Rudy shoved Billiam down hard onto the cart. His head bashed a bit against the wooden floor, but he was grabbed up by his hair within seconds of the impact. The man yanked him into a seated position and returned the gun to behind his head. The girls gently set Micah down on the edge of the cart beside him. They took the opportunity to tie up his ankles, giggling and marveling at his smooth, almost hairless legs.
“Found these two cuties up the cliff! Thanks for the hint, giant! Ya just could’nae stop starin’ up there like a lost pup! I was’nae expectin’ something so intimate, but what a nice surprise!” called out Bea, as she put herself in the middle of everyone, throwing a smile and wink over to Zan. His face fell as he locked eyes with Billiam, showing a silent apology.
“These are the right ones, ain’t they, sis?” asked Micah’s girl.
The two ladies couldn’t have been much older than the prince. They were dirty, but had rather fashionable, striped dresses on under tattered denim jackets. Bea was blonde with a blue-and-orange frock, while her sister had fiery red hair, and her dress bore purple stripes. They were cute and enthusiastic and would’ve reminded Billiam of Jess, had they not been kidnappers.
“Ya, well three of ’um are,” replied Bea, while staring at a tattered scroll with images and words scrawled across it. “Dat girl and the little one you was sittin’ on is the ones we are supposed to bring in alive. Though it says to ‘bring him back alive if he is alive, if you find him dead, please bring the body.’ Innit that weird?” She scrunched her face and laughed.
“Okay, well wot about the looker and the giant?”
“We do have a faelock on dis list, but it’s a lady. That giant we can let go,” she called over to the men holding Zan, making a shooing motion with her arms.
“What, you really want us to free him, boss?” grunted the short one.
“Ya, we dun need him. I’d say kill him, but I doubt any of us can. That there is a pureblood if I’ve ever seen one.”
With that, the two men let go of my brother. He gave a huge, phony grin and acted quite grateful. “Oh thank you so much, Miss! Your generosity is matched only by your beauty.” She seemed to buy his act and grinned happily as a blush crept across her freckled face. “I suppose I’ll be taking my leave, then, just a hired hand after all. I am glad you were able to take my cue and apprehend those deviants.” Billiam looked on in shock as Zan walked off calmly, disappearing into the woods.
“Oi, dammit. My man is the one we’re supposed to bring back dead. That is a shame. I was thinkin’ of keepin’ you myself after gettin’ yer bounty. I guess that’s of no use anyhow, as yer obviously queer for the runt.”
“He prolly just has’nae found the right girl yet!” Shemmy chimed in, throwing a wink to Billiam.
“She might be right.” Billiam was smiling at Bea mischievously, realizing Shemmy could be on to a way to save his skin.
“Oh, no fair!” squealed her sister. “I’m Felicia, and I am younger but more experienced! I must be the right girl!”
“Shut it, Fel. They’re prolly juss tryin’ to trick us. I am obviously the better woman, anyways. Can’t you see my sexy figure?” Bea spun around and fluttered her eyelashes at Billiam.
Micah had grown quite weary of these buffoonish temptresses. He also was not keen at all on being referred to as a runt by commoners. Such insults had never been allowed to reach him in all his life.
“Is this your first kidnapping?” asked Micah sweetly from his seat on the cart. He was trying not to stare at the man holding a gun to his lover’s head but snuck a glance every chance he could to make sure that Rudy’s demeanor hadn’t wavered.
“What of it?” replied the boss defensively.
“Well this is not at all my first time being kidnapped.” He smiled and sounded truly pleasant as he explained, “You seem to be bungling it up quite a bit!”
“You stupid brat!” she screamed at him. “Otto, tie him up better, will ya! He deserves to be hog-tied!”
The shorty ran into the cart and yanked Micah to his feet, viciously spiraling a large cord over his midsection. Micah did not fight. In fact, he simply continued laughing as Otto was tying the final knot on his chest. “Oh you really are daft. Don’t you know your knots? A toddler could undo this!” Otto carried the hog-tied prince under his arm and joined the sisters, dropping him at their feet with a thud. Micah kept on cackling as Otto positioned his shoe gruesomely across the side of his face.
“Micah, be quiet!” Billiam yelled. Rudy reacted by smacking the back of his head with the butt of the pistol.
“Micah! Omigoodness, is that Prince Micah? All right, Bea, you can have the sexy one. Imma be a princess instead!” Felicia skipped over to Micah and Otto, and knelt down to kiss all over his face once again.
Shemmy sensed Billiam’s misstep, and while the girls were fawning over the prince, she awakened Gam. Her fingers were free at her sides and she was able to draw a hex encouraging the pram to run over to Micah. She was hoping it’d be able to scoop the prince up and run off with him.
