Precious Time

I was a necromancer by trade.

But, well, my teacher had died, so I needed to find some way to complete my training. There weren’t too many schools of necromancy around (in fact, there weren’t any at all), so I didn’t have many options. I had asked around, but all the necromancers worth training with had pupils already.

Of course, necromancers-in-training died quite frequently. There was always the chance of one of them dropping dead at any second. The only problem was that you had to know when one had died, so as to get to their master before everyone else did.

My solution was this: hang around the places that professional necromancers frequented, in order to be the first in line on the quite extensive grapevine.

And the place the necromancers hung out was at the mage’s castle. The mage’s castle was always in need of servants, thanks to its enormous size. There was always work to be done there.

So that was how I temporarily became a stable boy by trade.

I was shoveling horse poop one day, whistling nonchalantly while simultaneously keeping an ear out for anything useful, when I met him.

At first I couldn’t see him very well—it was extremely bright outside, whereas it was dark inside the stables. So all I saw was an outline. But then he stepped further inside the barn, looking around curiously. Long, dark hair curled around his face and out again at his shoulders. Tanned arms were moving toward me… y’know, as well as the rest of his body.

There were eleven other stable boys in here; so why did he have to come up to me? Oh. Right. I was closest.

“Umm… do you know which horse I can ride?” he asked, staring imploringly at me.

I stumbled over my words, entranced by his big brown eyes. “Th—d—umm, follow me,” I finally managed.

He followed me, hands clasped in front of him. He was nervous. It’s bad to ride a horse nervous. The horse knows and… takes advantage of you.

…I don’t want him to ride a horse. He might get hurt.

“Who are you, anyway? Y’know, not everyone gets to ride the royal horses.”

“Oh, me? I’m Nuez Soltero… the Chronos mage.”

“The whatta-whatta?” I asked, looking in the stalls as we passed them. All the horses were out, it seemed. That was strange.

“Emm… well, nothing. But I’m a guest of the king.”

“Sure, you can say that,” I said.

Nuez sighed, pointing distractedly to his nametag, which said, ‘Hello! My name is Nuez! I’m a guest of the king!’ in very small letters. The king’s seal was even stamped on it.

In the last stall was the meanest horse I’d ever seen. Its infamous temper was well-known, and even the bravest stable boys steered clear of it. I gave Nuez a nervous glance.

I wasn’t about to let this horse hurt my beautiful Spanish princess. He was Spanish, wasn’t he? He looked Spanish…

“I’m sorry, kid. But you have to be this tall to ride,” I said, indicating a height several inches above his head. He was quite short.

He glared, crossing his arms over his chest. “Don’t make fun of me,” the boy said harshly.

I sighed. “I’m serious. You’ll be injured if you ride this horse. At least wait for a different one.”

Nuez looked me over, as if sizing me up. I gave a slight shudder. “Fine,” he conceded. “But you have to entertain me while I wait.”

“I’m a stable boy. I have to work.”

“Eh,” he shrugged. “You won’t get in trouble if you’re with me.”

“R-really?” I asked; not only could I get out of shoveling unspeakables, I could spend time with my beautiful Spanish princess! “Well… uhh… we could go to the river,” I suggested.

“All right,” he quietly agreed.

(l)(o)(v)(e)

We sat on the banks of the river, our feet dangling in the water. Nothing was said for a few moments, but then I decided to break the silence. After all, I had to make use of this opportunity.

“So, how old are you?” I asked, leaning back on my hand.

“Fourteen,” he answered, staring down at his feet. “You?” he questioned, his eyes rising to meet mine.

“Sixteen.” The age gap wasn’t so bad. “…You said you were a… chr… chro…” I struggled to remember the word.

“Chronos mage,” Nuez supplied. “…You’re a necromancer, aren’t you?”

I was taken aback. “Well… yes… but how do you know that?”

The boy shrugged. “I can just tell.”

He had gone back to looking at his feet, wiggling his toes in the water. I took my time in staring at him, trying to memorize his features.

“What?” he asked, suddenly only a few inches from my face.

