Disclaimer: Not true, didn�t happen, not meant to demean anyone. Pure fiction.
The Story:
He waited until Davey left to do as he instructed. He watched his brother carefully out of the corner of his eye and noted Jade�s eyes never left Davey�s retreating back.
�So,� Hunter said, trying hard to keep the stiffness out of his voice, �it�s been a while, Jade. How goes it with you?�
Jade turned smoothly back to face his brother. His hand idly thumped his hat against his thigh. �Don�t play Cultured Lord with me, Hunt.� The smile set on the thin curve of his lips was teasing enough, but the look stopped before reaching his eyes. The dark eyes that glinted with a smoldering fire. �I�ve known you too long to know I�ve already outstayed my welcome. And I haven�t spent more than half an hour here! You should be more open about your feelings, little brother.�
Hunter forced himself not to growl, though his teeth clenched. �Open? Alright, Jade, how�s about you getting your sick and twisted self out of my kingdom and go back to whatever crusade you just rode in from. Hmm? How�s about that?�
Jade smirked, eyes flashing briefly in distaste, before he turned and walked further into the room. �I said open, not blunt.� He looked at the plush chair sitting beside the open window and instead sank into the velvety contours of Davey�s new bed. He tossed his hat next to him and leaned back on his palms while his legs crossed. �I haven�t seen you in the most of five years, baby brother, and you want to get rid of me so quickly? Not even bothering to ask why I�m here? Why now?�
Hunter folded his arms. �I knew from the sight of you that it wasn�t for the summer ball. So what is it? Why have you come? Trying to look for a new toy? Something that won�t scream too loud or bleed to death too soon?�
Jade now grinned outright. �How well you know me! Ha ha, no, dear brother, I�ve got that already. A fine one, too. Found this one at a shrine, of all places! But, you�re wrong at one point. I DO like them to scream. As much as possible while we have fun.� Remembering Jade�s idea of �fun�, Hunter paled slightly, feeling his stomach turn over inside his abdomen. Jade took pleasure in his expression.
�What do you want?� Hunter finally managed.
Jade paused. He looked Hunter up and down, then sighed. �Well, I suppose I should say, shouldn�t I? Gods, how I�m tired. Spent nearly a fortnight traveling to get here on time.� He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. And because he was suddenly looking exactly as he described he should look, Hunter felt a small flicker of pity. But only small. Jade, after all, was a cold-hearted monster.
�Where WERE you?� Hunter asked, moving to sit on the bed beside Jade, with plenty of space between them. The man smelled like dirt, horse and. . . was that. . . camel?
�Oh, here and there.� Jade waved a hand absently. �Name it and I�ve probably not only set a foot on the land, but enraged the local justices to boot. Heh heh. . . those people in Beirut won�t be forgetting my visit for a while yet.�
Hunter took in more of this man. His clothes, riding ones and unmarked, were still as fashionable as ever, and the whip secure at Jade�s hip wasn�t his only weapon, Hunter saw. Just inside each boot was fitted a slim dagger so snugly, Hunter only saw a flash of the hilts. Around his waist and fastened like a belt was a thin but durable chain. Looking closely and Hunter thought he spotted dried blood. He blinked, eyes adjusting, and realized he could vaguely see sploches of dark stains that could only be blood. He hadn�t seen them before because Jade�s clothes were not only dark, they were still covered in dust.
�You�re hurt!� Hunter exclaimed, trying to peer closer to judge the extent of the wounds.
But Jade narrowed his eyes and snapped his head to Hunter, freezing him before he could move closer. �And why should you care? If I bled to death, wouldn�t you feel just the more easier when you fall asleep at night? Knowing this mad man finally took his ride on Death�s pale horse just like he sent so many others before him?� He spat out each word hatefully and shot to his feet. �Don�t play concerned brother now, Hunter. We all know you don�t give goat�s ass for me.�
Hunter scowled and stood up as well. �Yes, you�re absolutely right.� This, Hunter saw by his expression, surprised Jade if only slightly. �I DON�T care for you. You�re a real bastard of a person, Jade, and what you did to father is unforgivable. But I AM your brother and I just might be the only person left in the world who�d even show this much concern to you. I�m right, aren�t I?� His voice lowered to just above a whisper. �There IS nowhere you can go, is there? Of all the enemies you�ve made, I�m the only one who wouldn�t try to kill you in your sleep. Is that about right?�
Jade�s eyes slipped close. His hands, which had curled into fists, slowly released and relaxed. His proud, lean posture bent slightly at the shoulders, defeated. He let loose a shaky breath, then nodded. �Yes, Hunter, that IS about right.� His voice was actually calm and somewhat empty. �That�s why I chose to burden myself on you. I thought here, at least, I would be able to spend a night�s rest. Maybe two if you weren�t currently at home. Kind of hard to find news of your family when you�re on the run.�
He was babbling, Hunter saw. He set a hand to Jade�s shoulder and gave a slight, reassuring squeeze, then stopped when he saw Jade wince. �Jade, listen, whatever it is that�s happened, you need to see a physicker. We have a new one, just came from Lodd. He�ll see you and fix you up again. We�ll talk later about things. Come on.�
Hunter began leading him out, oblivious to the dark, thoughtful expression lighting his brother�s face.
