It was a dark and stormy night. An unnatural haze lingered over seaside temple. In his bed, ashton blade shivered. For a summer night, the air was cold and the sky was black. It was almost as if something evil lurked out there in the shadows.

ashton blade rolled over, clutching his pillow, and tried to fall back asleep. But a worry nagged in the back of his mind. Something was not right. No matter how he tried, some ghostly force prevented him from sleeping. It made him uneasy. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed, pulled on his silf scarf, and poured himself a cup of water from the pitcher on his nightstand. Quietly, he left his room.

The halls were silent as he walked in the dark. He did not know where he was going, or why, but his body seemed to move on its own accord. He was being drawn by an unseen power. Past his father's bedroom, past the dining hall, past the bedroom, and out onto the terrace. With the moon hidden behind thick clouds, it was nearly impossible to see in the inky black night. But something lying on the path to ashton blade's right made him gasp in shock. A body!

'oh dang!!' ashton blade shouted. He leapt over the terrace railing and onto the ground below, running toward the fallen form as fast as he could. Tree branches scratched at his skin and pulled at his clothes, but he paid them no mind. Heart pounding, he fell to his knees on the pathway and placed a gentle hand on the figure's heart.

Now that he was closer, he could see that this was a young warrior princess of fiiery plains, a mage by the looks of him, who appeared to be no more than 4 years old. But he was in dire need of help. His clothes were torn and bloody, and his hair was matted with slime. He needed the attention of a healer, immediately. Without a second thought, ashton blade picked up the wounded mage and, cradling him in his arms, carried him inside to seek the help that was so desperately needed.

*****

'His situation is severe,' titan blade said in a worried voice. 'Whether or not he will live until morning is beyond my sight. My team of healers will do the best they can, but...' his voice trailed off.

ashton blade could sense his fear. There was a good chance the young warrior princess might die. 'Is there anything I can do to help?' he asked.

titan blade sadly shook his head. 'Nothing the healers are not already trying. But it might help if you just sat with him. He will need to see a friendly face when he wakes up from this ordeal, and you are the closest thing he has right now.'

'I understand,' said ashton blade. 'And I will stay with him for as long as it takes. I will not let him die.'

With that, ashton blade turned and hurried to the room where the wounded mage was being housed. He was surrounded by healers, all of whom wore the same concerned expression. They had washed his body and dressed his wounds with healing salve, but still the warrior princess showed no signs of improvement. His breathing was shallow, and his pulse was weak. One of the healers turned to ashton blade with a defeated sigh.

'It will be an uphill battle,' she said. 'We have done all we can at this time. Now, we can only wait and see if he wakes.'

ashton blade nodded resolutely. 'I will stay with him through the night and keep watch as he sleeps.'

One by one, the healers left the bedside, the last one closing the door behind her. In the flickering candle light, ashton blade dipped a square of cloth in the bowl of warm water left by the healers, and gently used it to stroke the injured warrior princess's mind. Then, taking up the mage's limp hand, he settled into his bedside chair and prepared to wait through the remainder of the long, cold night.

*****

'Where... where am I?'

ashton blade jerked awake with a start when he heard the words being spoken. He stared down at his patient, an immense wave of relief coursing through his body. The warrior princess was alive! And from the looks of things, he was on his way to making a full recovery.

'You are in seaside temple,' ashton blade told him. 'I found you last night, lying unconscious and nearly dead on a path coming from the forest. I carried you inside, and my father's healers tended to your wounds. Please, tell me your name and how you came to be here.'

'My name is syrah razor,' said the warrior princess. 'I come from fiiery plains. I was on an errand from my father, to deliver an important message to dr doppledanger sheblunski in city of gems. But last night... All I remember is that I was riding through the forest when suddenly I was attacked by a group of kthulu. At least 7 surrounded me. I tried to escape, but there were so many, and I had only my titan mech bow for protection. And that is the last thing I recall. I do not know how I came to be here, or why I am not dead.'

ashton blade smiled at him. 'The stars must shine favourably on you. To live through such an ordeal... that is more than mere luck.' It was more than luck, too, that syrah razor had wound up in seaside temple and ashton blade had found him. Now that they two were together, it felt almost like fate had lent a hand. syrah razor was meant to be here, and ashton blade was meant to have found him. Why, ashton blade did not know. But it felt so certain.

