Tiefling Boyfriend: Emory (complete)

There’s so much happening in the Empire, it seems staggering, but every incident is just another building block. Each battle, each union, they all stack on top of one another, forming what will become the next era. Right now, my family is working hard to keep this new structure from falling, but Sanguis has been plucking bricks one by one as he goes along. 

I know I am just the baby of the family, and usually, I get looked over or coddled because of this. I am the youngest, so that means I don’t have much to offer. But I am just as well trained as any of my siblings. Sitting in my father’s lap as a child gave me insight, I listened to everything and I took in all my father had to say. I became one of the best debaters of my family, not to mention the university. I have been trained all my life by Damini in her combat style as well as by my brothers and father in how to use a sword. I train with my father often, since everyone else is so busy and I am often left behind, my father takes notice of me.

But now that most of my siblings have their own business and jobs to do, I am one of the last siblings Dhaval has to rely on. Right now, I am traveling with my father back to Ophirin. Lady Bianca is getting married to Bryok and we are going to the wedding to bestow a gift. After that we will be visiting Chirayu and his betrothed in the Grapevine Vales.

Emory is with us, he has been acting as my guard for a while now. Ever since he saved Dhaval’s life he has been a constant fixture around us. I’m glad for that, I like having him around, especially now that Chirayu is no longer at home. With everyone going their own ways, getting married, having families, fighting wars, I can’t describe how lonely I have been. I have always had my siblings no matter what. The palace has been so empty without them, having Emory makes me feel less lonely. 

“You seem lost in thought,” my father ruffles the top of my head. “What sort of thoughts are you chasing?”

“Young women are often lost in thought,” Albion whispers. “It keeps them sane when everyone around them is an idiot.” He then chuckles at his own joke. Albion has come along with us, for reasons I’m not so certain, he just appeared in our carriage as we drove away. At least he’s not like his brother Theodred, who has been helping Amit the First recover. 

“No, no,” I laugh. “It isn’t that right now. I’m just excited to see Chirayu again. It’s been a long time.” I then shrug. “Or well, it feels that way. Chirayu and I have always been together. Even a day apart feels like forever.”

“You two were always close,” my dad eases back in his seat. He has to sit slouched in the carriage due to his size. You can see the age on his face, the faded stripes and the slight sagging of his eyes, but he was still one of the most intimidating figures in all the Empire, even if he did have a ‘dad belly’.

“Hopefully this trip to Ophirin won’t be so eventful,” Emory chuckles.

“Oh that’s right, every time you’re here something happens. Battles, kidnappings, hopefully there isn’t a curse on you, young man,” Albion teases. 

Emory’s ears tilt down and he looks a bit nervous. “You sound like my uncle.”

“It’s the current situation of Ophirin that’s cursed, not you.” I chuckle. “Of course there is upheaval and unrest all around us. After what Sanguis tried to do? It’s amazing that not all of the Empire is turning itself upside to shake things up. We’re lucky it hasn’t.”

Once we arrived at Merrypot Hold I see an old friend in the crowd. “Aksha!” I call to her, waving my arms out.

Aksha turns, eyes wide and she breaks into a massive grin. “Davya!” We race to meet each other, hugging tight and laughing. It has been so long since I have seen her and we used to be the best of friends growing up. I used to spend many a long trip with Aksha and her family, mainly because she was born premature and she was weak and got sick often as a baby. My mom thought having me around would help her grow up more confident and strong. Which, if anyone met Aksha, would know she’s twice as ferocious as her mother.

“I’m so happy to see you!” Aksha sighs. “It’s been far too long and I have so much to tell you.” She grins as Amit comes forward and races to hug him. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

“So are you, young lady. What on earth are you doing here?” Amit asks. “Last I heard you were in having talks with Habbar and king Brict.”

“I was, I was heading home when I heard about the wedding, so I decided to come here before I went back.” Aksha then turns as a tall figure comes up behind her. “Oh, this is Isaac, he’s my new guard.”

Isaac is a tall Gnoll with dark fur. His left eye is covered by an eyepatch and there is a long scar running from under it and along his muzzle. The ear on that side looks ripped off as well. He bows low before us.

“It’s an honor to meet you,” his voice is hushed, almost nervous.

