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","count":"4","submission_left_submission_id":"2347497","submission_left_file_name":"3428970_damijon_prisoner_chapter_three.doc","submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3428/3428970_damijon_prisoner_chapter_three.jpg","submission_left_thumbnail_url_large":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3428/3428970_damijon_prisoner_chapter_three.jpg","submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3428/3428970_damijon_prisoner_chapter_three.jpg","submission_left_thumb_huge_x":"299","submission_left_thumb_huge_y":"300","submission_left_thumb_large_x":"199","submission_left_thumb_large_y":"200","submission_left_thumb_medium_x":"119","submission_left_thumb_medium_y":"120"}],"description":"Thanks for all the comments, favs, and follows. Two more chapters to go. There might be lag in them. A lot going on right now in my life. ","description_bbcode_parsed":"<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>Thanks for all the comments, favs, and follows. Two more chapters to go. There might be lag in them. A lot going on right now in my life. </span>","writing":"[b]THE BOY HEROES FROM THE LAND OF ERIK (A Series of Epics)[/b]\n[b]Epic no. 3 -[/b]\n\n[b]Prisoner[/b]\n\nBy [i]DamiJon[/i]\n\nP.S. No sex in this chapter, just plot and character building, somewhat for the next epic as well. Two more chapters to go after this one. Thanks for all the favs, comments, and follows. Greatly appreciated to keep me motivated and going on this project. \n\n[b]Chapter Four[/b]\n\n\tAn hour after his lover falls asleep he returns to his table, rereading some of the books he has already finished. An anxiety overtakes him at one point, so he meditates in order to calm himself down. The prison is as quiet as a mouse, which is unusual to him. There's typically at least a few people that call out and cry during the nights, but tonight it seems as if everyone fell into a deep rest. Aldan looks beneath his nightstand where three gifts and a silver coin are hidden and then he travels to the other side of the room by the door. The key is there. He could walk out right now, take his sword, kill the guards, and probably make a successful escape, but they would at some point find him again. He imagines how it would all go down in his head. Hiding in the forest, somewhere in a cave or hole starving and depressed, but nobody escapes from the prisons here without getting caught. Another trial would mean a worse punishment. He walks back over to the bed, carefully walking over Aldan and laying beside him again. The young demon doesn't rest, but pretends to do so until the sun is up. When he opens his eyes he feels his entire body at a powerful calm. Inmates are acting out, yelling, making jokes to guards again. Oddly enough, he feels relieved by this. He shakes Aldan's shoulders to wake him up, not roughly though. When Aldan awakes he helps him put on his clothes, cleans his face with a towel, and sends him on his way. Again, Aldan meditates as he waits. It's warm inside of the cell. He peaks out of his window, which doesn't reveal too much to him. He takes the time to exercise before he falls back into his books again.\n\tAldan is reluctant to leave. There's so little time left to them, he almost despises every moment apart from Drew. His other responsibilities are waived off by his relationship with a condemned boy, however. He allows himself a moment or two of near-overwhelming sorrow as he and Drew say their goodbyes for the day. As he closes and locks the cell door, he locks into place his years of training and service. He locks his emotions behind an implacable façade. Walking back to the guardroom, he cursorily glances at the other cells and inmates, ignoring their whispered comments or hateful looks.\n\tHe enters the guardroom, looking around at the days rotation of guards. Spying today's commander, he smiles slightly. Approaching the man, who is only slightly older than Aldan, he puts his arm around the commander's shoulder. “Gerald, I need a favor.”\n\tThe commander, graying at the temples with a slight paunch around the middle, gives Aldan his full attention. “You? You need a favor from me? Gods, what's wrong??”\n\tSmiling, Aldan explains his dilemma and makes his request. It takes some cajoling, but the commander agrees, somewhat reluctantly. “It's your neck on this, not mine, mind you!”\n\tSmiling and happy, Aldan whistles as he covers the route home, his military pace eating up the miles in short order. As he stands at the threshold, he mutters to himself. Now I just need permission from the real general. Entering into his house, he calls out in a cheerful voice. “Oh, Katey! I wanted to ask you something, darling.”\n\tWithin an hour, Aldan is perched atop a sturdy horse, tan with white forelocks and stockings. He rides easily. Behind him, his son Bryan sits, one arm wrapped around his father's waist, the other pointing to this or that item or person of interest. The son is a younger version of Aldan, brown hair and green eyes with a strong jaw. His skin is lightly browned from hours in the sun. He talks quickly, sometimes to his father, sometimes to Whirlwind, his horse. Each answer with their own variant 'grunt'. The father and son team make several stops as they travel and as they arrive at the prison, entering the main courtyard, Bryan's arms are loaded with bundles and baskets, though he still comments on nearly everything. Tying their horse, they make their way to the guardroom. Several of the guards greet the boy by name, and he delights in their attention. One of them pulls Aldan aside.\n\t“Normally, I'd not question you on raising your boy, Aldan, you know that.” The guard, a few years younger than Aldan and dark haired, dark eyed, and dark skinned, leans in close to whisper. “Are you sure it's wise to introduce Bryan to the prisoner? I know you've taken a liking to the demon, but this is your son.”\n\tAldan looks at the man. “Davyth, I know what I'm doing. Drew. . .is different. It's important that Bryan and he meet and talk before the end. We've fought together and bled together. I trust you and appreciate your concern and words. But, I've thought this over and believe it to be the right course.”\n\tThe darker man nods. “Very well then. I'll help if I can, but not at cost of my own head.”\n\tAldan and Bryan move into the block, walking confidently towards Drew's cell. Some of the prisoners catcall the young boy, but he ignores them. He concentrates on his father, and his warning before they entered. “They want you to be scared, Bry. Ignore them. They can't harm you and won't try while you're with me.”\n\tAs they near Drew's cell, Aldan has the boy remain back. He unlocks the cell door and enters.\n\tDrew slaps a book closed, stands out of bed, and walks slowly to his husband before standing on his toes to kiss him. You came back faster than I expected. He peaks, noticing just a sliver of a person by the door. “Is that Bryan? Or is that just a very short guard?” He squeezes Aldan's hand, rubbing his thumb before letting go.\n\tAldan kisses Drew back. Bryan watches quietly as his father embraces and kisses a demon-boy only slightly older than himself. He looks away after a moment. Aldan holds Drew's hand. “Well, we have minimum height requirements for the service. Bryan.” Aldan calls his son over, and the boy strides over, just like a miniature soldier.\n\t“Bryan, this is Drew. My husband and your step-father. Drew, this is Bryan.” Aldan bows to them both, with a flourish, as he introduces them.\n\tBryan steps forward, extending his hand. “Pleased to meet you, sir.”\n\t“No need to call me sir.” He takes his hand, smiling as he shakes it. “A handsome son you have. I've heard that you've taken an interest in me?” He lets go, stepping back over to Aldan. His tail flutters side to side as he grows curious to learn more about the boy.\n\tBryan nods. “Yes, sir. I am.” His face flashes confusion for a second and he looks to Aldan. “What do I call him, daddy?”\n\tAldan shrugs and gestures towards Drew. “Ideas?”\n\t“You can just call me Drew. Have you seen many demons before?”\n\t“No, I haven't. Are there a lot of you? We have anthros at my school, though.” He looks at Drew, up and down. Then he begins moving around Drew, in a circle, examining him. Inspecting him. There seems to be some hostility from the lad that Drew can sense. It's not malevolent, but it is there.\n\tDrew stays still, not wanting him to be afraid of him. “There's a little over two hundred of us in the kingdom.” He stops his tail, preventing it from hitting Bryan.\n\t“Two hundred? That's not many.” He stops behind Drew for a moment. “Do all demons have tails like yours?”\n\tHe nods. “We all have tails. Not all are like mine. Some demons have tiny horns, or medium sized ones like me, but there are others with large ones too.” He forms a tiny fire from the tip of his index finger. “We manipulate fire too, but I won't do much of this or else I can get in trouble around here.” He notices the boxes outside of the cell. “Hungry? I can smell food.”\n\tBryan circles around until he's in front of Drew again. He purses his lips together, almost into a duckface. Aldan leans against the table, watching We brought all sorts of food. “Is it true that you like raw meat and fish more than cooked?” As Drew answers Bryan abruptly cuts him off, pointing a finger at Drew and demanding at him, “Have you cast an enchantment on my daddy? Are you trying to use him to escape?!”\n\tAldan starts and takes a step towards Bryan, his face clouded with anger. He stops, though, and watches to see how Drew handles this situation.\n\tDrew laughs. “Enchantment? I don't think demons can do anything like that... Besides, I would never betray your father, my husband. I love him more than my own life.” He looks to Aldan for a moment, then back at the boy. “Raw tastes better for sure, but I can eat cooked meals as well. You should know, Bry. Your father has slept here in my bed a few times now. If I wanted to escape, I could simply take his weapons and keys at any time that I'd like. But I haven't and I won't.”\n\tBryan stares at Drew. He's chewing his lip, his face a clear map of his confusion and internal debate. “I know you and daddy have fucked. I--”\n\tAldan takes a quick, sharp breath. “Bryan, that's not a word for you to use. You shouldn't worry about what Drew and I do. It has nothing to do with you.”\n\tBryan turns to his father, ignoring Drew for the moment. “It does so. I heard you and mommy arguing. How do we know he hasn't enskorkelled you! Mikey says demons can do magic and he can make fire. Mikey says that if you surprise a demon, he can't lie to you.”\n\tAldan kneels down in front of Bryan, taking the boy's hands in his own. “And you surprised him and he said that he loved me, right? So that means that he does. And the word is 'ensorcelled'. And he hasn't. I just love him.”\n\tBryan looks back at Drew. “You really love my daddy? Honest?”\n\tDrew smiles, hands behind his back, and nods. “Yes, Bryan. I love your father. Yesterday, we met with a high priestess of Selune who permeated our love so that we will always united, whether it's in another life, another universe, whatever. She said our love was true.”\n\tBryan close his left eye, opening his right one wide. He stares at you intently, the tip of his tongue poking out of the right side of his mouth. After an odd and strange minute, he turns to Aldan, and begins whispering. Aldan listens and whispers back. They do something with their hands that Drew can't see. Bryan's back rises and falls in a huge sigh and he turns to face Drew. He looks down at Drew's feet. “Get your shoes on, silly, we're leaving.”\n\t“Shoes?” Demons don't wear shoes. He checks his feet, which he had cleaned just before he had lay down to read a book. “I'm ready to go, captain!”\n\t“Why don't you wear shoes?” Bryan asks.\n\t“It's a religious thing. We believe it keeps us closer to the planet.”\n\tBryan looks at Drew. At Drew's feet. Back at Drew. At Drew's feet. “Okie dokie. Well, let's go then. We're going on a picnic.” He beams happily.\n\tAldan moves next to Drew, wrapping an arm around Drew's waist and guiding him to the cell door. He kisses Drew and then steps back, taking Drew by the arm. “I can't let the other prisoners know how much special treatment you're getting. Fucking is one thing, but taking you out is something else.”\n\t“Hey! You said 'fucking'.” Bryan calls out at his father. “If I can't say it, you shouldn't say it either.”\n\tDrew cautiously takes his first step of the cell, the first one in weeks since he's been put into the hole. The hallway feels longer than when he first walked down it. Those first few days he was imprisoned he even had a cellmate, which he has forgotten about. The days are so long and even though he's only been in here for a matter of three weeks, it feels like months to him. He helps carry one of the boxes, looking from to side at the other inmates. Almost all of them are older and what you'd expect, but then there are two or three that he see's around his age. He keeps his head straight forward, following the young playful Bryan in front of him. He's so at peace and full of life, yet he's inside of this prison. Aldan has fell back into his role as prison guard, pretending to be escorting him somewhere else. He doesn't take it too personally, because he knows that nobody else in the prison is probably being treated this well as he is. Maybe a few high-class criminals who were once noble warriors had gotten similar privileges, but he sees himself still as just a dangerous teen. Drew stays quiet and focused as they reach the center of the prison.\n\tThey enter the guardroom. One of the younger guards starts to make a comment. “Aldan and his demon-bitch! Ho, ho, come to share him with the lowly plebs?”\n\tThe dark-haired guard elbows the younger man in the ribs. Hard. Very hard. The younger man doubles over, barely able to mutter soft curses. The dark maned guard looks around the room, as if to dare anyone else to speak. The other guards busy themselves.\n\tDrew is led to the main courtyard, he can see the open portcullis and gate to the outside city, to the free world. He's momentarily confused as he's led to a horse, young and spirited who neighs happily as Bryan rubs his muzzle. Bryan climbs easily onto the horse, looking down and reaching down to Drew. “This is Whirlwind. Fastest horse ever! Hop up with me, hold my waist.”\n\tDrew's face brightens up with a joyful smile as he sees the horse. He reaches up, hopping onto the horse without any problems, and looks to Aldan as he speaks to Bryan. “Your horse is very beautiful with a mystical name. I haven't rode a horse since I was a child.”\n\t“Hold tight. You don't want to fall off if it's been so long. He digs his heels into the flanks of his horse.” Whirlwind whinnies and Bryan guides him towards the gates. Aldan trots alongside the horse, smiling up at his son and husband. They exit the prison into the free world. People of many races and species pass to and fro, barely noticing the boy and demon on a horse. Aldan continues alongside, resting his hand on Drew's thigh as the wind their way through crowded streets, heading away from the heart of the city. Bryan takes it upon himself to narrate a guided tour, pointing out shops and vendors as they ride by, even though their signs and wares are plainly visible. Drew is something new and strange to the boy and it doesn't really dawn on Bryan that for months, Drew called the city home.\n\tAfter an hour, they're approaching the less built-up areas of the city. Tenements and shops aren't packed close together. Here, there's room to breathe. Bryan steers them into a large, forested park. It extends as far as they can see and some of the trees here are ancient. Entering the park is like entering the wilderness. The sounds of the city are lost. Rarely, they catch a glimpse of a royal coated game warden or pair of guardsmen. But the group, escorted as it is by a uniformed officer is unmolested.\n\tBryan finally brings them to a stop near a small pond. The pond is fed by a small waterfall, the music of the water adding to the aura of peace and nature. They dismount as Aldan spreads a blanket on the ground. He and Bryan begin arranging a picnic. Candles, a small bronze brazier with lightly scented coal, wine, beer, raw fish and meat, cooked meat and pork pies. Fruit, vegetables, Breads and baked desserts. There's easily enough food for the three of them and another guest.\n\tAs Bryan and Aldan set up their picnic, Drew looks at the horse. One leap and he's mounted and away before Aldan could stop him. Drew carefully gets off of the horse, rubbing his hand along its face before he walks away and helps set things up. He looks down at his own clothes. “Don't you think this is a bit strange? Me in this prisoner outfit?” He sits down, legs crisscrossed, and kisses his boyfriend on the cheek as he sets up plates. “Say, Bryan, do you try to get out and ride your horse every day?”\n\tBryan smiles proudly. “I try to! And this is for you.” He hands Drew a soft bundle. “I brought it in case I decided to like you.”\n\tDrew carefully takes it from him, setting it in front of him and holding his hands up before touching it again. “I'm glad I have your approval Bryan. Should I be careful opening it? I don't want to break anything.”\n\tBryan giggles. “No silly. Just rip it open like it's a Winter Fest present!” He watches Drew, bouncing on his knees as he watches and waits. Aldan watches them both. \n\tOpening the bundle, Drew discovers an outfit of clean, comfortable clothes. Shirt, pants, fundoshi. All varying shades of blue and hand made to fit a demon's particular physique.\n\tHe blushes as he notices the underwear, putting the shirt over it, then stands up to make sure the pants fit him. “You picked these out yourself? They're very beautiful, Bryan.” He holds up the shirt, putting it to him, showing it off. “Any particular reason you chose these as a gift?”\n\tBryan shrugs and blushes. “I asked daddy and he said clothes and books would be the only things you could keep. He helped me pick them out. Or I helped him. Anyhow! We picked them out together.” He stops. His smiles fades. He looks at Aldan, then at Drew. “I just want you to have something nice, is all. I don't know. It just felt like the right thing to do, Drew.”\n\tDrew sets them aside and away from the food and begins dishing his plate with raw meats and fish. “I think I'll wear it tomorrow.” As he takes the first savory bites of his food his tail flips back and forth. He looks to Aldan. “Thanks for bringing your son. I'm glad that I've been given this chance to meet him. Never did I think I'd ride a horse ever again in my life.” He looks to Bryan, continuing to eat.\n\tBryan's exemplary manners disappear as he loads his plate with food, chewing mouthfuls of food while speaking. Aldan eats heartily as well. They picked dishes that are favorites of theirs, along with some raw delicacies that Drew has seemed to enjoy. Bryan asks questions between and during each bite, it seems. “Where do you come from? Why did you leave? Why did you come here? What do you like about the city? How come you didn't run when you could? Why do you love my daddy? How come you don't ask the King for a pardon? Why won't your family visit you? How do you clean your tail? Do you get furballs? Can you do anything besides make fires? Daddy says you like to read? What's your favorite book? Mikey wanted me to ask that one. Did you ever have a horse? What was its name?”\n\t“Woah woah woa woa woah.” Drew falls on his back laughing in surprise, almost choking on his food. “One second.” He finishes his meat, leaving his favorite fish for last. “I was born in a small village about fourteen thousand miles away. My mom passed away while I was young, and my father and I moved here shortly after. We visit back home every once in a while, but I'm not really seen too well down there. Well, I guess they don't like me here either. I like the city for many reasons. It's beautiful, you have so much freedom, and not many kingdoms are so diverse and accepting to so many races and cultures. He pauses to drink some water and clear his throat. Ah, your Dad now... I love him because we are meant to be together and he gives me hope. We just simply love each other... One day you'll understand that too. You'll meet someone and fall for them when you least expect it and when it happens, you're going to be so confused, but it's the best feeling ever. Don't fight it.” He tries to count on his fingers which questions he's answered, and which questions he hasn't. “Where are we now. Oh. The king! No... There's not a chance of a pardon. The law is pretty written in stone. Maybe one day it'll change, but for now it is what it is. My father won't visit because of the crimes I've committed. He's very religious and against killing, so he has disowned me.” He looks behind him, getting his tail to move into his lap. It raises up and he licks it as he looks at Bryan. “This is how we clean our tails. We don't get furballs because our body digests everything so well. I'm not that strong of a demon, but I do have a unique power that is unlike any other demon that has ever lived. It's dangerous though and what got me in trouble in the first place, so I refuse to use it. Reading is a hobby of all demons.” He sighs, getting some more water. “Favorite book, huh? The Serpent Knows Best is a good one. Kind of a depressing tragedy, but maybe that's why I can relate to it so much. We had horses when I was a kid, but that was when I was like...” He puts out his hand. “Around when I was five years old, so I can't remember much about them.”\n\tBryan nods with every answer. Soon he's merely picking at his plate. He yawns and stretches, looking at Aldan. “How long til we have to go back?”\n\tAldan looks at the sky. We've a few hours yet. He pats his stomach. “I don't know about you two, but I am stuffed.” He begins clearing the mess, packing leftovers in the basket and tossing bits of food off into the trees. When that's done, Aldan stretches out, using a basket as a pillow. He pats his left rib cage and quickly, Bryan lies down, using his father as a pillow. Aldan smiles and pats his right rib cage, looking at Drew.\n\tDrew smiles and walks over to lay down to the right side of Aldan. The two boys law on opposites of him and relax to the sound of the lakes. For a moment the demon feels a strange presence as if he's being bonded to his new friend, or maybe he should call him his stepson. He doesn't know yet. As they lay there, the three of them rest and watch the clouds. At first, Bryan comments on this cloud or that looking like a dragon or a fat lizard. But soon he's fast asleep, his breathing serving as a complement to the nature surrounding them. Aldan gently tugs at Drew, beckoning him to lay with their faces close together so that they might talk as Bryan sleeps.\n\tDrew adjusts himself, kissing Aldan on his lips quietly, then opens for a deeper, longer tongue kiss. “It’s still morning, technically. Maybe today will last forever?”\n\t“I wish it could.” He kisses Drew back. “I wish we could command the sun to cease its race across the sky in pursuit of night.”\n\tDrew kisses him again, snuggling into his chest. He looks to Aldan's face and the two of them stare at each other smiling without speaking. Eventually, Drew stands up to stretch, then sits back in his crisscrossed formation, a serious look on his face. “Aldan, there's something that I want to ask when we get back to the prison, but I don't think you'll agree with it.”\n\tAldan frowns. “Something serious? That needs we wait until we're back there?”\n\t“Well, I don't want to ask in front of Bryan.”\n\tAldan looks down. He smooths Bryan's hair away from the boy's face “He's asleep. After a big meal like this, he falls right out. Just like my used to.” He reaches out to take Drew's hand.\n\tDrew looks down as his hand is taken and caressed. “You remember how yesterday you said that I could witness an execution?”\n\t“Yes.”\n\t“Well...” His voice cracks as he pauses. “I thought about that this morning and... I want to witness one today if I can. A beheading, like mine. I know you told me what will happen, but I still have fears and anxiety over it. I want to be prepared and unafraid. When they read whatever it is to me, I want to be able to have that liberation and accept everything for what it is. I don't want to be one that sobs and feels sorry for himself in his last seconds of living.” He frowns, looking away from Aldan.\n\tAldan speaks softly caressing Drew's neck. “Are you certain?”\n\tDrew looks to him, his eyes serious, but painful to stare into. “I am.”\n\tAldan sighs. “Very well. I'll take you. There's no executions at our. . .At Old Castle today. But there should be several at Ravensberg.” He sighs again. “The Minister of Justice insists we stagger our executions by each prison. He says it gives the people something to look forward to each day if there's a good beheading or hanging.” Aldan shakes his head. “He says it reminds the poor to keep their place and keeps them entertained. But, yes, we'll have to cut our outing here short by a couple of hours.” Aldan yawns. “If I nap, will you be here when I wake?”\n\tDrew nods. “I'll lay here beside the two of you and pretend to sleep.” He finally smiles, laying the back of his head on the top of Aldan's chest.\n\t“Maybe after Ravensberg we can stop by your home? Or is that too dangerous? Do you think the prison would get suspicious or think I'm trying to escape?”\n\tAldan plays with Drew's hair. “You're in my charge. As long as I have you back tonight sometime, there'll be no alarm. We can stop if you'd like.”\n\tDrew nods. His tail slides down Aldan's pants, comforting and warming his leg. “Should we drop Bryan off after we leave the lake?”\n\t“Yes. I don't want him to see something like that today.” He glances down at the sleeping boy. “He'll start thinking too much.”\n\t“Yeah... Make sure he isn't of witness of mine.”\n\t“He won't be. I've already told him no.” Aldan yawns, his voice thick with drowsiness.\n\t“Rest.” He puts one hand behind him, closing his eyes. Drew stares into the lake, his mind completely consumed by the sounds of water as he watches tiny ripples of waves crash and form. His mind wanders off, remembering his friend from the village, how he had promised him that he wouldn't give into his violent nature. He thinks of his father. Then shuts his eyes, imagining that sweet, fragrant smell of coffee at the temple. 'Will I ever have another cup of it again?' He tosses the worries into the water, stripping away all the wrongs he once was after confronting and admitting to them, then remembering what he has now in this brief moment of time: Aldan. His heart is so strong under him. Aldan's asleep now. He takes this time to whisper a long chant in his mind, then falls into a state of relaxation.\n\tSoon Aldan is sleeping, his light snores a comforting sound to Drew. Shifting onto to his side, Aldan curls into a loose ball. But his movements have disturbed Bryan, who yawns and stretches. “Are you awake?” He whispers.\n\tDrew doesn't move as he answers. “Yes. Did you think I would be gone?”\n\t“Uh-uh. Daddy said that you could be trusted. That you gave him your word and you'd never, ever break it.” He climbs over his father to sit next to Drew. “What are you doing?”\n\tHe looks to him, chewing on a piece of grass that sticks out of his mouth. “Huh? Just thinking. Relaxing. Enjoying the moment.” He smiles, looking to Whirlwind. “Do you need to feed your horse or anything?”\n\tBryan looks over to Whirlwind. “He's okay. He's got grass and leaves he's eating and the lake to drink from.” Suddenly he raises his eyebrows. “I gotta tinkle.” Bryan hops up and move over to a nearby shrub. He drops his pants to his knees, holding his shirt up, tucked under his chin. His back and butt are to Drew, but he hears the unmistakable sound of a boy sighing in relief as he pees.\n\tOnce he's finished, he pulls his pants up and rinses his hands at the lake side. He's drying them on his shirt as he comes back and sits next to Drew again, smiling and happy. “Did you like the food we brought?”\n\tHe nods. “It's always delicious. Before your Dad was here, they fed me all cooked meat that tasted like dirt.” Drew can't help but to comment on his beauty. “You know, whoever you end up with, like in love with, is going to be very lucky, because you're remarkably handsome and spectacular. Plus, you have a horse! You'll get all of the girls in the world with that guy.” He laughs, picking pine needles out of his tail.\n\tBryan shrugs. “That's what mommy says. All the girls will love me. I don't think I'll have time for girls though. When I'm old enough, I want to join the Army like daddy did.” He looks at Drew. “You're pretty, too. Do you like girls or just men? Daddy likes both, obviously.”