Love in Disguise
By Penelope Rivers
Copyright © March 2012, Penelope Rivers
Cover art by For The Muses Design © March
2012
ISBN: 978-1-936668-52-6
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events
portrayed in this novel are fictitious or used fictitiously.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this
book, or portions thereof, in any form.
Sugar and Spice Press
North Carolina, USA
www.sugarnspicepress.com
Prologue
Julian Pelham couldn't believe his eyes as he looked
at the objects on the table—a single sword and a vivid
red uniform. His long hair, a reddish grey that was rarer
than even the most flattering jewel, was tied up in a
ponytail as was required for soldiers that guarded
Medea's castle. He had been careful to hide one of his
noteworthy scars, a cross, which was on the back of his
neck at the baseline of his hair.
In the world of Celistia, he was nothing more than a
dog and what was about to happen to him wasn't his
own choice. Of the two races that remained in their
world, he was of the lower one, the one that had been
enslaved for years. Instead of being muscular and
powerful like his “controllers,” he was thin, bright-eyed,
and weak. At least, that was what everyone called him.
He thought back to his past, back when things
made more sense… He didn't seem so weak when he
was fighting in the war and he certainly wasn't weak
when he led all the Prodigo to a revolt against the
Hestia. But his people had forsaken him, leaving him
weak and cold.
“Are you almost ready?” Rena, the girl with whom
he was sharing houseroom, asked. “We are going to
have to have to test you out to make sure that nobody
notices anything.”
“Ugh…”
If it wasn't for his illness, he wouldn't be like this.
He had fallen sick just as his people had been freed
from slavery, the medicine needed to keep him alive for
one month costing more than a Prodigo could make in a
year of doing hard labor. So here he was, in the only
place where he could acquire enough money, ready to
put on a soldier's costume and pretend to be a soldier
for Queen Medea.
As Rena successfully managed to push him into his
soldier's costume, his thoughts went back to his past
again, back to the times before this. Julian had grown
up in a common slave community where his father had
beaten him and his mother on a daily basis and where
he was also abused by the over-taker of the farm.
After spending a couple of years doing
backbreaking labor on a farm, his mother died at the
hands of his father, and Julian could no longer stand to
be the bait of his parent. A year later he spent some
time serving at the front lines of the army, as the lower
race often did, and found himself so good at it that he
ended up as a servant under the duke of a city called
Eastern Modern.
From there on he managed to join a revolt against
the union and become one of the most hated Prodigo in
all the land. There was a warrant out for his head, which
was bad, but the fact that his picture was spread out
everywhere was worse. He didn't think he could go for
a good mile without seeing his face pasted up on a
board somewhere, grimacing at him.
“What if they recognize me?” he asked, trying not
to look down at himself. “What would you do then? I
can run like hell, but you…”
“For someone who lived their life as a minority,”
Rena grumbled, “you sure can be awfully rude.”
“Sorry,” he muttered.
"Yeah, you better be…"
Rena was 5'2” and twiggy with dark brown hair
that fell to her shoulders. She was not a pretty woman,
but instead had this fixed, hawk-like addition to her
appearance. She had never been married, but Julian
figured that she preferred being alone just as he did.
They made a good living pair for this reason, though he
doubted that they would ever be truly good friends.
Which was better when they did a job like this. The
less they felt for one another, the better off they'd be.
Chapter One
He looked wearily at his reflection in the mirror and
felt sick. There, standing directly before him, was a
halfway decent soldier. He felt like a traitor to his own
kind because of it. After all, hadn't he fought for years
against the Hestia? Now, he was working for them. He
wrinkled his nose.
“Great,” he mumbled. “I don't know whether to be
pleased that this ruse might work or punch out the
mirror.”
“It's really something, isn't it?” laughed Rena.
“Tomorrow nobody's going to be able to tell the
difference, but we ought to walk you outside to be
sure.”
“I have to go out in this?”
Her response was to promptly hit him with one of
their few frying pans.
As Rena shuffled around, scraping the few coins
that they had, he felt a large, immeasurable cough tear
through his chest, sending him to his knees. His eyes
watered, his vision growing cloudy, and he felt her press
something against his lips. He shoved whatever it was
that was being held against his face away, and he threw
up a large amount of blood, saliva dangling
unattractively from his lips.
He sat there gasping for air for a few minutes, eyes
rolling, when Rena shoved the object against him again.
It was a glass of water. The water spilled over his face
and dribbled down his mouth and chin. Only prayers
would keep him from having a fit tomorrow during his
meeting with the queen.
“Sorry,” he whispered.
“For all that is holy,” Rena grunted, wiping his face,
looking sadder than he had seen her in a long time, “I
hate the Hestia.”
Whenever he grew ill, this was the comment that
was made, as if she could make her point even clearer
by being ridiculously repetitive. Nevertheless, he quietly
listened as she buffed the dirt off of his ruby red
uniform. He looked at her through puffy eyes but said
nothing, leaning his head against the wall.
“My father worked for his master for seventy
years.” Her hawk-eyes flashed. “They could have
bought him medicine, but nope… What would have
cost them a few pennies sent him to death. Someday
they'll all burn, you mark me.”
Rena was remarkably good at taking care of sick
people, and though she had the temper of an active
volcano, she was very patient. He was thankful to her,
though he knew her actions were an act of survival
more than one of kindness. If it wasn't for her, he would
be all alone.
“They can't all be bad,” he grunted, more to himself
then to her.
“Have you ever met a nice one?”
“No,” he said thoughtfully, “but I haven't met that
many nice Prodigo, either.”
That left her to “humph” and “haw” around the
room, muttering about “stupid men” and things such as
that. He frowned to himself and stood up to reexamine
his reflection. He grumbled in disgust before turning
away from the soldier in the mirror.
****
After some grumbling on his part, Rena grasped his
arm and steered him out into the crowded street of
Celistia, possibly one of the most crowded cities in the
entire world. The place was the hot spot of the
continent, the area where everyone gathered to have a
good time when the hungry predators outside the city
grew too rowdy.
“Now,” Rena muttered under her breath, fixing her
ruffled peasant skirt, dodging angry Hestians as she
went. “We're going to go to a bar. If someone acts like
they know that you're a wanted soldier, then we'll run
like hell.”
“Alright.”
The city was full of high buildings, the largest of
which was a castle perched on the mountainside that
was surrounded by green trees. There was a five mile
winding road up to the top, but most of the time the
gates were closed, so good luck getting inside if you
weren't invited there.
Julian allowed himself to be steered by Rena into
the crowded streets surrounding them. He glanced
around, feeling weary and apprehensive. If they got
caught in this city, then chances were good that they
would both be drawn and quartered.
“Stop twitching,” Rena said.
“I'm not.” He cleared his throat nervously.
"Uh-huh," Rena said, rolling her eyes. "Why do you
always have to be so stubborn? Nobody is going to
catch you."
“I hate this.”
After successfully being paraded around the town a
number of times, he found himself looking down the
road to see another woman getting out of a fancy
carriage led by white horses. Men stopped to stare as
she stepped onto the roadway, her gown of wine red
shimmering in the light. Her brilliant red hair was tucked
up in a jaded crown, her face pale and lovely. At the
woman's side was a young blonde girl, also exquisite in
type, wearing a dress of periwinkle blue.
“Who's that?” Julian asked, horrified at the truth
that was dancing across his brain. “She is gorgeous. My
men would have been all over her.”
Rena stomped on his foot, hard.
“Oops…I mean, I find her to be quite lovely and of
noble stature.” Julian flushed, feeling sick with himself.
“Oh man, this isn't going to work, Rena. We should just
give this up now! Listen to me. I can't pretend to be a
Hestia soldier.”
“No. You can't see yourself, can you Julian!? You'll
fit the part,” Rena said as Julian stared at the ground,
feeling flustered with himself, muttering death threats
under his breath. “Besides that, if you don't get this job
there's a good chance that you'll die.”
“Better than being hanged for treason—I've seen
what the royals do to prisoners.”
But he still watched the strange woman and her
counterpart enter a nearby bar, a man opening the
wooden gate to let them inside. He recognized the place
they went into. It was a special drinking area complete
with a ballroom, one where only the noblest of Hestia
could enter. He had been inside only once, and even
then as a servant to his master.
Rena was guiding him forcibly like a dog past the
bar, but he stopped in front of it, and the man that had
opened the gate gave him a glare as if Julian was doing
some sort of crime. He remained still, looking into the
windows to see the blonde and red-haired woman
taking a seat in the back. The gateman walked over to
them.
“I'm going to have to ask you to move, sir,” the
servant said with a sneer. “This place is closed to all filth
such as your kind, even if you are a soldier to our
queen.”
“The only filth I see here is you,” Rena growled, but
Julian quickly grabbed his friend and steering her away.
If by some sort of miracle this did work out, he didn't
want to have someone remember that his “sister” was
known for getting into bar fights.
“Come on…”
“Those people,” Rena howled some more.
****
That night, Julian didn’t sleep well.. What if they
caught him tomorrow? He tossed and turned, feeling
sick to his stomach, and then he was sucked downward
into a nightmare.
A thick fog surrounded Julian. He was standing
among a bunch of faceless, blank ghosts with their arms
outstretched. One of them was opening its mouth
repeatedly as if it was speaking, but Julian could not
make out its words no matter how much he strained to
hear it.
He was starting to panic, getting sweaty and
nauseous. Everything was pressing in around him,
slowly choking him. It felt as though he was losing his
grip on reality. Where was he? Who was he? He wasn't
one hundred percent sure.
That was when he identified his first human face. It
was old and ragged and fat with a beard. His heart
thudded. Though he wasn't sure why, the face alone
was enough to cause his heart to beat harder and
harder. He was terrified.
As he turned away, trying to escape the pain and
fear, he found himself falling.
That was when he awoke on the floor, trembling
and shaking. He ran his hands through his hair. What
was that? Nerves?
Chapter Two
He felt intense anxiety as he stood at the castle
entryway. The castle was richer than anywhere he had
ever been before. It was made from white marble, the
floors were covered with the richest carpets, and the
ceilings were painted to perfection. This world more
exquisite than anything he had ever seen.
An attendant was standing at the door, prepared to
introduce him to the queen. This was normally not done,
but because he would be guarding the royalty directly, a
small introduction was warranted. He wished that it
wasn't necessary. He was having a hard enough time
not throwing up as it was.
He looked back down at the floor again, ignoring
the ladies-in-waiting that were wasting time in the
hallway. All around him he saw girls eyeing him with
disgust, not used to seeing a Prodigo in their
playground. The guard at the front had even been
hesitant to let him in, though Julian had managed to talk
him into it.
It was just as these thoughts occurred to him that
one of the women, a black-haired girl with a frigid face
and a tight bun, knocked into him, sending his bag with
all of his things to the ground. The girl who had
knocked into him shuffled away without apologizing and
he couldn't help but wonder whether it had been
accidental after all.
He kneeled down, picking up his sword and cursing
his clumsiness. How could he expect to protect the
royalty when he couldn't even protect himself from
jaded women? But he was surprised to find that a hand
had joined his own. It was tan and the color of an
overcooked roll. He looked up quickly, discovering
brown eyes and a head of mussed blonde hair. Gulping,
he flushed and looked back down again. Prince Royce,
the youngest of the two brothers, had just helped him
gather his things.
“You're new here, right?” Royce asked, grasping
his hand a moment longer than necessary.
A flush crept up his neck, and he couldn't ever
remember being this uncomfortable.
“Yes, sir.”
He gave him the once over. “Well, it's nice to meet
you. You look a little thin, but strong. Maybe you can
go hunting with me and my men sometime.”
The other people whispered among themselves, and
Julian realized to his discomfort that he had just
managed to make himself the very essence of gossip.
This wasn't about to help his social standing among the
servants at all, because he was well aware of what
happened when jealousy poisoned the group.
“Julian Pelham,” the attendant finally said.
A chorus of whispers filled the night as he walked
forward, his heart thudding in his chest like a hammer.
His fingers tightened, but he threw his head back, trying
to appear tough.
The attendant led him into the most beautiful room
he had seen yet, the whole area adorned with velvet
draperies. There were fine antiques everywhere and he
found himself grasping the table for support as if it might
keep him from falling over.
He had only been waiting for a moment when a
large woman in an eggplant-colored dress ambled out,
hair up in curls beneath her crown. The Queen Medea
was not a beautiful woman. Her face had a melted look
to it, as if it was actually an ice cube. Part of her lips,
painted a vivid red, slid to the left on one side and gave
her the appearance of being out-of-balance. Also, she
was morbidly obese, her steps sinking into the ground
with heavy breaths. Julian did his best not to stare.
“Ah, so you're the new slave everyone has been
gossiping about,” Queen Medea muttered. “I must
admit, I did take a peek at you. You will be the first
slave in the upper passageways that we have ever
allowed. Not even my Prodigo servants are allowed up
here.”
Silence filled the room. He knew he should have
said something, probably words of cleverness, but he
was having a hard enough time just trying to keep from
yelling.
“Of course, I have heard the Prodigo are better
fighters. They have been gifted with special attributes.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Craning her neck, the woman ushered him over
with his hand. Julian took a nervous step forward, then
another, before he stood before the Queen. Her hand
gripped the side of his waist, and he felt very
uncomfortable at this new turn of events.
“Stop being so stiff,” Medea commented. “I'm not
going to eat you, for goodness sake.”
"Yes, ma'am," he replied.
"You are far too thin for a soldier," Medea said,
eyeballing him.
When he didn't say anything, Medea forced his
head in her direction so that he was looking directly into
her eyes. He fidgeted, feeling instantly horrified, but
knowing that he had to compile with her wishes,
whatever they may be.
That was when the attendant stuck her head out
from behind the door, giving a double take because of
Julian's current position. If the woman had an opinion
on it, however, she said nothing, and clasped her hand
to her sides. The Queen Medea looked absentminded,
staring out the window.
"Ma'am, Prince Ajax wants a word with you," said
the attendant.
The queen gave him a thoughtful look before giving
him a sign that he thought meant he was supposed to
leave. He gave the deepest bow he could manage, a
sickening sense of dread filling his stomach, and he
quickly walked out the door.
But he was interrupted by someone. The oldest of
the two princes walked into the entryway. He was tall
with pale skin and black hair that hung in his piercing
blue eyes—quite the opposite of his gentler, tan
brother. He was the one who was meant to be king,
and Julian could already sense the leadership qualities in
him, even from where he sat on the sitting room chair.
“Ajax,” Queen Medea chirped, getting up to give
him a hug only to be shaken off. “Oh, dear…”
“What is the meaning of this?” He pointed at Julian
as if he was some sort of an animal instead of a person.
“Our kingdom is now the laughing stock of the whole
world. What will the other nations think!”
Queen Medea stood up and slapped Ajax across
the face. He put his hand where the slap had occurred.
Julian flushed too, as if taking the blow onto himself,
and he could tell that Ajax was humiliated by the way
his face fell. For whatever reason, Julian felt he needed
to take it upon himself to apologize profusely, though it
was no fault of his own.
Julian looked up and realized that Ajax was still
staring at him from across the room, but since the eldest
prince had such piercing blue eyes, he felt as though he
was under a lie detector. That man is out for my
blood, he realized, flushing and looking at the floor. I
have to watch my back. He shook his head, thinking
about how he warned Rena that this was not a good
idea.
He bowed deeply to Ajax, prepared to leave. Ajax,
however, was following him like a shadow, even though
his mother was displeased. The two of them stumbled
out into the hallway, where the ladies-in-waiting were
thankfully now absent.
“Julian, was it?” Ajax asked in a rude overtone.
“Listen to me carefully—”
“Let me go!”
Ajax had him thrown up against the wall, and
though Julian knew a thousand ways to make the prince
hurt, he settled for pretending to be innocent. It would
blow his cover if he abused the royalty. Even Queen
Medea, who seemed to turn a blind eye to many things,
would care if Julian left Ajax bruised.
“No…now listen.” It was the first time Julian
realized that Ajax had a long scar running down his
cheek. Though it did not maim Ajax's attractive,
masculine features, it put Julian on edge. “If you make a
fool out of this family, I'll hunt you down myself. I want
you to go out there, do whatever the hell it is that you
and the rest of my mother's worthless servants do, and
pretend like this never happened. This is your warning.”
A spiraling blast of emotion caught Julian straight in
the chest. It’s fear, he realized. If anyone found out that
they had actually hired one of world's greatest anti-
Hestia soldiers, the kingdom truly would be a laughing
stock, just like Ajax had said. He chewed his bottom
lip, wondering if it was too late to run, feeling sick with
emotions that were complex and spiraling.
He stood there for quite some time, long after Ajax
had left, so quiet that he could hear everything around
him.
Chapter Three
“You're awfully quiet today,” Royce commented,
looking at Julian carefully from over his tea cup.
This was the fourth time this week he had escorted
Royce to a party of some sort, but he never was very
into them. He was invited to take part in some of the
festivities even though he had low social standing.
“Just thinking,” he said, looking into his murky
brown liquid, finally responding to Royce's comment.
Ajax's face floated through his thoughts and he slammed
the tea cup down quickly, the cup shattering in
response. He swore loudly, watching crimson
intermingle with the brown.
A piece of glass stuck out of his finger and he
flushed when he realized that everyone was staring at
him, not because he had broken a tea cup, but because
he had just used Prodigo curses.
“Wow.” Royce laughed. “I've never heard a curse
word like that before.”
“My apologies,” Julian growled at himself. “I'm
usually better than that. Please forgive me.”
“No, no.”
Everyone in the room laughed, so he assumed that
he was safe. He was just in the middle of getting a new
tea cup from a watery-eyed man with a round, rat-like
face when they heard someone yelling from outside the
door. Julian looked up suddenly, but Royce was
already out the door.
Julian couldn't help himself, unlike the others, and
stuck his head out to see what was going on. He
spotted the redheaded woman that Rena had called
"Princess Harmony," and he noticed that she looked
very pale. Ajax was facing his mother, tense. Royce
stared at them, pumping his muscles, as if that might
help the situation.
“What's going on?” Royce cried, looking agitated.
“What was all the yelling about?”
“Princess Harmony and Prince Ajax have been
talking amongst themselves and have decided to call off
the wedding!” Queen Medea growled. “This is horrible.
This must be Princess Harmony's fault. Have you been
whoring again?"
“It's not just her,” Ajax muttered. “I don't want it
either. This isn't going to work, Mother. You know
that.”
“You—” Queen Medea shook her arm repeatedly
in Ajax's direction, who, Julian had to give him credit,
remained completely still. “You ungrateful little…You've
been together ever since you were born. Why now?”
“That's it,” Princess Harmony cried. “We're like
brother and sister. I couldn't marry him. It would feel
too wrong, like incest.”
“Get over it!”
That was when Ajax looked over Medea's
shoulder, caught Julian watching them, and his upper lip
curled up in rage. Julian jumped back, quickly shutting
the door, hoping that he wasn't about to be murdered in
his bed. The other men in the room watched carefully as
he bent over to get his things.
“Get caught, did you?” the plump man asked, and
the rest of the men in the room laughed. “Serves you
right. I already heard that Ajax wants to have you
thrown out of the castle. You better watch out.”
“Him and Princess Harmony deserve each other,”
Julian spit. “Now, if you will excuse me, my quarry is
leaving without me.”
To his surprise, he found that most of the men in the
room looked disappointed that he was leaving. They all
like me. Take that Prince Ajax.
****
“It's like you're obsessed or something!” Rena cried
that night over their dinner of rice. Julian was only
picking at his food, more exhausted and worried than
hungry. He wondered how much trouble eavesdropping
would get him in. Probably a lot, if the prince had his
way. “I've never heard you talk about someone so
much.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, color rising in his
face.
“Prince Ajax,” Rena shook her head. “Don't you
hear yourself speak? For the past two days you've
spent every last minute telling me how much you hate
him.”
“I really hate him…”
“Obviously.”
Both of them glared at each other, and he grabbed
the hem of his uniform and jerked upward, shaking his
head with a great amount of muttering. She was lucky
that she had him. Otherwise, she would be all alone and
penniless.
On top of that, he felt sick and shaky, on the verge
of having another attack. Right now, he knew the only
thing that would save him and it wasn't Rena's poor
example of a meal.
“I'm going to town to get a beer,” he growled. “I
should be back before sunset. I left you a couple of
coins for cleaning up the house.”
“Don't,” Rena snapped back, handing the coins
back to him. “We have barely any money and I'm the
one sitting around most of the day. You do all the work,
but yet you put me up and feed me. I won't forget that.”
Her words instantly made him feel guilty about his
earlier thoughts.
“You do work,” Julian responded quietly. “You
clean this house and you cook the meals.”
“It's a one room house…” Rena was already
shaking her head. “And I boil rice. How difficult is that?
Besides, next week I'm staring as a sewing mistress for
a neighboring house, so I should be able to help out
some. Maybe next month we can actually afford some
meat or something.”
Guiltily, he tucked the money back into his wallet,
heading out into the streets in stride. He ran his fingers
through his hair and fixed his shirt to make sure it was
on straighter. His soldier's uniform was very different
than what he was wearing.
He came to a pause in front of a trashy looking bar,
checking his bag to make sure everything was still in
place. The rest of the month's money had to go to food,
and he couldn't afford to have it stolen.
Once he stepped inside, he was swept away by a
loud blast of fiddle music, drunken laughter, and stares.
He swept hair from his face again and tried to keep a
straight face. He slid in next to a Hestia with bright red
hair in a commoner's dress, her red hair tied up in a
bun, her hands cradling a beer.
The woman turned to him and smiled. “Hello.”
Julian nodded politely in return.
“Congratulations on getting the position up at the
castle,” the red-haired woman turned and said. This
was very unusual behavior for a Hestia, because most
of them considered themselves above all Prodigo.
“That's a great step, don't you think? I bet a lot of
people are proud of you.”
Yeah, right . If his parent's saw him now, they
would beat him until he died. Still, this woman looked
like she was in a good mood, so probably bringing that
up wasn't the best idea.
“Do I know you from somewhere?” he asked
quietly. There was something about the red hair, the
face, that all looked so familiar to him. He just couldn't
put his finger on the name. “I swear I must have seen
you at some time or another…”
“Yes, you have.” The woman extended her hand.
“You're Julian, aren't you? I'm Princess Harmony. I bet
it was the dress that fooled you…and no makeup.”
He was so surprised that he dropped his drink with
a loud clunk, and everyone around him turned to stare.
Instead of finding this offensive, Harmony laughed, and
then took a sip of the pint-sized beer in front of her.
Judging by the clothes and the bar the Princess was in,
Julian had merely assumed that she was just a maid at
the castle.
“I…my apologies.” He flushed. “I had no idea.”
“Don't.” Harmony held up her hand. “That's why I
do it, you know? No one ever talks to you regularly
when you're in an expensive gown. When I'm like this
—” She pointed down at her plain appearance. “—I'm
just like everyone else. It's nice, you know, to take a
break from everything.”
“I see.”
Julian chugged another gulp, taking a closer look at
the woman next to him. Harmony was not only
beautiful, but incredibly nice. Now he knew why
Harmony and Ajax had decided to break it off. She
was too good of a woman to ever hang around with
such high and mighty royal scum.
“So what brings you out tonight?” Harmony asked
after a moment. “Celebrating your acceptance at the
castle?”
“No.” Julian looked down, and then decided on
honesty for some reason. “I wasn't feeling well. Beer
settles my stomach.”
“Ah, mine too.”
Then the Princess patted her stomach and let out a
loud belch. Julian turned to stare at her, wondering what
Harmony's parents must have thought of this behavior.
Maybe she's a guy, he thought to himself, though he
was merely joking. It was obvious by the dress
Harmony was wearing that she was nothing but a girl.
“Are you celebrating?” he asked.
“Oh, yes,” said Harmony cheerfully. “I'm happy to
have ended my betrothal to Ajax. The two of us haven't
really liked the idea for a long time, but we never had
the guts to tell it to Medea. Now, I feel so much
lighter.”
Whether it was the music or the company, he
couldn't help but feel better. By the end of the evening
he was whistling to himself, and as he was escorted out
with Harmony, he was feeling quite chatty. They came
to a stop about midway between the castle and his
house.
“How far do you walk to get home every day?”
Harmony asked, looking surprised. “Seems like it
would take you an eternity.”
“It really isn't too…too…” A hacking cough
attacked his body, and he almost fell to his knees,
unable to catch his breath. For a second he shut his
eyes, feeling embarrassed to have done this in front of
Princess Harmony. “Ugh.”
“Are you okay?”
He nodded, giving her the one minute symbol. This
isn't too bad of a one today. The medicine must be
working, he thought, as he gripped his chest while
painful shockwaves went through his body. His legs felt
wobbly, but he wouldn't throw up blood, and he was
almost certain that he wouldn't pass out from lack of
oxygen.
“I'm not contagious,” he whispered.
“But what's wrong with you then?” Princess
Harmony asked, looking worried, and was now less
hesitant to approach. “That's not normal.”
“Er…” For a second he paused, hesitant. “I'm sick
—obviously—that's why I was attempting to get the job
up at the castle. I have no background of such things,
but this was the only place I could find work that
wouldn't kill me and would pay me enough to buy my
medicine I need to survive. That's why…that's why
I…”
But Princess Harmony didn't appear to want to
hear the rest, because she was already hugging him, a
frown on her face.
Chapter Four
Ever since the moment on the street corner,
Princess Harmony was his best friend. He wasn't one
hundred percent sure how it happened, but he often
times found himself being dragged along on her
engagements as a guardian. At first this brought rage,
but people soon began to get used to him, and he knew
that though he was a Prodigo, everything would be
okay.
The only person who became more and more sour
was Ajax, who often times could be found casting dirty
looks at him wherever he went. Since it was mostly
because of Ajax that they had broken off the
engagement according to Harmony, he wondered why
Ajax was so sour about their friendship. Probably
because I'm a Prodigo, he thought, feeling incredibly
tart, radiating a dark look over at Ajax.
Princess Harmony seemed to find this play between
them incredibly amusing, but when Julian prodded her
about it, she just shook her head. The same went with
Rena. The moment he went on a rant, his housemate
got a weird look on her face, patted him on the head,
and headed out the door.
“I don't know how you were ever friends with him,”
Julian said bitterly. “He's such a…such a….”
“Hmmm.” The Princess Harmony laughed. “He's
really not such a bad man. He just doesn't express
himself well.”
“Is that why you agreed when he asked you to split
up?”
With that, Princess Harmony laughed again, and he
wasn't sure what he had said that was suddenly so
incredibly amusing. He let out a grumble of anger before
turning around, looking out the window, and
contemplating his rage. Stupid women. He didn't know
what they were thinking half the time and he was
beginning to get frustrated with that pitying look
everyone always sent him.
“No,” Princess Harmony shook her head. “As I
said, Ajax is a kind man, but he's like my brother. I
couldn't…ugh…do anything with him in that nature.”
He and Princess Harmony were both standing up to
prepare to leave when Queen Medea burst into the
room, her hair done up in curls, her face batted to a
pale white with overly red cheeks. Both he and Princess
Harmony did a double take, their hands finding their
mouths in an attempt not to laugh.
“You two again. I hired you to protect me and the
princes, not…” she grumbled. “It's all well enough,
though. I have news! Tomorrow night, I thought we'd
have a bit of a good time. King Roman has just lost his
wife, and I think it would be a good idea that he have a
little bit of fun. Princess Harmony, that's one thing you
are good for. I'll need you, Julian, and some of the
guards to work double-time.”
Julian bobbed his head and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
“Yes, yes. You work hard, Julian,” the Queen
finished. “Maybe one of these days you'll find a nice
wife.”
“I doubt it,” Princess Harmony cackled evilly. “He's
already in love with someone, right Julian?”
****
This was the first time that Julian saw Princess
Harmony press herself against someone, and he was
doing his best to look the other way. She was sitting on
the lap of the plump squire, who was looking rather
pleased with himself, during a game of cards. Ajax was
at the end of the table, being sullen, not because of what
the princess was doing, but because of Julian who was
standing guard at the door.
Princess Harmony was swaying from side to side
now, looking flushed, and Julian wondered whether or
not he should do something. To his surprise, both he
and Ajax moved at the same time, and the blush further
filled his cheeks. He stood there, unsure of what move
to make, as the eldest prince shot him a dirty look
before going over to help the princess.
For a second the Princess swayed and then landed
in his lap as well, before straightening up and shaking
her finger at him. Princess Harmony then collapsed on
the floor by Ajax's seat, and a smile tugged at his lips.
When Ajax's eyes met his again, a shock raced through
Julian's body, and he looked away once more, feeling
confused.
“Let's go,” Royce muttered to Julian. Royce was
Julian's quarry today. “The Princess is on another
bender. I don't know who taught her manners, but…”
“Don't,” Ajax snapped. “Take the slave wherever
you want, but leave Princess Harmony out of this!”
That was it. Slavery had been diminished, and this
was the ultimate thing he shouldn't have said to Julian at
the moment. His eyes narrowed. Ajax hissed at Julian,
the air filling with a sense of tension like never before.
People scooted away from the pair, sensing a fight, but
none looked like they wanted to get involved.
Royce stood up, seeming appalled, but stayed
where he was. Julian, on the other hand, crossed the
room in three long strides. He raised his hand, but Ajax
obviously thought that Julian was faking it, because he
didn't raise his arm to defend himself as a fist
plummeted into his face with a sickening crack.
Ajax flew backward along with his drink and chair,
probably surprised by the amount of force that could
come out of a little body. The rest of the people went to
a standstill, and Julian stood their breathing heavily,
wondering if he was going to be whipped for hitting
royalty before deciding that he didn't care.
As the silence grew even more menacing, Ajax
staring up at Julian with a sinister expression. Princess
Harmony broke into song, shattering the tension.
Everyone chortled for a second, but he remained still,
only moving long after Ajax had left for the castle.
“That is ridiculous,” Royce whispered. “I hope you
don't get in trouble for that. He deserved it. If someone
says anything, then you'll have my support.”
Julian looked through the window at the castle. “Do
you think I'm going to be in big trouble for breaking
Prince Ajax's nose? I would have gotten slaughtered for
that in my old home.”
“No.” Royce grinned. “Truth be told, I'm not so
sure he'll say anything. Ajax had it coming to him. If you
wouldn't have done it, I probably would have. Slavery
is a thing of the past.”
“Yeah.”
But he was quiet for the rest of the evening,
wondering whether they would be able to fix his nose.
He rubbed his head guiltily, thinking of the king he had
to protect in a few days time. Compared to dealing with
Ajax, it didn't seem all too scary anymore.
He finally went outside to get some air and was
joined by a stumbling Princess Harmony, who was still
singing to herself. The woman plopped herself a hair too
close to Julian than he would have liked, but she was
drunk so it no longer bothered him quite as much.
“You
know…ugh…Prince
Ajax
is…is…
stressed…” The princess laid her head on Julian's
shoulder, smelling sour of beer and vomit, not looking
too attractive with a questionable green stain at the
bottom of the gown.
“Death threats. That's why he was such…an ass.”
“It's no excuse!”
He grew quiet then, thinking that he had just added
to Ajax's pain. But why did he care? Ajax had been
nothing but a jerk to him since the moment of his arrival.
Definitely he deserved a punch in the nose, or maybe
more. But then he looked down at himself, then at
Princess Harmony, and thought of how he was
deceiving everyone. That was just as bad, he realized.
Maybe he was the one who deserved to get punched.
For a while he stayed quiet, and then he stood up
suddenly, taking a step toward home. People would be
too drunk to realize that he was gone anyway and
Royce was enjoying himself without his protection.
Exhaustion filled his stomach, the moon shining above
his head.
An hour passed like this as he stumbled into the
house, feeling hungry and sad, wishing that he hadn't
punched out Ajax. Rena was waiting for him already, a
pot of rice—like usual—waiting faithfully on the stove.
He bypassed it, feeling more tired than hungry, and
collapsed face down in his bed.
“How was work?” Rena asked. “You don't look
well.”
A new headband graced Rena's hair, so he
assumed that meant that she was doing okay. He
rubbed his sore muscles, and then shook his head in
response to the question, feeling envious of his
housemate's life. She didn't have to spend all day
protecting self-involved royalty.
“I hate my life,” he muttered, grabbing a set of
clothes to wear. A bar of soap was in his fist. “Maybe it
was better to die.”