Aksha pets his arm. “I would love to catch up some time. How long will you be here?”

“After the wedding we’re going to visit with Chirayu in the Grapvine Vales. He’s living there with his betrothed,” Amit says with a proud smile.

Aksha gasps in awe. “Ok, when I heard Himank was getting married I was willing to suspend belief, but Chirayu too?”

Amit puts his hand on my head. “Only this one is left standing.”

“Well then, I certainly have missed a lot,” Aksha huffs. “Would you mind if we tagged along? I’d love to see Chirayu too?”

“Of course!” I grin. “The more the merrier.”

As Aksha and Isaac go back into the crowd I notice a dark look come over my father’s face. He puts his arm around me and growls low in his throat.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“I’m not sure,” he grumbles. “But I feel as if I have seen that Isaac before.” He then shakes his head as we walk off. “I cannot shake this feeling.” 

There is a banquet after the wedding where there is food and drink for days. The wedding is a mix of Bianca and Bryok’s traditions, so the feast is one of Orc sized proportions. I’m enjoying the new food when music starts. Out on the floor Orcs are taking dance partners. I watch for a moment when I feel a tap on my shoulder.

Emory holds his hand out to me. “May I have this dance?”

I swallow down the mouthful I have and chuckle. “A dance?” I take his hand. “Really?”

Emory puts his arm around me. “You said you liked to dance.” We move out onto the dance floor where he spins me around before we mingle into the crowd.

My heart is pounding fast as I stand so close to him. I look up into his dark eyes and my mouth goes a bit dry. “Well, I do,” my chuckle is breathless. “But I didn’t know you did.”

“My grandmother taught me,” Emory replies. “She likes to dance too.” We dance for a while more, quiet and nervous. For a long time I had been fighting back my growing feelings for Emory. Now it was hard to ignore.

“I meant to tell you,” Emory gasps suddenly. He then clears his throat and we move aside, standing towards the back and behind a pillar. “I meant to say,” he murmurs again. “You look beautiful today.” He then flinches. “Not just today, but often! I mean...oh...I mean you look beautiful all the time and I-”

I place my finger over his lips. “Thank you.”

Emory chuckles nervously. “I just wanted you to know,” he whispers. “I want you to know because sometimes I feel like I can’t tell you everyday.”

I move in close and Emory tilts his chin down. I close my eyes in anticipation and then I feel a tap at my shoulder. 

“Your father is looking for you, princess.” Albion is hanging from the ceiling above us. 

Emory and I jump and step apart from one another. An Orc has toppled into the fountain and caused a commotion. As we walk back out I am grabbed from the side.

“Albion!” I snap. “What are you doing?”

“Did I interrupt? My apologies.” He floats down from the ceiling and stands before us. “Arlan just got word that there is something going on at the Elamont mountains. He wants your father to go on ahead to the Grapevine Vales to discuss what to do. You need to go now. Aksha and her little caravan have already gone on ahead.”

“Yes, ok,” I gasp. “Let’s go.”

We leave that night, heading through the darkness to the Grapevine Vales. Chirayu and Delilah are the closest House to the Elamont Mountains which used to be the property of House Scheer which has since become Arlan’s property. He has been worried for a long time something would happen there as surviving members of the Scheer family have refused to leave the grounds. 

“They don’t have the manpower we do,” Arlan tells us. “But what they do have is Guywynne’s pass. It’s a natural bottleneck, all they need is a few archers and a good shield wall in the pass itself, and we’re done for. The only way into the Elamont Mountains is through the pass.”

“Yes, but it is also the only way out,” Delilah replies. “If we block the pass, we can easily cut off their resources and force them out.”

“But there are still civilians in the Elamont,” Chirayu argues. “It would be easy to do that if it were just the Scheers and those joined with them. But the Elamont has a mining community that’s still up there. We can’t do that to those poor people. No matter what happens they’re going to be held hostage.”

“War might be coming to their backyard,” Aksha scoffs. “If that happens they might lose even more than that. There must be a way we can approach the Scheers and keep the civilians safe.”

“They have Giants,” Isaac suddenly speaks up. 

Arlan stares hard at him from across the table. “Ok, excuse me, but who the hell are you? And how the fuck do you know this?”

