Polinues Marines, the would be mage.

Chapter 32.
Title: Polinues Marines, the would be mage.

Chapter Title & No.: #32. In perfect love and in perfect trust.

Author: Darkling Willow

Pairing: Non.

Rating: NC - 17
Abuse, Anal, Angst, BDSM, Bi, B-Mod, Bond, Death, D/s, H/C, HJ, Humil, Language, M/F, M/M, Minor, N/C, OC, Oral, Preg, Rim, Spank, Violence, Voy, VS, WD, WIP.

Archive: Originals - misc. > Slash-male/male
Feedback: Yes thank you very much. An author can only improve with criticism. Please rate if you do not want to leave a review.

Disclaimer: This is an original work of fiction. Any resemblance of places and characters to actual persons, living or dead, and places is purely coincidental.
The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

Authors Notes: For review replies, comments and thank you's go to: http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/index.php/topic/14530-polinues-marines-the-would-be-mage/
Don’t forget to check out the forum for responses to your reviews, guys. :)

Summary: A small gift, and a new beginning.

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Chapter 32. In perfect love and in perfect trust.

Leyjen’s eyes fluttered open, the small face resting on the pillow beside him serene, the pouty lips slightly parted, the boy’s breath sweet on Leyjen’s face.
The scarred right side was hidden in the soft pillow, the pale skinned left side somewhere between a boy and a young adult, one hand resting on Leyjen’s collarbone.
Leyjen eased over onto his side, tracing a finger gently down Polinues’ brow, to his cheekbone, the tip of his nose, over the cupid’s bow, then along the bottom lip.

Polinues twitched, his eye fluttering open, teeth tugging at his lip to scratch the itch.

“Hey you. How you feeling?” Polinues’ voice was husky with sleep, and the sound sent electric throbs through Leyjen’s body.

“Better. My head still hurts, but I think I’m going to be fine. You haven’t been sleeping enough, have you?”

“Yes. I’ve slept when I needed to.”

“Which means you’ve stayed up since I got hurt.”

“Shut up. It’s time for breakfast. Let me go and get us something to eat.”

“Polinues.”

The boy froze mid-roll, his back towards Leyjen.
He glanced over his shoulder, nodding,
“Alright then. No, I haven’t been sleeping too good. You had me worried for a while and I don’t sleep well when you’re behaving like an idiot.”

Leyjen chuckled, running a hand down Polinues’ back, apologizing with a laugh.

“Well, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to behave like an idiot. It wasn’t all my fault though.”

Polinues growled, his face unreadable as he jumped up and took off after the Healer novices, demanding breakfast.
Leyjen thought better of pushing the boy while they ate their broth and bread, the furrow on Polinues’ forehead revealing that the boy was debating something with himself.

After breakfast Leyjen lay quiet in bed, pretending to read, while Polinues sat at the foot of the bed, doing his homework. Leyjen studied the boy intently over the top of his book, taking in the fact that Polinues wasn’t really a little boy anymore.

He was still very young, but he was growing far too quickly, soon he would become a young man, and that fact scared Leyjen more than anything.
The scent of the Roganwood had been filling his senses all day, every day since he’d woken up, and it lingered on his pillows and sheets those short moments when Polinues left his side.

Leyjen put his book away, and lay down.
He curled up on his side, breathing deeply of his pillow, fearing what the future might hold for them if he didn’t get this obsession of his under control.

Leyjen startled a little, his eyes taking some time to focus on the worried face resting on the edge of his bed.

“You alright? You were making such funny noises, you scared me.” Polinues asked concerned, his fingers brushing over Leyjen’s blushed face, checking the bandages over his head wound.

“I’m alright. I was just dreaming. I feel strange. Like I’m not quite here, if you know what I mean.”

“Uhm, I’m not sure I understand you. You are all here, I promise you.”

“I know. But I feel out of place. There are so many things that I can’t remember, or think I don’t remember, and then I remember them, and feel like I’m remembering wrong. Does that make sense?”

“Not really. Stop worrying so much. You’re going to be fine.”

Polinues stroked Leyjen’s cheek, smiling gently, and Leyjen couldn’t stop the tears that welled up.
Polinues let him cry for a few moments, then brushed the tears away.

He brought Leyjen’s hands together infront of Leyjen’s face, cupping his palms to form a small bowl.

“Here. I have something for you. I’ve been planning on giving this to you for a while, but somehow never got around to it. Here, cup your hands like this. Wait.”

Polinues tried to hold back the smile that tugged at his lips, but Leyjen caught it, and it warmed his heart.
Out of a pocket in his robes Polinues pulled something thin and silver, Leyjen felt something warm touch his palm, but Polinues covered it with his own hands, as he leaned in close to make sure he couldn’t be overheard.

