Kerrien sighed. They must be talking about the twins who were his age. The guys he could tell apart and with whom he had experimented with sex. Rithvik felt sorry for Kerrien. But at the same time he was happy Kerrien had run away from this awful place that had seen so many wars and internal struggles and so many people dead or crippled.
"What about your friend?" It was Yann's turn to ask questions. "Where did you meet him?"
Kerrien snapped back to reality and put one hand on Rithvik's shoulder.
"He's an orphan. I missed having a younger brother, so I adopted him," he said.
Rithvik grinned. They weren't just brothers anymore. But he wasn't going to say it out loud. He had heard enough to understand how they must keep their true relationship secret in the lands of the barbarians.
"Ah, a younger brother!" Yann's smile showed he wasn't fooled, but he wasn't going to contradict his elder either. "Where are you from, Rithvik?"
"Ker Eziel. It's a castle many miles away from here, beyond the Ondan," he answered.
"So you've traveled a long way to reach Caer Nittak." Yann was impressed. "I never went beyond Caer Tiasul or Caer Sayla... How did you find the big bad world out there?"
"Fascinating," Rithvik answered. "And things can change so much from town to town! My favorite so far is Salamar. It's big and has good public baths and excellent food..."
"How about a hunt?" Kerrien suggested. "We could have venison for dinner..."
***
The following morning Rithvik asked to see the old ceremonial site. It was just an excuse to get away from Kerrien's relatives for half a day, and he could see Kerrien was just as willing as he was. So they saddled their horses, leaving their things in the stable, and trotted two hills to the east where the site was.
The stones were obviously of the same kind used to build the castle. Grass had grown to cover the base of the lowest ones, but the stone in the center was still free. Kerrien explained the carvings that depicted the old history of those lands.
"See, there's Humans and Genn and here are the winged Sila... The person in the water should be a Waiora, but it always looked very Human to me. Our shamans assure us that there's all the Magical Races depicted here, along with the first Humans."
"And what are those symbols?" Rithvik asked, caressing the five symbols that topped the five main scenes.
"The elements," Kerrien answered. "Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Ether."
"What's ether?" Rithvik frowned at the symbol.
"Everything in between the other four."
"Why, there's room for something?"
"Well, they call it also the invisible element." Kerrien shrugged.
"Air is also invisible," Rithvik objected.
"I'm not a priest, or a shaman, Rithvik. I'm repeating what I've been told about these old carvings. Look, there's a dragon. Have you ever seen one in your father's time?"
"Mm, no. Some dragon hunters came to our castle once, but the resident wizard got mad at them and chased them away."
"The same resident wizard who sent you to sleep?"
"I don't know. I guess." Rithvik shrugged. "How come your sister Enya is not married?"
"She had a crush on Novak." Kerrien stared into the distance.
"The dead twin?"
"Yeah." Kerrien sighed and focused on him again. "I guess Yann took her under his wing and allowed her to remain unmarried. Which seems fine with her sisters-in-law, except for Ronan's widow."
"That Ginger is a sour bitch," Rithvik said, frowning.
"Ginger is still mourning my brother," Kerrien chided gently. "Just imagine. I get killed tomorrow. How long would it take you to overcome your grief?"
Rithvik stared at Kerrien, aghast. He couldn't even think of such a thing. Losing Kerrien would be... unbearable!
He pursed his lip, pondering. "So Enya is mourning Novak and Ginger is mourning Ronan... Shouldn't they have something in common?"
"They obviously have different ways of grieving. Don't be so harsh in judging people, Rithvik. You don't know what they've gone through."
"Sorry..." Rithvik looked around. "This place is very peaceful... not many people come here these days, do they?"
"If they have nothing to ask the gods, they don't come," Kerrien replied, crossing his arms over his chest, a lustful gleam in his eyes. "But if you had something naughty in mind, we better head for the forest. Less likely to be seen."
Rithvik grinned. "You've read my mind! The last in the saddle stays under!"
He sprinted towards Sharixen. The playful chase ended on the grass, where Kerrien stole a long kiss before letting him go. Still breathless, Rithvik took Kerrien's hand to get back on his feet.
