The Profilers Shield [COMPLETED]

Four – Resting Murderer Face

“She says she’s sorry for the language barrier.” Dagur said with as much monotone as possible to make sure the other two knew he didn’t want this. He wasn’t a translator, he was a profiler! The Shield raised her eyebrows pointedly for Dagur to continue. “And she apologizes for the lack of my enthusiasm.” John barked out laughter and Dagur knew he got it from his father. It grated on him. “Tell her it’s fine, I gathered you were like that from the start.” Dagur repeated the sentence to much of his annoyance and got another laugh from his Shield. Back and forth they were like that; it turned out his Shield had a thing for mocking her Master in front of John. After a few minutes of insulting Dagur they wiped the tears from their eyes and the Shield turned serious after a moment of peaceful silence. “What did The King mean about your protection?” The creature Dagur started to regret buying asked. John waited for a translation that he didn’t get, instead her Master replied, “It means we have to be more careful. I won’t be seen as King Malik’s property, which can go either good or bad.” Dagur explained, not hinting of any worry that he was actually feeling. He didn’t need to show weakness, even more so with the situation he brought on himself. “I could either get attacked out on the streets or even my own home, or I could gain more customers who need my services that wouldn’t come to me otherwise. No one would come near a king’s possession knowing they could get punished, now would they?” Dagur couldn’t remember the last time he spoke for so long in one go. Usually it would be broken sentences that made sense. Dagur translated to keep John in the loop.

Somehow Ember sensed Masters uneasiness towards the situation, she didn’t know how but she was able to read his emotions easier since Cleora came back into her life. It made no sense but Cleora seemed to have a soft spot for Embers Master. She only knew him for a few minutes!

'Trust me, he’s worth having around.'

“I can’t leave him anyway, I’m his Shield now.”

'He seems like a great guy! I bet he wants to make even prettier clothes for you and treat you like the princess you are.'

Ember could feel the admiration Cleora gave off and rolled her eyes.

“He made me a dress because he needed too, and he knows nothing of me! You’ve only known him for what? Five minutes!?”

In-between her internal conversation, Ember had to manage to concentrate on the external on in front of her, it was fairly easy to do since she was used to it. Luckily after the explanation her Master gave, it became light hearted again. Ember couldn’t help but tease Master earlier because of his obvious dislike for John being in his home but now she was over that and now just making light jokes and humouring their guest.

'It doesn’t mean I can’t like him! He does seem like the type that would protect you unknowingly…'

Cleora continued to praise Master from nothing but how she felt about him, which made something click in Embers mind.

“You think he’s our Mate, don’t you!?”

Ember almost shouted at Cleora, who winced and looked a little shy from the accusation.

'You’ve finally figured it out!? Of course he’s out Mate, I was waiting for you to find out for yourself but it seemed I needed to give you a little nudge.'

“How did you know?”

'He’s the other half of my soul and a quarter of yours, of course I’d know! We both have been searching and we’ve finally found him!'

“I don’t like this.”

'Why?'

Cleora frowned and Ember sighed, not realising it was external, both men looked at her which made Ember clear her throat. “I-I’m just…I just… bathroom!” Ember exclaimed an excuse and ran upstairs and locked herself in not the bathroom, but the bedroom that was given to her. When she finally calmed down from the realisation that her Mate was downstairs, Ember started up the conversation with Cleora again.

“He bought me, Cleora! He doesn’t like me, or any woman for that matter!”

Ember had noticed the way he treated every woman no matter how beautiful or sexy that came his way. He treated them the same way as men, so it wasn’t like his interests lied elsewhere. Women seemed to like the look of him though. As they travelled to King Malik’s mansion women, and some men, looked his way with lust in their eyes or had to take a double take to look at him some more. Ember had noticed his attractiveness, it was something as obvious as water being wet, but she knew that wasn’t all she wanted from a man. Having a soulmate meant having everything of theirs and accepting and loving them. Being in love due to attractiveness wasn’t part of her genetic make-up.

For Ember, being in love was a pure thing. She had seen others find their Mate and the love that shone through was beautiful. A soulmate was known to complete a soul and make both parties’ content with their partner and themselves for the rest of their lives. The good and the bad, the soulmates went through it all knowing they would stick together and make them better people and couple. It was stunning and Ember knew one day it would happen to her, but to have a Mate that didn’t have any inclination of being attracted to any gender? It was a little disappointing… no, heart-breaking, for Ember. Master wanted nothing to do with her except use her as a Shield, and not even the well looked after, spoilt Shields she had learned about before. An actual Shield. He didn’t care if she died; it was part of her job and would be replaced if anything happened to her. Embers heart clenched and it felt like it was sinking heavily in her chest.

