By: M9
Disclaimer: This is fiction. This is in no way true, these events never happened and people depicted in this story are not meant to portray actual people. They were meant to portray very frisky rabbits.
The Story:
He sat with the woman for five minutes, just as Lord Hunter had wanted him to. She was quite sympathetic, actually, and held his hand as he poured the entire disturbing story out in the open. And as he spoke, passing servants happened to catch a bit of the tale and then he�d re-tell what he�d just said. Needless to say, by the time he was finally finished, there was a small group of women surrounding him, patting his shoulder or making noises of disbelief to comfort him.
�Such an awful woman!� One of the serving women said, �why, if it had been me, lad, I woulda showed her a thing or two! In me own kitchen an� all! The nerve!�
�Yeah, that�s it! That�s it!�
�Yerve gotta stand up fer yerself, Davey, lad,� the first woman said, �or else people be runnin� all over yer! E�erybody knows that be yer place, that kitchen! Yer�ve got to stand up an� take it back!�
The other women voiced their agreements. Davey sniffed and wiped his eyes out of habit. �Stand up for myself?� he asked softly. But a moment later and he frowned. His back straightened and his jaw set. �Stand up for myself? Why, that�s absolutely what I have to do! How dare that woman try and take my kitchen from me! I�ve worked hard for YEARS to run that kitchen! And my colander! I�ll have to purchase a new one, of course, but a sacrifice it will have to be. Because I won�t stand aside and let some strange woman step in, not in MY KITCHEN!�
Given this heartening speech, Davey tossed his long black hair over his shoulder and shot up from his chair. Fists balled at his sides and nothing but pure fury rolling in his dark brown eyes, Davey set off at a sharp march to re-claim his kitchen followed closely by no less than ten nearly equally angry serving women.
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Jade hurried out the door. He was once again dressed and somewhat presentable incase someone other than their quartet happened to be along in their wing. Fortunately, the only person he saw was Malicious.
She strolled down the hall, stern, bird-like face narrowing suspiciously when she saw him. Jade looked down and saw he was clutching his shirt in both hands, twisting the fabric obscenely. His back was also hunched over, giving him the look of a man trying to hide something.
He forced his hands loose and straightened. �Ah, Mal,� he said, not believing the false note of cheeriness himself, �good, good. Ah, might I ask you to see to Adam? I�ve, ah. . . well, he. . .�
Mal eyed Jade carefully. Was he blushing? Several times his mouth opened and closed like the gaping of a fish. A thin line of sweat formed over his upper lip and his hands were beginning to rumple his shirt again.
Oh, hell, she thought, did he manage to kill him this time?
But she offered no comments. She waited for Jade, their leader, to gather himself. In truth, seeing Jade this undone was rather disturbing. She watched Jade take a deep breath and finish his thoughts. �He. . . needs a little cleanup. I know, I promised you wouldn�t have to do it again, but please? I don�t know where Adrian is and I don�t think Adam should stay like that for very long.�
Mal arched a cool brow, her voice monotone. �Is there blood, or feces? Or both?�
Jade shook his head rapidly. �No, no, none of that. Just. . . draw him a bath, will you? Good girl.� Jade nodded absently, then staggered off. She had a feeling he was off to look for that case of mead they�d brought up not too long ago. He had that look that he gets whenever something disturbed him so badly he needed to forget about it for several hours.
Her lips curled in distaste. Some leader, that Jade. Perhaps Adrian was right. Perhaps he was going soft. Perhaps he was no longer fit to be leader any more.
She strode with sharp clicks of her heeled boots against the stone floor. And here was the one of the reasons that Ol� Jade was losing his touch. The other was probably down in his kitchens, cooking up a storm. Ah, yes, but this one here, chained to the wall and naked to the world, this one was the first one to begin bringing Jade down.
Adam sat on the floor, his loin cloth ripped and thrown several feet to the side. His pale, wiry muscled arms dangled awkwardly from their chains as his head hung down. He might have been asleep, or too exhausted to move. But Mal had the notion he was wide awake. She had a feeling that he was looking down at something interesting.
What it was, she had no idea. The only thing she saw was his lap, and there wasn�t anything interesting THERE since she�s had the displeasure of cleaning up after Jade�s messes before. But still. . .