"Let's go." Kerrien winked. "The last under the trees stays under."
Rithvik chuckled and held back Sharixen. He didn't mind staying under Kerrien. At all.
***
As they headed back to town in the early afternoon, they saw a solitary blond man sitting outside the wooden walls. Rithvik heard Kerrien gasp at the sight.
"Who's that?" he asked.
"Axel," Kerrien muttered.
"Will you avoid him as much as you avoid Kolia?" Rithvik asked, raising his eyebrows.
"It's probably better," Kerrien answered.
But as they passed by him, the blond man rose and called, "Kerrien!"
Kerrien glanced briefly at Rithvik before turning. Axel was coming forward, staring at Kerrien.
"It's you, right? You're back too."
"I'm not here to stay," Kerrien answered from the saddle.
Rithvik noticed that Axel was clean-shaven. He had blue eyes and was quite handsome. He wondered what they'd both been like in their teens – Axel and Kerrien fondling each other. Oh, and there was a twin. But since he was identical, Rithvik only needed to see two Axels next to Kerrien.
"Not if you want to love whoever you want to, no." Axel's smile was rueful. "I don't know why Breon is being so stubborn, he's had his own male lover!"
"Has he?" Kerrien arched his eyebrows, skeptical.
"We were all raped, but we found solace in other men's arms as well." Axel looked away, frowning. "And now even Kolia is back... I wonder why he let go of Joris."
"Did you ask him?"
"No. They don't talk to me and I don't talk to them. Not right now." Axel looked at Kerrien again, and then at Rithvik. "Beautiful boyfriend, Kerrien. I wish you both all the happiness Novak could never find."
Rithvik blushed under Axel's stare. Kerrien's childhood friend had such pain in his sky-blue eyes... but still he wished them well. Axel must have suffered very much if he wasn't on speaking terms with his siblings.
"Novak has stopped suffering," Axel continued, staring into space. "But I'm still here and I don't know what to do with myself."
"You could come with us," Kerrien offered. "Out there it's not as sinful to have a male lover."
"I know." Axel smiled briefly. "But I still have someone I care for here. Thanks for the offer, but I'd never intrude in your relationship. He's gorgeous, but he's not Novak. I'd never share my love with anyone except my long lost twin."
Kerrien nodded. "I hope you will soon find peace too, Axel..."
Axel patted Kerrien's horse's neck and Kerrien spurred it forward. Rithvik followed, speechless.
"He's so unhappy!" he blurted out after they'd passed the gates. "What can we do for him?"
"Nothing, Rithvik. He'll heal, eventually. But he's lost half of himself..."
Rithvik sighed. Little Ker and his cousin Ronan rushed to meet them and took the horses from them. Rithvik was glad they'd given vent to their passion before coming back to the crowded house, but the meeting with Axel had left a sour taste in his mouth.
Thinking about the Wolfsbane's losses also gave him heartache. It had been worse for them, since they'd probably seen their loved ones die. At least he'd fallen asleep and awoke when everything was over. He hadn't seen any bloodshed.
He wondered how much blood Kerrien had see
n or shed. He couldn't imagine his beloved in the fury of a battle. He couldn't imagine a battle. He couldn't see himself in a dangerous situation like the people of Caer Nittak or Kerrien had seen.
Maybe the new world was as scary as the old one. Maybe scarier, since he had no idea where the dangers would come from. But he had his beautiful barbarian protecting him.
We're a team. We take care of each other. I must make sure he's never taken from me...
7. Beautiful Demon
Kerrien sat on the bench outside of the family's house, his back against the timber wall, his eyes barely seeing the people milling around. His mind was still taken by the meeting with Axel. He had seen in his childhood friend a clear message. I don't want to mess up your innocent boyfriend. You could probably handle me, but he can't.
Axel looked haunted. Kolia looked haunted. All the survivors looked haunted in Caer Nittak. It was a town trying to grow out of its ashes, and Kerrien could see it was a struggle. But he couldn't help them. He'd been to war, he'd killed and been wounded, but everything had happened away from his hometown.