“That's optimistic,” Rena grumbled.
To this, Julian said nothing. He knew it wasn't any
good attempting to talk to people when he was upset or
angry; he just messed it all up. Instead, he walked to the
door, then turned to look at Rena wearily, a fresh
question on his mind.
“Rena,” he asked. “Who would want Ajax dead?”
“Besides you?”
Instead of responding, he gave Rena a sour look.
Rolling her eyes, she went over to the pot and scooped
herself a bowl of rice, moving it in her mouth with her
fingers. He thought of how Queen Medea would react
to seeing this, and he laughed on the inside. Maybe just
once he would have to try that to see how everyone
would take to a different perspective on life.
“There's a bunch of neighboring tribes of Prodigo,”
Rena said thoughtfully. “This kingdom was one of the
last to release the people from slavery, Ajax being one
of the princes rumored to be fighting against it. My
guess would be them.”
“Oh.” Julian's eyes darkened.
“I wouldn't want to be him, though,” Rena
murmured, eating more rice. “Those people are tricky.
Most of their attacks are from shadows and corners—
ceilings and such. They could easily get inside the castle
disguised as a slave.”
“Do you think Ajax's in danger?”
“Most likely.”
With that thought, he left to bathe in the hot spring
not far from the river. Deep inside, his stomach
clenched in worry.
Chapter Five
Ajax stepped into the room for the first time that
week and Julian held back a cough of surprise. Two
black eyes graced his features, along with a newly fixed
broken nose. Judging by the look of anger Ajax also
just sent him, Julian guessed that he hadn't been forgiven
for his actions quite yet.
“Oh dear,” Queen Medea giggled. “And to think
our soldier did that.”
Flushing darkly, Ajax sent Julian a look of loathing.
“Ah, ah. You better not look at Julian like that,
Ajax. I heard all about what you said too. Because of
that, I'm assigning Julian to guard you tonight. If he can
slip under radar as good as yours and get a punch in,
then the rebels won't stand a chance. Of course, I'm
assuming that you two won't kill each other first.”
In response, Ajax turned so green that he appeared
as though somebody had force fed him a wriggling fish.
Julian would have laughed had he not been so horrified
himself—a full night with Ajax was his worst nightmare.
"Now, go prattle on with the who—I mean, the
Princess. I have something that I want to talk to my son
about," Medea said, pointing toward the room next
door.
Julian was then ushered into the next room to greet
Princess Harmony, who was looking pretty in a dress of
sparkling blue. Grumbling to himself, he turned to press
his ear to the door, hoping to hear something interesting.
To his surprise, Harmony hauled him away, when she
was usually one of the ones to join him in his spying.
“What's wrong?” Julian snapped. “I wanted to
hear.”
“I already know what they're saying.” Princess
Harmony fixed a dangling pendant that was hanging
from her earlobe. “They're increasing the security for
the party because of Ajax. That's why he's here—as
much as you two don't get along, you're well-known for
being pretty tough. Things should be just fine, though.
Nobody suspicious would be able to get through this
place.”
He wrinkled his nose at the irony.
The Princess, either in response to their stressful
conversation or just thirst, took a flask out of her
ribbons at the base of her dress and chugged some
deep, strong liquid. Julian shook his head, listening to
the end of the conversation, but was interrupted by the
sound of loud cheering on the outside of the castle.
He peered out the window, catching sight of a large
man being led up the hill in a carriage, a good fifty
servants accompanying him. The man had a round face
and red cheeks, and he had a beard and the
appearance of someone that had lost a lot of weight in a
short period of time. He automatically pitied the man,
though Julian didn't really know him.
He heard Princess Harmony leave the room, but he
remained there, staring out the window. When the door
opened again, he assumed it was Queen Medea, joining
him to boss him around. Instead, Julian heard the gristly
sound of someone clearing his throat.
“You're supposed to be protecting me,” Ajax
growled. “Stop daydreaming. You aren't being paid to
stand around.”
Julian gritted his teeth.
The two of them walked together to the banquet
hall, which wasn't entirely pleasant. Ajax would always
walk ahead of him, and whenever Julian tried to catch
up to talk he would either be encountered with a rapid
speed up or an extreme slow down. It was obvious that
Ajax wanted to do anything but speak to him.
“Ajax,” he said softly. “Stop this. How am I
supposed to protect you when you're miles ahead of
me? Be mature.”
Ajax drew to a stop. “I'm the immature one?
You're the one who punched me, Prodigo, so I would
hold my tongue if I were you.”
They drew to a stop, both of them facing each
other, and Julian had his arms ready in case Ajax
suddenly decided to go in for the kill. Ajax, however,
didn't appear to be interested in a physical fight and just
stood there staring at him. Julian was paralyzed too,
feeling a little funny in his stomach.
Both of them were interrupted, however, when a
servant appeared at the mouth of the hallway, giving
them both a horrified look. “What are you two doing,
Prince? You're supposed to be in the banquet hall…”
Ajax gave him a look of loathing before grabbing
Julian's hand harshly, then dragging him into the main
waiting room. Instantly, people turned to stop and stare,
during which Julian blushed profusely. He was led over
to the doughy king, and then was shoved against his
breast carelessly.
"Ouch!" Julian yelped, regaining his balance and
subconsciously putting his hand on his sword. He glared
at Ajax. "What are you doing?"
"I don't need—nor do I want—your protection,"
Ajax growled. "Stay here and protect him."
"You are such a selfish ass!" Julian yelled at him, as
people turned to stare.
Even though Ajax could have sent him to the torture
chamber because of those words, he just kept walking.
Julian shuddered, staring after him, and then cursed
underneath his breath.
Finally, Julian turned around to face the man that he
had just been thrust into.
“My apologies,” Julian said. “I'm your escort for
tonight.”
King Roman looked curiously over at Ajax, who
was now talking to a group of women that had
accompanied their guests, and Julian could tell that Ajax
was determined not to glance in their direction. Prince
Royce behaved in the opposite way and was staring
directly at the two of them, grinning. He must have
heard what Julian had said.
"Okay, soldier, let's go inside," King Roman said,
nodding at him. They both headed toward the big
double doors.
As they stepped into the entrance hall, he was
surrounded by gasps and lights, but he shut his eyes,
ignoring the stares beneath the torchlight. The king led
him directly to the food table, where he stuffed his face
full of pasta, listening to the pointless stories Julian told
to make him feel better. By the end of the first hour,
King Roman was smiling, which he was quite glad of.
It was there, as he was looking up at the ceiling,
that he discovered something odd. One side of the
torches had accidentally gone out. He wasn't sure if this
was done by accident or on purpose, but he didn't want
this to go by without mentioning it, just in case Prince
Ajax is in danger.
“What's wrong?” King Roman asked. “You're
looking a bit pale.”
“I think there's something wrong.”
To his surprise the king instantly stopped talking,
staring up at him with beady eyes. The two of them
found Queen Medea lounging in the corner with a bottle
of wine, looking entirely happy to be drunk with
Princess Harmony at her side. The two of them made a
lovely couple.
“The left side of the room is out of light,” Julian
growled. “We should do something.”
“Oh posh.” Queen Medea giggled. “You're really
acting like a Hestia now, soldier. Who cares about the
lights!? That's ridiculous. Here, I know what'll relax you
up. Ajax! You've met my son, haven't you dear? Ajax!
Hey, Ajax!”
Ajax had been standing in the corner ignoring the
pleas from other women to dance, but when he heard
his mother calling, he stalked over looking incredibly
sullen. The Queen picked up a feather from the table,
bopping the prince on the head with it, as Princess
Harmony giggled and sang pointless tunes in the corner.
Julian grimaced as eyes turned his way, his eyes trying
to stare at the ceiling.
"Ajax, honey, this is—" Medea hiccupped
drunkenly and swayed from side to side. "—Julian. He's
really attractive, isn't he? Soldier, soldier, soldier boy. I
love that—" Medea hiccupped again. "—song."
Both of them stared at each other, and Ajax gave
Julian the nastiest look yet. Julian half considered
running away then, despite the Queen's orders to
protect him.
“Sorry,” Julian muttered, as Ajax continued to
glare.
To this, Ajax said nothing.
But there, up in the distance, he saw a foreign face
peer above him, a glint of a weapon visible even
through the darkness. Julian threw himself against Ajax
in blind panic, knocking the prince to the ground just as
five arrows struck the floor, bouncing against the
marble. One of them ripped through his uniform,
causing a large wound that splattered blood
everywhere.
Julian stood up protectively in front of Ajax, blood
dribbling down his arm, his fingertips already covered in
a steady stream of crimson. A scream filled the night,
and he saw soldiers run across the overhang as tribal
squeals filled the air, their eyes dancing with rage at a
new enemy.
Standing up, looking shocked, Ajax stared at him
without saying anything. Julian turned slowly,
concerned. “Are you okay?”
“You saved me,” Ajax muttered. “You…saved…
me?”
Just as Julian was about to respond, a group of
women—probably nurses—burst into the room,
pushing him aside to get to the Prince. Everyone was
becoming frantic, worrying about the Prince. During this
moment, Julian realized that he did not belong here—
nobody cared if a Prodigo soldier was killed because of
blood loss during the line of duty, no matter how nice
they had been to him.
He turned to leave, catching sight of Ajax's eyes as
he left the room, his heart pounding as he ran down the
hall, leaving a vivid trail of blood behind him. Rena, he
thought. If he got to her, then he would be helped.
Chapter Six
Rena slowly re-mended the arm. He was prepared
to enter the castle though he was still feeling sick and
weak. His housemate had been attempting to convince
him all night not to go, but he knew that he had no other
choice.
“Are you sure about this?” Rena patted his arm
gently, and he slid the uniform over his head. “You look
really sick. And for you, that's saying something.”
“I'll be fine.” Hopefully.
Slowly he stepped outside into the sun, feeling the
heat pound against his back as he walked up to the
castle, his heart painful in his chest. He half worried that
he would pass out before he even made it up the hill, let
alone when he managed to start working. This would
not be a good day.
An hour and a half later he finally made it inside, his
head fuzzy with things he didn't want to think about. The
Queen was waiting for him in her bedroom, as
expected, and paled at the sight of his arm. She stood
up, staring at him for a moment, before doing something
surprising.
The Queen ran at him, embracing him in her arms,
her sweaty smell overpowered by too much perfume.
His arm ached when she grabbed him so tightly and he
couldn't stop himself from letting out a high-pitched
squeak. It was only then that Medea finally released
him.
“You,” Queen Medea said, “saved my son's life.”
“Please,” he said, backing away. “It was nothing.”
With that, the Queen pushed him down on the
couch, gentler this time than he had ever remembered
her being.
"Stay here," Medea ordered before leaving.
He massaged the base of his arm with his
fingertips, feeling incomplete in the now empty Queen's
room. It was uncomfortably silent and he wondered
what Medea was after.
Sometime later, he examined a picture of the
Queen's husband. Surprisingly, the king looked nearly
identical to Ajax. They had the same serious face, the
black hair, and the eyes that looked as though they
could bore into Julian's soul. Quietly, he pressed his
fingers against the surface. Dead in the war. That was
probably what happened.
He sat down again, picking up a tea cup that had
been presented to him, and stared into the brown
murky liquid. It had been two days since he had eaten,
but he couldn't even bring himself to pick at the bowl of
candy set on the table. Feeding in the castle felt too
much like he was betraying Rena, who was stuck with
flavorless rice back home in her little shack.
“Julian?”
Ajax's voice broke him out of his stupor, and his full
cup came toppling downward, hitting the table just hard
enough to send shards of glass everywhere. A dark
brown splotch appeared on the carpet, which was
probably worth more than his life. A flush filled his
cheeks as he bent down to fix it.
To his immense surprise, however, Ajax leaned
down to help him clear up the mess. By the time they
were done, Julian felt sick with embarrassment, and
Ajax was back to his old habit of quiet staring. He sat
back, waiting for anything to come out of Ajax's mouth.
“Say something,” came a hiss from the door.
Julian looked up quickly, realizing that Princess
Harmony had been hiding behind the door while
listening and was trying to be discreet, but she had
failed miserably. Obviously she had been rooting Ajax
on the whole time without Julian realizing it. His cheek
twitched in an almost-smile, and he looked up to
discover that Ajax was wearing a similar expression.
“I—ugh—” Ajax looked embarrassed. “—needed
some help, but now I think it's time for someone to
disappear!”
There was a sound of a slamming door, a giggle,
and then another slam. Julian pretended not to notice
this, scrambling to think of what to say when they
weren't screaming at each other. It felt strange seeing
him so at ease when Julian felt as though his heart was
going to be catapulted out of his chest by the weight of
his pulse.
“Did you—uh—have a particular reason,” Julian
said softly, “to talk to me? I'm supposed to be guarding
Prince Royce right now, I think.”
“I wanted to thank you and to apologize for my
behavior.” Ajax's look softened from beneath his two
black eyes. “In case you haven't noticed, I have issues
with the Prodigo, but I shouldn't have placed it all on
you.”
“Oh, I see.” Julian nodded. “I accept and I also
must apologize for breaking your nose and for pushing
you to the floor and for embarrassing you in front of
your friends.”
This was obviously not what he expected to hear,
because Ajax's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked
taken aback. There was a moment of awkward silence
before Ajax nodded at him briefly. Julian looked up to
give him a small smile, to which Ajax returned with a
strange look that he could not name. Then there was
more silence.
“Uh,” said Ajax after a moment, showing that he
wasn't quite sure how to approach this either. Both of
them were jockeying around, searching for a position,
trying to feel the boundaries of this new found
friendship. “Well, I'll see you later, won't I?"
"I suppose," Julian responded.
After that, Ajax stumbled awkwardly from the
room, and he couldn't help but laugh. For someone that
was so serious, Ajax got into an awful lot of mishaps.
Julian found himself feeling a lot happier knowing that
the prince no longer wanted to scalp him.
A voice, Princess Harmony's, rang out from the
neighboring room. “See, that wasn't so hard, was it,
Ajax? Julian is pretty nice, isn't he? I think that he may
like you too, just a little bit.”
Julian choked on his tea and ran to the door, feeling
flustered as he banged inside. Princess Harmony
swayed on the spot, looking curious. What a family, he
thought. By the way they behave, you'd think they'd
be from Prodigo common stock.
“I don't…I don't…” Julian huffed. “I mean…uh….”
That was when Julian realized that there was
nothing he could say. If he claimed that he didn't like
Ajax, the Prince would be offended, and they were
finally on good terms. Plus, Princess Harmony probably
hadn't even meant it the way that it sounded. With this
thought, he clamped his mouth shut, turned bright red,
whirling out of the room pretending that nothing
happened. Behind him, he heard Princess Harmony
laughing, making him grateful that Ajax hadn't joined
her.
“Stupid woman,” he said, kicking a table.
****
“The Prince wants a guarded escort to a party,”
Queen Medea murmured. “This should be especially
wonderful for you. That boy of mine sure does know
how to have a good time.”
Queen Medea left the room then, leaving him all
alone. Inside, he was filled with dread. Though Prince
Royce was always nice toward him, he would
oftentimes include him in games that he didn't want to
be a part of—like gambling or hunting. He much
preferred being just a guard.
It was then, as he stood by the window looking
down at a carriage, that he was surprised to hear a
voice that he hadn't expected coming from the
doorway. “Are you ready to go? Mother said she told
you that you were guarding me, didn't she?”
It wasn't Royce; it was Ajax. He was standing at
the doorway in a silken shirt that brought the color out
in his eyes, and Julian couldn't help but be momentarily
paralyzed before him. That was, of course, before Ajax
was promptly kicked out of the way by Princess
Harmony, who was also to be going with them.
“It's you!” he cried finally, feeling his cheeks flush.
Ajax raised his eyebrow. “Who did you think it
would be? Mother did tell you, didn't she?”
“No, I…” Julian smiled. “I'm relieved. I thought you
were Royce.”
“Don't let him hear that. He thinks that you're the
best thing to ever happen to this castle.” To his surprise,
Ajax smiled at him again. Whatever harsh feeling he had
originally held for Julian seemed to have disappeared
completely, leaving nothing but something kind. Maybe
Princess Harmony had been right about him after all.
“He's really taken with you.”
“No!”
That made Ajax laugh, and Julian realized that this
was the first time he had ever heard it. It sounded clear
like a bell, not what he had expected from his gruff
voice. When he laughed like that, he found it hard to get
mad at anything Ajax had said, in jest or not.
The Princess Harmony cleared her throat in a loud,
flamboyant manner, and they both turned to look at her
curiously. A large smile was on her face, her hips
swinging as she talked. Julian normally got along with
the Princess just fine, but for whatever reason he felt a
hint of annoyance at her presence, as if she was getting
in the way of something.
Ajax wore a strange expression on his face again,
but he was still smiling, so Julian hoped that meant that
he was still in a good mood. It was in these moments
that he realized how beautiful Princess Harmony was,
her red hair pooling like blood over her shoulders,
looking way less light than Julian's long, thin mane.
Maybe it's me who's interrupting something, Julian
thought. These two are best friends. They should be
together. This thought thoroughly depressed him, so he
went back to looking out the window.
“Don't you want to know where we're going?”
Princess Harmony asked. “It's really cool.”
“Don't,” Ajax warned.
To his surprise Ajax grabbed Julian's hand and led
him out the door, down the hall, taking the stairs
leisurely. He was led into the dark carriage, choosing
their seats, Ajax taking the spot adjacent to him. He
instantly leaned into Princess Harmony, who was
smiling across from him. At this, Julian looked
determinedly out the window, pretending not to exist,
wishing more than anything that he could return to the
castle and be spared the torture of watching them
together.
The hours passed and Princess Harmony pushed at
him gently with the heel of her hand. “Are you okay?
You haven't said a word this whole time. You don't
have to be uncomfortable in front of Ajax—he's not the
type to care that you talk, even as a guard.”
Ajax leaned back, looking curious, still saying
nothing. Julian looked at the two of them, realizing that
the world was moving. He hadn't felt this sensation in a
long time, and he knew what it was accompanied by.
Not now, he thought. Please not now. I can't
humiliate myself in front of Ajax again.
The door to the carriage opened, saving Julian from
a response. A large container filled with chilled pork,
fruits, boiled potatoes smothered in vinegar, and rolls
was thrust into the carriage. Princess Harmony licked
her chops in response. Both of her companions picked
up plates, filling them to the brim, digging in with their
fingers just like Rena.
In all his life, he had never seen so much meat. In
this land, such delicacies were considered rare for
Prodigo, who were fed on their master's crop and
nothing more. Meat wasn't even sold in stores to the
lower classes, and the only way to get it was to pay
ridiculously high prices to a Hestia illegally.
“What's up?” Harmony asked, juice dribbling down
her chin from a particular juicy strip of pork. Ajax
grimaced beside her, and she stuck her tongue out at
him. “You're not eating again? You're like a twig, Julian.
You need to gain some weight, or else you might just
disappear. After all, how are you supposed to fight off
bad guys without being strong?”
That was when he felt around in his pack, feeling
dizzy again. He excused himself politely to Ajax, who
was looking once again courteously puzzled. Harmony
was grumbling at him all the while. Julian flopped out of
the back, stepping next to the two stewards walking
beside the carriage, and grabbed a couple of leaflets of
his medicine herb pack.
The leaves tasted acidic as he gnawed at it, eyes
watering from the bitter flavor, but he knew better than
to spit it out. This was precious, the only thing that was
keeping him alive. The stewards stared at him as he
chewed, but he ignored the prying eyes, only hoping to
finish soon so as to not arouse suspicion.
****
The room was much noisier than he was used to at
the castle, and he recoiled when he entered the room.
They were in a bar, not much unlike the one that they
had been in back home, but the music was far better
than anything that he had ever heard. There was the
sound of laughter, which swept them away before they
even entered the room.
Truly, it was a soldier's hell. There were too many
distractions. Prince Ajax could be swept away in a
blink of the eye.
“This is great, isn't it?” Princess Harmony said.
Julian nodded, trying not to be rude. He was
attempting desperately to fight the sickness that was
engulfing him, and the last place he wanted to have an
attack was in this kind of environment. Plus, he was
feeling a bit depressed for whatever reason. Home, he
realized, was the only place he wanted to be.
While Ajax and Princess Harmony both bought
beer, he leaned against the wall, his eyes closed. By the
time he opened them again the two of them were
tapping on the dance floor, looking all too perfect
together. Feeling ruffled, he turned to leave, hoping that
they would dance all night so he could pass out in the
grass.
I shouldn't be doing this. They could get hurt.
He stepped outside into the cool night air, feeling it
tousle his locks. All around him was the sound of
laughter, but he ignored it. Instead, he curled up in a
quiet place, hoping to be lost to the world.
Why am I fighting so hard to live? Julian watched
a Hestia with a wife and a child walked past, laughing.
He was all alone. Even as a small boy, his parents beat
him or ignored him, but never once, not during any of
his twenty-five long years, did he ever sense love from
anyone. Now he had nothing to survive for, especially
this way.
His eyes drooped closed, sadness overcoming him.
Princess Harmony should be happy with Ajax, he
thought, feeling envious. Though the two of them had
broken it off, he could sense the love between them.
There was no doubt in his mind that something would
happen soon.
“Julian?” a male voice asked, and he looked up to
see Ajax staring down at him. “Are you okay? You
shouldn't just wander off along like that. We were
worried.”
Julian smiled. "I'm a soldier, Ajax. I work for you—
if anything, you should be angry that I'm slacking off."
Ajax leaned backward. "It doesn't work that way
with me or with Princess Harmony. If you're going to be
around us all the time anyway, then you might as well
talk."
“My apologies.” Julian stood up and bowed deep.
“I'll accompany you back inside.”
“Not necessary.”
Ajax sank to a sitting position, Julian accompanying
him. The clouds were thick above them, covering the
sky, the only light coming from a hidden moon. A shiver
coursed through his spine and he drew his legs up to his
chin, gripping them tightly as if to heat himself up.
“I'm sorry,” said Ajax. “Princess Harmony said
you'd like it here.”
“Princess Harmony likes it here.”
To that, Ajax grinned. “Yeah, she's a pip, isn't she?
You would never guess that she was royalty.”
A couple of Hestian women wandered by, eyeing
Ajax appreciatively. Ajax ignored the looks, his hand
resting firmly on Julian's shoulder, attempting to
recapture his attention. Guilt flooded his stomach as he
glanced at Ajax, thinking of how kind the Prince had
been to him lately.
“So…” Ajax said. “Can I ask you something
personal?”
Uh-oh. Here it comes. He tensed his muscles,
feeling the urge to run go through his legs. Somehow
Ajax must have discovered that he was a legendary
soldier. Julian gulped, pushing a stand of hair in his face,
trying to ignore the way Ajax's eyes pierced his soul.
He felt like he could barely breathe.
“Oh, um…” A flush filled his cheeks. “Alright.”
“What were you eating earlier?” This was not what
he expected. “I looked out the window—that was why
you left, but I couldn't figure out why you wouldn't do it
in front of us.”
"Ajax, I like you, but I don't want to burden you
with my problems."
When Julian said "I like you," Ajax's eyes twinkled
in response. There was something mysterious there, as
well as a deeper, more foolish hidden surface, so Julian
relaxed. It took him awhile to realize that he was no
longer feeling dizzy. Because I'm happy. Finally…
“Oh, come on. We're friends now, right?” said
Ajax, smiling. “I want to know what were you eating
out there. And don't pretend that it was your lunch,
because that was not in any way, shape, or form food.”
There was a moment of silence where they listened
to jeering from the inside, followed by a loud, sharp
high-pitched squeal. Both of them listened to the sound
for a moment, deciding that Harmony had yet to be in
danger, rolling their eyes as they did so. Sometimes the
princess could be a pain in the behind.
“I'm sick.” Julian finally sighed beneath Ajax's eyes.
“In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the sort that cares
much about royalty, but as a Prodigo, I couldn't make
enough money to get the medicine to survive. I was
abandoned by my people to die. This was my only
chance. But, as you can also see, I'm beginning to
wonder whether it was really worth it all.”
To this, the Prince said nothing. Julian saw him
switch position, and he realized his reasoning: guilt. Ajax
had been rude to him in the beginning, even more so
than anyone else. Now they were friends, though Julian
couldn't say to what degree, so the Prince was feeling
pressure.
“Can I ask you a question now?” asked Julian.
“Uh-oh.”
“Why did you break it off with Harmony?” Ajax
looked relieved by the question, as if he had expected
something more difficult. There will be plenty of time
for that later. “You two seem to know each other
really well. Harmony said it was because you two were
like brother and sister, but I can't help but sense there is
something more wrong than that.”
“You're right…” Ajax shook his head. “I love
Princess Harmony. Not in a sexual way, but as family. I
probably could have married her, but she drives me—
I'm sorry to say this—nuts. If I had to marry her, I
would feel like her babysitter more than her husband.
We just weren't meant to be together. My mom and
dad, before my dad died, really loved each other. I
guess, truth be told, I wanted something deeper than
what Harmony could give me.”
This was a more thorough answer than anything he
had heard before, and he knew that he believed Ajax
by the look on his face. Just as Julian opened his mouth
to ask another question, the door opened to reveal the
plump bar master, looking frustrated. The two of them
exchanged worried glances.
“My apologies to you,” the barman said. “But I was
worried you skipped out on the check.”
“I paid mine already,” Ajax said wearily.
“And I haven't had anything. I'm guarding…sort
of.”
Both of them looked at each other again, rolling
their eyes at each other as the third party came to mind.
Ajax stood up, and then helped Julian to his feet as
well, his cheeks filling with heat as they walked
together. I'm so happy that I'm here with Ajax.
At this thought, he immediately swung his hand to
his head, knocking himself back a pace. Both Ajax and
the barman turned to look at him, which he returned by
staring at the floor, pretending like he hadn't just made a
fool of himself. I'm a guy. What kind of thought was
that to have?
Ajax seemed to have decided that this was normal
behavior, because he turned to the barman, looking
only a little worried. “The redhead didn't pay her
check? And she left?”
“Yes, sir,” said the barman, scratching his beer
belly. “Ran out without a second glance, drunker than a
skunk.”
That instantly made Julian worry. Though Harmony
had a habit of being drunk, he had never thought that
she would just take off. Ajax, however, seemed to
understand what was going on, because his lips pursed,
and he turned to Julian before grimacing.
Ajax placed a golden coin in the barman's pocket
with a murmur of “keep the change.” The money that
the Prince had just given the barman was enough to
feed a family of five for an entire year, but Ajax didn't
appear to care or notice. They parted ways in good
humor, the Prince grabbing Julian's wrist as if he was
afraid that he might slip away too.
“Aren't you worried?” Julian asked as they
approached the carriage. “I've never seen Princess
Harmony do this before.”
“I have.” Though Ajax spoke quietly, Julian could
tell that he was angry. It was surprising to find that the
emotion was not aimed at him. “Many, many times.
That woman—I love her to death, but she needs to
grow up quickly, or else my mother will disown her
from this castle just like she was thrown out of her
own.”
So that was why Princess Harmony was here.
Julian had found it surprising that they would allow the
Princess to stay with her fiancé rather than at home with
her own family, and he had wondered whether it had
been the cause of some tragedy. It didn't really shock
Julian that much that Harmony had been thrown out of
her previous home.
“Stay here,” Ajax growled. “Take this too.”
Handing him a sword, Ajax turned to leave,
grumbling all the while. Julian, however, would have
none of it, striding to catch up. Both of them drew to a
sudden halt in the middle of the street, glaring at each
other. This was a fight that Julian had to win, and he
knew that.
“You know I'm supposed to be the guard. This is
my job,” Julian growled. “And you also know that I'm
not going to let up on this. I want to know what
Princess Harmony is doing.”
“Look, she isn't in any danger. She's just being
foolish—it's painful enough for just me to hear this.”
With that, Julian grabbed Ajax's wrist, holding it
tightly so he wouldn't try to walk off. The Prince glared
at him with a defiant expression, looking sullen, already
knowing that he was fighting a losing battle. The two of
them stared at each other for quite some time before
Ajax finally eased up.
“I was raised in a slave house, Ajax. We had to
share bungalows and were climbing on top of each
other all the time. There was no privacy, not even for
sex.” He narrowed his eyes. "Whatever the problem is,
I guarantee that I've seen worse.”
Ajax got a strange look on his face again, but he
nodded grudgingly, looking surprised by his own action.
Julian was given the 'one minute' signal as the Prince
went inside to ask the barman about Harmony, and he
couldn't help but wonder whether Ajax was going to
attempt to give him the slip.
When Ajax stepped outside a moment later,
looking entirely too hassled, he found himself surprised.
So the Prince was a man of his word after all. Julian
nodded his head at Ajax and went to follow him.
“Let me warn you,” said Ajax. “Harmony has been
giving herself away for years. That was the main reason
that she was thrown out by the King of Lister. Her
father feared what her reputation would do for his
kingdom, so he passed her over to us, hoping that I, as
her fiancé, would be able to talk some sense into her.”
“Giving herself away?”
Ajax nodded.
They approached a small shack with the light gone
out, and Ajax held up his hand to stop Julian in his
tracks. The two of them stood near the window in
which they heard inappropriate sounds usher forth.
Both of them crouched low, Julian wondering whether
they were going to wait it out or bang in guns blazing.
“That's so loud.” Julian sighed, feeling flustered.
“What is he doing, trying to kill her?”
Ajax blinked and grinned wickedly. "That's funny,
coming from someone who was so tough only minutes
before."
Julian scowled and wiggled. The rhythmic groaning
was making him horny. It had been years since he had
been with anyone, and it hadn't been entirely pleasant
when he had been, but that didn't stop his erection from
straining his soldier's suit.
After a few more minutes, they could still hear the
noises, and Julian leaned against the wall plugging his
ears, attempting to erase the loud squeals. The last thing
he wanted was an erection with Ajax beside him.
Ajax shook his head as well from beside him,
looking just as uncomfortable. It only took a moment
before the Prince looked as though he couldn't take any
more, and he offered Julian his hand.
“Let's get out of here,” Ajax finally said. “I never
should have brought you. We'll wait in the carriage until
Princess Harmony has finished making a prostitute of
herself.”
Chapter Seven
To Julian's surprise, it was not Ajax's and
Harmony's relationship that suffered the following week.
Every time he saw the Princess, who pretended as
though she had done absolutely nothing wrong, Julian
saw that house, that incident, like never before. The
respect that he had held for her was now gone,
replaced by a deep sense of discomfort that occurred
whenever they were in the same room together.
Prince
Royce
noticed
Julian's
behavior,
commenting, “That woman is such a whore. I've never
seen anything like it.”
This was done in front of everyone in the hall, as
well as the Queen, and Ajax stood up at the end of
table looking enraged. Medea, however, held up her
hand, dismissing both of her sons for a chat in the hall
that ended with Royce wailing at the top of his lungs.
Julian gave an apologetic smile to Harmony, who
instead of looking embarrassed appeared quite pleased
with herself.
After the meal was excused, Julian having watched
all of the royalty there, they were led down the end of
the hall to the first floor of the castle that led to the
grounds. They were supposed to watch the fights,
which the people here held in high esteem, but what
Julian classified as highly boring. He knew he could beat
every last one of the testosterone-filled bodies if he had
to.
Ajax appeared beside him, dressed in attire that
Julian had never seen before, the cloth a deep, ruby
red. Royce stood nearby in similar colors, looking very
sullen with his vivid crimson cheek. That made Julian
smile, and he grinned even more as he was led to the
side with Ajax.
"You get to just watch the fights today, right?"
Prince Ajax asked him.
"Yes," Julian said, nodding. "Be careful out there."
"I don't need to be careful—I've got skills."
Julian snorted, and Prince Ajax laughed too.
Suddenly, Ajax's face got serious and he leaned close
enough that Julian got a tingle down his spine—and also
in a very special, sensitive place. His heart quickened.
"Listen, you be careful today too. For some reason,
I feel uneasy."
Prince Ajax stepped back and went away, leaving
Julian's heart thudding in his chest.
He stood there placidly, attempting to come to
terms with his latest train of thought, wondering how he
could be attracted to Ajax. It wasn't just a small amount
either. After all, his heart was still beating hard in his
chest.