�What happened?� she asks. She, of course, would rather not know. But Jade was acting strange. And now so was the holy man. Had they all lost their minds? What was going on here?
Adam didn�t answer. He seemed unaware he had company. In his mind, the events of ten minutes earlier continued to replay over and over in his mind.
The hot press of body against body. . . the moist breath exhaling along his skin, the urgent pulling of Jade�s fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. . . the hurting ache of the manacles cutting into his wrists as his arms hung, fists clenching chain for support. . . the hand clenched around his manhood, stroking with a maddening greed. . . and the very motion of Jade thrusting, no, pounding into him. These things grouped together were what meant to be his undoing. He sinned. He was no longer clean, no longer pure.
The drying, cool splatter of white on the skin of his stomach was evidence enough. It was like the spots of blood left on a dropped knife; one knew a crime was commited almost immediately, even if the body was no longer present. And Jade just left.
Jade. Jade had been his undoing. Jade had made it a point to poison Adam, to bring him to hell. He tore him from his safe, quiet life in the brotherhood and forced him into countless tortures. He�d had his way with him, any way he could.
But that�s not what was disturbing Adam. What was returning to his mind again and again was the memory of what he�d felt as he sinned. That odd euphoric blanking that overtook him, made him one with the universe. What had that been? Surely that couldn�t have been bad, could it?
It nearly felt like he�d actually gotten in touch with the Almighty One himself. Twice before, Adam had been certain he�d been in his god�s presence. Both times were during his year�s service in voluntary confinement. But this. . . this time the feeling had been coupled with sin. This time his body made an evil decision and spilled seed not meant to be spilled. His body was a temple to his god. A temple no woman, and certainly no man, was allowed to spoil with their touch.
Yet, Jade had changed that, hadn�t he? He�d violated Adam again and again over the past several months. Adam had fought though it had been a losing battle from the start. And now, Jade finally had what he�d wanted since that last time. He wanted Adam to commit sin and spill his seed, and he did.
So why wasn�t Jade standing over him, gloating and grinning wider than the devil himself? Why had Jade been as shocked as much as Adam? Why had he run?
Adam had watched him mutely, unable to do anything else, as he yanked on his clothes and ran out of the room. Yes, he�d ran. Why? Adam had no answer. When the lecherous incubus had disappeared, Adam�s eyes finally went to his lap and the evidence. He remained staring at this until Malicious lead him to the bath and began pouring buckets of cold water over his head. The seed began to wash away even before she started to scrub.
Adam was not aware of her. He was not away of his now physically clean body. In his mind, he was entirely corrupted; spiritually, mentally, physically. What he was aware of, he realized with dawning horror, was a suddenly new aspect to himself that has seemed to have formed when his soul died.
It was hunger. He was sure it hadn�t been there before and wondered how exactly it was born, but it was there now and he was painfully aware of its existence. Hunger. Ache. Want.
Want what? What was this? Why did it feel consuming? He couldn�t for the life of him understand what was going on, but Adam knew one thing for sure; this �hunger� wasn�t something he liked. Not one bit.
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He had flown into the kitchen like a tempest, bearing all the fury his innocence could allow him. When the kitchen door banged against the wall loudly, he flinched, yes, but that only fueled more to his anger.
The woman, the blond woman with the doeful eyes and the gleaming Lodd pin, held two towels in her hands and was making her way to the oven, apparently just about to pull something out. However, the blazing raven-haired man, formerly the gape-mouthed raven-haired man from before, burst in and caught her attention. As well as the nearly dozen equally angry serving women.
�You,� Davey inhaled air and seemed to exhale fire, �are in MY kitchen.�
The woman, Gwen, poor Gwen, began twisting the towels in her hands as she gulped silently. �The. . . the. . . cobbler. . .� she said helplessly.
Davey blinked, then nodded quickly, understanding. Gwen turned and rushed to the oven. As soon as the large pan of grift fruit cobbler sat on the cooling shelf by the window, Gwen once more turned to the angry mob.