His warrior life had tempered him in a different way from his family. He loved them, had missed them, but at the same time he realized he had to leave them again. They weren't on the same page anymore. They'd gone different ways. He felt sad at the thought, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
Rithvik came back from the outhouse and sat next to him with a sigh.
"Better?" Kerrien asked, staring at the clean-shaven face.
"Yes." The green eyes looked at him, suffused with melancholy. Rithvik had been touched by Axel's pain, and he could only imagine it. Kerrien had a much clearer idea of what Axel had been through, but he wasn't going to tell that to the beautiful prince.
Axel was right, Rithvik was still an innocent. He hadn't killed, hadn't suffered, hadn't been taken prisoner, tortured, wounded... he was young and naïve and starry-eyed. And madly in love with Kerrien who promised himself he'll always protect Rithvik from harm.
"This town wasn't so bad when I was a child," Kerrien said. "But we had too many internal struggles. Now everybody is beaten and struggling..."
"Is that why you didn't want to come back?" Rithvik asked.
"I didn't want to come back because I knew my tastes in relationships would never be approved. I wanted to spend my life with another man, which was... is impossible within these walls. I should have stayed and fought with my family, but well..." He shrugged. It was too late now.
Rithvik nodded and looked away, still very serious.
"You know, it's a little like you waking up in Ker Eziel and finding it abandoned," Kerrien said after pondering. "I left a long time ago and now it's hard for me to recognize anything. The place has changed, the people have changed..."
"At least there are still people around," Rithvik grumbled.
"Well, I've been away for fifteen years, not two centuries," Kerrien said.
"But there's been some kind of slaughter here, much like apparently there was in Ker Eziel when I fell asleep." Rithvik frowned in concentration. "The bloodshed made people leave Ker Eziel, but they stayed here in spite of at least three changes in the leading family..."
"Rithvik, in your case, there was magic involved," Kerrien reminded him. "Most Humans run away from places where there's magic at work. They're so scared that it takes them centuries to go back to a place where something magic happened."
"Oh. Right." Rithvik nodded, absentmindedly.
Kerrien looked around again and saw a woman head on foot towards the entrance of the castle.
"Brenda!" he muttered, unhappy. "What is she doing here?"
"Who is that?" Rithvik looked at the woman with curiosity.
"In Salamar Kolia and Joris shared the house with two women, Britta of Ker Tiasul and Brenda. From the outside they looked like normal couples, but they were both same-sex couples."
"So Brenda has left Britta and has come here looking for Kolia you think?" Rithvik asked, puzzled.
"Maybe she wants to follow tradition. Like Kolia. After fifteen years going against tradition, he's back here. I'm sure his brother will soon find him a bride. Unless he can set up a fake marriage with Brenda – I mean, they get married but they don't consummate because they don't care about sex between them."
"Or maybe, since they know each other from before, they can fall into each other's arms and make everybody happy..." Rithvik said, thoughtful.
Kerrien stared at him, surprised.
Rithvik focused on him and smiled sheepishly. "If I hadn't met Manusia, that's what I might have done. Married my childhood friend, at least I liked her. Because guess what? She preferred women."
Kerrien was impressed by Rithvik's insight. He hadn't thought about that, ever. Probably because he didn't have female friends. And even though he'd seen Britta and Brenda and figured out they were a couple, he'd never befriended them. But Rithvik's words made sense. Maybe Britta was gone and Brenda had come to the only other man she knew and trusted...
"Right," he grumbled. "Another one bites the dust and I'm not going to stay and watch! Let's get away from here." He rose from the bench and looked at the sun's position. "Tomorrow morning. Let's start packing and getting provisions for the journey."
Rithvik promptly followed him, grinning from ear to ear. He probably hadn't liked Caer Nittak much. Which was fine. One last night in the family stable and they'd be free again to do as they pleased.
***
Away from Caer Nittak's wall, they stuck to the edge of the forest and kept going west. Summer was coming and Kerrien began to think they should spend it in the wild. And then find a place to spend the winter, possibly in a big town where nobody would care about what they did in their bed.