\n\t“Just men.” He sizes Bryan up and down. “I think you'll be a good warrior. You really do look like a miniature version of your Dad.”\t\n\tBryan laughs. He catches himself and looks back to make sure he didn't wake Aldan. “Everyone tells me that! I wonder if I'll get married and fall in love with a demon-boy like you.” He looks at his boots, fiddling with them, knocking mud off of the sole with a twig. “That wouldn't be so bad, I guess. You seem nice. Really nice.”\n\tHe watches Bryan's awkward motions. “Yeah? Well... There's one demon boy in particular that I think you should keep your eyes out for. Not for that reason, but because he's in some trouble.”\n\tBryan looks at him. “Yeah? What's his name?”\n\t“I don't know...” He casts a flame into his hand, staring into it. A figure appears, but it's hard to make out who is inside of it. “I know that he's a little bit younger than I am, he's demon, but he's also half black wolf. That means he has wolf ears and a black tail. He's the only one that should exist on the entire planet and he lives in this kingdom, so he shouldn't be hard to recognize.”\n\tBryan stares at the flame. “What kind of trouble is he in?”\n\tThe flame vanishes from his hand as he sits closer to Bryan and explains. “A while back, there was a boy who was visited by a shadow when he was five years old. After he was visited, he had gone kind of insane and killed a lot of people in the village. Thing is, he had a unique power that no other demons had seen before. Some think that he simply was driven to insanity by it. But then there was me, the second child visited by the creature. It came to me at the same time, exactly when I was five years old. When it attacked me, I had accidentally killed my own mother. Like the other boy, I possess magic no other demon has seen before. The shadow would attack me, telling me that I had to do these horrible things to people with my power... Eventually I started listening to it and let it guide me. When my father and I moved here, everyone was afraid of me because they believed that what happened before would happen again by me. Instead, I just ended up taking four lives with my magic. The voices were the ones that said that I should go through with my nature, just do it and everything will be alright! And I gave in... I just gave in. That's beside the point. He shakes his head, looking away to the lake. This third boy, he also possesses a unique magic, but unlike me and the other boy, his is unlike any other power that has been possessed on this planet. The shadow attacks him just as much as he did to me. Sometimes I can hear the boy crying and begging for him to stop when I cast a flame in my hand. I wonder sometimes, is he asking me to help him? Am I connected to him because of my power?” \n\tDrew turns back to Bryan. “Bryan... He needs someone. A friend. He's alone and afraid. I don't think he can handle it for too much longer and I don't want him to end up like me.”\n\tBryan listens carefully, nodding along. “So he's all alone?”\n\tDrew nods. “He has family I think, but no friends. No support. Like me before I met your Dad.”\n\t“That's terrible! I'll keep my eyes open for him, Drew. I promise.” He chews on cheek again. “I mean, if he's part demon and part black wolf, it should be easy to know him when I see him, yeah? He looks worried I hope I find him before he ends up. . .” He stops and looks at Drew. His eyes grow sad I'm sorry. “I shouldn't have said that.”\n\t“No. You're fine, Bryan.” He puts a hand on his shoulder, then stretches his legs.\n\t“I don't think it's fair. What's happening to you and to the other boy. Mommy says we should try to help people when we can. But no one tried to help you, no one's helping the wolf-boy.” He looks at Drew. “You killed people, but they were trying to hurt you, right? And you're sorry and you wouldn't do it again, right? So why can't the King pardon you?”\n\tDrew looks at him sympathetically.  “Yeah, your mom is right. You should help people whenever you have the chance. Bry, you need to understand... None of them tried to hurt me. Three of them made jokes and tried to offend me, but I was the first to attack. The other person, I flat out ended him just to get money. It was all stupid. I gave in and I shouldn't have. Yes, if I were given the chance, I wouldn't do it again, but it's been done. You can't be angry at the King if you're going to serve him at some point. The things I've done, they're nobody’s fault but my own and I must take responsibility for that.”\n\tBryan looks at Drew. His brow is knitted as he processes what he's just been told. “But you're so nice. Gentle.” His voice drops to a low whisper. “They didn't hurt you? You just killed them because the shadow told you to?”\n\tHe shakes his head. “It influenced me, but I was in control, I think.” He looks down. “I.. I.. Think we should, uhm, wake your father up.”\n\tBryan stands on his knees. He looks as if he's about to cry. “You wouldn't have done it if the shadow wasn't in you, though. You wouldn't have done it if you'd met dad first!” He begins to cry. “It's not fair. You're sorry and you could help people. It's not fair!” He throws his arms around Drew and sobs. “It's not fair. It's not fair. Daddy loves you. It's not fair.”\n\t“Ssshhhh. Shhh.” He hugs him tighter, patting and rubbing his back. “Let it out if you need to.” His tail tries to comfort Bryan by touching his left leg. “I know it's rough. It's rough on me too, you know? But it's okay... I met your Dad and now I've met you. Time is irrelevant. All is irrelevant other than that.” He pulls Bryan apart from him, wiping his tears with his shirt. “You're going to be okay, right?” Aldan has woken up to the sound Bryan crying, watching quietly, and pretending as if he's sleeping. “I'll see you again tonight and tomorrow morning. We'll ride Whirlwind again.” Drew brings him in for another hug, a long streak of tears coming down his cheeks for a short moment before he pulls himself together. “Just promise me you'll never do what I did.”\n\tBryan cries freely, “I promise, Drew. I promise.” He wipes his eyes and blows snot onto the ground, away from their blanket. He's still crying, but not sobbing as powerfully as he was. And I'll find the wolf boy and be his friend. “And I'll visit you when I can, too. Always. Even when I'm old like daddy.” Aldan can't help but laugh. He joins his favorite boys and engulfs them both in a hug. Bryan hugs him back, crying into his side of Aldan's chest. “It's not fair, and I hate it, and I'm going to find the wolf boy and save him.” He looks at Drew, his eyes red. “I'll tell him all about you, too. How you were strong and turned away from hurting people. I promise. I promise.” Aldan pulls Drew into a kiss and Bryan clings to them both, crying and repeating his promise.\n\tDrew looks to Aldan, confused as to what to say or do in this unique situation. He squints his eyes, tries to forget where he is, but he's still there in this confusing moment. One kiss to his lovers lips calms him down and then he rubs Bryan's right shoulder. “Maybe I could put these clothes on that you bought for me tonight when I visit. We can find something extra special to do too. I'll make you and the rest of your family the most powerful and exquisite coffee you'll ever have in your entire life. Nobody knows how to do it quite like me.” He licks and bites his bottom lip.\n\tBryan pulls away from them both and wipes his face. He nods without saying anything and stands. He goes over to the lake, where Whirlwind is drinking. He leans against his horse, reaching down and washing his face as the huge beast gentle nudges the boy's hair. “Stop trying to eat my hair! It's not hay, you silly horse.” Whirlwind stamps a hoof into the water, splashing the pair of them.\n\tAldan holds Drew close. “You handled that well. You're an excellent father, Drew.” He kisses Drew. “And about the coffee. . .” He pulls back and uses his hands to comb Drew's hair and wipe away his tears. “That's a deal. Do we have to buy anything special?”\n\tDrew shakes his head. “No. You'll just ask for the freshest beans that they have. I can't go in. I don't want them to see me.”\n\t“Why? You'll be dressed normally. If anyone asks, you're there with your husband and your son.” He repeats the words more forcefully. “Your son. And if anyone bitches, I'll arrest them. Or at least intimidate them.”\n\t“You don't understand. They think that I'm cursed.” He looks down as he stands up, then looks to the lake and walks towards Bryan.\n\t“I don't care.” Aldan calls after him You're my husband. “I won't have you hiding.” \n\tBryan smiles at Drew as he approaches, and finishes washing his face. “Behave, Whirlwind!” The horse snorts and bumps Bryan with his huge head, nudging him towards Drew. “Hey...I said behave.”\n\tDrew brushes the horses hair, then under his forehead, and kisses it right above its nose. “I think he was bored watching us cuddle together without him.”\n\t“He's always been jealous.” He looks up at Drew, and playfully pushes at his chest. “Do you want to go for a ride before we leave? You and me, once around the lake?”\n\tDrew nods. “Sure. I'd like that.”\n\tBryan mounts his horse, who stamps with excitement at being ridden again. “Daddy! Can papa-Drew and I go around the lake once? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?” He draws out the please in a way only a child could, so long that Drew wonders that Bryan doesn't turn blue and pass out. Aldan nods. \n\t“Go ahead. Not too fast and watch for low branches. If you run into any guards, bring them here.” Aldan looks at Drew. “Keep him safe, Drew.”\n\tDrew nods and hops right on behind Bryan. He hugs him tightly and gazes to the water. “I'm ready, captain. Let our venture commence!”\n\tBryan guides the horse away from the lake and eases him into a gentle trot. “Hold on tight, papa-Drew! Giddyup, Whirlwind! To save the kingdom!!!” Bryan shouts and digs his heels into Whirlwind's flanks. With a slight jump-step, the horse leaps forward and soon, Bryan and Drew are flying around the park, ducking below tree limbs and taking small jumps with ease. The horse responds to Bryan almost before Bryan gives him a command, the two of them is synch. The wind rushes past and Bryan's laughter is the loudest sound, apart from the blood rushing through Drew's ears.\n\tDrew playfully chuckles and holds on, commenting as they duck for branches. When the horse he leaps he ends up hitting his head into Bryan's back, laughing even harder than before. The lake glistens as the sun reflects over it. There's barely anyone out enjoying the weather or scenery. It's like a dream, just the two of them there, although they can still see Aldan watching and standing up from the distance. “Thank you Whirlwind. Thank you Drew.” He holds on and goes quiet, just living into the moment.\n\tIt takes them a half-hour or so to ride around the lake. When the return to the picnic site, all three of them are flushed with excitement and out of breath. Drew and Bryan hop off of Whirlwind and the horse immediately begins drinking and splashing water. Bryan drops to his knees, rummaging through the assort bundles. He finds his curry brush and jogs back to rub down his friend, talking a mile a minute about their ride. The horse stamps its hooves, shakes and whinnies, almost as if answering back.\n\tAldan pours Drew a glass of light, refreshing wine, handing it to him with a smile. “How was it, love? I have never seen you smile like that. Well, with your clothes on.”\n\tDrew chuckles, hiding his embarrassment by downing half of the glass. “Good one. It was magnificent. Tranquil, if I may say.” He looks to Bryan. “How are we traveling to the other town?”\n\t“Ravensberg is just the other side of the city.” Aldan refills Drew's glass and fills one for himself. “Three prisons in the city. Ravensberg, Old Castle, and Havenhill. Each serves a different district inside. Old Castle gets most of the murderers and rapers. Havenhill gets most of your pickpockets, burglars. Short timers and prisoners to be maimed or branded. They get the odd murderer, so as to have someone to execute every week. Ravenberg gets smugglers, chiselers, kidnappers, beatings, and their share of killers. But we get the worst. All rapers come through us.” He shrugs. “It's worked so far, in a sense. We should be able to walk it a couple of hours. We can take a horsecab, if you wish. It would be faster and easier on the feet. I'm not sure how much walking you're used to now.”\n\tHe looks to his feet, which have built calluses. “They're a bit tired at the moment. I've honestly never rode in a horsecab.” Drew sighs, still trying to catch his breath. He sips more of his wine as his tail flaps all of the horsehair out from itself.\n\t“Never?” Aldan asks Well, we will most assuredly take a horsecab. Aldan has everything packed and ready for them to depart when Bryan finishes with Whirlwind. \n\t“What now, daddy? he looks at Drew Daddies.” He corrects himself, emphasizing the 's'.\n\tDrew finishes down his wine, handing his cup away and turning to Bryan. “Your Dad and I are going to visit some of the other towns for a bit and then we'll come back later tonight so that I can see you and the others. Is that alright with you and Whirlwind?”\n\tBryan gives them both a sidelong glance. “Promise?”\n\t“We promise. Right, Aldan?” Looks to him.\n\tAldan nods “We'll be there. We have some business to see to, first.”\n\tBryan grins. “Oooohhh! I know what you're going to do!” He giggles and blushes.\n\t“Yeah. You get the idea.” He plays along with it.\n\tStill giggling, Bryan mounts Whirlwind. Aldan secures their picnic gear to various straps on the saddle or in the saddle bags. “You're okay to ride home from here? You know the way?”\n\tBryan closes his eyes and thinks. “Yep. I can make it, don't worry. Whirlwind never gets lost.”\n\tDrew walks up to Whirlwind, giving the horse another hug around the neck and kiss, then signals to Bryan. “Be safe. We'll see you soon.”\n\tBryan leans forward, suddenly grabbing Drew's hand as he's patting the horse. He squeezes Drew's hand tightly. He doesn't say anything, although he looks like he wants to. He lets go of Drew and smiles at him. He gives Drew a little wave and rides off with a wave to his father.\n\tAldan pulls Drew into him as they watch the horse and boy disappear in the trees. “Right, let's get a move on. We're closer to the Ravernsberg than your temple.” He takes Drew's hand and they begin walking. \n\tDrew walks close to his side, slowly and carefully, hoping that nobody that knows him notices him walking by. “The cabs aren't expensive, are they?”\n\tAldan shakes his head. “No, not really.” He looks at Drew as they walk. “Are you okay, Drew?”\n\t“Yeah, yeah.” He fidgets. “Just don't want to run into anyone in particular. Like the families I've hurt or my father or people from the temple that know me. It's a long shot though. The streets are too populated for anyone to notice.”\n\t“It's a long shot, and you're in custody, technically.” Aldan gestures down to his sword. “No one will cause trouble. Even if you walk into your tea shop, climb on the main counter and piss all over it. Although that would be a waste of some wonderful piss.” He chuckles at Drew.\n\tDrew smiles. He notices one of the horsecabs in the middle of the road. “There's one. Do we just yell for it or what?”\n\tAldan smiles and brings two fingers to his lips. He lets loose with an incredibly loud whistle, surely one that could be heard for miles. The driver looks at you two and nudges his horse forward, stopping in front of Drew. It's a two-wheeled cab, with a roof, with the driver above and behind the passengers. It's pulled by a magnificent black gelding. “You worthy lords need transport? Where to, m'lords?”\n\tAldan opens the side door, letting Drew climb in first. He follows and sits. A small sliding panel opens in the roof and the driver peers down for instructions. Aldan looks at Drew. “Temple or prison?”\n\tDrew looks around at the fancy seats, which sits tail slither and fall in love with. “I think the prison first. The furniture in here is so nice. Wish my prison bed were like this.”\n\t“Ravensberg Prison, driver.” The small panel slides closed as the cab is set in motion. Soon, Drew and Aldan are riding along at a surprising speed. The cab doesn't take the most direct route, as some streets and road are too narrow, but the driver seems to know what he's doing. And the sit, mostly out view of anyone on foot, Aldan snuggles close to Drew, kissing his neck and sliding his hand under Drew's shirt.\n\tDrew kisses him back softly. They speak like this until the driver turns an eye and the demon boy blushes. “Not in public, hun.” He grabs Aldan's crotch as after he gives him a quick brief kiss. “There will be plenty of time for fucking tonight.” He situates himself better into the seat, sitting up closer to his husband. “Did Bryan remember to grab my clothes?”\n\tAldan rummages in his sack and produces them. “You should change now. Wouldn't want there to be any confusion at Ravensberg.” He look up and the panel. “With that closed, the driver has no idea what's going on in here.” Aldan winks.\n\t“Okay. I'll get changed.” Drew sits up, trying not to bang his horns and head on the top of the vehicle as he strips. He teases Aldan by untying his fundoshi slowly. Putting it on in the cab is probably one of the most difficult things he's ever done in his life and for once he actually curses at the fact that his religion requires that he wears this underwear. In frustration, he quickly puts the new pair of pants on, then slides off his shirt. “So when we get there, do they have some sort of clipboard somewhere outside of the prison or whatever saying when is what or what is when?” He reaches down to grab the shirt, taking his time before he puts it on. “Comfy... Reminds me of the robes at my temple.”\n\tAldan suddenly leans forward, kissing Drew's left nipple, sucking it gratefully for a moment, before pulling back and sighing. “There should be a board showing their standard schedule for executions. Two days a week, usually in the early and late afternoons, unless they're exceptionally busy.”\n\t“I see.” Drew snuggles into Aldan's chest, focusing on his own breath and the beat of his lovers heart as the cab travels.\n\tThey ride together in silence, holding each other closely. Aldan gently rubs Drew's back. Sitting with his eyes closed, he concentrates on the sounds of the city and the feeling of Drew's warmth next to him. It seems as if they're only in the cab for a few minutes when is jangles to a halt. The roof panel slides open and the drivers peers down at them. “Ravensberg Prison, noble gentlemen.” \n\tAldan exits the vehicle and waits for Drew to do the same. He looks at the driver, hands him a handful of coins and tells him to wait as long as those coins will hold him. The driver nods.\n\tCrossing to the main gate, they see \"The Board\". Executions have already begun for the day. As they're about to enter through the public entrance, Aldan stops and faces Drew. “You're absolutely sure on this?”\n\tDrew nods and takes his hand, squeezing it tightly. “Yeah. I think so. We're already here anyway.” As the continue walking, the demon remembers the first and only one he witnessed, a hanging when he first moved into the kingdom with his father.\n\tAldan sighs. “If it gets to be too much, just look at me. Bury your face in my chest and I'll get you out of here. Understood?” With Drew's nod, they enter. Ravensberg is dark and brooding. The stones here are dark with soot and age. The ceilings seem impossibly low, as if poised to crush any who pass beneath them. And number of guards, alert and ready for trouble, watch those who enter and leave. Drew notices their uniform badges are different from Aldan's. Aldan's is a silver diamond; these guards wear a crimson square. Soon, they pass into the executioners yard.\n\tA scaffold and platform sit in the center of the courtyard. As they enter, a pair of burly workers are sealing a coffin, while a young boy, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, spreads fresh sawdust atop the platform. The crowd is buzzing with excitement, eagerly awaiting the next prisoner. The axeman stands at the rear of the platform, his face hidden by his black mask. Aldan muscles his way through the crowd, leading Drew to the front rank of spectators. They'd just to their left of the block. A spray of fresh blood colors the cobblestones, forming a morbid triangle that looks like it might reach an incautious spectator.\n\t“Should we stand back by chance?” He does so he asks. “The crowd is much larger than he expected to be. Could it be that it's further along in the day?” He only hopes so. Drew looks around behind him, trying to count how many people there are, but then returns his attention to the platform. “I hope there won't be as many people tomorrow. I don't mind a few people saying something at me, but a hundred or so would be strange.” His eyes reach to the axeman. “Will he be at mine tomorrow or is he a different person?” Drew's tail slaps from side to side anxiously, then calms down. “Sorry. I'm asking too many questions.”\n\tAldan leans close, resting a hand on Drew's back. “We're here so you can understand. Ask any question you have. There probably won't be as many people. Mornings are always smaller crowds. We're good where we're at. For whatever reason, they always seem to fall to the other side.” He points to an area of the front rank, perhaps 5 yards distant. “That's where the spray flies. The more nervous and anxious, the more and stronger spray there is. It's the same axeman. He's quite good.”\n\tDrew nods and notices the blood, which is quickly covered with hay. “I see.” He focuses attentively, waiting for the teenager up top to finish his job.\n\tThe boy looks sullen but scatters the hay and sawdust quickly. The drums begin to roll, and another prisoner is brought forth from a black door behind and their left or Drew and Aldan. A man is escorted by a cadre of five guardsmen, four forming a box around him, one leading by his manacled wrists. The man seems scared but makes it the steps leading up the platform before showing any real fear. He balks at the steps, trying to wrench his hands free of the guards, to no avail. He's dragged to the front of the platform and held in place with a guard on either arm. An officious looking man steps forward, just in front of the platform. He unfurls a parchment scroll. When the drums stop, he begins reading the charges.\n\tDrew loosens his grip on Aldan's arm, whispering quietly. “He's afraid, isn't he? That's not good at all...”\n\tAldan nods. “He's terrified. He's going to try and bolt.” He sounds sad and irritated.\n\t“What a poor fool.” He gives a sympathetic look. “I won't be held like that when they read from the scroll, will I?”\n\tThe clerk speaks, “Here stands Bartholemew Bergestrand, late of 17 Finch Road. Charged with smuggling into the city certain items of value, without proper license or tax, of attempting to bribe a custom's agent of His Majesty, of attempting to bribe members of the city constabulary, attempting to bribe a magistrate, threatening a magistrate, resisting with arms arrest by the city constabulary, failure to pay duties, fees, and taxes. Defendant has been found guilty, after due trial, of all charges and has been sentenced to death by hanging. However, upon plea for mercy from defendant's wife and children, sentence was commuted to death on the block. Sentence to be carried this day, this time, in the name His Majesty, the King, and by authority of Magistrate Jaymes LePetimay and Royal Mayor Sargonne Belcter.”\n\tAldan whispers, “Only if it's likely that you'll try to flee.”\n\tDrew tightens his own arm around Aldan's arm. “I won't. I'll be calm and ready.” He closes his eyes just for a moment, then continues to observe.\n\tBehind Aldan and Drew, a woman screams for mercy. “Mercy, mercy, mercy for my husband! Mercy for his children to be orphaned of their father!”\n\tOther members of the crowd begin to boo and shout her down. The man, tries again to wrench himself free and leap to the cobbles. The guards club him with an oaken cudgel and he goes limp. The woman screams again and there's more commotion in the crowd. Turning, Drew and Aldan see the woman being shoved and spat upon. Aldan's hand falls to his sword, but guards move in from the sides, grabbing the woman and pulling her off to one side where one talks with her.\n\t“Oh Gods, lord of Light...” Drew prays for a moment as he sees the woman scream, then turns his attention back to the platform.\n\tOn the platform, the man is lifted and places over the block. Spit drools from his mouth and he's only dimly aware of what's happening. He tries to push away from the block, but the guards knock his hands away each time. The drums roll. The man jerks his head to and fro. One of the guards curses and spit on him. He kneels down in front and just to the side of the man, grabbing his head and holding him down, his neck stretched over the block. The executioner quickly pulls his axe from beneath the hay, lifting and swinging it in a fluid, beautiful, almost elegant motion downwards. The axe slices through flesh and bone. The guard holding the head falls back, almost losing the severed head, but keeping control of it by a handful of hair. The body jerks and spasms to its left, away from Drew and Aldan. Blood sprays forcefully and far, spattering the first row of the crowd. The crowd cheers loudly. One of the people sprayed runs the hand over their blood-spattered trousers and hold their bloody palm up for the crowd. The cheers grow louder and more frenzied. The guard stands and presents the head to the crowd, to their delight and joy. Someone calls out \"Now the wife!\" and the crowd laughs.\n\tAldan pulls on Drew's arm and drags him back the way they came, ignoring any protest from his love. He doesn't stop until they're inside the cab, clattering down the road. “Where to, m'lord?”\n\t“Anywhere. Just get us away from here.” Aldan's voice is tense.\n\tAs soon as Drew's hand is taken, he follows the direction he's being pulled immediately. His eyes are bulging and still trying to understand everything that just happened. It's not that he's surprised from the circumstances, but more so baffled by how foolish everyone was. “It seems the only two that didn't do anything wrong were the executioner and the man who read the scrolls. The guards were forced to attack the prisoner but spat on him too and couldn't calm down the crowd. The crowd itself were full of lunatics that just wanted to see blood.”\n\tThe prisoner, who Drew felt sorry for since he had a wife and children, also had some fault. As Drew enters the cab, he holds his face with one hand and pulls back his hair. His tail is stiff and erect, signaling that he's frustrated. “That wasn't what I expected... It was a stupid idea anyway.” He sniffs up snot, rubbing at the temples of his forehead. “If the man had any dignity... Don't they realize that it only makes things worse to try to escape or fight the guards?” He looks up, exhausted, and continues ranting. “I can't tell if you're as angry as I am. Guards at our prison seem nicer than those and yet they commit lesser crimes. That doesn't make sense either. Nothing makes sense.” He kicks at the floorboard, then brings his right leg up to rub at his feet. “I feel like... I feel like what I saw just told me what not to do tomorrow. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for saying that we should have gone there.” He grunts, then rubs one hand into Aldan's thigh, rubbing his head against his right shoulder as he tries to relax. “Driver! He opens up the little sleeve to speak. Take us to the demon temple, the temple of the great owl.” Drew looks to Aldan, waiting for him to respond. “You know I'm sorry, right?”\n\tAldan turns to face Drew. He cups the boy's face. His own face is lined with worry. “Sorry for what, Drew?”\n\t“You obviously weren't pleased with what happened and how it was dealt with.”\n\t“It was damned unprofessional! Foolish and irresponsible. The only guard with any sense was the one who pulled the wife aside and tried to calm and distract her.”\n\tDrew gulps, continuing to rub at his husband to try and comfort him. “Now I understand why you don't work over there.”