�Please,� she said, �please don�t be mad at me. I honestly don�t want to take your kitchen from you. I�ve one of my own, back home. What with my husband and daughter waiting for me, you think I�d wanna stay here?�
Davey straightened, the anger leaking from him in one smooth motion. �Husband? Daughter?�
After a few more introductory questions, Gwen told Davey and the no-longer-mad mob of women her story. Gwen, a fresh graduate of Lodd, came from the land of Orange County beyond the great Golden Mountains. There, she had her own kitchen staffed with women picked by her alone and plenty of freedom. She, her husband Gavin and their daughter lived peacefully. But out of the blue, here comes a letter from one Lady Armenia, asking if she could substitute in their kitchen since they would no longer have a cook in time for the land�s royal heir naming. The pay came in advance and in plenty, so Gwen had no choice but to leave her wonderful family and head out to be Davey�s replacement.
�I. . . I�m sorry.� Davey said as they stood near the main counter, listening to her story, �I had no idea you�ve made such a sacrifice. It must be so hard not being with your loved ones.� He sympathetically held her hand as his own was held earlier.
Gwen nodded and tried not to let the tears spill out her eyes. �Yes, thank you, all. I mean, when I saw you burst in like that, I knew immediately I might have done something wrong. I didn�t mean to, honestly! I was just shown to the kitchen and since there was no one here, I thought I would start immediately.� She leaned back and scooted an overboiling pot off the fire.
Davey marvelled at her ease in the kitchen. It was like his own, but better. She hadn�t needed to see the pot to know it was done, she had just known. He had to admit, certification was something hard to beat.
One of the women, a young, quick-witted one, spoke up. �Wait a minute, Miss Gwen. WHY are you replacing Davey? What�s gonna happen to him?�
Everyone turned wide eyes to Davey. He looked from the women to Gwen, and back and forth. His fingers clenched tightly. �W-what? You. . . you mean. . . I�m really. . .? Th-th-that they�d really. . .?� his eyes widened but he no longer looked up. His head began to hang downward at the realization of what it all meant.
He was being sacked. Replaced. Fired. Terminated.
�Nooo. . .� he wailed weakly and would have fallen again had Gwen and the women not seen it. They brought him a chair and sat him down. They gave him sips of water and carefully patted his face down with a moist, cool towel. They had no soothing words, nothing they could say to make it better, but they held his hands and were with him in comfort.
That was how Hunter found them all, patting Davey gently, mothering him and consoling as if he were mourning. Hunter cleared his throat and everyone�s eyes turned to him. As Davey looked up and saw who was now in the kitchen, he began to whimper. Here it was, at last, the worst news he could ever receive. He was being turned out. He was no longer head cook.
The servant women stood fierce and made a sort of protective shield around Davey, arms folded across bosoms and worn faces hard as stone. Davey stood, head above them, but he still didn�t look strong enough to stay up too long so Gwen moved to be his balance.
Hunter frowned at the serving women and cleared his throat. Incase they didn�t understand, he also made a flicking gesture toward the door. No one moved. He saw this and didn�t become annoyed, but slightly frightened. So many angry women. . . all glaring at him. . .
Hunter decided to act as though he wasn�t intimidated. Instead, he focused on his consort. �Davey,� he said, unable to keep his misgivings out of his tone, �I�ve come bearing good news.�
�Uh huh,� one of the women said.
�Sure,� another said. Hunter was taken aback by their sarcasm and felt the need to defend himself.
�Honestly!� he said, �it IS good news. The best. Davey,� he turned back to the pale-faced man behind his shield, �Davey, love, you�ve been accepted into Lodd.�
This was not what he�d been expecting, that was clear. It wasn�t what any of them were expecting. Jaws dropped and gasps were heard. Davey looked blankly at Hunter as if he could not comprehend what was going on.
�My Lord!� the women seemed to remember who stood before them. They glanced quickly between Davey and Hunter. �Lord Hunter, is this true?� �Are you serious?� �Davey!� �My Lord!� �Lodd!� �He�s going to be ceritfied!�
All this blew back and forth through one ear and out the other. It wasn�t until Gwen grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a good shake that Davey finally woke up. �Davey!� she smiled happily at him, �Davey! Didn�t you hear that? You�re going to Lodd! You�re going to be certified! We�ll be mates, the two of us!� His eyes followed the movement of her hand as it lightly touched her graduating pin. The metal seemed to glint wickedly in the torchlight, flashing Davey with glorious images of the future.
