Their Shield

A Keeper oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The Keeper of the Lost Cities characters belong to Shannon Messenger, not to me. When you binge bks 6 and 7 and finally start writing and not only drawing Keeper. XD Read, review, and enjoy! *Note: This contains a MAJOR spoiler for Flashback, because this is set directly after it, so read at your own caution!

- ^-^3

When Tam woke, it was with a pounding headache and blood rushing through his ears, as if he'd been hit all over again. He winced, and his temples and ears throbbed, and—

—and he couldn't see.

The split second of panic faded as he realized he'd been blindfolded. Then he nearly scoffed—a Shade, scared of the dark?

…the laughter in him died out as he scolded himself. There was a big difference between being scared of the dark and terrified to be without sight. And he felt only one of those fears was legitimate and applied to him.

He was on his back somewhere, outside, inside, he couldn't tell. There was a stale, earthy scent, like packed dirt or cold stone…dirt, he determined with a rough push on the ground behind him so he could sit up. A struggle, since his hands were bound, but he focused on sensing his surroundings instead. Dirt but no breeze and only the occasional sound of nature. A campground of sorts? Barracks more likely, if he considered Lady Gisela's taunts about the resources and numbers the Neverseen had.

Emphasis on had, he thought. A morbid memory of Umber being left at the hive's opening flashed to the front of his mind.

A crunch to his right brought him back to his predicament.

Tam gritted his teeth. "Knocking me out wasn't enough? Am I going to go around here with my eyes covered all the time because I'm 'expendable'?"

Whoever had slipped up in their stealth at least kept their mouth shut. The next hint of footfall Tam caught, it came from further away. They left Tam alone.

Tam closed his eyes behind the blindfold to concentrate. He pricked up his ears and relied on his instincts to help him figure if he were truly alone. A few seconds of nothing concurred: He'd been left by himself.

As a backup, he thought to stretch out his shadow—but no. That wasn't necessary. The Neverseen could not, did not know the extent of his Shade powers. Whatever he could keep to himself as a last resort, he'd keep as a last resort. That was something not Exillium but being friends with Sophie had taught him.

Just as he was thinking he'd inevitably face an emergency in the future, the footsteps returned, but it was more than one set this time. In addition to the assassin-wannabe's footfall came a subtle glide and a heavy clomp. Tam guessed who they were before they even spoke.

"You're awake," Lady Gisela observed, moving in front of him.

"I am."

"I take it you think we went overboard, binding you."

"It was a passing thought."

Gethen's snarl on his right side internally made Tam tense. "One of many thoughts I could go through—and ought to." The last part sounded like an afterthought and was not aimed at Tam.

Lady Gisela exhaled slowly, a close sigh. "No need, Gethen. Tam did come along voluntarily."

"You say that as if I really had a choice," Tam spat. His temper flared some, but he knew not to let it overtake him, especially if Gethen were trying to sneak past his defenses. Tam had been practicing protecting his mind, but his defenses would be flimsy while distracted.

"Of course you have a choice," Lady Gisela continued. Her voice was closer now; she knelt down, not far from him. "And, at some point, you'll see we have our reasons, our drive. The day will come when you'll no longer fight us but those you called friends."

Silence settled, so quiet they could've heard a dwarf tunneling from a mile away.

"'Call,'" Tam corrected.

She hummed low in her throat.

"I call them my friends. We won't stop being friends."

"Ah. Of course. I understand that's how you feel right now."

But he did. And he knew that wouldn't change. He ached without his twin. He missed Biana's sneaky ways. He wished to chat with Sophie again, pondering their intimidating powers. He wanted to hear Dex's techno-babble, to see Wylie's reassuring and brotherly smile, to side with Fitz in a fight against the bad guys again. Tam even missed Keefe's annoying way of getting under his skin.

Instead, he was saddled with maybe the worst Sencen of all, and it made him long for home whenever Lady Gisela's tone came close to sounding like her son's. He wanted to be back home with his friends, the family he'd chosen and made.

"…I won't fight them," Tam muttered at last.

He could hear her smirk. "You will."

"No, I won't," he repeated, more adamant. He drew a bit of strength from how tough he managed to sound.

"You will. It's part and parcel of being on this side, Tam. What do you think will happen when we encounter them next? The days of strategic chats in lieu of action are gone. Every day will now be a fight."

Tam gritted his teeth. "I won't…"

Lady Gisela waited.

"I won't fight them. Or you. I can protect you, though."

Gethen snorted. "Ruy will be so happy to be upstaged." Tam imagined he said that with a roll of his eyes.

Lady Gisela inhaled, and her tone now sounded as if she smiled. "It's a start, Gethen. And thank you, Tam. Umber had some thoughts about your strength. I don't doubt that your protection will become one of our greatest assets."

"The best offense is a good defense," Tam mumbled as hands dipped under his arms to haul him to his feet.

"That's one reason why the Black Swan can't win against us," Lady Gisela confirmed with an all-too-happy sigh.

Tam didn't comment.

The hands moved to the knot behind his head. "Are you ready to begin your new training?" Lady Gisela asked.

Tam swallowed a lump in his throat. He knew the promise he'd just made was a vow that, if broken, foresaw a grim future for him. But he had to make it.

It was the only way he could be his friends' protection, too. He'd have to be careful, but…he believed he could keep everyone from harm. He had to.

Tucking thoughts of his loved ones away, Tam pursed his lips and nodded. The hands worked deftly, untying the knot, and the cloth slipped from his eyes….

- ^-^3

My 1st Keeper fic! :D I bought Flashback not long after it came out, but I had stopped in Nightfall early on and never finished it…so I had some reading to do. Luckily, at the start of this year, I had a cold and got to stay home from work for two days, so I sped through bks 6 and 7. :P And, alas, finally some fic ideas came. I've doodled for Keeper before and have more art coming, but finally some vague ship thoughts I've had since…Neverseen? Lodestar? solidified after reading Nightfall and especially with the major cliffhanger ending Flashback. So…expect quite a few fics from me, for now always involving either of the twins. :3c I have another six ideas in the works, and I can't wait to share!

Thanks for reading, and please review! Check out my Keeper art on tumblr (le-amewzing) while you await more fics~

-mew-tsubaki :}