\n\tThe horsecab comes to a stop. A moment later the door is opened for them. Aldan hands the man a few more silvers before they exit. Drew immediately knows where he is. “Home. This is it...” The temple looks like any other shop on the square, but there are several floors beneath it where rituals and magic are commenced, along with apartments and luxury for those living beneath it. Drew guides the way into the shop, which is dimly lit from the corners of the room. There are no customers, just an old man behind the counter cleaning mugs and setting up his filters for the next customer. Further down the shop is a man playing a grand piano, which has hauntingly beautiful sound to it. Drew knows this song. He heard its melody in the music box. He walks to the counter, taking a seat and waits for the busy man, a frail demon in his early 120s, to notice the younger boy, whom he has his own personal feelings about. “Uh hem... Rath Mullan.” The old man looks to him, his face shocked and confused. “Drew... Or am I hallucinating? Why? How are you here? You shouldn't be. Did you escape from prison?”\n\tDrew waits for Aldan to take his seat and continues explaining. “No, no. This man has me on custody. I wanted to visit and get some fresh coffee beans so that I could make a final fresh batch of coffee. Tomorrow is the day, although I'm sure you and nobody else will be there in support of me, as none of you were at my trial.” \n\tThe older man winces his eyebrows, putting four scoops of beans into a bag before sealing it with a string. “You desecrated this temple with what you did. People already look at us funny and have their hatred, bigoted feelings towards us. What you did just makes it all worse. Business goes down. People wait outside of the temple to stare at us. Follow us. I'm not saying it's all you, but you have your part in it, boy.”\n\tDrew shakes his head, looking to Aldan. “He will take a glass of absinthe, please.”\n\tRath nods, pouring two shots worth of a bright green material into a glass, then putting it on Aldan's side where he would sit. He bows his head for a moment and smiles. “It's on the house.”\n\tAldan looks at the old man. “Some folk look at you funny because when a boy was in trouble, his people ran and hid. When a boy needed someone, none of his people were there for him.” He slams coins down on the counter. “Of course people are wary of you. You won't stand for one of yours. Why would anyone expect you to stand for the city or the kingdom or any of us?”\n\tRath puts both arms on the table. “Wo wo woh, there. Calm down, you little knight on a chess board. I have stood for this kingdom more than you know. You know how many wars I fought in before you were born? When I was his age I had no rights. People would kick me, stomp my face in, try to pull my tail out, but I never killed those people for it. Nor did I break into someone's house and rob them so that I could escape the very home that had given him everything on a silver platter.” \n\tHe spits towards Drew as he speaks. “I know you're not a horrible boy, Drew. You're not all evil. But possessed or not, I cannot look the other way. And you...“ He points his finger towards Aldan and the glass. “My father built this temple with only two other men. And when he went to protest for our rights and was put to prison, I was there in front of the king with my people. We stood up. We fought back. And here we are, alive and succeeding. Drink your damn alcohol and stick to what you know about - killing people just like you in the battlefield and killing.” He looks at Drew, somehow already noticing the chemistry those you feel compassion for. He sighs, holding his chest as he tries to breathe.\n\tDrew is looking down and holding the bag of coffee, noticeably depressed and full of shame. “I told you I didn't want to come back here.”\n\tAldan slams back his absinthe, inhaling sharply as it burns going down. He looks at the old timer. “So, when did you decide you'd stood up enough? That this one boy...” He points at Drew. “Wasn't worth the effort? He killed people when he shouldn't have. He's paying for it with his life. But you people?” He looks around and sweeps his arm around the entire shop. “You made him pay twice by cutting him off from his own people, his own family.” He stares down at his empty glass. “And tell me, old timer, how many humans or anthros have come in here saying, 'You know what? I didn't like demons, but the way you turned your backs on the Drew kid, sure made me like you a bunch. Sure made me change my mind about you'? How many?”\n\tThe old man holds his arms, pressing his back against the wall. He pours himself a full glass of absinthe and swallows it down, looking to Drew, then back to Aldan. “I don't need to hear this from you. This conversation is over.” He points to the door. “I'm asking the two of you to leave before I am forced to do something that I don't want to do.”\n\tDrew stands up, tugging on Aldan. “Come on. We got what we came for. Let's just go.”\n\tAldan arches his eyebrow. He grins, but it's not a mirthful grin. “Threatening a King's man? Are you sure you want to do that?” He jerks his arm free from Drew. He stares at the older demon. In his mind, Aldan already planning out how to go over the counter after he embeds a dagger in the old man's throat. When Drew looks at Aldan, he sees menace. He wears the grin of a killer. He's never seen Aldan like this. He looks ready to kill. Almost eager.\n\tThe old man grins at the warriors frustration.\n\tDrew curses. “Come on! Stop fucking around.”\n\tAldan looks at Drew. He sees something in his eyes. Anger? Frustration? Fear? He reaches out and cups Drew's cheek running his thumb gently of Drew's skin. “See?” He looks at the old demon. “Even after you turned your backs on him, he saved your life. That's why he's better than the whole stinking lot of you.” He spits of the bar and lets Drew pull him away.\n\tAs soon as they're outside, Drew wipes away his tears, pulling his up to his horns as he closes his eyes and catches his breath. “They're not all bad people. Just misguided. Afraid.” After he passes the temple will be in better hands. He shakes the bag of coffee as they walk until they spot another horsecab. “Let's get to your home. I want to meet the rest of your family. Unless... Do you think your wife will kill me herself the second I walk into the house?” He imagines it happening on a serious level, then on a much less serious one, her trying to hit him with a spoon on the horns or something. “You said she was pretty forgiving, I guess...”\n\tAldan grabs Drew by the shoulder, turning him to face him. He embraces Drew and holds him. “I love you.” He holds Drew's face between his hands and kisses him gently on the forehead. Walking with Drew, Aldan relaxes quickly. “I don't think she'll try to kill you. She promised me she wouldn't kill any more of my lovers after the incident with the triplets.”\n\t“The tiplets?” He whistles out for the cab, which stops.\n\tThey climb into the cab and Aldan gives the address for his house. The driver nods and goads his horse into a trot. “Yes, the triplets. I've never seen so much blood. It really brought out the green in her eyes, though.”\n\tHe gasps, backing away in his seat from Aldan. I don't.. understand. You cheated on her with triplets and she killed them?”\n\tAldan sighs. “Well, jealousy and all that. Like I say, it was years ago now and she promised not to do it again.” He looks out to the street whizzing by. “Of course, she'd promised it twice before and ended up breaking those. But I'm sure this time she won't.”\n\t“How did she get away with such crimes, though?”\n\tAldan smiles. “I think she had someone inside the constabulary who covered for her.”\n\tDrew stares dead eyed at him, unknown is he's just bullshitting to him or not. “Your wife sounds like a major freak... How does she raise a child as sweet as Bryan if she's so cold blooded?”\n\t“Well, you've never seen Bryan angry. He's got a temper on him, that one. I promised him that I'd never tell anyone, but you are his father now.” He looks around cautiously, checking the portal to the driver to make sure it's closed. “But there's a reason Bryan doesn't have any friends his own age anymore.” He watches Drew closely.\n\t“Huh? Why not?” Drew puts his feet out on Aldan's legs, moving his toes around to him. “I don't understand. He's so nice and interesting. And he has a beautiful horse.”\n\tAldan bursts out laughing. “I can't go on. Kate may not love you like Bryan does, or like I do, but she won't attack you.” He laughs until tears dribble down his cheeks. “Oh, I'm sorry, Drew...I was teasing, I didn't think you'd take me so seriously.” He takes a deep breath and clears his throat. “No, it may be awkward at first. But Kate understands that I love you as I've never loved any man or boy and that I love her as I'll never love any other woman. She may see you as her rival for my bed, but not as her enemy.”\n\t“Not a rival for too much longer.” His face flattens as he moves his feet and toes to your legs. “But after this life, forever... It's weird knowing exactly when you'll die.” He pauses. “Sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your joke.”\n\tAldan looks down and begins rubbing Drew's ankles and calves. “It wasn't much of a joke. You didn't ruin it, my love. You don't ruin anything.” He looks at Drew, smiling sadly. “It's strange. I'd almost forgotten about tomorrow. It's no less weird to the exact time that you'll be helping kill your greatest love...”\n\t“The last few days have been the best of my life. Today, besides the last two things, have been good as well though. Strange to think that the sun is still out. I wish today would just last forever.” Drew cracks his legs, scooting up closer so that he can put his hands under his head and relax more. He looks above him and speaks freely. “Is it wrong that I'm not afraid or depressed over tomorrow? The only part that I'm not okay with is leaving you.”\n\t“I don't think it's wrong. Not at all.” He cradles his lover's legs in his lap, rubbing and massaging them, sometimes getting close to Drew's privates. “I wouldn't object to having today last and last. Even if it was just this cab ride. Every moment is a moment that I treasure, that I try to commit to memory because today won't last forever. The love will, and the memories will. Until we can be together again.”\n\tDrew relaxes silently, closing his eyes. After a while he responds simply with three words. “I love you.”\n\tAldan sighs. “And I love you.” He holds his lover's legs with one hand, resting the other on Drew's stomach. He watches his young love resting. Soon, though, the houses begin to look familiar. Aldan wishes he could stop time. Or gain time somehow. He can't, though, and the knowledge that he and Drew will together again in the next world, and the one after that and after that offers little comfort as he realizes this is the last sunset they'll see together. Aldan closes his eyes and breathes. They still have tonight. He scratches Drew's stomach as the cab slows.\n\tThe driver opens the cubby. “Here we are, gents.”\n\t“Oh?” He sits up, his tail erect and curious. Drew steps out of the cab and looks at the house in awe. “Wow! You live out in the country? Look how big your home is! So beautiful...”\n\tAldan pays the driver. “It's not that large, Drew. It is home though.” As the cab clatters away, Aldan stands in front of Drew. He combs his hands through Drew's hair, adjusts Drew's shirt, stick his thumb in his mouth and use the wet thumb to wipe Drew's cheek. “You've got some smudge on your cheek. One moment.”\n\tDrew looks away and blushes, waiting for him to finish cleaning him up. “You can give me a bath tonight again if you'd like. It's okay that I'm barefoot in your house, right?”\n\t“Certainly, that's okay. And I'll do more than give you a bath.” He looks at Drew, smiling with pride and affection. “I'm actually nervous. Are you?” He takes Drew's hand and leads him towards the front door. Potted flowers and herbs dot the front porch and window boxes, their scents lending a sweetness to the air. “Ready?”\n\tDrew nods. “I'm nervous, but excited.” He calms his tail down, exhaling deeply. “Let's meet the family!”\n\tAldan nods, squeezing Drew's hand comfortingly. He reaches for the door.\n\tThe door flies open before Aldan reaches the handle. Bryan screams and leaps out, launching himself into Aldan and Drew, wrapping an arm around each of them. “Daddy! Papa-Drew!!!” He rocks side to side as he hugs his two dads. Aldan reaches down, tousling the young boy's hair. Another boy, standing just inside the threshold. He wears simple homespun tunic and trousers, his blonde hair is slightly longer than Bryan's and his bright, green eyes stare at Drew. He's pudgier than Bryan, and shorter, but the resemblance is clear. Bryan pulls away, taking Drew's other hand and pulling him inside.\n\t“Mikey! It's rude to stare! This is our other daddy, Drew.”\n\tThe pudgy smiles awkwardly. “You really ARE a demon!”\n\tDrew allows Bryan to direct him inside as he locks his eyes on the blonde. “It's fine if you want to stare.” His tail dances from side to side gracefully, showing off its beauty. “Nice to meet you, Mikey. I hear that you're a great writer, hmmm?”\n\tDrew hears Aldan breathe in sharply and whisper \"Uh-oh. Now you've done it.\" \n\t“It's Milliken, if you please, sir.” He looks at Drew and watches his tail with great interest. “Is Drew short for Andrew?”\n\t“Sorry, Milliken. And no, it's just Drew.” He bows his head, squeezing Bryan's hand. “What now?”\n\tBryan shrugs. “Now, Mikey's going to stare at you for a while. Later, he'll start asking you questions and won't ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever stop.”\n\t“Shut up, Bry!” Milliken bristles at Bryan.\n\t“Make me, tubby!” Bryan sticks his tongue out at his brother.\n\t“Mommy said you're not to call me that! Why are you such a weenie?”\n\tAldan steps between the two of them. He points to Bryan. “You! Don't call your brother tubby. Mother warned you about that.” He points to Mikey. “And you! Don't call your brother a weenie. The two of you behave or you're spend dinner in your room. Understood?”\n\tA pair of mumbled 'Yes, sir's’ and the friction is passed. Bryan pulls Drew towards the kitchen. The sounds of cooking and children's laughter echo through the room. Kate sits at the table, mixing dough in a large bowl as a younger girl and boy play in one corner under her watchful eyes. They all stop and look at Drew as Bryan drags him in.\n\t“This is daddy-Drew.” Bryan announces.\n\tThe children look at each other. Kate scrapes dough from her hands, wipes them on a towel, stands, and extends a hand towards Drew. An eyebrow is arched the entire time. “I'm Katey. Aldan's wife.”\n\tDrew is cautious, holding out his hand for a moment before he shakes and makes contact. “Hi Katey. It's nice to meet you. I... Have heard lots of good things about you.” He smiles, then takes a seat at the table. His tail curls and spirals around one of the bottom legs, tightening to it as he tenses, afraid that she will hate him or he will say something wrong to her. \n\tKatey smiles a strained smile. It's clearly awkward for her, too. “I've heard a lot about you, too. From Aldan and Bryan.” She looks at Drew, not as obviously studying him as Mikey did, but searching for something. “Would you like some tea or wine? I have lemonade, too.”\n\tThe little girl looks up. “But that's our lemonade!”\n\t“Sally, don't be rude. Drew is a guest. He's a close friend of your father's. Of the whole family.” She chastises Sally not with anger, but with patience. The little girl apologizes to Drew and goes back to her play.\n\tDrew puts the bag of coffee out on the table. “I don't want to take any of her lemonade.” Looks to Sally. “I'll have some tea. Thank you. After dinner, I'll make coffee. I know it's late at night, but you must try it.” He turns to Aldan. “We have a good two to three hours before I need to go back, right? So we can be alone and I can have time to rest.”\n\tAldan nods. “We just need to be back for tomorrow. They'd like us back tonight.”\n\tAt the mention of time alone with Aldan, Katey tenses almost unperceptively. She offers Drew a mug, a ceramic canister of loose tea and a tea caddy in the shape of a frog. She fills the mug with hot water and places a dish of lemon wedges and pot of honey nearby. She puts a plate of cookies on the table, which catches the attention of the children. Butterscotch cookies. She looks at the children You may each have one cookie. “Drew, you can have as many as you'd like.”\n\t“Thank you, Katy.” He doesn't like cookies but takes one and eats it anyway to please her. After finishing it, he puts one spoonful of money into his tea and a small squeeze of lemon with it. “Your house is very nice. I lived in an apartment the size of this room, so I didn't have much. Part of our religious beliefs state that we shouldn't live materialistic lives and we should focus only on the present. I think it can be taken with a grain of salt though, because I can't imagine how awesome it would be to live in a place this big.” He sips from his tea, then looks to Aldan. “As stupid as it sounds, I feel like I'd rather sleep there. You can stay if you'd like. If that's okay, I mean.” He bites his bottom lip.\n\tAldan smiles, a warm easy smile. He's much more relaxed here than outside. “We've already talked it over. I'll stay at the prison tonight.”\n\tKatey nods. “Yes. It's only fair.” She looks at Drew, her eyes fixed on him, her face pained.\n\t“You must think I'm a monster or something.”\n\tShe looks away. “Bryan, take Sally and Jer to play in the sitting room. Mind they don't get too close to the fire. Mikey, why don't you go upstairs and arrange your books. I'm sure Drew would like to see them later.” She looks at Aldan. He nods, stepping forward and laying a hand on Drew's shoulder.\n\t“I'm going to change out of this uniform. I'll be back before you know it.” He pats Drew's shoulder. After thirty seconds of frantic child-herding, Katey and Drew are alone.\n\tDrew continues drinking from his tea, turning his head to the side as he waits painfully for her response.\n\tKaty sits near Drew. “Perhaps we should talk before dinner.”\n\t“Yes, we should.”\n\tShe takes a cookie, breaking into tiny bits and nibbling each bit individually. “Can you start?”\n\t“Start... How do I?” He rests his chin on the palm of his hand. “Aldan and I met with a high priestess of Selune and she confirmed our love was true. It's not that I needed her to tell me so, but I wanted to make sure that I would be able to stay connected to him for eternity. In this life, the next, wherever we go after we pass. I love him more than anyone. I would never betray him, you, or any other person in the family. I'm a demon, but that's not what made me do what I did. Demons believe in peace, harmony, kindness. I was troubled. Possessed by an evil being. Something that has attacked others. It wasn't the sole reason I committed those crimes, no, I take responsibility... But Selune said that even though I have darkness in me, it is not all that I have. I have love. I just didn't find it until now at must seem to be my worst, but I don't see it that way... I see Aldan as someone who gives me hope and helps me find peace before the end. Nobody has cared about me like that. Well, maybe one person, a friend of mine, but it's been so long and I don't know if I'll ever see him again. I don't want to hurt you. I didn't want to be with him at first because of you, but I gave in like I always do... But it's more than that. It was fate. Aldan and I had met and performed the wedding ritual in other lives and we will perform it again. This is a pure fact and there's no way around it.” He sips his tea to clear his throat. “What do you think of what I've told you?”\n\tShe stares at her tea. “Does that mean in lifetime after lifetime I lose Aldan to you? For eternity.” She swallows hard, containing her emotion for now.\n\t“Lose him? You still have him. He loves you. I don't know what it means. Maybe you could speak to the priestess of Selune yourself.”\n\t“I've been with Aldan for twenty years almost. Born him four children, soon to be five.” Her head drops and she speaks very softly. “I've never loved any other man than Aldan. We've had our moments, when he's been away and the loneliness was too much to bear. But he loves you. From the first day he saw you, you were in his mind and heart. We'd talk about you.” She stands and pretends to cook. “I wanted to hate you, you know. That would make things simple. Hate and hold my tongue for a few more hours. Then Bryan comes home this afternoon and he's talking about you, how much he loves you, too. So you're taking my husband and my first born.” She pauses for a moment “Then I see you. I see how Aldan is with you, how Bryan is. And you're just a boy. I can't hate a boy. With everything going on, that's going to happen, I can't hate you, Drew. I just wish it wasn't going to hurt them so much when it happens. I just wish it wasn't going to hurt my boys.”\n\t“It hurts me too. The weight that I carry... You can't tell me how much it hurts. All of my people are looking at me with their own narrow lenses. And maybe they're right. Whatever.” He finishes his tea, pulling himself better up in his seat. “Trust me when I say that I will guide and protect them.”\n\t“I know you will.” She turns and looks at Drew. Tears stain her cheeks and she wipes her face with her apron. “All that you say makes sense. Had I one wish, one wish, Drew. I'd wish you could live. I'd rather deal with any strangeness between you and I than see the pain I see in your eyes and that I'll see in theirs come sunset tomorrow.”\n\tHe looks away, feeling a gripping feeling in his chest. “Uhm... We should have dinner.”\n\tShe nods. “We have a bit before everything is finished. You prefer raw meats? We have something set aside for you. Why don't you have Bryan take you upstairs to his room. I'm sure Mikey has a stack of books to show you. Can you ask Aldan to come in and help me finish dinner?”\n\t“Raw meat would be preferred. I'll go fetch him for you.” He stands up, his tail uncoiling from the chair leg as he does so. Aldan and Drew bump into each other as he's about to enter the kitchen. “Katy wants you. I'm gonna go upstairs and play with Bryan and Milliken.” He kisses him on the lips before we walks up the stairs and looks to the rooms. There's chattering come from the right, so chooses that door. Once it's opened, he steps inside, his tail wagging as he inspects the room. “You two sleep in here? What a wonderful room. You even have a window outside!” He runs to it. “That's where you keep Whirlwind, right Bryan?”\n\tBryan looks out the window. “Yep. That's his paddock, where he exercises. And that's my pole. Where I play with my sword. “\n\tMilliken is sitting on his bed, writing on his chalk board. He giggles. “You play with it when we're supposed to be sleeping.” He makes a mocking squeaking moan sound, giggling again.\n\tBryan turns on him, his face turning beet red. “I do not!”\n\tDrew blushes, sitting on the bed beside Bryan. “Maybe after dinner we can play outside for a bit, Bryan?” He looks to Mikey. “What are you drawing, Milliken?”\n\tHe looks up. “I'm making notes on your physical appearance. My books have it wrong.” He opens a book that shows a drawing of a male demon, nude with arms and legs spread. There are several comically bad inaccuracies on the drawing. On his board, Milliken has a list of errors and corrections, all done in a tiny, very exacting hand. “I'd ask to draw you, but Bryan says it would be rude.”\n\t“No, no. It's fine.” He walks over and picks up the book. “Yes... I've seen this one before. You know, you could always take a field trip to where my temple is and look at us there. Plenty of books there too. All of them are as accurate as it gets. Now, I don't think I'll be getting naked like that guy in the picture.” He smirks.\n\tIn absolute seriousness, Mikey looks at Drew. “But it would be essential! Otherwise my drawing would be incomplete.” He hops down from his bed, reaches underneath, and pulls a small chest out. He retrieves a key from a lanyard around his neck. “Bryan, privacy!” He barks.\n\tBryan sighs. “I'll be outside. Don't take too long.”\n\tMikey unlocks the chest. He looks up at Drew. “You can't mention this to ANYONE.”\n\tHe says a few words in his demon language to keep the promise. “Done. Are you sure your parents would be okay with this?” He sits beside Mikey and doesn't peak over at the drawing.\n\tHe opens the chest and pulls out several loose sheafs of papers. He stops, setting a leather folio, sealed with a silken knot on his bed. He hops next to Drew and sets the folio on their laps. He unties the silk knot and opens it, watching for Drew's reaction. He looks like a kid again.\n\tThe drawings are of a variety of objects and animals at first. There's several of Whirlwind, Aldan, Bryan, Kate, Sally, Jereminy, and humans Drew doesn't recognize. At the back are drawings of Bryan, Aldan, and Kate in the nude. They're arms and legs are spread as in the scholarly work, and there are notes and arrows pointing to different areas. Each of Aldan's scars is reproduced in detail, with notes on cause and year inflicted. There are details of their genitals, hard and soft for the males, with more notes. It's all very clinical.\n\t“See? It's part of my studies.”\n\t“Wow. These are incredible! Can I touch them?”\n\t“Yes, but wipe your hands first, please.”\n\t“On my shirt?”\n\t“Or my blankets. I guess we can get a towel if you'd like. No one know about these, though.” He holds his finger to his lips. “Sshhhh.”\n\tDrew wipes his hands on the blankets, then carefully holds up the one of Aldan into the air. He's never seen anything so fine, detailed, and true. Not only does the drawing capture what he looks like, but his soul, seriousness, but emotional and empathetic, are all in it too. There's nothing sexual about these nudes. It's pure art. To him, Aldan is the epitome of beauty. He puts it down as if it were a feather into grass right back into its place, straightening it with the others. “Don't worry. I've already sworn my promise.” He takes of his shirt, slides down his pants, setting them to the side as he sits down by the pillows on the bed.\n\tMilliken stands and stares at Drew. He holds his hand in front of his face, extending one, two, and three fingers. After a couple of minutes., he smiles at Drew. “Thank you, very much. Can you arouse yourself?”\n\t“Arouse myself? Why? I don't know if I feel comfortable doing that in front of you...”\n\tMikey frowns. “We won't have another chance. I'd have to guess and I don't like guessing. I can draw from memory. I never forget anything.” He takes a drawing of Bryan, aroused. “See? I peeked under his sheets when he was sleeping. Then I drew this two days later when I was alone. I can't make you, but it would be very helpful for my notes.”\n\tDrew laughs. “Okay. Okay... One minute. You get it in your mind, then I'm putting it away.” He strips off his fundoshi, lifting his butt before he puts it with the rest of his clothing. It doesn't take long for his curved six inches to get erect. All he has to do is imagine what Aldan and him will do later tonight. His tail moves over his right leg, resting there. He sits still, not wanting to mess him up on his drawing.\n\tHis eyes widen. “Oh! It would give me insight as to what arouses demons as well. I have no idea. The literature on that is lacking.” He looks unhappy. “Laziness, really.” Mikey does the same thing with his hand, one finger, two, three. “What are you thinking of? Are you just willing it to be hard?”\n\t“Your father.” He blushes.\n\t“I see.” He smiles at Drew. “Thanks ever so much! You can call me Mikey now.” He sits down and repacks his drawings, carefully sealing the folio and placing it back in his chest. He waits for Drew to finish dressing, then calls out, “Bryan! Permission!”\n\tBryan comes back in. “I hope it was worth all that. You're so weird sometimes, Mikey.”\n\tDrew leans against the wall, putting one leg over the other, and sighs. “So what now?”\n\t“Did you want to look at any of my books? I don't know how fast you read, but your welcome to borrow one or two.” Mikey says.\n\tBryan whistles. “Wow. You don't let anyone borrow your books!”\n\t“I've never had a demon as a friend before.”\n\t“Me either. I told you he was nice.”\n\tMikey nods. “He is. And he appreciates learning.”\n\tAs Drew stretches out his back his tail reflexes. “I can read a four-hundred-page book in about an hour.” He sticks out his tongue. “Some of the older demons need only touch a book and immediately have all of it consumed. It's a very bizarre magic. I don't know if I can borrow a book, since I won't have much time tonight or tomorrow morning. Hey Mikey... Maybe I can have my books given to you as a gift.”\n\tFor the first time, Mikey looks like a little kid. He smiles broadly and hops from one foot to another in excitement. “Really? Really? You mean it?”\n\tDrew nods. “Of course I mean it! What else would they be of use for? Heck, they might even take you a year or two get through them all. Some of them are kind of sad and others are hard to read, but I think they'll teach you a lot about the art of writing.”