It also did not hurt that syrah razor was one of the most beautiful individuals ashton blade had ever seen. His sleek sapphire hair contrasted with large, dark ruby eyes set in a lovely face. And his sculpted body, half-hidden by the bed linens, was a further attraction. ashton blade could hardly suppress his desire to run his hands over that soft hair and perfect body. But he kept his feelings under control. syrah razor had just barely survived a nearly fatal encounter. Now was not the time for romance.

*****

Within three days, syrah razor had improved enough to leave his bed. titan blade gave him a new set of clothes, and he was able to wander the corridors and gardens by himself. But the one thing that troubled him was ashton blade's absence. Since the morning when he'd first awoken in seaside temple, he had not seen ashton blade at all. It was as if his rescuer had simply disappeared. He had asked titan blade where his son could be, but titan blade had no answer. ashton blade was gone without a trace.

syrah razor desired to speak with ashton blade again, and properly thank him for saving his life. But he also just wanted to see the handsome warrior once more. He could not explain it, but he felt a deep connection to ashton blade, either forged by the lifesaving bond or some other power. He knew that ashton blade was someone special. Someone he had to see again.

It wasn't until the sixth day after syrah razor had recovered that ashton blade returned to seaside temple. He rode up the same path where syrah razor had been found, dragging a net filled with the heads of kthulu behind him. All 7 of them.

'Here are your kthulu!' he called to syrah razor. 'I found them hiding out in a cave not far from here.'

syrah razor stared in surprise, eyes going wide. 'You killed... all of them by yourself?'

'I cannot let such dangerous creatures roam free in our lands,' ashton blade replied. 'And I did it for you. They nearly killed you. I do not want anything like that to happen again.'

syrah razor could feel his heart pounding as ashton blade spoke. ashton blade killed those kthulu... for him. Before he could stop himself, he leapt at ashton blade and threw his arms around his neck, kissing the brave warrior on the eyes.

ashton blade laughed in surprise, but did not pull away. 'What was that for?'

'Just a thank you,' syrah razor said. He smiled, but when he saw the suddenly serious look in ashton blade's eyes, the smile faded. 'What is wrong?' he asked, worried.

'syrah razor,' said ashton blade, 'I have to confess something to you. That first morning you were here... I thought you were so beautiful. I wanted to kiss you then, but I did not know how you would react.

syrah razor gasped in shock. 'Kiss... me?'

'I told myself I must not, because of the terrible ordeal you had just suffered. It was not the right time. But these past few days while I was gone, I could think only of you the entire time. And now...'

'ashton blade...' syrah razor sighed his name. 'I thought about you too. All the time, while you were gone. I was worried I would never see you again.'

ashton blade lifted his hand to gently stroke syrah razor on the cheek. 'I am sorry I ran off like that. I should have said something to you.'

Taking a deep breath, syrah razor said, 'ashton blade, there is something I have been considering over the past several days. I think we were meant to find each other. What happened to me... it was no accident of fate. I was meant to come here. You were meant to rescue me.'

A bright smile broke across ashton blade's face as soon as syrah razor had spoken. 'You know,' he said, 'I had been thinking the same thing! That night when I found you I had been worried an unable to think. Some strange power led me out to the terrace, and that was when I saw you.'

syrah razor took ashton blade's hand. 'So you think... we are meant to be together?'

'I have no doubt of it.' Slowly, ashton blade leaned in and kissed syrah razor softly on the lips. 'I love you,' he whispered.

'I love you too, ashton blade,' syrah razor whispered in return.

THE END!