Episode 2

Evening several weeks after leaving the capital

Lily watched as Shiro did his individual training sweat soaking his brow and diffusing the dying light of day in a pleasant sheen as he made the glaive blade dance through the air almost cutting the sunbeams filling the clearing. Lily paused her sewing to lose herself in the hypnotic patters of light and movement. She had been right in her estimations, that the Hero's training would take place in the most private way possible, on the road surrounded by warriors hand picked for skill and loyalty to the Saint and then use a border skirmish to test him. If he succeeds great news but if not, no one ever has to mention that he was in the area. She sighed, 'the lengths we go to keep the faith of the people unshaken' she thinks to herself starting to wrap her sewing kit up from where she had been mending one of the Hero's tunics. the Hero was an odd one compared to the men of the court she had grown up around as the Holy Kingdom's princess.

Most of her peers were more dedicated to their own advancement in the Kingdom hierarchy and getting the princess, who was though of as spending to much time on scripture and pious duties, caught up in an invisible web of favors and politics became almost a sport among them.  

So she had spent her life using every bit of cunning she had to make her father proud, successfully, until the day of the hero's summoning when she had fallen for Baron Arivco trap and stormed into the Sanctuary of Beginnings. Once the trap sprung it was obvious that Arivco planned to push for her punishment to be the penance of servitude so that she would be bound without marriage to him. Unfortunately for him the Summoned Hero had spoken for her before the guards had even completed the preliminary restraints. So instead of falling into the Arivco's trap she had found herself escorted to Shiro's room and waiting for the penance rituals. 

After several days where she might as well have been a feral cat caught in a house, she had dared to hope that the rituals would not be forth coming. A hope that was further confirmed when she realized that Shiro was good at playing the men around him. Not with a goal in mind that she could tell but rather like her and all the women she knew Shiro seemed to be appeasing and stroking egos without actually being committal to anyone of them. It was also obvious that without being brought up to speed on rudimentary aspects of courtly doings and, Saint preserve him, basic cultural expectations he was going to get chewed up by those who put gain ahead of faith before he could save the world. So when he openly cut a deal for her to start advising him she did not feel like she could refuse. It was refreshing to meet a man who seemed clueless, while also being powerful, now if he would just take his shirt off while he was training her lot would be almost perfect right now despite being on a journey of atonement.

A magical chime sounded marking the evening meal service, she finished packing the sewing and headed to the mess tent. According to her schooling in a normal military unit on the march only the highest dozen officers would have been allowed to bring their bound women with them in order to keep the company as light as possible. However, this unit was an exception due to it being made up of top tier mages and warriors all deserving of having their women with them on a march, and since the primary goal was to whip the hero into shape a relativity leisurely march could be afforded. Though she wished it were not so as she joined the already long line of women collecting their bond mate's portion from the mess tent. Ahead of her some of the women whose gem studded chains marked them as being with the mages spread gossip "I hear the hero cant even summon a witch-light." one of them was saying to her fellows "and we are supposed to be reinforcing the Dawnwall with his help? Even with the best the Saint has to offer what can a magic-less hero do?" worried another "might as well be a foreigner" grumbled a third. Lily was glad when it was her turn to collect food and return to the tent. Being defiled she had no say in polite society until her the time of purification was over but there was still only so much she could take of Shiro being slandered.

Shiro turned at the sound of the tent flap being lifted and hurriedly put his shirt back on from where he had just finished tidying up after his work out. The smell of bread and stew filling the tent as Lily set their places. It had taken some convincing but she finally did not protest when he asked her to sit across from him during meals. After they had both gotten through about half their respective portions Shiro broke the silence " Thank you Lily, it is nice to have someone in camp who does not seem to hate me for not being the hero they expect." Years of diplomatic training kept Lily's face neutral a this surprising vulnerability, not that given the gossip she heard made it unexpected but she responded with an inquisitive "oh?" "Yes' Shiro continued ' the knight commander' "Charlie Wildingmonte" she supplied when Shiro paused looking for the name, he smiled and continued "So Knight Commander Wildingmonte seems to have a grudge of some sort against me that I cannot figure out. Would you happen to have any insight?"