"Are you liking the nomadic life so far?" he asked Rithvik while the horses carried them at their usual slow but steady pace.
Rithvik pondered, looking at the trees looming to their right, and the hills and meadows to their left.
"I like being out here with you. Especially now." He flashed an impish smile. "I hope tonight we can do what we want."
Kerrien chuckled.
"We better find a protected place. I wouldn't want a boar finding us at the wrong time!"
"We'll stay away from the forest, then."
"The open countryside isn't safe either... Maybe we should get ourselves a tent in the next town."
"And how far is it?" Rithvik asked.
"I'm not sure. I haven't been this way yet."
"So it will be a discovery for you too?" Rithvik grinned.
"I like exploring. I'm a good scout." Kerrien winked, making Rithvik chuckle.
"You will have to teach me that too..."
"I'm not done with teaching you, Rithvik. Believe me, there are still plenty of things I can show you..."
"In all departments?"
"Yes, with or without your clothes on."
"Good!" Rithvik looked satisfied. "What's that tower over there?"
He pointed ahead to a solitary tower at the top of a single hill. It didn't seem to have any other buildings next to it.
"Looks like a sorcerer's tower," Kerrien said, frowning. "If it's not abandoned, I'd stay away from it. Unless you want to play with magic again."
"No, no!" Rithvik shook his head. "No more magic, thank you! I'm happy now! Do you think we'll find some other structure to spend the night?"
"There are villages on this side of the tribes' lands. And farms. And fortified towns. If we really want to be on our own we better get up those mountains down there." He pointed at faraway peaks that had only the highest tops still white. "Summer in the mountains," he mused. "And winter in town... could be an idea."
"Whatever you think is best," Rithvik said. "You're the seasoned nomad."
Kerrien laughed. He wanted to hug and kiss Rithvik on the spot, so he spurred his horse to go slightly faster.
He'd always liked wandering. Leaving Caer Nittak had been the best decision of his life. Staying for short
periods in places suited him. Even moving around with a mercenary company, or with Braedick, had been fun.
But now maybe it was time to find a place to call home. He couldn't drag Rithvik left and right with no purpose. Maybe they should build a cabin in the woods and settle there. They could hunt and maybe plant a couple of things and live happily ever after...
"If I find the right place to build a house, I'll tell you," he said at last. "I think it's time I put a steady roof over my head. I'm not getting any younger..."
"You're not old!" Rithvik protested.
"Rithvik, I'm thirty," Kerrien chided. "And sometimes my scars hurt. I mean, my body sometimes reminds me I should be gentler..."
"You've fought for so many years and on so many fronts..." Rithvik sounded awed. "I wonder if I'd survive as long as you did."
"And that's another reason to stop and settle," Kerrien said. "I don't want you to get in trouble."
"I can take care of myself!"
"Yes, but in a battle? What if you're wounded or taken prisoner? I'd never forgive myself if that happened. Therefore I won't enroll in any mercenary company from now on. I can always be a bounty and treasure hunter. Or a scout. Or we can settle and live happily ever after."
He waited with his heart beating faster for Rithvik's reaction. The prince frowned as he pondered the options.
"I think I want to see more of the world," Rithvik said at last. "We'll take only the safer jobs. And then we'll settle. Unless you already have the perfect place in mind?"
"To be honest, no. That's why I'm exploring this part of the country. I haven't found anything that I liked back east."
"Good!" Rithvik grinned. "Then we'll look together!"
"Deal!" Kerrien squeezed Rithvik's fingers and let go immediately. He still wanted badly to kiss the prince and throw him on the grass and undress him...
Rithvik cleared his throat. "Kerrien?"
"What?"
"Can we stop? And... um... get naked? It's plain daylight, we can see danger coming..."
"Really? You can see danger coming when you're moaning under my caresses?" Kerrien teased.
Rithvik blushed and looked away.
"Let's tie the horses under those trees," Kerrien said, pointing at a hazelnut wood to their left. "That place looks safe enough for what you had in mind..."
Fairy Tales Revisited on Silvery Earth Page 26