I did my best to inhale and exhale properly. It was very difficult, to say the least. Our noses were nearly brushing and his breath blew against my face. He smelled like spicy things…

“Y-you… you’re so…” I breathed, trying as hard as I could to finish my sentence but finding myself slightly delirious from sensation. He was so close… I was about to…

I quickly snapped out of it, shoving him away as hard as I could. Through a nervous glance I saw him floundering in the water; my eyes widened. “Oh! Sorry!” I yelled, throwing my hand out to him. He grasped it for a moment before smirking and tugging me down with him.

Water soaked my body and my clothes as I gave a disgruntled shriek. I glared at Nuez. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Oh, I think you did,” he said firmly, climbing ashore. The mage sighed, giving a disparaging look at his clothes. He spared me a look before lifting his tunic over his head, hanging it on a convenient branch.

I stared lasciviously for a moment before wisely ducking under the water so he wouldn’t see my blush. This was ridiculous. I’d felt attraction before, but not like this. What was wrong with me?

Forced to come up for air, I saw Nuez staring at me. “Come out. Aren’t you cold?” he asked.

“Well… yeah,” I mumbled, trying to keep my teeth from chattering.

He patted the ground beside him. Grudgingly I came to sit beside him, removing my shirt and squeezing the water from it.

“So… what’s your name?”

“Eh?” I asked.

“I still don’t know.”

“Oh… it’s Addaya.”

“Can I call you Addy, then?”

I glared. “No.”

“Aw, why not?” He stuck his lip out in a pout.

“What were you playing at earlier, getting so close?” I asked, still on edge.

“I thought that maybe you wanted to kiss me.”

I gasped in shock. “W-why would I want to do a thing like that?”

Shrugging nonchalantly, he explained, “Well, I wanted to kiss you… and you kept looking at me like that… in fact, you still are.”

“You… why would you want to do a silly thing like that?” I asked, blushing furiously.

Nuez grinned, leaning forward and rubbing his nose against mine. “Because I like you.”

That was all I needed to hear. His lips were barely a millimeter away in the first place, so it was an easy task to press firmly against him.

The ground was awfully cold and wet, but I did my best to warm him up.

(l)(o)(v)(e)

He showed up again four days later. By that time I had given up hope of seeing him again, so I was quite pleasantly surprised. It seemed as if I wasn’t limited to just one serving of making-out-next-to-rivers. This time I was in the back of the stable, putting out alfalfa for the horses, but he came up to me anyway.

He stood next to me, a shy smile on his face. “So, umm… am I tall enough to ride any of these horses?”

I made a big show of looking from him to the horses, even placing a hand on top of his head as if I was measuring him. Finally I said, “I imagine you could ride one of the ponies…”

A tongue was stuck out in response. It was a nice tongue, if I remembered correctly… which, of course, I did. Mmm…

When I came back to my senses, it was to see Nuez waving his hands in front of my face. “You’re spaaaaaaacing!” he yelled.

“Umm… yeah,” I muttered, grinning sheepishly.

“So, let’s go on a trail ride together!” he said.

I raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Y’know? You get on the horse and take a leisurely ride through beautiful fields… and stuff!”

I looked down, embarrassed. “I’ve never ridden a horse before.” I watched as the boy’s face broke into a wide grin and he began giggling. “Stop making fun of me,” I grumbled, poking his arm irritably.

“…that’s cute.”

“Hmm?”

“Have you lived under a rock your whole life? I know your teacher must have been wealthy enough to own a horse.”

“…They’re big and scary.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

“What?”

“…scaredy-cat.”

“No, really! When I was little, a horsie stepped on me and broke lots of my bones…”

“Oh,” Nuez said, sounding put out. “Well, I promise the horsie won’t hurt you. Come on, get the saddle. You do know how to put one on, don’t you?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I do work in a stable. I’d certainly hope so.”

“Good, because saddles are really heavy… I always end up falling over when I carry them.”

“Aww…” I said, just to tick Nuez off, and wandered to the tack room.

Fifteen minutes’ preparation and the horse was finally ready to go. Jeez. So much to do…

“Now get on,” Nuez said, “You’re driving!”

“What?” I shrieked, outraged. “I told you, I can’t do this!”

Nuez waved my comment off. “That’s why I’m going to teach you, silly. Now stick your foot in the stirrups and pull yourself up… and while you’re doing that, I’m going to find a stool,” he murmured, blushing.

I gave a sigh and lifted myself into the saddle, wondering just why I was letting a small, pretty, adorable, gorgeous, sexy… oh, yeah. That was why. Heh heh.