\n\tMikey does a weird, awkward little dance of joy. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise that I'll take good care of them and keep them always.” Bryan frowns and grabs Mikey's arm, pulling him into a corner and whispering to him. Mikey's head drops and he looks at Drew, his eyes welling with tears. He runs over to Drew, throwing his arms around him. “I'm sorry, Drew, I'm sorry. Please forgive me.”\n\t“Forgive you for what?” He holds him by the back of his head, wiping away his tears.\n\t“For being so happy. The only reason you're giving me your books is because of tomorrow. I forgot.”\n\t“No. That's not true.” He hugs him tightly, smiling as he explains. “I've read all of those books. I'd rather have new ones if I had more time anyway. So they're yours. That's all.”\n\t“Well, I didn't forget, I just didn't connect the dots.”\n\tDrew looks over to his desk, thinking of same way to change the conversation. “So you're a writer, correct? Maybe you could get a job working for the papers or at the libraries before you become a famous novelist and painter.”\n\t“I hope to study at one of the colleges. Would you like to read one of my stories?” He looks very hopeful.\n\tBryan chimes in. “He writes really good stories. Some of them are about daddy, too! Oh! Oh!” He grabs Mikey's arm and gently shakes him. “Show him the one about daddy's first big battle.”\n\tMikey grins. “If you want to???” He pulls his chest out again and opens it, waiting for Drew to speak.\n\t“I might have heard of it already, but I'd love to hear it from you.” He moves around on the bed, waiting for Mikey to find it and show it to him.\n\tMikey retrieves a sheaf of papers, sewn together by hand. The front page has a drawing of Aldan as a young man with rows of soldiers, flags and banners behind him. It's surprisingly thick, perhaps a half inch. Opening it, the hand-written letters are even and precise, small but not tiny. There are nearly fifty pages, each clean and precise.\n\tDrew wipes his hands clean before taking it from him, sitting it on his lap once his tail moves out of the way. “Bad handwriting. That's a good sign. Means you'll be a very creative writer. Don't worry though, I can read it.” His eyes naturally speed through each line at a rapid pace, but he takes elegance and carefulness when he moves each page to the side. “What kind of material are these pages made of? They're so soft and gentle. I feel like I'm handling something sacred.” He continues to read, his brain absorbing and taking in all of the emotions. His tail moves anytime he reads something tense, such as Aldan fighting or watching one of his comrades die. His voice is quiet, but you can hear his heart beating faster as he dwells faster into the story.\n\tThe story is brilliant, given Mikey's age when he wrote it. He spends a little too much time on pointless details and sometimes uses big words when more direct language would read better. Drew looks at the nine-year-old. That he wrote something of that length, as well as he did, is impressive. As they watch, Mikey and Bryan sit on Bryan's bed. When Drew is about halfway through, Mikey leans over to Bryan and whispers, Bryan nods and takes his little brother's hand. They sit like that until Drew is finished. It's Bryan who asks, “Well, what did you think? And be honest.”\n\tDrew waits for a moment after the book is closed for a few minutes until every scene and moment of the story is strung together in his head. A tear runs down his left cheek, which he quickly wipes away. When he opens his eyes, he takes one of Mikey's hands, then one of Bryan's. “It... Allowed me to see your father on a deeper level. I could see myself there with him. The visuals were so precise. I think you could flesh it out a bit more though. Maybe one day you could make one big book of all of your fathers battles into one. Everyone in the kingdom would buy it. that I know for sure.” He grins, letting go of their hands. “It also allowed me to feel closer to you. I don't really know you all too well, but I know that you're creative, smart, bright.” He looks to Bryan. “While you might not be as much of an artistic wiz, I see a heart of gold in you. I'm glad I've been given this chance to meet the two of you. It was destined, anyway... What are the chances that I would be let out of my cell to come here? I never thought I'd have my way out of the prison for even a single second. Don't either of you cry. I wouldn't be able to hold myself together. Just remember that I love you both and that I will guide and protect you for as long as you live.”\n\tThey watch and listen, totally captivated by Drew. He sees their eyes welling up, but they both manage to keep from crying, thought their chins and lower lips quiver. They both latch onto Drew, hugging him tightly. They don't seem inclined to let him go. A knock on the door, and Aldan sticks his in. He smiles as he sees the affection and bond between his husband and his sons. “Dinner time, boys. Wash up and head to the table.”\n\tThe boys let go of Drew, Bryan runs out of the room and downstairs. Mikey kisses Drew on the cheek and chases after his brother.\n\t“It went well, I take it.” Aldan pulls Drew to his feet and embraces him. “I was hoping it would.” He sees the book on Mikey's bed. “Oh no...” Aldan blushes slightly. “I was just a soldier, my first action. I was more terrified than what he wrote.” He leads Drew downstairs. “He said that wouldn't make a good story. Heroes can be afraid or nervous, but never terrified.”\n\t“It was your first battle though. Of course it was terrifying!” He argues with him jokingly as they go downstairs. Drew situates himself at the table, sitting next to his husband.\n\tDinner is a form of organized chaos. Mikey and Bryan sit next to each other, Sally and Jereminy next to their mother. The table is covered in plates, saucers, cups, glass and food. There's raw fish and eels for Drew, along with hot water for tea and wine. There's plenty for everyone and even the dishes that Drew doesn't particularly care for are well made.\n\t“There's so much food! Is it always as festive as this?” He dishes himself a plate of eels, a meaty chunk of raw fish, and scrappings of raw turkey. Aldan pours him a glass of wine, which he sips carefully to note its taste. “And to think another one is on the way! This table is like a buffet!”\n\tKate beams with pride. “If I can't feed my family, a poor mother I'd be! We love having guests, too. Sharing a meal is an of civilization and peace, my father always said.”\n\tAldan nods in agreement. “I made quite a living in battle. There's always plunder in war, and even with taxes paid and bribes given, there was enough to start us well. It helps that Kate makes most of our clothes, too.” He takes Drew's hand and squeezes gently. “Any meal is better with family. Love is the best seasoning. Your mother said that.” He nods to Kate, who smiles.\n\tWhen the meal is finished, Bryan takes Sally and Jereminy upstairs while Mikey helps clear the table.\n\t“Pipes in front of the fire before dessert?” Aldan asks.\n\tDrew chuckles. “I'd love to.” He follows Aldan out of the kitchen.\n\tAldan sits in a comfortably stuffed chair. He pulls Drew down onto his lap, wedging his hand between Drew's legs. He whispers, “I want you so badly, Drew. I'm tempted to take you here and now, on the floor.” He sniffs Drew, making even that feel as foreplay as he massages between Drew's legs.\n\t“Here? Right now?” Drew grabs his hand, letting him continue to grope him. “Your wife could walk in. Or the kids. That wouldn't be right. We'll just have to wait, won't we?” He grinds his ass against Aldan's growing erection. “Ah, sorry, had to adjust a little better.”\n\t“A little better? That's a lot better.” Smiling he packs his pipe and smokes, offering Drew a pull. It's sweet and rich smelling tobacco. He holds Drew close. “I just want to hold for now. We'll wait.” He gropes his husband. “This will build our mood, though, and make tonight even better.”\n\tDrew takes in the smoke, inhaling it deeply before it blows it at Aldan’s face. “Remember?”\n\tAldan smiles. “Yes, I do. Gods blood, if we weren't married already, I'd marry you again right now.” His face grows serious for a moment, then curious. “You've had a good day, haven't you, babe?”\n\tDrew kisses him on the lips, then inhales more smoke. It drifts out of his mouth and nostrils as he speaks. “Mostly, yes. The good parts have been transcendent. Like a dream, but real, obviously.”\n\tAldan smiles contentedly. “I will carry today with me forever, Drew. I think Bryan and Mikey will, too, judging by those hugs earlier.”\n\t“Yeah.” He looks down, holding his own hands. “I... Uh... Katy said something that made me really think. Not really the best thought though. I feel like even though I've had these beautiful moments now in my life with you and your family, I'm hurting you all as well, because of what happens tomorrow. There's no way around it either. It wasn't my intention to hurt you.”\n\tAldan pulls Drew's face close to his, their foreheads and noses touching. “You're not hurting any of us, my love. It's the law causing us all pain. Not you, my sweet, sweet demon-boy.” He whispers into Drew's ear. “You made Bryan happy today. Mikey, too. Even Kate. No, you've done nothing but bring us joy. And you will do so even after tomorrow.”\n\tDrew pulls him in, kissing him deeply, their mouths locked as tongues swirl and fight each other fiercely. When he breaks the kiss his face is of sheer overflowing love. “I fucking love you so much.” He kisses him again.\n\tAldan returns the kiss, willing time to stop. To let them keep this kiss forever. He pours his soul into this kiss and commits every detail of this moment to his memory. The sound of dishes being washed, the indistinct voices of Mikey and Katey in the kitchen. The crackle of the fire and the sound of Drew's breathing. The smell of the fire and his tobacco. The smell and taste of Drew's mouth, his neck. The warmth from the fire and from his husband. Every detail. “I love you just as much, my Drew. I always have and I always will.” He holds Drew close, trying not to cry.\n\tHe takes the pipe from Aldan's hand, using his finger to light the tobacco again. He exhales more smoke at his face, relaxing his body into his lover and the chair. “Should I make that coffee for everyone now?”\n\tAldan's face brightens. “I think that's a capital idea. Anything I can do to assist?”\n\t“We will see.” He moves his way into the kitchen, taking the bag of coffee beans off of the table and to the counter where Katy is. She notices what he's about to do and hands him a medium sized decanter that specifically works for his needs. He presses down on the bag, closing his eyes and sings a single phrase. The beans instantly crush. Drew opens the bag and the smell consumes the entire kitchen. Strong, but not bitter or acidic. Smells like peach, vanilla, and cantaloupe. Funky and fruity. Katy hands him a measuring cup of water. “Thank you, ma'am.” He heats the water up instantly, pouring it into the decanter, then putting the beans in afterwards. Steam rises from the tip. Drew puts his thumb over most of it, letting it simmer while his other hand controls the temperature at its base. He sings again, a lovely a capella in his language, smiling in joy as he does so. His hands are not harmed by the heat. After he sings, he takes it with him to the table. “Aldan, can you take out some cups for everyone?”\n\t“Gladly.” He pulls down full sized cups for the three of them. “Will this keep the children awake or can they try some as well?”\n\tKatey places a round layer-cake on the table, along with small plates and forks. She begins cutting slices as Drew and Aldan discuss the coffee.\n\t“Not the young ones. Bryan and Mikey can have a sip if they'd like.” He pours the same amount into each cup, setting the decanter to the side. “I must warn that there is a small cayenne-like spice in it, a special trick that only I know how to do. It shouldn't be so warm that it will burn your mouth when you sip from it.” He takes a sip of it from his cup, immediately feeling it rush through his entire body. Little does he know that the extra spice is going to get Aldan to fuck him real good tonight.\n\tAldan calls the children to the kitchen, bellowing with military volume. “Children! Kitchen! Now!” The sounds of running feet sound on the stairs and sitting room as the four children arrive in the kitchen. \n\t“Oh, cake!” Bryan observes.\n\t“Mommy and I made it. It's ginger and spices,” Sally says proudly.\n\tEach child is given a slice of cake. Bryan and Mikey are offered a single sip of Drew's special coffee. Mikey declines initially, but once Bryan agrees to try it, he follows suit. They each take a small sip, but neither of them seem to enjoy the coffee, their youthful palettes confused by the depth of flavor of the dark brew. Aldan, of course, loves the coffee and Katey seems to enjoy hers as well. Luckily, it seems to go well with the cake. The children finish their cake quickly, with Drew and the adults taking longer to enjoy both.\n\tDrew watches as they drink his coffee, hoping they're not disappointed in them. He knows that they enjoy it, but can't tell if it's the best they've ever had. Either way, it doesn't matter to him. As long as it does what it needs to do to Aldan tonight, everything will be fine. “Hey Bryan. Should we see Whirlwind before I get ready to leave?”\n\tBryan's eyes light up at the idea of taking Drew to see Whirlwind. He hops up from his chair. “Yeah! That'd be great. Maybe next time I can -” The words catch in his throat and the smile disappears from his face. He walks over to Drew and takes his hand, one of his hands wrapped around the first two finger of Drew's right hand, Bry's other hand wrapped around the last two fingers. “Yeah. He'd want to say goodbye, too. He likes you.” As the pair reach the back door. Mikey calls after them, “Bryan, may I come too?”\n\tBryan looks back at him. “I thought he scares you?”\n\tMikey shrugs, “He does sometimes. But I still want to come.”\n\t“The horse scares him or I do?” He scratches his head as he's dragged outside. The sun is setting. It'll be dark in half an hour. Drew stars into the light, which has no effect on his eyes.\n\tMikey catches up to Drew and Bryan, taking Drew's other hand Whirlwind. “He's so big and he loves Bryan but not me so much.” Mikey explains. “He senses that I'm afraid and that makes him nervous which makes me afraid which makes me nervous.”\n\tThey reach the barn and enter, Whirlwind stamping and whinnying as they enter. He turns in his stall and reaches his head over the gate, allowing Bryan to stroke his muzzle. The beast turns and twists its ears, whinnying in Drew's direction. Bryan fetches some oats and refills his water as the horse and Drew regard each other.\n\t“Hey, Whirlwind.” Drew steps over the gate without asking if he can, walking around it, even behind where its tail is, knowing that it could easily kick him if it wanted to. He returns over, feeling to his shoulder and up to his forehead. “Thanks for letting me ride you. Make sure you keep Bryan safe, will you? I'll do my best, too.” He kisses the horse above its nose, hugging it before he looks back over to his stepson, who is only a few years younger than him.\n\tMikey watches Drew with the horse, sniffling. Bryan watches smiling. “I told you he likes you. He knows you have a gentle spirit.”\n\t“It's gentle now that I've found love.” He jumps back over the fence, looking to Bryan. “Is there anything special you want to do tomorrow? That is, if you want to see me. We might have an hour or so to talk or whatnot. Then your Dad and I should have some alone time. Not that kind of alone time. Just to be together alone for a bit.”\n\tBryan shrugs. “Maybe I can bring breakfast? I mean, if you think you'll be hungry. I can ride Whirlwind.” He kicks at the ground. “Daddy won't let me watch.” He looks at Drew. “I don't think I'd want to, anyway.”\n\t“It'd be best if you didn't. I wouldn't want you there. I don't want your last memory of me to be of... that.” He bites his lip and his tail flaps nervously. “We're going to have to get going soon, because I have to sleep tonight.”\n\t“Okay.” Bryan says good night to Whirlwind. As Drew walks back to the house, Bryan and Mikey walk very, very slowly. Bryan takes Drew's arm and wraps it around his shoulders as he leans into him, his own arm wrapped around your waist.\n\tWhen the three of them reach the kitchen. Mikey looks up at Drew, his eyes huge and wet. He digs in his pocket and hands him a folded sheet of parchment. He opens his mouth, but doesn't speak. As tears begin to roll down his cheeks, he turns and runs upstairs. Bryan looks at Drew and hugs him tightly. “See you in the morning, okay?” He runs after his brother.\n\tDrew holds the paper tightly. His face is ghastly and disturbed. Almost as if he just fell into a nightmare. Seeing them like that. Knowing it will only get worse. Before he can even look to Aldan he walks away into the darkness of another room, shutting out the candles so he's not seen as he cries. “Fuck. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't hate me.” He prays, although his voice is broken and distorted as he does so. Praying that the Gods that he worships will understand and allow him the chance to grant Aldan and his family peace. Praying that at some point the wolf-demon boy will also be saved from being tempted into darkness like him. Praying that the kingdom will be saved along with his own people, the same people who turned their backs on him. He cleans the tears from his face, pulling himself together as he enters the kitchen. “I... I need to calm down. I can't have these feelings right now or tomorrow.”\n\tKatey pats Drew's shoulder, rubbing them gently. As a mother would her own child. “More coffee? Or...” She looks to Aldan. “...Would you like to be alone before you head back?”\n\t“Coffee... Please.” He walks over to the table, taking a chair and sitting down to it. “Think I just forgot how to breathe.” He focuses on his breath, taking long slow inhales and exhales as he feels his pulse lower back to normal.\n\tKate pours Drew a fresh cup. She continues to rub his shoulder and combs his hair with her fingers.\n\t“Thanks, Katey.” He takes a small sip from his coffee and unwraps the paper in his hand.\n\tAldan sits next to Drew, holding him. Drew feels . . .protected. Blanketed with warmth and affection. He unfolds the paper. There's a small drawing. A boy, slightly round and obviously Milliken, standing next to a demon, carefully drawn tail and horns easily recognizable as Drew. The boy holds the demon's hand. Beneath the picture are a few lines, carefully written - Dear Drew, I will put you in a story with Daddy. The Two Daddys is what I will call it and you will both be heroes. I am not good with feelings, so this is my hug goodbye. I will think of you when I read and write. Your friend  son, Mikey. Underneath the sentiment is a heart.\n\tAs soon as he finishes reading it, Drew folds it in half and puts it into his pocket. He sighs, gulping down half of his coffee. “I'll have to tell you more about myself tonight before we sleep so that you can give it back to Milliken. He wants to write a story about us, but it's important to know everything, I think.” He stands up, finishes his coffee, then walks over to hug Katey. When he first entered the house, he never expected that he'd get along with her, but now he knows that she understands. As Drew pulls away, he thanks her, then turns to Aldan. “We should get going.”\n\t“'ll be along in a moment.” Aldan kisses Drew's cheek. Drew goes into the sitting room. Aldan's pipe sits in an abalone shell ashtray, a pouch of tobacco resting beside it. Candles and the fireplace light and warm the room. Presently, less than five minutes, Aldan enters from the kitchen. “Are you ready, Drew?”\n\tDrew nods. “Goodbye Katey.” He nods his head to her, then walks to the door with his hands in his pockets. “Now I don't know if I should have met them or not. Will their memories of me be only that of hurt or will they see them as something else?”\n\tAldan grabs a bundle and walks with Drew, exiting the house and closing the door behind him. He walks close beside Drew but doesn't speak or take his hand. He lets Drew think, reminding him with his presence that when Drew wants him, needs him that he's right there. They walk slowly into the gathering night. Not looking back, they don't see the boys watching from the window, Bryan's arm wrapped protectively around a sobbing Mikey's shoulders. The pair watch until their fathers disappear into the night.\n","writing_bbcode_parsed":"<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'><strong>THE BOY HEROES FROM THE LAND OF ERIK (A Series of Epics)</strong><br /><strong>Epic no. 3 -</strong><br /><br /><strong>Prisoner</strong><br /><br />By <em>DamiJon</em><br /><br />P.S. No sex in this chapter, just plot and character building, somewhat for the next epic as well. Two more chapters to go after this one. Thanks for all the favs, comments, and follows. Greatly appreciated to keep me motivated and going on this project. <br /><br /><strong>Chapter Four</strong><br /><br />\tAn hour after his lover falls asleep he returns to his table, rereading some of the books he has already finished. An anxiety overtakes him at one point, so he meditates in order to calm himself down. The prison is as quiet as a mouse, which is unusual to him. There&#039;s typically at least a few people that call out and cry during the nights, but tonight it seems as if everyone fell into a deep rest. Aldan looks beneath his nightstand where three gifts and a silver coin are hidden and then he travels to the other side of the room by the door. The key is there. He could walk out right now, take his sword, kill the guards, and probably make a successful escape, but they would at some point find him again. He imagines how it would all go down in his head. Hiding in the forest, somewhere in a cave or hole starving and depressed, but nobody escapes from the prisons here without getting caught. Another trial would mean a worse punishment. He walks back over to the bed, carefully walking over Aldan and laying beside him again. The young demon doesn&#039;t rest, but pretends to do so until the sun is up. When he opens his eyes he feels his entire body at a powerful calm. Inmates are acting out, yelling, making jokes to guards again. Oddly enough, he feels relieved by this. He shakes Aldan&#039;s shoulders to wake him up, not roughly though. When Aldan awakes he helps him put on his clothes, cleans his face with a towel, and sends him on his way. Again, Aldan meditates as he waits. It&#039;s warm inside of the cell. He peaks out of his window, which doesn&#039;t reveal too much to him. He takes the time to exercise before he falls back into his books again.<br />\tAldan is reluctant to leave. There&#039;s so little time left to them, he almost despises every moment apart from Drew. His other responsibilities are waived off by his relationship with a condemned boy, however. He allows himself a moment or two of near-overwhelming sorrow as he and Drew say their goodbyes for the day. As he closes and locks the cell door, he locks into place his years of training and service. He locks his emotions behind an implacable fa&ccedil;ade. Walking back to the guardroom, he cursorily glances at the other cells and inmates, ignoring their whispered comments or hateful looks.<br />\tHe enters the guardroom, looking around at the days rotation of guards. Spying today&#039;s commander, he smiles slightly. Approaching the man, who is only slightly older than Aldan, he puts his arm around the commander&#039;s shoulder. &ldquo;Gerald, I need a favor.&rdquo;<br />\tThe commander, graying at the temples with a slight paunch around the middle, gives Aldan his full attention. &ldquo;You? You need a favor from me? Gods, what&#039;s wrong??&rdquo;<br />\tSmiling, Aldan explains his dilemma and makes his request. It takes some cajoling, but the commander agrees, somewhat reluctantly. &ldquo;It&#039;s your neck on this, not mine, mind you!&rdquo;<br />\tSmiling and happy, Aldan whistles as he covers the route home, his military pace eating up the miles in short order. As he stands at the threshold, he mutters to himself. Now I just need permission from the real general. Entering into his house, he calls out in a cheerful voice. &ldquo;Oh, Katey! I wanted to ask you something, darling.&rdquo;<br />\tWithin an hour, Aldan is perched atop a sturdy horse, tan with white forelocks and stockings. He rides easily. Behind him, his son Bryan sits, one arm wrapped around his father&#039;s waist, the other pointing to this or that item or person of interest. The son is a younger version of Aldan, brown hair and green eyes with a strong jaw. His skin is lightly browned from hours in the sun. He talks quickly, sometimes to his father, sometimes to Whirlwind, his horse. Each answer with their own variant &#039;grunt&#039;. The father and son team make several stops as they travel and as they arrive at the prison, entering the main courtyard, Bryan&#039;s arms are loaded with bundles and baskets, though he still comments on nearly everything. Tying their horse, they make their way to the guardroom. Several of the guards greet the boy by name, and he delights in their attention. One of them pulls Aldan aside.<br />\t&ldquo;Normally, I&#039;d not question you on raising your boy, Aldan, you know that.&rdquo; The guard, a few years younger than Aldan and dark haired, dark eyed, and dark skinned, leans in close to whisper. &ldquo;Are you sure it&#039;s wise to introduce Bryan to the prisoner? I know you&#039;ve taken a liking to the demon, but this is your son.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan looks at the man. &ldquo;Davyth, I know what I&#039;m doing. Drew. . .is different. It&#039;s important that Bryan and he meet and talk before the end. We&#039;ve fought together and bled together. I trust you and appreciate your concern and words. But, I&#039;ve thought this over and believe it to be the right course.&rdquo;<br />\tThe darker man nods. &ldquo;Very well then. I&#039;ll help if I can, but not at cost of my own head.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan and Bryan move into the block, walking confidently towards Drew&#039;s cell. Some of the prisoners catcall the young boy, but he ignores them. He concentrates on his father, and his warning before they entered. &ldquo;They want you to be scared, Bry. Ignore them. They can&#039;t harm you and won&#039;t try while you&#039;re with me.&rdquo;<br />\tAs they near Drew&#039;s cell, Aldan has the boy remain back. He unlocks the cell door and enters.<br />\tDrew slaps a book closed, stands out of bed, and walks slowly to his husband before standing on his toes to kiss him. You came back faster than I expected. He peaks, noticing just a sliver of a person by the door. &ldquo;Is that Bryan? Or is that just a very short guard?&rdquo; He squeezes Aldan&#039;s hand, rubbing his thumb before letting go.<br />\tAldan kisses Drew back. Bryan watches quietly as his father embraces and kisses a demon-boy only slightly older than himself. He looks away after a moment. Aldan holds Drew&#039;s hand. &ldquo;Well, we have minimum height requirements for the service. Bryan.&rdquo; Aldan calls his son over, and the boy strides over, just like a miniature soldier.<br />\t&ldquo;Bryan, this is Drew. My husband and your step-father. Drew, this is Bryan.&rdquo; Aldan bows to them both, with a flourish, as he introduces them.<br />\tBryan steps forward, extending his hand. &ldquo;Pleased to meet you, sir.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;No need to call me sir.&rdquo; He takes his hand, smiling as he shakes it. &ldquo;A handsome son you have. I&#039;ve heard that you&#039;ve taken an interest in me?&rdquo; He lets go, stepping back over to Aldan. His tail flutters side to side as he grows curious to learn more about the boy.<br />\tBryan nods. &ldquo;Yes, sir. I am.&rdquo; His face flashes confusion for a second and he looks to Aldan. &ldquo;What do I call him, daddy?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan shrugs and gestures towards Drew. &ldquo;Ideas?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;You can just call me Drew. Have you seen many demons before?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;No, I haven&#039;t. Are there a lot of you? We have anthros at my school, though.&rdquo; He looks at Drew, up and down. Then he begins moving around Drew, in a circle, examining him. Inspecting him. There seems to be some hostility from the lad that Drew can sense. It&#039;s not malevolent, but it is there.<br />\tDrew stays still, not wanting him to be afraid of him. &ldquo;There&#039;s a little over two hundred of us in the kingdom.