Master Blaine checked the horses and made sure that provisions were ample--they couldn't afford to stop off at an inn when the Grand Council was waiting. Davin was right--whatever the Council wanted, it wouldn't bode well. Another thing that did not bode well was this new situation with Michael being the son of Alea the Reaper. Blaine's brow furled with worry--if his power started developing. . .
"Hello Blaine," Michael said as he walked out the double doors and saw him by the stables.
"Good day, Michael," Blaine said uncomfortably--this was not going to be pleasant, "how are you?"
"Confused, I must admit--I went to dress and only found these clothes laid out for me," he said, gesturing at the gray jerkin, black vest, pants and boots. "I was told that my others had been packed for the trip."
"Ah--yes. The Council called Davin to appear before them."
"And this effects me how?" Michael voiced sarcastically.
"Michael, considering the matter of your heritage, it would be best that you . . . accompany us."
"You mean that no one related to Al. . .her could be trusted to remain here," Michael stated, breaking off saying his mother's name seeing Blaine's eyes widen in fear and caution.
"Michael," Blaine began and motioned with a hand, beckoning two guards forward, "I shall ask that you accompany us or I shall have to force you."
Michael turned and faced Blaine, seeing the two guards flanking him. His eyes grew cold and he drew himself up to his full height. Blaine could feel the hatred pour from him in waves--the guards could as well for they shifted uneasily in their armor and glanced aside at each other. Michael's expression was that of a cornered animal--a look that all too plainly stated that if he was going down, he'd make certain he dragged someone with him. Tension filled the air heavily and almost stifled Blaine when Michael barely nodded his acquiescence.
"I shall accompany you--all I ask is that you keep your prince far away from me," he said as he turned on his heel and strode down the line of horses to the one he had ridden before.
"Good day, Blaine, is all. . .what is he doing here?" Davin's voice filled with venom as he saw Michael mount up.
"He's coming with us," Blaine said lightly.
"I can see that--why?" Davin stressed, his voice saying that there had better be a very good answer forthcoming.
"Davin. . ."
"Do I need to remind you of my station?" Davin's voice iced.
"Your Highness, he must accompany us--he has grown moody and irate lately--I fear that he may grow blighted and take his life." Blaine said, sweating lightly--he had never seen Davin so enraged. "Surely you would not wish him ill."
Davin looked at Michael's back as he rode near the back of the line and his eyes lost their cold edge and wavered. "No, I do not," he answered as his shoulders slumped and relaxed slightly.
And so they rode out, Michael and Davin--as far away from each other as the small caravan permitted--taking no notice of each other. Michael saw beautiful fields happily dotted with wild flowers and prosperous farms. Davin spoke a few words with each farmer, joked with his guards and talked with Blaine.
"Hello, Michael, how are you?" Blaine asked as he rode up beside him.
"I am well, Blaine, and yourself?" Michael said coolly, nodding to him. His anger at Blaine forcing him along had lessened but not entirely abated.
"Michael, I am well," Blaine said in spite of his creased brow and the shadows in his green eyes.
"You are worried--why?"
"It is highly unusual for the Grand Council to summon a Royal--and an Unsworn Royal at that," he added gravely.
"Davin could be in danger?" Michael asked as he heard Davin's laughter. He saw his strong back and his brown hair ruffled by the breeze.
"Yes, they rarely interfere in rule."
"What do they do?"
"They are all Masters from each kingdom and they keep the peace amongst them by their power. If it wasn't for them, wars would have destroyed us all."
"But Davin spoke of a war, and you yourself said that he lost his love in a battle."
"The Grand Council did not always exist and even though they have no other equal, they themselves are not equal to each other. If one member is weaker than another, a 'scuffle' would ensue between their lands. Trey died in such a scuffle set about when the Ardithian Master died."
"What could they do to him?"
"Anything they wanted," Blaine said tersely as he and Michael rode up to where the front line was resting.
They came upon the city of Sarden which housed the Grand Council as the moon rose. The city was a warren of trader's stalls and rich shops. All manner of goods were to be found Michael saw by flickering torch light as townspeople and traders bickered and bargained even at this late hour. They rode to the center of town and crossed a bridge to the massive oak gates. A few words with a guardsman and a showing of the Council's missive raised the gates and they rode into the courtyard and dismounted by the stables as groomsmen hurried out to care for the horses. Michael placed his hands on his hips and stretched his back, not being used to riding so long.