“Alright. I’m going to say the spell now, but once I’ve shown you, only you can activate it after that. I made the spell so that the only person who can do it is you.” Polinues whispered, his breath washing over Leyjen’s fingers, then he bent low over the cupped palms and breathed out the words,

“Realme, Reamorte, Reamare. Leyjen.”

Leyjen stared at his palms as a warmth started spreading out from the object in his palms, and Polinues lifted his own hands slowly.

Leyjen’s cupped hands were filled with bright blue water lapping at the heels of his palms, soft golden sand visible around the edges, a warm sunlight spilling over the sparkling water, and wafting from the scene the salty smell of southern oceans and wet sand.
Leyjen gasped, tears falling unhindered from his eyes, the distant cry of sea gulls echoing out of his palms.

Leyjen moved his hands slightly, parting them and the illusion melted away, like sand running through his fingers.
Resting in his left palm, warm to the touch and strangely heavy for it’s size, was the Blood crystal that Amraeen had given him on his own Birth day four years earlier.
Polinues shuddered at the cry that Leyjen let out, jealousy making his heart ache, but he didn’t let it show. Instead he smiled warmly, stroking Leyjen’s cheek, brushing the tears away with his thumb.
Leyjen’s mouth worked open and closed, as he tried to articulate his thoughts but his emotional turmoil was too great.

“I saw you. The night you threw it away. I saw you leave the compound, and went to the old barn to wait for you. When you came back, I saw Tisék coming too. I watched you two until you left. When he left too, I went inside and found that necklace. I’ve kept it since, and been planning on giving it back. When you landed in here I decided to put a little spell on it.”
Polinues spoke with a soft voice, stroking Leyjen’s cheek constantly, his grey eye dark and unreadable.

Leyjen struggled to get his sobs under control, Polinues waiting with uncharacteristic patience.

“That scent… It smells just like Amraeen. Warm golden beaches, southern seas and salt. How did you know? How could you make this spell. You only met him once…”

Polinues averted his eyes, a faint blush creeping up his neck.
He brushed invisible lint off his robes, and rose to his feet, restacking some books on Leyjen’s nightstand.
Leyjen stared up at him, tugging on his sleeve, his amber eyes pleading.

“Polinues? How did you do this?”
The boy pulled away, clearing his throat, not looking into Leyjen’s eyes as he spoke.
“I’ve got a good sense of smell, you know. And his scent was really strong. I read a couple of books to figure out how to make an illusion this small, and there you go.”

“Bullshit. Come on, Polinues, you had help. Who helped you with this.”

“I promised… It was Hylmir, alright! I remembered Amraeen’s scent, and I knew how I wanted the illusion to look. Hylmir helped me.” Polinues said with an edge of anger to his voice, his brow furrowed. Leyjen let his hand slip from Polinues’ sleeve, settling back onto the pillow.

“Really? I didn’t know Hylmir was that good a wizard. Are you sure he helped you?”

Polinues’ grey eye was stormy when he looked down at Leyjen,
“Yes. Hylmir helped me. Stop asking.”

Leyjen’s lips parted in a faint smile, but he let it drop.


The Head Healer held Leyjen in the Halls for two more days, but on the third day Leyjen was told he could leave, as long as he eased back into his routine, and took it slow for the first couple of weeks.

Polinues was almost giddy with excitement while Leyjen took a shower in the Bathing halls, then sat down to have his bandages changed and his head shaved.
Polinues watched the auburn locks fall to the floor with tears in his eyes.
The Healers had been forced to cut a part of his hair when they had tended to his injuries, so now he had to shave the rest off.

Polinues secreted a long auburn lock in his pocket, when noone was looking, planning on holding on to it until Leyjen’s hair grew back.

“So, you ready, bed bug?” Leyjen ruffled Polinues’ hair through the hood of his robes, the boy jumping up and following the cleric out of the Healing Halls.

As they came out to the paved street infront of the Halls, they noticed a commotion further down the street, small groups of clerics and novices gathering on the side of the road, talking quietly between themselves.
In the distance, coming across the square, was a large group of fifth and sixth stage clerics, and sentries and constables, all moving in the direction of the Healing Halls.

Their faces were sombre and pale, and Leyjen could tell that the men in the middle of the group carried something heavy between them.

“Hey, you two. So, you’re out?” Hylmir asked in a quiet voice, as he came up to Leyjen’s side, his fingers dancing along his Prayer Staff, tracing the prayers etched into the wood.

