Work Text:
"The same dream, yet again."
It was the middle of the night and awfully cold. Temenos sat up in his inn bed and sighed. He was dreaming of the last time he saw Roi more frequently as of late. He considered rolling over and going back to sleep, but something in his chest weighed him with unease.
"Hm. Perhaps I should go for a walk."
As soon as he reached the plaza, he realized something was very wrong. The door to the Sacred Guard's headquarters was open. As if the silence was fragile, Temenos slowly approached the stairs— and ducked behind the fence at the sound of haphazard footsteps among the stone pavings. A hooded figure, similarly adorned to Vados when he was in disguise, stomped to the entrance.
Temenos strained to make out what they hissed to themself: "Who'd have thought the newbie would be the most troublesome..."
Newbie? Temenos thought, Are they referring to a guard, as in newly anointed? The figure passed the doorway and Temenos rose. There was only one newly anointed Sanctum Knight in Stormhail.
"No..."
He wanted to run inside. He wanted to shout. He wanted to smite the would-be assassin. But something about their cadence was terrifying. What if he rushed in, only to fail his Crick? He could not repay a debt with recklessness. So he sprinted across town to the tavern.
Throné only had to meet his eyes to know. They stopped some distance from the door, where Throné prompted him to explain.
Temenos didn't want to say it out loud. He took an unsteady breath. "There's going to be an attempt on Crick's life. We must stop it."
"Got it." Throné asked no further details.
Temenos rarely felt afraid.
But now he was afraid.
The more time he took to collect the clues Crick left (for him?) the more prepared they would be to confront the truth.
But it also meant Crick was more likely to be hurt.
Temenos pointed to the "heavens". Throné climbed. Temenos ran ahead through the stained glass doorway. Throné followed. Temenos halted.
Metal clashing screeched through the dry air. Just far enough not to see the new arrivals, Crick stressed his sword against... Kaldena's. Temenos could think about what that meant later. Crick was hurt. But he was alive. But he was in danger.
Their blades slid apart and Crick grimaced at a glancing blow. Throné grabbed Temenos' arm to keep him from giving themselves away. They needed the element of surprise, the gesture said.
So they walked. Slowly. Painfully slowly for Temenos, as he couldn't look away from the fighting. Throné used the noise as a chance to whisper her plan. It left Temenos to be at Crick's side, which he appreciated.
Finally, they were about to split up for the ambush. To his surprise, she took out a bottle of pomegranate seeds to split between them. How well-prepared. She gave him a smile before turning— likely supposed to be reassuring, but with her demeanor it seemed more grim. He supposed his were likely just the same.
His nerves crackled like a charcoal fire. His hands held together felt cold as ice. Could Throné really overpower Kaldena herself?
No matter. They were going to try.
Crick stumbled backward, close to the edge of the wall Temenos hid behind. Kaldena raised her ugly sword, brandishing it and grinning as it was surrounded by magic.
Now.
Just when she started to drive her shadowed blade down, just when Crick started to close his eyes—
"I will not allow it."
A shield of bright burning light rose before Crick, and reduced Kaldena's attack to nothing. She froze, confused, and Throné pounced. She shook the sword to the ground, dragged the captain back and off balance, and nodded for Temenos to get back to it.
Crick was confused, too, and yelped when Temenos yanked him behind the wall's cover. He starts to speak, but Temenos hushes him.
"I will keep you safe from harm," he said, as the space between them filled with light, "Always."
They were gone from Stormhail by daybreak. It didn't take much convincing for Temenos' friends to agree to take a short... excursion... on their ship for the sake of laying low. Castti tended Throné's mild wounds and Osvald organized the clues gained from the headquarters.
Temenos stayed at Crick's side while he slept. Even with the healing of the Flame, it was taxing to be so close to death. And something about the magic Kaldena used...
Temenos couldn't focus. There was truth to be sought, but he couldn't bring himself to care. The fatigue was the most likely culprit; he would fall asleep on the edge of the cot just to wake in a panic. His new nightmare: the sight of a blade swinging down.
After two days, Crick stirred. "Ugh... where..? What..?"
Temenos hovered over the bed instantly. "Crick!"
"Ah!"
"You're awake!"
He blinked. "Temenos..? How..."
"We can go over what happened later. You must be hungry."
Temenos took a step away to go find Agnea, but— "Wait,"
"Hm?"
"...Thank you."
He smiled. He finally felt at ease.
"I was just repaying my debt, dear Godsblade."