Day five... Chp five, enjoy.
JMH
trandar2002@yahoo.com
Joshua woke on feeling something nuzzling against his face. Opening his eyes he saw a pair of bright gray eyes and a smiling face looking directly at him. "Drake?"
"Papa!" the boy said excitedly, hugging his father's face.
"Drake!" Joshua sat up, hugging the boy to him. He had been so afraid that he would have been greeted with news of his son's death.
"It looks like you got the miracle you were looking for," an exhausted Clive said as he flopped down on the bed next to Joshua.
"What happened?" Joshua asked.
"I don't know... one moment I was sure he was about to die, the next it was as if he had never been sick," Clive replied.
"I wish I had been there to witness it," Joshua said with regret.
"You were at your limit. You needed to rest," Clive insisted as he yawned and closed his eyes.
"You look like you just hit yours," Joshua said as he stroked Clive's face affectionately.
"..."
"Clive?" Joshua asked
Clive did not respond, other then to snuggle closer to his oath brother. Soon Joshua could hear Clive snoring softly.
"Now what am I going to do with you my little man?" Joshua whispered to Drake so as to not wake Clive.
Drake gave Joshua's face another hug.
Joshua then heard a coughing sound from the doorway. Sitting up he saw a man of medium height, brown hair, and violet eyes, dressed in the gray uniform of the servants. "Hello."
"Hello My Lord..." The man bowed. "Is Clive asleep?"
"Yes," Joshua chuckled, as he carried Drake out of the bed.
"I see... he was supposed to introduce me to you for your approval," the man said nervously.
"To approve you for what?" Joshua asked curiously.
"To be Drake's servant."
"A servant... but he is only an infant," Joshua laughed.
"I told Clive the same thing," The man blushed. "But he insisted... he thinks somehow I am responsible for the young master's recovery."
"And are you?"
"All I did was bring the duke prince some soup. It just so happened to be the same time that the boy's fever broke."
"So Clive thinks you are some sort of a good luck charm?" Joshua guessed.
"Yes my lord," The man bowed.
"What is your name?"
"Adam, sir."
"Well, Adam, would you mind being our son's servant? He's a very lovable boy as you can see," Joshua asked as he nuzzled his nose against Drake's.
"I... I would be honored My Lord."
"Then, may I welcome you to the family," Joshua said as he offered Adam his hand.
"Thank you My Lord," Adam said as he gave it a hard shake.
"Adam, the name is Joshua... you're family now," Joshua insisted.
"Alright... Joshua," Adam smiled, not showing the relief he felt at everything still going according to plan.
Almost a thousand people died from the poison... nobles and commoners alike. When word spread that the Baron of Dralor had been responsible there had been nothing Vard or Jason could do to stop the acts of revenge that followed... A group of nobles sent their Manta cruisers to carpet bomb the towns and villages of Dralor.
Three days after the last person succumbed to the poison, Vard declared a period of mourning, the walls of the floating palace covered with black banners. For a month the banners remained in place, the palace a hollow shell of its former self.
The period of mourning might have lasted longer if it had not been for Labatt's capture. Since Vard demanded that the trial be held at the scene of the crime, the palace returned to life, its many rooms and halls filled with people. There was not a noble family on Wor who did not want to be on hand when the traitor met justice.
That is, all but the Grand Duke... Joshua, not wanting to see more blood spilled, took Clive, Drake, and their new servant Adam to the Falls of Terran. And this was a sad irony, since it marked the place where Gerick had captured Thomas.
There Joshua was surprisingly free, returning back to a simpler life... the kind of life he wished he could live with Vard. Yes, Clive complained that they had gone from living in a palace to living in a cave. Yes, there was the constant roar of the water at all hours. There was, however, the natural beauty, the fresh air, and the secluded pools where Joshua took Clive to make love.
It was in their second week at the falls that Vard made a visit. After sharing a meal of grilled fish, Joshua and Vard excused themselves from the others.
After washing the dishes and putting Drake to bed, Clive and Adam found themselves alone with each other. It was only then that Clive realized that he had told Adam a lot about himself while the other man had almost said nothing about his own past.
"So tell me about yourself, Adam?"
"Not much to tell," Adam shrugged.
"Well we have plenty of time to go over it," Clive insisted.
Adam shrugged again.
Seeing that Adam was not going to volunteer the information easily, Clive reached into one of his bags and pulled out a bottle of Southfield Red, a gift from John. Filling two mugs with the potent wine, he handed one to Adam.
