Here is the next chp of the prelude.... I hope you enjoy it.
JMH
trandar2002@yahoo.com
As everyone prepared to leave the room, Joshua saw how haggard John looked. Not wanting his friend to leave without a glimmer of hope, Joshua took his birth kin aside. "John, care to show me the baby before you go?"
"Of course," John smiled, leading Joshua out of the room to a small chamber were his sister's child slept in a crib.
"He's grown so big!" Joshua said, amazed as he took the child into his large arms.
John, who was fairly small, as was Clare, let out a deep sigh. "Must come from the father."
Joshua looked at John's pained face with pity. The baby, Drake, had not been the product of love but of violence... one of a long list of crimes Gerick had committed before his demise.
"I've tried to love him, Joshua... I really have, but I can't look at him without seeing Gerick's laughing face."
"It's not the child's fault," Joshua reminded John.
"I know, Joshua... and so does Clare. But Clare would not even have had the child if she had been given a choice."
"He is Gerick's son," Joshua nodded as he let John bury his face against his back. Gerick had been a man with a formidable will... the same was true of his son. When Clare had tried to end the pregnancy, the child's will did not let her.
John's face then took on a guilty look. "Joshua... there is a reason we brought the child here with us."
"Oh?" Joshua said... thinking he knew what John was about to ask of him.
"Joshua... this child deserves to be loved... needs to be loved in fact, but no matter how hard Clare and I try we can't love him."
"I know," Joshua sighed as he hugged the baby closer.
"You love him though, don't you Joshua... even after all the terrible things Gerick did to you.
"I do," Joshua replied.
"Can you... will you?" John stammered before breaking down in tears.
Joshua put Drake back into the crib and embraced his friend. "I can and will. I will raise Drake as my son."
"Thank you, Joshua," John sobbed, his tears staining Joshua's shirt.
Joshua rocked John in his arms until the man's crying died down to a sniffle. "And John... you can stay here as well."
"What?" John said surprised.
"John... you never wanted to wear the gold mask of an Assemblyman. You wanted to be a librarian, a lover of books. Stay here with Vard and me. Don't go back to Aquarius. You don't have to live in terror."
"I am grateful for the offer, but my people, Joshua... I can't abandon them."
"Then bring them here, John... Wor might be a dark world but at least we don't have Inquisitors."
"But won't that bring Falcon's attention to Wor?" John asked worried.
"It might," Joshua agreed. "But it is a risk Vard and I are willing to take."
"I will have to talk to Clare about it... how many of my people can Wor support?" John asked, a hint of hope growing in his voice.
"As many as you want."
"Joshua... Aquarius has well over a billion people."
"Oh... I didn't know that," Joshua said embarrassed.
"How about you show me where you would have my people live before we decide how many I can bring," John recommended.
"Alright."
"And Joshua... thank you. I would love to go back to my books but, even more, I have missed being close to you."
"I have missed you as well," Joshua said, before planting a kiss on John's soft lips.
That was the moment Clare showed up. "Should I leave you two alone?" she laughed.
"Clare!" John jumped.
"Brother," Clare snickered before her face turned serious. "Did you and Joshua talk?"
Knowing what Clare was referring to, Joshua nodded his head. "Yes Clare... I am honored to take care of Drake."
Clare's face went dark. "It was never meant to be an honor, Joshua. We just did not know what else to do."
Seeing the pain his comment had caused Clare, Joshua apologized. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, Joshua... I should be grateful to you, grateful that you have a kind and forgiving heart. I wish I did."
"Clare," Joshua sighed as he left John's side and embraced the woman.
"Why couldn't you have given me a child? I would never be a horrible mother to such a child," Clare cried.
"Shhhh... it's ok, Clare. You did your best," Joshua comforted.
"It wasn't good enough."
"But it was all you could do," Joshua insisted.
"Damn you, Joshua... damn your good heart," Clare cursed with no force behind her words.
"Come, sis... it's time we headed home," John said after Clare had calmed down.
Joshua was then left alone, his eyes looking down on Drake. Lifting the infant, he rocked the child, singing a song older than time. The baby laughed, his grey eyes opening.
"Gerick had grey eyes," Joshua smiled, with no revulsion in his voice. He felt Drake wrap his short arms around his neck.
"I heard you have decided to expand our little family," a deep voice spoke behind Joshua.
