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more chapter left! Thanks for everyone that's been reading. :D <3","description_bbcode_parsed":"<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>One more chapter left! Thanks for everyone that&#039;s been reading. :D &lt;3</span>","writing":"THE BOY HEROES FROM THE LAND OF ERIK (A Series of Epics)\nEpic no. 4 - \nLev’s Tale\nBy DamiJon\n\nChapter Seventeen\n\n\tThe morning of the funeral is cold and wet. A grey mist hang over the city. Aldan stares out through the closed window of his bedroom. A fire burns in the fireplace. He's thankful for the little luxuries of the new home. Fireplaces in nearly every room. No drafts, no leaks. Nothing to ever show that the place had ever been lived in. Turning away from the window, he stares at the bed.\n\tHIs half is wrinkled, slept in. The other half is almost pristine. Where Kate would have slept, tossing and turning with the discomfort of the last days of her pregnancy, the blankets and sheets are undisturbed. Aldan stares at them as he has every morning for the past three days.\n\tHe wipes the tears from his eyes and sighs. He pulls out his best uniform and begins dressing for the funeral. HIs best uniform, each of his medals and ribbons, all the buttons and buckles freshly polished. His boots are black and polished almost to a mirror like finish.\n\nAs he's about to head downstairs, he stops and stares at the bed again. He takes hold of the door handle, closing his eyes. Bryan and Milliken. Bryan and Milliken. Bryan and Milliken. He sighs as he finishes his mantra. His boys are all that's kept him going, all that's gotten him out of bed. They need him. He heads downstairs to their room.\n\tBryan lays in bed, next to his boyfriend Lev. He stares at the ceiling, pretending he can't hear Milliken crying into Jay's arms. Not because the sound irritates him, but so he doesn't embarrass his brother. The odd tears streams from his face, dripping down onto the pillow. He rolls over and lays his head on Lev's chest and the demon-boy wraps an arm around him protectively.\n\tIn the bed opposite Bryan and Lev, Milliken lie curled into a ball, his boyfriend Jay wrapped around him like a shield. Mikey cries softly, as he has every morning since it happened. Jay holds him, not knowing how else to comfort him.\n\tBryan glances out the window. It's foggy and cold outside. He hears his dad moving around upstairs. He clears his throat. “Dad's up. We should get up and start getting ready.”\n\tMilliken whispers something to Jay, who relays to Bryan. Mikey isn't sure he can do it. He pauses He's afraid.\n\t“Yeah. Do you have your clothes ready?” Lev sits up out of bed carefully and slowly, sighing deeply as he squeezes his temples. All of the stress and flashbacks have given him a migraine. None of them saw what happened and he's glad they didn't, because he knows it'll be years, maybe decades, for him to get that image out of his head for more than a day. After he steps out of bed, he fills up a glass for Mikey and Jay, sitting on the edge of the bed to tap their shoulders and catch their attention. “Hey... Sit up for a second and hydrate yourself.” Jay helps him sit up and drink from the glass before finishing off the rest of it. “We'll get you your clothes.”\n\tBryan sits up and stretches. He swings his feet out of bed, onto the floor. His dick is hard and he shields his morning wood with one hand. The sex that they had enjoyed so much and so often previously seems like a distant memory. Neither of them have even hinted at the subject. They hold each other as much as possible, but the memories and pain of loss are too much. “We have to do it, Milliken. For mom. He sniffles For daddy, too.” He stands, moving to the jug and basin. He washes his face and grabs clean underwear from his dresser. He grabs a set for Mikey and lays them on a chair.\n\tA soft knock draws their attention to the door. Aldan opens the door. He crosses into the room, embracing Bryan tightly. “I'm glad you boys are all up. Today's going to be hard, but we'll get through it, right? All of us together. We're the family now.” He moves over and sits next to Mikey, rubbing his back.\n\tLev places Jay and Milliken's clothing on the bed, then walks back over to the closet, staring at himself in the mirror. The bags under his eyes are black like eyeliner and his eyes are a glossy red from constantly crying. He switches from cold and numbness to explosions of shock, rage, and depression. After looking himself over, he wraps on a clean fundoshi, then takes out a robe that his parents brought over, which is a fine velvety black that fits tightly around him. It's the exact color and style demons are supposed to wear to funerals. Once dressed, he washes his face off next to Bryan and uses a cloth to clean his horns.\n\tJay holds onto his boyfriends shoulders, kissing his neck softly, and rocking him back and forth. The king brought over clothes for them since the items from their old home have been kept in a piled mess in a different room downstairs. “We'll be down in a minute or two. We just need some time alone, don't we?” Milliken nods, wiping his face off on his sleeve. \n\tAfter everyone leaves the bedroom dressed, Jay stands up and uses the cloth Lev had to clean off Mikey. “Stand up, hun.” He helps him up, then begins cleaning more sweat off of his body. It takes a lot of convincing and messing around before he's able to get him dressed up and then he himself has to do the same.\n\n\t“They're up. All of them.” Holt speaks with a tone of sadness to his voice. He closes the book he's been reading. He hasn't slept since it happened. He insisted on seeing the bodies. Though it broke his heart, he has seen such acts of cruelty before. He's stayed awake every night, listening. The tears of the boys, of Aldan, of Kate's father and Aldan's parents. In a sense, he and Aizen have been the adults, trying to keep the others going from day to day. “We should dress.”\n\t“I know.” Aizen has been sitting in a low chair in the corner of the bedroom and hidden in the dark for who knows how long. Both him and Holt have seen it all before on even grander scales against their own people while they were just as young as the other boys. “This has to end... This war needs to be the last one against them.” He stands up, pulling out his clothing from a closet, then placing them down on the bed. “We need to crush them once and for all.” He dresses quickly. The clothes are unlike his style and much more like something a human would wear, but he felt like wearing the clothes that are comfortable to him would be rude in a situation like this. Nierihn, the specific Demon Lord that he worships, never specified that one must always wear specific clothes that are common in their culture, not like the others said. He wears the fundoshi, black pants, and a dark green button up shirt.\n\tHolt nods grimly. He dresses in light and dark greens, including his most finely decorated leathers. He'll leave his bow here, but wears his sword and dagger. “Yes.” He moves over to Aizen, kissing him lightly on the lips. Carefully he brushes his hands through Aizen's hair. “Would you like me to do your horns?”\n\tHolt stands facing Aizen. He takes his right hand and places it over Aizen's heart, taking Aizen's hand and placing it over his heart. He leans his forehead against Aizen's, closing his eyes. “I love you, Aizen. My heart is yours through all things. Today is going to be difficult. Promise me you won't ever die.”\n\tHe shuts his eyes as he listens, until he mentions the final part. “I... Promise not to die until I'm too old to live anymore. I'll do my best to stay as healthy and strong as I can... IF you do the same, of course.” Aizen kisses his lips, then takes one of his hands. “After the funeral, we should stay for a few more days, just to be there for them. I've already spoken to my teachers and they've given me the okay.”\n\tHolt nods. “I agree. I wonder who Aldan will have watch the boys while he's at war?” He holds the door handle. “Ready?”\n\tAizen nods, although painfully. He stands shoulder-length close to him as they move out from the room, down the hallway and stairs. Jay, Mikey, Lev, and Bryan are already gathered by the kitchen, where three other strangers are sitting and speaking to them. Aldan stands close by, but is looking away from them and out at the clouds.\n\tThe boys nibble listlessly at fresh baked biscuit, courtesy of their grandmother Edna. She sips tea and watches them, her eyes sad as she dabs tears from them with a silk handkerchief. Her husband tries to cheer the boys with silly magic tricks, making a gold coin disappear only to reappear behind one boy's ear. The third older person, quietly move to stand next to Aldan, who looks at him and lowers his gaze, almost ashamed.\n\t“I should have been there to protect her, Bennet. I wasn't and now she's gone.” Aldan talks softly, a cup of coffee cooling in his hand.\n\tThe older man, hair gray and trimmed very short, smiles. His brown eyes are moist and red. He takes hold of Aldan's arm, just above the wrist. “I've told you before to knock that shit off. If you'd been there, they'd have killed you too.” He looks over to Milliken and Bryan. “And them, too. No, Aldan. My daughter was murdered and the only ones to blame are the fiends who did it and the cowards who ordered it.” He sips his coffee. “Drink up, Aldan. You'll need the energy. I buried Kate's mother 13 years ago. Some days it feels like just yesterday. It's going to hurt like hell. But you're not alone.” He nods his head over to the boys. “You've got them and they've got you. And you're folks and me. And them other boys, too.”\n\tAldan nods. “Thank you, Bennett.” He drains his coffee, refilling his cup and devouring a biscuit in two bites. He washes it down with hot coffee. “Alright, boys. Mom, dad. Time to head out.” Everyone looks at him, some nod, others sigh, but they all struggle to their feet and head for the sitting room and the front door.\n\tAizen and Holt wait and give them time to speak to each other before following through the front door with them. They keep their introductions short, Aldan explaining to the older parents that they're friends of the boys and here to offer support. As they walk out of the door, memories flood Aizen's mind - the three miles spread out of graves for those lost in battles, the images of the dead, watching people dig dozens of graves at the same time, and it goes on and on even as they walk down the pavement towards the gates.\n\tThe group exits through the gates, finding Whirlwind saddled and ready to ride. He champs happily at his bit, stamping the ground excitedly to see Bryan. They haven't ridden since that day. He's ties to the rear of a large carriage, a smaller carriage close behind. Grooms and footmen hustle to activity, opening the carriage doors and standing ready to help the mourning family into the carriage.\n\tBryan moves to his horse, nuzzling the happy beast and rubbing his nose. He whispers to the horse. Looking back at Aldan, a smile on his face for the first time in days, the smile wavers, threatening to disappear but somehow, someway, it sticks. “Lev and I will ride Whirlwind.”\n\tAldan nods. As Bryan and Lev hops on to Whirlwind, Aldan and a footman help his mother and father, Edna and Alfrick, into the carriage, followed by Kate's father, Bennett. Milliken hesitates. He looks at Jay, his eyes searching, then at his father. They had discussed this moment last night. By protocols and as a matter of room, Jay should ride with Holt and Aizen in the second carriage. Now that the moment had arrived, Mikey was having doubts.\n\tJay has to practically hold and be pressed against his boyfriend for the entirety of being with him just to make sure that he doesn't explode out in volatile emotions, which is what he's done for the past few days. As difficult as it is, he does it all without even questioning why. It's love, proving to him that no matter how difficult things get, he will be there for him. “I'll be right here with you. If you want to hit me or squeeze my hand or cry into my shoulders, you can go ahead and do it. Just don't pretend like you're alone.” The second carriage arrives. Once Aizen and Holt are seated, Jay helps him up and into the backseats. It's cold, but their warmth triumphs it. The driver hands out umbrellas before the carriage begins to move. “I love you, Mikey. More than anything, hun.” He kisses his cheek.\n\tMilliken nods, turning into Jay and burying his face in Jay's chest. He wraps his arms around Jay's arm. Sniffling, he tries to sound strong. “I know. You've been...everything since.  .  .Since . . .” He can't finish the thought, but everyone in the carriage, even the driver and footman, know what he means.\n\tWatching Milliken, Holt reaches out and grabs Aizen's hand. His thumb taps on Aizen's knuckles, a nervous habit that Aizen has become used to. He tries to think of something to say, some comfort to offer, but finds no words. Instead, he clears his throat and pats Mikey on the knee.\n\t“Ho! Giddyup!” The lead driver snaps the reins and the larger, front coach lurches into motion. The small coach follows. Bryan and Lev ride to the side of the main carriage.\n\tAs the procession turns out onto the main street leading to the House of Rest, the temple of St. Corus where the funeral will be held, they are joined by a troop of mounted cavalry. With their polished steel breastplates and plumed helms, the scarlet uniformed riders take positions in front and to the rear of the procession. The clattering of hooves filled air. The troopers adjust their ranks to allow Bryan and Lev on Whirlwind to ride as one with them.\n\tAlong the thoroughfare small groups of people watch in silence. Families stand together, parents holding their children close as they watch the family pass by. Retired soldiers and off-duty guardsmen silently salute. Here and there an anthro and their family stand somber vigil. They all bow their heads as the carriages pass.\n\tIn the lead carriage, Aldan looks at the faces of the people. Many are crying. Sorrow is visible on all. Some of the faces he recognizes. Men he worked with at the prison, men he served with in the army. His throat tightens at their presence, old comrades standing with their wounded fellow.\n\tEdna, Aldan's mother, cries, blotting her tears with a silk handkerchief. It's one of Kate's finery, a blue \"K\" embroidered onto one corner. His father, Alfrick, holds her hand and clears his throat often. He struggles to hold in his own tears, patting Aldan's shoulder from time to time. He glances to the side and behind, checking on his grandsons and the strange collection of demons, an elf, and a green-haired boy who somehow came to love Kate as were she their mother. He doesn't understand their relationships, but is thankful for the comfort they've given the boys.\n\tBennett sits silently. His thoughts run to his wife, dead these many years, and now his daughter and grand-daughter and youngest grandson. Tears run down his cheeks. Edna reaches across to him, taking his hand. United by their grief, they watch and cry.\n\tAizen can see the family in front of them falling apart into a wave of tears and immediately feels their sorrow and heartbreak. Luckily, Milliken can't see in front and tell what's going on with them. Further up, Lev gazes out into the crowds of people, seeing those from his school and temple there to support them. All of Bryan's schoolmates are there too. It discomforts him to know that they all know what has happened to their family. It's become publicized. The support keeps the two of them strong, but at the same time it doesn't fix what has happened. It doesn't stop the tracks leading to the funeral nor does it bring the ones they've lost back to life.\n\tThe crowd grows as the near the temple. As the carriages rumble to a stop in front of the grand edifice, the footman leap from their seats, opening the doors and ready to assist the family. Bennett exits and he and a footman help Edna and Alfrick. Aldan stands, surveying the crowd, before stepping down to the ground.\n\tAldan makes for the second carriage as it moves forward to unload the boys at the black carpet of mourning that leads into the cathedral-like temple. Though they don't need help, he takes each boy's arm or hand as they disembark. Holt followed by Aizen, then Jay and finally Milliken. He hugs Milliken and Jay close and tight, producing a hanky to wipe Mikey's face and having him blow into it. He kisses both boys on their forehead and lets them take their place with the grandparents.\n\tBryan and Lev wait for the carriages to clatter off, walking Whirlwind to Aldan. Bryan reaches down to his father, letting him lift the boy from the saddle and holding him close. “Put a uniform on you and you could be one of the King's own cavalry.” He smiles at Bryan, who manages a smile back. They both reach up to help Lev.\n\tLev steps down with their help and then faces the tall, monolithic cathedral. A fear trembles inside of him. He hopes that the coffins are closed and that he never has to see those faces again. The images of him making breakfast with Kate and helping the kids in the morning is permanently ruined by what he saw in the kitchen that day. He imagines that stepping into the cathedral would somehow lead him back to that specific moment and relive it all over again. With all of it aggressively hitting him, he squeezing Bryan's hand.\n\tJay and Mikey stand close by their grandparents. Kate's father kneels down to speak with them, kissing Milliken's face and trying to tell him that all will be fine. The young green-haired boy hasn't broke hands with his boyfriend since they stepped onto the carriage, nor does he plan to do so unless he's told to.\n\tAldan, Bryan, and Lev join the others. Aldan knows this will be harder on Lev than most people would imagine. He's the only other family member who actually saw what was done. He also knows that Lev holds onto painful memories more acutely than most other people. As they walk towards the great doors, he takes the moment to speak softly. “Lev, we love you. I'm glad you're here. For Bryan, for Mikey, for me. If you need to leave at some point, I understand. But, I think you can do this.”\n\tThe family is greeted by the Cannoness Gwynneth, High Priestess of St. Corus. She is dressed in dark robes. Greeting each of the family by name, she goes in order, blessing each of them with holy water sprinkled from green mistletoe. Aizen, Holt, Jay, Milliken, Lev, Bryan, Bennett, Alfrick, Edna, and finally Aldan.\n\tLeading the family into the knave, they are surprised at the number of mourners. As they pass down the wide central aisle, the crowd stands. At first, at the rear, are strangers. Townspeople, demons, anthros. All drawn by the tragedy and loss of the crime committed not just against Aldan and his family. But against everyone who's ever loved a parent, a child, or a partner.\n\tMoving forward, Aldan is able to pick out neighbors. Coworkers. Gerald, the Warden, is there with his wife. The men from his last shifts. Raven and Jack along with the students. Grant and Youeen. Principal Jeremy. The nod and bow as the family passes.\n\tThen, rising up like pain given physical form are four coffins. Even closed, Aldan knows each one. Jereminy on the right. Sally on the left. Kate in the center with the tiniest coffin resting atop hers. He would have been name Drew. Aldan stops, the strength leaving his legs. He reaches out, finding Bennett who somehow keeps Aldan on his feet.\n\tThe family and close friends pass down to the front row and take their seats. Aizen and Holt sit at the very left end, the parents and grandparents on the opposite side. As broken as Bryan was the first few days, he's seemed to learn how to handle it better than the others have. Maybe he's still too shocked and numb by it to really feel the heaviness of grief just yet. Lev squeezes his hand, looking to the coffins once, then begins to pray in his tongue, some of it recited text, others being prayers for guidance, help, and that those they've lost are safely guided to peace in the afterlife. After he's finished praying, he looks to his lover and smiles, holding back his tears.