Lily hesitated, she was still not used to the amount of power Shiro gave her in moments like this, he never seemed shy about being out of his depth with her and was free with his gratitude for her knowledge of the Kingdom's inner works. After a moment she started carefully piecing together what she knew of Sir Wildingmonte "Well he is one of our fastest rising stars militarily speaking, and to my knowledge is still on track to make Grand Marshall before the decade is out. So maybe some element of jealousy that an outsider has arrived and the nation almost universally has placed all their hopes for the future on you. That is my best guess anyways." Shiro nods accepting her information "Thank you Lily, I wonder if that means he sees me as the spoiled prodigy getting what he was trying to earn by hard work. That would explain why every so many days he challenges me to one on one combat." "He what!" Lily exclaims horrified Shiro raises placating hands "It is passed off as a progress check on me and not to my limited knowledge an honor duel. Though I am sure you can ask around to confirm. He just bruises me up a bit, looks at me in contempt then moves on to his next duty" Lily looks at him incredulously then shakes her head and with a force that surprises herself commands Shiro "let me see" Shiro looks puzzled "see what?" "The bruises you oaf! I want to examine them." Shiro pauses and fidgets a bit "Lily I appreciate it but really I am fine" "Sir Shiro, I know you are dense on some matters but despite my title of Defiled I am something of a rising star too. The Saint has seen fit to bestow upon me a greater than average affinity for healing magics. Now show me the bruises." With surprising reluctance Shiro lifts his shirt just enough to expose his bruised left side. Lily shakes her head "all the way off." Shiro looks at her with discomfort. Confused but feeling obligated to tend his injuries she concedes, "I will have to touch all the bruises. But I think I can get them all with your shirt on, it will just take longer." Shiro nods so Lily steps around the table and situates herself. With a gently murmured prayer her hands glide over the curves and chisels of his side, a healing light erasing the black and purple bruises where it passed. Despite not being able to see his chest and back the slopes of his muscles feel exactly like Lily had imaged them, the thought bringing a flush to her face and a pulse of light before she could reign herself back in.

"How do you do this? channel your magic?' Shiro asks as Lily continues her work 'I get that each type of magic keys to an emotion. Protective goes to fear, desire to teleportation, but if just emotion was all that was needed your world would be chaos as any child could throw a tantrum and bury the village in magical problems." Through her concentration Lily replies "I am not sure, my healing magics come from the Saint himself so I can serve the nation, as opposed to the combat mages who study to master their feelings. So I suppose then that the safe guard on children like that is the amount of focus it takes to shape the emotional energy." She bites down another surge in own gifts as her hands graze Shiro's back a bit closer than intended. "I suppose that makes sense, but almost sounds like there is a separate energy that acts as a medium for emotions once you know how to tap into it. Guess I will have to ask Sargent Whitcrag about it tomorrow." Lily frowns both at the name and having found herself taking more time than was strictly necessary for the mending of bruise, "I though Mage Commander Brightburn was your tutor?" She can feel Shiro fighting to not relax to far into the comforting warmth of the healing spell as he answered "He was until today. While I am getting better at understanding magical theory, the practice is still beyond me and, well the mage commander does not strike me as the type to work well with those struggling with remedial spell-work." Lily steps back, a bit annoyed that she could not visually confirm that all the bruises had been found. Oh well, the patient must be comfortable for best care. Shiro for his part offered his thanks as he did some stretches to test the healing, but also a bit contemplative. A carrier or conduit force to give form and function to emotional energies, that would explain much, and hypothetically since he was not of this world he might just not be aware of it or it of him. After Shiro and Lily finished the rest of their evening routine. Shiro laid there a long into the night contemplating everything he could about magic, leaving nothing but a head ache. So giving up on sleep he crept as quietly as he could to a stone he had seen during his training and stood there watching the unfamiliar stars whirl past.
After a while his mind drifted to his old world, what would his family be doing now? He could not be sure that time back on earth and here flowed the same, so the weeks for him could be who know how long. If time did flow the same it would be midterms now back home, his sister would be studying, dad would be at work like always, and maybe mom would have found something other than the achievements of her favorite child to talk about with her friends. The thought of midterms brought to Shiro's mind all the unfinished assignments that this adventure was preventing. Like the one given out by the psychology professor who looked like a Yogi in business casual. He had told the class that his midterm paper was going to be a compare and contrast of 3 mindfulness techniques chosen from a provided list and  the paper was also to include logs from each student's attempts to practice each of the chosen techniques.
Shiro frowned, maybe something dismissed as mystical fluff would have some merit in this world of magic and demons.
So as the moon set Shiro centered himself.