After Ember left, John and Dagur were enveloped in silence for a couple of minutes, just enough time for Ember to come back. But she didn’t. John felt awkward and wanted to leave but he enjoyed Embers company and wanted to be with her some more. John found it weird that she sighed at nothing, as if she was in her own thoughts but she was engaging in the conversation normally, so wouldn’t that indicate she was listening fully? “Dagur.” John grabbed his attention. Damn, the man was intimidating. Even being relaxed made Dagur look like he was about to murder someone. Resting Murderer Face. John scoffed at the thought but then cleared his throat to cover the noise up. Dagur kept silent and John realised he was waiting for what John was about to say. “Ember is your Shield, right?” Dagur nodded once and picked up his teacup and saucer. The fragile china was the complete opposite of its owner and was a strange thing to see. Was Dagur an old fashioned man? “What type of shield?” John said his words carefully, not wanting Dagur to think that he was insinuating something. “An actual shield.” Dagurs eyes narrowed at the speculation John may have given. John nodded. He noted the muscular body, tribal markings Dagur had over his skin and how the leg Dagur had elegantly crossed over the other made him look more like a mob boss than a mere profiler. “Because I know some people give the guise of a ‘Shield’ but really…” John cut himself short because of the glare Dagur given him. If looks could kill… John lifted his hands up in defence. “Ok, an actual Shield.” Dagur set down his tea cup and went upstairs. Was he going to Ember?

Moments later Dagur came back down to John and gave him a duffel bag of stuff and a coat that was obviously too big but could keep the cold away from John when he left. Dagur knew John was in poverty so he made sure to pack a wad of cash that could tide him over that was hidden in the bottom of the bag. “What’s this?” John frowned at the bag that was given to him. “Stuff. Use it how you like.” Dagur said and gave the coat to John, who looked at it with the same confusion. “Come back if you need help. You or you mom. Mention my name to anyone and you’ll find me.” Dagur knew his Shield would want to help her new friend out, and Dagur had some morals too. John looked like he was about to burst into tears with gratefulness. Dagur patted Johns shoulder a little too hard and escorted him out. He had enough of his unwanted guest.

John left and couldn’t believe his luck. Who exactly was Dagur? He seemed so confident that people knew about him and where he was at all times. John shrugged the coat on. It was huge compared to his skinny figure, but it was fully line, warm and John knew it was expensive by the quality of it. Once he made his way back home he opened the bag to have a look at what stuff Dagur mentioned. A bunch of clothes of all sorts, unopened toiletries and a list of contacts with a note at the bottom:

They owe me a favour, mention me, ask for whatever and they’ll help. Any extra charges will be sent to me.

John sniffed, tears threatening him and then he noticed the wad of cash that would last them for at least three months. The tears won and they rolled down freely, even as his mom came back. “What’s wrong?” John’s mom asked and came closer. He gave the note to his mom, who joined in and cried with her hand to her mouth with shock. After a few minutes of clinging onto her son, she let go and wiped her eyes. “Who sent this?” She asked as she scanned the note again. John sniffed and wiped his eyes dry. He smiled at his mom. “Dagur.” His mom, Claire, was shocked. She knew the name, everyone who worked for King Malik knew, but he wasn’t known for his generosity. Dagur was known as the expressionless man who just did his job perfectly; people feared his abilities so they kept away, not really knowing what he was really like. Was this it? Was he really kind and generous? The long list of names and addresses made it seem so. He obviously had some contacts; his most obvious one was his boss, King Malik.

“We can’t tell him anything!”

Ember exclaimed after debating what to do about Dagur being her soulmate. Cleora thought he was the perfect gentlemen, which was obviously wrong otherwise he wouldn’t have bought Ember at all. But that’s what all Ancestors thought about their Mate no matter what: perfection. Ember smiled unknowingly to herself thinking about it.

'He needs to know! You said earlier that he doesn’t like anyone, but could that be because his soul is waiting for you?'

“…That’s not possible.”

'You hesitated!'

“I would love the idea but it’s obvious that’s not true, he would’ve done something to me if his soul was calling out to me!”

'Or maybe he’s showing affection without realising it?'

Ember thought for a minute, he had been attentive towards her but that was because of being a Shield… as well as naked because of her fire. But he did make her feel better about burning his downstairs down… but he was probably thinking about redecorating since he said he hated it, right? Ember felt confused. She was probably feeling things because she finally knew what Dagur was to her. Yeah, that was it. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and conversation with Cleora. Her Master walked in with a mug in hand and passed it to her. “Thanks.” Ember said. Da-Master just stood there as if waiting for something else. “How’s John?” Ember didn’t want the awkward silence to continue.

“He left.” He left? How rude! John didn’t even say bye to her, even if she wasn’t in the room Ember thought he would’ve at least called to her. Her Master saw the frown that plastered her face. “I made him leave. He’ll come back.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.” Master said with no room for argument. Another long, awkward pause. They both stared at each other, not really knowing what to say. “We’re going out tomorrow.”