\n\tMilliken is also surprisingly well adjusted and not crying anymore, but the pain in him is obvious. He was always a mothers boy, living to learn everything he could from her, having his most precious memories with her and the young ones when him and his brother would get in fights. Once he see's the smallest coffin he chokes, putting a hand to his mouth, and breaks apart again. Jay reacts nervously and quick, comforting him with a tight hug and pulling out his handkerchief. “Let it out. Come here.” He guides him into his shoulders, letting him sob for what seems like ten minutes until he's able to face what's in front of him with flat emotion, just like his brother.\n\tWhen the family is seated, a pair of young teens, a boy and a girl, move down the row. The boy holds a silver jug filled with light, cool wine. The girl carries a carved ivory chalice and white cloth. They offer each family member, starting with Holt, a drink. He accepts and the boy fills the cup, Holts drinks. The girl wipes the rim with the cloth and they move to the next person. The wine is refreshing, a special vintage made by elderly monks for the funeral rites. It is reputed to give strength to the mourners, while allowing them to find their brightest memories of their life with the deceased.\n\tAfter Aldan has drunk, the Cannoness enters, followed by three acolytes. One of them carries a censer of smoking incense. As she and the other acolytes take their places behind the coffins, the censer bearer circles the coffins reciting quiet prayers as he swings the censer, leaving fragrant smoke surrounding each coffin. He takes his place with the others, closing the vents on the censer and joining in silent prayer.\n\tAs the Cannoness and others raise their voice in hymn, a younger man in royal garb approaches Holt and Aizen, crouching low so as not to draw attention to himself.\n\tThe young man whispers respectively, “You'll need to be seated some place else from the family. The front row is for the family only.” Aizen apologizes, being in sort of a culture shock and not knowing exactly what's going on. Demons have no chairs or pews in their temples, nor would they allow such an audience for a funeral. As soon as he stands up, the king himself in the second row makes room for the two of them. They bow before taking their seats. The young man proceeds down, looking to Lev and Jay and explaining the same to them.\n\tLev counters, not so much offended, but more so as if he already knew. “--But I AM a part of the family. Aldan and Kate adopted Jay and I.”\n\t“But you're…” He looks confused. Mikey whispers to Jay, telling him not to leave.\n\tThe slight commotion at the end of the pew is enough to draw Aldan's attention. As Holt and Aizen move to the second row, he tenses. His mother turns to him. She follows his gaze, covering her mouth with her kerchief when she realizes what's happening. As Aldan starts to stand, his face reddening, she places a hand on his arm. He sits and Edna whispers to Alfrick.\n\tAlfrick frowns and looks at the second row. He looks at the young man whispering to Lev and Jay, seeing panic on Milliken's face. He stands, crouching, but not to low. Bent at the waist, he make his way down to the boys. “What's going on?” He hisses softly.\n\t“I'm sorry, sir. I'm trying to get them moved. They don't know that this row is for family only and they shouldn't be sitting here or seated closer than the King!”\n\tMilliken clutches fearfully at Jay, whose face is set stone. He looks ready to punch the interloper. “Grandpa! He can't make them leave. Tell him!”\n\tAlfrick taps the man's shoulder and gestures to a nearby pillar. The confused man joins the old man behind a large pillar. The young man speaks quickly. It's only the exceptional hearing of demons and elves that let Lev, Aizen, and Holt hear the exchange. “I'm sorry, sir. I don't know how they got in and up front like that. Demons and elves!”\n\t“Listen here, young man.” Alfrick leans in close, his eyes blaze into the young man. “Those demons and that elf, and the green haired boy, ARE part of this family. As much as those we're saying goodbye to, as much as Aldan or me or Kate's father or my wife.” His eyebrow cocks and pokes the man in the chest as he talks. “They're brothers to my grandchildren, sons to my son, my grandchildren.”\n\tThe younger man blanches and shrinks back, stammering. “I . . . I didn't know, sir! I just assumed they were . . . I didn't think they were family.”\n\tAlfrick continues poking the man's chest. “You didn't think. Period. I'm telling those boys to get back where they belong, with the rest of OUR FAMILY. After the ceremony, you'd best apologize to them and to my son. Until then, vanish!”\n\tThe young man swallows heavily, nodding furiously. He slinks back into the shadows, visibly shaken. Alfrick quietly approaches Aizen and Holt, who, along with Lev, heard every word. He pats each of them on the leg. “You boys sit up with us, now. Where you belong.” He moves across the front row, pausing to whisper to Milliken, and the other boys. “It's fixed, Mikey. Jay's staying right here, so's Lev. They're family, right. Forget that fool.” He kisses Mikey's cheek, pats Jay's hair, and winks at Lev and Bryan. Resuming his seat, he holds Aldan's arm, feeling his son relax.\n\tOnce all of the chaos of seating arrangements is finally over with, they're finally able to take in the beauty of the choral chants coming up high and in front of them. Six women, four men, all dressed in dark clothes with veils shielding their faces, gloves covering their hands, none of their bodies shown to anyone. It cannot be doubted that the music is mournful, but it's not stale in that essence. The singers are empathetic in the way that they sing, almost as if they were alone with the family and ones personally effected by the tragedy. Their chants are slow, complex, never fully dominant by male or female vocals, high or low notes, a complete balance and wave of emotion through music. Most of the singing is done in a language that the half-elf or demons can't understand, but is familiar to them by ear. Eventually, all that's left is the presence of their voices, which channels and calms everyone inside, purifying the essence of the cathedral, almost as if to transport them some place holy, a tranquil place in time to allow them a final moment of peace with their loved ones before they're buried.\n\tWhen the choir finishes, the temple falls silent. Several of the mourners cry and sob, the sound echoing and piercing the somber atmosphere. Gwynneth stands before the coffins speaking to the assemblage.\n\t“The beginning of life brings great joy. The end brings great sorrow. For Katey and Aldan, they felt that joy with their older son, Bryan. Then again with Milliken. A third time with Sally.” Aldan bows his head, Edna dabs at her eyes. “Again with Jereminy. And they were all excited and expecting such joy again with a new baby, who would have named Drew.” She pauses, turning to the coffins and laying a hand on the smallest. When she turns back to the crowd, a tear runs down one cheek. “Yet, that joy was stolen. Instead of great joy Aldan, Bryan, Milliken, and their adopted sons, Lev, Jay, Holt, Aizen, they suffer the cruelest pain. I have no explanation of why our Lade allowed this. I have no words to make sense of the inexplicable. All I can do is offer the love of our Lady and my own love. That's all that any of us can do. It is what we must do. We must use our love to heal the pain and loss. When they need to talk, we must be there to listen. When they need quiet, we must respect that, as well. We must hold them when they are weak and lonely. We must loan them whatever strength we possess. For they have sacrificed so much for all of us. They have saved so many of us. Katey, Sally, Jereminy, and Drew now rest with Our Lady. They look down upon their loved ones left behind. They love them and miss them. But Aldan and his boys. . .they will feel that loss every moment of every day. We must all do what we can to ease their pain and help with their burden. We must do right and do good with lives that we still have, thanks to Aldan's heroism and that of his boys.”\n\tShe pauses. “If Aldan had not stop the Dark Mages from destroying us, these innocents would not have been targeted. They…” she sweeps her arm over the family. “They saved us and have paid a terrible price for it. We must raise them up with our love and prayers and in any way we can. For every moment we have, is a gift from them.” She gestures at Aldan and the boys. “Paid for by them.” She touches each of the coffins. “They are at peace. Kate and her young children play in the fields of Our Lady. It is for we who remain to care for her husband and sons. As we lay these four to rest, we cannot rest ourselves. For Aldan, Byran, and Milliken need us. Aizen, Holt, Lev, and Jay need us. Edna, Alfrick, and Bennett need us. Will we answer their need? Will we be worthy of their sacrifice? Will we?”\n\tAs the lady speaks, Lev shuts his eyes, remembering a specific moment in which he showed Kate step by step how he made his coffee. He remembers paying as much attention possible as Sally showed him how to bake her brothers favorite sweets and treats, how Kate had shown him how to properly cook meat. All of the generous meals that she gave him, how he had trucked mud inside of the house on accident. Suddenly, he bursts into tears. Telling Jereminy while they were alone, just the two of them, how much his oldest brother meant to him, and how one day he would marry him and take him with to see the further worlds that his people live in. Now he see's them all dead. Furthermore, the world he wanted to show him, soon to be dead as well. All of this pain and suffering that the youngest couldn't possibly even comprehend and to be taken away from the world in such an instance... All leading back to him. He knows it's wrong to feel that guilt. It's not his fault, but he can't help but to feel he's the true one to blame. Aizen reaches over, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezes it. Bryan squeezes his lovers hand, tears running down his face after being triggered into it. Milliken stares low at the coffins, rubbing his thumb along his clenched fist connected to Jay's.\n\tAfter she finishes, Gwynneth approaches the family. Behind her the choir sings. She takes each family member's hands in hers and blesses them with prayers and words of comfort. She spends a moment with each of them, including the new additions, treating them as kindly and gently as she does Milliken and Bryan.\n\tShe stands in front of the coffins as the hymn continues. Pallbearers gather each coffin and carry them through the temple. The censer bearer leads the way, smoking trailing and wafting behind him. Gwynneth walks with Alden, followed by the rest of the family. Outside, the day is still chill and grey. The coffins are carefully loaded onto a funeral carriage, and the family return to their respective carriages. The new procession winds through the streets towards the cemetery, small crowds along the road side paying their respects.\n\tThe journey to the cemetery takes a half hour. The gates are open, with a cadre of guards keeping onlookers outside. As the coffins pass, people throw flowers onto the ground in front of the carriage. Some of the stems have small notes tied to them, individual prayers and wishes. The carriages stop and the coffins are carried up the hillside. The pallbearers use great care and reverence, especially with the smallest coffins.\n\tThey coffins are laid next to the two graves. Kate and baby Drew will be together, Sally and Jereminy will rest together. Gwynneth blesses the graves as the family and closer friends gather. Alannha, who married Drew and Aldan, embraces the warrior, whispering her condolences. She notices Lev and Bryan, Milliken and Jay, and Holt and Aizen, and nods knowingly. Despite the sorrow of the moment, the love between the couples lifts her heart and she can't help but grin slightly.\n\tMilliken lays down on his feet, watching as the coffins descend. Suddenly, his brother walks over and kneels down beside him and hugs him as hard as he possibly can. It's a rare site. Throughout many years, they've teased and made jokes at each other, even fought. Today, everything has been set aside.\n\tBryan looks at his brother in the eyes. “I'm so sorry for always being rude to you. No more of that. I promise. From now on, I'll be the brother that I've always wanted to be... I love you, Milliken.” Jay and Lev stand side by side a few steps away, letting them be, knowing that they need this brotherly space. As Lev shuts his eyes, he prays once more and holds out one hand as if to grab at something. The doors come closing in on him, along with an ever-growing void of darkness that seems to swallow everything in its path. It seems inescapable. A cold wind blows as he begins to close his hand. He feels their presence watching over him, almost telling him that he must stay strong. And as he opens his eyes...\n\n\n\tA month and a half pass him by. Lev lays on a downward slope of a hill, the same spot where him and his love had rode Whirlwind for what seems like forever ago. He opens his eyes and looks at the flower in his hand. It's a blood orchid, the same one he found left inside of the barnyard where the two dark mages had been killed. For some reason, he's felt the need to take it with him every now and then.\n\t“You always bring that with you. Why?” Lev lays down on his back, looking up at the gray sky. It's just as dark as the day of the funeral, but more quiet, less people as well.\n\t“I don't know. Maybe to remind myself. Maybe because I'm still trying to understand.”\n\t Moving into a new house, all of the drama from friends and outsiders trying to comfort them, everything seemed to have its way with him and the rest of the family. Just in that short spec of time, everything changed. That isn't to say that every day had been spent in pain and horrible grief. Lev was able to get his job back at the newspapers and has five articles published a week. His principle, Jeremy, granted him the freedom to go there for half of the school time. He still visits his family as he was told to do, but tries to spend as much time as he can with Bryan. Talk of war has been at central focus in the town and preparations for battles are nearly complete. It seems to be all he writes about for the papers, which discomforts him, but he's also happy that he was given the opportunity again. Jay spoke to his parents once more, finalizing his adoption and works to move in with the Jaeger family. The rest, all preparing for what is to come.\n\tBryan sighed and rearranged himself so that his head rested high on Lev's stomach. He watched the sky, looking for shapes in the clouds. “What are you trying to understand?” Bryan pauses, then adds. “I don't understand anything anymore.”\n\t“Don't you think it's strange...” He spins the flower around in front of him. “That someone would kill the mages and leave nothing but this flower?”\n\t“What if it belonged to the mages?” Bryan tilted his head to look at the flower and at Lev. “I've never seen a flower like that. Mommie used to have flowers in the garden. And daddy would sometimes bring her flowers, too. But nothing like this one.” He falls silent, frowning.\n\tLev joins him in silence, then lays one hand down on Bryan's. “Jay said he wants to visit his brothers grave later today...”\n\tRolling over Bryan holds his face a few inches above Lev's, his frown morphing into a smile. He pulls up some grass, tearing it into small pieces and raining them over Lev's face and hair. “We should go with him. Say hello to everyone.”\n\t“Yeah... We can do that.” His sensitive ears automatically tingle as he brushes the grass off of his face. Lev kisses Bryan softly, then sits up and stretches out. We should leave in a couple minutes or so. Have to pick up Mikey and show him around the publishing house. Pauses to take in the silence and motionless air. He stretches out the arm that was once broken, now healed with no cast. “I've been thinking...”\n\t“About me naked again?” Bryan giggles and rolls over on his back. Lifting his legs in the air. “With me holding my ankles up so you can fuck me?” He giggles again. For a long time after the funerals, he and Lev did not have sex. Lately, though, Bryan has seemed insatiable. He's asked, begged, and tried to seduce several times each day. He's flirted with others, too.\n\tLev blushes. “Maybe... Actually.” He looks around, seeing nobody by the lake. “It's been a while since we've done anything together. Maybe we should do something today? That is, if you're interested.”\n\tBryan sits up, his eyes bright and alert. “Really? Yes, I'd love to...” He reaches out, taking Lev's hand. “It's been so long. I miss it. I think about it a lot.”  He looks around before leaning in close to Lev, resting his hand on the demon-boy's chest and letting it wander down towards Lev's crotch. “Here? Now? Do we have time?”\n\tLev lays back, smiling and letting the freedom of peace take over him. It's rare that he ever feels this way. Sometimes it comes to him in bed with Bryan or when he's at his job writing. Other than that, the past month and a half has been a relentless torrent of chaotic emotion for everyone at the new house. But today... “Yeah... We have time.” He lifts up part of his robe, undoes his fundoshi in a few seconds, and lets his hard six inches spring up in front of his boyfriend. “But we should be quiet.”\n\tBrian hurries to unbutton his pants, pulling his shirt up and tucking it up under his chin. He glances at Lev, letting his gaze roam over his boyfriend's body before resting on the hard dick. Without thinking, he licks his lips. He pushes his pants and unders down to his knees. He shuffles forward on his knees, kissing Lev, pressing his tongue into the warm mouth that opens eagerly to accept him. His cock head brushes against Lev's and Bryan moans into Lev's mouth as they kiss. “We have no grease...”\n\t“It's fine...” He kisses him again, tongue in cheek, hands running over his back. “Tonight, we can fuck. Right now... Let's just taste each other. “Lev reaches down, masturbating both of their members with one hand.\n\tBrian groans, his eyes closing as he faces the sky. He holds on to Lev's waist as the familiar warmth of Lev's hand washes through his body, starting in his dick and spreading out. He looks at Lev, his mouth slack and his eyes hungry. Pushing against Lev, he takes them both to the ground. “I want your dick in my mouth. Please.” He whines for Lev's cock in his mouth.\n\t“One moment.” He looks over the lake and hills again. Nobody in sight. No voices either. They're alone in the nature and yet he can't help but to feel like he's about to get caught. Without a care in the world, he pulls off his robe and sets it aside, crawls on his knees, then holds himself up with his elbows as the tip of his erection hangs in front of Bryan's eager mouth.\n\tBryan takes the head of Lev's cock into his mouth, wrapping his lips around the base of the head. His tongue slowly circles the mushroom head, diving gently into his pee slit. The warmth and taste are better than even he remembered. One hand reaches around, squeezing Lev's ass cheek and teasing his crack. “Please suck me...”\n\t“Ahhh.. Dammit. Making me move around.” He laughs, showing him that he's not frustrated. Once he turns around his tail lays over on Bryan's forehead, ticking him and his hair. Lev feels the warmth of his cock before spitting down onto it, stroking it firmly. “I can't believe we stopped doing this. I fucking love your dick.” He goes down, licking up from pubis to tip, then coating the balls as he sucks them while stroking his dick. “And I love you.” Lev takes him into his mouth, sucking wildly as his hands explore Bryan's thighs.