A man in green and gold livery hurried down the steps to greet Davin and Blaine. He was tall and lean with tired eyes and tousled hair Michael saw as he walked closer but stopped before actually joining Davin and Blaine. The guardsmen had already moved off to the garrison before he could think to do likewise.
". . .so if you will attend me, I shall take you to your rooms and--wait, there are three of you?" The man asked, spotting Michael.
"Yes, he had to join us due to a small situation--will it be well with you?"
"Verily, Master Blaine, but we only had two rooms set up to receive you. . .mayhap the two Royals could share a room?"
"Verily so, you may be assured--thank you," Master Blaine said, not noticing the equal glares from both Davin and Michael. He moved off after the man and was slowly followed by the reluctant steps of Davin and Michael.
'Bad enough to be called here and now I'm forced to share my room with someone who hates me,' Davin thought to himself as he continued to glare daggers at Blaine's back. 'I know your game, old friend, but some games just can't be won.'
'Forced here because suddenly it appears that I am not to be trusted due to the fact that Alea was my mother--strange considering that Blaine said that I am the one entrusted to save their land. Trusted. . .but yet not,' Michael groused to himself as he scowled at Blaine's shoulders, imagining a dagger in between them.
Blaine moved his shoulders about as if he had an itch and was all too glad to be shown to his room first. Michael was so intractable and Davin so drawn to Michael yet believing that he couldn't love again--it was enough to flay his nerves and unhinge him. 'Maybe I am wrong about their being together,' Blaine thought as he shut his door and breathed a sigh of relief as the peace of the room
"Here you are, Your Highnesses," the liveried man bowed after opening the door and stepping aside, "I hope that you find it suitable."
"Verily, thank you," Davin said and closed the door. He turned and saw that the room was spacious. There was a fire in the fireplace that took up one wall, a balcony that ran the length of the room, a huge, four-poster bed carved of cherry wood and curtained with forest-green silk, a doorway into a bathing chamber, a small bookcase full of books in the corner, tables, chairs and footstools surrounding the fireplace. Davin's eyes finally rested where he really didn't want them to--on Michael. The laces of his shirt had come partially undone about his throat and chest and the light from the fire made his hair ruddy and reflected in his dark, dreamy eyes--or was there something more showing in his eyes?
Michael sighed as he walked into the room first. He hoped that they wouldn't be here for long. It was so draining for him to hold his feelings in, but Davin only wanted him because he and Blaine thought that Michael was Davin's Heartsworn--a magical connection of love and power uniting Royal and land--and a Royal could not claim their inheritance without one. He saw the room, but didn't take any of it in due to his wearied mind. His eyes stopped as he saw Davin--or rather the look in his blue, sparkling eyes which always radiated intelligence and warmth, but now radiated something far more than that.
'Damn--I wish he wouldn't look at me like that. . .I can't think of anything when he does that except to run into his arms and have him hold me,' he thought as he shuddered slightly and swallowed as he turned away to the bed. He pulled off the top cover and a pillow and carried them in front of the fireplace and arranged a sleeping area for himself on the floor. 'Well, all right, I can think of a few other things,' he admitted to himself as he took off his shirt and boots before wrapping the bedding about himself.
Davin's heart froze as he saw Michael approach the bed and his breathing grew quicker. He was about to step forward when he saw that he was only removing a few items of bedding and watched forlornly as Michael made up a spot on the floor to lay. Davin strode to the bed and removed his clothes sulkily and angrily. The jumble of 'I want you' looks and the 'I don't want you' attitude was getting to be too much for him to take as he climbed into bed.
Michael tossed and turned for what felt like the hundredth time and finally he untangled himself from the bedding and got up as he expelled an exasperated sigh. He made his way to the balcony. A gentle breeze was blowing as he looked up at the stars--even though they were not the stars he knew, they gave him comfort and a small, secret smile played on his lips.
'Damn--he is beautiful and he doesn't even realize it!' Davin thought as he turned over to face the balcony and saw Michael leaning against the open door. 'If only he wanted me.'