"Thank you," Adam said as he took a deep drink.
"You're welcome," Clive said as he hid his smile with his mug as he sipped carefully.
It was not long until the wine started to affect Adam. "Well?" Clive pressed.
"Alright... I'm a farmer's son. So were my father and the father before him... and so on as far back as anyone can remember," It was an easy answer as it was basically true... the members of Adam's family were farmers. He just did not tell Clive they were also one of the largest land owners.
Clive just nodded his head and refilled Adam's now empty mug. After several more minutes he asked another question however. "What sort of crops did they plant?"
"Soy beans, corn, oranges, limes, grapes, wheat..." Adam said, his speech now slurred.
"Wow... all those crops on a single plot of land." Clive grinned as he poured more wine. He did not know what it had been about Adam... it might have been that the man lacked a provincial accent, or the fact that he never seemed to need to shave... a trait found among Guild's men. It could have been the way he seemed to study Drake and Joshua with intensity in his eyes... his violet eyes. It could have been all of those things.
Seeing that Adam was now well and truly drunk, Clive decided to end the subterfuge. "So tell me, Adam... what world are you from?"
"Aegis," Adam answered before he realized it.
"Aegis... interesting." Clive smiled. He knew it as one of the Core worlds, one of the original colonies established during the early days of the Guild. Now that he knew the truth, he only had more questions. What was Adam doing here so far away from home? How was he able to heal Drake? What were the man's intentions towards their child and Joshua? Clive was just glad he had some time to do some thinking, for it was at that moment, after half a bottle of Southfield Red, that Adam finally fell unconscious.
"Whoever you are... I'm at least glad you can't hold your liquor. Clive grinned as he took out some rope.
Joshua, with his legs wrapped around his bare lover's submerged waist, kissed Vard relentlessly.
"I see you have been missing me," Vard chuckled.
"You haven't missed me?" Joshua accused, as he nuzzled his face against Vard's muscular neck.
"I have more than missed you, my love," Vard moaned as he felt himself harden for the second time since Joshua had led him to a pool atop the falls.
"Then stay here with me."
"You know I can't Joshua... I can barely leave the palace as it is, without risking the nobles lynching Labatt before the trial is over. That is why I want you to come back home with me."
Joshua stopped kissing Vard and rested his forehead against his lover's. "I don't want to be around such senseless hatred."
"I know, and if there was any way I could spare you from it I would, but I need you. Even though the palace is full of life again... it feels emptier to me than ever before with you gone."
"How soon till this madness ends?" Joshua asked.
"The trial is only halfway over, but even if it were over tomorrow the nobles are going to spend a long time outdoing each other to see who can come up with the most inventive way to execute the baron."
"I understand," Joshua sighed as he slipped deeper into the water.
"I'm sorry, Joshua... I really am," Vard said on seeing the sadness on his husband's face.
"Can't you let the baron go?"
"Joshua... he killed over a thousand people... he almost killed Drake. How... how can you ask that justice not be done?"
"Because he did it out of love and grief," Joshua replied.
Vard nodded his head. If anyone knew how love could twist a man into a monster it was Joshua. He had seen it with Gerick, Thomas, and even his own father. If Joshua was taken away, Vard knew that it could happen to him as well. Still... that did not remove the need for justice to be served. "Joshua... the baron must face the punishment his crime deserves. If I let Labatt escape justice, the people's faith in me will fail. The nobles would revolt against me. Civil war would erupt again. The thousand that have already died would turn into tens of thousands."
"I know that Vard... but Thomas!" Joshua protested. Joshua knew the day the baron had been captured that the man was doomed. That was why he had left. Joshua had blamed himself for what happened to Thomas and was now blaming himself for the fate of the father.
"Joshua... you did not kill him."
"But I let his body die!"
"Only after he was already dead," Vard said as he tried to comfort his husband.
"But I let him die," Joshua sobbed softly as he cried against his lover.
"Shhhhh..." Vard cooed as he rocked Joshua in his arms. "If it is too painful for you to come home during the trial you can stay here... but I really have missed you my husband."
For a long while the two men were silent. Joshua then looked into Vard's dark eyes and nodded his head. "I will come home with you."
"Thank you, Joshua," Vard sighed with relief, as he hugged Joshua tightly to him. He had not been sure what Joshua would decide.