Slayn Immortal - Brittany Tucker

            Slayer climbed up the long stone tower quickly, determined to find her there. She’d been missing for several weeks now, and he finally found where she was. He honestly didn’t know how he’d managed to go on for so long without her. She was such a huge part of his life that he, despite the fact that Death avoided them, thought he would cease to exist.

            When he reached the top of the tower, he noticed a single barred window was the only other thing keeping them apart. He swore as he almost fell from the tower before managing to get his feet propped on the window seal. Slayer took a deep breath before moving the fake metallic bars out of his way with a single movement of his hand.
            He squirmed his way through the window, landing softly on the stone floor. He scanned the room, looking for his Gem. He noted how she’d tried to cut the stone, judging by the marks he saw on the wall. He almost gasped when he saw her. Thick metal cuffs chained her to the wall. There were cuts on her peach skin, and dried blood on her clothes, with some specks of it on the metal cuffs.
            Making his way to her in quick strides, he knelt to her, attempting to wake her. He ran a hand through her wine colored hair and quickly pressed his lips to her forehead before lightly shaking her. “Gem,” he muttered, “it’s time to wake up.”
            When she didn’t respond, he grew worried. He cut the cuffs from her wrists and picked her light body up, beginning to carry her to the window. Feeling somewhat hopeful, he continued muttering things to wake her. When the sunlight that streamed through the window met her skin, her eyes opened wide. She squirmed in his arms, trying to get free. He called her name and kept a tight grip on her body, determined not to let her slip from his grasp yet again.
            “Genevieve!” he exclaimed.
            She froze.
            “How do you know that name?” she asked. Her voice sounded raspy and hoarse.
            “It’s me,” he says. “Your…” he trailed off at the sound of heavy footsteps against the stone floor, “Oh, great,” he muttered. “They noticed.”
            She stared at him with wide, silvery eyes. “Who noticed?”
            He flashes a tight-lipped smile at her before backing away from the sunlight and into the shadows. In an instant, they were on the windowsill, Slayer still with his arms wrapped around her. He knew he couldn’t let her go. Not for this. A grin broke out on his face.
            He turned to her, whispering in her ear, “Better get ready, Sweeting.”
            Before she could ask what he meant, he jumped from the windowsill. He clamped a hand around his Gem’s mouth to keep her from screaming and hurting her throat even more than it already was.
            When they landed, Slayer immediately broke out in a sprint, eager to get her away from them.
            They’ll never take her away again.
            He stopped when he put enough distance between them and the tower. Gently, he set her down, making sure she could stand before completely letting her go.
            She immediately tried to run, causing him to grab her waist and pull her to him. She thrashed her arms about, attempting to get free. One thing he’d nearly forgotten about her was that his Gem would fight and die trying to get free.
            “Let me go!” she exclaimed. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”
            Slayer frowned. Does she not remember me? He hesitated. “I-I’m Slayer,” he managed in a pained voice. “I’m your husband.”
            His Gem froze. “W-What are you talking about? I-I don’t have a husband,” she said, lifting her left ring finger. “See? No ring.”
            Slayer’s mind went numb. His arms steadily dropped to his sides, releasing her. “They-they removed the ring,” he muttered under his breath.
            His Gem gave him a confused look. “I’ve never married anyone, and I’ve never met you before. How do you know so much about me? Are you some kind of stalker?”
            Slayer didn’t reply as he tried to think of a way to convince her of what he said. He took off his wedding band, handing it to her with a smirk. “Look on the inside. Read the name aloud. If you still don’t believe me, I’ll get you to safety and never bother you again.”
            She looked at the ring, reaching out her hand to take it from him. When it landed in her hand, something seemed to go off in her brain. Slayer watched her eyes turn from silver to gold.
            He smirked to himself. I wasn’t too sure that would set off a vision, but I’m glad it did. She might actually believe me now.
            When he saw her eyes beginning to change back, he placed his arms around her, ready to catch her energy-drained body. It was a side effect of having her visions. His Gem’s energy would deplete faster than normal, though why this was, he didn’t know. Even stranger, it only ever happened with her visions. She could use her telekinesis, or telepathy, or any other form that her abilities took on, and be just fine.
            Slayer shook his head, lifting her like the bride she was. “Get better soon, Sweeting,” he murmurs, placing his lips against her forehead again.