“Another job?”

“An errand. Be ready by ten.” Master said before leaving Ember to her own devices.

The morning rolled round, they got ready for the day and by the time it was 10am they were ready to go as per Dagurs request. “Where are we going?” His Shield asked, Dagur didn’t respond and just guided her to their destination. Luckily Dagur lived right by the city so it was easy to navigate to where they needed to go. They first went to a multi-storey clothes shop. Dagur waved his hand towards the array of clothes before he sat down in one of the waiting areas by the fitting rooms. “Get what you need, I’ll wait here.” His Shield looked confused. Did she think she didn’t need any more clothes than what she was wearing? “Really?” She looked at him sceptically.

“Really. Now go, we don’t have all day.” Dagur said before quickly adding, “don’t worry about the price. I don’t care.” Dagur didn’t have a budget when he needed anything, so why should she?

Ember slowly went through the clothes shop, wondering why Dagur wanted her to shop. She guessed he didn’t like seeing her wear the same thing, even if she washed what she wore each day. Ember put some plain t-shirts in the basket she held and also put in a skirt, a pair of shorts and skinny jeans. 3 pairs of leggings were also thrown in. Priorities. Master said to get what she needed and comfort was in the top 3 of what she needed. Underwear and socks came next. A couple of comfy looking jackets and a coat made the basket overflow because of their bulk. She went back to her Master. “I’m going to try these on.” She said and with a flick of his hand, she went inside to the fitting rooms. Ember complimented the quality of the things she tried on, even if they didn’t look great she could appreciate quality over quantity. Her previous owners forced her into cheap little wisps of fabric, ready to be torn off but her temper backed them off. It seemed Master liked that fiery temper of hers which made her last for this long with him. That and not being touched, which made her even more aware of the lack of spark between her and her Mate. Ember sighed sadly as she looked in the mirror; she took of the t-shirt and tried the other 2 before deciding she hated all 3.

Dagur noticed his Shield come out with less than half of what she went in with and wearing a defeated look. The men that sat around for the same reason eyed her up but then stopped when they realised she went towards Dagur. A smirked played on his lips when he glanced at them, knowing that he had something they couldn’t even afford. The shop might’ve been upscale, but it didn’t mean they could afford the 4 million he paid to gain the creature they were interested in. “Is that everything?” The language that they communicated with seemed to get mixed reactions. It was an old language that a lot of people may not have heard before. The Shield nodded and they went to pay. Dagur took note of what was missing and so they went into another shop. They went in, Dagur waited and they came out with a little more stuff than before. Rinse and repeat. After at least 10 clothes shops, the creature thought she had enough and Dagur directed her to a beauty shop.

Master dragged her to different shops until Ember could feel herself getting tired. They were going to the last one to get beauty essentials but something stopped Ember in her tracks. A dress was displayed in a window. It was a pretty, just under the knee, dark grey dress. The bottom of the skirt was edged with delicate floral lace which matched the waistband around the waist. Ember glanced at Dagur, who noticed she stopped after a few steps away from her. He walked back and examined what shop it was. “I could do with a new suit…” He mumbled to himself and guided them both in.

Dagur was greeted by the owner of the shop as soon as they walked in. “The grey dress in the window.” Dagur commanded and nodded to his Shield, who stood in the corner hugging herself. The owner nodded and immediately went to get what Dagur wanted without asking about sizes. The owner was specialised in tailoring magic, only needing a few moments to know the sizes of people and then apply them to tailoring the perfect fit of an outfit, making them ready to take them straight away instead of waiting. The owner even came back with a matching suit in the same shade of grey. A head motion was all it took to have her whisked away to a changing room by one of the assistants. The owner stared at Dagur with a smirk. “She’s just my shield.” Dagur explained and the owner nodded with an eye roll. “Of course she is, why else would she be here?” He quipped, waiting for a reaction from Dagur. “She liked it so I’m buying it if she still wants it.” Dagur explained. She would need to look presentable if his work involved a formal occasion at some point. “You never did this to the others.” Dagurs eyes narrowed and the owner laughed. Dagur didn’t have an answer; luckily the assistant came back in with his Shield, the dress in hand and shyly smiling. “Will you be purchasing it, miss?” The owner said with a teasing glance at Dagur. Dagur translated and she looked at Dagur hopefully once she understood, and nodded. “The suit too.” Dagur added, the owner stifled a laugh as he rung them up. “Would you want to purchase the extra packaging for the lady?” Dagur sighed, sick of the owners teasing, but nodded anyway. Dagur heard the owner laugh all the time he was adding extra time and effort for packing the dress. He came back with a delicately decorated box and passed it over, along with the suit in its cover. Luckily his Shield didn’t hear the owner and they left to continue with their shopping.