\n\tAlmost instantly, Bryan's hips begin pushing and thrusting against Lev's face. He takes Lev deeper into his mouth, holding it and sucking it like candy. His tongue whips around the head and shaft, savoring the warmth and taste of his lover. He whines and moans, never taking the six inch cock from his mouth.\n\tThe two young lovers lay in the cold grass naked and sucking each other attentively. Not a single soul walks by or hears them from above. Lev is lost in the pleasure of being this close with Bryan once again. There's been times where they've given each other handjobs under the covers, but nothing more. Suddenly, he feels his cock pulsating and ready to cum. “I'm gonna cum, babe. Remember what I told you.” He goes back down on him, sucking and focusing his tongue on the tip and scar over his shaft, the other hand rubbing his nuts gently.\n[\tBryan sucks harder. It's been so long, it feels like forever, since he's been able to drink Lev's cum. He takes hold of Lev's balls and squeezes tightly. He's only vaguely worried about hurting Lev, caught up in the passion of the moment and remembering Lev's request. His own dick begins to throb and spasm, including an odd new sensation. His mind doesn't think to warn Lev, instead he concentrates on squeezing Lev's balls and pulling on the sack as he sucks and tongues the demon cock.\n\tFor whatever strange reason, Lev has always loved the sensation of having his nuts squeezed right as he's cumming. He does so with extreme force, exploding nine thick loads of warm cum into his lovers mouth, the most he's ever done in his life. Lev moans loudly even with Bryan's four inches in his mouth, continuing to suck as he feels his body reacting. Bryan's toes are curled up, his legs are twitching, cock bouncing in his mouth as he bops up and down on it.\n\tBryan moans as he sucks and swallows Lev's sweet load. He gleefully squeezes the balls and sucks madly, trying to drain every ounce of cum from the dick now filling his mouth. His own dick, four inches lodged happily in Lev's mouth, jerks and spurts. The first drops of his first wet orgasm hit Lev's tongue and the first spray of cum coats his mouth. It's a small load, three strong spurts and it's somewhat thin and watery, but the taste is almost divine.\n\tLev's eyes widen in surprise, continuing to suck and make sure that there's none left before he raises his mouth and lets the clear cum flow on his tongue. It's not sour or salty, nor is it sweet. Angelic is the only word that comes to mind. Mystical. He twirls around in the grass, his head looking down to Bryan, and then he lays carefully on top of him. “You came...” He kisses him sloppily on purpose, letting the taste of his semen flow into his mouth. Unsurprisingly to him, Bryan saved his as well. Both of theirs combines as their tongues wrestle in each-others mouths. Finally, they break apart, swallowing whatever is left down. You're delicious.\n\t“I came? Really?!” Bryan's eyes flash open and he smacks his lips and tongue. He tries to isolate his taste from Lev's. He thinks he has, and he likes the way his jizz tastes. “You liked it?” His lips purse together. Before Lev can answer, he pulls his head close and kisses him again.\n\t“Neat, huh?” He lays there with him, locking eyes and gazing into them as if they were a heaven unbound. Suddenly, his ears twitch, hearing people coming up the hill. “Oh crap! Hurry! We have less than a minute!” He rolls over on the grass, quickly putting his robe and fundoshi on.\n\tBryan lifts his hips from the grass, bridging himself into a bow. Pulling his pants up, he giggles as Lev rushes with his fundoshi. “Let 'em catch us!” He hops to his feet, brushing grass and leaves from his clothes and backide. Straightening his shirt, he helps Lev finish dressing.\n\tA family of four come down from the hill, only glancing at them without any concern for a brief few seconds before they continue down the hill. One of the kids points to Whirlwind. Lev's forgotten that the horse was even there as the only witness. “We should... Probably get going to Mikey soon. What do you say?”\n\tBryan grabs the horn on Whirlwind's saddle, pulling himself up and on to the horse. I think their boy is cute. He looks down at Lev, smiling. He reaches down to help him up. “Remember to hold me tight. Oh, and remember that I love you, Lev.”\n\tLev grabs his arm and hops up without any problem. He wraps his arms around him tightly, kissing his shoulder. “Of course. I love you too. More than anything.”\n\tBryan urges Whirlwind into a trot. “You said you wanted to talk about something. But we never did.”\n\t“Huh?” He thinks for a moment, then kisses him again. “Silly. I wanted to ask you about whether or not you wanted to do it or not!”\n\t“Oh!” Bryan laughs. “I thought you were going to try and tell you wanted to go to the wars and write about them for the papers.”\n\t“War? No way...” He leans his chin over Bryan's left shoulder. “I mean, I thought about it, but... Your Dad is going, Holt and Aizen are going. I want to be with you.”\n\t“Good. I wouldn't have let you go anyway.” The ride easily through the town, avoiding the busiest streets and making good time. They arrive at Milliken's school with a minute to spare.\n\tThey continue to wait, watching as town folks flood around the streets. There's something different about the atmosphere. People almost seem frustrated, fighting with each-other at times. Some of them hold signs. “Wild... I wonder what's going on. Protestors, maybe?” A good half hour passes before Milliken exits with a few other kids from school. It's lunch, but he's gotten away with a note from the publishing house allowing him to have a tour around.\n\t“Sorry I'm late! Had to gather my homework.” He sorts through a stack of papers in his hand before shoving them back into his backpack. “Walk slowly, will ya?”\n\t“No need, Mikey.” Lev jumps down, patting Whirlwind as he walks up to him. He helps him up and stands close to the right of the horse. “I can deal with these people. You might get lost in them.”\n\t“What are they upset about?” Bryan lets Milliken settle himself and get comfortable. Looking down at Lev, he carefully pats Lev's hair. “Do you want to follow us? Or us follow you?”\n\t“Follow me 'round. It's close to the library where we met.” Lev reaches up the back of his robe, letting his tail flap out a bunch of fuzz and grass before he puts it back down. He spots a few other demons on the other side of the road and waves at them. One of the signs reads 'Children are not criminals', 'Death is not punishment', and another, 'Blood for blood, make them pay'. “I have an idea, but I'm not sure. Ignore it. Let's hurry on.”\n\tBryan nods as Mikey wraps his arms around his brother. He leans his face to one side, against Bryan's shoulder. “Ready, Mikey?”\n\t“Yes. You smell like grass and your hard.”\n\tBryan reaches down and moves Mikey's hands up. “Yeah. Maybe you shouldn't rest your hands there.”\n\t“But that's the warmest spot.” Mikey settles in against his brother. “Besides, you like it and it makes me feel safe to be close to you.”\n\tBrian nods. “It's true.” In his hunger for Lev's body, Brian had begun to notice Milliken and Jay. He had to admit it, at least to himself, that he felt better with Mikey around. When they were apart, he worried about his little brother. “What if the Cruiberg. . .” Bryan shook his head. Better to not think of that. He grabbed Mikey's hand and lowered it to his crotch. Riding after Lev, they headed for the publishing house.\n\tAs they move closer to their old neighborhood and home, a cold haunting feeling lingers over them. They've avoided these streets as much as possible, including Milliken, who used to be in love with the library. Lev hasn't been able to avoid the feeling. If anything, he holds onto it, uses it as strength in his writings to show people the truth and importance towards what's going on in their own kingdom and outwards as well. The publishing house is constructed close to the library. It stands out on just a single story high, but is long and wide, constructed with a mossy roof and cabin-like appearance. “We're here.” He notices a few older gentleman outside having their cigarettes. They tilt their hats to them as they come closer. Lev runs forward, explaining to them what's going on, then sprints back to inform them on the situation. “Everything should be good. They're not too busy at the moment, but there's some anthro folk from Aigua Kingdom here that are probably working on some joint projects with us.”\n\tMilliken's eyes light up. “Aquians? Oh, that's amazing. I wonder if we'll get a chance to speak with them. I have questions about their society. And cultural influences. And so many other things.” Mikey slides awkwardly from the horse. Moving over to Lev and suddenly, and oddly, hugging him. “Thank you.”\n\t“You can speak to them, I'm sure.” He lightens up, squeezing him tightly as they walk to the front door. “But you're here to meet with the director of operations, remember?” He opens the door, immediately leading them into a large room of desks, typewriters, and people of all species either sitting or running around with papers in hand. There's rooms to the right and left, all closed off by glass. Lev doesn't like to point out those who are different from humans, as he see's it as disrespectful, but there's a few people from his temple towards the back, some hyena and jaguar anthros in a meeting with humans in a room to the right of them, and even an elf at a very front desk busy in his work. Lev walks through the room, tapping on a glass door, and intrudes into the meeting. An older woman, probably in her late nineties, walks out with him and looks for Bryan. Once she adjusts her glasses she's able to spot him.\n\t“Hello there. You must be Milliken. Lev is spoken a lot about you. Good things, of course.” She holds out her hand, waiting for him to shake it. His shake is a bit hollow and weak, but she doesn't mind. The old lady is even shorter than him with a bent back and wrinkles hanging from her face and arms. “So, why don't we show you around, yes?” \n\tBryan comes in a bit late after having to tend to Whirlwind for a moment. He takes Lev's hand as their guided to the side, then into the labyrinth of desks. The old lady points out Lev's desk, which is obsessively cleaned with all of his folders and papers kept neat on a rack. “This is where Lev works. He's a busy boy, you know, our youngest worker too, but he reads faster than anyone else and has a way with words. By the way, the Aguians are going to be staying here for a week to work with you and some others on the recent opinions their King, Prince, and lead commanders have towards the coming war.” Lev nods, then proceeds to follow her around. She points out a room that makes Mikey explode with joy and excitement. Inside of it are the machines that print out the tens of thousands of copies of newspaper every day. Workers are loading and cutting paper in front of them, too busy in their work to notice the young ones watching. Some may say that these men and women are the heart of the house. They sweat and bleed to make sure every story is printed to its highest quality and handed out to every consumer before the sunrise. She leads them inside, explaining how the machines work to them, and then takes the three boys back to a small office, which is clamored with bookshelves and relics from her family, some from across the world. The old lady takes her seat and waits for the other three to do the same. “So... Young one. What do you think of this place?”\n\tMilliken looks around slowly. His mind automatically cataloguing the nick-knacks and keepsakes around the office. His gaze returns to the old woman. “It's amazing! The amount of ink and paper you must go through must be astounding!”\n\t“It's not too much of a problem.” She plays with a small wooden figurine of an elf with a sword. “A few mages use some magic to provide us with an endless supply of ink and paper so that we're not destroying any nature. Now...” Lev says that you're quite the writer yourself. “Said that you might even want a job here at some point. Is that something you're interested in?”\n\tHis face turning red, Mikey looks at Lev. “You really think I'm a good writer?” He turns back to the old woman. “If I can, yes. I study things. And I make up stories, too. I don't know how to do news. Not yet anyway.” His blush deepens. “Oh, I could clean, I guess. Or make sure spelling mistakes don't go by unnoticed.” He shrugs. “I guess.”\n\t“We're in need of some editors. And we also release short stories in the back of the papers once a week. Are those things you might be interested in?” She pulls an application paper out of a desk drawer, then shows it to him, pointing to a pen and ink. “It's your decision. You're young, so you wouldn't have to come in much unless you wanted to.”\n\tMikey grabs the paper and pen and begins reading and filling it out. “I'd very much like to learn, yes, ma'am.”\n\t“Alright then!” She claps her hands in excitement. Lev brushes Mikey's shoulder and smiles. “You can shadow one of our editors this Friday night if you'd like. I'll let him know that you're joining the team and helping him out. Oh... I should warn you. It does get a bit chaotic at times here.”\n\tSlinking back in his chair, Milliken's face falls. Bryan leans forward. “Mikey doesn't do well in chaos.” He glances at his brother, whose eyes are welling up. “Do you have a quiet room? I mean, if he gets too excited, he needs somewhere quiet to calm down. Otherwise, he starts to panic.” Bryan stands and looks out into the larger work areas. “Especially around new people. Once he gets used to things, he's better. Unless things change, that is.”\n\t“Well...” She taps the desk for a while, trying to think of a good place for him. “You can have my office if you'd like. I'm rarely even in here anyway.” Lev's ears twitch. He's never seen his boss be so charitable before.\n\tBryan kneels down in front of Milliken, catching his brother's eyes. “Would that work, you think? You could come in here and sit until you felt better?”\n\tMilliken nods slowly. “I think so.” He looks around the office, pointing to one corner, disused and free of clutter. “That corner looks nice and quiet.”\n\tThe house manager, Olivia Barbor, looks over to her right at the empty space. “Oh.... Of course! Yes, we can use that. I'll just need to get someone to move a desk in here at some point.” She takes the signed paper and looks it over. “So, will you be ready come Friday to begin working?”\n\t“I have to get permission from my father.” He blushes again, looking around shyly.  “I'm not usually allowed out in the city after dark, ma'am. I'd like to, very much.” He pulls on Bryan's sleeve, bringing his brother closer. Bryan leans in and Mikey whispers something to him. Bryan shakes his head.\n\t“She hasn't said.” Bryan looks at the old woman. “Umm, what should Mikey call you, ma'am?”\n\t“Oh, I forgot to say my name! It's Olivia.” She laughs. “Well, you can come by the morning when you're not at school.”\n\tMilliken stands. “Thank you, Miss Olivia. I'll talk to daddy tonight. What sort of stories do you like to print? I have several that might work. I can bring them on my first day if that's allowed.”\n\t“Oh, the towns folk like stories of heroes and battles, tragedies and wars. We tried to get some comedy in there, but they wouldn't have it.” Olivia stands up, shaking Milliken's hand. “What is it that you like to write?”\n\t“War is easy. Comedy is hard.” Mikey shakes her hand. “Oh, I write stories about my daddy's battles, history. I'm working on a study of demons now, to correct some of the mistakes that have become commonly accepted as truth.” He snaps his fingers. “I also draw and sketch! Mostly anatomy and nudes.”\n\tBryan's jaw falls open and he begins turning a deep crimson.\n\tLev laughs, hiding his mouth as he does so. Olivia doesn't notice that he's different from most others. “Oh! That's, uhm, very nice, that you're an artist! Anatomy is always intriguing. Well, I must get back to work now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Milliken.”\n\t“Thank you, Miss Olivia.” Mikey waves and grins as he and the others exit the office. As he walks, he ticks off stories on his fingers that he might offer for Miss Olivia's approval.\n\tBryan takes Lev's hand as the walk towards the front entrance. “Thank you, babe. I think this will be really good for him.”\n\t“It’s my pleasure.” Lev kisses his boyfriend in front of all of the staff on the cheek. Some of them notice and make sounds, cheering them on as they head out the door. Milliken dances around the two as they walk to Whirlwind, preparing to leave for Lev's school and pick up Jay. It's still morning and there's a faint glimmer of the sun peaking it's way out of the clouds. However destructive and devastating everything has been lately, they leave the publishing house holding onto that small fragile idea of hope to guide them along.\n\tHowever, that spec of hope in the sun means nothing to another one. Laying in bed, staring up at it in his cell, Alec waits for his time to come. Peter promised him last night that he would be back as soon as possible, that no matter what, he wouldn't let him die. But he hasn't come back and Alec has given up hope that he will. Outside, he can hear protestors yelling back and forth, the clatter of feet and horses running alongside the prison. A few hours ago a prisoner across from him said that the boy set to be executed before him is still waiting in his cell. Apparently, protestors had gotten their early and are still occupying the area where was to hang. On the other hand, the gates to the other execution platform have been closed off, preventing anyone from taking it over, meaning that his will most likely go on as planned. “Peter... You promised. No, I can't be angry at him.” He sits up and bed, trying to pinpoint how much longer it will be. “I forgive you Peter. It's not your fault...”\n\tIn his cell, Neke paces back and forth. HIs chest is tight and he's been crying off and on the entire morning. On his better moments, he reminds himself that every moment now is an extra moment. He was scheduled to be hanged this morning. But it's approaching lunch time and no one has come for him. Not even to explain the delay. \n\n\t“Maybe Aldan fixed it.” He mutters to himself as he paces. His hands clench and unclench around each other. He squeezes his knuckles, sometimes punching a fist into an open palm. “But what if he didn't? What if the hangman just had bad porridge for breakfast and as soon as he shits it out, things go forward?! Oh, gods, please spare me. I swear I'll make amends!” He cries out in frustration and takes up his pacing, praying and crying under his breath.\n\n\t“My Lords, the crowds have grown increasingly restive and even larger. And the two guardsmen still wait to speak.” The herald bows to the King and his advisors. The audience hall is mostly empty. King Haleax II sits upon his throne, his face worried and thoughtful. The Lord HIgh Inquisitor stands near the great fireplace to the King's left. Her guards and clerk wait outside as he lone attendant kneels quietly behinf her. The Lord Mayor of Brackenford, along with the Commander of The Militia, and the Master of Merchants mill about near one of the lesser fire places on the King's right. The three whisper amongst each other. A Royal Guardsman enters, bowing first to the King, then the others. With a smart salute, he hands a written message to the Militia Commander.\n\n\tThe Commander steps away from the others, breaking the seal and reading the message. As he reads his face grays with worry. He turns and approaches the throne, stopping and kneeling at the base of the dias. “Your Majesty, the crowds continue to grow. The call for mercy and clemency grows louder. I'll have to call out more men and ask the army for troops if this continues, Sire.”\n\n\tThe King sighs. “Master Metreicht, yours is the loudest voice that still calls for these boys to be executed. I expect this latest report does not alter your view. Nor yours, my Lord Mayor?”