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�They�re not really brothers.� Dexter told him. The three of them, Davey, Nick and Dexter sat at the counter in the kitchen. Davey had just finished serving lunch and was now sitting as the two before him gobbled up the leftovers from the meal.
�They are,� Dexter said at Davey�s upraised brows, �but not the same mothers. Lord Hunter�s mother, the Queen, is the King�s third wife. And he�s had a few get by the others. Jade is the only son from his second wife.�
�They don�t look alike,� Nick added, smacking his lips on the marinade coating his fingers from the roasted bird, �except for the hair. Lord Hunter has a sort of pale blond shade. That big lock of blond in the middle of Jade�s hair is the only thing that marks him. I heard he tried to shave his head once, when he was younger. An act of rebellion against his family. But it looks like he�s settled with it. Very stylish, that swooping.� He nodded and chewed thoughtfully.
Jade. Davey frowned. �Has he no title? If not Lord, shouldn�t he be Prince Jade? Or something of the sort?�
Both Dexter and Nick shook their heads. �Nope,� Dexter said. �No title. A bit of a scandal, actually.� He shifted around to make sure the kitchen was still empty save them, then leaned forward, lowering his voice. Davey leaned forward, also, eyes lit with interest. �Now, gossip went that the King actually meant to give this kingdom, Lord Hunter�s kingdom, to Jade since he had always been his favorite. Jade was always a free spirit, just like his mother. Never wanted to get tied down to anything, really. Never had any intention of making a family and settling down. So when he reached seventeen, he took all the money he could scrounge up and left with the King�s best horse. Never came back since then. Caused a right-good uproar. Had the King nearly spitting fire. That made him decree that Jade couldn�t have any sort of title or status hire than that of a deserter, �cause that�s what he was.�
�But he made a name for himself, anyway.� Nick said softly. They waited until he wiped his face of with a napkin. As he spoke, his eyes took on a haunted look. �Dex, you said he was a free spirit. He is, and after years of life on the road, that can change a man somewhat awful. Seems he traveled to some of the more worse parts of the world, and liked what he found. He has horrible names, names that no one alive still utters. He�s dangerous. But not because he knows how to use just about any weapon, that he does, but because he take pleasure in killing.�
Nick paused, biting his lip with worry. At last, his eyes closed and he gave his head a shake to loose his thoughts. �What he�s famous for, torture with extreme madness, is what�s kept him with a steady job in neighboring kingdoms, I hear. But. . . he. . . he enjoys it so much, he can�t stop. I hear. . .�
�Go on,� Dexter whispered. �Say it. Davey needs to hear.�
Nick nodded. �Yeah, you gotta hear, Dave. He. . . he keeps with him two. . . assistants. They. . . help him torture. There�s not much about them, just that they do what he says, without question. And. . . and they help take care of his toys.�
�Toys?� Davey asked, thinking back to the whip hung at Jade�s hip.
�Humans.� Nick shook his head, maybe reading Davey�s thoughts, �Humans he finds and keeps to torture at his own time. Anything that takes his fancy at the time. Blond girls, red heads, even a school marm I once heard. He has no guilt, no conscience. He tortures until they die, and he�s learned years ago not to kill his toys so soon.�
Davey shuddered inside. Jade? Was he THAT evil? Was that possible? He hugged himself and shook his head. �That�s. . . awful! Why hasn�t he been stopped?�
Dexter took a swig of mead. �You seriously think no one�s ever tried? Even now, I bet he�s holed himself up here hiding from a hundred assassins.�
�A thousand, actually.� Came the smooth drawl from behind them. Three heads snapped up, fearing the worst. That Jade himself was hearing them. But it wasn�t.