“Yeah, they let me out, as long as I behave myself. What’s going on over there? What’s happened?” Leyjen smiled, pointing with his chin towards the group that was fast approaching.
Hylmir cleared his throat, eyeing Polinues out of the corner of his eye.
“You haven’t heard? Tisék went missing a few days ago. They found him this morning. In the old barn.”

Leyjen’s fingers dug into Polinues’ shoulder, his face growing pale, and his eyes wide.
The group had reached the steps to the Healing Halls, and Leyjen saw the stretcher that the sentries carried, a dark sheet covering Tisék’s body.
Leyjen pushed Polinues’ grasping hands away, stumbling after the group he followed them to the basement, and watched as they laid him on a table in the morgue.

Most of the clerics that had walked with the corpse left the morgue, a handful of them remained and lined up against the far wall.
Leyjen heard a couple of them sob, the others comforting their friends with shaky voices.
Tisék had been popular amongst his peers, and had a great group of friends.
It was only to Leyjen that he had shown his darkest sides.

Two sentries and two constables remained, as the coroner pulled back the sheet, revealing Tisék’s corpse.
Two clerics gagged and ran from the room, with a hand over their mouths, a third following them with an offer to help.

Tisék’s corpse was discoloured and bloated, the first signs of decomposition beginning to show. His neck was almost black from jaw to collarbones, fingershaped bruises so deep that they pierced the skin in places.
Where his prominent Adam’s apple should have been, there was only a crumpled dent, as if someone had crushed it into the neck.

Leyjen let out a soft sigh, whispering against the cold stone of the wall a prayer for the dead,

“Ahmanin etholi retiom, retoim al’awzy em inomra.”

Then turning away and leaving as the coroner started his examination of the corpse, Leyjen walked out into the sunshine with empty eyes, draping an arm over Polinues’ shoulders and hugging the boy tightly.

“He’s dead.” Leyjen whispered into the evergreen hood, as they started walking down the road towards the Cleric’s cloister.

Polinues held his head down, hiding in the depths of his hood, a devilish smile spreading over his lips.


Tisék’s death was announced at an assembly later that same evening, the High Cleric ordering the clerics and novices to show full cooperation with the constables, and the sheriff during their investigation of the crime.

Leyjen had not looked Polinues in the face since they had seen Tisék’s corpse brought to the Halls, and the boy was squirming in his seat next to Leyjen, trying to tangle his small fingers with Leyjen’s fingers, but the cleric kept pulling his hand away.
The High Cleric lead the assembly in a prayer for the murdered man, but half way through it Leyjen rose and walked out of the Temple. Polinues remained in his seat, feeling rebuked and abandoned.
When the assembly was let out Polinues ran outside looking for Leyjen.

The blue moon hung full and low in the sky, the white moon was new and had not risen yet.
Polinues’ heart was racing as he ran through the streets of the compound, going through one garden after the other.
He was beginning to panic when he entered the garden behind the novice’s cloister, and found Leyjen sitting on a bench, staring off into the distance.

His pale olive skin seemed to glow with a faint bluish aura in the moonlight, the close cropped hair flame red, the white bandages a stark contrast on his head. He was leaning forwards with his elbows on his knees, his amber eyes staring into the darkness across the creek, but not really seeing anything.
Polinues came up behind him and gently laid his arms around Leyjen’s shoulders.

“Are you alright?” Polinues whispered, unable to stop his voice from shaking.

“Yes. I am alright. I just needed to get out of there, it was too stifling. I needed to think a little.”
Leyjen squeezed Polinues’ thin arms a little, the boy sliding down his back to sit down beside him on the bench.
Polinues sat quiet for a few moments, staring up at his mentor, taking in the harsh angles of his face, the pale skin stretched over his bones, the eyes dark with a pain that he fought to hide.

“Do you miss him?”
Leyjen started, glancing over at the boy, but did not let their eyes meet for long. Rubbing a hand over his face he sighed deeply before answering.

“No, I don’t miss him. I am empty, there’s a hole in my heart where I should feel something… I don’t miss him.”

“Are you sad that he’s dead?”

Leyjen looked away, his eyes darkening and slowly he shook his head.
“No. I should be, I should feel something, some pain at his passing, but I don’t. He had a hold on me that I couldn’t break, and I had started to hate him for it. He abused me under the guise of friendship until I was trapped. So, no. I am not sad that he’s dead.”

“You’re glad he’s dead?”

“Not quite. It saddens me that he came to such a violent end, but I’m glad to be free of him. Not that he’s dead, just that I’m free of him. That we both are.”