&rdquo; He stops his tail, preventing it from hitting Bryan.<br />\t&ldquo;Two hundred? That&#039;s not many.&rdquo; He stops behind Drew for a moment. &ldquo;Do all demons have tails like yours?&rdquo;<br />\tHe nods. &ldquo;We all have tails. Not all are like mine. Some demons have tiny horns, or medium sized ones like me, but there are others with large ones too.&rdquo; He forms a tiny fire from the tip of his index finger. &ldquo;We manipulate fire too, but I won&#039;t do much of this or else I can get in trouble around here.&rdquo; He notices the boxes outside of the cell. &ldquo;Hungry? I can smell food.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan circles around until he&#039;s in front of Drew again. He purses his lips together, almost into a duckface. Aldan leans against the table, watching We brought all sorts of food. &ldquo;Is it true that you like raw meat and fish more than cooked?&rdquo; As Drew answers Bryan abruptly cuts him off, pointing a finger at Drew and demanding at him, &ldquo;Have you cast an enchantment on my daddy? Are you trying to use him to escape?!&rdquo;<br />\tAldan starts and takes a step towards Bryan, his face clouded with anger. He stops, though, and watches to see how Drew handles this situation.<br />\tDrew laughs. &ldquo;Enchantment? I don&#039;t think demons can do anything like that... Besides, I would never betray your father, my husband. I love him more than my own life.&rdquo; He looks to Aldan for a moment, then back at the boy. &ldquo;Raw tastes better for sure, but I can eat cooked meals as well. You should know, Bry. Your father has slept here in my bed a few times now. If I wanted to escape, I could simply take his weapons and keys at any time that I&#039;d like. But I haven&#039;t and I won&#039;t.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan stares at Drew. He&#039;s chewing his lip, his face a clear map of his confusion and internal debate. &ldquo;I know you and daddy have fucked. I--&rdquo;<br />\tAldan takes a quick, sharp breath. &ldquo;Bryan, that&#039;s not a word for you to use. You shouldn&#039;t worry about what Drew and I do. It has nothing to do with you.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan turns to his father, ignoring Drew for the moment. &ldquo;It does so. I heard you and mommy arguing. How do we know he hasn&#039;t enskorkelled you! Mikey says demons can do magic and he can make fire. Mikey says that if you surprise a demon, he can&#039;t lie to you.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan kneels down in front of Bryan, taking the boy&#039;s hands in his own. &ldquo;And you surprised him and he said that he loved me, right? So that means that he does. And the word is &#039;ensorcelled&#039;. And he hasn&#039;t. I just love him.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan looks back at Drew. &ldquo;You really love my daddy? Honest?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew smiles, hands behind his back, and nods. &ldquo;Yes, Bryan. I love your father. Yesterday, we met with a high priestess of Selune who permeated our love so that we will always united, whether it&#039;s in another life, another universe, whatever. She said our love was true.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan close his left eye, opening his right one wide. He stares at you intently, the tip of his tongue poking out of the right side of his mouth. After an odd and strange minute, he turns to Aldan, and begins whispering. Aldan listens and whispers back. They do something with their hands that Drew can&#039;t see. Bryan&#039;s back rises and falls in a huge sigh and he turns to face Drew. He looks down at Drew&#039;s feet. &ldquo;Get your shoes on, silly, we&#039;re leaving.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Shoes?&rdquo; Demons don&#039;t wear shoes. He checks his feet, which he had cleaned just before he had lay down to read a book. &ldquo;I&#039;m ready to go, captain!&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Why don&#039;t you wear shoes?&rdquo; Bryan asks.<br />\t&ldquo;It&#039;s a religious thing. We believe it keeps us closer to the planet.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan looks at Drew. At Drew&#039;s feet. Back at Drew. At Drew&#039;s feet. &ldquo;Okie dokie. Well, let&#039;s go then. We&#039;re going on a picnic.&rdquo; He beams happily.<br />\tAldan moves next to Drew, wrapping an arm around Drew&#039;s waist and guiding him to the cell door. He kisses Drew and then steps back, taking Drew by the arm. &ldquo;I can&#039;t let the other prisoners know how much special treatment you&#039;re getting. Fucking is one thing, but taking you out is something else.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Hey! You said &#039;fucking&#039;.&rdquo; Bryan calls out at his father. &ldquo;If I can&#039;t say it, you shouldn&#039;t say it either.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew cautiously takes his first step of the cell, the first one in weeks since he&#039;s been put into the hole. The hallway feels longer than when he first walked down it. Those first few days he was imprisoned he even had a cellmate, which he has forgotten about. The days are so long and even though he&#039;s only been in here for a matter of three weeks, it feels like months to him. He helps carry one of the boxes, looking from to side at the other inmates. Almost all of them are older and what you&#039;d expect, but then there are two or three that he see&#039;s around his age. He keeps his head straight forward, following the young playful Bryan in front of him. He&#039;s so at peace and full of life, yet he&#039;s inside of this prison. Aldan has fell back into his role as prison guard, pretending to be escorting him somewhere else. He doesn&#039;t take it too personally, because he knows that nobody else in the prison is probably being treated this well as he is. Maybe a few high-class criminals who were once noble warriors had gotten similar privileges, but he sees himself still as just a dangerous teen. Drew stays quiet and focused as they reach the center of the prison.<br />\tThey enter the guardroom. One of the younger guards starts to make a comment. &ldquo;Aldan and his demon-bitch! Ho, ho, come to share him with the lowly plebs?&rdquo;<br />\tThe dark-haired guard elbows the younger man in the ribs. Hard. Very hard. The younger man doubles over, barely able to mutter soft curses. The dark maned guard looks around the room, as if to dare anyone else to speak. The other guards busy themselves.<br />\tDrew is led to the main courtyard, he can see the open portcullis and gate to the outside city, to the free world. He&#039;s momentarily confused as he&#039;s led to a horse, young and spirited who neighs happily as Bryan rubs his muzzle. Bryan climbs easily onto the horse, looking down and reaching down to Drew. &ldquo;This is Whirlwind. Fastest horse ever! Hop up with me, hold my waist.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew&#039;s face brightens up with a joyful smile as he sees the horse. He reaches up, hopping onto the horse without any problems, and looks to Aldan as he speaks to Bryan. &ldquo;Your horse is very beautiful with a mystical name. I haven&#039;t rode a horse since I was a child.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Hold tight. You don&#039;t want to fall off if it&#039;s been so long. He digs his heels into the flanks of his horse.&rdquo; Whirlwind whinnies and Bryan guides him towards the gates. Aldan trots alongside the horse, smiling up at his son and husband. They exit the prison into the free world. People of many races and species pass to and fro, barely noticing the boy and demon on a horse. Aldan continues alongside, resting his hand on Drew&#039;s thigh as the wind their way through crowded streets, heading away from the heart of the city. Bryan takes it upon himself to narrate a guided tour, pointing out shops and vendors as they ride by, even though their signs and wares are plainly visible. Drew is something new and strange to the boy and it doesn&#039;t really dawn on Bryan that for months, Drew called the city home.<br />\tAfter an hour, they&#039;re approaching the less built-up areas of the city. Tenements and shops aren&#039;t packed close together. Here, there&#039;s room to breathe. Bryan steers them into a large, forested park. It extends as far as they can see and some of the trees here are ancient. Entering the park is like entering the wilderness. The sounds of the city are lost. Rarely, they catch a glimpse of a royal coated game warden or pair of guardsmen. But the group, escorted as it is by a uniformed officer is unmolested.<br />\tBryan finally brings them to a stop near a small pond. The pond is fed by a small waterfall, the music of the water adding to the aura of peace and nature. They dismount as Aldan spreads a blanket on the ground. He and Bryan begin arranging a picnic. Candles, a small bronze brazier with lightly scented coal, wine, beer, raw fish and meat, cooked meat and pork pies. Fruit, vegetables, Breads and baked desserts. There&#039;s easily enough food for the three of them and another guest.<br />\tAs Bryan and Aldan set up their picnic, Drew looks at the horse. One leap and he&#039;s mounted and away before Aldan could stop him. Drew carefully gets off of the horse, rubbing his hand along its face before he walks away and helps set things up. He looks down at his own clothes. &ldquo;Don&#039;t you think this is a bit strange? Me in this prisoner outfit?&rdquo; He sits down, legs crisscrossed, and kisses his boyfriend on the cheek as he sets up plates. &ldquo;Say, Bryan, do you try to get out and ride your horse every day?&rdquo;<br />\tBryan smiles proudly. &ldquo;I try to! And this is for you.&rdquo; He hands Drew a soft bundle. &ldquo;I brought it in case I decided to like you.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew carefully takes it from him, setting it in front of him and holding his hands up before touching it again. &ldquo;I&#039;m glad I have your approval Bryan. Should I be careful opening it? I don&#039;t want to break anything.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan giggles. &ldquo;No silly. Just rip it open like it&#039;s a Winter Fest present!&rdquo; He watches Drew, bouncing on his knees as he watches and waits. Aldan watches them both. <br />\tOpening the bundle, Drew discovers an outfit of clean, comfortable clothes. Shirt, pants, fundoshi. All varying shades of blue and hand made to fit a demon&#039;s particular physique.<br />\tHe blushes as he notices the underwear, putting the shirt over it, then stands up to make sure the pants fit him. &ldquo;You picked these out yourself? They&#039;re very beautiful, Bryan.&rdquo; He holds up the shirt, putting it to him, showing it off. &ldquo;Any particular reason you chose these as a gift?&rdquo;<br />\tBryan shrugs and blushes. &ldquo;I asked daddy and he said clothes and books would be the only things you could keep. He helped me pick them out. Or I helped him. Anyhow! We picked them out together.&rdquo; He stops. His smiles fades. He looks at Aldan, then at Drew. &ldquo;I just want you to have something nice, is all. I don&#039;t know. It just felt like the right thing to do, Drew.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew sets them aside and away from the food and begins dishing his plate with raw meats and fish. &ldquo;I think I&#039;ll wear it tomorrow.&rdquo; As he takes the first savory bites of his food his tail flips back and forth. He looks to Aldan. &ldquo;Thanks for bringing your son. I&#039;m glad that I&#039;ve been given this chance to meet him. Never did I think I&#039;d ride a horse ever again in my life.&rdquo; He looks to Bryan, continuing to eat.<br />\tBryan&#039;s exemplary manners disappear as he loads his plate with food, chewing mouthfuls of food while speaking. Aldan eats heartily as well. They picked dishes that are favorites of theirs, along with some raw delicacies that Drew has seemed to enjoy. Bryan asks questions between and during each bite, it seems. &ldquo;Where do you come from? Why did you leave? Why did you come here? What do you like about the city? How come you didn&#039;t run when you could? Why do you love my daddy? How come you don&#039;t ask the King for a pardon? Why won&#039;t your family visit you? How do you clean your tail? Do you get furballs? Can you do anything besides make fires? Daddy says you like to read? What&#039;s your favorite book? Mikey wanted me to ask that one. Did you ever have a horse? What was its name?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Woah woah woa woa woah.&rdquo; Drew falls on his back laughing in surprise, almost choking on his food. &ldquo;One second.&rdquo; He finishes his meat, leaving his favorite fish for last. &ldquo;I was born in a small village about fourteen thousand miles away. My mom passed away while I was young, and my father and I moved here shortly after. We visit back home every once in a while, but I&#039;m not really seen too well down there. Well, I guess they don&#039;t like me here either. I like the city for many reasons. It&#039;s beautiful, you have so much freedom, and not many kingdoms are so diverse and accepting to so many races and cultures. He pauses to drink some water and clear his throat. Ah, your Dad now... I love him because we are meant to be together and he gives me hope. We just simply love each other... One day you&#039;ll understand that too. You&#039;ll meet someone and fall for them when you least expect it and when it happens, you&#039;re going to be so confused, but it&#039;s the best feeling ever. Don&#039;t fight it.&rdquo; He tries to count on his fingers which questions he&#039;s answered, and which questions he hasn&#039;t. &ldquo;Where are we now. Oh. The king! No... There&#039;s not a chance of a pardon. The law is pretty written in stone. Maybe one day it&#039;ll change, but for now it is what it is. My father won&#039;t visit because of the crimes I&#039;ve committed. He&#039;s very religious and against killing, so he has disowned me.&rdquo; He looks behind him, getting his tail to move into his lap. It raises up and he licks it as he looks at Bryan. &ldquo;This is how we clean our tails. We don&#039;t get furballs because our body digests everything so well. I&#039;m not that strong of a demon, but I do have a unique power that is unlike any other demon that has ever lived. It&#039;s dangerous though and what got me in trouble in the first place, so I refuse to use it. Reading is a hobby of all demons.&rdquo; He sighs, getting some more water. &ldquo;Favorite book, huh? The Serpent Knows Best is a good one. Kind of a depressing tragedy, but maybe that&#039;s why I can relate to it so much. We had horses when I was a kid, but that was when I was like...&rdquo; He puts out his hand. &ldquo;Around when I was five years old, so I can&#039;t remember much about them.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan nods with every answer. Soon he&#039;s merely picking at his plate. He yawns and stretches, looking at Aldan. &ldquo;How long til we have to go back?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan looks at the sky. We&#039;ve a few hours yet. He pats his stomach. &ldquo;I don&#039;t know about you two, but I am stuffed.&rdquo; He begins clearing the mess, packing leftovers in the basket and tossing bits of food off into the trees. When that&#039;s done, Aldan stretches out, using a basket as a pillow. He pats his left rib cage and quickly, Bryan lies down, using his father as a pillow. Aldan smiles and pats his right rib cage, looking at Drew.<br />\tDrew smiles and walks over to lay down to the right side of Aldan. The two boys law on opposites of him and relax to the sound of the lakes. For a moment the demon feels a strange presence as if he&#039;s being bonded to his new friend, or maybe he should call him his stepson. He doesn&#039;t know yet. As they lay there, the three of them rest and watch the clouds. At first, Bryan comments on this cloud or that looking like a dragon or a fat lizard. But soon he&#039;s fast asleep, his breathing serving as a complement to the nature surrounding them. Aldan gently tugs at Drew, beckoning him to lay with their faces close together so that they might talk as Bryan sleeps.<br />\tDrew adjusts himself, kissing Aldan on his lips quietly, then opens for a deeper, longer tongue kiss. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s still morning, technically. Maybe today will last forever?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;I wish it could.&rdquo; He kisses Drew back. &ldquo;I wish we could command the sun to cease its race across the sky in pursuit of night.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew kisses him again, snuggling into his chest. He looks to Aldan&#039;s face and the two of them stare at each other smiling without speaking. Eventually, Drew stands up to stretch, then sits back in his crisscrossed formation, a serious look on his face. &ldquo;Aldan, there&#039;s something that I want to ask when we get back to the prison, but I don&#039;t think you&#039;ll agree with it.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan frowns. &ldquo;Something serious? That needs we wait until we&#039;re back there?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Well, I don&#039;t want to ask in front of Bryan.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan looks down. He smooths Bryan&#039;s hair away from the boy&#039;s face &ldquo;He&#039;s asleep. After a big meal like this, he falls right out. Just like my used to.&rdquo; He reaches out to take Drew&#039;s hand.<br />\tDrew looks down as his hand is taken and caressed. &ldquo;You remember how yesterday you said that I could witness an execution?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Well...&rdquo; His voice cracks as he pauses. &ldquo;I thought about that this morning and... I want to witness one today if I can. A beheading, like mine. I know you told me what will happen, but I still have fears and anxiety over it. I want to be prepared and unafraid. When they read whatever it is to me, I want to be able to have that liberation and accept everything for what it is. I don&#039;t want to be one that sobs and feels sorry for himself in his last seconds of living.&rdquo; He frowns, looking away from Aldan.<br />\tAldan speaks softly caressing Drew&#039;s neck. &ldquo;Are you certain?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew looks to him, his eyes serious, but painful to stare into. &ldquo;I am.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan sighs. &ldquo;Very well. I&#039;ll take you. There&#039;s no executions at our. . .At Old Castle today. But there should be several at Ravensberg.&rdquo; He sighs again. &ldquo;The Minister of Justice insists we stagger our executions by each prison. He says it gives the people something to look forward to each day if there&#039;s a good beheading or hanging.&rdquo; Aldan shakes his head. &ldquo;He says it reminds the poor to keep their place and keeps them entertained. But, yes, we&#039;ll have to cut our outing here short by a couple of hours.&rdquo; Aldan yawns. &ldquo;If I nap, will you be here when I wake?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew nods. &ldquo;I&#039;ll lay here beside the two of you and pretend to sleep.&rdquo; He finally smiles, laying the back of his head on the top of Aldan&#039;s chest.<br />\t&ldquo;Maybe after Ravensberg we can stop by your home? Or is that too dangerous? Do you think the prison would get suspicious or think I&#039;m trying to escape?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan plays with Drew&#039;s hair. &ldquo;You&#039;re in my charge. As long as I have you back tonight sometime, there&#039;ll be no alarm. We can stop if you&#039;d like.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew nods. His tail slides down Aldan&#039;s pants, comforting and warming his leg. &ldquo;Should we drop Bryan off after we leave the lake?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Yes. I don&#039;t want him to see something like that today.&rdquo; He glances down at the sleeping boy. &ldquo;He&#039;ll start thinking too much.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Yeah... Make sure he isn&#039;t of witness of mine.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;He won&#039;t be. I&#039;ve already told him no.&rdquo; Aldan yawns, his voice thick with drowsiness.<br />\t&ldquo;Rest.&rdquo; He puts one hand behind him, closing his eyes. Drew stares into the lake, his mind completely consumed by the sounds of water as he watches tiny ripples of waves crash and form. His mind wanders off, remembering his friend from the village, how he had promised him that he wouldn&#039;t give into his violent nature. He thinks of his father. Then shuts his eyes, imagining that sweet, fragrant smell of coffee at the temple. &#039;Will I ever have another cup of it again?&#039; He tosses the worries into the water, stripping away all the wrongs he once was after confronting and admitting to them, then remembering what he has now in this brief moment of time: Aldan. His heart is so strong under him. Aldan&#039;s asleep now. He takes this time to whisper a long chant in his mind, then falls into a state of relaxation.<br />\tSoon Aldan is sleeping, his light snores a comforting sound to Drew. Shifting onto to his side, Aldan curls into a loose ball. But his movements have disturbed Bryan, who yawns and stretches. &ldquo;Are you awake?&rdquo; He whispers.<br />\tDrew doesn&#039;t move as he answers. &ldquo;Yes. Did you think I would be gone?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Uh-uh. Daddy said that you could be trusted. That you gave him your word and you&#039;d never, ever break it.&rdquo; He climbs over his father to sit next to Drew. &ldquo;What are you doing?&rdquo;<br />\tHe looks to him, chewing on a piece of grass that sticks out of his mouth. &ldquo;Huh? Just thinking. Relaxing. Enjoying the moment.&rdquo; He smiles, looking to Whirlwind. &ldquo;Do you need to feed your horse or anything?&rdquo;<br />\tBryan looks over to Whirlwind. &ldquo;He&#039;s okay. He&#039;s got grass and leaves he&#039;s eating and the lake to drink from.&rdquo; Suddenly he raises his eyebrows. &ldquo;I gotta tinkle.&rdquo; Bryan hops up and move over to a nearby shrub. He drops his pants to his knees, holding his shirt up, tucked under his chin. His back and butt are to Drew, but he hears the unmistakable sound of a boy sighing in relief as he pees.<br />\tOnce he&#039;s finished, he pulls his pants up and rinses his hands at the lake side. He&#039;s drying them on his shirt as he comes back and sits next to Drew again, smiling and happy. &ldquo;Did you like the food we brought?&rdquo;<br />\tHe nods. &ldquo;It&#039;s always delicious. Before your Dad was here, they fed me all cooked meat that tasted like dirt.&rdquo; Drew can&#039;t help but to comment on his beauty. &ldquo;You know, whoever you end up with, like in love with, is going to be very lucky, because you&#039;re remarkably handsome and spectacular. Plus, you have a horse! You&#039;ll get all of the girls in the world with that guy.&rdquo; He laughs, picking pine needles out of his tail.<br />\tBryan shrugs. &ldquo;That&#039;s what mommy says. All the girls will love me. I don&#039;t think I&#039;ll have time for girls though. When I&#039;m old enough, I want to join the Army like daddy did.&rdquo; He looks at Drew. &ldquo;You&#039;re pretty, too. Do you like girls or just men? Daddy likes both, obviously.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Just men.&rdquo; He sizes Bryan up and down. &ldquo;I think you&#039;ll be a good warrior. You really do look like a miniature version of your Dad.&rdquo;\t<br />\tBryan laughs. He catches himself and looks back to make sure he didn&#039;t wake Aldan. &ldquo;Everyone tells me that! I wonder if I&#039;ll get married and fall in love with a demon-boy like you.&rdquo; He looks at his boots, fiddling with them, knocking mud off of the sole with a twig. &ldquo;That wouldn&#039;t be so bad, I guess. You seem nice. Really nice.&rdquo;<br />\tHe watches Bryan&#039;s awkward motions. &ldquo;Yeah? Well... There&#039;s one demon boy in particular that I think you should keep your eyes out for. Not for that reason, but because he&#039;s in some trouble.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan looks at him. &ldquo;Yeah? What&#039;s his name?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;I don&#039;t know...&rdquo; He casts a flame into his hand, staring into it. A figure appears, but it&#039;s hard to make out who is inside of it. &ldquo;I know that he&#039;s a little bit younger than I am, he&#039;s demon, but he&#039;s also half black wolf. That means he has wolf ears and a black tail. He&#039;s the only one that should exist on the entire planet and he lives in this kingdom, so he shouldn&#039;t be hard to recognize.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan stares at the flame. &ldquo;What kind of trouble is he in?&rdquo;<br />\tThe flame vanishes from his hand as he sits closer to Bryan and explains. &ldquo;A while back, there was a boy who was visited by a shadow when he was five years old. After he was visited, he had gone kind of insane and killed a lot of people in the village. Thing is, he had a unique power that no other demons had seen before. Some think that he simply was driven to insanity by it. But then there was me, the second child visited by the creature. It came to me at the same time, exactly when I was five years old. When it attacked me, I had accidentally killed my own mother. Like the other boy, I possess magic no other demon has seen before. The shadow would attack me, telling me that I had to do these horrible things to people with my power... Eventually I started listening to it and let it guide me. When my father and I moved here, everyone was afraid of me because they believed that what happened before would happen again by me. Instead, I just ended up taking four lives with my magic. The voices were the ones that said that I should go through with my nature, just do it and everything will be alright! And I gave in... I just gave in. That&#039;s beside the point. He shakes his head, looking away to the lake. This third boy, he also possesses a unique magic, but unlike me and the other boy, his is unlike any other power that has been possessed on this planet. The shadow attacks him just as much as he did to me. Sometimes I can hear the boy crying and begging for him to stop when I cast a flame in my hand. I wonder sometimes, is he asking me to help him? Am I connected to him because of my power?&rdquo; <br />\tDrew turns back to Bryan. &ldquo;Bryan... He needs someone. A friend. He&#039;s alone and afraid. I don&#039;t think he can handle it for too much longer and I don&#039;t want him to end up like me.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan listens carefully, nodding along. &ldquo;So he&#039;s all alone?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew nods. &ldquo;He has family I think, but no friends. No support. Like me before I met your Dad.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;That&#039;s terrible! I&#039;ll keep my eyes open for him, Drew. I promise.&rdquo; He chews on cheek again. &ldquo;I mean, if he&#039;s part demon and part black wolf, it should be easy to know him when I see him, yeah? He looks worried I hope I find him before he ends up. . .&rdquo; He stops and looks at Drew. His eyes grow sad I&#039;m sorry. &ldquo;I shouldn&#039;t have said that.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;No. You&#039;re fine, Bryan.&rdquo; He puts a hand on his shoulder, then stretches his legs.<br />\t&ldquo;I don&#039;t think it&#039;s fair. What&#039;s happening to you and to the other boy. Mommy says we should try to help people when we can. But no one tried to help you, no one&#039;s helping the wolf-boy.&rdquo; He looks at Drew. &ldquo;You killed people, but they were trying to hurt you, right? And you&#039;re sorry and you wouldn&#039;t do it again, right? So why can&#039;t the King pardon you?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew looks at him sympathetically.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Yeah, your mom is right. You should help people whenever you have the chance. Bry, you need to understand... None of them tried to hurt me. Three of them made jokes and tried to offend me, but I was the first to attack. The other person, I flat out ended him just to get money. It was all stupid. I gave in and I shouldn&#039;t have. Yes, if I were given the chance, I wouldn&#039;t do it again, but it&#039;s been done. You can&#039;t be angry at the King if you&#039;re going to serve him at some point. The things I&#039;ve done, they&#039;re nobody&rsquo;s fault but my own and I must take responsibility for that.