\n\n\tBoth men look at each other nervously. Metreicht, Master of Merchants steps forward, spreading his hands apologetically. “Sire, I must maintain the objection of the Merchant's Consortium. The victims of these two were children to two of our more prominent families. They demand blood, Your Majesty.”\n\t“And you, Inquisitor, have nothing to add?”\n\t“The law is clear. The Edict of Reform is clear. Each case adjudged on an individual basis as decided by the King and his Curia.” She speaks softly with a cat's menace hinted at in her voice. As the sole Anthro on the Curia, she has long ago learned to use her uniqueness to command the other's attnetion. “With three votes against these two, the original verdict stands. We may, if I may be so bold, Your Majesty, be best served and quickest restore calm by seeing them to their graves before noon.”\n\n\tThe watch commander shakes his head, holding the latest message out before him. “I'm stretched as is. We've extra militia guarding the warehouses, protecting the supplied for the army. We still have to protect the citizens with Cruiberg blood from vigilantes and firebrands. If we execute these two, I don't know if we can keep the protestors from rioting.”\n\n\tThe Inquisitor turns to the commander. “And if we yield to them, we invite the mob to move any time this council rules in any fashion the mob does not care for. Be it over taxes or curfew or anything.” \n\n\t“Enough!!!” The King slams his hand down on the arm of his throne. “Discussion ceases immediately.* Bring in the two guards. Let theirs be the final arguments before my decision.”\n\tAldan and Peter are shown into the audience hall. They wear their best uniforms, replete with decorations and honors. They're shown to the center of the aisleway, stopping fifteen feet from the King. Both men kneel, rising only when the king orders them to “Rise and speak.”\n\n\tThey rise, bowing to the King and each of the other members of his Curia. Peter clears his throat and speaks.\n\t“My King, thank you for taking the time to oversee these cases. I know you have much more important things to be doing, so we are grateful that you would lend your time to us and hear us out.” Peter looks to Aldan, a bit of anxiety swelling up in him. “As you know, we are prison guards and have worked with thousands of prisoners in our lifetime. We've seen the worst kind of offenders enter into those cells, but these boys are not those. They might not be saints, but they have stories as to how they got to where they are. My partner, Aldan, and I both are thankful that this new law has been set in place but were disappointed to know that it didn't apply to all of the youth, that there were still loopholes in the works. The two cases in front of you are a result. He walks back and forth as he speaks, trying to force out his confidence, then stops. Neke. Committed the act of rape, has been proven guilty as well. Yes, he deserves to be punished, but not executed. I know fully well that him apologizing is not enough. But take account that this boy lived in three different house holds before the age of ten, every father at that time having abused and sexually assaulted their wives and other women, all alcoholics as well. What sort of example did they lend Neke?” He pauses, thinking about Alec. Just one week ago, they had finally kissed. All he could feel was fear and guilt. Today, he either saves his life or helps him die. “Alec. Committed murder against a partner of his. They both were selling starshatter. What wasn't being told was that his partner had gotten him addicted to it, threatened to kill his family if he didn't help him, and would sexually assault him when he didn't bring back enough profits. Is this murder or did he react to protect himself and his own family? We see this victim as an orphan with no family. I see him as a thug that took advantage of someone smaller than him. Now that you know their stories, I hope you can reconsider and possibly sympathize with them as well. If not, please, give them time, not death. Better yet, give them the chance to prove themselves on the battlefield, as we've already done with others.” Peter sighs and stands close to Aldan. “I rest my case.”\n\tKing Haelax nods but says nothing. The Inquisitor turns her feline gaze to Peter. In her measured and calm tones she asks. “Does not every convicted person have a tale of woe? An unhappy childhood or some circumstance that they use to excuse or justify their crime? So the victims and their families should have their pain and their stories ignored?”\n\tThe other councilors watch as Peter replies. He and Aldan realize that it's the High Inquisitor and Master of Merchant who must be convinced. As he watches Peter, Aldan's mind turns trying and discarding arguments. He knows he'll have to speak after his friend.\n\t“True, but these are not adults. These are children, still living their youth.” Peter is sweating, already in fear that it wasn't enough and that he's already failed his love. “What is the point in having this new law in place if these two aren't going to be spared?”\n\tThe High Inquisitor looks at Peter. Her eyes almost glow in the dimly lit chamber, giving her a most ominous visage. She looks every inch the panther made human. “What is your case, Captain Jaeger?”  As Aldan stands, she almost smiles. “It wasn't long ago that you were still a leftenant, was it? I recall quite well our first meeting.”\n\tAldan bows. “Your Majesty. Lords, Lady. I won't waste time repeating Peter's words. His arguments in themselves should be sufficient.” Aldan silently thanks the gods that he had Milliken help him with his presentation. He's much more calm and focused than he feared he would be. “But I will add to them.”\n\tClasping his hands together behind his back, Aldan walks slowly back and forth. He speaks slowly, carefully, remembering what he worked on with Milliken. “I am prepared to stake my reputation and my life on these two boys. To gain them the chance that by law should be there's. Peter is as well. Place them in our care, make us responsible for them and we are the guarantors of their reformation. If that's not enough, I add this as well. I saved this city. I saved this court. I saved each of you. I was repaid and thanked by a grateful crown and the people. Then, my wife was slaughtered, my unborn son cut from her belly as she still lived. . .” Aldan pauses, letting them feel the weight of his words, the weight of his pain. Swallowing hard, he continues. “Then he was carved like pie and pieces of him taken. My daughter Sally was slaughtered. My son Jereminy was slaughtered. I have paid a heavy price for saving this kingdom. And yes, I have received support and love for that pain. But they are still dead.”\n\tHe faces the High Inquisitor. Her tails twitches slightly as it sways behind her. “This kingdom OWES me four lives. I'll take these two. Neke and Alec as part of the debt. I have asked for nothing since then. I ask for this. And let their victim's families come to me and demand justice. Let them demand it of me.”\n\tReturning to Peter's side, Aldan kneels, waiting for their response. He closes his eyes to stop the room from spinning and breathes deeply. The High Inquisitor is silent.\n\tKing Haelax stands. He looks to his advisors. “Which of you will tell this man - No? Which of you would have me deny him? Deny his dead family?”\n\tPeter kneels down as well, placing a hand on his partners shoulder. The Master of Merchant stands and speaks loud and clear. I” vote to spare the lives of these two boys.” He looks to the Inquisitor, giving her a bothered look as if to say, 'Just go on and let them live.'\n\tLord Mayor looks at the two guards. “If they agree to take charge and bear the punishment if something goes awry, I will agree to spare them.”\n\t“Gods, yes. Perfect!” The Militia Commander nods emphatically. “Spare the boys as I've said. Easier to deal with two angry families than an angry mob.” He looks at Aldan and Peter. “The captain is right. We owe him.”\n\tAll eyes turn to the High Inquisitor. She moves closer to the flames, warming her hands over the glowing fireplace. The firelight plays off of her fur, making it seem blacker than black and reflect her eyes. “Yes. Their arguments are sound. The law should be applied equally. Even when it inconveniences us. We cannot offer Aldan justice for his family, but we can give him more than just words of sympathy and thanks. Release the two prisoners.”\n\tThe King stands, banging his scepter on the arm of his throne. Servants and clerks rush in. He issues the order, a scribe hastens to write two copies which are folded and sealed, and given to the King. “Approach, both of you.”\n\tPeter and Aldan approach the King, kneeling before him. He hands the first envelope to Peter. “The order commuting Alec's sentence and placing him in your care. He has two days to decide how he will serve.” Turning to Aldan. “The order commuting Neke's sentence and commending him into your care. He also has two days.”\n\tThe King sits. “They are your responsibilities now.” He turns to a servant. “See to it that they are provided with fast horses and an escort. After all this, it would not due for the order to arrive late.”\n\tThe servant bows and leads Peter and Alden out of the audience chamber as the King asks \"What's next?\"\n\tPeter sighs with a wave of relief. He paces so fast that he might as well be running. Once he's on his horse, he impatiently waits for Aldan to hurry up. “Thank you. If it weren't for you... I don't know how it would have went down.” The horses gallop and speed through crowds of people. Peter tries to imagine what he will say to Alec. “Alec and I have already discussed some of the jobs he would like for the war. He'd like to organize and deliver letters from commanders, lieutenants, generals, and the like. I'm not sure what Neke wants to do... I think he should be placed into the armies custody as soon as possible to further protect him in case some seek his blood.”\n\tAldan nods. “Good point. I hadn't considered that. Courier would be a good job for Alec.” As they race towards the prison gates, the massive, iron portcullis is slowly raised. Extra guards file out to keep the protesting crowd at bay. Peter dismounts, knowing that he has to deliver the order to the warden first.\n\tAldan stands in his stirrups. He holds the order for Neke high above his head. The crowd murmurs and turns its attention to him. “We have the commutations for the last two boys! They will not be executed! We've saved them, now, return home peacefully. Don't ruin this day with violence or rioting!” As the crowd cheers, he dismounts and races after Peter to the warden's office.\n\tPeter has already made it to the second floor, panting loudly after slamming the order for Alec down on the wardens desk. He looks it over with a shiny smirk on his face, pleased with how well they had worked. “Right at the nick of time too, I'd say. Two days?” He takes the other commutation as Aldan enters and looks it over as well. “Both of these boys have been disowned from their family. We can try getting them worked into orphanages or put immediately into barracks for training. This Neke boy... I want good eyes on him.”\n\tPeter interrupts. “I can take Alec into my home until he's ready to leave for duty, sir. My home is empty now that my wife has left and there's a room that he can use for his disposal.”\n\t“Mmhm.” He turns to Aldan, almost laughing. “And you're taking in the other kid? Haven't you adopted enough? I know you've become quite the humanitarian... But you're going to war soon as well, right?”\n\tAldan nods. “Yes, sir. Neke will be coming with me, I'm sure. We have the room. I think my boys can help him, too.”\n\tThe Warden sighs, a bit confused and judgmental from having being familiar with his case. “Well then... Have at it. You have the keys. Pick them up whenever you'd like. There's no need for paperwork when I have these in front of me.”\n\tShaking hands with the warden, Aldan thanks him. “You're going to have to learn to run this place with my interference, Gerald.” As the warden snorts and laughs, Aldan and Peter head to the cell block. Aldan rushes past the other guards, leaving Peter to explain.\n\tAs Neke paces, he doesn't hear Aldan approach his cell. Aldan raps on the cell door. “Care for a visitor?”\n\tNeke jumps out of bed, quiet and baffled. He doesn't know yet if they're here for support before he's to be hung or not. “I... I guess so. What's going on?”\n\tAldan unlocks the door and enters. “Well, you belong to me now. Pack your things. We're leaving.” Aldan sits on the bed watching Neke's reaction.\n\tPeter shuffles inside, standing close to the wall to not further distract them. “We had your sentence revoked. You're a free man. Well, not completely, but you're not going to die.”\n\tNeke sits there almost as if he's turned to stone. He doesn't understand why he's being given another chance to life. “B-But... I... I don't deserve..” The tears come back to him. As he tries to stand up out of bed he ends up falling to his knees, breaking down in a heavy sob. “I'll do better! I swear. I'll do whatever I have to in order to prove myself!”\n\tAldan reaches down, holding Neke's shoulder. “I know, Neke. I know. Have a good cry. Gather your things. We have another boy to speak to. I'll be back and we'll take you home. Understand?”\n\tHe sniffles, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away his snot. “I understand...” He stands up and gathers all of his materials into a small basket. As a prisoner, he's never been able to hold onto much. Peter guides the way for the two of them to Alec's cell. When he opens the door, Alec's eyes immediately bulge with astonishment. He walks to him slowly, almost as if he already knows.\n\t“You're free now. You don't have to suffer in here anymore.” Taking queue, Peter bends down to his height and kisses him, which shocks Neke to no ends. The two of them embrace and kiss for what seems like forever. “I love you, Alec.”\n\tAlec takes his hand, ready to leave without even gathering his things. “I love you too, Peter.” He looks up at Aldan. “Thank you. For believing in me.” Then to Neke, who he doesn't even know. “In us.”\n\t“You're not entirely free. But you're not prisoners anymore. Neke comes home with me, Alec with Peter. And both of you have to enlist. And as soon as possible.” Aldan jostles Neke playfully. “You've never seen a guard kiss a prisoner before?”\n\t“No...” Neke rolls his eyes. “Uhm... But, I guess there lovers, so it's okay?”\n\tPeter squeezes Alec's hand, guiding him out of the cell. “We'll get your things later. Ah, there's so much for me to show you when we get home!” Both of the men take their young ones from out of the prison and part their separate ways. Peter spends the entire time with Alec explaining to him all of the vigorous training he will need to do before he can even go into war. Even if his job is relatively simple, he still has to be able to protect himself. He even talks to him about the battles he was in and fighting alongside with Aldan. The other soldier, stops by his school on impulse, introducing him to the principal and asking for him to take him in as a student before he goes off to war. Of course, Principal Jeremy is more than welcoming to accept him, regardless if he were the most depraved killer on the planet or not, because he see's everyone as being capable of being brought out of their darkness. Neke is introduced to the class and given a desk. As Aldan heads back into his office after such a long morning he thinks about all of the success and hope he's given to these young ones today. He stares out of his window. The silence is uncomfortable to him. He knows it's only a matter of time before he will be back in the battlefields again. He's already spoken with a commander that is attempting to specifically design a high ranking team for him. But for now, all he wants is to help as many students and prisoners as he can before he leaves. Anything to clear the noise in his head, anything to stop the images from flooding over again and again...\n\n","writing_bbcode_parsed":"<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>THE BOY HEROES FROM THE LAND OF ERIK (A Series of Epics)<br />Epic no. 4 - <br />Lev&rsquo;s Tale<br />By DamiJon<br /><br />Chapter Seventeen<br /><br />\tThe morning of the funeral is cold and wet. A grey mist hang over the city. Aldan stares out through the closed window of his bedroom. A fire burns in the fireplace. He&#039;s thankful for the little luxuries of the new home. Fireplaces in nearly every room. No drafts, no leaks. Nothing to ever show that the place had ever been lived in. Turning away from the window, he stares at the bed.<br />\tHIs half is wrinkled, slept in. The other half is almost pristine. Where Kate would have slept, tossing and turning with the discomfort of the last days of her pregnancy, the blankets and sheets are undisturbed. Aldan stares at them as he has every morning for the past three days.<br />\tHe wipes the tears from his eyes and sighs. He pulls out his best uniform and begins dressing for the funeral. HIs best uniform, each of his medals and ribbons, all the buttons and buckles freshly polished. His boots are black and polished almost to a mirror like finish.<br /><br />As he&#039;s about to head downstairs, he stops and stares at the bed again. He takes hold of the door handle, closing his eyes. Bryan and Milliken. Bryan and Milliken. Bryan and Milliken. He sighs as he finishes his mantra. His boys are all that&#039;s kept him going, all that&#039;s gotten him out of bed. They need him. He heads downstairs to their room.<br />\tBryan lays in bed, next to his boyfriend Lev. He stares at the ceiling, pretending he can&#039;t hear Milliken crying into Jay&#039;s arms. Not because the sound irritates him, but so he doesn&#039;t embarrass his brother. The odd tears streams from his face, dripping down onto the pillow. He rolls over and lays his head on Lev&#039;s chest and the demon-boy wraps an arm around him protectively.<br />\tIn the bed opposite Bryan and Lev, Milliken lie curled into a ball, his boyfriend Jay wrapped around him like a shield. Mikey cries softly, as he has every morning since it happened. Jay holds him, not knowing how else to comfort him.<br />\tBryan glances out the window. It&#039;s foggy and cold outside. He hears his dad moving around upstairs. He clears his throat. &ldquo;Dad&#039;s up. We should get up and start getting ready.&rdquo;<br />\tMilliken whispers something to Jay, who relays to Bryan. Mikey isn&#039;t sure he can do it. He pauses He&#039;s afraid.<br />\t&ldquo;Yeah. Do you have your clothes ready?&rdquo; Lev sits up out of bed carefully and slowly, sighing deeply as he squeezes his temples. All of the stress and flashbacks have given him a migraine. None of them saw what happened and he&#039;s glad they didn&#039;t, because he knows it&#039;ll be years, maybe decades, for him to get that image out of his head for more than a day. After he steps out of bed, he fills up a glass for Mikey and Jay, sitting on the edge of the bed to tap their shoulders and catch their attention. &ldquo;Hey... Sit up for a second and hydrate yourself.&rdquo; Jay helps him sit up and drink from the glass before finishing off the rest of it. &ldquo;We&#039;ll get you your clothes.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan sits up and stretches. He swings his feet out of bed, onto the floor. His dick is hard and he shields his morning wood with one hand. The sex that they had enjoyed so much and so often previously seems like a distant memory. Neither of them have even hinted at the subject. They hold each other as much as possible, but the memories and pain of loss are too much. &ldquo;We have to do it, Milliken. For mom. He sniffles For daddy, too.&rdquo; He stands, moving to the jug and basin. He washes his face and grabs clean underwear from his dresser. He grabs a set for Mikey and lays them on a chair.