Arn winced as if in pain when he noticed her expression at the notice that he had somehow invaded the private sanctity of her thoughts.  He cursed under his breath at his way of being.  So unused was he to interaction that he figured other people would have been more tactful.  However, he was glad the secret was out.  He figured and worried that she would want to let go of his hand.  The though saddened him a little but he could not blame her.  Yet, in the event this was not the case and to prevent Eilis from drawing the wrong conclusion, he kept the same pressure on her soft smaller hands.

 

The battle mage was not sure if it had been his confession of the infraction or what but he definitely noticed her firm cold voice.  Yet when she had finished he shook his head apologetically. When she squeezed his hand and begged him to promise to take her life, he frowned.  He straightened up and looked down at her and her Dark Sight plagued eyes.  His own voice had a harder tone to it but it was not threatening but rather it was very reassuring.

 

[color=0054a6]“Miss Eilis.  I cannot make that promise.”[/color]  He took a slow calculated breath.  [color=0054a6]“However, I promise you this at the risk of my soul.  Should any, Belisian or Viemese, ever dare to bring harm to you in any way, that will be their last.  I promise you will never be taken or made to do something you do not wish.  Your life is much too precious to end it in such a manner.  However, the lives of any who would dare to bring such pain to you deserve to be extinguished.”[/color]

 

A sudden flare up of his hands caused them to glow and while still tolerable, they became really warm.  Had any been looking at him in that moment, they would have seen his usually dark eyes glow with a hatred for people he did not yet know.  Somehow, Eilis held an equally important place in Arn’s psyche much like his mother had.  Perhaps, the boy who had failed to protect one woman, now saw in the one besides him, the same need for protection.  His words had the full weight of truth behind them.  He was not bound by national loyalty or some other moral code.  He did what he wanted.  He had merely been a battle mage as a way to direct his gift and not let his mother died in vain.

 

Perhaps it was destiny, for if he had not been in that ship, at this moment in time, he would not have met the lovely refugee.  His desire to protect her went beyond that of a male and female.  He saw her as a sort of embodiment of innocence which had been assailed by cruelty and evil.  These were things he could not stand for.  The Shooting Stars had enabled him to somehow practice a sort of justice against pirates, thieves, and other criminals.  Now, he had an actual chance to protect and he would burn the world to see her safe.

 

He squeezed her hands back.  The sudden flare up returning to a comforting warmth.  [color=0072bc]“My apologies, I hope that I did not cause you discomfort or alarm”[/color]