Isaac scoffs and fidgets in his seat. 

“Let the young man talk, Arlan,” Albion scoffs at him. “Just because you’re stressed doesn’t give you a right to be a dick.” He then motions to Isaac. “Go on.”

Isaac sighs and stands from the table. “The former Lord Scheer was working with Sanguis, correct? Sanguis supplied all his allies with many sorts of extra help. The Homunculus, remember?”

Emory shivers beside me and I pet his hand. 

“But how do you know this?”Arlan huffs. 

“I hear things,” Isaac’s lip curls.

“What, did your ear get thrown into the Elamont or something?” Arlan asks. “Whatever the case, if the remaining Scheers have Giants on their side, that’s not a whole lot to contend with. Even if he had a thousand of them, we still have more men.” He stands in front of a map. “We’ve got Orcs right? We’ll just send three Orcs after each Giant.”

“You do realize, Giants aren’t your average men?” Albion shakes his head at him. “Sure, send three Orcs after each and see how that turns out. One Giant equals ten men. So lets say they have twenty? That’s two hundred men! Fifty? Five hundred. Gods forbid they have a thousand, we wouldn’t stand a chance.” Albion’s low glower makes the room rumble and Arlan take his seat.

I stand up and look over the room. “Isn’t there some other way we can communicate with the Scheers?” I ask. “Do we have to use military means to get our word across? Can’t we just talk to them and see what they want?” I motion to Delilah. “Chirayu did it for the Black Wolves, why can’t we do that for the Scheers? Can’t we listen? Can’t we hear them out and try to help them so no one has to die?”

Arlan points at me. “They tried to kill your brother, you know?” He then points to Emory. “They tried to kill this young man.” He narrows his eyes at me. “They started this war because they didn’t like the fact they weren’t getting the biggest piece of the pie. They don’t get to cry because they lost a fight they started. If they refuse to learn from their past mistakes, then they are going to make them again.”

“Lord Scheer is dead,” I scoff. “This is not the same beast that attacked before. This is something else. This is a patchwork quilt of the remains, scraps that have forged together to make something new, something we haven’t fought. Delilah knows exactly what people like this are capable of. They’re angry and they’re willing to fight because their reason might be just. There are new leaders out there who may feel they were treated wrongly because of the mistake of the man you just described. Let us hear them before we attack them.”

Arlan sighs and shakes his head. “Damn you Rakshasa and your cute faces.” He lays his palms on the table. “Fine. We’ll send out word. I only hope you’re right, Davya.”

As we leave the meeting Emory runs up beside me with a grin on his face. “That was amazing! I know that’s what you’re good at, but I always get chills when I see it.”

“I’m just tired of battles,” I scoff. “And Ophirin has seen enough in such a short amount of time. If we can get the Scheers to stand down, then maybe, just maybe, we can stop one more from happening.”

Emory looks ahead. “You have so much family here in Ophirin, I don’t blame you for wanting to fight for the most peaceful means.”

“Not just family, but there are people here whose lives depend upon us to keep it peaceful.” I stop by a window and look out. “The miners in the Elamont are the ones who will suffer most, not the Scheers, not my family. We will survive, but them?” I hang my hand as Emory takes hold of my hands.

“It’ll be ok,” he whispers. “I’ll be with you the entire time.”

“Thank you, Emory.” I look up at him and I feel a calm settle over me. “That means more than you’ll know.

Emory leans in and I close my eyes. He places a soft kiss on my cheek and then steps back. “Sorry,” he clears his throat.

My whole face feels warm and my heart has skipped a beat. “It’s ok, I liked it.”

The next morning we head out with five thousand men, Arlan and Bianca’s soldiers, Bryok’s orcs and Rakshasa from Muallifi sent by Sharif to the pass before the Elamont Mountains and into Guywynne’s Pass. The air is cold and there is a harsh wind beating upon us. The Red Ram banners of House Scheer are boldly displayed along the road we ride along. At the mouth of the pass there is an army that looks to be at least two thousand strong. Two men wait on oxen at the front. 