A broad man, nearly the same towering menace as Nim, stood leaning against the open doorway, arms crossed and smirking. He wore riding clothes similar to Jade�s and was just as dirty. On each wrist was a broad gold cuff that didn�t appear to have any opening or closing seams. Around the man�s thick neck was a collar of gold chain, thick and not even dulled by the dirt. His hair hung limply around his scarred face, almost obscuring his blind right eye.
�And five different armies.� He spoke again, this time coming into the kitchen to join them at the counter. �Not to mention the twenty different demon spirits Jade managed to anger when he pissed on their altar by mistake. He�s a bit of bad luck to keep around, we know, but, gosh darn it! We�ve grown fond of the lad.�
Dexter swallowed hard but hid his nervousness otherwise. ��We�?�
The man slapped his forehead. �Ah! But you haven�t met us all! There�s another, still settling our things in. You�ll meet �em soon, I suppose. But first, which one of you�s the cook?�
Davey flinched but hid it by moving away from the counter slightly. �I am. Do you need something cooked?� He turned and tossed a fresh log into the fire.
The man smiled in good humor. �Oh, don�t trouble yourself! No not at all! Perhaps if you had some left over scraps from the last meal you served? My friends and I will be eating dinner later, so I need only food enough for one. We�ve company that won�t be making it to dinner in the hall.� He spoke pleasantly, but the words dropped like lead in Davey�s mind. What did he mean by that? Why wasn�t that person not joining the table? Who would refuse Lord Hunter�s hospitality?
Davey came back out of his thoughts when he realized he�d been quiet too long. �Oh, uhm, okay. But these two just finished the leftovers. I�ll have to cook something, anyway.�
�No need to trouble yourself!� the man said happily. �Maybe just a crust of stale bread and a cup of water out of that trough outside will be good enough! More than good enough, actually! Perhaps if you had something a bit moldy? They don�t rather take to anything fresh.�
Dexter and Nick gave each other puzzled glances but kept quiet. Davey, however, scowled up at the man. �Stale bread and horse water? Something a bit moldy? How on earth can anyone live on that? I�d be shamed to serve something so. . . so. . . vile! To anyone! Now, you just go and wait and I�ll fix up something proper. Go on!� Davey shooed the man away with his dish towel, not giving his menacing scowl proper merit.
�Alright.� the man growled, already back at the doorway, �but when you�re done, send a page to bring it to the North Tower. We�re set up there.� With scowl still creasing his brow, the man turned and left.
Dexter and Nick both let out sighs of relief. Rather than talk more on the subject, they excused themselves and left before the man could come back. Davey didn�t mind, really, since he was already caught up making one of his master pieces for the lone person.
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He had meant to give the tray to a page to deliver to the North Tower but none seemed to be about. As a matter of fact, Davey couldn�t recall seeing any of them hanging around the kitchens, pleading for a honey cake or two. Not a single one, not since. . .
Davey caught himself and nearly tripped. He straightened the tray so that only the plate shifted and not fallen. That was it, then. The pages knew he was consort and just like the grown ups, were making their distance from Davey. Fine with him. Their loss on sweets.
He blew a stray lock of his pitch black hair out of his face and made his way down the corridor and up the short flight of stairs. He paused to catch his breath, then continued on to the door at the end of the hall. He knocked with his shoe since his hands were currently full.
�Adrian! It�s about time!� came the voice of a woman as the door swung open. �You know I�ve been waiting for. . .� she broke off, seeing it was Davey.
�Uhm,� he smiled gently, �sorry, I�m Davey, the cook. Er. . . that man said to bring up a plate of food for you. I hope this suits you.� he held out the tray covered by a clean towel. She didn�t take it.
Instead, she looked him up and down. She had blond hair pulled tightly into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her nose was thin and narrow, like that of a bird�s beak. Even her eyes were dark and somewhat beady. She wore clothes similar to Jade and the other man, but hers were less dirty. She too had those gold cuffs, but instead of a gold collar, she had a chain circling around her waist. It hung loosely on narrow hips, giving her a gaunt appearance that wasn�t very flattering.