<br />\tA soft knock draws their attention to the door. Aldan opens the door. He crosses into the room, embracing Bryan tightly. &ldquo;I&#039;m glad you boys are all up. Today&#039;s going to be hard, but we&#039;ll get through it, right? All of us together. We&#039;re the family now.&rdquo; He moves over and sits next to Mikey, rubbing his back.<br />\tLev places Jay and Milliken&#039;s clothing on the bed, then walks back over to the closet, staring at himself in the mirror. The bags under his eyes are black like eyeliner and his eyes are a glossy red from constantly crying. He switches from cold and numbness to explosions of shock, rage, and depression. After looking himself over, he wraps on a clean fundoshi, then takes out a robe that his parents brought over, which is a fine velvety black that fits tightly around him. It&#039;s the exact color and style demons are supposed to wear to funerals. Once dressed, he washes his face off next to Bryan and uses a cloth to clean his horns.<br />\tJay holds onto his boyfriends shoulders, kissing his neck softly, and rocking him back and forth. The king brought over clothes for them since the items from their old home have been kept in a piled mess in a different room downstairs. &ldquo;We&#039;ll be down in a minute or two. We just need some time alone, don&#039;t we?&rdquo; Milliken nods, wiping his face off on his sleeve. <br />\tAfter everyone leaves the bedroom dressed, Jay stands up and uses the cloth Lev had to clean off Mikey. &ldquo;Stand up, hun.&rdquo; He helps him up, then begins cleaning more sweat off of his body. It takes a lot of convincing and messing around before he&#039;s able to get him dressed up and then he himself has to do the same.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;They&#039;re up. All of them.&rdquo; Holt speaks with a tone of sadness to his voice. He closes the book he&#039;s been reading. He hasn&#039;t slept since it happened. He insisted on seeing the bodies. Though it broke his heart, he has seen such acts of cruelty before. He&#039;s stayed awake every night, listening. The tears of the boys, of Aldan, of Kate&#039;s father and Aldan&#039;s parents. In a sense, he and Aizen have been the adults, trying to keep the others going from day to day. &ldquo;We should dress.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;I know.&rdquo; Aizen has been sitting in a low chair in the corner of the bedroom and hidden in the dark for who knows how long. Both him and Holt have seen it all before on even grander scales against their own people while they were just as young as the other boys. &ldquo;This has to end... This war needs to be the last one against them.&rdquo; He stands up, pulling out his clothing from a closet, then placing them down on the bed. &ldquo;We need to crush them once and for all.&rdquo; He dresses quickly. The clothes are unlike his style and much more like something a human would wear, but he felt like wearing the clothes that are comfortable to him would be rude in a situation like this. Nierihn, the specific Demon Lord that he worships, never specified that one must always wear specific clothes that are common in their culture, not like the others said. He wears the fundoshi, black pants, and a dark green button up shirt.<br />\tHolt nods grimly. He dresses in light and dark greens, including his most finely decorated leathers. He&#039;ll leave his bow here, but wears his sword and dagger. &ldquo;Yes.&rdquo; He moves over to Aizen, kissing him lightly on the lips. Carefully he brushes his hands through Aizen&#039;s hair. &ldquo;Would you like me to do your horns?&rdquo;<br />\tHolt stands facing Aizen. He takes his right hand and places it over Aizen&#039;s heart, taking Aizen&#039;s hand and placing it over his heart. He leans his forehead against Aizen&#039;s, closing his eyes. &ldquo;I love you, Aizen. My heart is yours through all things. Today is going to be difficult. Promise me you won&#039;t ever die.&rdquo;<br />\tHe shuts his eyes as he listens, until he mentions the final part. &ldquo;I... Promise not to die until I&#039;m too old to live anymore. I&#039;ll do my best to stay as healthy and strong as I can... IF you do the same, of course.&rdquo; Aizen kisses his lips, then takes one of his hands. &ldquo;After the funeral, we should stay for a few more days, just to be there for them. I&#039;ve already spoken to my teachers and they&#039;ve given me the okay.&rdquo;<br />\tHolt nods. &ldquo;I agree. I wonder who Aldan will have watch the boys while he&#039;s at war?&rdquo; He holds the door handle. &ldquo;Ready?&rdquo;<br />\tAizen nods, although painfully. He stands shoulder-length close to him as they move out from the room, down the hallway and stairs. Jay, Mikey, Lev, and Bryan are already gathered by the kitchen, where three other strangers are sitting and speaking to them. Aldan stands close by, but is looking away from them and out at the clouds.<br />\tThe boys nibble listlessly at fresh baked biscuit, courtesy of their grandmother Edna. She sips tea and watches them, her eyes sad as she dabs tears from them with a silk handkerchief. Her husband tries to cheer the boys with silly magic tricks, making a gold coin disappear only to reappear behind one boy&#039;s ear. The third older person, quietly move to stand next to Aldan, who looks at him and lowers his gaze, almost ashamed.<br />\t&ldquo;I should have been there to protect her, Bennet. I wasn&#039;t and now she&#039;s gone.&rdquo; Aldan talks softly, a cup of coffee cooling in his hand.<br />\tThe older man, hair gray and trimmed very short, smiles. His brown eyes are moist and red. He takes hold of Aldan&#039;s arm, just above the wrist. &ldquo;I&#039;ve told you before to knock that shit off. If you&#039;d been there, they&#039;d have killed you too.&rdquo; He looks over to Milliken and Bryan. &ldquo;And them, too. No, Aldan. My daughter was murdered and the only ones to blame are the fiends who did it and the cowards who ordered it.&rdquo; He sips his coffee. &ldquo;Drink up, Aldan. You&#039;ll need the energy. I buried Kate&#039;s mother 13 years ago. Some days it feels like just yesterday. It&#039;s going to hurt like hell. But you&#039;re not alone.&rdquo; He nods his head over to the boys. &ldquo;You&#039;ve got them and they&#039;ve got you. And you&#039;re folks and me. And them other boys, too.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan nods. &ldquo;Thank you, Bennett.&rdquo; He drains his coffee, refilling his cup and devouring a biscuit in two bites. He washes it down with hot coffee. &ldquo;Alright, boys. Mom, dad. Time to head out.&rdquo; Everyone looks at him, some nod, others sigh, but they all struggle to their feet and head for the sitting room and the front door.<br />\tAizen and Holt wait and give them time to speak to each other before following through the front door with them. They keep their introductions short, Aldan explaining to the older parents that they&#039;re friends of the boys and here to offer support. As they walk out of the door, memories flood Aizen&#039;s mind - the three miles spread out of graves for those lost in battles, the images of the dead, watching people dig dozens of graves at the same time, and it goes on and on even as they walk down the pavement towards the gates.<br />\tThe group exits through the gates, finding Whirlwind saddled and ready to ride. He champs happily at his bit, stamping the ground excitedly to see Bryan. They haven&#039;t ridden since that day. He&#039;s ties to the rear of a large carriage, a smaller carriage close behind. Grooms and footmen hustle to activity, opening the carriage doors and standing ready to help the mourning family into the carriage.<br />\tBryan moves to his horse, nuzzling the happy beast and rubbing his nose. He whispers to the horse. Looking back at Aldan, a smile on his face for the first time in days, the smile wavers, threatening to disappear but somehow, someway, it sticks. &ldquo;Lev and I will ride Whirlwind.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan nods. As Bryan and Lev hops on to Whirlwind, Aldan and a footman help his mother and father, Edna and Alfrick, into the carriage, followed by Kate&#039;s father, Bennett. Milliken hesitates. He looks at Jay, his eyes searching, then at his father. They had discussed this moment last night. By protocols and as a matter of room, Jay should ride with Holt and Aizen in the second carriage. Now that the moment had arrived, Mikey was having doubts.<br />\tJay has to practically hold and be pressed against his boyfriend for the entirety of being with him just to make sure that he doesn&#039;t explode out in volatile emotions, which is what he&#039;s done for the past few days. As difficult as it is, he does it all without even questioning why. It&#039;s love, proving to him that no matter how difficult things get, he will be there for him. &ldquo;I&#039;ll be right here with you. If you want to hit me or squeeze my hand or cry into my shoulders, you can go ahead and do it. Just don&#039;t pretend like you&#039;re alone.&rdquo; The second carriage arrives. Once Aizen and Holt are seated, Jay helps him up and into the backseats. It&#039;s cold, but their warmth triumphs it. The driver hands out umbrellas before the carriage begins to move. &ldquo;I love you, Mikey. More than anything, hun.&rdquo; He kisses his cheek.<br />\tMilliken nods, turning into Jay and burying his face in Jay&#039;s chest. He wraps his arms around Jay&#039;s arm. Sniffling, he tries to sound strong. &ldquo;I know. You&#039;ve been...everything since.&nbsp;&nbsp;.&nbsp;&nbsp;.Since . . .&rdquo; He can&#039;t finish the thought, but everyone in the carriage, even the driver and footman, know what he means.<br />\tWatching Milliken, Holt reaches out and grabs Aizen&#039;s hand. His thumb taps on Aizen&#039;s knuckles, a nervous habit that Aizen has become used to. He tries to think of something to say, some comfort to offer, but finds no words. Instead, he clears his throat and pats Mikey on the knee.<br />\t&ldquo;Ho! Giddyup!&rdquo; The lead driver snaps the reins and the larger, front coach lurches into motion. The small coach follows. Bryan and Lev ride to the side of the main carriage.<br />\tAs the procession turns out onto the main street leading to the House of Rest, the temple of St. Corus where the funeral will be held, they are joined by a troop of mounted cavalry. With their polished steel breastplates and plumed helms, the scarlet uniformed riders take positions in front and to the rear of the procession. The clattering of hooves filled air. The troopers adjust their ranks to allow Bryan and Lev on Whirlwind to ride as one with them.<br />\tAlong the thoroughfare small groups of people watch in silence. Families stand together, parents holding their children close as they watch the family pass by. Retired soldiers and off-duty guardsmen silently salute. Here and there an anthro and their family stand somber vigil. They all bow their heads as the carriages pass.<br />\tIn the lead carriage, Aldan looks at the faces of the people. Many are crying. Sorrow is visible on all. Some of the faces he recognizes. Men he worked with at the prison, men he served with in the army. His throat tightens at their presence, old comrades standing with their wounded fellow.<br />\tEdna, Aldan&#039;s mother, cries, blotting her tears with a silk handkerchief. It&#039;s one of Kate&#039;s finery, a blue &quot;K&quot; embroidered onto one corner. His father, Alfrick, holds her hand and clears his throat often. He struggles to hold in his own tears, patting Aldan&#039;s shoulder from time to time. He glances to the side and behind, checking on his grandsons and the strange collection of demons, an elf, and a green-haired boy who somehow came to love Kate as were she their mother. He doesn&#039;t understand their relationships, but is thankful for the comfort they&#039;ve given the boys.<br />\tBennett sits silently. His thoughts run to his wife, dead these many years, and now his daughter and grand-daughter and youngest grandson. Tears run down his cheeks. Edna reaches across to him, taking his hand. United by their grief, they watch and cry.<br />\tAizen can see the family in front of them falling apart into a wave of tears and immediately feels their sorrow and heartbreak. Luckily, Milliken can&#039;t see in front and tell what&#039;s going on with them. Further up, Lev gazes out into the crowds of people, seeing those from his school and temple there to support them. All of Bryan&#039;s schoolmates are there too. It discomforts him to know that they all know what has happened to their family. It&#039;s become publicized. The support keeps the two of them strong, but at the same time it doesn&#039;t fix what has happened. It doesn&#039;t stop the tracks leading to the funeral nor does it bring the ones they&#039;ve lost back to life.<br />\tThe crowd grows as the near the temple. As the carriages rumble to a stop in front of the grand edifice, the footman leap from their seats, opening the doors and ready to assist the family. Bennett exits and he and a footman help Edna and Alfrick. Aldan stands, surveying the crowd, before stepping down to the ground.<br />\tAldan makes for the second carriage as it moves forward to unload the boys at the black carpet of mourning that leads into the cathedral-like temple. Though they don&#039;t need help, he takes each boy&#039;s arm or hand as they disembark. Holt followed by Aizen, then Jay and finally Milliken. He hugs Milliken and Jay close and tight, producing a hanky to wipe Mikey&#039;s face and having him blow into it. He kisses both boys on their forehead and lets them take their place with the grandparents.<br />\tBryan and Lev wait for the carriages to clatter off, walking Whirlwind to Aldan. Bryan reaches down to his father, letting him lift the boy from the saddle and holding him close. &ldquo;Put a uniform on you and you could be one of the King&#039;s own cavalry.&rdquo; He smiles at Bryan, who manages a smile back. They both reach up to help Lev.<br />\tLev steps down with their help and then faces the tall, monolithic cathedral. A fear trembles inside of him. He hopes that the coffins are closed and that he never has to see those faces again. The images of him making breakfast with Kate and helping the kids in the morning is permanently ruined by what he saw in the kitchen that day. He imagines that stepping into the cathedral would somehow lead him back to that specific moment and relive it all over again. With all of it aggressively hitting him, he squeezing Bryan&#039;s hand.<br />\tJay and Mikey stand close by their grandparents. Kate&#039;s father kneels down to speak with them, kissing Milliken&#039;s face and trying to tell him that all will be fine. The young green-haired boy hasn&#039;t broke hands with his boyfriend since they stepped onto the carriage, nor does he plan to do so unless he&#039;s told to.<br />\tAldan, Bryan, and Lev join the others. Aldan knows this will be harder on Lev than most people would imagine. He&#039;s the only other family member who actually saw what was done. He also knows that Lev holds onto painful memories more acutely than most other people. As they walk towards the great doors, he takes the moment to speak softly. &ldquo;Lev, we love you. I&#039;m glad you&#039;re here. For Bryan, for Mikey, for me. If you need to leave at some point, I understand. But, I think you can do this.&rdquo;<br />\tThe family is greeted by the Cannoness Gwynneth, High Priestess of St. Corus. She is dressed in dark robes. Greeting each of the family by name, she goes in order, blessing each of them with holy water sprinkled from green mistletoe. Aizen, Holt, Jay, Milliken, Lev, Bryan, Bennett, Alfrick, Edna, and finally Aldan.<br />\tLeading the family into the knave, they are surprised at the number of mourners. As they pass down the wide central aisle, the crowd stands. At first, at the rear, are strangers. Townspeople, demons, anthros. All drawn by the tragedy and loss of the crime committed not just against Aldan and his family. But against everyone who&#039;s ever loved a parent, a child, or a partner.<br />\tMoving forward, Aldan is able to pick out neighbors. Coworkers. Gerald, the Warden, is there with his wife. The men from his last shifts. Raven and Jack along with the students. Grant and Youeen. Principal Jeremy. The nod and bow as the family passes.<br />\tThen, rising up like pain given physical form are four coffins. Even closed, Aldan knows each one. Jereminy on the right. Sally on the left. Kate in the center with the tiniest coffin resting atop hers. He would have been name Drew. Aldan stops, the strength leaving his legs. He reaches out, finding Bennett who somehow keeps Aldan on his feet.<br />\tThe family and close friends pass down to the front row and take their seats. Aizen and Holt sit at the very left end, the parents and grandparents on the opposite side. As broken as Bryan was the first few days, he&#039;s seemed to learn how to handle it better than the others have. Maybe he&#039;s still too shocked and numb by it to really feel the heaviness of grief just yet. Lev squeezes his hand, looking to the coffins once, then begins to pray in his tongue, some of it recited text, others being prayers for guidance, help, and that those they&#039;ve lost are safely guided to peace in the afterlife. After he&#039;s finished praying, he looks to his lover and smiles, holding back his tears.<br />\tMilliken is also surprisingly well adjusted and not crying anymore, but the pain in him is obvious. He was always a mothers boy, living to learn everything he could from her, having his most precious memories with her and the young ones when him and his brother would get in fights. Once he see&#039;s the smallest coffin he chokes, putting a hand to his mouth, and breaks apart again. Jay reacts nervously and quick, comforting him with a tight hug and pulling out his handkerchief. &ldquo;Let it out. Come here.&rdquo; He guides him into his shoulders, letting him sob for what seems like ten minutes until he&#039;s able to face what&#039;s in front of him with flat emotion, just like his brother.<br />\tWhen the family is seated, a pair of young teens, a boy and a girl, move down the row. The boy holds a silver jug filled with light, cool wine. The girl carries a carved ivory chalice and white cloth. They offer each family member, starting with Holt, a drink. He accepts and the boy fills the cup, Holts drinks. The girl wipes the rim with the cloth and they move to the next person. The wine is refreshing, a special vintage made by elderly monks for the funeral rites. It is reputed to give strength to the mourners, while allowing them to find their brightest memories of their life with the deceased.<br />\tAfter Aldan has drunk, the Cannoness enters, followed by three acolytes. One of them carries a censer of smoking incense. As she and the other acolytes take their places behind the coffins, the censer bearer circles the coffins reciting quiet prayers as he swings the censer, leaving fragrant smoke surrounding each coffin. He takes his place with the others, closing the vents on the censer and joining in silent prayer.<br />\tAs the Cannoness and others raise their voice in hymn, a younger man in royal garb approaches Holt and Aizen, crouching low so as not to draw attention to himself.<br />\tThe young man whispers respectively, &ldquo;You&#039;ll need to be seated some place else from the family. The front row is for the family only.&rdquo; Aizen apologizes, being in sort of a culture shock and not knowing exactly what&#039;s going on. Demons have no chairs or pews in their temples, nor would they allow such an audience for a funeral. As soon as he stands up, the king himself in the second row makes room for the two of them. They bow before taking their seats. The young man proceeds down, looking to Lev and Jay and explaining the same to them.<br />\tLev counters, not so much offended, but more so as if he already knew. &ldquo;--But I AM a part of the family. Aldan and Kate adopted Jay and I.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;But you&#039;re&hellip;&rdquo; He looks confused. Mikey whispers to Jay, telling him not to leave.