I go forward with my father, Arlan, Emory, Isaac and Chirayu. We stand before the two men and we place our weapons on the ground before us in a show of peace. There is a younger man and an older one, the younger looks nervous while the older seems so angry. 

“I’m glad you wanted to have these talks,” the younger starts. “I’m Owyn, the previous Lord Scheer was my father.” he then motions to the older man. “This is my uncle, Ulton.”

Ulton doesn’t move, he just glares at us.

“I’m Davya,” I say to him with a bow. I then hold my hand out. “I am the one who called for these talks.”

“I am glad,” Owyn bows his head to me. “If we can just be heard and have our demands met, it would save a great deal of pain.”

“Demands?” Arlan steps forward. 

“You’ve forced our hands, Lord Brachuss,” Owyn’s reply is steely. “We do not recognize your power nor that you have been granted our properties. It isn’t right and it isn’t just. My father followed a lunatic, that does not mean we all have to be punished.”

“A punishment am I?” Arlan laughs.

“Arlan, be quiet,” I hiss at him.

“We do not recognize the power of Alexander either!” Ulton surges forward and pushes Owyn to the side. “He is the son of a false marriage and a Blight in the eyes of Irina! Anyone who chooses to willingly follow along with him is a traitor to Ophirin and Irina!”

“Uncle!” Owyn snaps at him.

“We will have our vengeance, not just for my brother, but for all of Ophirin!” Ulton grabs my sword from the top of the pile on the ground and lunges towards me. My father pushes me aside, taking the blow of the sword in his side.

“Papa!” I scream.

Isaac lunges forward, slicing at Ulton and stabbing him before Owyn knocks the sword from his hands.

“For Ophirin and Irina!” Ulton roars at the tops of his lungs as he and Owyn retreat into the Pass.

Above us along the cliffs and rocks of the pass there are drums and men crying out: “For Ophirin and Irina!” 

As we fall back towards our troops, I cling to my father, holding tight to him. “Papa! Please!” I cry. His robes are becoming soaked in his blood and his eyes are growing bleary. 

He cups my face in his palms “Are you alright?” He asks. “Davya, answer me.”

“Papa!” I sob into his chest.

“Give him to me,” Isaac says. “I’ll get him out of here and to safety.” he then places his sword in my hands. “I promise,” he whispers to me. “He will not die this day.”

“Come on!” Arlan shouts. Behind us our army is charging towards the mouth of the pass. 

I am crying and heaving, the sword in my hand is shaking as I try to stand. I watch as my father is taken away by Isaac.

“I can’t breathe-” Emory suddenly cries out.

I turn to look at him, seeing him shaking and trembling all over. His body is shifting and changing. His shirt rips and his armor is pushed aside as his back hunches and his shoulders bulge out.

“Emory,” I rush to him. “Emory, look at me!”

His eyes are wild and on fire as he looks at me. “He’s dead-” Emory jerks. “He’s dead because of him!” He takes a twitchy step forward. “Reginald-” he snarls and foams at the mouth.

Dhaval had told me about this, he had warned me that Emory was born with a power similar to his father’s. Emory was a berserker. Hearing him say Reginald, I realized that seeing my father, someone he looked up to, stabbed and bleeding, reminded him of his own father’s death.

“Davya get out of the way!” Arlan roars at me.

From above arrows begin to rain down. As many of our men are struck, Emory shields me, the arrows bouncing from his body. He roars up at the sky. 

Our troops move slowly towards the bottleneck of Guywynne’s pass as Albion moves towards the front. He uses his powers to deflect many of the arrows and send them shooting back up towards the Mountain Men. Yet the Scheer vanguard holds their ground, slaying dozens of our men with their arrows and catapults. At this rate, we’ll lose half our army in a very short time. 

“Emory!” I grab him and hold his head between my hands. “You have to calm down! We have to fight now! Emory please-”

“My Gods-” I hear Albion scream.

I look up, seeing that perched above the archers are the Giants. They’re huge, standing well over eleven feet tall. They’re skin is a stony sort of blue and they’re wrapped in thick furs with antlers and tusks decorating them. Some are throwing boulders into our army, while others are carrying huge hammers that they start to beat against the rock of the mountain.

“They’re trying to start an avalanche,”  Arlan gasps. “They’re going to seal the pass and kill all of us.”