Michael stayed by the door till he felt chilled and shut the door and turned. He saw that Davin was asleep with one arm flung out across the bed. He recalled the look in his eyes earlier and the only time he had woken up in his arms. 'If only he really wanted me,' he sighed and returned to bed.
Davin, Master Blaine and Michael all were escorted to the Grand Council chamber a few hours after first light. Tall, wooden doors opened and they walked along a red carpet to a pulpit in the middle of the room. The pulpit was set at the center of a parquet of inlaid dark wood almost black while the rest of the floor was honey-colored. A horseshoe-shaped juror box surrounded the central pulpit. A golden domed ceiling capped a gallery on the second floor which was empty.
Blaine was in a rich red robe with gold trim. Michael was wearing a dark green shirt, brown pants and boots while Davin was wearing a shirt the exact shade of blue as his eyes and worked with gold thread along the edges in an elaborate knot pattern much like Celtic artwork. He wore dark blue pants and black boots. On his head was a circlet of gold and blue gems.
They reached the pulpit and a man in black livery came from a room off to the left and hit the floor with the butt end of a staff made out of the same dark wood as the circle. At the third ring, people in rich, vibrant robes walked into the room and sat in the jury box as the man spoke, "Davin Averrel Scorcet, Prince and Regent of Ardith, Protector of Clarmont, you have been summoned to this Council to receive judgment to a petition that was brought before us concerning the Heir to Ardith," the man's voice boomed out and then he read the document. Michael couldn't follow along but somewhat understanding it as he saw Blaine's face grow blank in shock and Davin's grow red in anger. It seemed that the Heir's father wanted the child instated as Regent immediately. Buzz and babble abounded as they speculated on this or that aspect. Their talk was silenced and the room was like the calm eye of a hurricane. Davin had slammed his fist on the pulpit.
"Are you mad? I am Regent, Prince and Protector--it is my right by blood and birth!" He yelled, his shoulders shaking.
"Prince Davin, please understand--this isn't personal," a member of the Great Council amended.
"Hang your banal pleasantries," Davin began as he walked from the pulpit to them," it was your power dash that cost me my love! And now you seek to take more from me due to a situation you have caused!"
"Prince, you forget yourself," a Council member in red and black with blond hair said, his voice heavy with threat, "and you forget your duty--for close to two years you have been Unsworn." The man finished smugly as he noticed Davin's shoulders slump in defeat.
"Far better to be an Unsworn than to be a grasping, insipid, moronic buffoon with no more sense than a catatonic worm," Michael retorted as he moved up to stand beside Davin.
"What did you say?" the man asked after blinking his eyes in disbelief that anyone would dare cross him.
"You heard me--or are you deaf as well as dumb? Councilors, if I may address you, Prince Davin is a just, kind and worthy ruler--Ardith has grown and prospered under his guidance--why trade that for civil unrest and an uncertain future?"
"The boy does have a point," an older man in his fifties wearing a robe of indigo spoke to his peers and saw a few of them nodding in agreement.
"I knew you would be on their side on this, Braxton," the man with the blond hair spoke bitterly.
"I heed my conscious, Demel," Braxton said, implying by his tone that his associate did not do so.
"But that does not erase the fact that by being Unsworn he has left his land unprotected and unsafe for his people," Demel pressed and beamed when a few others murmured assent.
"Oh? And you can control the universe and say when a person is to love and be loved? Even if you could do so, you yourself would never know of love."
"Boy, I've had just about enough of you," Demel growled as he stood.
"Trust me--the feeling is mutual," Michael asserted, his dark eyes flashing hotly.
"That is it! I shall end this!" Demel said as he raised a hand and a pale green mist curled about it and grew brighter and more solid. Demel gestured--despite cries of objection from his group--and the green light streaked towards Davin.
"No!" Michael cried out as he stepped before Davin. The light was halfway to him when he raised up his arm and spread out his hand as if in a daze. The gleaming green light just winked out of existence and a silence so deep as to be painful invaded the room. Michael moved a bit away, his steps unsteady.
"Are you okay?" Davin asked, placing a too warm hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, I'm. . ." was all that he said before blackness loomed before him and swallowed him completely.