but beautiful body. Her blue eyes glowed softly and she was dressed in the traditional garb of the priestess. Candira appeared in the same outfit, her hair long and free as she stared at the goddess before her.

"Candira, you are a loyal servant. Suma has been watching over your lands, but I have been watching you. You are aware of the imbalance in the world created by the Black Riders...I am aware of their past with you and what they have done." She came to the redhead and put a hand on her cheek.

"The gods are becoming fragmented, and Sin is only one of them. Myrmidia has also been fragmented and several others. A fragment of Sin is traveling with you--the raven lord. This fragment is key in the plan of the Black Riders. You must not let him fall into their hands at any cost. There is only so much I can do while I tend to the other gods, but I will bestow a gift upon you to help you fight the fragments of the gods. This spell will call upon my power in its full force--no fragment will be able to fight it. It will bind them and rip them from the soul of their human hosts. But the humans will not be bound. You must choose your timing carefully. And you can only use this spell on one at a time."

Candira's heart soared. She now had a way to fight the riders and keep Rafe safe....but she had a feeling it wouldn't be so easy. She told the goddess as much and she nodded.

"Once the fragments are freed they will return to the gods and make them whole once more, restoring balance to this world. A human who undergoes the transformation will be in a great amount of pain once the process is over--but it will not stop them. Especially if they know how to fracture the gods. Once the people are freed, you must kill them."

Instantly Rafe appeared in Candira's mind and her heart stopped beating. "But...Goddess...Rafe wants nothing to do with the fragment within him. I would take the fragment from him now and he wouldn't try to get it back."

Dima sighed and nodded. "Yes, I know of the unfortunate man's plight. There are two ways to handle this problem. Either remove the raven lord and kill Rafe, or remove the Raven lord last. But the longer you wait, the more powerful the humans with fragments become. The Black Riders must be stopped, Candira. Their goals must not come to fruition. I charge you with this task because I know that with the help of the people you've traveled with, you can end this."

Candira frowned. "But our duty was to keep the princess safe...I can't very well put Nora in danger."

"Nora is already in danger. As is her father. She will not be safe at Windfall for long, nor will you. Rest while you are here, my servant. Devise a strategy amongst yourselves. You are my tie to this world. I will speak to the others through you should any doubt arise. But I must protect the other gods. I'm afraid I must go. But worry not. The blessings of the gods will shine upon you whenever you call on them. Visit a major temple and offer us your prayers. We will send you aid."

With that, the goddess disappeared in a flash of light, leaving behind the knowledge of the new spell and all that had been discussed. Candira woke with a start, sitting up in bed, sweating a bit, her fever finally broken. Sighing in relief she closed her eyes and looked over at Rafe, her heart pounding. She could never kill him--she loved him more than she could even voice. But she would have to cause him more pain and torment by letting the Raven lord remain inside of him.

Sleeping there, he looked so peaceful. It was hard to imagine he was dangerous at all. "Rafe..."
 
Rafe lay there quietly, undisturbed. He had said before that so long as he is happy and his mood light, the Raven Lord will sleep. The Raven Lord was fueled by anger and was an embodiment of wrathful destruction. This temple might be the best remedy for him. When the morning light finally dawn and Dima cast her light across the land, Rafe's green eyes finally stirred open. He yawned and stretched and looked over at Candira, checking on her physical symptoms.
 
Candira was sleeping once more, her mind just as exhausted as her body, but it was a fitful sleep and one filled with strange dreams and visions of the goddess, her body glowing just lightly. She still looked weak and pale, her body glowing dimly.
 
Rafe blinked and stared for a moment before he walked to his side and he considered awakening her, but he thought it may have just been the light from the window. When he stood in it's way, he noticed the glow did not dissipate to any degree. He frowned and walked to her side, gently nudging her arm. "Candira...?"
 
The glow shrank away as she woke up with a pitiful moan and her eyes fluttered open. "Rafe?" She looked up at him and felt her eyes wanting to close once more for their lack of sleep. But there he was. The man she loved was looking down at her as if something strange was happening. "Mmm, what's wrong?" she asked sitting up and looking at him.
 
He tilted his head a bit as he watched the glow die down. "Candira...maybe it was just a trick of the light but...you...looked like you were glowing..." He reached out and poked her skin on her arm softly. "Are...you alright?"
 
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