“Help me, won’t you?” Nuez asked, giving me a pleading look. Apparently he wasn’t able to find a footstool.

“Sure,” I muttered, as he slid his foot into the stirrups. I lifted him onto the saddle awkwardly, waiting for him to situate himself.

“All right,” he said, slipping his arms over my shoulders and taking the reins. “You hold them like this,” he said, his hands adopting the game-controller positions that hadn’t been invented yet.

Then he dropped them, wrapping his arms around my waist. I blushed furiously. “Oh, and remember to keep your heels down!” he said as an afterthought, although I had the sneaking suspicion that might have been one of the most important things involved.

“Now, uhh… let’s be off!” he said.

Nervously I dug my heels in, feeling the horse start to move. “Where are we going?” I asked timidly.

“To Oz!” he cried.

“To Oz?” I asked, bewildered.

Nuez sighed. “Or… you know… the river again…” he finished lamely.

I rolled my eyes.

(l)(o)(v)(e)

The bright-lit moon hung low in the sky, so the light that filtered through the window beside us was enough for me to make out his features clearly. He was leaning against the wall of the stable, his knees tucked to his chest. It was three months since we had first met, and for the past two hours we had talked nonstop about anything and everything. He had been trying to explain the concept of Chronos mages to me for seven minutes and counting, but it just wouldn’t sink in.

“So… Chronos mages manipulate time using their life energy?”

“Well, yes, but there’s more to it than that,” Nuez said, exasperated. His hair was tied up at the base of his neck with a red ribbon, which did in fact make him look very cute.

“If you say so,” I finally replied. My brain was still hurting from the long, complicated, verbose explanation he’d provided earlier.

He leaned forward to stretch out his legs, and as his face moved further into the moonlight I noticed the bags under his eyes. I examined his face, concerned. “Have you had trouble sleeping lately?” I asked, reaching out to touch his cheek.

“I’ve just… had a lot on my mind recently.”

“…something’s been bothering you? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you,” Nuez said, heaving a sigh.

“Well, then what’s wrong?”

“I… well, I’m going to have to leave on a long, long journey tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged.

I pouted. “…I don’t want you to leave.”

He winced, as if in pain. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a choice…”

“Then take me with you!” I suggested brightly.

Giving me a sad stare, he shook his head. “You can’t follow where I’m going… at least not yet.”

“How long will you be gone?” I ventured.

“…I don’t know,” he said, uncertainty distorting his voice.

“…You’ll come back here, won’t you?”

Brown eyes shifted nervously. “Please don’t be upset, Addaya. I have to do this. It’s the reason I was born.”

Depression filtered into my mind. Couldn’t he see that I didn’t want him to leave me? Was he that blind?

“C’mon, Addaya. We have tonight, don’t we?”

I sighed, resolving to make the most of the time I had left with him. “Yeah. Tonight…” I knee-walked over to him, pressing my face into his neck. “…I love you,” I whispered.

Nuez gave a gasp of surprise. “Y-you do? You really love me?” he asked, confusion tainting his voice. “I… I don’t know what to say…” Tears were beginning to gather in the corners of his brown eyes.

“Well, do you love me too?” I asked, pressing my forehead against his.

“Yes. Of course I do, Addy.”

“Then say it. I need to hear it from you before you leave me.”

“I love you! I love you, Addaya!”

I held him as tightly as I could, fairly sure that I was squeezing the life out of him. He was practically crushed against the wall, my body pressed flush against his. Nuez made a squeaking sound in the back of his throat as I pressed my nose against his neck.

“A-Addaya,” he groaned, nudging me away from his neck.

“Ne?” I asked, put out.

“…I’m ticklish,” Nuez blushed.

“All the more reason, then!” I declared, trying to see how many kisses I could press to his neck within a minute. I was pretty certain I’d set a new world record, not that there was likely a record in the first place. Of course, it was quite difficult to get to him when he was squirming around and giggling… but hey, who was I to turn down such a lovely challenge?

Nuez slid slowly down the wall, and so of course I followed his lead. I would’ve felt sorry for him, since he was lying on the ground with me on top of him (and I do weigh quite a bit more than him—he’s rather small), except that there was lots and lots of straw to act as a pillow and that I couldn’t be bothered to care at the moment. I had much more important things on my mind.