All this, plus Royce was coming his way, which was
the last thing that he wanted. Royce probably wanted to
invite him to go hunting again. As far as he was
concerned, the youngest prince could be trampled by a
herd of wild horses.
Then, as if the gods were watching, Royce hit the
ground in a spiral of dust, and Julian was gone, tracking
down the hillside with the rest of them to city below.
After he was certain that he had outrun Royce, he
slowed his pace and contemplated the fights.
Each fight chose one competitor from each round
until they were two on two, in which they would battle
until they had a winner. From then on, the winner of the
fight would go on to the main kingdom where they
would challenge the people from the other cities. The
final stage would take place as the best two fighters
beat each other to death.
****
Julian was leaning against the fence alongside
Queen Medea, Princess Harmony, and Prince Ajax,
watching the castle people practice, the common folk
mingling among them until they were one race, one
people. That was the only good thing about the fights.
Most years it was not a Hestia that got chosen, but a
Prodigo, and they were usually from a very poor family.
In fact, today over three hundred men from the
village had come to fight, training in all the separate
fields. When the event actually occurred, there would
be thirty fights going on at a time, the people being
tallied for wins versus losses. The winners were chosen
to do battle in a match in front of everyone, and by that
time, people were usually incredibly revved up.
“Do you want to try a round?” Royce said, jogging
up to the fence. Royce caught Julian off guard. “I'll go
easy on you, if you're nervous.”
“Really?” Julian asked, grinning. He thought it was
funny that Royce said that, as Julian was his guard.
He wanted to see what would happen when he
destroyed the second prince.
A few people laughed as he was led into the arena
where the royal people trained, and Princess Harmony,
Ajax, and Queen Medea paused to stare. Julian was
handed a wooden sword and felt all too at home with it
in his hand. This was what he lived for.
Royce began, “This has different rules then regular
fighting. You usually—"
“Don't patronize me,” snapped Julian, getting in the
moment, the kill shining in eyes. “I know how to fight.
Hit me already.”
Looking surprised, Royce offered him a blow that
was too gentle. Julian had seen him fight, and though the
Prince wasn't much good, he knew that this was
pathetic even for him. Nothing made Julian angrier than
a person that went easy on him. His mouth tightened,
his fingers gripping the sword tighter, dodging blow
after blow as if it was merely child's play.
A silence filled the field as everyone turned to
watch, and Royce soon became purple as he lost his
sense of amusement. Julian raised his sword high above
his head, dodging underneath a sloppy side chop,
catching Royce in a chokehold that only a military
expert would know how to induce.
As Royce raised his arm in pain and defeat, Julian
backed away and bowed at the waist, feeling
embarrassed to have lost his head. After that, Medea
looked delighted and whispered something to one of the
attendants that was standing nearby. The man looked
shocked before hurrying away to obey. Mildred, the
other servant, suddenly looked very nervous.
Julian turned to bow at Royce. “Thank you for the
fight.”
To this, Royce said nothing, leaping over the fence
in a fit of embarrassment.
Queen Medea called over to Julian. “Over here,
Julian, honey. I want to talk to you.”
A nervous tingling filled Julian's stomach as he
headed over to Medea, and he wondered whether he
should have just let Royce defeat him. After all, the last
thing he needed was publicity. He couldn't bear it if he
was recognized, mostly because he would then lose
Ajax's trust.
A smile had formed on Medea's face. “You're
better than everyone here, are you not?”
“Well, I wouldn't know about that."
“Let me tell you something. Every year my cousin's
kingdom, Rouge, beats us in the competition. I would
love to have us win this year.” The look on Ajax's face
was something to behold. His face contorted in a look
of anger, his teeth biting down hard over his lips. “You
are exactly what I need.”
His mouth dropped open. He should have held
back, smiled, and allowed Royce to teach him his little
tricks. Now he was going to be stuck in a competition
where there would be a high chance that people would
recognize him for not only being in the revolt, but for
also being the leader. Right now he was one of the most
wanted men in the Kingdom Rouge, and the last thing
he needed was to be paraded in front of their faces
again.
“No,” Ajax yelled so loudly that everyone jumped.
“He won't do this for you stupid family rivalry!”
“Look who's talking! You don't even like Prodigo,
so why does it matter so much? He's your guard—don't
tell me that you've grown fond of him, have you?
There's not even a drop of royal blood in his veins."
Ajax shook his head in response.
Hurt hit him hard and he looked at the sky abruptly,
trying to ignore the sharp pain in his breast. Ajax jerked
his head toward Julian, opening his mouth like a fish out
of water. Princess Harmony looked horrified, waving
her arms like a crazy woman, attempting to calm
everyone down and not succeeding in the least.
“Will you do it, then?” Queen Medea smirked,
pleased by everyone's reaction. “I would love to win.
Plus, if you don't, consider your work at the castle
terminated. That would mean you'd die, wouldn't it?”
Julian jerked his head toward Princess Harmony,
who was staring with determination up at the sky now,
her lips puckered. Anger filled him, and though he
nodded grudgingly, he felt his hatred of Hestia increase
tenfold. It would be almost worth it to reveal himself in
front of everyone.
“I'll have Mildred sign you in at the desk.” Medea
smiled, waving Julian away. “There is also a more
appropriate uniform for you in the castle. I had the
attendant run up to get one for you.”
Julian walked away toward the castle, not saying
goodbye, trying to fight the burning sensation that he
had in the back of his throat as headed up the hill,
wishing that he had never come to the castle in the first
place. Everyone he had ever loved had harmed him—
his parents, his friends, his fellow workers.
Now all that was left was hurt. This isn't worth it.
It was never worth it. His bottom lip trembled as he
walked up towards the hill, staring at the castle, thinking
of how it had seemed like home at least for a little while.
Not anymore.
Chapter Eight
He watched the fights from the hill that day instead
of down below. Occasionally he would get up, pace
just a little bit, debating whether to follow the orders. I
should have died when they diagnosed me with this.
I just should have let it all go.
Julian was overcome with the ailments of human
nature, wondering who he hated more: the Prodigo for
abandoning him or the Hestia for manipulating him. No,
it was himself that he hated, not the people. They were
doing what they could to survive. So what if they all had
families, love, and friends to care for them…
Under the cover of nightfall, after which Ajax had
nearly won the final battle, he snuck down to the house
where Rena was, planning to give her the remains of his
coins since it was his fault that she would probably have
to leave. Probably he would go someplace where they
would kill him on sight.
He approached the house and entered through the
window, after which he went to sit on his bed, awaiting
his housemate's return. This went on for an hour, when
she walked in not alone, but with two soldiers standing
at her side. Rena looked at him and grimaced, catching
sight of the horrified look on his face.
“What's going on!?” Rena hissed. “You told me the
Queen just wanted to see him!”
“Yeah,” one of the soldiers smirked. “That she
does.”
Then Rena began to fight and struggle, unsheathing
a dagger from her belt. Julian stumbled to his feet,
grabbed his housemate by her waist, taking the weapon
from her. When Rena repositioned herself, she looked
at Julian with a wounded expression, but her anger was
halted.
“Time to go.”
A guard grabbed Julian by the shoulders, and he
tossed the coins to the ground in a shower at Rena's
feet. His housemate sobbed as she bent down to pick
them up. The look Julian sent her said one message:
'Run.'
They walked slowly up the hill, and thought Julian
knew that he could have easily outfought the guards, he
felt what strength he had leave him. It was too late now,
too late for everything.
When they entered the entrance hall, the only thing
Julian heard was the overjoyed sound of feasting.
Royce was standing in the main hall, looking horrified at
the sight of Julian being led by two guards, his mouth
tightening as the guard took a hold of Julian by the hair
in order to keep his head forward. This was something
that Julian was all too used to.
“What are you doing with him!?” a familiar voice
yelled—Ajax. “Let him go.”
The guard looked uncomfortable. “The Queen's
orders.”
“Stop it!”
They shoved Julian to his knees in front of Ajax,
Royce, and the newly arrived Princess Harmony. “I'm
sorry, sir, but it was what her Majesty wanted.”
Ajax turned to stare at Julian.
“Please, don't look at me when I'm like this,” he
said softly, the guard hauling him up by the hair again,
making him let out a squeak. “Please, Ajax, just go
away…”
All three of them pursed their lips, and Princess
Harmony started crying, her bottom lip trembling. Julian
grew scared, his fingers grasping his shirt, feeling like a
slave all over again. Nothing had really changed since
the war, he realized.
Some people from the dining room came to stare as
he was led into the Queen's corridors, the soldiers
flinging him to the ground in front of her feet. Her body
language said more viscous things than her mouth ever
could.
“Leave us.”
The moment the soldiers left the room, Julian began
to see the Queen's more violent side. Medea grabbed
Julian by the front of his uniform, hauling him against
her, repeatedly slapping at his face until a stinging,
burning sensation filled his eyes. He was then tossed to
the floor again, lying at her feet, blood spilling from his
mouth as he began to gasp.
A panic attack, he realized. This was when his
disease decided to strike. When he was alone and
scared, no one to save him, dirty like a common dog.
He was unable to breathe, and he sunk his teeth into his
arm to keep himself from crying in his agony.
“I gave you an order, Prodigo,” said Queen Medea
through clenched teeth. “A direct order. What was
that?”
“I'm not your slave…” Julian coughed. “Never
again…”
“No, you're not.”
The Queen left the room then, and for a second he
thought it was over. That was before he felt an unseen
person grip him by the back of the head again, hauling
him to his feet. He saw a familiar leather object dangle
in front of his eyes: a whip, used mostly to brutalize
livestock. In this case, it was reserved for him.
The soldier held him to the ground with his foot, the
pain flashing white hot again and again as the whip came
down, blood splattering the floor as he coughed. He
lost count of the lashes as he lay there whimpering, but
he was used to this agony. It was one that was
entangled in him like every other part of his being.
After some time the now winded soldier left the
room, whistling as he did so. Julian, however, curled up
in a ball sobbing, wondering why this was happening,
hoping that it was all a bad dream. He had changed
nothing. When his people rose up to fight the Hestia,
they had made little difference.
His mind ached as he longed for death, hoping that
it would swoop down soon. He hardly felt it as
someone grasped his back, picking him up bridal style,
carrying him softly. A choking sob broke through him,
and he tried to fight the person, hoping they would go
away. His carrier shushed him, ushering him into
another room, avoiding all the populated parts of the
castle.
As he was laid on a pristine bed. His swollen eyes
opening a crack, he saw Ajax standing above him,
looking worried. A few feet away was Princess
Harmony, looking disgusted. Julian whimpered,
wondering if this was it, knowing that they thought him
to be someone so putrid that they wouldn't even look
upon him.
“They got him pretty good,” Ajax said sadly. “I
didn't think Medea would do something like this.”
Princess Harmony sobbed even harder.
“You'd better leave the room now,” finished Ajax,
looking down at Julian. “I've got to get Julian out of
these clothes, and I don't think that would be an
appropriate view for a lady.”
Ajax leaned downward to tug off his jacket, but his
flesh stuck to the material and caused him pain. He
began to thrash and fight, though it was only weakly, as
Princess Harmony excused herself. Ajax was forced to
hold him down by his hands to pull away the material
from his raw, scarred back.
“Calm down, Julian,” muttered Ajax. “It's going to
be okay.”
There was a moment when he went still, and Julian
grasped the pillows tightly. He let a little whimper out of
his throat, and Ajax shook his head before placing a hot
rag against the flesh there. He did his best not to cry
out, though he was so surprised that it wasn't much of
an effort.
Ajax leaned down over him, tugging at a piece of
his hair. Julian whimpered again, and Ajax said, "Even
with the war, I can't imagine you ever being hurt this
badly."
“How did you?…” Julian whimpered, and then he
hissed in pain. Was Ajax going to tell on him? Was he
in even more trouble now?
“I saw you the first day you got here when you
weren't dressed like a soldier. I've been all over the
world, and I recognized your face from the posters—
but I wasn't one hundred percent sure. You were
walking in with that twiggy friend of yours…Rena, was
it?” Ajax said, shaking his head. “I was going to wait for
proof before turning you in. We can be pretty damn evil
toward the innocent in the torture chambers, even I
know that. I thought that maybe I'd have a talk with
your housemate, see if I could coax her to admitting
things to me—that way, I'd know for sure.”
Julian shivered, the pain forgotten if only for the
moment. Tears flowed down his face, and he tried to
fight them away to no avail. No wonder the Prince had
hated him so much at the beginning.
“I was going to say something to Medea after I was
one hundred percent certain. I couldn't have you
running around, making a fool out of my family by
weaseling your way in—what if you were an assassin?”
Ajax dipped the hot rag in the water, a red typhoon
swirling in the watery world. “Then Princess Harmony
told me about why you were here—mind you, she told
everyone. If you want a secret kept, don't tell her. I
figured if I had the choice of dying and coming here, I
would have done the same thing myself.”
The hot watered trickled down Julian's back, and
he shuddered, feeling the burning sting of pain. After
Ajax finished cleaning his back, he tugged off the
remainder of the ripped fabric and put it on the floor.
The Prince then got up and tossed him a pair of silken
blue pajamas that only the rich could afford.
“Feel free to stay like that tonight,” finished Ajax. “I
won't let anyone in here.”
“Thank you,” Julian whispered, flushing. “But
maybe it would be better if I get caught. It's quicker that
way.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I'm going to end up dying whether I get seen or
not,” muttered Julian, grumbling to himself quietly. “I
would rather see it end quickly.”
“It will not end any time soon.” Ajax sat down on
the bed again, and he tilted Julian's face at him. He was
surprised that the Prince could still touch him without
being disgusted. “I'll have a talk with my mother. You
saved my life, Julian. I don't forget people like that.”
For a moment they were both quiet, and Ajax ran
his hand down the right side of Julian's face in a tender
caress. Even though Julian felt ill, the heat from Ajax's
hand was incredible and caused his heart to thud.
Julian's hand covered Ajax's own, and their eyes met.
"Does this make you uncomfortable, Julian?" Ajax
asked after a moment.
Julian shook his head and felt his eyelids get heavy.
The room was full of Ajax—his scent, his clothes, his
wonderful scent. It was hard to believe that a man—a
Hestia—could bring him so much warmth and comfort.
As Julian passed out, he felt hot breath on his cheek
before a tender kiss met his lips. It must be my
imagination, he thought, floating off into dreamland,
where nightmares reigned.
****
He was frightened and confused and wasn't even on
hundred percent sure where he was. There was
darkness all around him, choking him and corrupting
him. It was filling up his insides, burning him like real
fire.
Four glistening faces were above him, serious and,
at the same time, terribly frightening. He listened.
"He can do this—his body is the one."
"He's too small. He'll die. I can already sense
sickness around him."
The first voice responded again, "No, this will keep
him. He won't die. Even if he wants to, he won't die."
Even if I want to, I won't die? There was a flash
of pain as he rolled over. He screamed, gripping at
empty space, and then fell silent again.
Chapter Nine
The next morning Julian awoke in Ajax's room,
feeling tired, in pain, and disoriented. He stood up
wearily, his skin cracking and screaming, and glanced
down and discovered new clothes. On top of the
clothes was a note that said:
My mother wants to meet with you. I've talked to
her. Don't be worried. I promise that I won't let
anything happen to you, no matter what.
Ajax
He studied it nervously, wondering how Ajax could
really have that much power over his mother when they
fought all the time. Still, he knew that he had no choice
—well, he did, but the choice was live or die, which
wasn't much of a choice at all.
He limped, pained, down the hall and went into a
wide, spacious room that was the Queen's study. It was
empty at the time, so he wandered around, searching
for a weapon in case they decided to attack him again.
This time, if the need arose, he would fight back.
Among the many rows of bookshelves and the
single monumental desk, he prodded around until he
found a ceremonial knife on the wall. He tucked it firmly
in the hem of his clothes, the blade digging into his outer
thigh. Then he walked over to an overstuffed wine-
colored sofa, sitting down among the novels.
He picked up one in his boredom, searching
through the pages until he found a story he liked. It was
only when that the Queen burst into the room, looking
angry again, that Julian placed his hand protectively
against the dagger that was against his leg.
The Queen sucked in air. “You're here."
Julian let out a growl.
The Queen found this funny, throwing her head
back in a boisterous laugh. Queen Medea eyed the
book in Julian's hand looking impressed. Most Prodigo
didn't know how to read, and a good fifty percent of
the Hestian population wouldn't be able to get through a
children's story.
“You read?” Queen Medea murmured, shocked.
“Yes,” he said grudgingly. “Is this really what you
wanted to talk to me about?”
Medea shook her head, moving right to the point.
“Ajax wants me to keep you alive—as his personal
guard.”
In response to that, Julian's eyes widened.
"Yes, I had the same reaction myself," Queen
Medea said begrudgingly. "Why on earth would he
want to do that? You're disobedient and foolish. None
the less, you owe him a lot. I would rather lengthen that
neck of yours."
****
Julian searched for Ajax everywhere. Why would
he put his position on the line for him? This was
ridiculous. Julian was a male slave—and not even a
particularly good one, at that. He was mouthy and
crude and had even had the nerve to punch his own
master square in the face.
Now, he owed Ajax his life.
He was rounding a corner, searching for Ajax in all
of the most obvious places, and nearly ran into him
headfirst. Ajax had been coming out of the armory and
had a practice sword over his arm. Julian swore in
shock and jumped backward.
"Julian!" Ajax said. "You scared me. Don't do that."
"I was looking for you everywhere," Julian said,
panting and rubbing his back in agony. "Why did you
tell your mother that you want me as your personal
guard? You know who I am. This could get you into so
much trouble."
"I'm already in trouble," Ajax said, looking down.
"What do you mean?"
That was when a group of men came around the
corner, laughing. Ajax grabbed him by his arm and
hauled him around the corner, forcing him against his
chest. Immediately, Julian cringed. They were chest to
chest, pelvis to pelvis, and he wasn't sure whether he
wanted to snuggle up to Ajax further or ask him why
they were pressed together like this to begin with.
"Ajax," Julian said, looking at him, "I don't
understand."
"Do you think that I honestly run around kissing all
of my personal guards?"
The feelings from last night floated in front of him,
and his eyes widened in surprise. Ajax had really kissed
him. Though he should have been repulsed—or even
just shocked—he was happy. He had thought it had all
been in his head, the attraction that was between them
merely imagined. But it hadn't been.
"This is dangerous," Julian said simply.
"I know," Ajax whispered, hugging him closer.
Julian could feel that Ajax was already growing hard,
and he instantly felt nervous and excited—he had been
with a man once before, but it had not turned out well.
That was when Ajax leaned into him, kissing him
deeply. Their tongues mingled and fought, hot breath
filling everything. Ajax reached his hand downward and
ran his fingers over Julian's ass, caressing him. The two
of them broke apart as they heard the sound of more
laughter. They shouldn't be doing this here—it was too
likely that they would get caught.
"Come away with me," Ajax said, as if reading his
thoughts. "I have a house in the woods. Just for a little
while, where we don't have to worry about being
bothered."
Though Julian's mind screamed, Ye s ! But he
couldn't answer that way. He cared so much for Ajax
that the idea that he could get hurt because of him
frightened him. If Queen Medea found out that her
beloved eldest son, the heir to the throne, was having an
affair with their male Prodigo soldier, there would be
hell to pay. He didn't want Ajax to have to go through
that because of him.
"It's too dangerous," Julian said quickly. "What if
you get hurt? What if something happens?"
Ajax examined him carefully. "It doesn't matter. It
stopped mattering a while ago. Say you'll come with
me."
Julian chewed his bottom lip and then nodded.
Chapter Ten
By the time the carriage drew to a stop, Julian was
feeling antsy and restless. Sweat was leaking through his
clothes, his hair sticking to his face in ringlets.
“Ah.” Ajax smiled. “We're here.”
“Where's here?” Julian asked softly.
“Someplace where we don't have to worry about
your secret.” Then Ajax took Julian's hand, helping him
out of the carriage. “And you'll have a good twenty
miles of beach on each side, so you can go whichever
way you please. All of it belongs to me.”
Indeed, the moment that he stepped outside he
could smell the thick, salty air, which intoxicated his
senses. Though he was sweaty and uncomfortable, the
scent was comforting. Furthermore, a large mansion
could be seen in the distance, but it looked a good five
miles away, and it was completely surrounded in thick,
dense trees.
“Ready for a bit of a walk?” Ajax asked.
“Yes.” Julian sighed, stretching his legs.
Ajax squeezed his hand again, which Julian realized
was his way of showing affection. He smiled, wiping
sweat from his face, planning that the first thing he
would do was to plunge headfirst into the water with a
bar of soap. Right now he had liquid in places that he
hadn't previously known about, and it wasn't a pleasant
thought that he would be stripping his clothes in front of
Ajax, especially since his back was aching and cracked
with whip wounds.
They walked for some time, their feet crunching
over the silky red leaves. The trunks of the trees were
white, shreds of their bark falling off and curling on the
floor like exotic snakes. The only sound behind them
was the man that Ajax had paid off to discretely carry
their things.
Finally, they broke through the brush, standing
before a large, three-story house with a vividly red roof
and a chimney. It was connected to a strip of beach
with white sand, the ocean there as blue as the sky
above it. Julian approached the water, feeling his tongue
stick to the top of his mouth in thirst, though he could
not drink it.
He immediately stuck his foot in. It was cool,
though not cold. Since the outside atmosphere was hot
and humid, it would be perfect for him… And for Ajax
too, he supposed.
“What do you think?” asked Ajax.
Julian smiled. “It's really nice here. The water's
perfect, which is what I really need right now.”
“Roger that. This is all for you.”
“Thank you, Ajax,” Julian whispered. “You're much
too kind to me.”
“No, I'm not,” he whispered. Ajax drew so close
that he hoped that he would kiss him. “I want you to
feel comfortable. Anyone would be nervous…”
“Even you?”
Ajax grinned, then said huskily, “Nervous isn't a
word that I would usually use to describe what I'm
feeling.”
****
He had just finished bathing in the ocean when Ajax
came in. By the time Julian had finished with his nightly
hygiene duties, the eldest prince was already breathing
heavily, his head on the pillows. So much for that, Julian
thought, shaking his head.
Even then, he hesitated before climbing into the
world of feathers because it was all too fine. He wasn't
used to that sort of exoticness. On top of that, Ajax
was nearly naked. He was only in sheer pants.
As he finally sunk downward into the bed, he stared
at Ajax for a moment, feeling a strange sensation bubble
in his stomach. Was it disappointment? The answer,
which was yes, surprised him. Probably because I'm a
guy, he thought, rolling over to one side.
After some time his eyes began to shut, but he
couldn't contain the nervous energy he was filled with.
Then suddenly, Ajax wrapped his arm around Julian's
waist, pulling the two of them together. The eldest
prince brushed his lips against Julian's ear, his mouth
opened slightly, a whisper on his lips.
“Are you still nervous?” Ajax whispered.
“I thought you were asleep,” Julian said, flipping
around. The Prince ran his hand over Julian's stomach,
caressing him and making him tremble. Julian had never
been touched like that before. “What were you doing?”
“Giving you some time,” Ajax said, pushing Julian
deeper into the bed. “But it's over.”
Then Ajax straddled him, Julian's body twisted in
surprise. The Prince lowered his lips, unbuttoning the
front of Julian's pajamas, and then tossed them to the
floor carelessly. Julian quivered when one of the
Prince's hands dropped lower, unsure of whether it
came from excitement or anxiety.
“Don't worry,” whispered Ajax, touching Julian's
head softly, stroking the hair from his face. “This is
going to be the night of your life.”
Leaning downward, Ajax kissed him until their
tongues intertwined. Julian was so nervous that he lay
down like a limp fish at first, unsure of what to do. It
was only as Ajax stroked the front of his pajama
bottoms that he felt white hot heat sear through his
stomach and pelvis. He trembled beneath Ajax's touch.
As he finally relaxed, he opened his mouth and
allowed Ajax to comfortably probe him. His tongue
thrust its way forcibly in and out many times. Julian
trembled, returning the action and then wrapping his
arms around Ajax's strong back. After that, he ran his
hands down Ajax's six-pack with sweaty hands.
Ajax curved his hands into Julian's hair and grinned.
Julian squirmed as Ajax found a tender, sensitive bump
where his scar was. "What's that?"
"A scar," Julian whispered. "This feels so good."
He moaned and allowed Ajax to slip his hand inside
of his pajamas all the way, grabbing a hold of his cock
and massaging the tip of it gently with the top of his
fingers. Julian groaned, arching his back, as Ajax
continued to tickle him—it was like torture. Ajax was
touching him just enough to make his point.
After that, Ajax grabbed the sides of Julian's
pajama bottoms and began to pull them down his strong
legs. After a moment of flailing, he was bare-assed on
the bed, panting heavily with want and nervousness.
Ajax leaned downward and gave Julian's cock one
long, slow lick.
"Don't!" Julian cried, even as he was pushing Ajax's
head toward his erection.
Ajax chuckled throatily and took Julian fully in his
mouth. After that, he ran his tongue playfully up the
bottom of Julian's cock all the way up to the top. He
then progressed to taking him fully inside of his mouth,
breathing heavily as he did so. Julian cried out, gripping
the bedspread, as Ajax licked and sucked at him. It
didn't take him very long before he came into Ajax's
mouth.
Ajax grinned as a trickle of white poured down the
right side of his mouth, and he wiped it with his free
hand. After that, Ajax reached forward and grabbed
Julian's hips, flipping him over until he was on his
stomach. Julian trembled nervously, knowing what was
coming next.
As Julian trembled, Ajax clambered over him and
whispered in his ear, "It's okay. I'm going to get you
nice and stretched out. It's going to feel good."
As Ajax did this, Julian could feel his cock poking
him in his side. Even beyond his clothes, Julian could tell
that he was massive. Will he really be able to fit
inside of me?
That was when Ajax stuck his finger into Julian's ass
and thrust inside of him. It felt odd, but it also made his
stomach tingle. Again and again Ajax pushed himself
into him, moving up and down each time and getting him
stretched out.
"Don't," Julian said, squirming. "It's dirty in there."
Ajax merely chuckled and removed his hand. "I'm
not going to be able to fit if I don't stretch you out. Plus,
it's dry, so I'm going to have to do something else too.
You're probably not going to like it."
"Not going to like what—eek!"
Dropping downward, Ajax leaned over Julian's ass
and thrust his tongue inside of him again and again.
Julian gripped the bedspread some more, sweat pouring
down his back as he did so, and groaned in response.
Once he completely ignored the fact that somebody's
tongue was up his ass, it actually felt pretty good.
Ajax continued to work him over for quite some
time, but finally, he withdrew his tongue and shoved two
fingers into him. Tingles of pain and pleasure tickled his
stomach with every thrust, and when Ajax moved on to
three fingers, his speech progressed into moaning and
intangible gurgles.
As Ajax thrusting into him with one hand, he
removed his pajama bottoms with the other, dropping
them to the floor. Julian had thought that he would at
least warn him before thrusting into him, but he had
been wrong—with one quick motion, Ajax switched his
hand with his massive cock and pushed himself inside of
him.
At first it hurt and Julian let out a yelp of surprise.
Pain quickly mingled with pleasure, though, at the
thought of having Ajax inside of him. The man I love is
one with me now, he thought, relaxing his body. The
moment that he did that, Ajax was able to move into
him deeper and deeper until he could scarcely bear it.
After three quicker, violent thrusts, Ajax filled him
with more than his cock, and he came like a spastic
geyser. The heat overwhelmed him even more, making
him feel like he was melting into the bed.
"Man," Ajax said, trembling.
"Uh-huh," Julian replied, breathless.
After that, Ajax climbed into bed next to him and
took him in his arms. Ajax looked him in the eye and
wiped away some of the sweat on his brow.
Ajax asked, "Was that okay?"
Julian nodded. "We're one now. Everything else is
fine."
Chapter Eleven
Julian was making breakfast, feeling rather sore, on
the morning before they had to be taken back to the
castle. His body ached, and he was uncomfortable in
places that he didn't even know that he had. Still, Ajax
was right. The pain had been nothing more than trivial,
and the pleasure had been intense enough to cover all
the worries.
Ajax wandered into the room, grabbing Julian
around the waist, kissing him at the base of his neck
where his scar was. He stared at the food, pretend not
to get the tingling sensation in the base of his stomach.
Both of them were trying hard to get self-control, Julian
included, and they were failing miserable.
“You don't suppose we'd have time to…” Julian
said, face flushing.
That was when Ajax looked up from his food,
smiling.
It had been a stupid suggestion. They barely had
any time as it was. “Never mind.”
“Don't worry,” Ajax said softly. “We'll have forever
when we get home.”
“Yeah,” Julian murmured.
A tinge of sadness filled him, and he couldn't help
but feel as if this was too good to last. He was having
the time of his life. Ajax loved him as well as treated him
with respect. There was a steady flow of income, along
with a house that made any other Hestia home look like
a bad joke.
“How's breakfast?” Julian asked wearily, eyeing
Ajax. “I know it's not castle worthy.”
The first week there he had burned almost all the
meals, and Ajax had lost a couple of pounds in the
process. Back in the camps he made only rice, as that
was all they could afford. When it came to things like
meats, eggs, and bread, he was at a complete loss.
“Not bad,” Ajax said optimistically, eating a fork
full of egg. “You're really improving!”
“Which means that I only burned it a little bit this
time.”
“Just a bit.” But Ajax laughed to show that he was
joking.
A bit later they heard a soft knock on the door, and
Julian approached to let the mover in.
“You keeping your mouth shut like you promised?"
Ajax asked him.
The man nodded. After that, Ajax handed him a
fistful of coins. The mover smiled gratefully, the tension
broken. Julian escorted Ajax out by the arm, hiking
over the stumps and fallen logs.
The two of them reached the carriage, quietly sitting
in the back holding hands. The trip passed by much
slower, but neither of them cared much, just happy to
be together for the distance. When they got back, Ajax
would need to help out with the final matches of that
terrible tournament and they wouldn't have as much
time to be together. Medea was pleased that this year,
though Julian did not compete, she would still have a
chance to surpass her cousin.
Chapter Twelve
Ajax was allowed to have the front row seat at the
match, which meant that Julian, as his guard, was right
up there with them. All around them were people, and
somewhere nearby Medea was entertaining her cousin,
Christopher, a man who Julian actually enjoyed the
company of very much.
Christopher was a very soft spoken man with a
double chin and large, watery eyes. Medea said that he
was repulsive and vain. So far, Julian couldn't see it.
"Who do you think is going to bring in the fighters?"
Julian whispered to Ajax.
"Probably King Christopher," Ajax said back,
discretely tugging on Julian's uniform affectionately. "His
kingdom has the title."
But in the middle of the crowd walked Queen
Medea. She was wearing a vivid yellow dress, her hair
pulled back into a womanly bun. Her hands waved at
everyone around her, quieting them down, and
everyone drew silent. Somehow the barred enclosure
seemed very boring in comparison to the Queen.
The brown pasture was filled with soppy, half-there
grass. In the middle of the ring were spears, bows and
arrows, and some rather nasty looking swords with two
serrated edges that looked like shark's teeth. Julian was
glad he had thrown up his hands when he had the
chance. Getting whipped would be a lot less painful
than having his leg sawed off by that kind of blade.
Then Queen Medea called out the fighters, and
Julian felt his heart grow still. There, standing in the
middle of the ring was the warrior for Christopher's
side. It was Jackie, the ally that Julian had fought by
time and time again during the revolt. He was looking a
little shaky, but fairly confident none no less.
“No,” Julian whispered, beginning to quiver. “No!”
“What's wrong, Julian?” Ajax whispered. “Are you
okay?”
But on the other side was the Hestia, looking proud
and strong, his vivid red hair tied back in a bun. He was
everything the prized fighter should be: larger, muscular,
and extremely handsome. His mouth was puckered in a
tight way, his teeth straight as he grinned beneath his
auburn beard. In his arms were two large battle axes,
sharpened to perfection. All Jackie, the other fighter,
had was daggers.
Julian pushed everyone aside, forcing his way next
to the bar, shaking and feeling the urge to wail come
from his throat. Ajax was trying to come up from
behind him, but there were too many people . “Jackie,
no!”
The fight began in a great deal of movement. Julian's
eyes were wide, his hands gripping the bar with so
much intensity that he feared bile might rise out of his
throat. The giant struck down again and again, and
though Jackie's movements were faster, he wasn't going
to win this battle. And a loss here meant death.