<br />\tThe slight commotion at the end of the pew is enough to draw Aldan&#039;s attention. As Holt and Aizen move to the second row, he tenses. His mother turns to him. She follows his gaze, covering her mouth with her kerchief when she realizes what&#039;s happening. As Aldan starts to stand, his face reddening, she places a hand on his arm. He sits and Edna whispers to Alfrick.<br />\tAlfrick frowns and looks at the second row. He looks at the young man whispering to Lev and Jay, seeing panic on Milliken&#039;s face. He stands, crouching, but not to low. Bent at the waist, he make his way down to the boys. &ldquo;What&#039;s going on?&rdquo; He hisses softly.<br />\t&ldquo;I&#039;m sorry, sir. I&#039;m trying to get them moved. They don&#039;t know that this row is for family only and they shouldn&#039;t be sitting here or seated closer than the King!&rdquo;<br />\tMilliken clutches fearfully at Jay, whose face is set stone. He looks ready to punch the interloper. &ldquo;Grandpa! He can&#039;t make them leave. Tell him!&rdquo;<br />\tAlfrick taps the man&#039;s shoulder and gestures to a nearby pillar. The confused man joins the old man behind a large pillar. The young man speaks quickly. It&#039;s only the exceptional hearing of demons and elves that let Lev, Aizen, and Holt hear the exchange. &ldquo;I&#039;m sorry, sir. I don&#039;t know how they got in and up front like that. Demons and elves!&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Listen here, young man.&rdquo; Alfrick leans in close, his eyes blaze into the young man. &ldquo;Those demons and that elf, and the green haired boy, ARE part of this family. As much as those we&#039;re saying goodbye to, as much as Aldan or me or Kate&#039;s father or my wife.&rdquo; His eyebrow cocks and pokes the man in the chest as he talks. &ldquo;They&#039;re brothers to my grandchildren, sons to my son, my grandchildren.&rdquo;<br />\tThe younger man blanches and shrinks back, stammering. &ldquo;I . . . I didn&#039;t know, sir! I just assumed they were . . . I didn&#039;t think they were family.&rdquo;<br />\tAlfrick continues poking the man&#039;s chest. &ldquo;You didn&#039;t think. Period. I&#039;m telling those boys to get back where they belong, with the rest of OUR FAMILY. After the ceremony, you&#039;d best apologize to them and to my son. Until then, vanish!&rdquo;<br />\tThe young man swallows heavily, nodding furiously. He slinks back into the shadows, visibly shaken. Alfrick quietly approaches Aizen and Holt, who, along with Lev, heard every word. He pats each of them on the leg. &ldquo;You boys sit up with us, now. Where you belong.&rdquo; He moves across the front row, pausing to whisper to Milliken, and the other boys. &ldquo;It&#039;s fixed, Mikey. Jay&#039;s staying right here, so&#039;s Lev. They&#039;re family, right. Forget that fool.&rdquo; He kisses Mikey&#039;s cheek, pats Jay&#039;s hair, and winks at Lev and Bryan. Resuming his seat, he holds Aldan&#039;s arm, feeling his son relax.<br />\tOnce all of the chaos of seating arrangements is finally over with, they&#039;re finally able to take in the beauty of the choral chants coming up high and in front of them. Six women, four men, all dressed in dark clothes with veils shielding their faces, gloves covering their hands, none of their bodies shown to anyone. It cannot be doubted that the music is mournful, but it&#039;s not stale in that essence. The singers are empathetic in the way that they sing, almost as if they were alone with the family and ones personally effected by the tragedy. Their chants are slow, complex, never fully dominant by male or female vocals, high or low notes, a complete balance and wave of emotion through music. Most of the singing is done in a language that the half-elf or demons can&#039;t understand, but is familiar to them by ear. Eventually, all that&#039;s left is the presence of their voices, which channels and calms everyone inside, purifying the essence of the cathedral, almost as if to transport them some place holy, a tranquil place in time to allow them a final moment of peace with their loved ones before they&#039;re buried.<br />\tWhen the choir finishes, the temple falls silent. Several of the mourners cry and sob, the sound echoing and piercing the somber atmosphere. Gwynneth stands before the coffins speaking to the assemblage.<br />\t&ldquo;The beginning of life brings great joy. The end brings great sorrow. For Katey and Aldan, they felt that joy with their older son, Bryan. Then again with Milliken. A third time with Sally.&rdquo; Aldan bows his head, Edna dabs at her eyes. &ldquo;Again with Jereminy. And they were all excited and expecting such joy again with a new baby, who would have named Drew.&rdquo; She pauses, turning to the coffins and laying a hand on the smallest. When she turns back to the crowd, a tear runs down one cheek. &ldquo;Yet, that joy was stolen. Instead of great joy Aldan, Bryan, Milliken, and their adopted sons, Lev, Jay, Holt, Aizen, they suffer the cruelest pain. I have no explanation of why our Lade allowed this. I have no words to make sense of the inexplicable. All I can do is offer the love of our Lady and my own love. That&#039;s all that any of us can do. It is what we must do. We must use our love to heal the pain and loss. When they need to talk, we must be there to listen. When they need quiet, we must respect that, as well. We must hold them when they are weak and lonely. We must loan them whatever strength we possess. For they have sacrificed so much for all of us. They have saved so many of us. Katey, Sally, Jereminy, and Drew now rest with Our Lady. They look down upon their loved ones left behind. They love them and miss them. But Aldan and his boys. . .they will feel that loss every moment of every day. We must all do what we can to ease their pain and help with their burden. We must do right and do good with lives that we still have, thanks to Aldan&#039;s heroism and that of his boys.&rdquo;<br />\tShe pauses. &ldquo;If Aldan had not stop the Dark Mages from destroying us, these innocents would not have been targeted. They&hellip;&rdquo; she sweeps her arm over the family. &ldquo;They saved us and have paid a terrible price for it. We must raise them up with our love and prayers and in any way we can. For every moment we have, is a gift from them.&rdquo; She gestures at Aldan and the boys. &ldquo;Paid for by them.&rdquo; She touches each of the coffins. &ldquo;They are at peace. Kate and her young children play in the fields of Our Lady. It is for we who remain to care for her husband and sons. As we lay these four to rest, we cannot rest ourselves. For Aldan, Byran, and Milliken need us. Aizen, Holt, Lev, and Jay need us. Edna, Alfrick, and Bennett need us. Will we answer their need? Will we be worthy of their sacrifice? Will we?&rdquo;<br />\tAs the lady speaks, Lev shuts his eyes, remembering a specific moment in which he showed Kate step by step how he made his coffee. He remembers paying as much attention possible as Sally showed him how to bake her brothers favorite sweets and treats, how Kate had shown him how to properly cook meat. All of the generous meals that she gave him, how he had trucked mud inside of the house on accident. Suddenly, he bursts into tears. Telling Jereminy while they were alone, just the two of them, how much his oldest brother meant to him, and how one day he would marry him and take him with to see the further worlds that his people live in. Now he see&#039;s them all dead. Furthermore, the world he wanted to show him, soon to be dead as well. All of this pain and suffering that the youngest couldn&#039;t possibly even comprehend and to be taken away from the world in such an instance... All leading back to him. He knows it&#039;s wrong to feel that guilt. It&#039;s not his fault, but he can&#039;t help but to feel he&#039;s the true one to blame. Aizen reaches over, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezes it. Bryan squeezes his lovers hand, tears running down his face after being triggered into it. Milliken stares low at the coffins, rubbing his thumb along his clenched fist connected to Jay&#039;s.<br />\tAfter she finishes, Gwynneth approaches the family. Behind her the choir sings. She takes each family member&#039;s hands in hers and blesses them with prayers and words of comfort. She spends a moment with each of them, including the new additions, treating them as kindly and gently as she does Milliken and Bryan.<br />\tShe stands in front of the coffins as the hymn continues. Pallbearers gather each coffin and carry them through the temple. The censer bearer leads the way, smoking trailing and wafting behind him. Gwynneth walks with Alden, followed by the rest of the family. Outside, the day is still chill and grey. The coffins are carefully loaded onto a funeral carriage, and the family return to their respective carriages. The new procession winds through the streets towards the cemetery, small crowds along the road side paying their respects.<br />\tThe journey to the cemetery takes a half hour. The gates are open, with a cadre of guards keeping onlookers outside. As the coffins pass, people throw flowers onto the ground in front of the carriage. Some of the stems have small notes tied to them, individual prayers and wishes. The carriages stop and the coffins are carried up the hillside. The pallbearers use great care and reverence, especially with the smallest coffins.<br />\tThey coffins are laid next to the two graves. Kate and baby Drew will be together, Sally and Jereminy will rest together. Gwynneth blesses the graves as the family and closer friends gather. Alannha, who married Drew and Aldan, embraces the warrior, whispering her condolences. She notices Lev and Bryan, Milliken and Jay, and Holt and Aizen, and nods knowingly. Despite the sorrow of the moment, the love between the couples lifts her heart and she can&#039;t help but grin slightly.<br />\tMilliken lays down on his feet, watching as the coffins descend. Suddenly, his brother walks over and kneels down beside him and hugs him as hard as he possibly can. It&#039;s a rare site. Throughout many years, they&#039;ve teased and made jokes at each other, even fought. Today, everything has been set aside.<br />\tBryan looks at his brother in the eyes. &ldquo;I&#039;m so sorry for always being rude to you. No more of that. I promise. From now on, I&#039;ll be the brother that I&#039;ve always wanted to be... I love you, Milliken.&rdquo; Jay and Lev stand side by side a few steps away, letting them be, knowing that they need this brotherly space. As Lev shuts his eyes, he prays once more and holds out one hand as if to grab at something. The doors come closing in on him, along with an ever-growing void of darkness that seems to swallow everything in its path. It seems inescapable. A cold wind blows as he begins to close his hand. He feels their presence watching over him, almost telling him that he must stay strong. And as he opens his eyes...<br /><br /><br />\tA month and a half pass him by. Lev lays on a downward slope of a hill, the same spot where him and his love had rode Whirlwind for what seems like forever ago. He opens his eyes and looks at the flower in his hand. It&#039;s a blood orchid, the same one he found left inside of the barnyard where the two dark mages had been killed. For some reason, he&#039;s felt the need to take it with him every now and then.<br />\t&ldquo;You always bring that with you. Why?&rdquo; Lev lays down on his back, looking up at the gray sky. It&#039;s just as dark as the day of the funeral, but more quiet, less people as well.<br />\t&ldquo;I don&#039;t know. Maybe to remind myself. Maybe because I&#039;m still trying to understand.&rdquo;<br />\t Moving into a new house, all of the drama from friends and outsiders trying to comfort them, everything seemed to have its way with him and the rest of the family. Just in that short spec of time, everything changed. That isn&#039;t to say that every day had been spent in pain and horrible grief. Lev was able to get his job back at the newspapers and has five articles published a week. His principle, Jeremy, granted him the freedom to go there for half of the school time. He still visits his family as he was told to do, but tries to spend as much time as he can with Bryan. Talk of war has been at central focus in the town and preparations for battles are nearly complete. It seems to be all he writes about for the papers, which discomforts him, but he&#039;s also happy that he was given the opportunity again. Jay spoke to his parents once more, finalizing his adoption and works to move in with the Jaeger family. The rest, all preparing for what is to come.<br />\tBryan sighed and rearranged himself so that his head rested high on Lev&#039;s stomach. He watched the sky, looking for shapes in the clouds. &ldquo;What are you trying to understand?&rdquo; Bryan pauses, then adds. &ldquo;I don&#039;t understand anything anymore.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Don&#039;t you think it&#039;s strange...&rdquo; He spins the flower around in front of him. &ldquo;That someone would kill the mages and leave nothing but this flower?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;What if it belonged to the mages?&rdquo; Bryan tilted his head to look at the flower and at Lev. &ldquo;I&#039;ve never seen a flower like that. Mommie used to have flowers in the garden. And daddy would sometimes bring her flowers, too. But nothing like this one.&rdquo; He falls silent, frowning.<br />\tLev joins him in silence, then lays one hand down on Bryan&#039;s. &ldquo;Jay said he wants to visit his brothers grave later today...&rdquo;<br />\tRolling over Bryan holds his face a few inches above Lev&#039;s, his frown morphing into a smile. He pulls up some grass, tearing it into small pieces and raining them over Lev&#039;s face and hair. &ldquo;We should go with him. Say hello to everyone.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Yeah... We can do that.&rdquo; His sensitive ears automatically tingle as he brushes the grass off of his face. Lev kisses Bryan softly, then sits up and stretches out. We should leave in a couple minutes or so. Have to pick up Mikey and show him around the publishing house. Pauses to take in the silence and motionless air. He stretches out the arm that was once broken, now healed with no cast. &ldquo;I&#039;ve been thinking...&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;About me naked again?&rdquo; Bryan giggles and rolls over on his back. Lifting his legs in the air. &ldquo;With me holding my ankles up so you can fuck me?&rdquo; He giggles again. For a long time after the funerals, he and Lev did not have sex. Lately, though, Bryan has seemed insatiable. He&#039;s asked, begged, and tried to seduce several times each day. He&#039;s flirted with others, too.<br />\tLev blushes. &ldquo;Maybe... Actually.&rdquo; He looks around, seeing nobody by the lake. &ldquo;It&#039;s been a while since we&#039;ve done anything together. Maybe we should do something today? That is, if you&#039;re interested.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan sits up, his eyes bright and alert. &ldquo;Really? Yes, I&#039;d love to...&rdquo; He reaches out, taking Lev&#039;s hand. &ldquo;It&#039;s been so long. I miss it. I think about it a lot.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He looks around before leaning in close to Lev, resting his hand on the demon-boy&#039;s chest and letting it wander down towards Lev&#039;s crotch. &ldquo;Here? Now? Do we have time?&rdquo;<br />\tLev lays back, smiling and letting the freedom of peace take over him. It&#039;s rare that he ever feels this way. Sometimes it comes to him in bed with Bryan or when he&#039;s at his job writing. Other than that, the past month and a half has been a relentless torrent of chaotic emotion for everyone at the new house. But today... &ldquo;Yeah... We have time.&rdquo; He lifts up part of his robe, undoes his fundoshi in a few seconds, and lets his hard six inches spring up in front of his boyfriend. &ldquo;But we should be quiet.&rdquo;<br />\tBrian hurries to unbutton his pants, pulling his shirt up and tucking it up under his chin. He glances at Lev, letting his gaze roam over his boyfriend&#039;s body before resting on the hard dick. Without thinking, he licks his lips. He pushes his pants and unders down to his knees. He shuffles forward on his knees, kissing Lev, pressing his tongue into the warm mouth that opens eagerly to accept him. His cock head brushes against Lev&#039;s and Bryan moans into Lev&#039;s mouth as they kiss. &ldquo;We have no grease...&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;It&#039;s fine...&rdquo; He kisses him again, tongue in cheek, hands running over his back. &ldquo;Tonight, we can fuck. Right now... Let&#039;s just taste each other. &ldquo;Lev reaches down, masturbating both of their members with one hand.<br />\tBrian groans, his eyes closing as he faces the sky. He holds on to Lev&#039;s waist as the familiar warmth of Lev&#039;s hand washes through his body, starting in his dick and spreading out. He looks at Lev, his mouth slack and his eyes hungry. Pushing against Lev, he takes them both to the ground. &ldquo;I want your dick in my mouth. Please.&rdquo; He whines for Lev&#039;s cock in his mouth.<br />\t&ldquo;One moment.&rdquo; He looks over the lake and hills again. Nobody in sight. No voices either. They&#039;re alone in the nature and yet he can&#039;t help but to feel like he&#039;s about to get caught. Without a care in the world, he pulls off his robe and sets it aside, crawls on his knees, then holds himself up with his elbows as the tip of his erection hangs in front of Bryan&#039;s eager mouth.<br />\tBryan takes the head of Lev&#039;s cock into his mouth, wrapping his lips around the base of the head. His tongue slowly circles the mushroom head, diving gently into his pee slit. The warmth and taste are better than even he remembered. One hand reaches around, squeezing Lev&#039;s ass cheek and teasing his crack. &ldquo;Please suck me...&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Ahhh.. Dammit. Making me move around.&rdquo; He laughs, showing him that he&#039;s not frustrated. Once he turns around his tail lays over on Bryan&#039;s forehead, ticking him and his hair. Lev feels the warmth of his cock before spitting down onto it, stroking it firmly. &ldquo;I can&#039;t believe we stopped doing this. I fucking love your dick.&rdquo; He goes down, licking up from pubis to tip, then coating the balls as he sucks them while stroking his dick. &ldquo;And I love you.&rdquo; Lev takes him into his mouth, sucking wildly as his hands explore Bryan&#039;s thighs.<br />\tAlmost instantly, Bryan&#039;s hips begin pushing and thrusting against Lev&#039;s face. He takes Lev deeper into his mouth, holding it and sucking it like candy. His tongue whips around the head and shaft, savoring the warmth and taste of his lover. He whines and moans, never taking the six inch cock from his mouth.<br />\tThe two young lovers lay in the cold grass naked and sucking each other attentively. Not a single soul walks by or hears them from above. Lev is lost in the pleasure of being this close with Bryan once again. There&#039;s been times where they&#039;ve given each other handjobs under the covers, but nothing more. Suddenly, he feels his cock pulsating and ready to cum. &ldquo;I&#039;m gonna cum, babe. Remember what I told you.&rdquo; He goes back down on him, sucking and focusing his tongue on the tip and scar over his shaft, the other hand rubbing his nuts gently.<br />[\tBryan sucks harder. It&#039;s been so long, it feels like forever, since he&#039;s been able to drink Lev&#039;s cum. He takes hold of Lev&#039;s balls and squeezes tightly. He&#039;s only vaguely worried about hurting Lev, caught up in the passion of the moment and remembering Lev&#039;s request. His own dick begins to throb and spasm, including an odd new sensation. His mind doesn&#039;t think to warn Lev, instead he concentrates on squeezing Lev&#039;s balls and pulling on the sack as he sucks and tongues the demon cock.