Gasps and moans broke the still night air, and I noticed that clothes are the most difficult to remove quickly when it’s a necessity that you remove them quickly. I was also acutely aware that I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, and that it was awfully hot for a fall night…

On a side note, Nuez makes some very nice noises. Tee-hee.

(l)(o)(v)(e)

When I awoke the next morning, the sun was midway through the sky, but I didn’t feel like getting up. The straw around me was scratchy, but Nuez was soft and warm and… I sighed happily, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

I contemplated waking him up for a moment, but then decided against it. When he woke up, he’d have to leave. I’d rather he just slept forever than leave me all alone.

I gave a shudder, feeling melancholy seeping through my skin, deep into the bones. I never want to let go, Nuez… please don’t leave me…

Tears slipped silently down my cheek, splashing against Nuez’s skin. I didn’t want to cry, but I couldn’t help it. How could Nuez leave me? I… I…

Nuez was stirring. Blearily he opened dark brown eyes, peering at me curiously.

“Go back to sleep,” I pleaded. “It’s early.” I gently picked a piece of straw from his hair.

He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes with his fists. “Has anything unusual been happening?” he asked, as a loud bang was heard from outside.

Nuez stood, staring out the window. “It’s starting,” he said.

“What?” I asked curiously.

“The war to end all wars. World War XXVIII.”

“Huh? World War?”

“Well, of course you don’t know about them all,” Nuez said, turning to face me with a sad smile on his face. “It’s people like me… we’ve stopped all of them so far.”

“So this… you have to leave, so you can stop this war?”

Nuez’s gaze fell to his feet. “I… I was lying when I said I was leaving… I mean, I certainly won’t be here anymore, but I won’t be anywhere else on Earth either.”

“…what are you saying?” I asked quietly, but I feared that I already knew exactly what he was trying to say.

“Chronos mages forfeit their lives to erase humanity’s greatest mistake… and today, it’s my turn to be the sacrifice.”

“No!” I cried, standing and throwing my arms around his stomach. “Please, Nuez… please don’t leave me!”

He sadly shook his head. “I’m sorry, Addaya… I’m so sorry…” He slowly sat back down, gathering me into his arms. “All my life, I’ve known that this would happen… for so many years I was OK with it. It wasn’t until I met you that I realized I didn’t want to die.”

I leaned back into his chest, inhaling his scent and trying to memorize it.

“Thank you, Addaya, for teaching me how to love… and also, thank you for your chastity.”

I blushed and stuck out my tongue. Taking his hands in mine, I pressed them to my cheek. “I don’t want to be without you…” I whined.

He gave a sigh. “It’s better for the world this way. As much as I’d love to be selfish… I’m not allowed to be. I’m not allowed to live my life the way I want.” I felt him rest his chin on my shoulder. “There is a bonus, though, Addaya… after this, I’ll keep being reborn until I attain happiness…”

My eyes lit up. Did that mean…?

“And the only way I could be happy would be to be with you. So, before you die, you’d better get far enough in your necromancer training so that you can be reborn as many times as you need to be… deal?”

“A-all right,” I said.

“Thank you,” he said with finality and slowly stood. “I can feel the pull of the reaper… I’m going to go find a place to die.”

“No,” I said, “Please just stay with me until the end. I want to be with you for as long as I can.”

He gave me a gentle smile and plopped back down in the straw, stretching out fully. “C’mere,” he said, motioning for me to lie beside him. I obliged, lying on my side to face him.

Slender fingers found my face, slowly tracing the line of my cheek. He watched me intently, fingers ghosting across the outline of my lips and back up. I was disturbed by the way his fingers took longer and longer to complete their journey, and his eyelids began to sag uncontrollably. I reached forward impulsively, cradling him in my arms.

“I’m sorry… Addaya,” he choked out. “I can’t stay… any longer…” His lips barely brushed mine one last time before he closed his eyes. I was sure my eyes were still red from crying earlier, but that didn’t stop them from expelling salty droplets once more as I wept bitterly, pressing my face into his chest.

My beautiful Spanish princess was no more.

Over the next few years I was able to find an extremely powerful teacher and grow into a quite formidable necromancer.

And then a tree fell on me. Stupid lumberjacks, forgetting to say “Timber!”