Davey tore his eyes away and looked mutely at Hunter. Silence fell in the kitchen. Lord Hunter stood apart from the excitement, reserved and almost. . . was that. . . sorrowful?
Davey walked past the women and stood in front of his Lord, his lover, his Hunter. �Hunt?� he asked softly, brown eyes searching Hunter�s solemn face, �This true? Am I. . . am I being accepted into Lodd? Am I going to be certified?�
Hunter knew Davey wasn�t thinking this through, not completely. But damn if this wasn�t Davey�s dream. And this was going to be the memory that would be etched into his memory forever, that and when he received his own Lodd pin into his hands. He would remember every single thing about this moment, Hunter knew, so he pushed aside all his feelings and gave Davey what he deserved.
Hunter broke out in a huge, sunny grin and splayed the acceptance paper across his chest for Davey to view. �All right here, my love. You�re going to Lodd. You�re going to be certified.� He watched Davey�s eyes scan the paper, then shoot back up to Hunter�s, lit up with utter and complete ecstasy Hunter normally saw at night in the bedroom.
Forgetting all else, Davey leapt into Hunter�s arms and deeply kissed the one man on the face of the earth that could make him the happiest in his entire life. (This was not that moment, as you will eventually see, but it�s the next closest.) Their lips locked, tongues more caressed than battled and hands roamed with familiarity but still fresh curiousity.
The serving women watched in first shock, then shame, then curiousity, then rapture. Quietly, they began taking bets on whether the two men before them would realize they had an audience, or whether they�d managed to take their show on top of the counter.
Meanwhile, Hunter and Davey. . . . continued and didn�t stop until, luckily, Nick 13 happened to walk in and break things up. For the sake of his friend as well as his own peace of mind.
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Jade stumbled on. He had wandered aimlessly for hours after opening his trunk and finding it empty of all and any liquor. His main goal was to find a pageboy and send him for several bottles of good mead.
However, the castle seemed to be too musty, too humid for anyone to stay indoors long. It was rain season coming soon. Overhead the sky gloomed with dark clouds yet to release the first cool sprinkles of rain on the land. Jade cursed and instead hired a passing butler to aid him.
Now armed with two bottles of the local tavern�s mead (the third and fourth had gone as soon as he could pull open the corks), Jade had decided to high-tail it out of the castle, too. Screw Tim and Lars. Better yet, let them screw themselves. He could go where he pleased. He feared no one. He was Jade, the taint of innocence. The monster in the bed. The. . .
�Whoa!� Jade staggered and only barely caught his footing again. When he�d straightened out, he turned and glared back at what nearly tripped him up. There was nothing. Jade shook his head. �Tripping on nothing,� he loudly proclaimed to the silent nature around him, �is worse than tripping on ones own feet. I know, for I have tripped on my own feet many a time as I got soaked on cheap wine. Good for me I am NOT drunk and tripping on my own feet, for as you all know, this is mead. NOT wine.�
He waved the two bottles about, showcasing them to the empty fields around him and to the gnarled tree just to his right. Jade looked blearily at the tree. He frowned and marched up to it. Still holding the neck of a half-empty bottle, Jade poked a finger at the rough bark.
�I�ll not say this again, Adrian, yer to address me as Jade! Not Mr. Fluffy hair! That was only once I woke up like that. Once! And it�s perfectly flat now. See?� he gave his coif a flick with his head to demonstrate. When the tree didn�t answer, Jade grunted and muttered, �Filthy mongrel. . .�
Forgetting the argument as soon as it had entered his mind, Jade turned and half fell, half used the tree as a guide down. He leaned his back against the blackened bark and took a swig of the bottle. His eyes were vacant and far, far away.
�Croooaaaak!� Jade flinched and looked beside him. Sitting on the flat rock not three feet away from the tree was an unusually large frog. It was green with darker spots along his body. The two eyes bulged and peered at Jade closely. A long, quick and sticky tongue flicked out briefly to touch the outside of his mouth for a second before shooting back in. �Crooaak!� the frog said again.
Jade grunted. �What? You. . . you think jus� cause you sit there that I can�t sit here? Screw you, froggy! I fell here, an� here�s where I�ll stay! Here�s ta friendly comp�ny!� Jade angrily took a long draught from the bottle.
