Sidastir groaned as Magnus carried him inside. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to have a parade, carrying the damn flag of your kingdom around the colosseum like some damn horse. Did he look like a troll? All other participants had servants, at least five of them carrying their masters' giant flags. Sidastir had no one, people had laughed their asses off when he dragged the damn thing like a cattle, trying not to break in the middle.
“I can assure you that no one have ever seen or will see that parade again,” chuckled Magnus, who still laughed, not caring for his friends pain.
“Shut up, Magnus,” Sidastir growled, as they entered the atrium only to halt. Wasn’t there to many people here. Akana stood by three other people. Two of them he knew. Cessare and his constant shadow, the domoran, Ceren. Cessare waved happily at him which reminded Sidastir that he lost the last competition last year in The Trial. A thought that only made him even gloomier.
The third one, he didn’t know. He was obviously a domoran and looked rather weak. The long blond hair was tied up, his face was covered in a trimmed beard, his body lean like he had been starving, but there was still some muscles on him. A fresh brand was burned into his neck, making Sidastir suspect that he was a survivor of the path of redemption.
“What the inferno’s name are all these people doing here?”
“I hired Cessare and Ceren as guards of the mansion, and this is Attilus. He is to be my personal guard,” Akana nodded between the people.
It was too much to handle in one sentence so Sidastir started with what annoyed him most.
“Why are you hiring the two idiots to guard our mansion?”
“Because Mar needed help,” Akana shrugged. “And they are not idiots.”
“I appreciate the addition at the end,” Cessare chuckled.
“Yes, but why these two?”
“…Because no one else wanted to hire them.”
Why wasn’t Sidastir surprised? “Fine, and who is this.”
“Attilus.”
“Yes, you said so, but who is he and why did you hire him.”
“He is a mercenary betrayed by his former employer and thrown into prison. I wanted a bodyguard who wasn’t loyal to the princess so I thought he was a perfect choice, “Akana turned to Alacer who was standing among the shadows spying on them. “No offense.”
Alacer seemed surprised for a second that Akana discovered him before he smiled. “None taken.”
“Offence taken, when did you get here?” Ceva muttered and frowned at Alacer who gave her a bright smile.
“Focus,” said Sidastir as he noticed Magnus's face turning red at the long glance Alacer gave Ceva. “There must be other options. Why him?”
Akana shrugged,” My instinct told me so.”
“That is not very auonian of you.”
“No need for insults.”
“It wasn’t an insult.”
“It sure felt like it.”
Sidastir ignored Akana, and walked closer to Attilus. His name was Relevian but it was most likely changed to suit his employer. Probably was Attila, or something the like, originally. Those eyes though, he could have sworn that he had seen them before.
“Do I know you?” asked Sidastir, finally not able to bear the pressing feeling of recognition.
“We have met.”
Sidastir was just about to ask where when a sudden flash of remembrance hit him. A young boy, in too large armor, trembling before him. The two green eyes staring at him as he slaughtered his captain.
“Leave him. We need to focus on Sunac de Gaureg. We cannot let him get away.” Sidastir’s own voice echoed in his mind. Twisted with hate and madness.
“You have grown. The last time I saw you, you were a child trying to act like a warrior.”
“Last time I saw you, you were mad. Killing women and children as you reached for your target,” Attilus retorted.
“There weren’t innocent of the slaughter of my people.”
“Yes, they were. The man they served were not,” Attilus replied quietly. Sidastir wanted to retort, but none came to him. Attilus was right, and the death back then was his burden, his sins to bear. He could only turn away, not able to stand staring at the remnant of his past.
“Do you trust him?” asked Sidastir, pointing the question at Akana.
“I cannot trust him after only knowing about him for a few hours, but I do believe that he is the right choice.”
Sidastir turned towards Attilus once again, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “Hurt my consort, and I will slay you as I did with your captain.”
“Hurt my employer, and I will hunt you down without remorse.”
Without another word. Sidastir left the room, not wanting to see his past resurface again. Not wanting old wounds to ache.
*****
Looking over at the bed, Akana saw his husband laying with his back turned against him. Refusing to look at him. The room was tense, filled with unsaid words. Words that needed to be said. Akana walked over, his footsteps seemed to echo in the silent room, making Sidastir flinch for every step that sounded.
Crawling into the bed, Akana let his arms embrace Sidastir, feeling him relax when he leaned his cheek against Sidastir's shoulder. “I didn’t know this would hurt you so, I assumed that you two had met at Virtus Scolaris. He was too young to have fought in the war.”
Sidastir snorted,” Few are too young for war. Though he was young, no more than a babe who just had crawled out behind his mother skirt.”
Akana didn’t reply, he didn’t have to. Sidastir continued grimly,” He couldn’t even wear the armor properly, it was too big with him and he was so pale, trembling. Why his captain even brought him was beyond me.”