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan looks at Drew. His brow is knitted as he processes what he&#039;s just been told. &ldquo;But you&#039;re so nice. Gentle.&rdquo; His voice drops to a low whisper. &ldquo;They didn&#039;t hurt you? You just killed them because the shadow told you to?&rdquo;<br />\tHe shakes his head. &ldquo;It influenced me, but I was in control, I think.&rdquo; He looks down. &ldquo;I.. I.. Think we should, uhm, wake your father up.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan stands on his knees. He looks as if he&#039;s about to cry. &ldquo;You wouldn&#039;t have done it if the shadow wasn&#039;t in you, though. You wouldn&#039;t have done it if you&#039;d met dad first!&rdquo; He begins to cry. &ldquo;It&#039;s not fair. You&#039;re sorry and you could help people. It&#039;s not fair!&rdquo; He throws his arms around Drew and sobs. &ldquo;It&#039;s not fair. It&#039;s not fair. Daddy loves you. It&#039;s not fair.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Ssshhhh. Shhh.&rdquo; He hugs him tighter, patting and rubbing his back. &ldquo;Let it out if you need to.&rdquo; His tail tries to comfort Bryan by touching his left leg. &ldquo;I know it&#039;s rough. It&#039;s rough on me too, you know? But it&#039;s okay... I met your Dad and now I&#039;ve met you. Time is irrelevant. All is irrelevant other than that.&rdquo; He pulls Bryan apart from him, wiping his tears with his shirt. &ldquo;You&#039;re going to be okay, right?&rdquo; Aldan has woken up to the sound Bryan crying, watching quietly, and pretending as if he&#039;s sleeping. &ldquo;I&#039;ll see you again tonight and tomorrow morning. We&#039;ll ride Whirlwind again.&rdquo; Drew brings him in for another hug, a long streak of tears coming down his cheeks for a short moment before he pulls himself together. &ldquo;Just promise me you&#039;ll never do what I did.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan cries freely, &ldquo;I promise, Drew. I promise.&rdquo; He wipes his eyes and blows snot onto the ground, away from their blanket. He&#039;s still crying, but not sobbing as powerfully as he was. And I&#039;ll find the wolf boy and be his friend. &ldquo;And I&#039;ll visit you when I can, too. Always. Even when I&#039;m old like daddy.&rdquo; Aldan can&#039;t help but laugh. He joins his favorite boys and engulfs them both in a hug. Bryan hugs him back, crying into his side of Aldan&#039;s chest. &ldquo;It&#039;s not fair, and I hate it, and I&#039;m going to find the wolf boy and save him.&rdquo; He looks at Drew, his eyes red. &ldquo;I&#039;ll tell him all about you, too. How you were strong and turned away from hurting people. I promise. I promise.&rdquo; Aldan pulls Drew into a kiss and Bryan clings to them both, crying and repeating his promise.<br />\tDrew looks to Aldan, confused as to what to say or do in this unique situation. He squints his eyes, tries to forget where he is, but he&#039;s still there in this confusing moment. One kiss to his lovers lips calms him down and then he rubs Bryan&#039;s right shoulder. &ldquo;Maybe I could put these clothes on that you bought for me tonight when I visit. We can find something extra special to do too. I&#039;ll make you and the rest of your family the most powerful and exquisite coffee you&#039;ll ever have in your entire life. Nobody knows how to do it quite like me.&rdquo; He licks and bites his bottom lip.<br />\tBryan pulls away from them both and wipes his face. He nods without saying anything and stands. He goes over to the lake, where Whirlwind is drinking. He leans against his horse, reaching down and washing his face as the huge beast gentle nudges the boy&#039;s hair. &ldquo;Stop trying to eat my hair! It&#039;s not hay, you silly horse.&rdquo; Whirlwind stamps a hoof into the water, splashing the pair of them.<br />\tAldan holds Drew close. &ldquo;You handled that well. You&#039;re an excellent father, Drew.&rdquo; He kisses Drew. &ldquo;And about the coffee. . .&rdquo; He pulls back and uses his hands to comb Drew&#039;s hair and wipe away his tears. &ldquo;That&#039;s a deal. Do we have to buy anything special?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew shakes his head. &ldquo;No. You&#039;ll just ask for the freshest beans that they have. I can&#039;t go in. I don&#039;t want them to see me.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Why? You&#039;ll be dressed normally. If anyone asks, you&#039;re there with your husband and your son.&rdquo; He repeats the words more forcefully. &ldquo;Your son. And if anyone bitches, I&#039;ll arrest them. Or at least intimidate them.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;You don&#039;t understand. They think that I&#039;m cursed.&rdquo; He looks down as he stands up, then looks to the lake and walks towards Bryan.<br />\t&ldquo;I don&#039;t care.&rdquo; Aldan calls after him You&#039;re my husband. &ldquo;I won&#039;t have you hiding.&rdquo; <br />\tBryan smiles at Drew as he approaches, and finishes washing his face. &ldquo;Behave, Whirlwind!&rdquo; The horse snorts and bumps Bryan with his huge head, nudging him towards Drew. &ldquo;Hey...I said behave.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew brushes the horses hair, then under his forehead, and kisses it right above its nose. &ldquo;I think he was bored watching us cuddle together without him.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;He&#039;s always been jealous.&rdquo; He looks up at Drew, and playfully pushes at his chest. &ldquo;Do you want to go for a ride before we leave? You and me, once around the lake?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew nods. &ldquo;Sure. I&#039;d like that.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan mounts his horse, who stamps with excitement at being ridden again. &ldquo;Daddy! Can papa-Drew and I go around the lake once? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?&rdquo; He draws out the please in a way only a child could, so long that Drew wonders that Bryan doesn&#039;t turn blue and pass out. Aldan nods. <br />\t&ldquo;Go ahead. Not too fast and watch for low branches. If you run into any guards, bring them here.&rdquo; Aldan looks at Drew. &ldquo;Keep him safe, Drew.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew nods and hops right on behind Bryan. He hugs him tightly and gazes to the water. &ldquo;I&#039;m ready, captain. Let our venture commence!&rdquo;<br />\tBryan guides the horse away from the lake and eases him into a gentle trot. &ldquo;Hold on tight, papa-Drew! Giddyup, Whirlwind! To save the kingdom!!!&rdquo; Bryan shouts and digs his heels into Whirlwind&#039;s flanks. With a slight jump-step, the horse leaps forward and soon, Bryan and Drew are flying around the park, ducking below tree limbs and taking small jumps with ease. The horse responds to Bryan almost before Bryan gives him a command, the two of them is synch. The wind rushes past and Bryan&#039;s laughter is the loudest sound, apart from the blood rushing through Drew&#039;s ears.<br />\tDrew playfully chuckles and holds on, commenting as they duck for branches. When the horse he leaps he ends up hitting his head into Bryan&#039;s back, laughing even harder than before. The lake glistens as the sun reflects over it. There&#039;s barely anyone out enjoying the weather or scenery. It&#039;s like a dream, just the two of them there, although they can still see Aldan watching and standing up from the distance. &ldquo;Thank you Whirlwind. Thank you Drew.&rdquo; He holds on and goes quiet, just living into the moment.<br />\tIt takes them a half-hour or so to ride around the lake. When the return to the picnic site, all three of them are flushed with excitement and out of breath. Drew and Bryan hop off of Whirlwind and the horse immediately begins drinking and splashing water. Bryan drops to his knees, rummaging through the assort bundles. He finds his curry brush and jogs back to rub down his friend, talking a mile a minute about their ride. The horse stamps its hooves, shakes and whinnies, almost as if answering back.<br />\tAldan pours Drew a glass of light, refreshing wine, handing it to him with a smile. &ldquo;How was it, love? I have never seen you smile like that. Well, with your clothes on.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew chuckles, hiding his embarrassment by downing half of the glass. &ldquo;Good one. It was magnificent. Tranquil, if I may say.&rdquo; He looks to Bryan. &ldquo;How are we traveling to the other town?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Ravensberg is just the other side of the city.&rdquo; Aldan refills Drew&#039;s glass and fills one for himself. &ldquo;Three prisons in the city. Ravensberg, Old Castle, and Havenhill. Each serves a different district inside. Old Castle gets most of the murderers and rapers. Havenhill gets most of your pickpockets, burglars. Short timers and prisoners to be maimed or branded. They get the odd murderer, so as to have someone to execute every week. Ravenberg gets smugglers, chiselers, kidnappers, beatings, and their share of killers. But we get the worst. All rapers come through us.&rdquo; He shrugs. &ldquo;It&#039;s worked so far, in a sense. We should be able to walk it a couple of hours. We can take a horsecab, if you wish. It would be faster and easier on the feet. I&#039;m not sure how much walking you&#039;re used to now.&rdquo;<br />\tHe looks to his feet, which have built calluses. &ldquo;They&#039;re a bit tired at the moment. I&#039;ve honestly never rode in a horsecab.&rdquo; Drew sighs, still trying to catch his breath. He sips more of his wine as his tail flaps all of the horsehair out from itself.<br />\t&ldquo;Never?&rdquo; Aldan asks Well, we will most assuredly take a horsecab. Aldan has everything packed and ready for them to depart when Bryan finishes with Whirlwind. <br />\t&ldquo;What now, daddy? he looks at Drew Daddies.&rdquo; He corrects himself, emphasizing the &#039;s&#039;.<br />\tDrew finishes down his wine, handing his cup away and turning to Bryan. &ldquo;Your Dad and I are going to visit some of the other towns for a bit and then we&#039;ll come back later tonight so that I can see you and the others. Is that alright with you and Whirlwind?&rdquo;<br />\tBryan gives them both a sidelong glance. &ldquo;Promise?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;We promise. Right, Aldan?&rdquo; Looks to him.<br />\tAldan nods &ldquo;We&#039;ll be there. We have some business to see to, first.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan grins. &ldquo;Oooohhh! I know what you&#039;re going to do!&rdquo; He giggles and blushes.<br />\t&ldquo;Yeah. You get the idea.&rdquo; He plays along with it.<br />\tStill giggling, Bryan mounts Whirlwind. Aldan secures their picnic gear to various straps on the saddle or in the saddle bags. &ldquo;You&#039;re okay to ride home from here? You know the way?&rdquo;<br />\tBryan closes his eyes and thinks. &ldquo;Yep. I can make it, don&#039;t worry. Whirlwind never gets lost.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew walks up to Whirlwind, giving the horse another hug around the neck and kiss, then signals to Bryan. &ldquo;Be safe. We&#039;ll see you soon.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan leans forward, suddenly grabbing Drew&#039;s hand as he&#039;s patting the horse. He squeezes Drew&#039;s hand tightly. He doesn&#039;t say anything, although he looks like he wants to. He lets go of Drew and smiles at him. He gives Drew a little wave and rides off with a wave to his father.<br />\tAldan pulls Drew into him as they watch the horse and boy disappear in the trees. &ldquo;Right, let&#039;s get a move on. We&#039;re closer to the Ravernsberg than your temple.&rdquo; He takes Drew&#039;s hand and they begin walking. <br />\tDrew walks close to his side, slowly and carefully, hoping that nobody that knows him notices him walking by. &ldquo;The cabs aren&#039;t expensive, are they?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan shakes his head. &ldquo;No, not really.&rdquo; He looks at Drew as they walk. &ldquo;Are you okay, Drew?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Yeah, yeah.&rdquo; He fidgets. &ldquo;Just don&#039;t want to run into anyone in particular. Like the families I&#039;ve hurt or my father or people from the temple that know me. It&#039;s a long shot though. The streets are too populated for anyone to notice.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;It&#039;s a long shot, and you&#039;re in custody, technically.&rdquo; Aldan gestures down to his sword. &ldquo;No one will cause trouble. Even if you walk into your tea shop, climb on the main counter and piss all over it. Although that would be a waste of some wonderful piss.&rdquo; He chuckles at Drew.<br />\tDrew smiles. He notices one of the horsecabs in the middle of the road. &ldquo;There&#039;s one. Do we just yell for it or what?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan smiles and brings two fingers to his lips. He lets loose with an incredibly loud whistle, surely one that could be heard for miles. The driver looks at you two and nudges his horse forward, stopping in front of Drew. It&#039;s a two-wheeled cab, with a roof, with the driver above and behind the passengers. It&#039;s pulled by a magnificent black gelding. &ldquo;You worthy lords need transport? Where to, m&#039;lords?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan opens the side door, letting Drew climb in first. He follows and sits. A small sliding panel opens in the roof and the driver peers down for instructions. Aldan looks at Drew. &ldquo;Temple or prison?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew looks around at the fancy seats, which sits tail slither and fall in love with. &ldquo;I think the prison first. The furniture in here is so nice. Wish my prison bed were like this.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Ravensberg Prison, driver.&rdquo; The small panel slides closed as the cab is set in motion. Soon, Drew and Aldan are riding along at a surprising speed. The cab doesn&#039;t take the most direct route, as some streets and road are too narrow, but the driver seems to know what he&#039;s doing. And the sit, mostly out view of anyone on foot, Aldan snuggles close to Drew, kissing his neck and sliding his hand under Drew&#039;s shirt.<br />\tDrew kisses him back softly. They speak like this until the driver turns an eye and the demon boy blushes. &ldquo;Not in public, hun.&rdquo; He grabs Aldan&#039;s crotch as after he gives him a quick brief kiss. &ldquo;There will be plenty of time for fucking tonight.&rdquo; He situates himself better into the seat, sitting up closer to his husband. &ldquo;Did Bryan remember to grab my clothes?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan rummages in his sack and produces them. &ldquo;You should change now. Wouldn&#039;t want there to be any confusion at Ravensberg.&rdquo; He look up and the panel. &ldquo;With that closed, the driver has no idea what&#039;s going on in here.&rdquo; Aldan winks.<br />\t&ldquo;Okay. I&#039;ll get changed.&rdquo; Drew sits up, trying not to bang his horns and head on the top of the vehicle as he strips. He teases Aldan by untying his fundoshi slowly. Putting it on in the cab is probably one of the most difficult things he&#039;s ever done in his life and for once he actually curses at the fact that his religion requires that he wears this underwear. In frustration, he quickly puts the new pair of pants on, then slides off his shirt. &ldquo;So when we get there, do they have some sort of clipboard somewhere outside of the prison or whatever saying when is what or what is when?&rdquo; He reaches down to grab the shirt, taking his time before he puts it on. &ldquo;Comfy... Reminds me of the robes at my temple.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan suddenly leans forward, kissing Drew&#039;s left nipple, sucking it gratefully for a moment, before pulling back and sighing. &ldquo;There should be a board showing their standard schedule for executions. Two days a week, usually in the early and late afternoons, unless they&#039;re exceptionally busy.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;I see.&rdquo; Drew snuggles into Aldan&#039;s chest, focusing on his own breath and the beat of his lovers heart as the cab travels.<br />\tThey ride together in silence, holding each other closely. Aldan gently rubs Drew&#039;s back. Sitting with his eyes closed, he concentrates on the sounds of the city and the feeling of Drew&#039;s warmth next to him. It seems as if they&#039;re only in the cab for a few minutes when is jangles to a halt. The roof panel slides open and the drivers peers down at them. &ldquo;Ravensberg Prison, noble gentlemen.&rdquo; <br />\tAldan exits the vehicle and waits for Drew to do the same. He looks at the driver, hands him a handful of coins and tells him to wait as long as those coins will hold him. The driver nods.<br />\tCrossing to the main gate, they see &quot;The Board&quot;. Executions have already begun for the day. As they&#039;re about to enter through the public entrance, Aldan stops and faces Drew. &ldquo;You&#039;re absolutely sure on this?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew nods and takes his hand, squeezing it tightly. &ldquo;Yeah. I think so. We&#039;re already here anyway.&rdquo; As the continue walking, the demon remembers the first and only one he witnessed, a hanging when he first moved into the kingdom with his father.<br />\tAldan sighs. &ldquo;If it gets to be too much, just look at me. Bury your face in my chest and I&#039;ll get you out of here. Understood?&rdquo; With Drew&#039;s nod, they enter. Ravensberg is dark and brooding. The stones here are dark with soot and age. The ceilings seem impossibly low, as if poised to crush any who pass beneath them. And number of guards, alert and ready for trouble, watch those who enter and leave. Drew notices their uniform badges are different from Aldan&#039;s. Aldan&#039;s is a silver diamond; these guards wear a crimson square. Soon, they pass into the executioners yard.<br />\tA scaffold and platform sit in the center of the courtyard. As they enter, a pair of burly workers are sealing a coffin, while a young boy, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, spreads fresh sawdust atop the platform. The crowd is buzzing with excitement, eagerly awaiting the next prisoner. The axeman stands at the rear of the platform, his face hidden by his black mask. Aldan muscles his way through the crowd, leading Drew to the front rank of spectators. They&#039;d just to their left of the block. A spray of fresh blood colors the cobblestones, forming a morbid triangle that looks like it might reach an incautious spectator.<br />\t&ldquo;Should we stand back by chance?&rdquo; He does so he asks. &ldquo;The crowd is much larger than he expected to be. Could it be that it&#039;s further along in the day?&rdquo; He only hopes so. Drew looks around behind him, trying to count how many people there are, but then returns his attention to the platform. &ldquo;I hope there won&#039;t be as many people tomorrow. I don&#039;t mind a few people saying something at me, but a hundred or so would be strange.&rdquo; His eyes reach to the axeman. &ldquo;Will he be at mine tomorrow or is he a different person?&rdquo; Drew&#039;s tail slaps from side to side anxiously, then calms down. &ldquo;Sorry. I&#039;m asking too many questions.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan leans close, resting a hand on Drew&#039;s back. &ldquo;We&#039;re here so you can understand. Ask any question you have. There probably won&#039;t be as many people. Mornings are always smaller crowds. We&#039;re good where we&#039;re at. For whatever reason, they always seem to fall to the other side.&rdquo; He points to an area of the front rank, perhaps 5 yards distant. &ldquo;That&#039;s where the spray flies. The more nervous and anxious, the more and stronger spray there is. It&#039;s the same axeman. He&#039;s quite good.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew nods and notices the blood, which is quickly covered with hay. &ldquo;I see.&rdquo; He focuses attentively, waiting for the teenager up top to finish his job.<br />\tThe boy looks sullen but scatters the hay and sawdust quickly. The drums begin to roll, and another prisoner is brought forth from a black door behind and their left or Drew and Aldan. A man is escorted by a cadre of five guardsmen, four forming a box around him, one leading by his manacled wrists. The man seems scared but makes it the steps leading up the platform before showing any real fear. He balks at the steps, trying to wrench his hands free of the guards, to no avail. He&#039;s dragged to the front of the platform and held in place with a guard on either arm. An officious looking man steps forward, just in front of the platform. He unfurls a parchment scroll. When the drums stop, he begins reading the charges.<br />\tDrew loosens his grip on Aldan&#039;s arm, whispering quietly. &ldquo;He&#039;s afraid, isn&#039;t he? That&#039;s not good at all...&rdquo;<br />\tAldan nods. &ldquo;He&#039;s terrified. He&#039;s going to try and bolt.&rdquo; He sounds sad and irritated.<br />\t&ldquo;What a poor fool.&rdquo; He gives a sympathetic look. &ldquo;I won&#039;t be held like that when they read from the scroll, will I?&rdquo;<br />\tThe clerk speaks, &ldquo;Here stands Bartholemew Bergestrand, late of 17 Finch Road. Charged with smuggling into the city certain items of value, without proper license or tax, of attempting to bribe a custom&#039;s agent of His Majesty, of attempting to bribe members of the city constabulary, attempting to bribe a magistrate, threatening a magistrate, resisting with arms arrest by the city constabulary, failure to pay duties, fees, and taxes. Defendant has been found guilty, after due trial, of all charges and has been sentenced to death by hanging. However, upon plea for mercy from defendant&#039;s wife and children, sentence was commuted to death on the block. Sentence to be carried this day, this time, in the name His Majesty, the King, and by authority of Magistrate Jaymes LePetimay and Royal Mayor Sargonne Belcter.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan whispers, &ldquo;Only if it&#039;s likely that you&#039;ll try to flee.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew tightens his own arm around Aldan&#039;s arm. &ldquo;I won&#039;t. I&#039;ll be calm and ready.&rdquo; He closes his eyes just for a moment, then continues to observe.<br />\tBehind Aldan and Drew, a woman screams for mercy. &ldquo;Mercy, mercy, mercy for my husband! Mercy for his children to be orphaned of their father!&rdquo;<br />\tOther members of the crowd begin to boo and shout her down. The man, tries again to wrench himself free and leap to the cobbles. The guards club him with an oaken cudgel and he goes limp. The woman screams again and there&#039;s more commotion in the crowd. Turning, Drew and Aldan see the woman being shoved and spat upon. Aldan&#039;s hand falls to his sword, but guards move in from the sides, grabbing the woman and pulling her off to one side where one talks with her.<br />\t&ldquo;Oh Gods, lord of Light...&rdquo; Drew prays for a moment as he sees the woman scream, then turns his attention back to the platform.<br />\tOn the platform, the man is lifted and places over the block. Spit drools from his mouth and he&#039;s only dimly aware of what&#039;s happening. He tries to push away from the block, but the guards knock his hands away each time. The drums roll. The man jerks his head to and fro. One of the guards curses and spit on him. He kneels down in front and just to the side of the man, grabbing his head and holding him down, his neck stretched over the block. The executioner quickly pulls his axe from beneath the hay, lifting and swinging it in a fluid, beautiful, almost elegant motion downwards. The axe slices through flesh and bone. The guard holding the head falls back, almost losing the severed head, but keeping control of it by a handful of hair. The body jerks and spasms to its left, away from Drew and Aldan. Blood sprays forcefully and far, spattering the first row of the crowd. The crowd cheers loudly. One of the people sprayed runs the hand over their blood-spattered trousers and hold their bloody palm up for the crowd. The cheers grow louder and more frenzied. The guard stands and presents the head to the crowd, to their delight and joy. Someone calls out &quot;Now the wife!&quot; and the crowd laughs.<br />\tAldan pulls on Drew&#039;s arm and drags him back the way they came, ignoring any protest from his love. He doesn&#039;t stop until they&#039;re inside the cab, clattering down the road. &ldquo;Where to, m&#039;lord?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Anywhere. Just get us away from here.&rdquo; Aldan&#039;s voice is tense.<br />\tAs soon as Drew&#039;s hand is taken, he follows the direction he&#039;s being pulled immediately. His eyes are bulging and still trying to understand everything that just happened. It&#039;s not that he&#039;s surprised from the circumstances, but more so baffled by how foolish everyone was. &ldquo;It seems the only two that didn&#039;t do anything wrong were the executioner and the man who read the scrolls. The guards were forced to attack the prisoner but spat on him too and couldn&#039;t calm down the crowd. The crowd itself were full of lunatics that just wanted to see blood.&rdquo;<br />\tThe prisoner, who Drew felt sorry for since he had a wife and children, also had some fault. As Drew enters the cab, he holds his face with one hand and pulls back his hair. His tail is stiff and erect, signaling that he&#039;s frustrated. &ldquo;That wasn&#039;t what I expected... It was a stupid idea anyway.&rdquo; He sniffs up snot, rubbing at the temples of his forehead. &ldquo;If the man had any dignity... Don&#039;t they realize that it only makes things worse to try to escape or fight the guards?&rdquo; He looks up, exhausted, and continues ranting. &ldquo;I can&#039;t tell if you&#039;re as angry as I am. Guards at our prison seem nicer than those and yet they commit lesser crimes. That doesn&#039;t make sense either. Nothing makes sense.&rdquo; He kicks at the floorboard, then brings his right leg up to rub at his feet. &ldquo;I feel like... I feel like what I saw just told me what not to do tomorrow. I&#039;m sorry. I&#039;m so sorry for saying that we should have gone there.&rdquo; He grunts, then rubs one hand into Aldan&#039;s thigh, rubbing his head against his right shoulder as he tries to relax. &ldquo;Driver! He opens up the little sleeve to speak. Take us to the demon temple, the temple of the great owl.&rdquo; Drew looks to Aldan, waiting for him to respond. &ldquo;You know I&#039;m sorry, right?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan turns to face Drew. He cups the boy&#039;s face. His own face is lined with worry. &ldquo;Sorry for what, Drew?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;You obviously weren&#039;t pleased with what happened and how it was dealt with.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;It was damned unprofessional! Foolish and irresponsible. The only guard with any sense was the one who pulled the wife aside and tried to calm and distract her.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew gulps, continuing to rub at his husband to try and comfort him. &ldquo;Now I understand why you don&#039;t work over there.&rdquo;<br />\tThe horsecab comes to a stop. A moment later the door is opened for them. Aldan hands the man a few more silvers before they exit. Drew immediately knows where he is. &ldquo;Home. This is it...&rdquo; The temple looks like any other shop on the square, but there are several floors beneath it where rituals and magic are commenced, along with apartments and luxury for those living beneath it. Drew guides the way into the shop, which is dimly lit from the corners of the room. There are no customers, just an old man behind the counter cleaning mugs and setting up his filters for the next customer. Further down the shop is a man playing a grand piano, which has hauntingly beautiful sound to it. Drew knows this song. He heard its melody in the music box. He walks to the counter, taking a seat and waits for the busy man, a frail demon in his early 120s, to notice the younger boy, whom he has his own personal feelings about. &ldquo;Uh hem... Rath Mullan.