Just when the giant raised his hand to deliver the
final blow, Julian flung himself over the railing, landing
on his feet despite the fall. A hush went through the
crowd as he lunged across the ground, his feet kicking
up mud.
Even the two fighters, Jackie pinned to the ground
in a painful position, stopped struggling. Julian picked
up the serrated swords, swinging them expertly around
him. The audience was laughing, and Ajax was yelling,
but none of that mattered now. Things were back to
war, the one subject he knew better than anything else.
Julian stepped between the giant and Jackie, his
swords raised, prepared for a fight. “Change of plans!
I'm your new opponent!”
Jackie stared in disbelief. “Who…are you?”
Then he turned around slowly, letting Jackie catch a
glimpse of his face. His mouth opened in an 'O,' eyes
widening. Jackie slid out from underneath his opponent,
who appeared to long longer care about him, and stood
up. He then sunk into a deep bow, backing away ever
so slowly, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Julian then
swung both of his swords, staring up at the giant who
smirked.
“Is this a joke?” he bellowed at Christopher, who
was sweating through his shirt in nervousness. “You
want to send this little boy to come fight me!?”
Everyone turned to Julian, who narrowed his eyes.
“What?” he said softly. “Are you afraid?”
Everyone who heard laughed. Ajax was at the
front, looking torn between jumping in and crying.
Julian, however, was beyond any of them now. He
didn't even notice when the queen nodded, signaling
that this new match was approved. The crowd began to
cheer.
The giant struck down hard with one of his axes,
though not nearly as hard as he had before with Jackie,
and Julian knew that he was going easy on him. Julian
cut beneath the blow easily, winding down his leg,
jerking upward with a splatter of blood as his leg was
sliced open, muscle exposed.
The man would no longer go easy on him once he
had proved that it didn't matter that he was far smaller
and more sickly looking than Jackie. The man had a
hole in his leg to remind him of his mistake.
The audience gasped. No one expected he could
fight that well, not even the Queen, who was staring at
them both with her mouth gaping. A hush filled the
arena for a moment.
That was when the giant screeched like an angry
hawk, hammering down again and again on Julian, the
heavy blows breaking his guard. A hit sliced through
Julian's muscle on his right arm, blood splattering the
grass, everything around them was drenched in pools of
red as they hit each other again and again.
After he was launched backward against the
nearest wall, his bones hitting with a sickening crack, he
lurched upward with a violent attack to the man's
private area. The sword sliced through flesh, the man
screaming high and loud, his eyes widening with terror
and pain. In a last movement of desperation, he
grabbed a nearby spear, flinging it at Julian with enough
force to slice through flesh.
The spear buried itself deep into Julian's side, a
blow that should have killed him but didn't. In a violent
upheaval, he threw himself underneath the man's arm,
beheading him in the quickest stroke possible. Blood
came pouring from his veins, soaking the floor, pooling
around his uniform. The head fell to the ground,
splattering crimson everywhere.
Julian fell to his knees, his fingers grasping his
wound. Such a silly, stupid way to die, he thought to
himself. If I hadn't been too slow…Ajax ran to him, his
fingers entangling in his hair. Softly he whimpered,
grabbing onto his neck, his hands shaking.
“Hold on,” Ajax cried, tears streaming down his
face. “Please just hold on!”
But as his world was dimming, he thought, The
battlefield looks a lot less important from right
here. He thought that he was done with killing, but here
he was, doing in again. Then again, everything had
reminded him of war. It had been so easy to get caught
in the motions again: the fear, the smells, and the need
for survival. It wasn't fun and games by any stroke of
measure.
****
When he awoke, he was in a jail cell along with
Rena, his head aching. He stirred, trying to sit up, but
then he realized that he was far too weak. His
housemate looked over, shaking her head, tears in her
eyes.
“Rena,” he whispered.
But Rena shook her head again in disgust. After a
moment she moved over, her hair matted with dirt and
blood. He looked down at himself, realizing that his side
wound had been dressed, but his body was aching with
hunger. Furthermore, he smelled bad, like he hadn't
showered and had gone to the bathroom on himself.
His head pounded behind his eyelids, and he
realized that he was having the same symptoms of an
attack. What had happened and how did he get in
here? It was as if time had passed without him, he
having no idea what happened.
“They found out that you were Julian Pelham, the
leader of the largest Prodigo revolt in history,” Rena
whispered, tears streaming down her face. “They threw
you in here. We've been down in the dungeons for three
days!”
“Aj…” he whispered. “Aj…a…x.”
“He tried to defend you. Ha, practically took a
knife to his own mother, in fact!” Rena half laughed, half
sobbed. “He got locked in one of the towers up in the
castle, apparently. Even Princess Harmony tried to get
down to you, but it didn't work. She was brought back
to her home castle because she was 'aiding a criminal in
his act to destroy the throne.'”
Rena spit blood and dirt on the floor.
“Ha,” she finally said, rubbing her face. “What
throne!?”
Chapter Thirteen
He lay in his cell two days later, falling in and out of
consciousness. The two of them apparently had been
sentenced to death by starvation and dehydration. They
were to sit in their little cell shackled to the walls without
water or food, going to the bathroom on themselves
because there was nothing else they could do.
“Rena,” he whispered, voice hoarse, barely
understandable. He had been having attacks on and off,
his side filled with infection. “Rena…I'm sorry, okay? I
never meant to kill you too.”
“Are you kidding!?” She no longer sounded like
herself. Her voice was soft and harsh, like it had been
run over with sandpaper. “I would have died just to
have had a taste of what living felt like. We Prodigo, we
never lived.”
“Yeah.” He thought of Ajax. It had been worth it
for him too. “Sometimes the best things in life are worth
dying for.”
Chapter Fourteen
Ajax was sitting on the floor, attempting to claw his
way out of the floorboards, when he heard the sound of
a knock on the door. He hesitated, fearing it was his
mother, not wanting to alert her of his plans to escape
and free Julian. After all the time he had waited to find
the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with,
he wasn't going to let it end now. Not even if he had to
give up everything he owned.
To his surprise, when he opened the door, he saw
not Medea, Harmony, or a servant bringing him food.
Instead it was King Christopher, his head concealed by
a black cloak. Ajax allowed him to come inside, feeling
nervous since he had so rarely spoken to him. All he
ever heard were bad things from Medea.
They walked to the back of his room, a small parlor
with a large cherry wood chair, a bed, and a stack of
books for him to read. Over the past few days, he had
stared out the tower window looking for a way to get
down, but his attempts had been a waste of time. The
only way to go was through the door. All he had to do
was subdue the guards.
“You've been trying to claw yourself out,”
Christopher commented, looking at Ajax's bloodied
fingers. “But, as you're still here, I'm guessing that it
didn't do you much good at all.”
“No, it didn't.”
For a moment there was awkward silence,
Christopher getting up to look out a nearby window.
He was quiet, his mouth tense, and every part of his
body spoke without Ajax meaning them too. It felt like
he was giving away messages to his enemy, though
Christopher was obviously here without the Queen's
permission.
“That man in there…You love him, don't you?” the
king said. “He was quite a fighter. Not just any man
could have won that battle…”
“Don't say was,” Ajax yelled, tears trickling down
his face before he could stop them. “He might still be
alive.”
“But not for much longer.”
Was this what the king had come in here for? To
taunt him, to tell him that his lover was dying. His heart
felt like it was about to break. He loved Julian more
than anyone, and even his mother wasn't going to stand
in his way. If only he could find a way out of this cell.
“Get out, then,” Ajax growled. Now was his time to
act. He would knock the king out while he was leaving,
then go down to the dungeons to….do what? He had
no key to get into the cell. “I don't need some crone of
Medea's—”
“Don't misunderstand me.” Despite the fact that
Ajax had just insulted him, his voice was hushed and
quiet. “I mean to help you. Julian may not have made
the best decisions, but dying is a hard option, and many
of us—I included—would have done the same to stay
alive.”
Ajax's eyes widened. “You're going to help me!?”
“Yes.” Christopher frowned.
"But why?" Ajax asked him quietly. "He was an
armed traitor—why do you choose to believe me?"
"Because…because…I need something from you,"
Christopher admitted. "Though I believe that I won't
have to ask you to help once you see what I have."
“Help? As we speak, Julian's body rots! I don't
want to see anything until we get him out of that hell
hole,” Ajax said. “If we're going to do something we
need to hurry.”
Somehow the large room he was in had gotten
smaller. He stormed around, feeling angry, on the verge
of knocking things off the walls and onto the floor. He
wanted to kill something, rip something apart. Julian had
to be the most unlucky person on the face of the planet,
but that couldn't stop Ajax from loving him.
“Calm yourself,” Christopher said, standing up,
removing his hood. Ajax went very still in response, not
wanting to offend the king who was going to assist him
further. “We need to wait for the cover of night.”
“But what if Julian dies?”
“He will not, I will ensure it,” said Christopher
softly. “I have passed medicine and bread with water
beneath the door, along with a note. For tonight he will
live…But I must warn you, you will have to leave the
castle. Are you willing to do that for him? Leave your
rich surroundings, your call to power, your family.”
Ajax thought about it, his head in his hands. This
castle, this place, was the only home he had ever really
known, but had he ever really been happy here? Maybe
once, when he was smaller, when his father was still
here and his mother was less deranged. But time had
twisted Royce's good nature to the point where he had
a hidden darkness, and Medea had long since lost her
true grip on what was important in this world.
But what of the people? Royce was outwardly nice,
but how would he rule? He couldn't see his brother
being externally cruel, but his leadership skills were slim
to none. Though maybe, for the first time, this wasn't
about the kingdom, or what everyone else needed. If he
stayed here without Julian, he would surely die on the
inside.
“Yes, there is no doubt…” Ajax murmured. “…I
would do it for Julian gladly. I couldn't be happy here
without him.”
“Then I will send my wife here to fetch you tonight,”
Christopher said softly. “I will bring Julian myself and
have the two of you meet in the forest. Be warned, you
will have to be in disguise.”
****
Julian was sitting in the cell, a blaring light behind his
eyes. He sat up, weary, looking over the dirty floor to
discover a loaf of dry, cracked bread along with a
whole jug of water. It had to be at least a gallon. Also,
on the floor nearby was a stack of leaves, his medicine,
enough to keep him stable for a good six months.
“Ajax,” he whispered excitedly. “This must have
been from him.”
He pushed himself against the wall, using his shaking
legs to pull the water jug, bread and medicine towards
him. After that, he pushed himself against Rena, calling
to her in excitement. She had been asleep for quite
some time, and he knew that she needed the food right
now more than anyone.
“Rena!” he cried happily. “Rena! Food and water!
Rena, Rena!”
Then he nudged her gently with his foot, causing her
head to loll.
“Oh Rena,” he whispered. “Why now? We were so
close.”
Chapter Fifteen
Julian was lying on the floor, feeling ill. Half the
bread loaf was gone, along with most of the jug of
water. But his body wasn't used to being full, so his
stomach moaned and cramped with excess pain. At
least he had medicine.
As he looked down at himself, he realized that his
whole body was sunken in. He had always been thin,
but now every last bone in his body protruded, even the
ones on his chest. His eyes were shut half-way, as he
was trying to sleep, when he heard a large banging
noise outside the cell.
He looked up and saw a familiar face beyond the
bars. It was King Christopher who was with another
man. They took one look at him, their mouths
tightening, and he realized that he must have looked
terrible.
“Ajax,” he moaned, feeling weak. “Where's Ajax?”
“He's coming,” Christopher whispered, entering the
room along with the other man. “But we have to get you
out of here to meet him, okay? So just calm down a bit
and everything will be fine.”
It was then that he realized that he had been flailing
around like a fish out of water, and he immediately
stopped his writhing. Christopher unlocked his chained
feet, stopping to do Rena as well. But he paused after a
moment, realizing that he was already too late.
“What's wrong?” the man asked.
“Looks like this one's been dead for two days,”
Christopher said softly. “You'll have to tell the Queen to
remove the body soon, or else the rats will start coming
in.”
Then Julian recognized the man who was helping
him. It was Barnaby Miller, one of the Hestia cooks in
the kitchen and a good friend of Rena's in her final days.
Barnaby choked on a cry of horror, his hand coming
over his bearded lips. Even then, Julian couldn't help but
pity him.
“I hate her,” Barnaby muttered. “I'm going to kill
that Queen!”
“Don't,” Christopher warned.
The two of them hoisted Julian up, since he was too
weak to stand on his own, and walked him to the back
of the dungeons. There were four rooms on the
basement floor, two of them cells, one of them an
armory, and another a wash room with a large drain in
the middle. He was brought to the wash room, placed
on the slimy tiles, and was left there to shiver for a few
minutes.
Eventually they returned with large buckets full of
hot water, and they stripped off his clothes, pouring one
of the buckets over him. They then continued to scrub
every inch of his body with soap. After they were
satisfied, they dumped more water over him. He was
then treated to another pair of clean clothes.
“Feel better, Julian?” Christopher asked. “At least
you're clean now!”
“Thank you,” he whispered. “I would have died in
there.”
“No problem.” But the king flushed with pleasure.
“I'd do anything for Ajax. He's my Godson, did you
know that? I really did love his father…he was my best
friend. We went through everything together: the war,
the marriages. It's unfortunate about what happened,
but I'm glad that Ajax finally got over his issues with
Prodigo. His father wouldn't have wanted that. He was
a really good man.”
“If he was anything like Ajax,” Julian coughed
wearily, “then he must have been.”
“They're a lot alike.” Christopher smiled. “Now, no
more talking. You look like you're going to keel over.”
Then they were all silent, except for Barnaby who
was still crying over Rena. Both of them pretended not
to feel the awkwardness of it all, but it was there,
shining clear. He felt strangely vulnerable now
especially, since it had been a long time since he felt this
defenseless and weak. If someone attacked, the only
thing he would be able to do was flail at them
pathetically.
A few minutes later they arrived in the forest, and
they laid him down on the grass underneath a pine tree.
A dark figure appeared throughout the forest edge, and
his heart pounded in his chest in alarm. Everyone
relaxed when the moonlight revealed that he person
there was Ajax, not one of Medea's kinsmen.
“Ajax!” Julian cried, breathing happily.
Ajax ran to his side, falling to his knees, so happy
that there were tears sparkling in his eyes. He wrapped
Julian in a hug, to which he did his best to return, and
for the first time since his capture he finally felt safe. The
king cleared his throat after a moment, and they broke
apart, smiling.
“Thank you so much,” Ajax said, hugging
Christopher, who flushed and grinned with pride. “I
couldn't live without Julian!”
“You just keep yourself safe,” the king said. “On
the outskirts of town you have two horses, but you'll
need to carry Julian along with you because he's too
weak to ride on his own. You have a good fifty pence
in your bag, along with medicine for Julian for the next
six months. There should be some small coins in there
as well, so you won't look suspicious paying for your
food and rooms along the way.”
Then Christopher handed Ajax two sheets of
paper. It took Julian a moment to realize what they
were: papers of their identity in case they were stopped.
He was Gage Clark and Ajax was Norman Pedro. On
the sheets it said that they were travelers from the
Hestia continent of Lustia, a good two hundred miles
away.
Julian, however, knew their thinking. Lustia's king
was well known for his ability to remove heads on a
whim, and people always thought twice about tangling
with people from his area, especially since anyone who
hurt natives from that land had habits of disappearing.
Of course, that wouldn't do them much good if they
were caught lying about their home.
“I'll never forget this,” Ajax whispered. “Ever.
Whatever favor you need, I'm all ears."
"It's not so much a favor as it is an unanswered
question," Christopher admitted, his eyes lingering on
Julian for a moment longer than necessary. Julian
weakly swayed.
After that, Christopher pulled out a fancy ring that
was probably worth what it would cost to buy miles
and miles of land. It had a white flower on the front of
it, made from some sort of fancy, clear stone. There
were also words inscribed on the inside, but Julian
could not make them out. Julian looked up at Ajax,
expecting to see a blank expression on his face, but he
looked shaken.
“What's this?” Ajax asked. “Where did you find it?
This is impossible.”
"Some monk was found with it in my kingdom a
few
months
ago,"
Christopher
said.
"I've
been...encouraging…him to talk to me using various
methods, and he finally gave me something that I could
use. Of course, it was already a bit too late to get
anything intelligible out of him—he was going mad, you
see. Being stretched is always a questionable form of
torture. At any rate, he mentioned something about a
chapel or a temple of some kind."
Ajax stared at him. "Are you insinuating that they
had something to do with my father's death?"
For a moment Christopher hesitated, but then he
nodded. "Yes, after I found this ring, I dug into it
deeper—isn't it a bit strange that your father was
murdered by the Prodigo even though he was rumored
to be one hundred miles away at the time? He sent me a
letter from Kent a day before his death."
"Kent," Ajax said darkly.
Finally, Julian caught on. The ring had belonged to
Ajax's father. Julian reached forward and grabbed
tighter onto Ajax's shoulder. He could feel Ajax
quivering beneath his tight grasp.
As Julian held onto him, Ajax appeared to finally
realize that Julian was still there. He turned and smiled
at Julian, but the happiness in his expression was no
longer real—he looked like he was a million miles
away. In Kent, maybe.
"Julian, I—"
"We'll go, if that's what you want," Julian said. "I
don't know much about what's going on, but I owe you
everything."
"Are you sure?"
Julian nodded.
Christopher smiled and bobbed his head. They all
hugged one another tightly.
“If you head to Kent, you should be free of
Medea's grasp,” Christopher said softly. “When you get
there send me a letter, will you? Address it with the
same names you used on the passports. I'll remember
to watch out for it…”
A few moments passed as Ajax placed Julian on his
back, carrying him to the outskirts of town as directed.
Julian instantly felt guilty, experiencing anguish at the
idea of having caused Ajax so much harm. Though they
were still rich, since fifty pence could feed them for
twenty lifetimes, but it wouldn't be the same as living in
the castle as Ajax was used to.
“Where's Rena?” Ajax finally asked, looking down
at Julian's face. “I was planning on bringing her along. I
thought we would take a carriage or something. You
know, so we could just look like a family of travelers.”
“Rena's dead,” Julian said softly. “Two days ago
she passed away in her sleep. I think it was dehydration
that killed her, but I can't be one hundred percent sure.”
“Then you…”
“I am used to being in those kind of situations,” he
whispered, eyes drifting shut, feeling sleep attack him.
Today had been exhausting, though he had yet to have
a chance to even move. “Rena wasn't…I feel so bad…
all my fault…”
But then he was gone, half-asleep and swimming in
a world of darkness. He was only slightly aware that he
was on a horse, the trotting sensation barely there in
comparison to his need for rest. He saw his mother and
father staring at him from a different world, their faces
covered in a veil of night. Real love was something that
they had never known, he realized. And until he came
here, he wasn't sure that he had known it either.
This is love. The sex of Ajax didn't matter, nor did
his race or parentage. He gave up everything to save
someone, and that made him great. They were meant
for each other, even if they weren't politically correct or
came from different backgrounds. Nothing mattered but
the two of them together forever.
Ajax shifted positions on the horse behind him, and
he felt his heart rise in his throat. The prince grasped his
fingers with his free hand, tilting his head back as if
wanting to absorb the touch of his hands on his skin.
Chapter Sixteen
Julian lay in bed with his head on his arm. His body
felt weak and shaky, but Ajax was being very kind and
was continuously rubbing his back. It was hard for him
to breathe with thoughts of Rena dancing in front of his
mind. He blamed himself for it—it had been he who had
gotten her in trouble. If he hadn't dragged her into this,
then Medea wouldn't have gotten to her.
On top of that, he was worried about Ajax. Ajax
had been quiet since he had discovered his father's ring,
and he held it in his hand all the time.
But it was as if Ajax was reading his thoughts and
felt the same way, only in reverse. Ajax leaned over
him, saying, "Are you okay?"
Julian shook his head and buried his head in the
pillows.
"Come on, Julian," he prompted. "I love you. It's
going to be okay. We'll figure out why my father was in
Kent, and Rena is in a better place now."
"I love you too," he whispered, peeking his head
out from the pillows.
"We have a long line of traveling ahead of us," Ajax
said, lying amongst the pillows. "You should rest, even
though you're in mourning."
"Do you honestly believe that your father was in
Kent and not fighting the day that he died?" Julian asked
him slowly.
"I don't know," Ajax whispered, taking a strand of
Julian's hair and grasping it tightly between his fingers.
"All I know for sure is that I want to check it out... But
let's forget about that, for now. I was so scared of
losing you, Julian. I love you far too much for that. I
want to be with you for the rest of my life. If you had
died in that prison cell, then I would have died too."
"Don't say things like that," Julian replied, frustrated.
"I don't want to think about you dying too."
"Then how do you think I felt when I thought that
my mother was going to hang you?" Ajax asked him
sadly.
For a moment Julian was silent, and then he leaned
over and kissed Ajax firmly on his lips and pressed
downward. There was a moment of hesitation on Ajax's
part, and he whispered, "Are you sure that you're ready
for this? You're poking a sleeping tiger in the eye."
Julian ran his finger down Ajax's chest and began to
fondle his quickly forming erection. Ajax trembled
against him for a moment, and then he lost control
completely, moaning underneath his breath. After that,
he threw himself on top of Julian and pressed himself
against him, his cock hard and forming a tent in his
clothes.
Julian was fumbling with his trousers, attempting to
get them off as quickly as absolutely possible. Ajax
reached forward to help him, pulling the pants down
and throwing them to one side. After that, he leaned
forward and touched Julian's tip with his finger.
"That was a sight that I'd never thought I'd see
again," he said, leaning downward and kissing the tip of
Julian's penis. Julian moaned in response.
After that, Ajax reached behind him and attempted
to stick a finger into Julian's ass, but he bucked his hips
in pain and had to shift away. There was no way that
Ajax could fill him now—his body was too sore. It
would kill him.
"I don't think that this is going to work," Ajax
admitted.
"Don't give up!" Julian cried, sitting up swiftly but
whimpering in agony.
After that, Julian reached over and massaged the
tent that Ajax had created with his erection, caressing it.
Ajax moaned and shuddered before pushing Julian
away.
"Let's just—do each other," said Ajax, stripping off
his pants. "It's the most that we can do right now, with
you being so injured."
Ajax stripped off his pants and revealed his
throbbing erection. After the time in the dungeon, Julian
had forgotten how big and veiny Ajax was. Julian
reached forward eagerly, wanting to touch him. It had
been such a long time since he had seen Ajax's cum
face.
After Ajax was completely naked, he climbed onto
the bed and sat cross-legged in front of Julian. Julian did
the same. The two of them shared a heated kiss with
tongue. They massaged each other, their tongues
making "slurping" noises as they moved against one
another.
Julian ran his fingers down Ajax's muscular chest
and felt his body tremble. Ajax used his fingers and
made gentle, spider-like motions up his back and down
his ass. The two of them continued kissing and touching
one another for quite some time, until they pulled apart
and looked into each other's eyes.
"I love you," said Ajax.
"I love you too."
After that, Ajax reached forward and began to give
Julian a hand job, hard. Julian reached forward and did
the same, moving from balls to tip and then back again.
It felt so good that Julian was soon panting with
pleasure, his body trembling.
Ajax eagerly moved forward out of instinct, and
soon the two of them were both leaning inward. Julian,
eagerly, rubbed the vein underneath Ajax's penis, and
Ajax trembled in his hands. It didn't take long for them
both to be moving their hands quickly over one
another's cocks.
Julian came first with a SPLAT. Then came Ajax,
who came three times: SPLAT, SPLAT, SPLAT.
Both of them had white cum in their hands. After
wiping their hands on the bedspread, they both fell next
to each other, sweaty and panting. Ajax gathered
Julian's sore body in his arms, holding him close. The
two of them smiled lovingly at one another.
"I'm so glad that you didn't die," Ajax repeated.
"Ditto."
"Then let's make a pact, then—whatever happens
next, we won't let one another get hurt, okay?" Ajax
asked.
"That's a tall order, Ajax," Julian whispered, sitting
up slowly and wiping some of the sweat from his
shoulder. "Things happen in this world—terrible things,
things that we can't control."
"As long as we have each other, we'll make out."
Julian wasn't so sure.
Chapter Seventeen
It took them two months to reach Kent. The going
was tough—Ajax's horse had injured her foreleg
halfway through their traveling, and they had had to stop
for three nights in order to make it safely. But they were
there now and that was all that mattered.
“That's it, Julian!” Ajax cried loudly, pointing
toward a long, narrow building. “That's where the old
monastery was.”
Both of them stopped, dismounting from their
horses. Walking by the short, narrow building, Julian
hesitated for a moment. Pausing outside of it, a sick, evil
feeling cut through his stomach like never before. He
took one step back, then another, until he was standing
there with his back to a tree.
“What's wrong?” Ajax cried, jumping next to him.
“I don't know. I feel like my entire chest is on fire.”
He panted for a moment, feeling the heat finally
clear, his eyes widening in surprise. His mouth tightened
as he limped forward, his chest aching with
extraordinary pain. Both of them were more hesitant
now, and then Ajax pulled him down to the floor to
exam his chest.
"A lung infection?" Ajax asked, biting his lip.
“No, I've had infections before.” Julian hissed.
“And this is different. This feels like something wrong
with my heart or something.”
Panicked, Ajax wrapped his arm beneath Julian's
body, picking him up and carrying him below a nearby
tree. Suddenly the pressure stopped. Both of them
stared at each other, a prickling sensation occurring at
the back of Julian's neck.
“Don't go in there, Ajax,” he whispered. “There's
something incredibly wrong with that place. That's what
made my heart hurt! Not anything else.”
“Shush. It's been abandoned a long time ago.” Ajax
gently helped him against the tree, gently handing him a
canteen of water and a pack of food. Then he brushed
the hair back from Julian's sweaty forehead. “It's just
the stress. Being locked in a dungeon has taken a toll on
you. I think you need a good long rest. I'll go inside and
I'll be out in a few minutes.”
But when Ajax turned to leave, Julian flung himself
at him. There was something very wrong with that
building. His heart was tightening in his chest, his
stomach feeling ill with nausea. They both had to get out
of here fast, even if they didn't have Ajax's answer.
“Please, Ajax,” he whispered. “I love you, and I
don't want you see you hurt. There is something very
wrong at this place! You believe me, don't you? I can
feel it in my bones…and in my heart….”
“Okay, okay.” Ajax looked back. “I won't go.”
Julian's eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, Ajax.”
Ajax kissed him on the lips, and then scooped him
up in his arms. Julian squirmed, knowing that he was
fully able to walk, but not winning his way. But as they
rode away on their horses, Julian turned to look behind
him, feeling a shiver deep within his soul as if he knew
something that everyone else didn't.
****
As he looked down into their bed, Julian curled up
in a ball, his face swollen and pained, he couldn't help
but feel guilty. All night Julian had a raging fever, but it
had finally begun to calm down. Hopefully the sleep
Julian was in now would allow him time to slip away to
the monastery.
He left a note just in case, in which the truth was
spewed on the paper. Hopefully he would be fine, and
that he would be back without any type of injury
whatsoever. But Julian is always right.
Then he shook his head, tacking up his horse before
shooting off into the night. One time of predicting well
didn't make Julian a psychic. Probably it was all a fluke,
and when he came back, he would tell Julian that
everything was fine.
But then another terrifying thought struck him: what
if Julian became infected with fever again, and he wasn't
there to take care of him? What if Julian died? The
thought brought a chill to his heart, and he almost
wheeled the horse around. I'll only be gone for an
hour. Julian wouldn't die like that. He's far too
tough.
Soon he came to a stop in front of the dark
monastery, the building looking even more sinister at
night. He was riding up to the entrance, however, when
the horse reared up on her hind legs, coming to a full
stop a couple of feet away. This action was entirely
unlike his mount, who was about as trusting as a small
infant with its mother. His horse had never done that
before.
He tried again, digging his heels into the horse's
sides, bringing out his crop when it wasn't enough. But
the animal reared again, knocking Ajax to the ground,
causing him to fall painfully on his side. His mount threw
up her head, taking off in the opposite direction,
heading down the road back to whence it came.
“Stupid horse,” he muttered, trying to pretend like
he wasn't uneasy now. He rubbed his side, which was
sore and painful with bruises. “Julian isn't going to be
happy that I lost her.”
For a second he paused outside the monastery,
unsheathing his sword, though he didn't know why. He
took a step forward, stopping at the door. It wasn't too
late now. After all, he could still walk home and climb
into bed next to Julian, where he should have been in
the first place.
But then he glanced down at his ring, glistening
beneath the moonlight, and he pushed at the heavy,
wooden door. The door let out a squeak, the sliver
revealing that inside was a world of overthrown pews, a
broken alter, and a window that had been destroyed
beyond reason. Looks like Medea wasn't the only one
who decided that the Monks of the Royal Family
weren't doing what they were supposed to.
The seven stained glass windows had been
shattered, the bars on the outside the only thing keeping
them from being empty space. Each of the windows
represented one of their gods: Illusion, the keeper of
darkness, Illsiad, the keeper of heaven and everything
holy, Roidian, the keeper of fire, Sylvia, the keeper of
water, Monarch, the keeper of earth, Glaid, the keeper
of ice, and Rilanna, the keeper of judgment.
The floor had holes that gave way to dirt, the walls
collapsing around him as if the whole place was going to
tilt inwards. Pews were overthrown against walls, some
of the pillars were burned, and holy vessels were
thrown everywhere.
As he took a step forward toward the center of the
building, he looked at the inscription written on the front
post in strange, foreign writing. He didn't know what it
meant, or even what the symbols were supposed to
resemble. It didn't look like anything he had ever seen
before, that was for sure. He took a step towards it,
searching the dotted writing for anything familiar.
After a moment he grew uncomfortable, as if he
was being watched, and he turned to look down at a
stairway that led to the basement. He walked down,
discovering that a locked door stopped him from further
advancement. The door was heavy and wooden, and
no matter how he tried to get through it, nothing would
work. Obviously they needed a key of some sort to get
through there, and that was something he didn't have.
But then he heard someone shift from behind the
door, followed by a loud whisper on the other side. He
pressed his ear against it, eyes widening in surprise. The
voices grew louder, though the words were still barely
understandable.
“Help me,” the voices whispered. “Help me.”
His fingers were shaking, heart pounding in his
chest. Their voices were so alluring, so different, that he
couldn't tear himself away. Yet he didn't want to open
the door, since he knew that doing so would be a death
wish. But something about the voices held him
captivated…
I should open it. People are trapped in there.
Things will be fine—so pretty, those voices.
He picked up his sword, preparing to attack the
door with it, when he felt someone more powerful than
himself grabbed him and haul him backwards. Julian
was standing there, looking winded despite himself, his
face sweaty and ashen with sickness. It was obvious
that he was not doing well, but that didn't change the
fact that he was very angry with him.
“What…” Julian let out a hacking cough. “Are
you….doing? I told you to…keep…” He coughed
again. “…away from here.”
Julian was wheezing so badly that it was unlike him,
and Ajax was surprise when his lover leaned over to
throw up blood. His breathing was unsteady, his eyes
glazed over, and he was shaking like mad, as if he was
having a bad seizure. What was about to be a fight
instantly ended, the anger replaced by worry.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly. “You shouldn't
have come after me. Look at yourself! You're
practically killing over.”
“I wasn't that bad… until…I got here,” Julian
whimpered, collapsing against Ajax and feeling himself
jitter. “This place…is cursed… with something evil…”
“I know,” Ajax whispered. “There's something
beyond that door that was calling to me when you got
here. If you wouldn't have grabbed me, I would have
done something stupid.”
“Let's get out of here, Ajax,” Julian wheezed. “If.. I
take any more of this…I'm going to die.”
“Don't say that.”
But if it came from Julian then it was true. Julian
wasn't the type of person to admit things like that easily,
especially pain. Also, judging by the look on Julian's
face, he was very close to passing out. Ajax could only
hope that getting him out of this environment would
make things easier on him.
After he pulled Julian out of the building and
allowed him to lie on the ground, he looked up,
surprised, to discover that his horse was standing by the
road shaking her head. Then he understood. It was his
mount that had shown Julian where he was, and that
was how he managed to get here so fast.
Julian was panting on the ground, face in the dirt.