*          *          *          *

            The sun was just beginning to set when Genevieve awoke again. Her head pounded and ached as if someone had just got through beating her with a metal pipe. She brushed through her hair with her fingers as she sat up, seeing a silhouette sitting a few feet away from her by a fire pit.
            Slayer. Husband.
            She let out a small sigh as she rolled her head back, popping her neck. Getting to her feet, she moved toward him slowly, half-afraid he would hurt her if she moved too quickly. He turned to her, a smile on his face.
            “Good to see you’re awake now, Sweeting.”
            Genevieve couldn’t help but smile as she stepped toward the fire, feeling cold. The only new sound in the air besides the small chirping sounds the birds made was the crackling of the warm fire. She faintly heard the babbling of a brook nearby.
            The sun was almost set, reminding her of Slayer’s eyes. His eyes were a mixture of blues, and purples, and oranges, and pinks. His short hair reminded her of charcoal. It was mostly black, with just a few hints of deep gray around the tips.
            Genevieve curled up into a fetal position as she turned her attention from her husband to the warm fire in front of her. Why can’t I remember him? If I loved him enough to marry him, how could I possibly forget him so easily? What kind of wife doesn’t know her spouse?
            A small voice from somewhere in the back of her mind gave her an answer. A bad one. You shouldn’t have forgotten him. If you truly loved him as you say, you wouldn’t have.
            “Slayer?” she asked.
            “Yes?”
            “Who am I? Am I a bad person?”
            She saw him turn his head to the side, as if contemplating his words. After a moment, he spoke. “You’re Genevieve Grey. You’re my wife—the one that I’d fight to keep safe. If I had to, I’d even give up my immortality to save you. Genny, don’t dwell on what you’ve lost. You can always recreate your memories, and re-forge bonds after they’ve faded, sure. But, what you can’t do is let something you’ve lost define you. You’re still the amazing, powerful, and dependable girl that you used to be, just a bit different this time.”
            Genevieve nodded. “Thank you, Slayer. For everything. For waking me, for keeping me safe, and cheering me up.”
            Slayer chuckled. “Well, if I couldn’t do this much, what kind of husband would I be?”
            A hearty laugh escaped her lips as she turned from him, back to the fire, staring at it as it flickered. The smell of burning wood filled her nose as Slayer steadily got up from his spot opposite her.
            He picked up a small log and threw it into the fire before pulling out a knife. The sight of the knife made Genevieve shake. Slayer noticed. “Don’t worry. I’m going off for a bit. Keep inside this circle, okay?”
            She shot him a bemused expression before noticing the circle he must’ve drawn while she slept in the ground. “What’s the circle going to do?”
            “Keep you safe, as long as you don’t break it, that is.”
            Before she could ask anything more, Slayer was gone. Genevieve sighed. As she sat by the fire, her mind began to wonder to the vision she saw.
            The interlocking wedding bands with the others’ name in them.
            The lakeside cabin by the mountains.
            The two chalices of what she thought was wine.
            Genevieve sighed, running a hand through her hair. “What does that even mean? We had a good life before I lost my memories? We will have a good life?” She lightly pulled at her hair in frustration.
            Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked up at the sky, taking note of how dark it was. “Slayer should be back now, right?”
            As she spoke, a new sound invaded her ears. The sound of fighting. Loud grunts and the clashing of blades filled the air. She couldn’t hear any spoken words, but she assumed whoever kidnapped her had found Slayer and wanted her back.
            Standing as the fighting drew closer, she moved to the edge of the circle, silently praying she was wrong. She saw Slayer’s muscular physique fighting what appeared to be a… ninja? She wasn’t quite sure. All she could see was a shadow in the shape of a human.
            When he got close enough, Slayer threw something into the circle, just over her head. “I got dinner!” he called, blocking an attack from the shadow-person.
            Genevieve cupped her hands around her mouth. “Be careful! What am I gonna do if you get hurt or killed?!”
            “Don’t worry, Sweeting, I won’t die. In fact, I’m about to win!”
            Genevieve threw him an appalled expression. He’s certainly confident about his fighting skills. Then again, he is immortal. He must’ve had a long time to train.
            The shadow-person swung at Slayer, who quickly jumped to the side before throwing his knife, the blade hitting the shadow-person in the ribs. Slowly they fell to the ground before dissolving into an ashy substance soon swept away by the gentle breeze that passed through the trees of the forest.
            Genevieve shivered as she retreated to the fire, carrying what Slayer threw back with her.
            “Genny!” Slayer yelled, running to her, lightly gripping her arm. “You okay? You seem a little shaken up.”
            “I’m fine. What was that you were fighting?” she questioned.
            “Skótos from Acrasia. I wouldn’t worry about them if I were you. With our abilities, they’re easy to pick off.”
            Genevieve nodded slowly. “Do you know why it attacked?”
            Slayer shrugged, dropping her arm. He poked at the fire, moving a new log into it. “How much do you remember?” he softly mumbled, turning to face her fully.
            He stood closely to her, his eyes shifting to different places behind her. He wrapped a protective arm around her waist and pulled her close, resting his chin on her head, watching the shadows behind her. Genevieve tried to stop the blush that was spreading across her face as her head pressed against his chest, allowing her to feel his heartbeat.
            “I don’t remember anything. The vision didn’t help either,” she managed.
            “Well, what did you see?”
            She told him about the vision as he took their dinner and put it over the fire.
            “The wedding bands are from our wedding, which was held on the 25^th of December last year, and attended by most of our friends. Not all of them though, Trisha was taking care of Adallina with Aldus. As for the lakeside cabin, that’s something we were talking about building,” he turned the piece of meat over to its other side, “The chalices… I’m not sure. You used to see something from our past, present, and future, though it was impossible to tell when the future bit was going to happening.”
            Genevieve put a hand to her chin, wondering when the chalices could come into the scene. They could be soon, like when we get to wherever we used to live, or they could be later on, like on our anniversary or something. I wonder if I’ll have remembered anything by then. The thought of not having remembered anything by that time depressed her.
            Slayer noticed, putting a hand on her back, rubbing small comforting circles through the materials of her shirt. “I’m sure you’ll have your memories by them, Genny. You just gotta be patient.”
            A tear slowly rolled down her face. “What if I never get them back? How could I do that to you? I loved you enough to marry you, and now I don’t have even a single memory of you. I’m a horrible wife!”
            “That’s okay, Genny. I don’t care about you losing your memories. I’m just glad you’re okay. You weren’t, and still aren’t, a horrible wife. You were strong and wonderfully amazing. I don’t want you to ever forget that, okay?”
            Genevieve sniffled, nodding slowly as she pressed her face against his muscular chest. “I-I won’t,” she managed, her voice cracking slightly.