There was a shift in Sidastir’s voice when he said captain. An underlying distaste Akana never has heard Sidastir utter before. “When was this?”
“The last battle, if you can call it that. It was a slaughter. My people were gone, I had gathered all the trolls to one fierce army and had taken back what they stole. That was the last time I would fight, in the castle of Sunac de Gaureg, the winterfox.”
The man who had ordered the takeover of Eitir. A famous master of Sanguism, blood magic, ruler of one of Domor’s provinces, Wigath, and a member of the Domoran Mage Council that ruled all of Domoran. Akana had only read about him but knew that he had slaughtered all Ice elves he had captured to use their blood for magic.
He could only imagine how Sidastir must have looked and felt when he entered the domains of the man who had slaughtered his people in such a cruel fashion. Understanding dawned on him why Attilus did not trust Sidastir. Why he seemed so shocked when Akana had mention Sidastir as his husband. He had only seen a Sidastir drenched in blood, one filled with madness. He knew nothing of the man now trembling in Akana’s arms.
“Are your past haunting you, gaolan?” Akana whispered. Sidastir stopped trembling, like Akana’s voice brought him out of the darkness, and he turned. Two bright blue eyes met his, so light that they could have been mistaken for misty mountains.
“Aren’t you scared of me? Don’t you hate-“
“No, my dear husband. I knew when I married you about your past. Not fully, but enough to know of the things that you have hidden beneath a very arrogant exterior- “ Akana leaned his forehead against Sidastir’s, “and I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m no fool. I can figure out the wounds of a man from his scars.”
Sen was whispering from his mind, Akana’s eyes glowed as his voice became Sen’s “And if you can handle my eccentricities, I can handle yours.”
Sidastir snorted before leaning in, their breaths intertwined as their lips met. Akana’s was warm like the desert he came from, while Sidastir’s was cold like the snow that covered his land. Fire and ice, intertwined in an unseen harmony, making the earth tremble at its power.
*****
Darkness lay thick over the mansion, only owls hooted in the obscurity, while shadows danced over the columns in the Atrium. One shadow moved from column to column, hiding its presence for all but one other shadow.
A sharp blade gleamed in the moonlight, prickling the neck that was its goal.
“What are you sneaking around for?” asked Ceva coldly. Her eyes filled with promised hurt as she glared at Alacer who just raises his arm in surrender. A smirk adorned his face which only urged Ceva to cut him even more.
“Doing my job as a guard. I’m guarding the mansion. Have you heard of patrolling?” he asked cheerily.
“Don’t act coy with me,” hissed Ceva pressing the sharp edge against his throat. “What are you?”
“A mercenary hired to be a bodyguard.”
“You are no mercenary and there isn’t a single person in Parcis that know of you. I would call that suspicious since a mercenary live or die depending on their name. Who would hire someone without a name?”
“The phoenix princess.” With a shrug Alacer turned around, another red streak formed in his neck before he disarmed Ceva, sending her back with a forceful push to her chest. “Though I never discourage a beautiful lady’s attention, I would rather you court me with something not so sharp.”
Ceva glowered at him as he threw her the dagger. She caught it in the air but did not remove it. “I like courting with blades, it makes the man more honest.”
“No, it doesn’t. It only makes his lies sweeter,” Alacer chuckled. “But now it is my turn to ask. Who are you?”
Ceva cocked an eyebrow at him, “Excuse me.”
“The phoenix princess has tried to find decent information about you but other than you are from Balkrav, there is no information. From our information, the Rial Caraid has the ability to copy other people's magical abilities. None had the power of wind that day on the balcony, but you were the one he grabbed, which would suggest that you do. It is strange that there is no record of you having magical abilities,” Alacer quirked his lips. “It's even stranger that all our spies in Balkrav vanish when they investigate you.”
“You have no power in Balkrav,” Ceva said, narrowing her eyes dangerously.
“We thought we did, but something… Or someone is deflecting our tries to infiltrate the land,” Alacer’s eyes followed the dagger. “And whoever that is, he or she is connected to you. So tell me, Ceva Le Gu. Who are you?”
A sudden burst of fire between Alacer and Ceva sends them both back, startled by the sudden danger. “I don’t care if you are friends, enemies, or my grandma. It is awfully rude to fight in the middle of the night.”
Cessare entered the atrium with a smile on his lips. The hair standing on end, clearly he had just woken up. “So please, remove your claws and get back to beds.”
Ceva watched him for a while before putting away her dagger. “This isn’t over.”
“Yes, it is,” said Cessare.
“I looking forward to having another pleasant conversation with you,” Alacer answered, bowing before he left. Ceva just huffed and left with him. Cessare just stared after them.
“I’m glad that you can ignore me so easily,” his eyes turned to the scorch mark on the floor. “Now what to do about that.”
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