Ajax picked him up, placing him on the frightened and
antsy mare that remained at his side despite it all.
“She was standing outside the hotel having a
nervous breakdown. She led me to you…”
Ajax was just about to lift himself onto the horse
behind Julian when a loud sound resounded through the
forest. The mount threw up her head but stayed steady,
knowing that its rider was in no position to stay on by
himself. Ajax withdrew his sword, leaving Julian
hunched over the saddle, positioning himself between
his lover and the sound.
After a moment a shadow appeared at the lip of the
forest. Julian moaned, tilting to the right, clutching his
head and letting out a wail like never before. The figure
at the lip changed positions, continuing to watch them,
and then quietly turning around to walk through the
woods once more.
There was a heavy thud, and his horse tossed her
head and squealed but remained still. Julian had passed
out.
Ajax ran to Julian's side, picking him up, sensing
that his lover was in grave danger. Julian's face was
flushed beyond belief, and his lips were swollen and
blue. His breathing was hurried and quick. If Ajax left
now to chase after the intruder, he would have to leave
Julian to die.
He pulled Julian back onto the horse, holding on
behind him as they galloped at breakneck speed down
the path. The mount seemed to sense the desperation of
the situation, and didn't slow even when sweat pooled
along her body. Ajax held on, feeling Julian's forehead,
knowing that his lover's temperature had increased to a
frightening intensity.
“Hold on, Julian,” Ajax whispered. “We'll make it.”
Julian whimpered in response, his head lolling as the
horse galloped straight into the city streets, nearly
plowing into late night wanderers. The mount skidded
to a stop in front of the hotel, where Ajax picked up
Julian to carry him inside. The innkeeper was at his side
in a moment, her lips open wide at the sight of the
quickly fading man.
“Get a doctor, quickly,” Ajax cried. “He's very ill!”
The innkeeper ran out the door. Ajax went to their
room and left the door ajar, placing Julian on one of the
double beds. It seemed that he was making stupid
decisions lately. He had gone through so many things
just to be with Julian, and twice this week he had almost
managed to kill his lover himself.
“Be okay, Julian,” he cried, tears flowing down his
cheek. “Don't die on my now. I'm sorry…I should have
listened to you.”
Then Julian cried out loudly, and for a second Ajax
though he was responding to his plea. But then he
realized that Julian was in so much pain that his body
was going into his seizure, his hips bucking and his eyes
widening with agony. His lips opened, air escaping in a
hiss, breathing ragged.
He clung to him desperately, hoping that it would
stop soon, wishing that he had stayed home to take
care of him. Gently he stroked Julian's forehead, and his
breathing slowly eased back into short, shallow breaths
as if he was struggling to even live. Some time passed,
Ajax staring in horror, hoping that everything would be
okay.
A short, fat man waddled into the room a few
minutes later, looking sweaty-faced and annoyed. He
had a large, black case at his side, and he wore a white
nightdress and a large, baggy overcoat. A large, bushy
mustache covered his upper lip.
“I trust you have money to cover my fee,” the
doctor grunted before he even began. “I don't work for
free.”
“Yes, we do,” Ajax said, highly affronted. The
doctor at the castle never behaved this way. “Please
hurry. I think he might be dying.”
The doctor, however, shooed him from the room,
and Ajax went down stairs to put his head in his hands.
The innkeeper came over, carrying some steaming tea
and a plate full of fat chocolate chip cookies, which he
ignored. The last thing he wanted was to eat something
now.
“Drink the tea,” the innkeeper said. “It'll keep you
warm. You'll need it now.”
“That doctor…is he competent?” Ajax responded
quietly, ignoring her plea. “Julian is very ill, and I don't
think I could take it if I lost him.”
“He's just fine.” The innkeeper nodded, taking
some tea herself. “He's a moody man, but he's the best
doctor anyone can ask for. He'll take care of your
lover, no matter what. He's only had two or three
people die on him during his twenty five year career.
That's unheard of, considering the death toll around
these parts.”
“Wait!” Ajax's eyes widened. They had been
discovered. “What makes you think that we're—uh—
lovers?”
“Oh, please,” the innkeeper said softly. “We're not
stupid. Two men come in, both of them matching the
descriptions that meet the papers the guards have been
passing around … Trust me, you aren't fooling anyone.
It just so happens that most people aren't so keen to
turn you in.”
“But why? I know there is decent reward money
out for us. If someone were to even report anything…
they'd have enough to keep them rich for the rest of
their lives.”
“The royal family members, Medea especially, are
well known for cheating people. We know that would
happen if we turned you in.” The woman shook her
head. “Let's just face it. Most of the people here are
happy to have the two of you making a mockery out of
everyone. 'Imagine that, the prince running away with a
Prodigo man.' Your lover's existence alone is like spit in
the faces of all the royals that he guarded. But the royals
are cocky and cruel, so they deserve it.”
“So,” Ajax looked relieved, “you're not going to
tell?”
“I don't reckon anyone else will either, to tell you
the truth. As long as you have 'papers,' we don't have
cause to arrest you. All we have to do is pretend like
we're looking.”
“Thank you.”
The woman smiled. “You two just stay alive. Of
course, seeing as how that man is so sick, that might be
easier said than done.”
Ajax looked at the ceiling, as if he could see
through it into Julian's room. Rubbing his eyes, he laid
his head on the table, feeling sick with worry. It wasn't
long until he dozed off into a world of sweaty
nightmares.
Chapter Eighteen
“Well,” the doctor grunted, “he's going to be fine.”
“Are you sure?” Ajax cried, standing outside the
door the next morning, looking worried. “He seemed so
ill last night…like he was going to die.”
In response, the doctor shifted his mustache back
and forth. Ajax gripped his hands together, knowing
that this was all his fault. And he was also worried. The
doctor seemed to be money grubbing to him, and he
hoped that he wouldn't turn the two of them in to
Medea to get a reward.
“I must admit I'm a bit baffled.” The doctor
scratched his nose. “Last night that man was screaming
in agony, and this morning he woke up feeling just fine.
It wasn't like any illness I've ever seen. You can go in to
see him now. He's still a bit weak, but if he keeps
feeling okay he should be able to move on again
tomorrow.”
“And your fee?” Ajax asked.
“Well, I didn't do anything,” the doctor said. “He
got better on his own. The only thing I did was put him
in an ice bath to cool him down.”
Maybe he wasn't such a bad man after all.
“Don't be ridiculous,” Ajax responded, digging in
his purse. “I wouldn't have known what to do. Besides,
you came in the middle of the night to look after him.
You deserve at least your normal fee.”
“Fifty pennies, then,” the doctor commented.
“That's your usual fee?”
This wasn't much at all in comparison to what a
normal doctor cost, and since it was in the middle of the
night as well… Ajax was taken aback again, seeing as
he was so mean one second and so nice the next.
Ajax handed the doctor one hundred pennies, and
the man's eyes widened in surprise.
“Keep the change,” he said lightly. “And thank you
for taking such good care of Julian. He would have died
without you.”
As it was, he didn't think it hurt to use regular
names. The whole town knew that they weren't who
their papers said they were.
After the doctor had left, he opened the door
nervously, wondering if Julian was mad at him. His lover
was lying in the bed in an all-white robe, his hair
surrounding his pale face. He was looking much better
than yesterday, though, his cheeks having much more
color in them. When he saw Ajax, he smiled.
“I'm so sorry,” Julian whispered. “I don't know
what's the matter with me. I've never been this frail
before. I just keep causing trouble.”
Ajax instantly became relieved. Definitely this was
the same old Julian… He leaned forward, hugging him
in his arms, Julian's head resting on his chest. The sun
filtered through the window, engulfing them both, and he
was just glad that his lover hadn't died on him. If he
had, Ajax would have killed himself for sure.
“How are you feeling?” Ajax asked softly. “Are you
okay?”
“Yes.” Julian nodded. “Better than last night
anyway. I've never been in that much pain before. It felt
like something was trying to rip my soul from my body.”
“Did you notice,” Ajax said softly, “that you only
got ill when you got close to the building? It's like it
does something to you.”
“It wasn't just the building that that did it,” Julian
whispered. “It was that creature we saw last night. It
wasn't like anything that I've ever seen.”
“What creature?”
Both of them were quiet, and Ajax stared at Julian
in surprise. Julian pulled away, looking torn between
confusion and sadness. He stared at the bedspread,
tracing the soft blue linens between his fingertips.
“Do you mean that you didn't see it?” Julian cried.
“It was there and so vivid and disgusting. That was why
I fainted on the ground. I looked into its eyes, and it…
it…I felt like my head was going to burst into two. It
was standing right before us, right next to that man
hiding in the tree line.”
“I saw the shadow of the man.” Ajax looked
disbelieving. “But I didn't see any beast. Maybe you
were hallucinating.”
Julian looked hurt.
Ajax sighed. “Are you sure you saw something? I
was looking pretty hard and I didn't see anything.”
“I'm surprised that you didn't see it,” Julian
whispered. “It was like a wolf, but it was only a bloody
skeleton of it with flesh hanging down. At first I thought
I had died and that creature was the keeper of hell, but
it...it looked like it was going to kill us both. But then
the shadow man raised his hand and it ran off.”
“A blood skeleton with strips of flesh hanging
down?” Ajax raised an eyebrow, grinning slightly. “You
should lie back down.”
“Ajax,” Julian said, rolling his eyes.
“Look, I'm going to ask some of the villagers about
that place,” Ajax said softly. “You stay here, and I'll be
back. The innkeeper is downstairs. I'll send her upstairs
to check on you from time to time, just in case you start
feeling bad again.”
“Be careful, Ajax,” Julian said, shaking his head. “I
almost feel like ignorance is bliss in this case.”
Then Ajax leaned forward, kissing him deeply,
before standing up to leave. Julian cast a worried look
his way, but he figured that he would be concerned too
if he saw what Julian had last night. But it was probably
just the effect from the fever, because too much heat to
the brain could make people hallucinate anything.
He was on the way downstairs when he nearly
collided with the innkeeper, who was heading up the
stairs carrying a tray laden heavy with pancakes and
fried eggs. She looked surprised to see him, as if he
might have suddenly disappeared in the night.
The woman smiled. “I expected you to be with
Julian. Where are you going in such a rush this early in
the morning? I even made you guys a special breakfast
because of what happened last night.”
“Julian should enjoy that food,” Ajax said. “Listen,
do you know anything about what happened in the
abandoned monastery?”
The innkeeper no longer looked happy. She put the
food on the nearby table, looking horrified. Then she
gave him the one minute symbol before she went inside
to deliver the food to Julian, who was bubbly with his
thanks. Her response was short and concise for her.
When she appeared again, she led him down the
stairs to the kitchen area where only the workers were
allowed to go. She shoved some food on his plate, to
which he stared at, and then he sat down in front of her
as she poured him tea. He nervously sipped at it,
despite the fact that it burned his tongue.
“No wonder Julian got so ill,” the innkeeper said.
“You brought him to the monastery, didn't you?”
“Did that have anything to do with his illness?”
“It had everything to do with his illness.”
For a second the woman puttered around, scooping
eggs angrily into her own mouth as if it might help. She
knocked over a sheet with guest names on it with her
elbow, and currently their names were the only ones on
the list. But what he did notice was that the name Sarah
was written at the top of the paper.
“So I really did make him sick!” he said. “He got a
fever when we went there the first time, and he got the
terrible illness when we got home the second time. But
why did he feel it when I didn't?
“Pardon me…but do you know where the idea of
the original slave comes from? This all ties in to this
story, I promise you.” When Ajax shook his head,
Sarah continued, “Back in the old days, we lived on
different continents, the Hestia in more cold areas, the
Prodigos in warmer areas. But because of genetic
malfunction, the Prodigo have very little ability to
produce children. Most families will only have one in a
lifetime, even if there is a matched pair or a Hestia and
Prodigo couple. Like you and Julian.”
“So that's how we won against them.” Ajax shook
his head, looking thoughtfully into his tea. “I wondered
when it's so obvious that Prodigo are better fighters
than we are. Especially Julian. I've never seen so much
strength come out of a little body.”
“That is not their only gift. The Prodigo were born
with the knowledge and ability to cast curses, heal
wounds, and do the unthinkable with their minds. They
are not as dense as the Hestia are when it comes to the
other world that is beyond our sight.” Sarah shook her
head, adding about ten spoons of sugary syrup to her
tea. “But the Hestia grew jealous of their abilities, and
they took the Prodigo as their own to become slaves.
Even their magic could not compete with sheer
numbers.”
Ajax grew quiet, wondering about the thing that
Julian claimed that he saw. If it had been real, then they
had been inches away from death that night. And here
he was treating him like an idiot this morning. He would
have to go upstairs and apologize to him again.
“The Prodigo got taken as slaves, and the Hestia
moved on their land, grabbing kingdoms as their own.
Out of the share of slaves, the monks got to keep the
most magically elite of the families, using them to help
contact the gods. But it wasn't long before generation
after generation of pain, suffering, and hard manual
labor with no education in magical arts revoked the
Prodigos' old knowledge of what they had been able to
do.” Sarah sipped her tea, made a face, and added
more sugar. “But, though this is not proven, it is said the
monks had retained the knowledge, forcing the children
of their slaves to relay their knowledge to their children,
so it never would be lost. Of course, things would
disappear in translations, but…”
“A few years ago my family excommunicated all of
the monks in our monasteries,” Ajax said, looking
horrified. “They were all corrupt, praying for our
downfall and making horrible human sacrifices on their
altars.”
“The monks were corrupt.” Sarah nodded. “That
was why we excommunicated them here as well. Of
course, there is no telling what they managed to do
while they were here…and, as you would well know, it
really isn't that difficult to sneak around this countryside
if you have the right papers.”
He looked thoughtful. “Julian mentioned seeing a
thin, skeletal beast drenched in blood with flesh running
off its sides. He saw it and then he fainted. I didn't
believe him, but do you think that there's a chance it
was real?”
Sarah turned pale and started shaking. “There have
been stories in neighboring towns about people out at
night being ripped apart and having their intestines
devoured by an unseen beast. The same thing happened
to a child in our village a couple of months ago who had
been out playing by the river…something tells me that
these two stories are very much related. Do you mind if
I talk to Julian? If he thinks the thing he saw was real, I
may have cause to go talk to the mayor.”
“They'll believe the story?” Ajax raised an eyebrow
again. If he told that tale at home, people would have
locked him in the attic. Then again, that would be his
second time, so no harm done. “It seems pretty
farfetched, especially since Julian was running a fever at
the time.”
“You lived in a castle all your life, but the people
outside of it have seen things that would make your hair
curl. Especially in areas like this where the Prodigo had
held their practicing grounds.” Sarah licked her lips.
“Time does not matter much when you're an entity.”
“That's true.”
He was feeling nervous as they walked up the
stairs, wondering what Julian would say when they told
him this information. Probably he wouldn't be surprised
at all. After all, it was Julian who told him again and
again that it was the monastery that was making him ill.
“I'm coming in, Julian,” Ajax said quietly.
But when he opened the door, the bed was empty.
Sarah checked the bathroom and then announced that it
was also vacant. Ajax looked at the food which was
uneaten, and then he peered out of the window at their
horses that were tied out front. Both of them were still
there.
“He's not in the bathroom or the kitchen,” Sarah
cried, her voice getting high-pitched. Ajax didn't need
to be told twice. His whole body was shaking. “And he
couldn't have gone outside. We would have seen him
going out from the kitchen, or when we were coming
out the stairs.”
As he looked down at the food, he picked up a leaf
off the tray that looked like Julian's medicine. He sniffed
it wearily, discovering that it had a foul order. He
withdrew quickly, looking at Sarah. Julian probably
mistook it for Ajax's doing, taking a leaf in thinking that
it was his medicine. By the time he had placed it in his
mouth, it was already too late.
“You didn't give this to Julian, did you?” Ajax
asked. “This leaf looks just like the medicine that he has
to take every day. It just smells a little bit different.”
“No, of course not.” Sarah shook her head. “I
wouldn't give something like that.”
“But somebody did.” Ajax's bottom lip quivered.
“And now Julian's gone. Somebody must have
kidnapped him.”
Sarah gave a cry and clasped her hand to her
breast, saying that she was going to tell the mayor all
that was happening. Ajax ran from house to house,
asking everyone if they had seen anything odd, trying to
pretend that Julian had just gone for a walk. His insides
felt sick with worry. He always was so careless when
Julian needed him, and he always ended up getting hurt
because of it. This time he might actually end up dead…
“No,” he whispered. “I'll kill myself. I love him too
much.”
He grabbed his horse, hauling at the bit. The horse
immediately took off the moment he mounted,
thundering down the path toward the monastery. This
had something to do with Julian seeing that monster.
Ajax just knew it.
“Julian!” he screamed, his voice hurt, his eyes
aching from the effort of trying not to cry. How could he
have been so stupid? He should have been with Julian
this morning. “Julian, I'm sorry! Julian!”
The horse came to an abrupt stop, and he flew over
her shoulder, hitting the ground right in front of the
monastery. He spit out dirt, his hands moving over his
sore body for the second time that week. But that didn't
matter now.
If he had never come here in the first place, Julian
wouldn't be gone. He would still have the love of his
life. They would still be heading onwards to make a
home for themselves.
He searched the forest grounds outside the temple,
searching for the invisible adversary. After some time he
deducted that there was nothing there, and he instead
headed inside the building. It was empty and exactly the
same way as he remembered it being. The door to the
basement was closed, but he didn't dare open it.
Instead, he pressed his ear against it.
“Julian,” he whispered. “Julian?”
But there was no reply this time. He heard the
sound of movement against the far wall, though no voice
to respond to his plea. It was as if they could sense that
he wouldn't open the door unless he heard Julian voice,
and there was no Julian within their midst.
Chapter Nineteen
“Urgh,” Julian whimpered against the hand, feeling
the bouncing wagon as it went. In the front seat was a
dark-haired man in regular farmer clothes, but his eyes
were dark and sharp. Also, from beneath the Hestia's
attire he could see the blackened hem of a monks outfit.
“Ajax, Ajax! Help me Ajax!”
“Shush,” the monk snapped. “If you help me, I
won't hurt you or your precious lover. Now I hear that
you saw my little pet last night.”
“I didn't see anything!”
“Liar!”
As Julian looked out the back of the carriage, he
discovered that they were on a mountain path between
the two villages. They came to a sudden halt, the monk
climbing down from his high post to collect something
that was out of Julian's sight. After that, though, a
ripped apart, shredded body was thrown directly on
top of him, splattering blood and fluids everywhere.
Now Julian had seen many a body in his lifetime,
but he had never once encountered a corpse that was
so massacred as this one was. He let out a wail of
despair, attempting to get away from it, finding that he
couldn't because of his misplaced trust in a leaf. If he
got out of this alive, he was going to sniff everything
before he ate it.
“Yeah!” the monk chortled. “He does a wonder on
bodies, doesn't he? He was a mistake, you know. A
fine experiment before the real thing, which is why I
need your help. I've been waiting a long time for you.”
“I don't know what you're talking about!” Julian
said angrily, trying to move, his body still feeling numb.
“Just let me go. I don't want to help you.”
“Now here's the thing, honey,” the monk said, a
knife showing in his sleeve. He pressed it against Julian's
throat, and then gently ran it along his chin until blood
oozed from it. He trembled, feeling his heart ache. “I'm
a very patient man, and it would hurt my heart to see
such a handsome creature such as you get massacred,
but I'm willing to do it to accomplish my goal, see?”
Around the corner came the sound of movement.
Julian's eyes followed the sound, and he found himself
staring directly at the beast from earlier. It was about
the size of a horse with the body of a wolf. It had large
strips of flesh coming from its side along with no fur
whatsoever, and its skin looked clammy and
transparent as if it had been decaying in a lake
somewhere.
The beast had no eyes, but instead it had empty
sockets with bloody strings dangling down its face.
Even its feet, which had once been pads, now had
bones protruding from beneath the surface of slimy skin.
Its teeth were long and fanged, dribbling blood but no
spit. The creature sniffed then growled. It sounded
hungry.
Julian felt fear strike his heart. No matter what he
had seen in the past, he wasn't ready for this. “Get it
away! Get it away!”
The creature turned its face toward him, and Julian
felt his head light on fire. His body bucked, his head
filling with heat, his back arching. Screams pierced his
throat again and again, long after the monk held him
against the carriage bottom to silence him. By the time
Julian was done, he was shaking, but the monster had
disappeared.
“I see we understand each other now,” the monk
said grimly. “You saw my pet when nobody else could.
Even I can't see him. It's lucky that he obey my
commands. ”
“Ugh,” Julian whimpered. “Your pet!?”
“Yes.” The monk smiled. “And tonight when you
help me, you're going to see a lot more of them."
Chapter Twenty
Ajax was weeping inwardly, wondering what to do,
and debating riding back to the castle to see if Medea
had somehow gotten a hold of Julian. It was a long
shot, but at least it was better than sitting here, waiting
for his lover to come home. He trotted into the village
on his horse wearily.
Suddenly, a young man about the same age as
Julian galloped into town on a chestnut horse, drawing it
to a sudden stop. He was very pretty, with golden hair
and blue eyes. His mouth was tight as he slid down
from his horse, and then the mayor and Sarah exiting
the large building to greet him. Ajax dismounted and
watched from a distance.
“Rand, what's wrong?” the mayor cried. “Not
another one.”
“Worse than that, I think,” Rand responded, patting
his horse, looking disgusted. “A group of hunters were
killed this morning. A good ten, I think. The bodies are
missing again, and I saw carriage wheels, which I'm
assuming means that someone has been cleaning up
after them. I never authorized that.”
Ajax's eyes narrowed, his body shaking. Sarah
looked alarmed as he approached, but he ignored her.
Rudeness was no longer a cause for surprise anymore.
After all, he would do anything in order to get Julian
back. Julian was more important to him than anything,
even his own life.
“Have you seen a man anywhere in your village?
Kind of thin with bright eyes?” he asked Rand. “He was
taken this morning from our hotel.”
“Taken from your hotel?” Rand asked, looking
annoyed and skeptical. “The beast doesn't attack
people in hotel rooms. Probably he just got sick of you
and ran away. Stop wasting our time and do something
more effective.”
“No,” the mayor stopped him. “The probabilities
were very good that the Prodigo was taken. Apparently
the man Julian, whom he speaks of, was able to see the
monster that was attacking the villages. This morning,
after they went outside to discuss it, Julian disappeared
from the room without going passed them.”
“He could see it?”
Ajax nodded. “It was supposed to be a wolf like
creature with strips of flesh missing. The night after
Julian got very, very sick. We thought that he might die,
but the next morning he woke up fine as if nothing had
ever happened.”
“Wolf?” Rand looked surprised. “Unless you have
been previously informed, that fits everything perfectly.
Mayor, can we use your room. I believe that we can
help each other, if what this man said was correct.”
The mayor, a portly man with a white beard and a
balding head, led them back into the townhouse. He
waddled while he walked, like a duck. He also was
constantly touching his face with his hands, as if he
feared that there was something on it.
“Rodney,” Sarah said to the mayor. “Perhaps we
need to send search parties.”
The mayor nodded.
All of them entered a room with a large, square
table. The walls were decorated with tapestries that
were rich in value, but since Ajax spent most of his life
in a castle, nothing was here that impressed him. Rand,
on the other hand, looked like he was having the time of
his life looking around.
Rodney seemed to notice this too. “I suppose this is
nothing compared to that of the castle, my prince, but I
do hope it will suffice.”
“Prince?” Rand looked like he might be sick.
“Yes,” Sarah said softly, nodding at Ajax. He
smiled wearily back, wanting to hurry in his search for
Julian. His lineage was not something he wanted to go
into right now. “This is Prince Ajax Cyan. His lover,
Julian von Pelham, was taken this morning. That's why
we were already prepared when you arrived.”
Rand looked awed, though Ajax figured it was
more about title than him. Just because he was a prince
didn't mean that he was well liked by any meaning of
the word.
“We need to find Julian right away,” Ajax said to
Rand, trying to make his point. “He has an illness that
needs daily medical treatment. If he doesn't get it, he'll
die before the month is over.”
Everyone grew quiet, and he stared at the table,
trying to ignore the way tears were blinding his vision.
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. If he ever
got Julian back, he was going to tie him up so they'd
never be apart. Heck, he'd probably lock Julian in the
attic so Ajax would know where he was all the time.
“I know a little about the monks,” Rand
commented, tracing his hand. “Apparently, about four
years ago, they started doing sacrifices on neighboring
animals. We didn't mind it, since mostly they captured
and used the Hem Wolf, which have been eating are
only food source.”
“Hem Wolves?” Ajax gasped. Hem Wolves were
large, mostly the size of large horses, and they ate
livestock. They basically kept away from humans unless
they were starving. “That's a bit cruel, don't you think?”
“Not when you're about to die during winter
because they ate all of your food,” Rand said bitterly.
“Anyway, my father—who was the mayor before he
was slaughtered—was the first victim. He realized that
every month people were disappearing mysteriously
from our village. It was mostly the town crazies, the
elderly with no living relatives, or travelers that never
made it to their destinations. He went to ask the monks
for help, and walked in on them casting a curse on an
older woman from our village.”
“The old woman died before him.” Rand shook his
head. “My father left in a rush, grabbed the strongest
men from the five villages, and locked the monks in with
the bodies of those they had killed. Ever since then,
nobody will go near the place. Last year, starting with
my father, people began being massacred.”
Sarah nodded. “We've lost six from our numbers,
and many more are starting to leave to escape from it
all. That was why when you showed up here we were a
bit antsy. You see, we were worried that you would be
the monster's next victim. But, as it turns out, Rand's
village seems to be under more of a threat.”
“Because of my father, I think.” Rand looked
weary. “And I have a feeling that I'm next, since I'm the
current leader.”
His hands were shaking. Of course Julian would be
taken away by crazy people who placed curses on
creatures, turning them into demons. But why could
Julian see them when nobody else could? As far as he
knew, Julian had no inclinations toward occult magic
whatsoever. If Julian had, Ajax would have noticed it.
“I have to find Julian,” Ajax cried. “I shouldn't have
messed around with it in the first place. He kept telling
me to let it go, but I wasn't listening. He's always the
one that has to get hurt because of my stupidity.”
Ajax slammed his hand on the table.
“Calm down,” Sarah said softly. “We'll find him.
My guess is that the monks wouldn't be so quick to get
rid of him considering that he's gifted. Wherever the
monks are, that's probably where Julian is, too. Our
goal is the same.”
His eyes searched the table. “We need to go to that
monastery. The time before last things were talking to
me from the basement, but when I asked them about
Julian they went silent.”
“But that's impossible!” Rand cried, eyes widening.
It was obvious, however, that he believed Ajax. “My
father locked them away a good twenty-five years ago.
There's no way they would have survived that long,
even if they started eating each other's flesh.”
“We're talking about an immortal Hem Wolf.” Ajax
grunted. “Don't you think that it's possible that the
monks would have done something to themselves,
too?”
Rand stared at the table again. “Either way, I'm
going with you. I don't want any more of my people to
die. They're counting on me to defend them, and I won't
let them down.”
****
They arrived at the monastery at sunset, and Julian
was shaking. The beast had been popping in and out,
making Julian feel sick every time that he spotted it. The
monk helped him out of the back of the cart, Julian
clinging to him as little as possible, not wanting to touch
such a disgusting human being.
“After I do this, you'll let me go?” Julian asked,
looking as the monster prowling around them wearily.
The moon made the beast's blood body glow. “That's a
promise, right?”
“Sure.” The monk smiled in a way that made Julian
shiver. “I'll let you go, alright.”
But as they walked toward the monastery, Julian
felt his body seize in agony. The monster stopped
directly behind him, breathing putrid, blood-smelling
breath all over him. The monk seized Julian's shoulder,
forcing him inside first. Even then, he couldn't stop
trembling, his whole stomach crying out in pain.
“Do you see them?” the monk asked. “Are they in
here?”
Julian shut his eyes, hearing the loud outburst of
excited talking. It came from the floor below, and the
sound of the voices made him shiver. There was
something throaty about the sounds, as if they weren't
coming from something natural. Evil was downstairs, he
could feel it.
“They're in the basement,” Julian whispered. “I can
feel them.”
His whole body was shaking. Julian shook as the
monster growled under its breath, walking beside him
the whole time to keep him in line.
“I want you to open the door,” the monk grunted.
“Just in case.”
The monk handed him a thick key almost the length
of Julian's forearm, and he shoved it in the hole then
twisted, feeling the door give only a little. He was so
shaky that the monk had to help him push it open.
The moment the door was midway open, however,
a terrible sound of moaning filled the air. All around him
bodies were rising into the air, eye sockets empty and
blurred. Then Julian realized something: these weren't
zombies or dead corpses. The monks hadn't been
placing curses on the bodies of the people—they were
placing them on their souls.
All around him was an army of dead, their spirits
dark and staring. Skeletons lay on the floor in piles,
mixing together and becoming one. Julian let out a wail
of despair, realizing that he didn't have a chance of
fighting ghosts. He stumbled backward, and the wolf
jumped forward, taking a chunk out of his leg.
He fell to the floor, yelling. The monk leaned down,
his rancid breath in Julian's face. “What are they, boy?
What are they?”
“Ugh…ghosts…the spirits of the people that you
killed!” he wailed, feeling blood pour from his body,
knowing that he was dying. “They're all around us.
They're swaying and… so full of hate …”
Julian leaned down, sobbing.
The monk hauled Julian to his feet, despite the fact
that the dog had eaten off his calf muscle. He
whimpered, wondering if this was the end, weeping
because he would never see Ajax again. They had gone
through so much just to be together, and now they
would never be together.
His fingers gripped the monk's outfit, and he looked
at the ghosts and grew even more frightened. They all
moaned together, coming to a pause right before the
monk, not attacking. Their ghosts seemed to omit a
terrible heat, as if they were demons rising from a pit of
fire. Julian didn't want to end up like them.
“Yes, my warriors,” the monk barked. “It's time for
war.”
“What war?” Julian sobbed. “Bring me back to the
village, please. I want to get out of here.”
The monk grinned at him and raised his hand.
Julian's eyes widened in fear. A fist approached his face
quickly.
He knew that there was no chance of survival. His
eyes rolled back in his head, his body slipping down
and down. He collided with the floor, his head
twanging, his mind surrounding him in a fever filled
darkness that wouldn't stop.
Chapter Twenty-One
“So you really gave up everything just to be with
that guy?” Rand asked, eyes wide. “I don't think I could
do it. Don't get me wrong, I love my wife, but all that
money and power…you could easily buy the perfect
person to be your spouse.”
Ajax's mouth tightened. “A person like Julian can
never be bought. And there is no one else out there for
me but him. I've waiting a long time to find him, and
there's no way in hell I'm going to give up now that
we're so close to being together forever.”
“What if he's dead?” Rand asked, the horse trotting
beneath him, causing his words to come out chopped.
“What would you do then, huh?”
“Kill myself, probably,” Ajax commented, stroking
his horse's neck. “This is all my fault anyway.”
They approached the monastery, both of them
inhaling quickly as they saw wagon tracks on the
ground. Rand's horse reared up in midair, legs flailing.
Rand tried to hold on, but he fell to the ground, holding
onto the reins even when the horse made a getaway
attempt. As Ajax's own mare threw up her head
nervously, he dismounted and tied the reins up on her
neck.
“Aren't you going to tie her up to a tree?” Rand
asked, watching as Ajax just let the mare wander loose.
“She'll get away like that.”
Ajax patted his horse's neck and then unsheathed
his sword. “I've raised that horse since it was a foal. If
she did run away, she would always come back.”
Both of them walked towards the monastery, as
cautious as a cat around a lake. An awful sound filled
the air, sounding strangely like muffled talking that they
couldn't quite make out. He nodded at Rand, who
promptly unsheathed his sword as well. Ajax tightened
his lips nervously, feeling sick.
But when they reached the inside of the monastery,
Ajax felt his mouth tighten. The door to the attic had not
only been opened, but also had been left ajar. On the
floor near the alter was a large puddle of blood, along
with booted footprints that he recognizes all too well.
There was also a second pair of tracks, but they had
been tracked through dirt and not blood.
“Julian,” Ajax whimpered, his hand over his mouth,
vomit curling up in his throat. “Whatever was in the attic
hurt Julian!”