&rdquo; The old man looks to him, his face shocked and confused. &ldquo;Drew... Or am I hallucinating? Why? How are you here? You shouldn&#039;t be. Did you escape from prison?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew waits for Aldan to take his seat and continues explaining. &ldquo;No, no. This man has me on custody. I wanted to visit and get some fresh coffee beans so that I could make a final fresh batch of coffee. Tomorrow is the day, although I&#039;m sure you and nobody else will be there in support of me, as none of you were at my trial.&rdquo; <br />\tThe older man winces his eyebrows, putting four scoops of beans into a bag before sealing it with a string. &ldquo;You desecrated this temple with what you did. People already look at us funny and have their hatred, bigoted feelings towards us. What you did just makes it all worse. Business goes down. People wait outside of the temple to stare at us. Follow us. I&#039;m not saying it&#039;s all you, but you have your part in it, boy.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew shakes his head, looking to Aldan. &ldquo;He will take a glass of absinthe, please.&rdquo;<br />\tRath nods, pouring two shots worth of a bright green material into a glass, then putting it on Aldan&#039;s side where he would sit. He bows his head for a moment and smiles. &ldquo;It&#039;s on the house.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan looks at the old man. &ldquo;Some folk look at you funny because when a boy was in trouble, his people ran and hid. When a boy needed someone, none of his people were there for him.&rdquo; He slams coins down on the counter. &ldquo;Of course people are wary of you. You won&#039;t stand for one of yours. Why would anyone expect you to stand for the city or the kingdom or any of us?&rdquo;<br />\tRath puts both arms on the table. &ldquo;Wo wo woh, there. Calm down, you little knight on a chess board. I have stood for this kingdom more than you know. You know how many wars I fought in before you were born? When I was his age I had no rights. People would kick me, stomp my face in, try to pull my tail out, but I never killed those people for it. Nor did I break into someone&#039;s house and rob them so that I could escape the very home that had given him everything on a silver platter.&rdquo; <br />\tHe spits towards Drew as he speaks. &ldquo;I know you&#039;re not a horrible boy, Drew. You&#039;re not all evil. But possessed or not, I cannot look the other way. And you...&ldquo; He points his finger towards Aldan and the glass. &ldquo;My father built this temple with only two other men. And when he went to protest for our rights and was put to prison, I was there in front of the king with my people. We stood up. We fought back. And here we are, alive and succeeding. Drink your damn alcohol and stick to what you know about - killing people just like you in the battlefield and killing.&rdquo; He looks at Drew, somehow already noticing the chemistry those you feel compassion for. He sighs, holding his chest as he tries to breathe.<br />\tDrew is looking down and holding the bag of coffee, noticeably depressed and full of shame. &ldquo;I told you I didn&#039;t want to come back here.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan slams back his absinthe, inhaling sharply as it burns going down. He looks at the old timer. &ldquo;So, when did you decide you&#039;d stood up enough? That this one boy...&rdquo; He points at Drew. &ldquo;Wasn&#039;t worth the effort? He killed people when he shouldn&#039;t have. He&#039;s paying for it with his life. But you people?&rdquo; He looks around and sweeps his arm around the entire shop. &ldquo;You made him pay twice by cutting him off from his own people, his own family.&rdquo; He stares down at his empty glass. &ldquo;And tell me, old timer, how many humans or anthros have come in here saying, &#039;You know what? I didn&#039;t like demons, but the way you turned your backs on the Drew kid, sure made me like you a bunch. Sure made me change my mind about you&#039;? How many?&rdquo;<br />\tThe old man holds his arms, pressing his back against the wall. He pours himself a full glass of absinthe and swallows it down, looking to Drew, then back to Aldan. &ldquo;I don&#039;t need to hear this from you. This conversation is over.&rdquo; He points to the door. &ldquo;I&#039;m asking the two of you to leave before I am forced to do something that I don&#039;t want to do.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew stands up, tugging on Aldan. &ldquo;Come on. We got what we came for. Let&#039;s just go.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan arches his eyebrow. He grins, but it&#039;s not a mirthful grin. &ldquo;Threatening a King&#039;s man? Are you sure you want to do that?&rdquo; He jerks his arm free from Drew. He stares at the older demon. In his mind, Aldan already planning out how to go over the counter after he embeds a dagger in the old man&#039;s throat. When Drew looks at Aldan, he sees menace. He wears the grin of a killer. He&#039;s never seen Aldan like this. He looks ready to kill. Almost eager.<br />\tThe old man grins at the warriors frustration.<br />\tDrew curses. &ldquo;Come on! Stop fucking around.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan looks at Drew. He sees something in his eyes. Anger? Frustration? Fear? He reaches out and cups Drew&#039;s cheek running his thumb gently of Drew&#039;s skin. &ldquo;See?&rdquo; He looks at the old demon. &ldquo;Even after you turned your backs on him, he saved your life. That&#039;s why he&#039;s better than the whole stinking lot of you.&rdquo; He spits of the bar and lets Drew pull him away.<br />\tAs soon as they&#039;re outside, Drew wipes away his tears, pulling his up to his horns as he closes his eyes and catches his breath. &ldquo;They&#039;re not all bad people. Just misguided. Afraid.&rdquo; After he passes the temple will be in better hands. He shakes the bag of coffee as they walk until they spot another horsecab. &ldquo;Let&#039;s get to your home. I want to meet the rest of your family. Unless... Do you think your wife will kill me herself the second I walk into the house?&rdquo; He imagines it happening on a serious level, then on a much less serious one, her trying to hit him with a spoon on the horns or something. &ldquo;You said she was pretty forgiving, I guess...&rdquo;<br />\tAldan grabs Drew by the shoulder, turning him to face him. He embraces Drew and holds him. &ldquo;I love you.&rdquo; He holds Drew&#039;s face between his hands and kisses him gently on the forehead. Walking with Drew, Aldan relaxes quickly. &ldquo;I don&#039;t think she&#039;ll try to kill you. She promised me she wouldn&#039;t kill any more of my lovers after the incident with the triplets.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;The tiplets?&rdquo; He whistles out for the cab, which stops.<br />\tThey climb into the cab and Aldan gives the address for his house. The driver nods and goads his horse into a trot. &ldquo;Yes, the triplets. I&#039;ve never seen so much blood. It really brought out the green in her eyes, though.&rdquo;<br />\tHe gasps, backing away in his seat from Aldan. I don&#039;t.. understand. You cheated on her with triplets and she killed them?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan sighs. &ldquo;Well, jealousy and all that. Like I say, it was years ago now and she promised not to do it again.&rdquo; He looks out to the street whizzing by. &ldquo;Of course, she&#039;d promised it twice before and ended up breaking those. But I&#039;m sure this time she won&#039;t.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;How did she get away with such crimes, though?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan smiles. &ldquo;I think she had someone inside the constabulary who covered for her.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew stares dead eyed at him, unknown is he&#039;s just bullshitting to him or not. &ldquo;Your wife sounds like a major freak... How does she raise a child as sweet as Bryan if she&#039;s so cold blooded?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Well, you&#039;ve never seen Bryan angry. He&#039;s got a temper on him, that one. I promised him that I&#039;d never tell anyone, but you are his father now.&rdquo; He looks around cautiously, checking the portal to the driver to make sure it&#039;s closed. &ldquo;But there&#039;s a reason Bryan doesn&#039;t have any friends his own age anymore.&rdquo; He watches Drew closely.<br />\t&ldquo;Huh? Why not?&rdquo; Drew puts his feet out on Aldan&#039;s legs, moving his toes around to him. &ldquo;I don&#039;t understand. He&#039;s so nice and interesting. And he has a beautiful horse.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan bursts out laughing. &ldquo;I can&#039;t go on. Kate may not love you like Bryan does, or like I do, but she won&#039;t attack you.&rdquo; He laughs until tears dribble down his cheeks. &ldquo;Oh, I&#039;m sorry, Drew...I was teasing, I didn&#039;t think you&#039;d take me so seriously.&rdquo; He takes a deep breath and clears his throat. &ldquo;No, it may be awkward at first. But Kate understands that I love you as I&#039;ve never loved any man or boy and that I love her as I&#039;ll never love any other woman. She may see you as her rival for my bed, but not as her enemy.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Not a rival for too much longer.&rdquo; His face flattens as he moves his feet and toes to your legs. &ldquo;But after this life, forever... It&#039;s weird knowing exactly when you&#039;ll die.&rdquo; He pauses. &ldquo;Sorry. I didn&#039;t mean to ruin your joke.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan looks down and begins rubbing Drew&#039;s ankles and calves. &ldquo;It wasn&#039;t much of a joke. You didn&#039;t ruin it, my love. You don&#039;t ruin anything.&rdquo; He looks at Drew, smiling sadly. &ldquo;It&#039;s strange. I&#039;d almost forgotten about tomorrow. It&#039;s no less weird to the exact time that you&#039;ll be helping kill your greatest love...&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;The last few days have been the best of my life. Today, besides the last two things, have been good as well though. Strange to think that the sun is still out. I wish today would just last forever.&rdquo; Drew cracks his legs, scooting up closer so that he can put his hands under his head and relax more. He looks above him and speaks freely. &ldquo;Is it wrong that I&#039;m not afraid or depressed over tomorrow? The only part that I&#039;m not okay with is leaving you.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;I don&#039;t think it&#039;s wrong. Not at all.&rdquo; He cradles his lover&#039;s legs in his lap, rubbing and massaging them, sometimes getting close to Drew&#039;s privates. &ldquo;I wouldn&#039;t object to having today last and last. Even if it was just this cab ride. Every moment is a moment that I treasure, that I try to commit to memory because today won&#039;t last forever. The love will, and the memories will. Until we can be together again.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew relaxes silently, closing his eyes. After a while he responds simply with three words. &ldquo;I love you.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan sighs. &ldquo;And I love you.&rdquo; He holds his lover&#039;s legs with one hand, resting the other on Drew&#039;s stomach. He watches his young love resting. Soon, though, the houses begin to look familiar. Aldan wishes he could stop time. Or gain time somehow. He can&#039;t, though, and the knowledge that he and Drew will together again in the next world, and the one after that and after that offers little comfort as he realizes this is the last sunset they&#039;ll see together. Aldan closes his eyes and breathes. They still have tonight. He scratches Drew&#039;s stomach as the cab slows.<br />\tThe driver opens the cubby. &ldquo;Here we are, gents.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Oh?&rdquo; He sits up, his tail erect and curious. Drew steps out of the cab and looks at the house in awe. &ldquo;Wow! You live out in the country? Look how big your home is! So beautiful...&rdquo;<br />\tAldan pays the driver. &ldquo;It&#039;s not that large, Drew. It is home though.&rdquo; As the cab clatters away, Aldan stands in front of Drew. He combs his hands through Drew&#039;s hair, adjusts Drew&#039;s shirt, stick his thumb in his mouth and use the wet thumb to wipe Drew&#039;s cheek. &ldquo;You&#039;ve got some smudge on your cheek. One moment.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew looks away and blushes, waiting for him to finish cleaning him up. &ldquo;You can give me a bath tonight again if you&#039;d like. It&#039;s okay that I&#039;m barefoot in your house, right?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Certainly, that&#039;s okay. And I&#039;ll do more than give you a bath.&rdquo; He looks at Drew, smiling with pride and affection. &ldquo;I&#039;m actually nervous. Are you?&rdquo; He takes Drew&#039;s hand and leads him towards the front door. Potted flowers and herbs dot the front porch and window boxes, their scents lending a sweetness to the air. &ldquo;Ready?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew nods. &ldquo;I&#039;m nervous, but excited.&rdquo; He calms his tail down, exhaling deeply. &ldquo;Let&#039;s meet the family!&rdquo;<br />\tAldan nods, squeezing Drew&#039;s hand comfortingly. He reaches for the door.<br />\tThe door flies open before Aldan reaches the handle. Bryan screams and leaps out, launching himself into Aldan and Drew, wrapping an arm around each of them. &ldquo;Daddy! Papa-Drew!!!&rdquo; He rocks side to side as he hugs his two dads. Aldan reaches down, tousling the young boy&#039;s hair. Another boy, standing just inside the threshold. He wears simple homespun tunic and trousers, his blonde hair is slightly longer than Bryan&#039;s and his bright, green eyes stare at Drew. He&#039;s pudgier than Bryan, and shorter, but the resemblance is clear. Bryan pulls away, taking Drew&#039;s other hand and pulling him inside.<br />\t&ldquo;Mikey! It&#039;s rude to stare! This is our other daddy, Drew.&rdquo;<br />\tThe pudgy smiles awkwardly. &ldquo;You really ARE a demon!&rdquo;<br />\tDrew allows Bryan to direct him inside as he locks his eyes on the blonde. &ldquo;It&#039;s fine if you want to stare.&rdquo; His tail dances from side to side gracefully, showing off its beauty. &ldquo;Nice to meet you, Mikey. I hear that you&#039;re a great writer, hmmm?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew hears Aldan breathe in sharply and whisper &quot;Uh-oh. Now you&#039;ve done it.&quot; <br />\t&ldquo;It&#039;s Milliken, if you please, sir.&rdquo; He looks at Drew and watches his tail with great interest. &ldquo;Is Drew short for Andrew?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Sorry, Milliken. And no, it&#039;s just Drew.&rdquo; He bows his head, squeezing Bryan&#039;s hand. &ldquo;What now?&rdquo;<br />\tBryan shrugs. &ldquo;Now, Mikey&#039;s going to stare at you for a while. Later, he&#039;ll start asking you questions and won&#039;t ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever stop.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Shut up, Bry!&rdquo; Milliken bristles at Bryan.<br />\t&ldquo;Make me, tubby!&rdquo; Bryan sticks his tongue out at his brother.<br />\t&ldquo;Mommy said you&#039;re not to call me that! Why are you such a weenie?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan steps between the two of them. He points to Bryan. &ldquo;You! Don&#039;t call your brother tubby. Mother warned you about that.&rdquo; He points to Mikey. &ldquo;And you! Don&#039;t call your brother a weenie. The two of you behave or you&#039;re spend dinner in your room. Understood?&rdquo;<br />\tA pair of mumbled &#039;Yes, sir&#039;s&rsquo; and the friction is passed. Bryan pulls Drew towards the kitchen. The sounds of cooking and children&#039;s laughter echo through the room. Kate sits at the table, mixing dough in a large bowl as a younger girl and boy play in one corner under her watchful eyes. They all stop and look at Drew as Bryan drags him in.<br />\t&ldquo;This is daddy-Drew.&rdquo; Bryan announces.<br />\tThe children look at each other. Kate scrapes dough from her hands, wipes them on a towel, stands, and extends a hand towards Drew. An eyebrow is arched the entire time. &ldquo;I&#039;m Katey. Aldan&#039;s wife.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew is cautious, holding out his hand for a moment before he shakes and makes contact. &ldquo;Hi Katey. It&#039;s nice to meet you. I... Have heard lots of good things about you.&rdquo; He smiles, then takes a seat at the table. His tail curls and spirals around one of the bottom legs, tightening to it as he tenses, afraid that she will hate him or he will say something wrong to her. <br />\tKatey smiles a strained smile. It&#039;s clearly awkward for her, too. &ldquo;I&#039;ve heard a lot about you, too. From Aldan and Bryan.&rdquo; She looks at Drew, not as obviously studying him as Mikey did, but searching for something. &ldquo;Would you like some tea or wine? I have lemonade, too.&rdquo;<br />\tThe little girl looks up. &ldquo;But that&#039;s our lemonade!&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Sally, don&#039;t be rude. Drew is a guest. He&#039;s a close friend of your father&#039;s. Of the whole family.&rdquo; She chastises Sally not with anger, but with patience. The little girl apologizes to Drew and goes back to her play.<br />\tDrew puts the bag of coffee out on the table. &ldquo;I don&#039;t want to take any of her lemonade.&rdquo; Looks to Sally. &ldquo;I&#039;ll have some tea. Thank you. After dinner, I&#039;ll make coffee. I know it&#039;s late at night, but you must try it.&rdquo; He turns to Aldan. &ldquo;We have a good two to three hours before I need to go back, right? So we can be alone and I can have time to rest.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan nods. &ldquo;We just need to be back for tomorrow. They&#039;d like us back tonight.&rdquo;<br />\tAt the mention of time alone with Aldan, Katey tenses almost unperceptively. She offers Drew a mug, a ceramic canister of loose tea and a tea caddy in the shape of a frog. She fills the mug with hot water and places a dish of lemon wedges and pot of honey nearby. She puts a plate of cookies on the table, which catches the attention of the children. Butterscotch cookies. She looks at the children You may each have one cookie. &ldquo;Drew, you can have as many as you&#039;d like.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Thank you, Katy.&rdquo; He doesn&#039;t like cookies but takes one and eats it anyway to please her. After finishing it, he puts one spoonful of money into his tea and a small squeeze of lemon with it. &ldquo;Your house is very nice. I lived in an apartment the size of this room, so I didn&#039;t have much. Part of our religious beliefs state that we shouldn&#039;t live materialistic lives and we should focus only on the present. I think it can be taken with a grain of salt though, because I can&#039;t imagine how awesome it would be to live in a place this big.&rdquo; He sips from his tea, then looks to Aldan. &ldquo;As stupid as it sounds, I feel like I&#039;d rather sleep there. You can stay if you&#039;d like. If that&#039;s okay, I mean.&rdquo; He bites his bottom lip.<br />\tAldan smiles, a warm easy smile. He&#039;s much more relaxed here than outside. &ldquo;We&#039;ve already talked it over. I&#039;ll stay at the prison tonight.&rdquo;<br />\tKatey nods. &ldquo;Yes. It&#039;s only fair.&rdquo; She looks at Drew, her eyes fixed on him, her face pained.<br />\t&ldquo;You must think I&#039;m a monster or something.&rdquo;<br />\tShe looks away. &ldquo;Bryan, take Sally and Jer to play in the sitting room. Mind they don&#039;t get too close to the fire. Mikey, why don&#039;t you go upstairs and arrange your books. I&#039;m sure Drew would like to see them later.&rdquo; She looks at Aldan. He nods, stepping forward and laying a hand on Drew&#039;s shoulder.<br />\t&ldquo;I&#039;m going to change out of this uniform. I&#039;ll be back before you know it.&rdquo; He pats Drew&#039;s shoulder. After thirty seconds of frantic child-herding, Katey and Drew are alone.<br />\tDrew continues drinking from his tea, turning his head to the side as he waits painfully for her response.<br />\tKaty sits near Drew. &ldquo;Perhaps we should talk before dinner.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Yes, we should.&rdquo;<br />\tShe takes a cookie, breaking into tiny bits and nibbling each bit individually. &ldquo;Can you start?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Start... How do I?&rdquo; He rests his chin on the palm of his hand. &ldquo;Aldan and I met with a high priestess of Selune and she confirmed our love was true. It&#039;s not that I needed her to tell me so, but I wanted to make sure that I would be able to stay connected to him for eternity. In this life, the next, wherever we go after we pass. I love him more than anyone. I would never betray him, you, or any other person in the family. I&#039;m a demon, but that&#039;s not what made me do what I did. Demons believe in peace, harmony, kindness. I was troubled. Possessed by an evil being. Something that has attacked others. It wasn&#039;t the sole reason I committed those crimes, no, I take responsibility... But Selune said that even though I have darkness in me, it is not all that I have. I have love. I just didn&#039;t find it until now at must seem to be my worst, but I don&#039;t see it that way... I see Aldan as someone who gives me hope and helps me find peace before the end. Nobody has cared about me like that. Well, maybe one person, a friend of mine, but it&#039;s been so long and I don&#039;t know if I&#039;ll ever see him again. I don&#039;t want to hurt you. I didn&#039;t want to be with him at first because of you, but I gave in like I always do... But it&#039;s more than that. It was fate. Aldan and I had met and performed the wedding ritual in other lives and we will perform it again. This is a pure fact and there&#039;s no way around it.&rdquo; He sips his tea to clear his throat. &ldquo;What do you think of what I&#039;ve told you?&rdquo;<br />\tShe stares at her tea. &ldquo;Does that mean in lifetime after lifetime I lose Aldan to you? For eternity.&rdquo; She swallows hard, containing her emotion for now.<br />\t&ldquo;Lose him? You still have him. He loves you. I don&#039;t know what it means. Maybe you could speak to the priestess of Selune yourself.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;I&#039;ve been with Aldan for twenty years almost. Born him four children, soon to be five.&rdquo; Her head drops and she speaks very softly. &ldquo;I&#039;ve never loved any other man than Aldan. We&#039;ve had our moments, when he&#039;s been away and the loneliness was too much to bear. But he loves you. From the first day he saw you, you were in his mind and heart. We&#039;d talk about you.&rdquo; She stands and pretends to cook. &ldquo;I wanted to hate you, you know. That would make things simple. Hate and hold my tongue for a few more hours. Then Bryan comes home this afternoon and he&#039;s talking about you, how much he loves you, too. So you&#039;re taking my husband and my first born.&rdquo; She pauses for a moment &ldquo;Then I see you. I see how Aldan is with you, how Bryan is. And you&#039;re just a boy. I can&#039;t hate a boy. With everything going on, that&#039;s going to happen, I can&#039;t hate you, Drew. I just wish it wasn&#039;t going to hurt them so much when it happens. I just wish it wasn&#039;t going to hurt my boys.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;It hurts me too. The weight that I carry... You can&#039;t tell me how much it hurts. All of my people are looking at me with their own narrow lenses. And maybe they&#039;re right. Whatever.&rdquo; He finishes his tea, pulling himself better up in his seat. &ldquo;Trust me when I say that I will guide and protect them.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;I know you will.&rdquo; She turns and looks at Drew. Tears stain her cheeks and she wipes her face with her apron. &ldquo;All that you say makes sense. Had I one wish, one wish, Drew. I&#039;d wish you could live. I&#039;d rather deal with any strangeness between you and I than see the pain I see in your eyes and that I&#039;ll see in theirs come sunset tomorrow.&rdquo;<br />\tHe looks away, feeling a gripping feeling in his chest. &ldquo;Uhm... We should have dinner.&rdquo;<br />\tShe nods. &ldquo;We have a bit before everything is finished. You prefer raw meats? We have something set aside for you. Why don&#039;t you have Bryan take you upstairs to his room. I&#039;m sure Mikey has a stack of books to show you. Can you ask Aldan to come in and help me finish dinner?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Raw meat would be preferred. I&#039;ll go fetch him for you.&rdquo; He stands up, his tail uncoiling from the chair leg as he does so. Aldan and Drew bump into each other as he&#039;s about to enter the kitchen. &ldquo;Katy wants you. I&#039;m gonna go upstairs and play with Bryan and Milliken.&rdquo; He kisses him on the lips before we walks up the stairs and looks to the rooms. There&#039;s chattering come from the right, so chooses that door. Once it&#039;s opened, he steps inside, his tail wagging as he inspects the room. &ldquo;You two sleep in here? What a wonderful room. You even have a window outside!&rdquo; He runs to it. &ldquo;That&#039;s where you keep Whirlwind, right Bryan?&rdquo;<br />\tBryan looks out the window. &ldquo;Yep. That&#039;s his paddock, where he exercises. And that&#039;s my pole. Where I play with my sword. &ldquo;<br />\tMilliken is sitting on his bed, writing on his chalk board. He giggles. &ldquo;You play with it when we&#039;re supposed to be sleeping.&rdquo; He makes a mocking squeaking moan sound, giggling again.<br />\tBryan turns on him, his face turning beet red. &ldquo;I do not!&rdquo;<br />\tDrew blushes, sitting on the bed beside Bryan. &ldquo;Maybe after dinner we can play outside for a bit, Bryan?&rdquo; He looks to Mikey. &ldquo;What are you drawing, Milliken?&rdquo;<br />\tHe looks up. &ldquo;I&#039;m making notes on your physical appearance. My books have it wrong.&rdquo; He opens a book that shows a drawing of a male demon, nude with arms and legs spread. There are several comically bad inaccuracies on the drawing. On his board, Milliken has a list of errors and corrections, all done in a tiny, very exacting hand. &ldquo;I&#039;d ask to draw you, but Bryan says it would be rude.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;No, no. It&#039;s fine.&rdquo; He walks over and picks up the book. &ldquo;Yes... I&#039;ve seen this one before. You know, you could always take a field trip to where my temple is and look at us there. Plenty of books there too. All of them are as accurate as it gets. Now, I don&#039;t think I&#039;ll be getting naked like that guy in the picture.&rdquo; He smirks.<br />\tIn absolute seriousness, Mikey looks at Drew. &ldquo;But it would be essential! Otherwise my drawing would be incomplete.&rdquo; He hops down from his bed, reaches underneath, and pulls a small chest out. He retrieves a key from a lanyard around his neck. &ldquo;Bryan, privacy!&rdquo; He barks.<br />\tBryan sighs. &ldquo;I&#039;ll be outside. Don&#039;t take too long.&rdquo;<br />\tMikey unlocks the chest. He looks up at Drew. &ldquo;You can&#039;t mention this to ANYONE.&rdquo;<br />\tHe says a few words in his demon language to keep the promise. &ldquo;Done. Are you sure your parents would be okay with this?&rdquo; He sits beside Mikey and doesn&#039;t peak over at the drawing.<br />\tHe opens the chest and pulls out several loose sheafs of papers. He stops, setting a leather folio, sealed with a silken knot on his bed. He hops next to Drew and sets the folio on their laps. He unties the silk knot and opens it, watching for Drew&#039;s reaction. He looks like a kid again.<br />\tThe drawings are of a variety of objects and animals at first. There&#039;s several of Whirlwind, Aldan, Bryan, Kate, Sally, Jereminy, and humans Drew doesn&#039;t recognize. At the back are drawings of Bryan, Aldan, and Kate in the nude. They&#039;re arms and legs are spread as in the scholarly work, and there are notes and arrows pointing to different areas. Each of Aldan&#039;s scars is reproduced in detail, with notes on cause and year inflicted. There are details of their genitals, hard and soft for the males, with more notes. It&#039;s all very clinical.<br />\t&ldquo;See? It&#039;s part of my studies.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Wow. These are incredible! Can I touch them?