The frog does nothing. Its large eyes stare motionless at Jade, as if waiting for an explanation.
Jade slowed the thick liquid coursing down his throat and lowered the bottle. His eyes took on that distant look again as he addressed his unlikely companion. �Well, it was my fault, yes, I admit it. I�m too damn sexy for my own good. And as many times as I�ve taken his bony ass. . . I suppose it was only a matter of time before he caved in, eh frog-face?�
Unsurprising to Jade, but quite a shock to everyone else I�m sure, the frog opened its mouth but didn�t croak. Instead, it spoke. �That and your little mission to see him sin. Yes, completely your fault.�
Jade turned in stunned disbelief to the amphibian. �MY fault? I beg your pardon, good sir! If the man hadn�t been so damned. . . GOOD, I wouldn�t have found it necessary to uncleanse his soul. Teach him how to really live.�
�Uh,� the frog�s eyes seemed to roll, �I believe that�s why he�s a HOLY man, Jadey. He took vows, went through trials of fire, starved willingly, gave up all his earthly possessions. . . . The man had an unwavering bond with his god until you came and broke him. Your fault entirely. Crooaak!�
The most delirious of drunks have an amazing talent for enhanced emotions. Jade�s face contorted with his obvious pain and his voice came out as a sobbing wail.
�I know! All m�fault. Coulnennt stop. Had to have �im. He�s jsut so fucking hot, that fucking. . . fucker. Those eyes. So cold. Cold and. . . bright. They chill me. It�s. . .� Jade slowly brought the mouth of the bottle to his lips but didn�t drink. �It�s. . . the only thing I�ve felt in a long time.�
The frog watched Jade ponder this for a while, than drank deeply again. Its tongue flicked briefly again. �So quit this game and give the man what he wants. Freedom.�
Jade shook his head furiously and at once regretted it. Not only was he now dizzy but a thousand multi-colored gnats now encircled the air around him. He spoke with difficulty as he batted weakly at the ones closest to his face. �Freedom? Are you. . . mad? You. . . you know what that means? Me with no Addie chained by my bed! No naked holy man laid bare for my sick pleasures. NOT to mention, froggy, the fact I�ll be DEAD!�
�You said it yourself, he can�t kill you.�
Jade sputtered. �That was BEFORE th�bastard went an� came! He sinned now! He�s a wit nuthin� to lose! He�ll be so fuckin� mad at me.� Jade�s now red-rimmed eyes blinked rapidly and when he brought the bottle down again, tears flowed down his cheeks.
�I love him so bad, froggy. So bad. But �e wants to kill me. All cuz I love �im.�
The frog let out a soft croak full of sympathy. �You loved him so much you killed for him. And by doing so, lost a lot of trust from your crew. You�re in danger, Jade.�
Jade blinked and turned a puzzled expression to his companion on the flat rock. �Wha�? What do ya mean?�
But the frog didn�t answer and Jade soon forgot his question. He took another swig and watched as the first drops of rain fell past bare branches to bounce off his bottle.
�Jade,� the frog looked upward uneasily, �you�re a ways from the castle. Might want to get going before it begins to pour. Crooaak!�
Jade looked back the way he�d come and snorted. �I can still see the castle from here! I�ll reach it in time! No need to worry.�
�Yes there is,� the frog choked on a croak as a droplet fell between it�s eyes, �by the time you reach it, you�ll be drenched. This storm�s coming mighty fast. Besides, I think you�ve had too much to drink. You�re carrying on a conversation with a frog. Croooaaak!�
Jade clumsily found his feet, amazingly still clutching the two bottles in the process. �Right you are, frog-face! I�m sloshed. Pretty soon, I�ll be soggy. Best go an� see about. . . about. . . that!� Jade finished decidedly, then began his journey back.
�Drunken moron. . .� the frog muttered. It turned on the rock, then hopped into the tall grass and disappeared.
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He�d been gone longer that he�d thought. Sunset had come and gone, hidden behind ominous black clouds. His feet took him to a place he was now quite familiar with. The kitchens.