Turning around Joshua saw Vard. "Yes."
"Did you not even think of asking me first?" Vard chuckled, as he embraced Joshua and the babe.
"Did I need to?"
Vard kissed the top of Drake's head. "No, my husband, you didn't. You will make a wonderful father."
"We both will," Joshua corrected. He was going to make sure that Drake received the love he needed... that the child would grow into a very different man than his father had been. In that way Joshua hoped to redeem Gerick. As he heard Vard start to sing, Joshua joined in, the musical sound of Drake's laughter in the background.
After the banquet that night, Joshua and Vard were finally able to return to their long desired bed, but not before Clive managed to get his oath brother alone. Catching Joshua as he walked down the hall toward his bedroom, Clive dragged him to a secluded room where he threw his master on the bed.
"Clive?" Joshua chuckled as he watched his oath brother strip.
"Yes Joshua?" the redhead asked in an innocent tone, even while his face wore a wicked smile.
"I take it that you're not about to give me a lecture on protocol?"
"No," Clive chuckled as he removed Joshua's crown and replaced it with a baseball cap.
Joshua grinned as he turned the hat backwards and leaned down for a kiss.
Soon both men were naked, their bare limbs tangled together on the bed as they made love. After both were spent, Clive snuggled up to Joshua, resting his head on the man's broad chest.
"I'm sorry how I acted today," Clive apologized.
"Why?" Joshua asked confused.
"I know how much you hate me calling you `my lord', bowing to you, and making you wear that silly crown."
"It's alright, Clive," Joshua said as he wrapped his arms around the other man's back. "You just don't want this unschooled miner making a fool of himself."
"Joshua, you are not a fool," Clive insisted.
"Sometimes I feel like one... there is so much I don't know."
"You seem to be doing a good job, however," Clive said encouragingly.
"Now I know how to read at least ... thanks to you and John," Joshua agreed. "I wish Vard would take the time to learn."
"Does he really need to?" Clive chuckled.
"No... I just remember how embarrassed I was when I could not even read a menu."
"That is one of the things that make you and Vard different," Clive nodded. "He will always have more self-confidence than you."
"I know," Joshua sighed.
Vard, before he had been King of Wor, had been in the process of conquering his home world of Santor, and before that he had been the chieftain of his own clan. All of Vard's life he had been a leader of men, while Joshua had grown up as a slave. It was, therefore, not surprising to anyone that Joshua was the more timid of the two.
As the room darkened with the setting of the sun, Clive felt this private moment ending. "Do you think you can spend the night with me Joshua?"
"You know that today is my husband's birthday," Joshua said even though it pained him to say it.
"I know... I just don't want to leave your arms."
"Clive, you are dear to both Vard and I, and you are always welcome to our bed."
"I know... we just have so little time to ourselves these days it seems."
"Yes beloved... but as you like reminding me, I have responsibilities now... even more so now that I am to become a father."
Clive raised his head off his oath brother's chest, looking into Joshua's eyes. "A father?"
Joshua nodded his head. "I am adopting Drake as my son."
"And you are only now telling me this!" Clive laughed as he hugged Joshua tightly.
"It only happened today," Joshua grinned.
"Joshua... I know you are married to Vard, but do you think I could be the boy's other father?" Clive asked hopefully.
"Why would you want to do that?" Joshua asked, surprised.
"How many chances does a gay man have to become a father?" I find the idea of helping you raise a child sexy," Clive said, as he ground himself against Joshua. "You think if you tried hard enough you could get me pregnant?"
"I never knew you wanted to become a father." Joshua grinned, as he felt himself harden.
"If I were a woman... I would want to carry your baby."
"If you were a woman... we would have had a dozen babies by now." Joshua replied as he rolled both of them over so he was on top.
"That does not mean we can't stop trying." Clive smiled as he lifted his legs over his head.
"No... it doesn't," Joshua agreed as he pushed his manhood in.
Joshua smiled down on Clive as he made love to him, wishing he could give Clive the child he desired. He would have to talk things over with Vard, but Joshua was sure that his husband would agree to letting Clive take over the role of father. As ruler of a world still recovering from civil war, Vard would be hard pressed to spend much time with the newest member of the family.
The first four chps are already posted on the yahoo group.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adultwritingworkshop/