“How can you be sure?” Rand said. “It's just a
puddle of blood.”
“Those were his boots,” Ajax cried loudly. “I know
the design on the bottom because they don't look like
ours. They're like little clovers, see?”
“That is a lot of blood.”
Ajax coughed, eyes filling with tears that he shook
his head to get down. Rand, realizing that he had said
the wrong thing, quickly shut his mouth and pretended
like he hadn't said anything at all. But it was too late
now: Ajax already could feel his heart breaking in his
chest.
Together they went toward the basement, their
fingers grasping their swords. There they saw a
disgusting room of human skeleton, piles on top of piles.
They were everywhere, from the floor to leaning against
the walls. It was horrible to Ajax, who had to remind
himself that this was very real.
“This is sick,” Rand commented, wrinkling his nose.
“And I've seen a lot of things in my life.”
Mouth tightening, Ajax put his hand over his mouth,
his eyes shutting as a tear streamed down his face. He
wasn't really crying for the dead here, but instead for
Julian, who had been another victim. What if they used
Julian for another one of their sick spells?
Rand must have realized that Ajax's mind was
spinning out of control, because he patted him quickly
on the back, saying, “Look, if Julian was dead the
monk would have just left him here. Chances are good
that he's still alive and now we have tracks to follow—
wagon tracks.”
That caught Ajax's attention. “That monk better
pray for his life, because when I get a hold of him, I'm
going to rip his heart right out of his chest.”
“I'll have some choice words to say to him too…”
Then, out of nowhere, a horrified horse's scream
filled the air. Both of them raised their swords, running
out of the monastery. There, on the ground, was Rand's
horse, being mangled and ripped to shreds by an
invisible adversary. The horse was screaming in pain
and fright.
Ajax whistled and his mare galloped over to him,
ears back behind her head as it snorted nervously. The
monster had stopped eating Rand's horse, which Ajax
could only assume meant that the wolf was now turning
its attention toward them.
“Get on my horse,” Ajax yelled. “Come on, you
idiot!”
“No,” Rand howled. “This is the animal that's been
killing my village. I've got to stop it while I still have a
chance.”
“How do you expect to kill something that you can't
see!?”
But the monster was already upon them. Ajax's
mare reared up again, backing up hastily. Rand let out a
scream as his arm was bitten, squirting blood
everywhere. He made a wild swing, and it collided with
the wolf, making it give a large, ferocious growl. Instead
of backing up, however, it attacked like it had rabies.
Ajax lifted his sword, hurtling it at the beast, to
which it gave a yowl like a wounded cat. The monster
turned its attention toward Ajax, and as it came upon
him, he could feel its hot breath in his ear. His horse
reared up in response, throwing herself at the monster,
her legs coming down again and again.
Rand picked up his sword with his other hand,
throwing it deep against the invisible. The creature let
out a wail, then another, until they heard a heavy thud
on the ground. All of the sudden it became visible. It
was a slimy, disgusting creature that looked like it had
slimy scales for skin.
As if by some sort of magic, the bones crystallized,
leaving a glistening corpse on the ground where its
disgusting body used to be. Ajax was only distracted
for a moment, however, because Rand was next to him
heaving. Blood was pouring from his arm, and he was
losing a lot of color in his face.
Ajax ripped his shirt, making a tourniquet, wrapping
it around his joint and tightening it so that little blood
would escape. He then helped Rand clamber onto the
horse, then mounted behind him. They raced up the hill
and to the village, stopping in the center of town where
Sarah came to meet them.
“We killed the wolf,” Ajax cried. “But the monk's
still got Julian, and perhaps other evil spirits too. The
wolf's got a skeleton near the monastery. We might
want to pick it up before somebody else does.”
Sarah nodded, helping Rand get off the horse.
“We'll take care of Rand. There's a carriage over there.
Strap your horse to it and bring us the corpse back.
We'll need it to see what's really going on.”
Ajax nodded and dismounted. He then led his horse
to the cart.
The horse tossed her head as it was strapped to the
cart, fluttering her nostrils in response to being trapped.
Mostly she was used to being ridden freely, not hauling
something around. But Ajax, after seeing the mare's
protective qualities, was not so quick to give up the one
companion who would help him see, even for a cart
horse.
“I'm sorry, girl,” he said softly. “You did a good
job.”
The horse snorted in response, rubbing her head
against Ajax's shoulder. He gripped the horse's neck for
a second, feeling the heartbeat there, allowing a tear to
trickle down his cheek. And then they were off again,
heading down the path toward the corpse.
They reached it in about fifteen minutes. When Ajax
bent down to pick it up, he was surprised how heavy it
was. It was unlike any bones that he had ever seen, and
he wondered what sort of magic could turn remains to
crystal. He shrugged, and then looked at the cart tracks
leading up toward the neighboring village that he had
not made. Julian was his main priority now, not the
village.
He led the cart into a dark part of the forest,
unhitching his horse and mounting. “Come on, girl. Let's
find Julian.”
As if in response to his words, the horse flew over
the ground, following the tracks up the hill. His mare
was much more excited about this track, liking the
freedom in comparison to the wagon. One thing for
sure, if they ever got out of this, Ajax was going to feed
her a zillion carrots.
After some time the tracks stopped, and Ajax
trotted along the village line and saw that the monk must
have entered the village. Unfortunately, there were too
many tracks leading each way to tell where the wagon
had went.
He was riding his horse into the middle of town
when a plump man stopped him. The man had dark
eyes, short blonde hair, and stubble. His eyebrows
were so light that Ajax could barely see them, giving
him a look of permanent surprise. “Can I help you?
Don't tell me someone was hurt, were they?”
“Rand was…but have you seen a wagon come up
here?” Ajax asked in alarm. “I think the man that was
doing this drove one.”
“How unfortunate!” the man responded. “I'm
Walter. I've been doing the clean up around here. I'm
the one who collects the bodies, if the bastard doesn't
get to them first. The only one that drives a wagon
around here is me."
“Have you been by the monastery?” Ajax cried,
feeling his heart thud with disappointment. “I saw tracks
leading from there.”
“Yes, I went this morning,” Walter said. “We lost
ten men, but unfortunately I could only find nine. I
stopped at the monastery to check to make sure he
wasn't in there. It's a terrible thing not to have a burial.”
Something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger
on what
“Was the door to the attic opened when you went
into the monastery?” Ajax questioned, holding the reins
tighter, trying to keep his horse from doing an Irish jig.
“And what time did you go?”
“About a little after sunset, I suppose.” Walter
looked thoughtful. “The door wasn't open when I went
inside, and I wouldn't be stupid enough to go near it.
Everybody knows that the monastery is cursed. The
only reason I checked was because the man who died
was a good friend of mine. He'd lived here his whole life
too, you see.”
Ajax looked at the man, realizing that there was a
slight smile to his lips. I should ask Rand about him.
Most of the villagers around here wouldn't bother to
check the monastery even if someone held a sword
to their back.
“Have you seen a red-haired man around here?”
Ajax asked, feeling more desperate. “He's kind of
thin…”
“The handsome one?” Walter asked. “Why, did
you lose him?”
“You saw him?” Ajax raised an eyebrow.
“Sure I did,” responded Walter, scratching his
eyebrow as if hoping touching it would cause it to grow
darker. “It's unusual to see someone like him."
"But Rand said that he hadn't sent anyone to get the
bodies…" Ajax summarized out loud.
Walter shrugged and said, "I figured the poor man
has had enough to deal with. I don't need anybody to
tell me to do my job. I meant to bring it up, but I haven't
gotten around to it—he roared out of here awfully fast
when he learned about the attacks."
After thanking Walter, he wheeled his horse
around, asking villagers questions. This ended quickly,
because no one had seen a wagon except for the one
Walter had driven, and Ajax had already talked to him.
He had picked up the dead bodies, placing them in
rows in the shed. Also, after he asked to check the
number, he discovered that there were nine, as Walter
had said.
He then went to the wagon, as shown by Walter,
who didn't seem to have anything to hide. The back
was filled with the sour stench of blood, guts, and urine;
nevertheless, he clambered inside, running his fingers
over everything. Just when he was about to give up, he
picked up a clump over silken blue fabric that had
gotten caught on a nail and ripped.
It was the finest of silk and was the color of
turquoise. It must have come from Medea's castle, and
the only one besides him who had a shirt of that
description was Julian. Julian had been back here with
the dead. Ajax almost started yelling in frustration, but
then he realized that his lover's body was not with the
corpses, which meant that there was still hope.
“Julian,” he whispered, putting it in his pocket, “I'm
going to bring you back to me. And when I do, we'll
never be apart again.”
After crawling out of the back, he thundered
through town, looking for Walter. He finally ran into
somebody who knew where Walter was: a portly old
man with a big beard who was drinking at the pub.
“Sure, I know where Walter is,” the old man
muttered after Ajax asked. “Went out to Wallen to tell
a family about their son's death. Terrible business, these
killings.”
“And where does Walter live?”
“Right there.” The old man pointed. “The house
right next to the tall one.”
The house was a decent size. Mostly it was just
incredibly tall, the final floor of the building overlooking
the town square. Ajax guessed that the house was three
stories high, but each layer couldn't have had more than
two rooms. It really was a peculiar thing.
He kicked at the lock of the house until it opened,
as the lock wasn't extremely stable because of shabby
design, and he glanced behind him to make sure
nobody was watching. After he entered the household,
he felt a twinge in his stomach, as if he could sense
something evil lurking around the corner.
“Julian?” he called. “Julian, are you in here?”
There was silence. After examining the first and
second floor, finding nothing but normal things, he made
way up to the third only to discover that it was locked.
There was no way he could pick this lock, as it was
extraordinarily sturdy. Also, there were no areas of
fragility that he could see.
He walked downstairs to the wood stove, picking
up the axe that was against the wall. It would have to be
good enough. After some time of whacking away at the
door, he heard the wood moan in pain before
crumbling. His body slid between the opening he had
created, sweat trickling down his back as he did so. He
then looked up at the stairs, which looked frightening
and ugly.
“Julian!” he yelled.
After stepping onto the floor, he looked around to
notice that this floor was dedicated to one thing: torture.
There were shackles all around, and one of them had a
fresh puddle of blood underneath it. At the floor of its
keeping was a shirt and a pair of pants, both stained
with crimson. He ran toward them, holding the silk
against his chest as if that might help him get closer to
Julian.
“Julian…”
He rushed out the door filled with anger and hatred,
praying that Julian was still alive, too frightened to even
dare hope. On the way out he nearly collided with
Sarah, who was standing in town square looking
frightened. Ajax clambered onto his horse, looking
down at her for just a moment.
“Walter was the one who did this,” Ajax growled.
“His third story is dedicated to torture.”
Sarah stared and then pointed at Julian's shirt. “Is
that?”
“Yes,” Ajax growled. “And he's going to pay for
what he did. I will make sure of that myself.”
With a wild throw of hands, he dug his heels into his
horse's sides, and the mare shot off down the upper
mountain trail toward the city. Since the blood was
fresh, there was no way that Walter had long to move
Julian from one place to another. Probably he had just
missed him, and he had walked right by Julian.
Chapter Twenty-Two
What are you doing to me?” Julian moaned, his
head backward. He was tied up in the back of the
wagon, his head up against the canvass. “You said you
would let me go.”
His heart had nearly broken when he heard Ajax
talking to Walter, but he had been unable to speak or
even move. He couldn't have gotten words passed the
gag, and his body had been tied up in a wheat sack.
Plus, he had been well out of view in the alley behind
the wagon.
“You were in the war.” Walter grinned. “Since
when do people do what they're supposed to? You
should know that one personally.”
“Ajax,” he whimpered.
“Your little lover can't save you.” Walter smiled.
“He's always a step behind. Just like now.”
“What do you mean?” Julian said. “What are you
going to do!?”
Walter grinned and picked up Julian, leaving him
tied beneath a hidden cluster of trees. Julian squirmed.
After that, Walter turned and headed into the village.
Now he smelled the thick, heavy, pregnant scent of
wood burning. He heard the sound of screams from the
village, but he sensed that something much worse was
coming. There was the sound of whispers from the
trees, as well as the sound of heavily moving feet.
There, right in front of him, the army of possessed souls
Walter had assembled was standing at the entrance of
the tent. None of them moved toward Julian.
“Please,” he pleaded with one of them. “If you cut
me lose, I'll help you. I can get you to your proper
place…”
But the soul he talked to didn't respond. His face,
sunken in and bloody, looked forward, untroubled by
Julian's words. With a sigh, Julian knew that it was no
use.
That was when a man stumbled forward out of the
forest, his eyes wild. He had black hair tied back in a
ponytail, muscular arms, and thick facial hair. Julian
trembled, realizing that the man could not see the
monsters that were deadly. Probably if he saw Julian,
he would get himself killed.
Unfortunately, he did see him. “Oh gods, you're the
one that they're all looking for. Boy, when they said you
had a nice face they weren't kidding, even when you're
covered in dirt.”
“Get out of here!” Julian yelled, face getting hot.
The monsters were already grabbing at their weapons,
their faces all turned towards the man. “Leave! You're
going to get killed if you try to help me!”
“What are you talking about?” the man laughed.
“There's no one here but you or me."
A sword sunk deep into his arm, the work of the
leader of the souls. The man screamed, casting a
frightened look at Julian, and ran with his hand gripping
his bloodied side. Julian shuddered, hoping that the man
survived—and that he did as well.
More screams came from the village below, and he
looked up to discover that it was on fire. So that was
what Walter had been planning all day. Julian shivered,
tucking himself into the corner, hiding himself for when
Walter came. The last thing he wanted was for Walter
to even lay his eyes on him.
****
“He was in real bad shape, Prince,” the man named
Kao growled, wiping sweat from his face as they
stitched him up. “I reckon that he was getting really
sick. His whole face was kind of sunken in, and his lips
were this bright blue color.”
The four of them, Rand included, were sitting in a
hospital room in the town below. After the fire burned
through the upper village, everybody had moved
downward to ensure their safety. A couple of people
were injured, but mostly everyone had been unharmed.
That didn't include their homes.
“You saw the wagon outside the village?” Ajax
whispered, feeling sick with himself. Walter had him
right where he wanted him. “Did Julian say what was
attacking you? He can see them when nobody else
could.”
“Well, I thought he was a bit mad at first, screaming
things at me.” The man shivered. “But I did feel this
awful cold. He never did get around to saying what they
were, but there was definitely a whole bunch of 'em.”
“How could you tell?” Ajax asked wearily.
“Easy.” The man shuddered again, looking at Rand
who was watching him readily. “Julian said 'they,' and
he seemed to know what he was talking about. I think I
got hit with a sword thought—at least that was what it
felt like.”
“I'm guessing it was just a warning,” Ajax
commented. “They could have done a lot worse other
than slash you. This is just a flesh wound.”
The man nodded. “I send you my condolences,
Prince. I always assumed you were a bit mad, going
after somebody of your own sex, but you seem alright
to me. Maybe I was the wrong one."
“He was upset?” The vision mentally scarred his
brain. “That's not good…”
Sarah raised an eyebrow.
“Julian hardly ever gets upset.” Ajax shook his
head. “He's made out of tough stuff.”
Everyone grew quiet, and then they looked down at
the white, crystallized bones at their side. Ajax reached
forward, touching the top of the bones wearily, feeling
where the teeth were exposed. They had tried taking an
ax to it, burning it, and even placing it in water, but
nothing they did could destroy the carcass.
“I'm guessing that the soul of this poor wolf was
messed around with, the same as those other people,”
Rodney murmured. “It was probably going mad with
pain. But unfortunately, it's still in a bad way. I'm
guessing that the monk will be able to reawaken the
wolf easily. All we managed to do was knock it out for
a little while.”
Ajax gulped. “So what you're saying is, the wolf's
still alive?”
Sarah nodded.
“We need to solve the problem with soul as well as
the body,” Rodney said, scratching his face. “I hired an
exorcist to come. She's the best in the business, and she
knows how to handle these monks.”
The room was unusually quiet. The birds had gone
silent, no longer chirping outside the windows. All the
horses in the paddocks could be seen racing along the
fence, looking antsy to get out. Even the dairy cows
appeared unhappy.
Ajax lay back on one of the hospital beds, feeling
antsy, wondering how Julian was. Probably he's dying
right now. And I'm down here laying down. His
stomach clenched, so he sat back up, trying to ignore
his itchy eyes. It had been three days since he had last
slept, and he was feeling it now.
But he couldn't rest now, he had to save Julian.
“Good luck, you guys. I'm going to look for that wagon.
I need to—no, I have to—find Julian. He's probably
dying at this very moment!”
“Wait one second,” Rand growled. “I'm coming
with you. That man took my arm as well as my village.”
“You need to rest.” Both of them shot angry looks
at each other. “You've just been bitten by a viscous
wolf. You'll be a hindrance rather than a help. The only
reason either of us survived last time was because my
horse happened to be smarter than both of us.”
“And how do you plan to fight these monsters that
you can't see?” Rand argued back, sweeping hair out of
his face. “The exorcist can help us. Perhaps he even
knows what's going on. Apparently he may not be able
to see the spirits, but he can sense them. Sometimes
waiting is the best plan you can have.”
Somehow it did seem like a good idea, but he didn't
like waiting while Julian was suffering. It felt too painful,
as if every moment he didn't move he was letting Julian
down. His head ached with pain, eyes closing as he
leaned back against his pillow, his mind answering the
question for him as he dozed off into a heavy sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Three
After some rest, Julian was feeling much better. He
awoke in a strange room, in a strange place, far away
from previous city. Outside his window was a factory
where they made steel-edged swords, and he could see
the workers heading inside for their early morning shift.
Julian shivered as he turned around, watching Walter
snore. The murders Walter had seen definitely weren't
resting heavy on his mind.
He shuffled around the room for a moment, getting
his bearing straight. After some time he wandered over
to the desk, picking up a piece of paper that was from a
monk from a neighboring continent.
Julian scanned the page:
Walter,
Preparations for the induction ceremony are
complete. We have hopes for this new man that you are
bringing. Hopefully he will serve us well.
Sincerely,
Rocas
A tingle feeling ran through his stomach. What was
the induction ceremony? And by this 'new man,' were
they talking about him? Julian felt his stomach burn, and
his eyes wandered over to where Walter lay sleeping.
It would be a bad idea to make any move to kill
him. He wasn't sure what would happen with the
tormented souls if he did. They could remain the same,
but then again, they could also go off and start
slaughtering the entire city. Just by ensuring his own
freedom he would destroy the lives of many. No matter
what, he wouldn't let that happen. Too many people
had died at his hand already.
Julian jiggled at the lock, feeling the pressure of the
handlebars beneath his fingers. He looked at Walter
and knew that he had to have had the keys. If Walter
even woke up mid-tug, he would be in big trouble.
He turned his attention back toward the window,
his eyes examining the bureau directly beneath it.
Perfect. After some time and much pain, he managed
to clamber up to the window. Just when he was about
to climb through the opening, the bureau tilted
backward, taking him down in an upheaval of noises
and dust. Walter awoke with a start.
After a moment he shivered, using one hand to
balance himself. He managed to harm his left arm as
well, and judging by the look on Walter's face, he was
in big trouble.
“Wait,” Julian whimpered, clinging to the wall. “I
was just looking.”
Walter stood above him, and Julian was surprised
to find him smiling. “Well, I'm glad you took that
opportunity. You may be a man, but you're very
attractive. I've been waiting for an excuse to have some
fun with you.”
Though Julian raised up his hand to plead, it was
already too late.
****
Ajax stared at the floor, his stomach sick with
foreboding. The exorcist was supposed to be here in a
half an hour, and everyone was preparing things for her
outside. On the other hand, Ajax was lying flat out on
his bed, his head buried in his pillow. The breakfast of
fruit and bread that he had just consumed was sitting in
his stomach like a rock.
“You must really love that man,” Rand commented,
standing up, his bandaged arm looking strange beneath
his shirt. “I'm missing a piece of my body, and it hasn't
taken the toll on me that losing Julian has for you.”
“It's an emotional hit,” Ajax said softly. “If I lost my
arm, I don't think I would care much either at this
point.”
“Point taken.”
After a moment Rand sat back down on the bed,
holding his arm where it was bitten and looking
thoughtful. Ajax was the opposite, constantly moving
around and thinking. All he wanted was for Julian to
come back.
There was the sound of excited cries from outside,
and Ajax jumped up to stare out the window. That was
when he saw the exorcist for the first time. Sitting on a
large chestnut horse was a woman with hair of the
blondest color, her eyes were a sparkling bright blue,
and her body was thin and ample. Even Ajax, who had
never really had an attraction for women, blinked in
surprise. Rand, who had peered out of the other
window, was sitting there with his mouth hanging open.
“That's the exorcist, huh?” Ajax grunted. “I
expected it to be some crabby old woman.”
When Rand didn't respond, Ajax returned to his
bed, pouting once more. They could get rid of the
bones any way they wanted—they didn't need him for
that. He didn't care much about anything but Julian, and
these people were seriously slowing down his search.
"Do you think that she'll be able to help us much?"
Ajax asked Rand.
"I don't know," Rand said.
There talk, however, was interrupted by the
beautiful exorcist entering the room, looking like
Athena. Rand gasped and stared, drool dangling on his
lips. The exorcist looked used to this treatment, and
ignored Rand while coming to shake Ajax's hand.
“I'm Rachel,” she said. “I'm here you guys have a
bit of a problem. Sarah said you probably needed me
to join you on your journey.”
Not another one. The last thing he needed was
another tag along; furthermore, judging by this woman's
short skirt and overly tight blouse, she wasn't exactly
battle ready. He shook his head for a moment, leaving
Rachel looking confused, while Rand continued to
stare.
Ajax shot Rand a look, but he was so busy
worshiping Rachel's beauty that he didn't seem to
notice. “Look, I'm in a bit of a hurry. I'm leaving within
the next hour, whether you guys or with me or not.”
To this, Rand pouted, but to Ajax's surprise Rachel
nodded, tugging at a bag that was at her side. She
pulled out a sword to show that she was ready. Ajax
smiled, impressed, and they both sat down to watch
Rand pack his things looking too hassled.
“Do you know anything of the monks?” Ajax asked
wearily. “I know that they've been making beasts and
such, but I don't know why.”
Rachel began polishing her sword, looking
thoughtful. “In my travels, problems like your own have
been popping up all over the place—hidden enemies,
killers that are unseen. Whole villages have toppled,
some kingdoms included. It's far too hard to evade an
enemy that no one can see, and that you can only feel
when it's too late.”
“So it's not just happening here?” Ajax whispered.
“This past month, they've been everywhere.”
Rachel nodded, polishing the dagger more. “And I did
some research in the monastery vaults. According to
what they were writing, the monks found a spell that
can turn humans into the strongest fighters possible:
immortal, fast, powerful, and magical. But the original
writings were lost. At first they started doing research
on animals, like the Hem Wolf.”
That made him think of Julian. What if they cast the
spell on Julian, making him unable to be seen, turning
him into a killer? The thought made his blood run cold.
“Apparently, however, the beasts they created
aren't even up to par with what they originally wanted.
Of course, it's enough to get an army of thousands and
massacre everyone," Rachel brushed blonde hair from
her face, making Rand stop and stare for a moment.
“But the strange thing is that the recent activity had
stopped, at least for the moment. I can't figure out why,
though…I mean, me and the other exorcists are getting
rid of the monsters pretty hastily, but if we don't know
where they are, it's harder to attack them.”
“So they never figured out how the spell worked?”
The sun had begun to go down, but Ajax didn't
care. He would ride through the night if he had too, and,
judging by Rachel, she would be willing to do the same.
If Rand came or not wasn't his concern.
“I think they finally figured it out,” Rachel said. “But
it was too late. They needed the right person to do it
on.”
Ajax gulped, getting a nasty taste in his mouth.
“What do you mean? What kind of person would they
need?”
Even Rand, who had finally finished packing, was
getting the message loud and clear. His hands stopped
moving, his eyes opening wide. The monks had stopped
activity when they got their hands on Julian. The
monsters hadn't attacked any more people, and Walter
had only burned down a village to pose as a distraction.
Furthermore, the beasts had been standing guard
around Julian, not around Walter, which means that he
was the most important thing.
“Strong magical blood line,” Rachel said. “For
instance, they would have to have the ability to survive a
lot before dying—like blood loss and stuff. Apparently
the initiation isn't a pretty thing, and they even have a
specialty period before they begin the ceremony. They
give the person everything they need for a month,
keeping them happy. Kind of like being on death row,
or like being at the witch's house. They want to make
sure that the person is healthy before they begin the
initiation.”
Both Rand and Ajax looked at each other, letting
out a yell of “Julian!”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Julian had been drugged and tied down, but he
hadn't needed to be. His head was aching, his face and
body covered in bruises after last night. The monk had
eventually needed medicine to let him have his way, a
feat which, despite it all, didn't make Julian feel any
happier.
They drew to a stop before a large, bustling village.
Walter parked the wagon in the back, whistling
cheerfully as he did so. After the man came around
back with crusty bread and cheese, Julian struggled to
tuck himself into the corner as far away as possible. All
he wanted to do was die…
After Walter presented him with food, Julian turned
his face up and leaned farther away. But the monk
persisted, forcing his mouth open and pushing the food
down Julian's throat until he choked. He lay there
afterward, feeling sick with himself, curled up in a ball
and sobbing, wishing Ajax was somewhere near but
knowing it was not a possibility.
“You're still angry about last night, aren't you?” The
monk turned to look down at him, patting Julian's back.
“You should be used to it by now. Slaves as handsome
as you are chomped up as quick as can be, man or
not.”
Vomit curled up his throat, and he threw up in the
corner, shutting his eyes as his head swelled. He lay
shaking in the corner, fearing everything around him. If
only the monsters weren't hanging around at the exit flap
of the tent with the command to throw him back in if he
tried to escape.
****
Ajax was galloping hard, his horse thundering
beneath him. Every muscle in his body was clenched
after riding for so long, but he kept going, surprised to
see that Rachel was doing the same. Rand was some
distance behind them, but he knew their destination and
would stop at the hotel when he finally arrived.
Probably it was better for him anyway, since he had
had severe blood loss only a few days before.
“Is this it?” Ajax asked wearily, pulling his horse to
a stop at their destination at long last. “It's so crowded!
No one will be able to tell if they saw him.”
“Walter is wanted by every city on this continent,
and the travelers saw him headed this way.” Rachel
smiled. “Trust me, we're getting very close.”
“But he's one step ahead every time.”
“Not for long,” said Rachel, pointing at her own
face. Ajax resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Remember
what I can do. I'll find Julian for you, Ajax. That I
promise you.”
“Well, let's just hope that when you find him for me,
he isn't dead,” Ajax said. “And we need to hurry. If
they're in this village, they're going to be hard to find.
It's so crowded!”
After some time they came upon a short, stubby
man that owned a row of houses across the harbor.
When questioned, he said that the night before he had
rented out one of those homes to an older man with a
wagon.
They ran along the cobblestone streets, up toward
the shore, key in hand. The man said that the wagon
had left early morning, but unless they knew where
Walter had gone, there was no use carrying their search
further. Hopefully they would find something. If not,
they would have to question every person in the city.
Ajax opened the door. There were high walls,
bookshelves, and a large bed. A dresser had been
tipped over, lying on the ground with its contents
spilled. There were also used, bloody dressings along
the floor line, which Ajax believed belonged to Julian.
Both of them walked toward the bed, and he pulled
back the sheets to reveal questionable stains, plus a
dried splotch of blood. Ajax put his hand over his
mouth, sitting down, realizing what Walter must have
done. He wanted to throw up, but he knew that would
disrupt the house even further.
Rachel was looking very pale. “Look, just because
it looks—ugh—bad doesn't mean Walter did anything
to Julian. He could have just been having fun with
himself, if you know what I mean.”
That made Ajax's eyes narrow. “And where do you
think the blood stains come from then, besides Julian's
injury? If I had only gotten here sooner.”
“We'll find him, Ajax.” Rachel hauled him to his
feet, helping him dust off what had come off of the floor.
“We need to get moving though. How do you feel
about working through the night? If we want to catch
him, we'll want to work twice as long and twice as
hard.”
“I'll do anything to find Julian,” Ajax whispered.
The rest of the evening, Ajax left Rachel to do the
questioning, however. She just seemed better at it than
he was. After all, men were more likely to talk to a
woman with a perfect figure, gorgeous long hair, and a
face like a goddess than they were to speak to him.
Judging by the expressions people made when they saw
him, he was starting to look a little deranged.
They were just about to give up when they corned
some kids walking on the shoreline. Rachel approached
the young teenagers with great flare, shaking her hips
and tugging at her clothes to make them shorter. By the
time she was done leaning over them, she had
discovered that Walter had been spotted along the trail
to Mai Road.
“That's it, then.” Rachel smiled. “Mai is a port town,
and there's only one way in. I believe that we found the
city. And not only that, but ships only dock on
Saturday, so that means we have three days to get
there.”
Ajax smiled. “Let's not take any chances. I want to
leave right away.”
Rachel nodded happily.
“By the way, Rachel,” Ajax smiled sleepily, “thank
you. I promise that I don't usually behave in such ways.
I know I've been a bit standoffish.”
“You're kind of a relief, actually.” Rachel started
raking her hands through her hair, fixing it so it was out
of her face. “It's not entirely too pleasant having men
drool over you all the time.”
They both turned and mounted their horses. Just as
they were about to leave town, they realized that they
were missing something. Rand, who was supposed to
meet them at the village, was trotting toward them
looking very tired. When he saw them, he grinned
sleepily, looking good and ready to pass out.
“Good, you're here!” Ajax smiled. “We don't have
to pass a message to you, then.”
“Tell me about it.” Rand glowered. “I'm ready to go
to a hotel and crash.”
“We're heading on to Mai.” Rachel flipped her hair,
smiling at him. For a second Rand was caught in the
afterglow, his eyes glazing over as his mouth dropped
open. “We're going to ride all night. Of course, if you
want to stay here in a hotel, you could always meet us
there tomorrow morning. It would probably be better
with your arm and everything, anyway.”
Rand stared at the ground, grumbling, but he forced
his horse past the town. Rachel and Ajax smiled at each
other.
“Don't worry, buddy,” he whispered. “We'll be
there soon.”
“Yeah,” Rachel smiled. “It's only a good thirty miles
away. We should make it there by daybreak at this
rate.”
Then Rand leaned over his own horse, moaning,
“Daybreak…Ugh!”
Ajax smiled weakly. There would have been a time
when Rand would have made him laugh, but it was not
now.
“So,” Rachel said thoughtfully, “what does Julian
look like anyway? I've heard more talk about him than
anyone else.”
Ajax stared ahead, his eyes blurring.
Silently he contemplated Julian, remembering how
he had vowed to protect him. What had happened to
Ajax made him feel like he hadn't failed just once, but
fifty times over. He hadn't ever wanted Julian to feel
violated again. They were supposed to be together, and
that was it.
“He's got red hair that's so light that it's almost
blonde.” Ajax felt himself feel sick again, and he leaned
to the side. “He's small and frail looking, but don't ever
get into a fight with him, because he will kill you.”
Rachel blinked in surprise.
Rand laughed. “I heard that, too!”
After some time he fell into more silence, wishing
more than anything to see Julian again. Talking about
him made him miss him more, and he stared up into the
trees with that thought. He remembered when he first
saw Julian walking across town, his face covered in a
blush.
Rand said, “Doesn't Mai have that famous jail? I
heard all of the monks that had been taken prisoner
were locked in there.”
Both he and Rachel gulped, looking at each other.
“You don't think it's his plan to break them out, do
you?”
Rachel shrugged, but looked apprehensive.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“What are you doing?” Julian said, fighting his
bindings. “Let me go.”
Walter had him wrapped tight in a blanket, and he
couldn't move. There was a body-sized wooden box on
the floor. He had a nasty feeling about this. Every part
of his body hurt, from his sides to his forehead. All he
wanted was for Ajax to take him home.
“It's just in case your friends come.” Walter placed
him in the box, and it was the first time that Julian
realized what it was: a coffin. “If they kill me, then they'll
never be able to find you.”
“No!” Julian wailed. “Let me go.”
Walter merely grinned.