Davey still had a faint smile as he washed the supper dishes. Every now and then he would pause in disbelief at the sudden stroke of good fortune. When he looked up and saw the soaked and dripping man staring vacantly at him, Davey�s smile vanished.
�Jade?� Davey asked, then rushed to the man�s side. Working silently, Davey managed to wrap a clean apron around Jade�s shoulders and sit him in a chair by the still warm oven. Knowing all too well what that smell lingering on Jade�s clothes and reeking on his breath was, the server set an empty bucket in front of Jade, between his feet, and handed him a freshly made cup of morning brew. He left it strong so Jade wouldn�t have too much of a hangover in the morning.
�Jade?� Davey asks softly, kneeling before him like a suitor, �What�s wrong? You look terrible!�
Jade slowly pushed the long lock of blond hair out of his face, eyes peering at Davey. �All. . . All m�fault. Ess cuz I love �im, Davey. I fucking love him I killed. . . �im.�
Davey�s eyes widened in shock. �Hunter! You. . . k-k-killed him?� Davey�s voice came out strangled as he fell backward on his ass.
Jade�s eyes closed briefly, then opened and rolled in his struggling difficulty. �NO, you stupid. . . the FROG knew what I was sayin�! Geesh!� he paused, trying to remember what he was saying.
Davey watched and waited, deeply relieved no harm had come to his lover, but still unsure of what Jade might have done to someone he loved. And when Jade found his words and voice again, he listened raptly.
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Hunter was looking for his brother. For the first time in days, he really, really, really wanted to know exactly where the bastard was. He needed. . . advice.
Strange to go to Jade of all people for a sound ear, but Hunter didn�t know who else to turn to. Davey was the main cause of the problem, Nim was acting strange and distant lately, and because of the rain, Hunter could not go out and see the old witch woman. So. . . Jade it was.
Hunter knocked on the door and waited. He repeated this a few times, then realized no one was going to answer. He checked the lock and the door swung open.
�That�s not like Jade at all.� Hunter muttered. �They lock all doors. Real private, whatever they do. Maybe he can�t hear me. Please god, don�t make me walk in on something. . . unnatural.� He shivered but made his way up the spiraling stairs just the same.
He stood on the landing and decided to play it safe. �Jade?� he called down the hall, hoping his half brother�s head would poke out of a doorway at the sound of his voice. �Jade? I want to have a word with you! Jade?�
�No use.� A voice, faint and tired, answered him. �He�s not here.�
Hunter, curious, moved to the open doorway. �Well, can you tell me where he�?� His breath caught in his throat. Chained to the wall, head hanging in despair, was Adam, he of the blue-fire eyes. He was nearly naked once more, the loincloth covering his shame only barely. Hunter tore his eyes away from those pale thighs to look in horror at the scrawny arms dangling painfully over the man�s head.
�A-Adam?� Hunter stuttered. He began to search about him, still in shock.
Adam took no notice and simply took a deep breath. �He�s gone. Left earlier after he. . . he�s just gone. Probably out drinking himself into a pissing stupor.� There came two loud clicks and suddenly Adam�s arms dropped into his lap. He looked up in surprise to see Hunter still holding the key to the manacles.
�I�m so sorry,� Hunter told him, now kneeling beside him. �I had no idea he�s had you chained up for so long. GODS! Look at you! You�re wasting away! Are you feeling ill? Here, I�ll help you up. We�ll get you to a physicker and feed you immediately. You won�t have to stay here, Adam. I swear it. I�ll force him to set you free if I have to. God, I�ll kill him!�
Hunter got an arm around Adam to brace him and helped him to his feet. It was easy since Adam was once more lighter than was healthy for a person. He swayed and put a hand on Hunter�s chest, bringing them nearly face to face. Hunter marvelled at the crisp clearness of the man�s eyes. Even through torture they were as chilly and blue as ever.
�He�s tainted me.� Adam whispered. �Tainted me. Jaded me. I have sinned. I am no longer my god�s temple. I am no longer pure.�
Hunter froze at these ominous words. What did that mean? What had happened? Adam must have been one of the strongest men he�d ever come across. What changed him from that into the hollow shell he held in his arms?
�I am no longer my god�s temple.� Adam whispered once more before slowly closing the distance between their faces. Lips locked and hands seized flesh, both having no idea what they were doing.
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