            Slayer looked back at the meat, seeing it was now well done. He smiled. “Dinner’s ready. You think you can stomach that?”
            Again, his Gem nodded.
            He cut up the meat, not exactly sure how it would taste. He handed half to Genevieve and slowly took a bite of it. Boar. That’s funny. It didn’t look like a boar. Oh well. It’s better than not having anything and starving.
            He looked to his Gem, seeing a deep sadness in her eyes as he took another bite. Please don’t be sad, Genny. I can’t stand to see you sad. Cheer up.
            She noticed his gaze, sending him a false smile. “It’s good,” she says after biting off a small bit.
            Slayer nodded. “I’m glad you still like it. Boar isn’t exactly rare, but it’s kinda hard to come by where we are.”
            His Gem turned to the fire. “Where are we? Where did we live?”
            Slayer chuckled. “We’re still in enemy territory, and will be for a while more. Assuming nothing happens tonight, we can be on the move at dawn and out of here in a few days.” He paused, biting into his boar. He chewed it somewhat slowly, savoring its taste. “We lived, and will do so for a while until we build that cabin, with your sister, Kiana and her fiancé, Marc.”
            “I have a sister?”
            “Twin. Fraternal twin sister named Kiana. She and Marc got together on our wedding night. He was my best man, and she was your maid of honor. Good couple, those two. They’ve managed to put up with us for a while now.” Slayer slowly trailed off, remembering their simplistically complex wedding.
            Genny wore a white gown that went to her ankles. Her hair was back in a braided bun with her bangs curled behind her ears, held in place with a small blue hairpin given to her by Trisha. She was beautiful. Gorgeous. He could think of one million and one ways to describe her and then some.
            Slayer nodded to himself. Yep, it’s officially official. I am whipped. Again.
            His Gem smiled at him, worry in her silver pools. “Are you okay, Slayer?”
            “Yeah,” he said, taking another bite of his boar. He swallowed, “I’m fine. Just thinking of our wedding.”
            She nodded, taking a small bite before offering the rest of her piece to him. “How was it?”
            “It was great! We said our vows, shared the rings, kissed, danced, and got cake everywhere. It was amazing. If there were one night that I wish you could remember, it would be that one. That night…” he grinned, shaking his head.
            “What happened?”
            A blush rose on his face. “I’ll tell you later,” he promised. “For now, let’s get some sleep, okay?”
            Genevieve nodded, laying down with her head on her arms. Her eyes felt heavy as she relaxed. Slayer laid down beside her, cleaning his knife blade.
            She felt a little more relaxed knowing he was there with her in case anything happened. A smile graced her lips as her eyes fell shut. Good night, Slayer.