After he was placed in the box, he leaned against
the back of it, stretching his leg. It had begun to hurt
more and more lately, and he was pretty sure that he
had an infection that needed medical attention. Though
Walter was also giving him medicine for his illness,
which he had stolen from Julian's room, he was
beginning to fade.
Julian felt the box move upward, and he realized
that he had been placed in the wagon. There was the
sound of horses neighing above him. After that, more
movement came.
They came to a pause, Julian's head lulling back and
forth. He heard Walter lock the coffin with something
metal that clanked, and then he was dropped what must
have been several feet. After that, there was the sound
of shoveling and dirt hit the top of the box. Julian's face
got cold. They are burying me alive.
After some time the noises stopped, and he heard
someone pounding above him. There was also the
muffled sound of talking, to which Julian assumed was
Walter giving orders.
I've got to get out of here. His body was
breaking, as was his mind. He pulled out a dagger and a
small ax that he managed to pilferage from the fallen
dresser. After he was sure the Walter had left, he
started hacking away at the wood. Hopefully Walter
hadn't buried him too deep, or else he was going to
have a hell of a time getting out of here with his leg the
way it was.
Julian finally managed to get the door to the box
open, his hands fumbling with the wood. He pushed
through to the world above, his hands seeping through
layer and layer of soil. He finally surfaced, spluttering
and aching, until he pulled himself out of the abyss and
onto solid ground. His mind hurt, his body feeling as
though someone had kicked it around like a tin can. But
his worries weren't over with.
All around him were undead warriors—ten of them.
Walter must have taken the some with him;
nevertheless, ten super-powered warriors were hard
enough to beat, especially with his leg falling apart. He
raised his ax and was stunned that he could make
contact with them, even though they were dark
shadows and nothing more. Could he fight them just as
well as he could see them? His eyes widened
One of the undead soldiers glided at him, appearing
prepared to disable but not to kill. Even though his
calves killed him, he was able to slice through the
shadow easily and it fell away, hissing. The others, after
his attack, rose and approached him.
Julian was surprised how easy it was for him to get
rid of them. He swung hard, and every blow that he
landed was true. They hadn't even managed to get a
hand on him. Something is strange.
But that was when he realized that he had only
gotten rid of five―Julian guessed that the other five had
been under the order to send a message if he had
escaped, but he didn't stick around to find out whether
his guess correct. He took off—or rather, hobbled
quickly—toward the road, hearing the sound of
pounding horse feet not too far away.
“Hey there, boy,” Julian finally heard someone call.
“Are you okay? You're looking a little bit sick.”
He felt someone's arms wrap around him, and his
eyes shut in pain. He passed out, burning up from
infection and illness. Above him he heard a person
gasp, but he didn't bother to even look up.
****
There was the familiar smell of burning that Ajax
knew very well, and he looked up in horror. All around
them there was screaming, people running every which
way. Rand and Rachel took off toward the village, but
Ajax felt his fatigue finally getting to him. Julian. Where
was Julian?
That was when he heard a group of men talking to
the right of him. “Yeah, he's interesting alright. I wonder
what hurt him so badly. He sure does look young—and
he was attractive too. Some men are so sick.”
The other traveler responded, “I know what you
mean. You don't reckon he's a thief or nothing, do ya?”
The color drained out of his face and he wheeled
his horse around. He was able to see two travelers
arguing some distance away. Ajax tapped his horse's
sides, not caring whether or not he took down fifty
people on the way over to the pair.
When he reached the two, they looked up in
surprise. Probably he looked pretty ragged, but he
didn't care. Ajax looked in the back of their wagon
without asking, seeing his beautiful Julian curled up in a
ball, and he let out air in relief. Finally, he had found
him. But what was Julian doing out here? Surely Walter
wouldn't have given him up so easily?
“Hey man,” one traveler howled, “what do you
think you're doing?”
“Julian,” Ajax whispered, ignoring the traveler. “I've
finally found you.”
“You know that fellar, mister?” the second traveler
said. “He came crashing out of the forest looking really
scared. Collapsed on the side of the road.”
“He was kidnapped.” Ajax climbed in the back.
“Here—for your trouble.”
He handed them some coins. The two travelers
looked at each other, grinning. Ajax ignored their cries
of thanks and sat next to Julian, his stomach hot with
relief.
He pulled hair from Julian's face. Julian's hair
fluttered around his face like a pillow, and his pale face
was dirty and unkempt. Ajax pulled Julian to him, not
caring how dirty his lover was. For a second he just
held Julian close, then he picked him up slowly, carrying
him over to his horse.
But Julian's eyes flickered open, and Ajax smiled at
him wearily.
“Ajax,” Julian whimpered, laying himself on the
horse's neck. “You came for me.”
Ajax leaned forward, kissing him on the lips in front
of everyone, not caring what they thought of him for it.
Julian smiled in a sloppy way for a second before
slumping against the front of the horse, passed out
again. He nodded at the two travelers, who were
glowering at each other in disgust.
He rode down the road a ways, making sure that he
was out of sight before he went off the path and
upward. Right now he didn't care where he was going,
as long as he made it somewhere that Walter couldn't
find them. Julian needed medical attention, and he was
going to make sure he found it.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Over the next few days, Julian woke up very little,
and his awakenings were hard to track. The doctor said
that he needed rest, but Ajax could tell by the look on
the man's face that there was a deeper worry there.
Probably it was a problem with his calf. It looked as
though it had been ripped to shreds.
The doctor had given Julian something for his
infection and had added extra herbs to help bring down
the raging fever that had plagued Julian for the past
week. The infection was healing, but the illness had yet
to subside. Ajax had spent many days and nights
holding Julian's hand, mopping his sweat soaked brow
with cold water.
He could only pray that Julian survived.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Finally, Julian was getting better.
Ajax leaned against Julian, brushing his reddish hair
from his face. Julian smiled warmly up at him, snuggling
against him as deeply as he could. Ajax leaned
forwards and kissed him deeply, making Julian shiver
happily. He had just barely pushed Julian beneath him
on the bed when there was a loud bang from
downstairs, making them both jump apart as if they had
been burned.
“Ajax,” Julian said softly. “Let's ignore it. We can
still…”
But when Ajax leaned down to kiss Julian again,
there was a loud knock on the door. Ajax let out an
annoyed sigh. They hadn't been together in that way
yet, and for some reason, Julian had been persistent
about them being together. This was unusual, since it
was usually Ajax who was more prone to such
behavior.
“I'll get it,” Ajax whispered, leaning down to peck
Julian on the lips. “You just stay in bed and rest.”
Julian nodded, brushing back his waist-length hair
and staring thoughtfully out the window. Ajax kissed
him again for good measure before leaving and then
took out his sword, leaving it at Julian's side. They both
smiled at each other for a moment, making Ajax remain
in a daze.
The knocking grew more persistent, and it had
begun to sound like an elephant was tromping on the
ceiling. He picked up his other sword just in case,
having it drawn. There, on the other side of the door,
were Rachel and Rand, both looking a little ragged,
tired, and annoyed.
“You can put your sword away,” Rachel said.
Ajax wasn't so sure and kept it drawn, though he let
them both in the room. Then he sat at the end of Julian's
bed, who grinned at the new arrivals. Both Rachel and
Rand stopped in their tracks, making Ajax grimace just
a bit.
“This is Julian,” Ajax said. “He managed to escape
Walter. I've been caring for him here. How did you find
us? If you did, then Walter might be on our track too—
Julian isn't fully healed yet. I even made sure I took all
the back routes. Nobody could have seen us come up
here.”
Both of them looked at each other. “We didn't. We
managed to stop Walter's plan of releasing all the
prisoners from their cells, and Walter suddenly
disappeared. Since he was gone, we searched the
surrounding villages instead.”
“Everything's been quiet here,” Ajax murmured.
“Haven't heard a thing.”
“That doesn't mean much when it comes to
Walter,” Rachel said.
“No, it's true.” Julian finally came out of his stupor,
pulling hair out of eyes. Ajax possessively scooted
closer to Julian, wrapping his arm around his shoulder.
“I haven't felt anything. When he's near, I can tell. It
makes me sick inside.”
“But we can't believe that he's given up!” Rachel
cried. “He needs you. You're special.”
“No, not anymore,” Julian said, shaking his head.
“He botched it up. I'm too weak, now. Why would he
need me?”
They talked for some time after that, mostly about
Rand and Rachel. Julian was starting to get drowsy, his
face steadily becoming paler. Ajax reached for him,
supporting him with his arm, but he knew that Julian
would fight sleep as long as those two were in the
premises. That was the opposite of what his lover
needed.
“Okay,” Ajax said. “Time out until tomorrow. You
guys look like you need rest.”
Rachel got the hint, shooting a glance at Julian, and
then nodding. Rand, however, took it literally, nodding
his head and yawning. When they were leaving, Rachel
rolled her eyes, smiling as they left to get a room.
Probably they would be placed in the vacant one next
door.
Ajax settled in bed next to Julian, smiling and
holding him close enough to catch his scent. They were
like this for quite some time, Ajax feeling very warm,
when he noticed that he was now missing a shirt. How
that happened, he didn't know, but when Julian made a
move to kiss him, he didn't fight it.
“You're tired,” he said. “We shouldn't do this. And
how did you get my shirt off without me noticing?”
Julian smiled happily. “I was unbuttoning it while
you were getting cuddly. And I'm not tired. I only
pretended to be so that you'd make the other two
leave.”
“Oh.” Ajax's eyes widened. “You're stealthy.”
“Don't you ever deny it,” Julian murmured, kissing
him again. “How do you think I landed a prince as my
lover?”
“Remind me again?”
Julian's eyes got all deep and lusty. Immediately
afterward, Ajax felt incredibly guilty—Ajax was
supposed to be thinking about Julian's well-being, but it
was awfully hard when Julian was in the process of
running his hand down Ajax's pants. He shuddered as
Julian gripped him, hard, and then smirked at him.
"You're so sick and weak," Ajax whispered, leaning
forward and kissing Julian once, gently. "I don't want to
hurt you. I know that it's been awhile since we've had
sex all the way, but it just doesn't feel right."
Julian leaned forward and kissed him more deeply.
The two of them tangled for a moment, tongues
massaging one another's. Ajax moaned, feeling his cock
ache with want, and he rolled on top of Julian, feeling
himself throb. He reached his hand up Julian's shirt and
touched his firm skin.
"After all that's happened," Julian said, whimpering,
"I just want you in some way right now."
For a moment Ajax paused, and then he leaned
downward and sucked, hard, at Julian's neck. Julian
moaned underneath him, eagerly trying to undo Ajax's
pants. Ajax, however, stopped him. He knew that if
Julian removed his pants, then it would be over for him.
He was certain that he wanted to have sex just as much
as Julian did—but it was not time yet, not until his
beloved Julian was ready.
"Why did you stop me?" Julian moaned
desperately, breathing heavily in his ear and wrapping
his hands around Ajax's back. Ajax could feel how
hard that Julian was.
To deal with the pressure, Ajax began to rub
against him, hard-on against hard-on. It felt so good
that he couldn't stop once he had gotten started. Julian
must have felt the same, because he grabbed the back
of Ajax's ass and pushed himself harder against him
with every thrust.
Julian threw his head back and moaned as they got
faster, the friction building and getting incredibly hot.
The look on Julian's face was so incredible that it sent a
spasm of pleasure through his pelvis, and he came,
causing his pants to become damp and sticky. The two
of them stopped moving and panted. Just when he was
about to pull away, though, Julian wrapped his arms
around him and looked him in the eye. Ajax leaned
downward and kissed him, thrusting his tongue inside of
Julian's mouth for just a moment. They then pulled
apart.
"Thank you," Julian whispered, nuzzling him.
****
When Ajax woke up, Julian was gone. He assumed
that he had gone to the bathroom, so he remained in the
bed, feeling very giddy. He had forgotten how good it
felt to be with Julian, even if they hadn't had full-on
sex…
The other two knocked a few minutes later, and
Ajax was so happy that he almost got out of bed to
greet them stark naked. He pulled on a pair of pants,
answering the door like that. Both of them entered the
room, looking hopefully around for Julian. But he wasn't
there.
Ajax's heart caught in his chest again. Suddenly, he
began to wonder were Julian had gone. It didn't take
that long to go to the bathroom, did it? He couldn't
believe that he hadn't woken up when Julian had left.
“It's about time you got up,” Rand grunted. “It's
about noon.”
“Seriously?”
Since both he and Julian had been up most of the
night, he wasn't all that surprised that he had slept so
long. Rachel plopped on the vacant bed in the corner,
staring up at the ceiling, looking way happier now that
she had had some sleep. Rand took the spot on the bed
next to Rachel, and she scooted away.
“We wanted to talk to you anyway,” Rachel said.
“Truth be told, we want you and Julian to come with us
to stop Walter. We can't fight an enemy that we can't
see, and since Julian can sense when those monsters are
close, I think that he would be a good asset. Of course,
we would have you along to protect him.”
“Julian is a better fighter than I am,” Ajax said. “But
he's so ill. I don't think I want him to help, even if he
agrees to it. Right now, Julian is my only concern.”
Rachel was looking desperate, but Rand nodded
his head, looking like that was what he thought he'd say
the whole time. “At least think it over tonight, okay? If
you're answer is still no in the morning, we'll quit
harassing you about it.”
Ajax nodded.
A moment later Julian arrived in the room, carrying
with him fresh baked breads, muffins, butter, and jam.
He smiled happily when everyone rushed over. Ajax
was the only one who noticed that Julian was drastically
favoring his right leg and that he was still in pain when
he moved.
Ajax ignored the food, pulling Julian in his lap
instead. After a moment Julian relaxed, looking very
content where he was, but Rand was staring with a flush
on his cheeks. Rachel had a large piece of buttered
bread sticking out of her mouth, her face looking not
much unlike a hamster's.
“You seem like you're in a happy mood this
morning,” Ajax said playfully to Julian. “Anything good
happen that put you in such a jubilant state?”
“I wouldn't have called it good,” Julian teased back.
Both of them smiled at each other, and then Ajax
released Julian so he wouldn't have heart palpations
Rachel shook her head after a moment, evidently
trying to get her head screwed back on straight. “Could
you do me a favor, Ajax? I want to go to the armory,
but I couldn't find it for the life of me.”
“I'll show you,” Ajax said.
When Julian made a motion like he was going to sit
up too, Ajax put his hand on his chest. “I'll be back in
ten minutes, Julian. Rand will look after you. I don't
want you in any more pain than you have to be,
especially since you're having trouble recovering.”
Julian grudgingly nodded his head, staring out the
window.
When they finally got out of earshot, Rachel said,
“Holy cow, Ajax. Where on earth did you find that
guy? Even I catch myself staring at him occasionally and
I've never been one to do things like that.”
Ajax grimaced.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“So,” Julian said, leaning over to stroke his chest.
“Are you still thinking about it?”
“Thinking about what?” Ajax asked happily,
thinking about nothing but Julian's fingertips. Julian
smiled and nuzzled his neck gently, to which he rolled
over grinning. “Are you talking about…”
“No,” Julian said. “I mean what Rachel told you to
think about. You know, whether or not we should go
after Walter. I was outside the door when you were
talking, you know.”
His smiled quickly faded. He could tell by the look
on Julian's face that he wanted to know his real answer
to her question, and he wasn't one hundred percent sure
what it was. Apart of him wanted to go rip Walter's
heart out for hurting Julian. The other part of him, the
more logical part, just wanted to keep Julian out of
harm's way. Right now, he wasn't prepared to run the
risk of losing Julian to anything, even if that meant sitting
this one out.
“I don't want you to get hurt,” Ajax whispered. “I
would much rather have you safe here than…”
“Wherever you go, I'll go,” Julian said, nuzzling him.
“I would follow you anywhere. If you decided that you
wanted to fight Walter, I would go with you all the way.
Of course, if you didn't want to I wouldn't mind much
either.”
Ajax quietly kissed his lips, staring at Julian's
handsome face. Despite what Julian had said, he could
see a lot of troubled thoughts beneath the surface. He
wondered which way Julian really wanted him to go.
“Do you want me to go fight Walter?” Ajax asked.
“No.” He shook his head. “I want the opposite.
The idea that you would get hurt kills me. That's why
I'm so worried. If we went out there to stop him, then
there's a chance that something really bad will happen.
If we don't, then the monks might take over the
kingdom and you'll still be in danger of getting hurt
anyway. I don't know what to think.”
They both settled quietly into each other's arms,
Ajax stroking Julian's head. It wasn't long before Julian
fell asleep, though Ajax was still awake, contemplating
the situation.
“I'll do whatever it takes to protect you, Julian,” he
whispered, kissing Julian on the lips. “Whatever it
takes.”
Beneath him, Julian stirred slightly, but he tugged
him closer to silence him. Sometime later, he shut his
eyes and he fell asleep, dreaming of a world where
everything was better―one where he and Julian could
be together forever without a worry.
****
When Ajax awoke, he was startled to find that
there was someone who was looking over him. It
wasn't Julian either, because he didn't get in close to his
face like that. Julian preferred to hang back and look
from a distance
Instead of opening his eyes like he normally would
have done, he immediately thought of Walter glaring
over him like a monster in disguise. Ajax's hand shot up,
clubbing whoever it was in the face, sending them
spiraling to the floor. There was a loud cry, and he
jumped up, staring at Rachel where she lay.
“What were you doing!?” Ajax howled. “I could've
killed you, peering over me like that.”
“I was checking to make sure your boyfriend is still
alive,” Rachel grunted, looking weary. Ajax looked
down and discovered that he was naked again. He let
out a moan, climbing underneath the sheet enough to
make sure that he was covered. “Of course, I didn't
expect such a surprising view when I came in here.”
“What are you doing here, anyway?” Ajax grunted.
“Don't you think it's a little rude to wake people up in
the morning?”
“It's one o'clock in the afternoon.” Rachel stood up,
flinging her hair over her shoulder, trying to pretend that
her nose wasn't swelling from where Ajax had hit her. “I
assumed that since you had yet to wake up, something
was wrong. Of course I should have known better than
to go into the room of a couple still on their honeymoon
period.”
“So what if we like to sleep in. Right now Julian's
still recovering from his illness, and—”
“And what's your excuse?” Rachel smiled.
Ajax grunted out of the back of his throat and
scowled.
Finally, Julian stirred. He sat up, rubbing sleep from
his eyes, hair falling in his face and around his shoulder
blades. Rachel immediately averted her face, though all
Julian was showing was his chest. Ajax, however, went
right on staring. It seemed like a sin against nature that
someone with such long hair could look so good in the
morning without even trying.
Rachel flushed when Julian met her eyes, who was
looking weary that someone was in his room while both
of them were in the nude. Ajax gritted his teeth, pulling
Julian to him, yanking the blankets up and around his
lover's shoulders.
“Keep this on,” Ajax growled. “Will you leave the
room for a moment, please? Unless you want to get a
view again?”
“Hmmm.” Rachel eyed him carefully.
The look on Ajax's face must have told her 'not on
your life,' because she was soon out of the room with a
slam of the door. Julian was looking as confused as
ever, not really noticing that his attractive features had
an effect on everyone.
“What was that all about?” Julian yawned. “And
why do you look all upset?”
“Because she leaned over the bed and I punched
her, thinking she was Walter.” When Julian gave him a
reproachful look, he ignored it. “Then I jumped out of
bed without any clothes on and she saw—well
—everything.”
“Everything?” Julian's eyes narrowed.
“I'm guessing as much,” Ajax said, getting red-
faced. “I'm sorry. I wasn't exactly thinking.”
Julian's eyes narrowed, and he growled out of the
corner of his mouth. Julian was jealous, and that alone
was enough to cause his chest to warm. It pleased him
to know that Julian cared.
“You're cute when you're jealous,” Ajax murmured,
pecking his lips. “But you need to get your cloths back
on as well. She wasn't looking at you with innocent eyes
either. In fact, I'm guessing you're more her type than I
am.”
After they both were dressed and Julian was in the
bathroom, Rachel and Rand came in, looking agitated.
Ajax was stretched out by the window sill, brushing his
hair, having just finished with his teeth. The other two
were looking just as dirty as they had been before.
“So,” Rachel said, looking weary. “Have you
decided about helping us?”
“I'm sorry,” Ajax whispered. “Me and Julian talked
last night, and we still don't have much of an answer."
“Ajax,” Rand snapped. “Please!”
“But he's still in a lot of pain,” Ajax finished. “I
wouldn't want him to go through that again.”
Rand rolled his eyes. Immediately afterward, he had
the urge to punch him again.
Rachel stared at Rand. “At the moment we're out of
leads. Probably we might stay here a week or so to see
if the monks make another major move. If they do, we'll
be able to track it. By that time, Ajax should have an
answer.”
Their conversation was interrupted by Julian
bursting from the bathroom looking frightened and wild-
eyed. Before they could ask Julian what was wrong, he
tugged at the wooden door and opened it further,
showing the window toward the back. In the distance,
they could see dark grey clouds that must have been
from a fire.
They left the hotel in a rush. Julian and Ajax
grabbed their horses and mounted, but it wasn't long
before they stopped again.
“Ajax,” Julian said, his horse throwing its head
nervously. “Walter is waiting for us out there. He has his
warriors with them. We better stay in town, with Rachel
and Rand.”
“How can you tell?” Ajax asked, looking worried.
Then Julian crumbled against the saddle, using his
horse for support. Ajax dismounted and then helped
pull him down, clinging to him tightly. They put the
horses back in the stable, Ajax letting Julian use him as
a stand. The two of them stumbled over to where the
fire was, finding Rachel's face in the crowd.
Ajax tugged at her arm.
“Nobody was hurt in the fire,” Rachel commented.
“I don't understand the concept of what Walter's
doing.”
“He wants Julian still. I'm guessing he was waiting
for me to help him recover,” Ajax said. “Now that
Julian is healthy again, he wanted Julian and me to rush
out of town so he could capture us.”
Both Rand and Rachel went still. “Are you sure he's
here?”
“Look at Julian,” Ajax said quietly.
Julian was on his knees, clutching his head in agony.
Ajax leaned down beside him, stroking his head,
realizing that Julian was burning up with heavy fever. He
picked him up and threw him over his shoulder, holding
him in arms as they watched the fire.
“We need to stop him while he's here,” Rachel
murmured. Then she took off, towards the hotel,
screaming, “I'll be back.”
“She's gone to get her holy book,” Rand
commented. “She does that all the time. You'd think
she'd have enough sense to keep it with her, but
nope…”
Suddenly Julian sat up his arms, almost throwing
Ajax off balance. Julian pointed toward the exit of
town, his hand shaking. Rand looked so scared that he
turned green and looked nauseous.
“There are three of them,” Julian said. “They're
heading right toward us. You need to get these people
out of the way.”
Ajax nodded, gently placing Julian on the ground.
But then, out of nowhere, Julian stole Rand's sword and
took off, charging directly towards the monsters. This
was a charade Ajax had seen before, and he was filled
with terror and awe. His friends were about to see just
how deadly the leader of the Prodigo was, even with a
bum leg.
Out of nowhere Julian ducked and dived,
burrowing the sword deep in something invisible. It
looked almost like he was doing a dance of his own, his
hair flaying around like it was a long, glistening banner.
There was a scream, and then the monster turned a
bright white, becoming skeletal and falling to the
ground.
After he finished off the other two, Julian fell to the
floor in dead faint from fever, making Ajax rush toward
him, doing his best to revive him. This was exactly why
he didn't want his lover to go on this mission. He was
just too unable to stay out of the fight.
Rachel trotted up beside them. “They weren't
kidding about him, were they? Remind me never to piss
Julian off.”
Ajax nodded, scooping up Julian and holding him
tight. His stomach felt like it was bubbling with illness.
He ran his fingers through Julian's hair, hoping that
would somehow revive him. It didn't work.
“Is he going to be okay?” Rand asked, looking
worried. “He looks awfully flushed.”
“It's because of the fever,” Ajax said. “This is
exactly why I didn't wish to go with you guys. Julian is
too weak to handle this, and he's already sick as it is.”
Rand went quiet. “Doesn't look like we have much
choice now, as Walter's still after Julian and everything.
I'm sorry to say this, but I'm guessing he followed
Rachel and me directly to you.”
“It wouldn't surprise me,” Ajax said.
Ajax studied Julian's sickly, flushed face. It filled
him with such rage that he was having a hard time
holding it all down.
“I won't let him have Julian,” Ajax growled. “We've
come too far. I love Julian too much for anything to
happen now.”
“We won't let anything happen to him either, Ajax,”
Rand grunted. “Trust me on that one. We'll stop the
monks.”
Both of them paused long enough to catch sight of
Rachel. She was some distance away, and she looked
angry too. Her hands were lifted in the air. She was
muttering words beneath her breath that Ajax didn't
understand, but that didn't matter. They could both
sense the power behind them, clear and strong as day.
As if the wind was a part of this invisible power, her
hair lifted up, flaying all around her. She finished her
chant, and there was a glow of light, followed by the
skeletons dissolving in a shower of sparkles on the
ground. A mist floated up towards the sky,
disappearing in the sunlight.
Rachel returned to them and panted. Ajax could tell
that she was exhausted because her shoulders were
slumped. Rachel said, “I think the warriors are getting
stronger. They're getting harder and harder to exorcise
every time.”
“Well, keep your strength up,” Ajax commented.
“We won't be able to stop them if it wasn't for you.”
“Not necessarily.” Rachel put her hand through her
hair. “I'm actually one of the weaker exorcists, because
I'm young and I haven't been to many places yet. Of
course, that being the case, I'm actually able to move
around, unlike the others.”
“We should check and see if Walter is still at the
exit,” Ajax said. “I wouldn't want him to try the same
thing all over again.”
Rachel gave a pointed look at Julian. “Will he be
okay?”
“He needs rest,” Ajax whispered. “He'll ride with
me when we leave. And I want someone with him at all
times. Do not leave him. He'd be an easy target for
Walter.”
The other two ran toward the entrance, swords
drawn. Ajax grabbed the horses from the stable,
saddling them up. He even gathered food for them, just
in case they didn't have a chance to stop. He took out a
sprig of Julian's medicine, mashing it until it became a
fine paste, and then gently rubbing it along the inside of
Julian's mouth.
Julian coughed a sputtered, but the medicine went
down. He gave a sigh of affirmation before pushing
Julian on top of his mare, clambering on behind him. His
mare snorted underneath the pressure of the excess
weight, but she trotted easily with Julian's horse behind
him.
Rachel and Rand approached them both, running.
Rand said, “Walter's gone, I think. The tracks are
leading upward, toward Westhaven. They're all fresh,
so we're confident that he just barely left.”
“I saddled the horses,” Ajax said. “If you two want
to find Walter, you better hurry. I'll be a bit of a ways
behind. I don't want Julian caught in the battle again, if
there is one. But stay within shouting distance.”
They all nodded, Ajax burying his heels into his
horse's sides. Before long, Rand and Rachel
outstripped him, galloping.
Ajax was nervous, keeping his sword drawn at all
times. Julian's head tilted backwards, and it took Ajax a
moment to realize that his eyes were open.
“Are you okay, Julian?” Ajax asked. “You're not
looking so good.”
“I'm fine…”
“Don't talk.” he whispered, snaking an arm around
Julian's waist to minimize the bounce. “Just lean on me
and try to rest.”
Julian's head flopped against Ajax's chest, his eyes
covered with a glaze. This only added more to Ajax's
determination. He gently tapped the mare's sides as the
other two grew out of reach. He had to catch up, at
least. After some time he managed to surge through the
upper bounds of the forest, coming out in front of a
neighboring city. The whole place was burning.
“There,” Julian whispered. “In the middle of the
town. There are two of them.”
Ajax stared but saw nothing.
Rachel and Rand were standing nearby, looking
weary. This amount of damage was beyond them, and
they both looked incredibly sad. But what Ajax didn't
understand was why Walter was leaving his minions
behind. As far as Ajax knew, he didn't have any new
undead followers.
“What's Walter doing?” Ajax asked Rachel,
dismounting and helping Julian do the same. He had to
keep Julian steady. “Why would he leave them
behind?”
“This is the monks’ plan, I believe,” Rachel said
softly. “They're destroying all the villages along the way.
Every monastery has a jurisdiction, and anyone who
tries to enter the city will be slaughtered as well. After
they're done, almost everyone is dead, and the monks
would be left with everything that was left.”
“Julian says there are two, in the middle.”
Rachel mumbled words that Ajax did not
understand again, clasping her hands and grunting along
the way. There was the sound of hissing, and then
suddenly, the two warriors were visible, just in a
different way. They looked like two dark shadows,
floating in the middle of the town.
“How did you do that?” Ajax cried. “You know
how much trouble we could have averted if we knew
where they were?”
“It only works if I know where they are already,”
Rachel said, pushing her holy book back in her horse's
saddlebag. “Rand and I will take care of this. Make
sure Julian keeps his eye out. We wouldn't want anyone
attacking you from behind, now, would we?”
When Rachel stepped into the middle of the village
to attack, the two were upon her within seconds.
Rachel was a surprisingly good fighter, throwing her all
into her sword. Rand was less skillful, but he was
repetitive and fast, making it impossible for the monster
to get out of the way in time. The pair of warriors fell to
the ground in heaps of bones, and Julian squirmed
beneath Ajax's grip.
“What's wrong, Julian?” Ajax whispered. “Are you
okay?”
Julian started spluttering and coughing, his eyes
rolling back in his head. “My throat feels like its
burning!”
His head fell backward, blood pooling as he fell to
his knees, letting out a hacking cough. The horses
snorted as he fell, nuzzling him. Julian clung to Ajax, his
eyes wide with pain and fear. The two of them held fast
to each other as Rachel cast her spell over the
monsters, and Julian was overtaken by violent shakes
and was grasping his heart.
“Hurry, Rachel,” Ajax screamed. “Julian's having a
heart attack.”
Rand ran over and felt Julian's forehead. Julian
bucked, eyes open and rolled back into his head,
showing only the whites.. It didn't look like he could see
anything, even if he wanted to. Ajax touched his
forehead, the seizure strong and powerful beneath his
hand. This only seemed to happen when he was in close
with the monsters.
“What's the matter with Julian?” Rand asked
Rachel. “He doesn't act normal.”
****
Rachel burst into the room, looking disheveled and
angry, a book in her paws. She stumbled into their
room, flopping on a bed, holding the book out to Ajax.
They were sitting in a hospital bed in North Palm,
Julian lying across Ajax's chest. Two days had gone by,
and he had just barely come around. Rachel had
disappeared for quite some time, and neither he nor
Rand were certain where she had run off to.
“Read it,” Rachel cried. “Read it!"
That was impossible for him. The language in the
book was written in ancient text, one that was not
taught in his classes at the castle. Rand shook his head,
not being able to read at all.
“We can't, Rachel.” He shook his head. “This stuff
is ancient writing. None of us know it.”
“This is bad, guys. Listen to this! The fallen army
shall erect one leader of great esteemed military power.
The man or woman must be chosen before the time of
the great uprising, and must be done as a small child. By
the age of eighteen the person will show great promise.
It is only then that the spell of Eternal Fernation shall be
initiated, and the world will drown in sorrow at the
leader's hand.'
“But then, why would they be after Julian?” Ajax
cried, looking stunned. “If the army already had a
leader...”
“He was the leader of one of the greatest uprisings
in history,” Rachel said. “And his fighting skills are
beyond any human adversary. He has taken blood loss
that no human could possible withstand, and the illness
he has should have killed him within weeks. It sounded
like he'd had it for months before he even realized that it
was there.”
“That doesn't mean anything,” Ajax growled. The
last thing he wanted to admit was that the man he was in
love with was the leader of some evil troop. “Just
because he's strong and powerful doesn't mean that he's
had a spell cast on him.”
“I wasn't sure myself either,” Rachel said quietly,
“until I examined him.”
“What?”
Rachel grabbed Julian's arm gently, flipping him
over on his back where she removed his shirt. Ajax let
out a whoosh of angry air, but tolerated the indecency
for the greater good. She patted his back down, finally
finding a spot directly below his hairline.
“There,” she said. “And there should be one lower
too, but I'm guessing that all the beatings he received
covered up the main scar.”
“That was his spot,” he said, more to himself than
anyone else.
Rachel raised an eyebrow and grinned, making
Ajax flush. “What were you saying about his spot?”