<br />\tFor whatever strange reason, Lev has always loved the sensation of having his nuts squeezed right as he&#039;s cumming. He does so with extreme force, exploding nine thick loads of warm cum into his lovers mouth, the most he&#039;s ever done in his life. Lev moans loudly even with Bryan&#039;s four inches in his mouth, continuing to suck as he feels his body reacting. Bryan&#039;s toes are curled up, his legs are twitching, cock bouncing in his mouth as he bops up and down on it.<br />\tBryan moans as he sucks and swallows Lev&#039;s sweet load. He gleefully squeezes the balls and sucks madly, trying to drain every ounce of cum from the dick now filling his mouth. His own dick, four inches lodged happily in Lev&#039;s mouth, jerks and spurts. The first drops of his first wet orgasm hit Lev&#039;s tongue and the first spray of cum coats his mouth. It&#039;s a small load, three strong spurts and it&#039;s somewhat thin and watery, but the taste is almost divine.<br />\tLev&#039;s eyes widen in surprise, continuing to suck and make sure that there&#039;s none left before he raises his mouth and lets the clear cum flow on his tongue. It&#039;s not sour or salty, nor is it sweet. Angelic is the only word that comes to mind. Mystical. He twirls around in the grass, his head looking down to Bryan, and then he lays carefully on top of him. &ldquo;You came...&rdquo; He kisses him sloppily on purpose, letting the taste of his semen flow into his mouth. Unsurprisingly to him, Bryan saved his as well. Both of theirs combines as their tongues wrestle in each-others mouths. Finally, they break apart, swallowing whatever is left down. You&#039;re delicious.<br />\t&ldquo;I came? Really?!&rdquo; Bryan&#039;s eyes flash open and he smacks his lips and tongue. He tries to isolate his taste from Lev&#039;s. He thinks he has, and he likes the way his jizz tastes. &ldquo;You liked it?&rdquo; His lips purse together. Before Lev can answer, he pulls his head close and kisses him again.<br />\t&ldquo;Neat, huh?&rdquo; He lays there with him, locking eyes and gazing into them as if they were a heaven unbound. Suddenly, his ears twitch, hearing people coming up the hill. &ldquo;Oh crap! Hurry! We have less than a minute!&rdquo; He rolls over on the grass, quickly putting his robe and fundoshi on.<br />\tBryan lifts his hips from the grass, bridging himself into a bow. Pulling his pants up, he giggles as Lev rushes with his fundoshi. &ldquo;Let &#039;em catch us!&rdquo; He hops to his feet, brushing grass and leaves from his clothes and backide. Straightening his shirt, he helps Lev finish dressing.<br />\tA family of four come down from the hill, only glancing at them without any concern for a brief few seconds before they continue down the hill. One of the kids points to Whirlwind. Lev&#039;s forgotten that the horse was even there as the only witness. &ldquo;We should... Probably get going to Mikey soon. What do you say?&rdquo;<br />\tBryan grabs the horn on Whirlwind&#039;s saddle, pulling himself up and on to the horse. I think their boy is cute. He looks down at Lev, smiling. He reaches down to help him up. &ldquo;Remember to hold me tight. Oh, and remember that I love you, Lev.&rdquo;<br />\tLev grabs his arm and hops up without any problem. He wraps his arms around him tightly, kissing his shoulder. &ldquo;Of course. I love you too. More than anything.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan urges Whirlwind into a trot. &ldquo;You said you wanted to talk about something. But we never did.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Huh?&rdquo; He thinks for a moment, then kisses him again. &ldquo;Silly. I wanted to ask you about whether or not you wanted to do it or not!&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Oh!&rdquo; Bryan laughs. &ldquo;I thought you were going to try and tell you wanted to go to the wars and write about them for the papers.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;War? No way...&rdquo; He leans his chin over Bryan&#039;s left shoulder. &ldquo;I mean, I thought about it, but... Your Dad is going, Holt and Aizen are going. I want to be with you.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Good. I wouldn&#039;t have let you go anyway.&rdquo; The ride easily through the town, avoiding the busiest streets and making good time. They arrive at Milliken&#039;s school with a minute to spare.<br />\tThey continue to wait, watching as town folks flood around the streets. There&#039;s something different about the atmosphere. People almost seem frustrated, fighting with each-other at times. Some of them hold signs. &ldquo;Wild... I wonder what&#039;s going on. Protestors, maybe?&rdquo; A good half hour passes before Milliken exits with a few other kids from school. It&#039;s lunch, but he&#039;s gotten away with a note from the publishing house allowing him to have a tour around.<br />\t&ldquo;Sorry I&#039;m late! Had to gather my homework.&rdquo; He sorts through a stack of papers in his hand before shoving them back into his backpack. &ldquo;Walk slowly, will ya?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;No need, Mikey.&rdquo; Lev jumps down, patting Whirlwind as he walks up to him. He helps him up and stands close to the right of the horse. &ldquo;I can deal with these people. You might get lost in them.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;What are they upset about?&rdquo; Bryan lets Milliken settle himself and get comfortable. Looking down at Lev, he carefully pats Lev&#039;s hair. &ldquo;Do you want to follow us? Or us follow you?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Follow me &#039;round. It&#039;s close to the library where we met.&rdquo; Lev reaches up the back of his robe, letting his tail flap out a bunch of fuzz and grass before he puts it back down. He spots a few other demons on the other side of the road and waves at them. One of the signs reads &#039;Children are not criminals&#039;, &#039;Death is not punishment&#039;, and another, &#039;Blood for blood, make them pay&#039;. &ldquo;I have an idea, but I&#039;m not sure. Ignore it. Let&#039;s hurry on.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan nods as Mikey wraps his arms around his brother. He leans his face to one side, against Bryan&#039;s shoulder. &ldquo;Ready, Mikey?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Yes. You smell like grass and your hard.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan reaches down and moves Mikey&#039;s hands up. &ldquo;Yeah. Maybe you shouldn&#039;t rest your hands there.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;But that&#039;s the warmest spot.&rdquo; Mikey settles in against his brother. &ldquo;Besides, you like it and it makes me feel safe to be close to you.&rdquo;<br />\tBrian nods. &ldquo;It&#039;s true.&rdquo; In his hunger for Lev&#039;s body, Brian had begun to notice Milliken and Jay. He had to admit it, at least to himself, that he felt better with Mikey around. When they were apart, he worried about his little brother. &ldquo;What if the Cruiberg. . .&rdquo; Bryan shook his head. Better to not think of that. He grabbed Mikey&#039;s hand and lowered it to his crotch. Riding after Lev, they headed for the publishing house.<br />\tAs they move closer to their old neighborhood and home, a cold haunting feeling lingers over them. They&#039;ve avoided these streets as much as possible, including Milliken, who used to be in love with the library. Lev hasn&#039;t been able to avoid the feeling. If anything, he holds onto it, uses it as strength in his writings to show people the truth and importance towards what&#039;s going on in their own kingdom and outwards as well. The publishing house is constructed close to the library. It stands out on just a single story high, but is long and wide, constructed with a mossy roof and cabin-like appearance. &ldquo;We&#039;re here.&rdquo; He notices a few older gentleman outside having their cigarettes. They tilt their hats to them as they come closer. Lev runs forward, explaining to them what&#039;s going on, then sprints back to inform them on the situation. &ldquo;Everything should be good. They&#039;re not too busy at the moment, but there&#039;s some anthro folk from Aigua Kingdom here that are probably working on some joint projects with us.&rdquo;<br />\tMilliken&#039;s eyes light up. &ldquo;Aquians? Oh, that&#039;s amazing. I wonder if we&#039;ll get a chance to speak with them. I have questions about their society. And cultural influences. And so many other things.&rdquo; Mikey slides awkwardly from the horse. Moving over to Lev and suddenly, and oddly, hugging him. &ldquo;Thank you.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;You can speak to them, I&#039;m sure.&rdquo; He lightens up, squeezing him tightly as they walk to the front door. &ldquo;But you&#039;re here to meet with the director of operations, remember?&rdquo; He opens the door, immediately leading them into a large room of desks, typewriters, and people of all species either sitting or running around with papers in hand. There&#039;s rooms to the right and left, all closed off by glass. Lev doesn&#039;t like to point out those who are different from humans, as he see&#039;s it as disrespectful, but there&#039;s a few people from his temple towards the back, some hyena and jaguar anthros in a meeting with humans in a room to the right of them, and even an elf at a very front desk busy in his work. Lev walks through the room, tapping on a glass door, and intrudes into the meeting. An older woman, probably in her late nineties, walks out with him and looks for Bryan. Once she adjusts her glasses she&#039;s able to spot him.<br />\t&ldquo;Hello there. You must be Milliken. Lev is spoken a lot about you. Good things, of course.&rdquo; She holds out her hand, waiting for him to shake it. His shake is a bit hollow and weak, but she doesn&#039;t mind. The old lady is even shorter than him with a bent back and wrinkles hanging from her face and arms. &ldquo;So, why don&#039;t we show you around, yes?&rdquo; <br />\tBryan comes in a bit late after having to tend to Whirlwind for a moment. He takes Lev&#039;s hand as their guided to the side, then into the labyrinth of desks. The old lady points out Lev&#039;s desk, which is obsessively cleaned with all of his folders and papers kept neat on a rack. &ldquo;This is where Lev works. He&#039;s a busy boy, you know, our youngest worker too, but he reads faster than anyone else and has a way with words. By the way, the Aguians are going to be staying here for a week to work with you and some others on the recent opinions their King, Prince, and lead commanders have towards the coming war.&rdquo; Lev nods, then proceeds to follow her around. She points out a room that makes Mikey explode with joy and excitement. Inside of it are the machines that print out the tens of thousands of copies of newspaper every day. Workers are loading and cutting paper in front of them, too busy in their work to notice the young ones watching. Some may say that these men and women are the heart of the house. They sweat and bleed to make sure every story is printed to its highest quality and handed out to every consumer before the sunrise. She leads them inside, explaining how the machines work to them, and then takes the three boys back to a small office, which is clamored with bookshelves and relics from her family, some from across the world. The old lady takes her seat and waits for the other three to do the same. &ldquo;So... Young one. What do you think of this place?&rdquo;<br />\tMilliken looks around slowly. His mind automatically cataloguing the nick-knacks and keepsakes around the office. His gaze returns to the old woman. &ldquo;It&#039;s amazing! The amount of ink and paper you must go through must be astounding!&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;It&#039;s not too much of a problem.&rdquo; She plays with a small wooden figurine of an elf with a sword. &ldquo;A few mages use some magic to provide us with an endless supply of ink and paper so that we&#039;re not destroying any nature. Now...&rdquo; Lev says that you&#039;re quite the writer yourself. &ldquo;Said that you might even want a job here at some point. Is that something you&#039;re interested in?&rdquo;<br />\tHis face turning red, Mikey looks at Lev. &ldquo;You really think I&#039;m a good writer?&rdquo; He turns back to the old woman. &ldquo;If I can, yes. I study things. And I make up stories, too. I don&#039;t know how to do news. Not yet anyway.&rdquo; His blush deepens. &ldquo;Oh, I could clean, I guess. Or make sure spelling mistakes don&#039;t go by unnoticed.&rdquo; He shrugs. &ldquo;I guess.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;We&#039;re in need of some editors. And we also release short stories in the back of the papers once a week. Are those things you might be interested in?&rdquo; She pulls an application paper out of a desk drawer, then shows it to him, pointing to a pen and ink. &ldquo;It&#039;s your decision. You&#039;re young, so you wouldn&#039;t have to come in much unless you wanted to.&rdquo;<br />\tMikey grabs the paper and pen and begins reading and filling it out. &ldquo;I&#039;d very much like to learn, yes, ma&#039;am.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Alright then!&rdquo; She claps her hands in excitement. Lev brushes Mikey&#039;s shoulder and smiles. &ldquo;You can shadow one of our editors this Friday night if you&#039;d like. I&#039;ll let him know that you&#039;re joining the team and helping him out. Oh... I should warn you. It does get a bit chaotic at times here.&rdquo;<br />\tSlinking back in his chair, Milliken&#039;s face falls. Bryan leans forward. &ldquo;Mikey doesn&#039;t do well in chaos.&rdquo; He glances at his brother, whose eyes are welling up. &ldquo;Do you have a quiet room? I mean, if he gets too excited, he needs somewhere quiet to calm down. Otherwise, he starts to panic.&rdquo; Bryan stands and looks out into the larger work areas. &ldquo;Especially around new people. Once he gets used to things, he&#039;s better. Unless things change, that is.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Well...&rdquo; She taps the desk for a while, trying to think of a good place for him. &ldquo;You can have my office if you&#039;d like. I&#039;m rarely even in here anyway.&rdquo; Lev&#039;s ears twitch. He&#039;s never seen his boss be so charitable before.<br />\tBryan kneels down in front of Milliken, catching his brother&#039;s eyes. &ldquo;Would that work, you think? You could come in here and sit until you felt better?&rdquo;<br />\tMilliken nods slowly. &ldquo;I think so.&rdquo; He looks around the office, pointing to one corner, disused and free of clutter. &ldquo;That corner looks nice and quiet.&rdquo;<br />\tThe house manager, Olivia Barbor, looks over to her right at the empty space. &ldquo;Oh.... Of course! Yes, we can use that. I&#039;ll just need to get someone to move a desk in here at some point.&rdquo; She takes the signed paper and looks it over. &ldquo;So, will you be ready come Friday to begin working?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;I have to get permission from my father.&rdquo; He blushes again, looking around shyly.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&#039;m not usually allowed out in the city after dark, ma&#039;am. I&#039;d like to, very much.&rdquo; He pulls on Bryan&#039;s sleeve, bringing his brother closer. Bryan leans in and Mikey whispers something to him. Bryan shakes his head.<br />\t&ldquo;She hasn&#039;t said.&rdquo; Bryan looks at the old woman. &ldquo;Umm, what should Mikey call you, ma&#039;am?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Oh, I forgot to say my name! It&#039;s Olivia.&rdquo; She laughs. &ldquo;Well, you can come by the morning when you&#039;re not at school.&rdquo;<br />\tMilliken stands. &ldquo;Thank you, Miss Olivia. I&#039;ll talk to daddy tonight. What sort of stories do you like to print? I have several that might work. I can bring them on my first day if that&#039;s allowed.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Oh, the towns folk like stories of heroes and battles, tragedies and wars. We tried to get some comedy in there, but they wouldn&#039;t have it.&rdquo; Olivia stands up, shaking Milliken&#039;s hand. &ldquo;What is it that you like to write?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;War is easy. Comedy is hard.&rdquo; Mikey shakes her hand. &ldquo;Oh, I write stories about my daddy&#039;s battles, history. I&#039;m working on a study of demons now, to correct some of the mistakes that have become commonly accepted as truth.&rdquo; He snaps his fingers. &ldquo;I also draw and sketch! Mostly anatomy and nudes.&rdquo;<br />\tBryan&#039;s jaw falls open and he begins turning a deep crimson.<br />\tLev laughs, hiding his mouth as he does so. Olivia doesn&#039;t notice that he&#039;s different from most others. &ldquo;Oh! That&#039;s, uhm, very nice, that you&#039;re an artist! Anatomy is always intriguing. Well, I must get back to work now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Milliken.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Thank you, Miss Olivia.&rdquo; Mikey waves and grins as he and the others exit the office. As he walks, he ticks off stories on his fingers that he might offer for Miss Olivia&#039;s approval.<br />\tBryan takes Lev&#039;s hand as the walk towards the front entrance. &ldquo;Thank you, babe. I think this will be really good for him.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;It&rsquo;s my pleasure.&rdquo; Lev kisses his boyfriend in front of all of the staff on the cheek. Some of them notice and make sounds, cheering them on as they head out the door. Milliken dances around the two as they walk to Whirlwind, preparing to leave for Lev&#039;s school and pick up Jay. It&#039;s still morning and there&#039;s a faint glimmer of the sun peaking it&#039;s way out of the clouds. However destructive and devastating everything has been lately, they leave the publishing house holding onto that small fragile idea of hope to guide them along.<br />\tHowever, that spec of hope in the sun means nothing to another one. Laying in bed, staring up at it in his cell, Alec waits for his time to come. Peter promised him last night that he would be back as soon as possible, that no matter what, he wouldn&#039;t let him die. But he hasn&#039;t come back and Alec has given up hope that he will. Outside, he can hear protestors yelling back and forth, the clatter of feet and horses running alongside the prison. A few hours ago a prisoner across from him said that the boy set to be executed before him is still waiting in his cell. Apparently, protestors had gotten their early and are still occupying the area where was to hang. On the other hand, the gates to the other execution platform have been closed off, preventing anyone from taking it over, meaning that his will most likely go on as planned. &ldquo;Peter... You promised. No, I can&#039;t be angry at him.&rdquo; He sits up and bed, trying to pinpoint how much longer it will be. &ldquo;I forgive you Peter. It&#039;s not your fault...&rdquo;<br />\tIn his cell, Neke paces back and forth. HIs chest is tight and he&#039;s been crying off and on the entire morning. On his better moments, he reminds himself that every moment now is an extra moment. He was scheduled to be hanged this morning. But it&#039;s approaching lunch time and no one has come for him. Not even to explain the delay. <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Maybe Aldan fixed it.&rdquo; He mutters to himself as he paces. His hands clench and unclench around each other. He squeezes his knuckles, sometimes punching a fist into an open palm. &ldquo;But what if he didn&#039;t? What if the hangman just had bad porridge for breakfast and as soon as he shits it out, things go forward?! Oh, gods, please spare me. I swear I&#039;ll make amends!