Emory roars, rising up and charging towards the rock wall of the pass. I chase after him, grabbing hold of his back and clinging onto him as he starts to scale the wall. I huff and grab on to his neck while his fingers dig into the stone. As we start to climb, a small section of our troops follows close behind.

“I’m with you,” I coax him. “It’s ok!”

The wall shudders as the Giants beat their hammers into it. If we don’t stop them, the avalanche will seal the pass and trap all the men below. With the pass blocked, our men would be swallowed and killed by the torrent. As Emory climbs onto a cliff there is the gut wrenching sound of rock and ice splintering. I watch as snow cascades down slowly and soon turns into a terrifying whirl of pure white. It suddenly all turns blue and it freezes in midair. 

Albion has the avalanche held back from burying our troops, pushing it back towards the giants. He’s screaming with the effort he’s exerting. The Mountain Men archer’s are stalled for a moment as they watch this, they turn their attention to taking him down.

“Emory,” I whisper to him. “Emory, listen to me.” I cup his face between my hands. “Help me, please. Help me take the archers while they’re distracted.”

Emory shudders and breathes, clutching to my hands. He then places me on his back again and we charge up the cliff, our troops following. Together we take down the archers on the lowest slope. While Emory attacks them, I and a few soldiers take control of a catapult. As I knock down the Mountain Man controlling it I notice a Giant headed towards us. I try to force and turn the catapult, hoping to aim it at the archers on the cliffs to the right. The Giant is charging us now and is in our path. As Arlan’s soldiers loose arrows at the Giant, I finally budge the catapult and move it, hitting the Giant as I launch the projectile to the right wall. The massive stone crashes into the Giants and archers on the right side, causing another avalanche which sweeps them off the mountainside to their deaths. The Scheer vanguard retreats through the pass as it’s covered with a sheet of snow where our army is blocked from pursuing.  

Above me the Giants are starting to climb down. I leave the catapult, racing along as I try to find Emory, our soldiers clashing with Mountain Men around me. The blue hue from Albion has taken over the entire area, everything is engulfed in a sapphire air. Things feel slow and heavy, but I keep pushing ahead. I come through a pass where I see Owyn and Ulton at the head. They’re fighting and yelling at one another. Owyn is pushed down and Ulton stands over him.

I take Isaac’s sword he had given me and I charge ahead, Ulton doesn’t see me. I stab him through the side and suddenly the blue disappears. The avalanche is released and the Giants chasing me suddenly stop in their tracks.

Ulton falls to his knees and I pull the sword back. “I tried,” I cry at him. “I tried to understand!” I start to raise the sword over my head but my wrist is grabbed. I look back and see Arlan standing there, behind him was our army. Somehow, Albion had made it so they could get through the pass.

“Don’t use that sword.” Arlan take Isaac’s from my hand and in its place he gives me my father’s sword. 

“Irina knows what I have done is right,” Ulton chokes on his own blood. “She will never smile on damned creatures like you.”

“Shut up Uncle,” Owyn has tears running down his face as he comes to stand beside me. “Irina is dead, just like you will be.”

I bring my sword down, cutting Ulton’s throat. He slumps to the ground as the Giants watch.

Arlan puts his arms around me and brings me closer to him. Owyn orders his Mountain Men and the Giants to lay down their weapons and surrender to us. As they’re kneeling, Owyn turns back to us.

“It was my intent to settle this peacefully. But my uncle had other plans,” he wipes the freezing tears from his eyes. “I am so sorry,” he gasps. “But I understand what you must do now.”

“Your uncle did this?” Arlan asks. “You had no idea?”

“He told me we would get our status back, that the Giants needed help!” Owyn laughs, near hysterics. “I thought what we were doing was good but I-” he looks over the ruins left by the avalanche. “He would of rather had us killed and starved out than to just let go.” He then looks at me. “I didn’t think he would try to hurt you.”

“We will talk later,” I say with a shaky voice. “But for now House Scheer is no more. If you are truthful we will listen to you, but as it stands now we cannot trust your word.”

The Giants come towards us and one kneels on the ground before me. “Command us in what to do,” he replies. “I am, Kharlag father of the frost giants. We surrender to you.”