At last, she spoke. �The food isn�t for me. Adrian tends to speak in riddles. Come on, you can take it to him. Gods know he�s given me enough trouble to last TWO lifetimes.�
Her voice was oddly monotone but Davey gathered from it she wasn�t talking about Adrian just then. He followed her inside and up two more flights of stairs. She didn�t stop to wait for him, but didn�t go fast, either. Perhaps she had already made her own trips up and down these stairs to not care to waste much energy on them. Davey knew he should be glad he was fit enough to not be sweating profusely when they reached the top of the stairs.
The woman then went to the last door and opened it with a key from a large ring. She peered inside, then gestured Davey forward. �Hurry up! Go on! Get that in there.� Her sharp demands made Davey jump and hurry to obey. He felt a bit of shame at being ordered around by a woman, one without title, but ignored it. The room took his interest.
It was absolutely bare. Worse so than his hut. There was no bed but a brief scattering of hay as if for an animal. There was no other furniture or decoration of any kind. A cracked chamber pot sat in the corner. Before the high, narrow window knelt a thin man, hands folded on top of an overturned crate. Davey realized he could hear the man muttering prayer after prayer. A religious man?
�Take it all the way in.� the woman told him. �He won�t know it�s there unless you put it right in front of him. Go on, now! He�s been fasting for a week and a half. Jade doesn�t think he should be doing that to himself.�
Davey swallowed in a dry throat. Yes, a religious man. Only one with devout faith could have the will to not accept food for that long. He adjusted his grip on the tray and walked toward the man. As his eyes shifted with the dimness, Davey saw the man had no shirt on. In fact, he didn�t even have shoes, let alone socks. The ripped, dirty pants he wore were thread bare and hung on his hips. Davey winced, seeing the traces of his bones on his back and his sides. His profile did nothing to help his appearance, either. His cheeks were hallowed out and his nose was just a little too large for his face. The one grace he still had on first sight were the curling black locks around his face and at the nape of his neck. They were black like Davey�s own.
Careful not to disturb his last prayer, Davey set the tray on the crate before him and slowly removed the towel. But the aroma of fresh meat, vegetables and fresh bread choked the words from the man�s mouth. He gave a low whimper deep in his throat and opened his eyes to look at the food before him. He even took note of the stoppered bottle of wine Davey had set in the corner opposite the bread bowl.
But to Davey�s surprise, the man did not reach out and eat. He simply stared at the tray. Davey was about to turn and go when the man spoke, voice cracked but still stern and alive with strength. �I won�t eat, Jade. I said it once before, I won�t say it again.�
Davey stopped, then glanced at the door. The woman was not paying attention to them but to something down the hall. Davey looked down and saw the man was about to go back to his prayers, ignoring the food.
�Uhm,� Davey said softly, �I�m not Jade. I�m Davey. The cook. W-won�t you eat? Please? Just a little? You don�t look very. . .� he cut off instantly the moment the man�s eyes turned to look up at him. They were two of the most clearest, bluest eyes he had ever seen. His breath caught in his chest and he felt his heart speed up.
�The cook?� the man asked faintly. He peeked over his bare shoulder at the doorway. Seeing the woman, also, the man turned back around and looked at the tray again. To Davey�s surprise, he took a hunk of bread and bit into it. He chewed hurriedly while grinning up at him. �Well,� he said once his mouth was briefly vacant enough for speech, �that�s different then, my friend. I thank you.�
Davey gave a small smile back. He would have said something then, but the woman had realized he was spending too much time in there. �Hey! You, cook! No idle chatter! He�s in there for a reason!� at her barking commands, he jumped and rushed back out the door. He got a last glimpse of the man unstopping the wine bottle and guzzling a good deal down before attacking the meal again, before the woman closed and locked the door again.
She grunted. �Jade will be glad to hear he�s eating again. You can pick up the tray the same time, tomorrow.�
Davey paused. �He only gets to eat once? But he�s eating again! Shouldn�t he be fed proper so he gets his health back up?�
The woman gave him a look to make a grown man shake. �He�s not a pampered guest! He�s a dangerous man. Don�t be fooled by those blue eyes and smile. He�s tried to kill us all at one point. It was only luck we managed to subdue him. He�s in there for a reason. Don�t forget that. Feeding once a day is more than what he deserves. Now go on and get out of here.�
Grasping the towel tightly in his hands, Davey turned and started back down to the kitchens, mind still going over the situation of a deeply religious man being locked up for being dangerous.
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