&rdquo; He cries out in frustration and takes up his pacing, praying and crying under his breath.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;My Lords, the crowds have grown increasingly restive and even larger. And the two guardsmen still wait to speak.&rdquo; The herald bows to the King and his advisors. The audience hall is mostly empty. King Haleax II sits upon his throne, his face worried and thoughtful. The Lord HIgh Inquisitor stands near the great fireplace to the King&#039;s left. Her guards and clerk wait outside as he lone attendant kneels quietly behinf her. The Lord Mayor of Brackenford, along with the Commander of The Militia, and the Master of Merchants mill about near one of the lesser fire places on the King&#039;s right. The three whisper amongst each other. A Royal Guardsman enters, bowing first to the King, then the others. With a smart salute, he hands a written message to the Militia Commander.<br /><br />\tThe Commander steps away from the others, breaking the seal and reading the message. As he reads his face grays with worry. He turns and approaches the throne, stopping and kneeling at the base of the dias. &ldquo;Your Majesty, the crowds continue to grow. The call for mercy and clemency grows louder. I&#039;ll have to call out more men and ask the army for troops if this continues, Sire.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe King sighs. &ldquo;Master Metreicht, yours is the loudest voice that still calls for these boys to be executed. I expect this latest report does not alter your view. Nor yours, my Lord Mayor?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth men look at each other nervously. Metreicht, Master of Merchants steps forward, spreading his hands apologetically. &ldquo;Sire, I must maintain the objection of the Merchant&#039;s Consortium. The victims of these two were children to two of our more prominent families. They demand blood, Your Majesty.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;And you, Inquisitor, have nothing to add?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;The law is clear. The Edict of Reform is clear. Each case adjudged on an individual basis as decided by the King and his Curia.&rdquo; She speaks softly with a cat&#039;s menace hinted at in her voice. As the sole Anthro on the Curia, she has long ago learned to use her uniqueness to command the other&#039;s attnetion. &ldquo;With three votes against these two, the original verdict stands. We may, if I may be so bold, Your Majesty, be best served and quickest restore calm by seeing them to their graves before noon.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe watch commander shakes his head, holding the latest message out before him. &ldquo;I&#039;m stretched as is. We&#039;ve extra militia guarding the warehouses, protecting the supplied for the army. We still have to protect the citizens with Cruiberg blood from vigilantes and firebrands. If we execute these two, I don&#039;t know if we can keep the protestors from rioting.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe Inquisitor turns to the commander. &ldquo;And if we yield to them, we invite the mob to move any time this council rules in any fashion the mob does not care for. Be it over taxes or curfew or anything.&rdquo; <br /><br />\t&ldquo;Enough!!!&rdquo; The King slams his hand down on the arm of his throne. &ldquo;Discussion ceases immediately.* Bring in the two guards. Let theirs be the final arguments before my decision.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan and Peter are shown into the audience hall. They wear their best uniforms, replete with decorations and honors. They&#039;re shown to the center of the aisleway, stopping fifteen feet from the King. Both men kneel, rising only when the king orders them to &ldquo;Rise and speak.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThey rise, bowing to the King and each of the other members of his Curia. Peter clears his throat and speaks.<br />\t&ldquo;My King, thank you for taking the time to oversee these cases. I know you have much more important things to be doing, so we are grateful that you would lend your time to us and hear us out.&rdquo; Peter looks to Aldan, a bit of anxiety swelling up in him. &ldquo;As you know, we are prison guards and have worked with thousands of prisoners in our lifetime. We&#039;ve seen the worst kind of offenders enter into those cells, but these boys are not those. They might not be saints, but they have stories as to how they got to where they are. My partner, Aldan, and I both are thankful that this new law has been set in place but were disappointed to know that it didn&#039;t apply to all of the youth, that there were still loopholes in the works. The two cases in front of you are a result. He walks back and forth as he speaks, trying to force out his confidence, then stops. Neke. Committed the act of rape, has been proven guilty as well. Yes, he deserves to be punished, but not executed. I know fully well that him apologizing is not enough. But take account that this boy lived in three different house holds before the age of ten, every father at that time having abused and sexually assaulted their wives and other women, all alcoholics as well. What sort of example did they lend Neke?&rdquo; He pauses, thinking about Alec. Just one week ago, they had finally kissed. All he could feel was fear and guilt. Today, he either saves his life or helps him die. &ldquo;Alec. Committed murder against a partner of his. They both were selling starshatter. What wasn&#039;t being told was that his partner had gotten him addicted to it, threatened to kill his family if he didn&#039;t help him, and would sexually assault him when he didn&#039;t bring back enough profits. Is this murder or did he react to protect himself and his own family? We see this victim as an orphan with no family. I see him as a thug that took advantage of someone smaller than him. Now that you know their stories, I hope you can reconsider and possibly sympathize with them as well. If not, please, give them time, not death. Better yet, give them the chance to prove themselves on the battlefield, as we&#039;ve already done with others.&rdquo; Peter sighs and stands close to Aldan. &ldquo;I rest my case.&rdquo;<br />\tKing Haelax nods but says nothing. The Inquisitor turns her feline gaze to Peter. In her measured and calm tones she asks. &ldquo;Does not every convicted person have a tale of woe? An unhappy childhood or some circumstance that they use to excuse or justify their crime? So the victims and their families should have their pain and their stories ignored?&rdquo;<br />\tThe other councilors watch as Peter replies. He and Aldan realize that it&#039;s the High Inquisitor and Master of Merchant who must be convinced. As he watches Peter, Aldan&#039;s mind turns trying and discarding arguments. He knows he&#039;ll have to speak after his friend.<br />\t&ldquo;True, but these are not adults. These are children, still living their youth.&rdquo; Peter is sweating, already in fear that it wasn&#039;t enough and that he&#039;s already failed his love. &ldquo;What is the point in having this new law in place if these two aren&#039;t going to be spared?&rdquo;<br />\tThe High Inquisitor looks at Peter. Her eyes almost glow in the dimly lit chamber, giving her a most ominous visage. She looks every inch the panther made human. &ldquo;What is your case, Captain Jaeger?&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;As Aldan stands, she almost smiles. &ldquo;It wasn&#039;t long ago that you were still a leftenant, was it? I recall quite well our first meeting.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan bows. &ldquo;Your Majesty. Lords, Lady. I won&#039;t waste time repeating Peter&#039;s words. His arguments in themselves should be sufficient.&rdquo; Aldan silently thanks the gods that he had Milliken help him with his presentation. He&#039;s much more calm and focused than he feared he would be. &ldquo;But I will add to them.&rdquo;<br />\tClasping his hands together behind his back, Aldan walks slowly back and forth. He speaks slowly, carefully, remembering what he worked on with Milliken. &ldquo;I am prepared to stake my reputation and my life on these two boys. To gain them the chance that by law should be there&#039;s. Peter is as well. Place them in our care, make us responsible for them and we are the guarantors of their reformation. If that&#039;s not enough, I add this as well. I saved this city. I saved this court. I saved each of you. I was repaid and thanked by a grateful crown and the people. Then, my wife was slaughtered, my unborn son cut from her belly as she still lived. . .&rdquo; Aldan pauses, letting them feel the weight of his words, the weight of his pain. Swallowing hard, he continues. &ldquo;Then he was carved like pie and pieces of him taken. My daughter Sally was slaughtered. My son Jereminy was slaughtered. I have paid a heavy price for saving this kingdom. And yes, I have received support and love for that pain. But they are still dead.&rdquo;<br />\tHe faces the High Inquisitor. Her tails twitches slightly as it sways behind her. &ldquo;This kingdom OWES me four lives. I&#039;ll take these two. Neke and Alec as part of the debt. I have asked for nothing since then. I ask for this. And let their victim&#039;s families come to me and demand justice. Let them demand it of me.&rdquo;<br />\tReturning to Peter&#039;s side, Aldan kneels, waiting for their response. He closes his eyes to stop the room from spinning and breathes deeply. The High Inquisitor is silent.<br />\tKing Haelax stands. He looks to his advisors. &ldquo;Which of you will tell this man - No? Which of you would have me deny him? Deny his dead family?&rdquo;<br />\tPeter kneels down as well, placing a hand on his partners shoulder. The Master of Merchant stands and speaks loud and clear. I&rdquo; vote to spare the lives of these two boys.&rdquo; He looks to the Inquisitor, giving her a bothered look as if to say, &#039;Just go on and let them live.&#039;<br />\tLord Mayor looks at the two guards. &ldquo;If they agree to take charge and bear the punishment if something goes awry, I will agree to spare them.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Gods, yes. Perfect!&rdquo; The Militia Commander nods emphatically. &ldquo;Spare the boys as I&#039;ve said. Easier to deal with two angry families than an angry mob.&rdquo; He looks at Aldan and Peter. &ldquo;The captain is right. We owe him.&rdquo;<br />\tAll eyes turn to the High Inquisitor. She moves closer to the flames, warming her hands over the glowing fireplace. The firelight plays off of her fur, making it seem blacker than black and reflect her eyes. &ldquo;Yes. Their arguments are sound. The law should be applied equally. Even when it inconveniences us. We cannot offer Aldan justice for his family, but we can give him more than just words of sympathy and thanks. Release the two prisoners.&rdquo;<br />\tThe King stands, banging his scepter on the arm of his throne. Servants and clerks rush in. He issues the order, a scribe hastens to write two copies which are folded and sealed, and given to the King. &ldquo;Approach, both of you.&rdquo;<br />\tPeter and Aldan approach the King, kneeling before him. He hands the first envelope to Peter. &ldquo;The order commuting Alec&#039;s sentence and placing him in your care. He has two days to decide how he will serve.&rdquo; Turning to Aldan. &ldquo;The order commuting Neke&#039;s sentence and commending him into your care. He also has two days.&rdquo;<br />\tThe King sits. &ldquo;They are your responsibilities now.&rdquo; He turns to a servant. &ldquo;See to it that they are provided with fast horses and an escort. After all this, it would not due for the order to arrive late.&rdquo;<br />\tThe servant bows and leads Peter and Alden out of the audience chamber as the King asks &quot;What&#039;s next?&quot;<br />\tPeter sighs with a wave of relief. He paces so fast that he might as well be running. Once he&#039;s on his horse, he impatiently waits for Aldan to hurry up. &ldquo;Thank you. If it weren&#039;t for you... I don&#039;t know how it would have went down.&rdquo; The horses gallop and speed through crowds of people. Peter tries to imagine what he will say to Alec. &ldquo;Alec and I have already discussed some of the jobs he would like for the war. He&#039;d like to organize and deliver letters from commanders, lieutenants, generals, and the like. I&#039;m not sure what Neke wants to do... I think he should be placed into the armies custody as soon as possible to further protect him in case some seek his blood.&rdquo;<br />\tAldan nods. &ldquo;Good point. I hadn&#039;t considered that. Courier would be a good job for Alec.&rdquo; As they race towards the prison gates, the massive, iron portcullis is slowly raised. Extra guards file out to keep the protesting crowd at bay. Peter dismounts, knowing that he has to deliver the order to the warden first.<br />\tAldan stands in his stirrups. He holds the order for Neke high above his head. The crowd murmurs and turns its attention to him. &ldquo;We have the commutations for the last two boys! They will not be executed! We&#039;ve saved them, now, return home peacefully. Don&#039;t ruin this day with violence or rioting!&rdquo; As the crowd cheers, he dismounts and races after Peter to the warden&#039;s office.<br />\tPeter has already made it to the second floor, panting loudly after slamming the order for Alec down on the wardens desk. He looks it over with a shiny smirk on his face, pleased with how well they had worked. &ldquo;Right at the nick of time too, I&#039;d say. Two days?&rdquo; He takes the other commutation as Aldan enters and looks it over as well. &ldquo;Both of these boys have been disowned from their family. We can try getting them worked into orphanages or put immediately into barracks for training. This Neke boy... I want good eyes on him.&rdquo;<br />\tPeter interrupts. &ldquo;I can take Alec into my home until he&#039;s ready to leave for duty, sir. My home is empty now that my wife has left and there&#039;s a room that he can use for his disposal.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;Mmhm.&rdquo; He turns to Aldan, almost laughing. &ldquo;And you&#039;re taking in the other kid? Haven&#039;t you adopted enough? I know you&#039;ve become quite the humanitarian... But you&#039;re going to war soon as well, right?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan nods. &ldquo;Yes, sir. Neke will be coming with me, I&#039;m sure. We have the room. I think my boys can help him, too.&rdquo;<br />\tThe Warden sighs, a bit confused and judgmental from having being familiar with his case. &ldquo;Well then... Have at it. You have the keys. Pick them up whenever you&#039;d like. There&#039;s no need for paperwork when I have these in front of me.&rdquo;<br />\tShaking hands with the warden, Aldan thanks him. &ldquo;You&#039;re going to have to learn to run this place with my interference, Gerald.&rdquo; As the warden snorts and laughs, Aldan and Peter head to the cell block. Aldan rushes past the other guards, leaving Peter to explain.<br />\tAs Neke paces, he doesn&#039;t hear Aldan approach his cell. Aldan raps on the cell door. &ldquo;Care for a visitor?&rdquo;<br />\tNeke jumps out of bed, quiet and baffled. He doesn&#039;t know yet if they&#039;re here for support before he&#039;s to be hung or not. &ldquo;I... I guess so. What&#039;s going on?&rdquo;<br />\tAldan unlocks the door and enters. &ldquo;Well, you belong to me now. Pack your things. We&#039;re leaving.&rdquo; Aldan sits on the bed watching Neke&#039;s reaction.<br />\tPeter shuffles inside, standing close to the wall to not further distract them. &ldquo;We had your sentence revoked. You&#039;re a free man. Well, not completely, but you&#039;re not going to die.&rdquo;<br />\tNeke sits there almost as if he&#039;s turned to stone. He doesn&#039;t understand why he&#039;s being given another chance to life. &ldquo;B-But... I... I don&#039;t deserve..&rdquo; The tears come back to him. As he tries to stand up out of bed he ends up falling to his knees, breaking down in a heavy sob. &ldquo;I&#039;ll do better! I swear. I&#039;ll do whatever I have to in order to prove myself!&rdquo;<br />\tAldan reaches down, holding Neke&#039;s shoulder. &ldquo;I know, Neke. I know. Have a good cry. Gather your things. We have another boy to speak to. I&#039;ll be back and we&#039;ll take you home. Understand?&rdquo;<br />\tHe sniffles, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away his snot. &ldquo;I understand...&rdquo; He stands up and gathers all of his materials into a small basket. As a prisoner, he&#039;s never been able to hold onto much. Peter guides the way for the two of them to Alec&#039;s cell. When he opens the door, Alec&#039;s eyes immediately bulge with astonishment. He walks to him slowly, almost as if he already knows.<br />\t&ldquo;You&#039;re free now. You don&#039;t have to suffer in here anymore.&rdquo; Taking queue, Peter bends down to his height and kisses him, which shocks Neke to no ends. The two of them embrace and kiss for what seems like forever. &ldquo;I love you, Alec.&rdquo;<br />\tAlec takes his hand, ready to leave without even gathering his things. &ldquo;I love you too, Peter.&rdquo; He looks up at Aldan. &ldquo;Thank you. For believing in me.&rdquo; Then to Neke, who he doesn&#039;t even know. &ldquo;In us.&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;You&#039;re not entirely free. But you&#039;re not prisoners anymore. Neke comes home with me, Alec with Peter. And both of you have to enlist. And as soon as possible.&rdquo; Aldan jostles Neke playfully. &ldquo;You&#039;ve never seen a guard kiss a prisoner before?&rdquo;<br />\t&ldquo;No...&rdquo; Neke rolls his eyes. &ldquo;Uhm... But, I guess there lovers, so it&#039;s okay?&rdquo;<br />\tPeter squeezes Alec&#039;s hand, guiding him out of the cell. &ldquo;We&#039;ll get your things later. Ah, there&#039;s so much for me to show you when we get home!&rdquo; Both of the men take their young ones from out of the prison and part their separate ways. Peter spends the entire time with Alec explaining to him all of the vigorous training he will need to do before he can even go into war. Even if his job is relatively simple, he still has to be able to protect himself. He even talks to him about the battles he was in and fighting alongside with Aldan. The other soldier, stops by his school on impulse, introducing him to the principal and asking for him to take him in as a student before he goes off to war. Of course, Principal Jeremy is more than welcoming to accept him, regardless if he were the most depraved killer on the planet or not, because he see&#039;s everyone as being capable of being brought out of their darkness. Neke is introduced to the class and given a desk. As Aldan heads back into his office after such a long morning he thinks about all of the success and hope he&#039;s given to these young ones today. He stares out of his window. The silence is uncomfortable to him. He knows it&#039;s only a matter of time before he will be back in the battlefields again. He&#039;s already spoken with a commander that is attempting to specifically design a high ranking team for him. But for now, all he wants is to help as many students and prisoners as he can before he leaves. Anything to clear the noise in his head, anything to stop the images from flooding over again and again...<br /><br /></span>","pools_count":1,"title":"Lev's Tale - Chapter Seventeen","deleted":"f","public":"t","mimetype":"application/msword","pagecount":"1","rating_id":"2","rating_name":"Adult","ratings":[{"content_tag_id":"4","name":"Sexual Themes","description":"Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal","rating_id":"2"}],"submission_type_id":"12","type_name":"Writing - Document","guest_block":"t","friends_only":"f","comments_count":"0","views":"98"}