“Take your men,” I tell him, “and rescue the wounded. Get them to Elamont’s Watch for medical attention.”

Kharlag bows his head before he rises. He shouts to his men and they start clearing the pass with Albion, which is filled with the bodies of the dead and littered with wounded.

As I turn to keep an eye for my father I see Emory shuffling towards us. His clothes are ragged and he has returned to his usual self. I rush to him, grabbing him into my arms as he faints. Arlan helps me get him inside and wrapped in warm blankets. Owyn helps take in the wounded and prepares meals for everyone. The Giants take the wounded to get medical attention.

My father is patched up and safe. Ulton’s attack was clean and punctured no organs, but he lost a lot of blood. I stayed beside his bed while he slept, keeping an eye over him and Emory who was placed in the next bed.

In the middle of the night, Emory rose from his sleep. “Where am I?” He grumbles.

“Elamont’s Watch,” I chuckle and wrap my arms around him. 

“What happened?” Emory holds me tight. “I can’t remember anything.”

“You’re a hero again,” I sigh. “You saved my life as well as most of the army.” I smile at him. “Wait until Dhaval hears this.”

“Your dad!” Emory then gasps. “Your dad he was and I...oh god. I didn’t do it again did I?” He starts to panic so I press a kiss against his lips. Emory sighs, leaning into the kiss.

“My dad is fine,”  I whisper to him. “He’s right there sleeping.” I push the curtain back to show him. “You did go berserk,” I look into his eyes. “But you saved a lot of lives, Emory.”

Emory relaxes and kisses me again. “I got so scared,” he confesses. “Then I got so angry.” He holds me tight. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

I wrap my arms tight around him again. “It’s ok,” I murmur. “I’m here.”

The next day I hold a meeting with Owyn, Kharlag, Arlan, Aksha, and Chirayu. Owyn is ready to give Elamont’s Watch over to Arlan, but I have another idea.

“If you agree to remain loyal to us, you may keep your House as well as Elamont’s Watch.” I reply. “But your military and your stronghold can be used by us at any time.”

“Why would you do that?” Owyn shakes his head. “Why not just take it?”

“Because it is better to have allies than to have people who feel indentured to us,” I reply. “Giving you back your name as well as the right to your House and family keeps your dignity intact. I also hope it makes you grateful.”

Owyn chuckles. “I don’t know what to say. After what my uncle did I thought-” he stops himself. “Thank you, and yes, of course. My army is yours, my keep is yours.”

“As for you Giants,” I look at Kharlag. “What are you even doing here? Why would you stand alongside Ulton as you did?”

“It was forced upon us,” Kharlag replies. “Ulton was given a ruby by the Dragonborn that compelled  us to follow him. Killing Ulton ended the blood contract on the ruby. As such, we are indebted to our savior.”

I turn and look at Arlan across the table as both our expressions sink. “Kharlag, thank you.” I whisper as I clutch my hand over my chest. “You have no idea what you’ve just done for us.”

Sanguis is growing more and more powerful. He is now using the rubies he planted throughout the Empire to inflict his power and will. Perhaps, this is even something he has taken from baby Amon. In any case, our victory now will be short lived. Eventually, I suspect we will see more and more of this rubies appear. Who knows what Sanguis will do and who will do it for him.

I return to my father’s room where he and Emory are talking together. “How did it go?” Amit asks. “Is everything alright? You look startled.”

I sit down and nod.”Everything went as expected.” I don’t have the heart to tell him the rest now. Once he’s better I will fill him in. I reach over and take Emory’s hand and hold it tight. “We have to get you better, that’s the main thing.” I put on a brave face. “Mom will want you home as soon as possible.”

“I’m proud of you,” Amit says. “You outshined my expectations of you Davya, but that also makes me sad. You’re my baby girl, and I’m afraid I put you in that shadow. You’ll always be my little girl, but now I understand the powerful woman you are.”

I hug my dad and rest my head on his shoulders. “Thank you, Papa.”

“As for last night.” Amit glares over my shoulder at Emory. “You and I have a lot to talk about young man,” he snarls at him.

“Papa?” I squeak as his arms crushes me.

“Yes sir! Sorry sir!” Emory gasps.