“The neckline right there,” Ajax commented, his
face burning up. “He always loved being kissed there. I
always assumed that it was just one of his spots—you
know, like everybody has—but it was always a bit
more extreme than that.”
Her fingers pulled the hair back again, looking at the
scar. “It would make sense. It looked as though it was
burned into him or something, but I doubt it. Looks
more like he was hit with some magical spell.”
“But Julian never mentioned anything about that.”
Rachel shrugged. “They could have knocked him
unconscious.”
Everyone was quiet, the news sinking in. Ajax put
his hand protectively along Julian's shoulder, feeling his
tense breathing beneath him. It was so hard to believe
that the man that he had been sleeping with this whole
time—the gentle, humble, sweet person—could
become someone so evil. Then again, Ajax had seen
Julian slaughter someone before, and it was not a pretty
sight.
“But why hasn't he gone mad?” Ajax cried.
“Wouldn't he have started a rampage already, if that
was the case?”
“Evidently that was supposed to be the case,”
Rachel whispered. “But I'm guessing that something
went wrong with the ceremony, and it got cut off in the
middle somehow. Enough to give him some strengths,
but not all of them.”
“But then, why are they still after him?” Ajax asked,
brushing hair from Julian's face, feeling a tingle of love
and affection that could not be equaled by anything else.
“It says 'as a child.' That means that it doesn't matter
now, since he's an adult. He's twenty-six years old, for
crying out loud.”
Rand looked surprised. “He looks more like
sixteen. That's why I always thought you were a bit
indecent.”
That made Ajax shoot him a look of anger. Julian
stirred on the bed, eyes rolling back in his head. He
bucked his hips, eyes flickering, and Ajax put his hand
on his waist to stop him from trembling.
“Well, I was thinking that since Julian was so rare,
they were going to try raising their soldiers anyway. If
he dies, there is no loss to them.” Rachel looked grim.
“Anyway, they have a chance of winning without Julian,
which I'm thinking is why they decided to start it to
begin with… But with Julian, they would be literally
unstoppable. He's one of the main reasons the Prodigo
won the war.”
“He's brutal.” Ajax nodded.
“Probably he would have died had it not been for
the monks.” Rachel looked thoughtful. “You almost
owe them that.”
The look on Ajax's face must have spelled out how
he was feeling, because she looked horrified for a
moment before hastily covering her face with her hair.
No way was he going to show any gratitude toward
men that were trying to kill Julian.
“So we have to stay as far away as possible,” Ajax
whispered. “That makes sense, but…will it ever end?
Will the monks be searching for Julian for all eternity?”
“No, I don't think so,” commented Rachel. “Once
we finish off their little helpers, it could take a whole
century before they could even think of starting things
again. I think if we can get rid of them this time, you and
Julian should be completely safe.”
“I hope so,” Ajax whispered, brushing hair from
Julian's eyes. “Have you heard from the other exorcists
how they're doing with the other spirit warriors?”
“Yes.” Rachel nodded. “The monks have managed
to destroy three or four towns, but the exorcists have
managed to eradicate a lot of their troops over there.
The only problem is, catching the ring leaders.
Apparently there are four of them, and they have been
near impossible to spot. If we want to stop this
permanently, then we have to make sure that they're
down and out for the count before they pass on the
information.”
“Is Walter one of the four?”
“Uh-huh.” Rachel looked thoughtful. “At least me
and the other exorcists think so. We have a general idea
of who they all are and he's definitely one of our main
suspects.”
They all stared at the floor quietly, then Julian
reached forward and grabbed Ajax's hand. For a
moment they fell into stunned silence, unsure of how to
proceed, but Julian's deep breathing filled the room a
second or so later, so they knew that the action had
been done in sleep. Ajax gently picked up Julian's hand,
holding it in his lap as if it might help them.
After some time everybody shuffled to their beds,
but Ajax reached across the sheets to stroke Julian's
hair where the symbol was. It looks just like all of his
thousands of other scars. That's why I never
thought anything of it. I assumed it came from a
beating.
He held Julian close, the warmth of his heartbeat
letting him know that everything was alright, at least for
the time being.
****
When he awoke the next morning, Julian was sitting
up, rubbing at his eyes weakly. Hair fell in his face,
hiding him from view for a moment. Julian's eyes
searched the ceiling for a moment, and then his legs hit
the floor to scurry off to wherever it was that he
planned to go.
“What are you doing?” Ajax asked. “You were
sick yesterday. You really should try to take it easy.”
“I want to think.” Julian yawned. “I'll be right back.”
Julian stood up and left. For a moment he hesitated,
but then he got up too, opening the door to the hallway.
Julian was sitting on the floor with one of Rachel's
books in his hands. For a second Ajax almost
panicked, but then he realized that he probably couldn't
read that language.
But then, Julian said, “Rachel was right, you know.
“I remember a little bit of what happened to me now,
just not much. I guess I always thought I was
dreaming.”
Ajax's eyes widened, his face growing pale. “How
did you know about that!?”
“I woke up for a bit.” Julian smiled up at him. “I
grabbed your hand, remember? Your face looked so
sick; I could barely stand to see you that way.”
Julian seemed to have taken the news alright. It was
he that felt like a one-legged cow on a farm, teetering
over where he stood. Julian had seen bad things in his
life, Ajax realized. That's why nothing bothers him the
way it does me.
“It looks like we don't have much choice,” Ajax
whispered. “If they're after you and only you, then we'll
have to help Rachel and Rand to keep you out of
trouble.”
“I know.” Julian's gaze dropped to the floor, and his
fingers slammed the book shut, leaving a mushroom
cloud of dust floating in midair. “I wish we could just go
away together like we planned. Everything has to be so
complicated when it comes to me..”
“It'll get better,” Ajax whispered. “I promise.”
They hugged each other close.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Their chase towards Walter was getting closer and
closer to the mainland. Both of them had a feeling that
he was nearby, but it wasn't until Julian felt a wave of
nausea that they knew for sure that it was true.
"You know, I wish that you could be my
companion all the time. It's a lot easier when you're
shrieking in pain whenever we get close," Rachel said.
Even though Julian was in severe pain, he shot
Rachel a dirty look. Ajax held Julian from behind, gently
tugging his lover back onto the other horse and
mounting behind him. The two of them moved more
sluggishly on Ajax's mare, and Julian's horse tossed his
head anxiously with flaring nostrils.
“I don't think your horse likes being without you too
much,” Ajax commented. “She's look a bit stressed.”
“I'll give him…a carrot when we get to town.”
Julian leaned his head back on Ajax's chest, breathing
heavily.
They headed forward, hearing no screams as they
entered a crowded village called Numberneck. Julian
promptly threw himself over the horse's neck, moaning
with pain. He pointed slowly into the village, ducking his
head off the side of the horse as he vomited all over the
place.
The place was filled front to back with bustling
people, not much unlike the town surrounding Medea's
castle. If Walter was in there, he would be hard to find.
Ajax instantly felt his stomach grow tense, his eyes
watering with angst.
“Wait…Rachel,” Julian murmured. “Use the reveal
spell over there.”
“Huh?” Rachel raised an eyebrow.
“I sense something sinister in that cove.”
Off to the right between two shops was an area
covered in thick, dark trees. Ajax used his arm to help
Julian lean against him..
“I don't feel so good,” Julian whispered. “Let's get
to the hotel quickly. I don't like being out in the open
like this. The warriors could very well be anywhere.”
Ajax nodded. The three of them wished each other
goodbye, Ajax grabbing Julian and leading him through
the crowd.
They came to a stop in front of one of the three inns
in the city. They greeted the person at the desk wearily,
hoping that he wouldn't recognize them. After all, the
man was staring for some reason. Ajax shot the man a
dirty look, and he promptly went back to his papers,
trying to hide the fact that every once in a while he
would glance up.
“I want a room for one, please,” Ajax said softly.
The man nodded, looking over his things
thoughtfully. Ajax moved a step closer to Julian, getting
a bad feeling in the base of his stomach. They paid and
moved upstairs.
****
Rachel was sitting on a bench, watching the cove
carefully. After Julian had mentioned it, she started to
feel the bad vibe from the cove too. But after she had
placed the reveal spell on it several times, nothing had
shown itself. Rand was sitting next to her, still looking
deep in thought.
“So,” Rand asked thoughtfully, “why haven't you
found yourself a good man to settle down with,
anyway? You're certainly pretty enough.”
Instead of responding, Rachel ignored him. They
wandered over to the cove again, this time closer than
they had before. She took one step forward, then
another, staring at the edge of the forest. Rand was
about to take another step toward it, but she put her
hand on his chest to stop him.
“What's up?” Rand asked, shivering, his armless
limb shifting. “Are there more mummies?”
“No,” Rachel growled. “But the monks are smart. I
never thought that the spell would have progressed this
far—and they thought that Julian probably would have
headed right toward it.”
“Why?” Rand cried. “What's wrong?”
After that, Rachel murmured her words, and on the
floor formed a pentacle that glowed a vivid white. She
wrinkled her nose, her hands lying on the ground where
it laid. She raised her hand again, murmuring some
more, and in a flash of vibrant light the symbol
disappeared right away.
“What was that?” Rand was shaking now, looking
like he had just stepped out of a cold shower. “A gate
to the netherworld.”
“No, it's a pentacle that made people very sick
when they step through it. Some of them could even
become warriors like the kind Walter uses.” Rachel
hissed. “Since we use Julian to find the bad spots for us,
I'm guessing they assumed he would have stepped right
into it, causing him immense pain. We would have had
to bargain with the monks.”
Rand gulped.
“We'll need to warn the others,” murmured Rachel.
“Things aren't looking too good for Julian at this
moment. It's obvious that Walter knows what we're up
to, and he's far smarter than I gave him credit for.”
“What are we going to do, though?” Rand asked
quietly. “How are we supposed to finish this thing once
and for all if we don't even know where they are?”
"I don't know."
That was when Ajax ran outside of the hotel door,
his face so pale that it looked like snow.
Ajax yelled, "Something's the matter with Julian!
Help me, please!"
The color quickly drained out of Rand's face.
Chapter Thirty
Ajax was lying on the bed next to Julian while he
tried to pretend that the wet spots on the pillow had
come from a roof leak. Julian's body had been tense all
night, his body covered in constant shivers from his
illness. A part of Ajax seriously wondered whether
Julian was going to die.
A moment ticked by, then another, and then out of
nowhere Julian sat up, eyes still completely closed. Ajax
wrapped his hand around Julian's waist, attempting to
tug him back onto the bed. The last thing that they
needed now was for Julian to go wandering around the
town.
“Julian,” he murmured. “Lay down. You're feeling
too sick to—”
But Julian's eyes had opened, and they weren't the
eyes of the person he had fallen in love with. His pupils
had turned a dark, coal black. Julian attempted to sit up
again and again, even when Ajax forced him down on
the bed. Though Julian used no violence, it was obvious
that he wasn't thinking straight.
“Rand!” he screamed, knowing that the other two
were sitting at the side of the inn, waiting for Walter to
make his move. “Rachel! Come quick!”
There was the sound of scuffling from outside, and
he heard Rand swear loudly. Rachel wrenched open the
door. That was when Ajax laid himself down on Julian,
attempting to keep him from getting up. Probably
Walter was calling him, Ajax realized.
“What's going on?” Rachel cried.
Ajax allowed Julian to sit up just enough so that
they were able to see his face, two black eyes glistening
deep from within his pretty complexion. Rand and
Rachel were both dumbstruck for a moment. Then
Rachel leaned over him, feeling the fever beneath his
hair.
“What's happening?” Ajax whispered. “Why has he
gotten so strange?”
“I'm guessing that the monks are here in this town.
They've come for him,” Rachel murmured, rifling in her
side bag and pulling out two longs bits of rope. “I'll get
some more strips. It looks as though his brain isn't
functioning properly right now, so he shouldn't be able
to figure out how to get the ropes off.”
“Oh, Julian,” Ajax murmured. “If we fix this, if we
get Walter, he'll be back to normal, right?”
“I honestly can't tell you that, Ajax.”
A heavy silence filled the room, and Ajax quietly
settled beside the bed, trying to ignore the anger in his
heart. He ran his fingers through Julian's hair, desperate
to believe that he would come back to him. There was
so much that they still wanted to do together.
“Are you okay?” Rachel gulped. “Ajax?”
“If he dies,” Ajax murmured, “then I will die, too. I
have to believe that we'll make it through this, no matter
what. I love him, so he deserves it.”
“Ajax,” Rachel whispered.
“Hurry,” said Ajax, sitting up and looking stressed.
“If we still want to stop the monks from destroying
everything, then you have to move now. Don't spare
yourself thoughts of pain and regrets until it's all over,
okay?”
Julian was already struggling against the ropes that
bound him, but it was only halfheartedly. Rachel and
Rand left to find more bindings for Julian, leaving Ajax
there in the cold room to watch.
****
Rachel and Rand were walking near the forest's
edge when there was a loud cracking sound. Rachel's
fingers flew up into a symbol, her mouth opening to
expel familiar words. All around them dark shadows
popped up, looking like warriors of the night. Rachel
knew better.
“Hurry,” she said to Rand. “They're after Julian.
They must know their leader is here! That must be why
he's straining the binds. He knows that his minions are
going to come after him soon.”
The dead soldiers attacked one after another. She
stared at all their faces, realizing one thing: the warriors
were no longer obeying orders. That was why none of
the monks were here. They only followed one person
alone, and that person happened to be sitting upstairs in
a bedroom with Ajax.
Rachel stood shaking after beating most of them
away, still looking frightened. If these warriors were
here already, then the others must be on their way soon.
Looking for rope was no longer their best priority. Right
now, they had to find a way to get to the other exorcists
before they hit the drop off point.
“Rand,” Rachel cried, “some of the other exorcists
are staying at the Filling's Inn two towns away in
Salmandor. Take my necklace to them and tell them to
bring as many people as they can to help fight.”
“What are you going to do?” Rand cried.
“I need to stay here to keep revealing the
monsters,” responded Rachel. “And I need to warn
Ajax of what's going on.”
After exorcising the glowing white bones on the
ground, Rachel ran up the stairs and stood white-faced
in front of Ajax's door. She pushed her way inside.
They both ignored the tears that were streaming down
his face, as well as the way he held Julian despite his
constant attempts to escape. This was too important for
pride now.
“The shadow warriors want him,” Rachel cried.
“They're all heading this way. I think the monks thought
that they could control them, but they can't. They're
going to be caught in the downfall along with the rest of
us.”
“What?”
“Get away from Julian. The person laying on that
bed is not Julian.”
“I won't leave him,” Ajax cried. “They'll have to
slaughter me, too.”
Rachel cried out in frustration and then left.
****
A quiet filled the room after she left and nobody
could be seen from the window. Ajax knew that it
meant absolutely nothing. The undead soldiers were still
out there. He returned to Julian's side, pretending that it
was just every other night, and that they weren't about
to have their heart's ripped out.
He dozed after some time, but he was awoken by
the sound of yelling. Outside the window now he could
see Rachel, along with a good fifty other men from the
village, attacking what looked as though were a bunch
of shadow people. Ajax shivered, casting a look at
Julian, who was still fighting the rope despite the last
couple of hours.
For a moment he hesitated, wondering whether this
was the last time they'd be together. Ajax leaned
forward, kissing Julian firmly on his lips, knowing that he
would receive no kiss back. He curved his hand
through Julian hair gently, looking at him with soft
affection.
“I love you,” Ajax whispered. “Don't ever forget
that, okay?”
Julian was still struggling blankly in his arms,
obviously not hearing a word of what he was saying.
Ajax pulled him closet, convinced that the person he
loved was still inside. Even when someone's scream
came from outside, he did not bother to make a sound
or move. This was the person that he was meant to be
with.
A shadow appeared at their door, and he had no
time to whip off his sword. He was thrown from the
bed and onto the floor. The shadow Julian laid on the
bed by Julian, eyes black and empty. It took Ajax a full
moment to realize that the person standing above Julian,
another black shadow, was somebody that he
recognized. It was Walter.
“Oh gods,” he said softly. “Your plan backfired
somehow, didn't it?”
But the monk started to mutter weird words, and
Ajax knew that he was attempting to finish the spell on
Julian. With a scream of rage, he hopped on the monk's
back, sending them both toppling down the stairs in a
fury of limbs. Ajax felt his arm crack in the process, but
not his dominant one, and he was pretty certain that
Walter was hurt way worse than he was. Then again,
Walter was merely a shadow.
Ajax had no weapon now, as it had been left
upstairs with Julian. Walter had a long, sharp, pointed
scimitar, glistening bright beneath the torches. Ajax
grabbed at whatever he could reach, which happened
to be a couple of bottles of alcohol, and he hurtled them
at Walter in rage. The shadow moaned, attempting to
get to Ajax anyway.
One of the bottles, however, caught in the torch,
and since it had been drenched with the content of its
companions, it became a bursting fire dragon and
collided with Walter, sending him to the ground, the
scimitar coming to a sliding stop at Ajax's feet. “Aha.”
Ajax grimaced. “At least I finally got him.”
That was when he heard something on the stairs.
Ajax looked up slowly, taking in the small, twiggy
person staring down at him. It was Julian, his face as
tense as a dog that had its bone stolen. He sensed the
danger before logic hit him, and Ajax looked up at his
lover desperately.
“Look at me, Julian,” Ajax whispered. “It's me,
Ajax. You love me, remember?”
Julian growled underneath his breath.
Hesitantly Ajax picked up the sword at his feet,
staring at Julian, feeling his stomach tingle with fear.
Julian was a much better fighter than anyone he had
ever known. On top of that, how could he win against
Julian without injuring him permanently?
“Julian.” Ajax stepped back nervously as Julian
drew his sword. “Don't, Julian. It's me. Don't you
remember me?”
But Julian's eyes were the color of coal. He
wouldn't be remembering anybody, Ajax included.
Chapter Thirty-One
Rachel was standing outside the town with a sword
in her hand. She had successfully managed to beat back
the attack with her fifty companions, but the scream
from outside the town told her that some of the warriors
had managed to kill some travelers on their way out of
town. Everyone around her was shaking in the presence
of shadows.
After a moment, Rachel murmured and cast her
exorcism spell, getting rid of all the white piles of bones
that surrounded her. There was a hiss as they
disappeared, and she wiped sweat from her brow.
There wasn't much longer she could take this… Every
breath, every movement, had her on her toes. She felt
as if one thousand pin pricks were diving deep inside
her abdomen.
“The others should be getting here soon,” she told
the frightened men, hoping that she was right. “Trust
me. This fight will get easier.”
But her words were thrown aside by the loud cry
from within the inn, along with a lot of heavy thuds.
Even she could tell that the person inside the inn was
frightened. Her thought instantly went to Ajax, but she
shook her head, knowing that it was up to him now to
keep Julian from going outside—even if it meant killing
him.
Rachel held her sword high as another set of dark
warriors appeared in the side line, heading directly for
the inn. The people around her charged forward, killing
the beasts again and again, though more just kept
coming.
There was a hiss and crackle, more white bones
falling to the ground. Rachel raised her hands in one
swoop, ridding the world of all the bones that lay all
over the floor in large heaps. She wrinkled her nose at
the smell, trying to pretend that it was all in her head.
Then someone grabbed her from behind, jerking
her head backwards as she fell to the floor with a loud
'ugh.' She collapsed, not caring that she was the only
one in the near premises who could reveal the monsters
to the world..
****
Ajax dived underneath Julian's first attack, hearing
the loud tearing sound as Julian's hand drove the sword
straight through the bottles. The shadow monster inside
of Julian was not fighting up to his lover's previous
caliber, because if he had, then he would already be
dead. Probably it had been Julian's brain, which
analyzed everything, that made him such a good
warrior, not his abilities or body type.
“Julian,” Ajax cried, the sword slicing through the
material on his arm. “Stop it. Please.”
But Julian just kept coming back. It only took a few
minutes for Ajax to be covered in blood. Walter's
scimitar just wasn't doing the trick for him. Julian finally
managed to disarm him, hitting the sword mid-way and
sending it spiraling into the air like an out of control
boomerang. It hit the floor with a clink, Ajax knowing
that his life was gone with it.
Instead of making a death blow, however, Julian
turned and made way for the door. Ajax took a flying
leap like a lion, catching Julian by the waist, sending him
to the floor with a sickening crunch. The two of them
fought for a while, Ajax putting his hand on the blade of
the sword though it cut him and he hurled it to the side,
hoping he didn't kill someone in the process.
Julian was fighting, punching, and biting every part
of Ajax that he could reach, but Ajax wasn't going to let
go of him. As far as he concerned, he would be dead
before his lover would be able to get away from him.
Ajax reached forward and thrust Julian's head
back. “Hey, Julian, look at me. I know you're still in
there. You didn't kill me when you should have.”
Something flickered in the back of the black eyes—
uncertainty? Ajax focused harder, releasing a breath of
relief. There was someone in there—his Julian in the
flesh, fighting his way back out into reality. Ajax was
going to help him win that fight.
“Come back, Julian,” Ajax whispered, breathing in
his face. “Come back.”
The blackness in Julian's eyes began to fade, and
Ajax could catch the light irises again, flickering with
confusion. Julian stopped struggling, slumping again
Ajax's chest. Ajax's fingers reached up, becoming
instantly tangled in his long, winding hair.
“Ajax, what happened?” Julian whimpered,
obviously in a lot of pain. “Where are we?”
Instead of answering, Ajax laughed, grasping
Julian's head in his hands and kissing him with full
intensity. Julian gripped back, silent tears trickling down
his face, falling on hem of Ajax's already bloody
clothes. It felt as though he could have gone on like that
forever.
“I love you,” Ajax whispered. “Okay?”
But then, Julian let out a rabid howl of agony, blood
spilling out of his mouth like a river. Ajax looked up in
panic, realizing that a man had just stuck his sword in
Julian's side. His heart beat in panic.
“How touching,” the man grunted. “What a pity I
had to kill him.”
Ajax let out a sob, letting Julian's body fall to the
floor ever so gently. Julian's eyes flickered like
butterfly's wing, flickering and fighting to stay open even
when blood poured from his body in large quantities.
Ajax let out a howl of anger, of rage, and threw himself
headfirst at the masked man.
“Ah,” he said. “Did you love him? Poor baby.”
“I'm going to kill you!”
The man let his head fall forward, removing a mask
that had been on his face. King Christopher stood
before him, the man that had helped him rescue Julian
from the dungeon. His smile was dark and angry, his
once plump face now gone thin. Christopher glared at
Ajax with a look of the finest distaste.
“Such wrong doing, for a Prince,” King Christopher
grunted. “Your mother was so shamed when she heard
you took off with a man. Of course, she wanted you to
be happy, only putting half her heart into looking. You
were never made to be king anyway.”
The two of them were circling each other, Ajax
holding his sword up in preparation for a surprise attack
that could happen at any moment. Christopher was
grinning, however, looking very excited for the whole
thing to begin. Ajax gave a nervous glance at the
ground, and then cried “Rachel!” at the top of his lungs.
“Don't bother.” Christopher laughed. “She's dead,
too. You know how annoying you all are, standing in
my way? You're obstinate, just like your father. I had to
kill him, too."
Ajax gasped.
"I've been trying to get the monks to destroy you
from the first day, but it didn't matter what I did, you
just wouldn't die! Now I'll have my chance.”
“But you needed Julian,” Ajax sobbed. “Why did
you kill him?”
“Because he would have turned the warriors against
us,” Christopher grumbled. “After you talked him out of
his stance, the warriors would have come to him. Of
course, nobody could survive the blow that I just gave
him, so it's all over and done with now.”
Ajax's hand grasped Julian's sword, anger rising
with the sadness. On the floor, Julian was convulsing
gently. Blood rushed around him like a giant ocean, his
movements causing wave-like ripples. Ajax felt the
need to vomit curl up his throat, but he squelched it,
knowing that he had to kill Christopher to end all this.
Ajax stared at Christopher with anger in his
expression. Had his father been involved in this? The
two Kings had been best friends since almost birth, and
since Christopher looked as though he had been mad
since the beginning, he could only assume such.
Ajax pulled out his sword, stabbing Christopher
once in the arm. The King barely cried out, instead
returned with his own jab, slicing painfully down Ajax's
head in a dribbling of crimson. He let out a cry of pain,
holding his hand against it, feeling the hot liquid poor out
of the wound like water from a geyser. Just once he
heard Julian moan, and then he felt that strengthen him,
burrowing the sword deep in the king's side.
The King howled in rage, pushing Ajax to the floor,
unsheathing his sword with far more force than Walter
had. He crumbled, using his hand to shield his face and
neck, wondering why he was even bothering.
Christopher shoved the sword deep into Ajax's arm
and he let out a wail of agony. But then, out of
nowhere, the King stopped his killing.
Julian somehow had managed to stand and had
stabbed Christopher from behind. The King gave a cry
of despair and pain, falling to the floor. Ajax looked up,
realizing that everything around him was getting fuzzy
from the blood loss, but he still managed to notice one
thing: Julian's eyes were the color that he loved.
“Julian,” Ajax whispered, his head spinning.
Then Julian fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Though Julian's eyes were open, it was obvious that he
was in severe pain. They looked dead and empty. Ajax
crawled along the ground, unable to stand, gathering
Julian in his arms for what might be the final time.
“I love you,” he whispered.
But Julian was already gone, head resting on Ajax's
chest. Then Ajax leaned backward in pain, his body
resting against the wood. His eyes fluttered shut, the
world around him growing more and darker as blood
gushed from his body.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ajax attempted to sit up, but found that his body
was too heavy. Everything, even his tongue, felt as
though it had been paralyzed. His eyes were thick and
blurry with tears, his hand reaching up to attempt to
clear them from his eyes. Someone placed a hand on
his chest, and his eyes fluttered open wearily.
“Julian,” he muttered, realizing that he could only
see from one eye. “Julian.”
At the side of his bed was Rand, looking very red-
eyed. Ajax struggled again, this time a bit harder, but his
body refused to move. He was with a doctor, that much
was certain. But he didn't care about himself right now.
“Julian,” he repeated with desperation.
The doctor looked at Rand, and then nodded.
“Julian's not okay, but he's alive. I'm surprised he's still
with us, but we're doing our best to repair him. Right
now Julian's chances are about fifty-fifty, though
compared to how things were before, that is a major
difference.”
Then Ajax looked around, realizing that one person
was missing from their group: Rachel. He stared at
Rand, looking confused, and Rand's eyes filled with
tears again. That was all the answer he needed. Though
he didn't know how or why, somehow it had all been
Christopher's fault.
Anger pulsed through him, but he pushed it all away
to sleep and dream.
Epilogue
Ajax was in their house with Julian, staring out a
window thoughtfully. They were in their new house in a
corner of Praline. It wasn't big, but it was large enough
for the two of them. Julian had a great big garden patch
at the foot of the house.
He had started a small business in town that sold
everything he could think of: food, weapons, and
clothes. When tourist season came, they would have to
have a person in the store around the clock. Mostly
now, however, Ajax stayed inside for about six hours,
since the city was small, and most people didn't want to
buy a supreme battle ax at midnight.
For right now, though, they had everything they
ever wanted: each other. Yeah, Julian would never
really be able to walk well again and got hurt easily
doing simple things. Just last month he had fallen over at
stand-still, breaking his wrist in the progress. Luckily the
doctor had said that it was mild and wouldn't take too
long to heal.
Currently Julian was sweeping the corners, looking
a little bit pale still since after the incident. Ajax always
had to make sure that Julian didn't push himself too
hard, which he had a habit of doing. Julian wasn't the
type who could sit around doing nothing for very long.
“Hey Julian,” he whispered. “Come here.”
Julian hobbled over, carrying the broom with him,
looking a little forlorn. Ajax wrapped his arms around
his waist, burying his face in Julian's silky hair. His lover
gave a relaxed sigh, staring at the wall with a smile on
his face.
Rand occasionally visited them. As far as they had
heard, he had recently conceived a baby with his wife.
Christopher
was
still
alive,
though
mentally
handicapped, in a large prison to the south. When Julian
had stabbed him, he had fallen, clubbing his head on his
golden book, causing his skull to shatter inwards,
damaging his brain. He would never be able to think
that same again.
Furthermore, everyone said that he wasn't the
original starter of the monks’ movement, but only took
up the mantle after the main ruler had died. Apparently
after the death of Ajax's father, King Christopher had
gone a little bit mad. His wife had been more than
happy to tell the story after her husband, who had
beaten her to keep her silent, was well out of his ability
to harm anyone.
“I should get finished sweeping.” Julian smiled,
attempting to pull away. “Marty is coming in soon to
buy those fish reels and you know how he always
complains about the dust . We wouldn't want to lose
one of our most valuable customers.”
Ajax grinned, breathing in Julian's scent. “Marty can
wait. There are things that I want to do to you.”
Julian laughed. “I can't wait.”
In response, Ajax wrapped his arms around Julian's
waist and drew him closer, gently. Ajax held him,
caressing his small hips and groaning against his neck.
The two of them kissed, tongues meeting and thrusting
around one another's. Though there was no bed nearby,
the both fell to the wooden floor and smiled.
Immediately afterward, Ajax reached forward and
grasped Julian's pants, tugging at them and trying to get
them off. Because they had been tied so tight, it took
him several tries, but he finally managed it. Julian began
to yank at them, pulling them down so that his legs were
bare and he grinned at Ajax in response.
The two of them kissed again.
After that, Julian leaned forward and sunk his teeth
into Ajax's neck. Hissing in surprise, Ajax drew back
for a moment and grabbed a hold of Julian's hair,
tugging at it tenderly despite Julian's recent display of
cannibalistic behavior. The two of them mingled, kissing
and breathing heavy, as Julian began to tug off Ajax's
shirt.
Soon, after Julian had thrown off his own shirt, they
were bare chest against bare chest. Julian, who now
was only in his undergarments, rubbing against Ajax as
he straddled him. In response, Ajax leaned forward and
sucked on Julian's collar bone, the closest thing that he
could reach.
He then lay back down again and began to trace all
of the scars that covered Julian's body, from his back to
his front. There were many there: from the whip marks
to the sword cuts. Ajax grabbed Julian by his hips and
swung him downward, so that Ajax was lying on top of
him instead. After that, he leaned forward and began to
lick and suck at every last scar.
Julian bucked his hips and moaned as Ajax started
from his collar bone and began to work his way
downward, kissing the spot right by Julian's hip bone.
After that, Ajax yanked off Julian's undergarments and
then grabbed Julian's dick, tenderly rubbing him with
one hand underneath his soft balls and then moving
forward again.
White juices flowed from the top, and Julian
whimpered again, grabbing a single lock of Ajax's hair
before leaning back on the floor again.
Ajax then continued to rub Julian, using one hand to
massage Julian's cock and the other to massage his
balls. Soon, Julian twitched and moaned as his body
poured white liquid, and Ajax, to Julian's surprise,
scooped it all up in his hands as if it was the world's
most succulent pearl cream.
"What are you doing?" Julian asked him, eyes wide.
Ajax flipped him over without response and used
Julian's cum as a lubricant, pushing himself inside of him
again and again. Julian yelped, grabbed at the floor.
Ajax continued to thrust all the while.
Once Julian was thoroughly stretched out, Ajax
pulled out his dick and prepared to mount him. He was
shocked when Julian scurried away and sat up.
That was when Julian stood, his own cum dripping
from his ass and Ajax moaned in want. Julian lowered
himself on top of Ajax backward and Ajax knew what
Julian was doing. Ajax drew himself upward
completely, holding onto his erection so that he could
get inside of Julian properly.
Once he was inside of Julian, he couldn't contain
himself any longer. He and Julian both pushed and
ground against each other, and he held on tight to
Julian's hips, driving him deeper and deeper with every
breath. Soon, the two of them were both panting and
thrusting and moaning, holding on for all they were
worth.
Ajax came into Julian, filling him twice over. Julian
let out a yelp.
After a moment of recovery, Julian turned around
and wrapped his legs around Ajax's waist, grinning at
him happily. The two of them shared a sweaty kiss, and
Ajax wouldn't let Julian go afterward. He was just too
happy with what they had just shared.
"Next time," Julian said, nuzzling his neck, "we
should play soldier again."
"Mmm," Ajax replied. "Yes, I always like my love
in disguise."
Sugar and Spice Press
Where romance is everything nice.
www.SugarNSpicePress.com