“I think he got pretty much what he deserved.” Polinues said quietly, crossing his arms over his chest. Leyjen hummed an agreement, but kept staring out over the Temple grounds.
After a few mintues of silence Polinues asked,
“What do you mean that we’re both free of him?”

“He threatened you. That’s how he gained control over me. He threatened your life. More than once. That’s one of the reasons we were fighting when I hurt my head.”

“He hurt you. It wasn’t any kind of accident. He did that to you on purpose.”

Leyjen looked down at the boy, the blazing grey eye and the squared jaw, and nodded,
“I don’t remember. The last thing I remember is leaving his room with a horrible headache and going to bed. Maybe you’re right.”

Leyjen sighed again, and they sat quiet side by side staring out over the Temple grounds.
They had sat there for more than half an hour when Leyjen sighed once again and said,
“It’s just that my whole life people die around me. Or leave me. Now I only have you left and the Gods only know how long that’ll last.”

“That’s not true. Everybody doesn’t die around you…”

“Yes, they do, Polinues. My father died before I was born, sacrificing his life to save my mother. The mother who died from a fever that could’ve been cured had I just done something sooner. Amraeen left me, and now Tisék’s murdered. I have no family, no friends, noone who cares…”

“I care.” Polinues shouted, the painfilled look on his face clearing Leyjen’s head.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re right. If anyone cares, it’s you. You’re all I have now. You’re my sweet Ilithil.”
Leyjen stroked Polinues’ hand, a wistful smile on his lips.

After another long silence, Leyjen muttered just loud enough for Polinues to hear him.
“I just wonder, who killed him?”

“Who cares? He’s dead. He can’t touch you again. Someone hated him enough to get rid of him for us, so can’t you just be glad he’s gone?”

“I am relieved. Sort of… you know what I mean. I’m just wondering who it was. The only person that I know hated him enough to kill him was you. He was pretty popular amongst our peers and I haven’t heard anyone but you speak ill of him.”

“So what are you saying? You think I killed him?”

Leyjen stared back at the boy, just long enough to make him squirm.
“It takes amazing strength to choke someone that way. So hard that you break the windpipe, crush it into the throat, and tear the skin open. You are not that strong. The bruises were also too large to be by your hands. But I think you know who did it. Tell me who murdered him.”

Polinues thrust his chin out, his arms crossed tight over his chest, his one grey eye blazing with his trademark stubbornness.

“No.”

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“No. I won’t say a word.”

“So, you do know who killed him?”

“I’m not admitting to anything. I swore.”

“You swore? Swore to what? To whom? Polinues, please tell me. I feel like I’m going crazy, so please tell me.”

“Why do you think you’re going crazy?”

“I had a dream…” Leyjen trailed off, his eyes growing distant and sad.

“What did you dream?”

Leyjen’s bottom lip quivered for a moment, a quiet sob escaping when he answered,
“Amraeen. He came to me, called me back from the dark. I was lost, drowning in darkness, and he pulled me back.”

Polinues looked away, hiding his blush in his hood, and cleared his throat a few times before he spoke.
“That must have been a dream. He didn’t come here.”

Leyjen nodded slowly, a single tear falling from his lashes. He wiped it away quickly, clearing his throat and straightening his back.
“There’s only you and me now, Ilithil. All I have is you now.”

Polinues let himself fall sideways into Leyjen’s arms and sighed contently.
“And all I have is you, Leyjen. Isn’t that enough?”

“Yeah. More than enough.” Leyjen answered, stroking his back and digging his nose into the fragrant hood, breathing the boy in.

“Promise me something?”

“Anything.”

“Don’t ever leave me. Promise me we’ll always be together. And that someday we’ll be able to go away from here and live free as mages. Just you and me.”

Leyjen hugged the boy close to his chest, kissing the top of his head, through the pine green hood, and whispered, with tears in his eyes,
“I promise, Ilithil, I promise.”


Tisék’s family came to the Temples two weeks later and took his body home to be buried.
Nearly a moon went by with the Temple on near lockdown, as the sheriff, the constables and the sentries conducted their investigation.
Two moons after the murder an arrest was made.

One of the older sentries was found to be in possession of a tunic that was identified as belonging to Tisék.
When questioned the man cracked and confessed to having been Tisék’s lover when they were younger. Tisék had ended their relationship some years earlier, and the sentry admitted that he had grown jealous when Tisék found another lover.
He was unable to produce an alibi for the evening in question, and was charged, despite claiming he was innocent.

The Temples breathed easier, the man charged and sentenced to death in a speedy trial, and slowly life at the Temple compound returned to normal.

Only Leyjen and Polinues knew the truth of the matter, and neither said a word.