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Yes, but wipe your hands first, please.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;On my shirt?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Or my blankets. I guess we can get a towel if you&#039;d like. No one know about these, though.&rdquo; He holds his finger to his lips. &ldquo;Sshhhh.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew wipes his hands on the blankets, then carefully holds up the one of Aldan into the air. He&#039;s never seen anything so fine, detailed, and true. Not only does the drawing capture what he looks like, but his soul, seriousness, but emotional and empathetic, are all in it too. There&#039;s nothing sexual about these nudes. It&#039;s pure art. To him, Aldan is the epitome of beauty. He puts it down as if it were a feather into grass right back into its place, straightening it with the others. &ldquo;Don&#039;t worry. I&#039;ve already sworn my promise.&rdquo; He takes of his shirt, slides down his pants, setting them to the side as he sits down by the pillows on the bed.<br />\tMilliken stands and stares at Drew. He holds his hand in front of his face, extending one, two, and three fingers. After a couple of minutes., he smiles at Drew. &ldquo;Thank you, very much. Can you arouse yourself?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Arouse myself? Why? I don&#039;t know if I feel comfortable doing that in front of you...&rdquo;<br />\tMikey frowns. &ldquo;We won&#039;t have another chance. I&#039;d have to guess and I don&#039;t like guessing. I can draw from memory. I never forget anything.&rdquo; He takes a drawing of Bryan, aroused. &ldquo;See? I peeked under his sheets when he was sleeping. Then I drew this two days later when I was alone. I can&#039;t make you, but it would be very helpful for my notes.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew laughs. &ldquo;Okay. Okay... One minute. You get it in your mind, then I&#039;m putting it away.&rdquo; He strips off his fundoshi, lifting his butt before he puts it with the rest of his clothing. It doesn&#039;t take long for his curved six inches to get erect. All he has to do is imagine what Aldan and him will do later tonight. His tail moves over his right leg, resting there. He sits still, not wanting to mess him up on his drawing.<br />\tHis eyes widen. &ldquo;Oh! It would give me insight as to what arouses demons as well. I have no idea. The literature on that is lacking.&rdquo; He looks unhappy. &ldquo;Laziness, really.&rdquo; Mikey does the same thing with his hand, one finger, two, three. &ldquo;What are you thinking of? Are you just willing it to be hard?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Your father.&rdquo; He blushes.<br />\t&ldquo;I see.&rdquo; He smiles at Drew. &ldquo;Thanks ever so much! You can call me Mikey now.&rdquo; He sits down and repacks his drawings, carefully sealing the folio and placing it back in his chest. He waits for Drew to finish dressing, then calls out, &ldquo;Bryan! Permission!&rdquo;<br />\tBryan comes back in. &ldquo;I hope it was worth all that. You&#039;re so weird sometimes, Mikey.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew leans against the wall, putting one leg over the other, and sighs. &ldquo;So what now?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Did you want to look at any of my books? I don&#039;t know how fast you read, but your welcome to borrow one or two.&rdquo; Mikey says.<br />\tBryan whistles. &ldquo;Wow. You don&#039;t let anyone borrow your books!&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;I&#039;ve never had a demon as a friend before.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Me either. I told you he was nice.&rdquo;<br />\tMikey nods. &ldquo;He is. And he appreciates learning.&rdquo;<br />\tAs Drew stretches out his back his tail reflexes. &ldquo;I can read a four-hundred-page book in about an hour.&rdquo; He sticks out his tongue. &ldquo;Some of the older demons need only touch a book and immediately have all of it consumed. It&#039;s a very bizarre magic. I don&#039;t know if I can borrow a book, since I won&#039;t have much time tonight or tomorrow morning. Hey Mikey... Maybe I can have my books given to you as a gift.&rdquo;<br />\tFor the first time, Mikey looks like a little kid. He smiles broadly and hops from one foot to another in excitement. &ldquo;Really? Really? You mean it?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew nods. &ldquo;Of course I mean it! What else would they be of use for? Heck, they might even take you a year or two get through them all. Some of them are kind of sad and others are hard to read, but I think they&#039;ll teach you a lot about the art of writing.&rdquo;<br />\tMikey does a weird, awkward little dance of joy. &ldquo;Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise that I&#039;ll take good care of them and keep them always.&rdquo; Bryan frowns and grabs Mikey&#039;s arm, pulling him into a corner and whispering to him. Mikey&#039;s head drops and he looks at Drew, his eyes welling with tears. He runs over to Drew, throwing his arms around him. &ldquo;I&#039;m sorry, Drew, I&#039;m sorry. Please forgive me.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Forgive you for what?&rdquo; He holds him by the back of his head, wiping away his tears.<br />\t&ldquo;For being so happy. The only reason you&#039;re giving me your books is because of tomorrow. I forgot.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;No. That&#039;s not true.&rdquo; He hugs him tightly, smiling as he explains. &ldquo;I&#039;ve read all of those books. I&#039;d rather have new ones if I had more time anyway. So they&#039;re yours. That&#039;s all.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Well, I didn&#039;t forget, I just didn&#039;t connect the dots.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew looks over to his desk, thinking of same way to change the conversation. &ldquo;So you&#039;re a writer, correct? Maybe you could get a job working for the papers or at the libraries before you become a famous novelist and painter.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;I hope to study at one of the colleges. Would you like to read one of my stories?&rdquo; He looks very hopeful.<br />\tBryan chimes in. &ldquo;He writes really good stories. Some of them are about daddy, too! Oh! Oh!&rdquo; He grabs Mikey&#039;s arm and gently shakes him. &ldquo;Show him the one about daddy&#039;s first big battle.&rdquo;<br />\tMikey grins. &ldquo;If you want to???&rdquo; He pulls his chest out again and opens it, waiting for Drew to speak.<br />\t&ldquo;I might have heard of it already, but I&#039;d love to hear it from you.&rdquo; He moves around on the bed, waiting for Mikey to find it and show it to him.<br />\tMikey retrieves a sheaf of papers, sewn together by hand. The front page has a drawing of Aldan as a young man with rows of soldiers, flags and banners behind him. It&#039;s surprisingly thick, perhaps a half inch. Opening it, the hand-written letters are even and precise, small but not tiny. There are nearly fifty pages, each clean and precise.<br />\tDrew wipes his hands clean before taking it from him, sitting it on his lap once his tail moves out of the way. &ldquo;Bad handwriting. That&#039;s a good sign. Means you&#039;ll be a very creative writer. Don&#039;t worry though, I can read it.&rdquo; His eyes naturally speed through each line at a rapid pace, but he takes elegance and carefulness when he moves each page to the side. &ldquo;What kind of material are these pages made of? They&#039;re so soft and gentle. I feel like I&#039;m handling something sacred.&rdquo; He continues to read, his brain absorbing and taking in all of the emotions. His tail moves anytime he reads something tense, such as Aldan fighting or watching one of his comrades die. His voice is quiet, but you can hear his heart beating faster as he dwells faster into the story.<br />\tThe story is brilliant, given Mikey&#039;s age when he wrote it. He spends a little too much time on pointless details and sometimes uses big words when more direct language would read better. Drew looks at the nine-year-old. That he wrote something of that length, as well as he did, is impressive. As they watch, Mikey and Bryan sit on Bryan&#039;s bed. When Drew is about halfway through, Mikey leans over to Bryan and whispers, Bryan nods and takes his little brother&#039;s hand. They sit like that until Drew is finished. It&#039;s Bryan who asks, &ldquo;Well, what did you think? And be honest.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew waits for a moment after the book is closed for a few minutes until every scene and moment of the story is strung together in his head. A tear runs down his left cheek, which he quickly wipes away. When he opens his eyes, he takes one of Mikey&#039;s hands, then one of Bryan&#039;s. &ldquo;It... Allowed me to see your father on a deeper level. I could see myself there with him. The visuals were so precise. I think you could flesh it out a bit more though. Maybe one day you could make one big book of all of your fathers battles into one. Everyone in the kingdom would buy it. that I know for sure.&rdquo; He grins, letting go of their hands. &ldquo;It also allowed me to feel closer to you. I don&#039;t really know you all too well, but I know that you&#039;re creative, smart, bright.&rdquo; He looks to Bryan. &ldquo;While you might not be as much of an artistic wiz, I see a heart of gold in you. I&#039;m glad I&#039;ve been given this chance to meet the two of you. It was destined, anyway... What are the chances that I would be let out of my cell to come here? I never thought I&#039;d have my way out of the prison for even a single second. Don&#039;t either of you cry. I wouldn&#039;t be able to hold myself together. Just remember that I love you both and that I will guide and protect you for as long as you live.&rdquo;<br />\tThey watch and listen, totally captivated by Drew. He sees their eyes welling up, but they both manage to keep from crying, thought their chins and lower lips quiver. They both latch onto Drew, hugging him tightly. They don&#039;t seem inclined to let him go. A knock on the door, and Aldan sticks his in. He smiles as he sees the affection and bond between his husband and his sons. &ldquo;Dinner time, boys. Wash up and head to the table.&rdquo;<br />\tThe boys let go of Drew, Bryan runs out of the room and downstairs. Mikey kisses Drew on the cheek and chases after his brother.<br />\t&ldquo;It went well, I take it.&rdquo; Aldan pulls Drew to his feet and embraces him. &ldquo;I was hoping it would.&rdquo; He sees the book on Mikey&#039;s bed. &ldquo;Oh no...&rdquo; Aldan blushes slightly. &ldquo;I was just a soldier, my first action. I was more terrified than what he wrote.&rdquo; He leads Drew downstairs. &ldquo;He said that wouldn&#039;t make a good story. Heroes can be afraid or nervous, but never terrified.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;It was your first battle though. Of course it was terrifying!&rdquo; He argues with him jokingly as they go downstairs. Drew situates himself at the table, sitting next to his husband.<br />\tDinner is a form of organized chaos. Mikey and Bryan sit next to each other, Sally and Jereminy next to their mother. The table is covered in plates, saucers, cups, glass and food. There&#039;s raw fish and eels for Drew, along with hot water for tea and wine. There&#039;s plenty for everyone and even the dishes that Drew doesn&#039;t particularly care for are well made.<br />\t&ldquo;There&#039;s so much food! Is it always as festive as this?&rdquo; He dishes himself a plate of eels, a meaty chunk of raw fish, and scrappings of raw turkey. Aldan pours him a glass of wine, which he sips carefully to note its taste. &ldquo;And to think another one is on the way! This table is like a buffet!&rdquo;<br />\tKate beams with pride. &ldquo;If I can&#039;t feed my family, a poor mother I&#039;d be! We love having guests, too. Sharing a meal is an of civilization and peace, my father always said.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan nods in agreement. &ldquo;I made quite a living in battle. There&#039;s always plunder in war, and even with taxes paid and bribes given, there was enough to start us well. It helps that Kate makes most of our clothes, too.&rdquo; He takes Drew&#039;s hand and squeezes gently. &ldquo;Any meal is better with family. Love is the best seasoning. Your mother said that.&rdquo; He nods to Kate, who smiles.<br />\tWhen the meal is finished, Bryan takes Sally and Jereminy upstairs while Mikey helps clear the table.<br />\t&ldquo;Pipes in front of the fire before dessert?&rdquo; Aldan asks.<br />\tDrew chuckles. &ldquo;I&#039;d love to.&rdquo; He follows Aldan out of the kitchen.<br />\tAldan sits in a comfortably stuffed chair. He pulls Drew down onto his lap, wedging his hand between Drew&#039;s legs. He whispers, &ldquo;I want you so badly, Drew. I&#039;m tempted to take you here and now, on the floor.&rdquo; He sniffs Drew, making even that feel as foreplay as he massages between Drew&#039;s legs.<br />\t&ldquo;Here? Right now?&rdquo; Drew grabs his hand, letting him continue to grope him. &ldquo;Your wife could walk in. Or the kids. That wouldn&#039;t be right. We&#039;ll just have to wait, won&#039;t we?&rdquo; He grinds his ass against Aldan&#039;s growing erection. &ldquo;Ah, sorry, had to adjust a little better.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;A little better? That&#039;s a lot better.&rdquo; Smiling he packs his pipe and smokes, offering Drew a pull. It&#039;s sweet and rich smelling tobacco. He holds Drew close. &ldquo;I just want to hold for now. We&#039;ll wait.&rdquo; He gropes his husband. &ldquo;This will build our mood, though, and make tonight even better.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew takes in the smoke, inhaling it deeply before it blows it at Aldan&rsquo;s face. &ldquo;Remember?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan smiles. &ldquo;Yes, I do. Gods blood, if we weren&#039;t married already, I&#039;d marry you again right now.&rdquo; His face grows serious for a moment, then curious. &ldquo;You&#039;ve had a good day, haven&#039;t you, babe?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew kisses him on the lips, then inhales more smoke. It drifts out of his mouth and nostrils as he speaks. &ldquo;Mostly, yes. The good parts have been transcendent. Like a dream, but real, obviously.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan smiles contentedly. &ldquo;I will carry today with me forever, Drew. I think Bryan and Mikey will, too, judging by those hugs earlier.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Yeah.&rdquo; He looks down, holding his own hands. &ldquo;I... Uh... Katy said something that made me really think. Not really the best thought though. I feel like even though I&#039;ve had these beautiful moments now in my life with you and your family, I&#039;m hurting you all as well, because of what happens tomorrow. There&#039;s no way around it either. It wasn&#039;t my intention to hurt you.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan pulls Drew&#039;s face close to his, their foreheads and noses touching. &ldquo;You&#039;re not hurting any of us, my love. It&#039;s the law causing us all pain. Not you, my sweet, sweet demon-boy.&rdquo; He whispers into Drew&#039;s ear. &ldquo;You made Bryan happy today. Mikey, too. Even Kate. No, you&#039;ve done nothing but bring us joy. And you will do so even after tomorrow.&rdquo;<br />\tDrew pulls him in, kissing him deeply, their mouths locked as tongues swirl and fight each other fiercely. When he breaks the kiss his face is of sheer overflowing love. &ldquo;I fucking love you so much.&rdquo; He kisses him again.<br />\tAldan returns the kiss, willing time to stop. To let them keep this kiss forever. He pours his soul into this kiss and commits every detail of this moment to his memory. The sound of dishes being washed, the indistinct voices of Mikey and Katey in the kitchen. The crackle of the fire and the sound of Drew&#039;s breathing. The smell of the fire and his tobacco. The smell and taste of Drew&#039;s mouth, his neck. The warmth from the fire and from his husband. Every detail. &ldquo;I love you just as much, my Drew. I always have and I always will.&rdquo; He holds Drew close, trying not to cry.<br />\tHe takes the pipe from Aldan&#039;s hand, using his finger to light the tobacco again. He exhales more smoke at his face, relaxing his body into his lover and the chair. &ldquo;Should I make that coffee for everyone now?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan&#039;s face brightens. &ldquo;I think that&#039;s a capital idea. Anything I can do to assist?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;We will see.&rdquo; He moves his way into the kitchen, taking the bag of coffee beans off of the table and to the counter where Katy is. She notices what he&#039;s about to do and hands him a medium sized decanter that specifically works for his needs. He presses down on the bag, closing his eyes and sings a single phrase. The beans instantly crush. Drew opens the bag and the smell consumes the entire kitchen. Strong, but not bitter or acidic. Smells like peach, vanilla, and cantaloupe. Funky and fruity. Katy hands him a measuring cup of water. &ldquo;Thank you, ma&#039;am.&rdquo; He heats the water up instantly, pouring it into the decanter, then putting the beans in afterwards. Steam rises from the tip. Drew puts his thumb over most of it, letting it simmer while his other hand controls the temperature at its base. He sings again, a lovely a capella in his language, smiling in joy as he does so. His hands are not harmed by the heat. After he sings, he takes it with him to the table. &ldquo;Aldan, can you take out some cups for everyone?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Gladly.&rdquo; He pulls down full sized cups for the three of them. &ldquo;Will this keep the children awake or can they try some as well?&rdquo;<br />\tKatey places a round layer-cake on the table, along with small plates and forks. She begins cutting slices as Drew and Aldan discuss the coffee.<br />\t&ldquo;Not the young ones. Bryan and Mikey can have a sip if they&#039;d like.&rdquo; He pours the same amount into each cup, setting the decanter to the side. &ldquo;I must warn that there is a small cayenne-like spice in it, a special trick that only I know how to do. It shouldn&#039;t be so warm that it will burn your mouth when you sip from it.&rdquo; He takes a sip of it from his cup, immediately feeling it rush through his entire body. Little does he know that the extra spice is going to get Aldan to fuck him real good tonight.<br />\tAldan calls the children to the kitchen, bellowing with military volume. &ldquo;Children! Kitchen! Now!&rdquo; The sounds of running feet sound on the stairs and sitting room as the four children arrive in the kitchen. <br />\t&ldquo;Oh, cake!&rdquo; Bryan observes.<br />\t&ldquo;Mommy and I made it. It&#039;s ginger and spices,&rdquo; Sally says proudly.<br />\tEach child is given a slice of cake. Bryan and Mikey are offered a single sip of Drew&#039;s special coffee. Mikey declines initially, but once Bryan agrees to try it, he follows suit. They each take a small sip, but neither of them seem to enjoy the coffee, their youthful palettes confused by the depth of flavor of the dark brew. Aldan, of course, loves the coffee and Katey seems to enjoy hers as well. Luckily, it seems to go well with the cake. The children finish their cake quickly, with Drew and the adults taking longer to enjoy both.<br />\tDrew watches as they drink his coffee, hoping they&#039;re not disappointed in them. He knows that they enjoy it, but can&#039;t tell if it&#039;s the best they&#039;ve ever had. Either way, it doesn&#039;t matter to him. As long as it does what it needs to do to Aldan tonight, everything will be fine. &ldquo;Hey Bryan. Should we see Whirlwind before I get ready to leave?&rdquo;<br />\tBryan&#039;s eyes light up at the idea of taking Drew to see Whirlwind. He hops up from his chair. &ldquo;Yeah! That&#039;d be great. Maybe next time I can -&rdquo; The words catch in his throat and the smile disappears from his face. He walks over to Drew and takes his hand, one of his hands wrapped around the first two finger of Drew&#039;s right hand, Bry&#039;s other hand wrapped around the last two fingers. &ldquo;Yeah. He&#039;d want to say goodbye, too. He likes you.&rdquo; As the pair reach the back door. Mikey calls after them, &ldquo;Bryan, may I come too?&rdquo;<br />\tBryan looks back at him. &ldquo;I thought he scares you?&rdquo;<br />\tMikey shrugs, &ldquo;He does sometimes. But I still want to come.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;The horse scares him or I do?&rdquo; He scratches his head as he&#039;s dragged outside. The sun is setting. It&#039;ll be dark in half an hour. Drew stars into the light, which has no effect on his eyes.<br />\tMikey catches up to Drew and Bryan, taking Drew&#039;s other hand Whirlwind. &ldquo;He&#039;s so big and he loves Bryan but not me so much.&rdquo; Mikey explains. &ldquo;He senses that I&#039;m afraid and that makes him nervous which makes me afraid which makes me nervous.&rdquo;<br />\tThey reach the barn and enter, Whirlwind stamping and whinnying as they enter. He turns in his stall and reaches his head over the gate, allowing Bryan to stroke his muzzle. The beast turns and twists its ears, whinnying in Drew&#039;s direction. Bryan fetches some oats and refills his water as the horse and Drew regard each other.<br />\t&ldquo;Hey, Whirlwind.&rdquo; Drew steps over the gate without asking if he can, walking around it, even behind where its tail is, knowing that it could easily kick him if it wanted to. He returns over, feeling to his shoulder and up to his forehead. &ldquo;Thanks for letting me ride you. Make sure you keep Bryan safe, will you? I&#039;ll do my best, too.&rdquo; He kisses the horse above its nose, hugging it before he looks back over to his stepson, who is only a few years younger than him.<br />\tMikey watches Drew with the horse, sniffling. Bryan watches smiling. &ldquo;I told you he likes you. He knows you have a gentle spirit.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;It&#039;s gentle now that I&#039;ve found love.&rdquo; He jumps back over the fence, looking to Bryan. &ldquo;Is there anything special you want to do tomorrow? That is, if you want to see me. We might have an hour or so to talk or whatnot. Then your Dad and I should have some alone time. Not that kind of alone time. Just to be together alone for a bit.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan shrugs. &ldquo;Maybe I can bring breakfast? I mean, if you think you&#039;ll be hungry. I can ride Whirlwind.&rdquo; He kicks at the ground. &ldquo;Daddy won&#039;t let me watch.&rdquo; He looks at Drew. &ldquo;I don&#039;t think I&#039;d want to, anyway.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;It&#039;d be best if you didn&#039;t. I wouldn&#039;t want you there. I don&#039;t want your last memory of me to be of... that.&rdquo; He bites his lip and his tail flaps nervously. &ldquo;We&#039;re going to have to get going soon, because I have to sleep tonight.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Okay.&rdquo; Bryan says good night to Whirlwind. As Drew walks back to the house, Bryan and Mikey walk very, very slowly. Bryan takes Drew&#039;s arm and wraps it around his shoulders as he leans into him, his own arm wrapped around your waist.<br />\tWhen the three of them reach the kitchen. Mikey looks up at Drew, his eyes huge and wet. He digs in his pocket and hands him a folded sheet of parchment. He opens his mouth, but doesn&#039;t speak. As tears begin to roll down his cheeks, he turns and runs upstairs. Bryan looks at Drew and hugs him tightly. &ldquo;See you in the morning, okay?&rdquo; He runs after his brother.<br />\tDrew holds the paper tightly. His face is ghastly and disturbed. Almost as if he just fell into a nightmare. Seeing them like that. Knowing it will only get worse. Before he can even look to Aldan he walks away into the darkness of another room, shutting out the candles so he&#039;s not seen as he cries. &ldquo;Fuck. I&#039;m sorry. I&#039;m sorry. Don&#039;t hate me.&rdquo; He prays, although his voice is broken and distorted as he does so. Praying that the Gods that he worships will understand and allow him the chance to grant Aldan and his family peace. Praying that at some point the wolf-demon boy will also be saved from being tempted into darkness like him. Praying that the kingdom will be saved along with his own people, the same people who turned their backs on him. He cleans the tears from his face, pulling himself together as he enters the kitchen. &ldquo;I... I need to calm down. I can&#039;t have these feelings right now or tomorrow.&rdquo;<br />\tKatey pats Drew&#039;s shoulder, rubbing them gently. As a mother would her own child. &ldquo;More coffee? Or...&rdquo; She looks to Aldan. &ldquo;...Would you like to be alone before you head back?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Coffee... Please.&rdquo; He walks over to the table, taking a chair and sitting down to it. &ldquo;Think I just forgot how to breathe.&rdquo; He focuses on his breath, taking long slow inhales and exhales as he feels his pulse lower back to normal.<br />\tKate pours Drew a fresh cup. She continues to rub his shoulder and combs his hair with her fingers.<br />\t&ldquo;Thanks, Katey.&rdquo; He takes a small sip from his coffee and unwraps the paper in his hand.<br />\tAldan sits next to Drew, holding him. Drew feels . . .protected. Blanketed with warmth and affection. He unfolds the paper. There&#039;s a small drawing. A boy, slightly round and obviously Milliken, standing next to a demon, carefully drawn tail and horns easily recognizable as Drew. The boy holds the demon&#039;s hand. Beneath the picture are a few lines, carefully written - Dear Drew, I will put you in a story with Daddy. The Two Daddys is what I will call it and you will both be heroes. I am not good with feelings, so this is my hug goodbye. I will think of you when I read and write. Your friend&nbsp;&nbsp;son, Mikey. Underneath the sentiment is a heart.<br />\tAs soon as he finishes reading it, Drew folds it in half and puts it into his pocket. He sighs, gulping down half of his coffee. &ldquo;I&#039;ll have to tell you more about myself tonight before we sleep so that you can give it back to Milliken. He wants to write a story about us, but it&#039;s important to know everything, I think.&rdquo; He stands up, finishes his coffee, then walks over to hug Katey. When he first entered the house, he never expected that he&#039;d get along with her, but now he knows that she understands. As Drew pulls away, he thanks her, then turns to Aldan. &ldquo;We should get going.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;&#039;ll be along in a moment.&rdquo; Aldan kisses Drew&#039;s cheek. Drew goes into the sitting room. Aldan&#039;s pipe sits in an abalone shell ashtray, a pouch of tobacco resting beside it. Candles and the fireplace light and warm the room. Presently, less than five minutes, Aldan enters from the kitchen. &ldquo;Are you ready, Drew?&rdquo;<br />\tDrew nods. &ldquo;Goodbye Katey.&rdquo; He nods his head to her, then walks to the door with his hands in his pockets. &ldquo;Now I don&#039;t know if I should have met them or not. Will their memories of me be only that of hurt or will they see them as something else?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan grabs a bundle and walks with Drew, exiting the house and closing the door behind him. He walks close beside Drew but doesn&#039;t speak or take his hand. He lets Drew think, reminding him with his presence that when Drew wants him, needs him that he&#039;s right there. They walk slowly into the gathering night. Not looking back, they don&#039;t see the boys watching from the window, Bryan&#039;s arm wrapped protectively around a sobbing Mikey&#039;s shoulders. The pair watch until their fathers disappear into the night.<br /></span>","pools_count":1,"title":"Prisoner - Chapter Four","deleted":"f","public":"t","mimetype":"application/msword","pagecount":"1","rating_id":"1","rating_name":"Mature","ratings":[{"content_tag_id":"3","name":"Violence","description":"Mild violence","rating_id":"1"}],"submission_type_id":"12","type_name":"Writing - Document","guest_block":"f","friends_only":"f","comments_count":"0","views":"0","sales_description":null,"forsale":"f","digitalsales":"f","printsales":"f","digital_price":""}