The bear of a man who had tied up Shemmy ran after Gam with his sword. “Wot the bloody ’ell is that thing?” Without waiting for an answer, he sliced diagonally through the carriage, cutting through the entire top and slicing its left legs in half.
“Noooo!” Shemmy let out a bloodcurdling scream as Gam toppled over. The right legs were still enchanted and kicking at the air furiously. All Shemmy could see was red as rage encompassed her. Not sure of what she was even enchanting, she began waving her fingers beside herself while she wailed.
Billiam looked on in horror as a huge pine tree near the prince was completely uprooted. It became suspended in the air and then hurled toward Micah, the captors, and Gam’s attacker. “Shemmy, no!” he screamed, certain he was about to lose his prince yet again.
To his profound relief, the tree made no impact. Zan had returned in the nick of time and was holding the giant tree above his head. He reached out his other hand, grabbing the prince away from the captors, who were frozen in shock. He set the prince close behind him, before swinging the tree all around his front. With it, he knocked down five of the six criminals. He dropped it to his left on top of the man who killed Gam, squashing him to death.
“Shemmy, I know how important Gam is to you, but no one can be more important than the prince, to any of us,” he explained, smiling menacingly. He drew his pistol and shot the terrified gunman in the forehead.
“I knew there could be no such fing as a faelock hired hand!” shouted Otto from his splayed position on the ground. “Goddammit, Bea, you idiot!” He probably would have continued yelling; however, my brother cut it short. He took a small step forward, plunging his blade between the short man’s eyes as if his head were made of cheese.
“Oh shite!” screamed Felicia. She was trying to crawl away on her hands and knees from him when the blade went through her back. She moved no longer.
The weasely one who held Zan earlier had been trying to wriggle away too, but stopped all movement when he saw Zan’s gaze land on him. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry!” he cried, wetting himself as he begged.
“I’m sorry too,” said my brother with an evil grin, lying with his words, not his face. With a swift jump to his left, he plunged his blade deep into the scrawny man’s gut. He left the blade there and turned toward the prince, though he kept an eye fixed on Bea at all times.
Using his hands alone, he tore the ropes in half as if they were tissue paper. The freed prince hugged his rescuer tight, his head only reaching halfway up my brother’s chest. “Oh thank goodness, Zan! I thought I’d die before I was a week old!” he whispered sweetly, planting a small kiss on Zan’s stomach. “Might I borrow your blade?”
“Of course, Prince,” said my brother, whilst messing up his golden hair playfully. Somehow, rescuing Micah all on his own had lifted some of the animosity he held for him. He grabbed the small switchblade from his pocket and handed it to him.
Micah bounded
toward the cart, his porcelain legs carrying him gracefully to his man. The foolish kidnappers had only managed to tie a single rope around Billiam’s body. Micah sliced it and beamed with pride at finally being the hero.
Billiam kissed him, hugging him tight. He let the world around him disappear, being only with Micah, until a loud groan from Bea made it all come back.
“You really was foolin’ me, ya damn fag!” she shouted, unable to move from her spot on the ground. The tree had impacted against her legs, and both of them were contorted horribly under the rest of her body.
Micah lifted his nightdress without turning around, giving the girl full view of his backside. Once he heard her sounds of disgust, he was sure his point had gotten across and covered himself back up.
He then jumped from the side of the cart, over to Shemmy. Her whole torso was tied up, and her face was against the ropes. She would not look at Micah as he skipped over to free her. Tears were rolling down her face, clearing away the dirt and making it appear striped. “I am so sorry for your loss,” whispered the prince sincerely into her ear as he began sawing at the ropes with the pathetic blade.
“No!” she screamed, lifting her head finally. Her eyes were huge and cloaked in pain. “I am sorry! I was so stupid. Oh, Micah, I never… I would never mean to hurt you… I just met you, but you are precious to me. I brought you back, and I feel a responsibility for you. I daresay I love you. I can’t believe I almost….” She trailed off as she began to bawl loudly.
Micah had finished cutting through a few turns of the rope and was able to unwrap the rest with his hands. As soon as he freed her, he fell against her and wrapped his arms around her. He placed his cheek against hers and sat in her lap. “I love you too, Shemmy,” he whispered, looking up at her like the innocent child he still was in many ways. “I forgive you!”
“Yay! Happy ending!” cheered my brother phonily, dancing a strange jig in front of the former boss. “Well, I suppose not for you, aye, beautiful?” He kneeled down to her, digging a knee into one of her broken legs. She screamed in agony so he grabbed her face, roughly covering her mouth. “Now, be a good girl and explain yourself, and I just might make this quick.”
It was clear to Billiam how much Zan was truly enjoying this carnage. It made him feel ill, and he wished there was a way to intervene, but the information did need to be gathered. It was better to let Zan do it than have to interact with the tramp any more than he already had.
“Wos a bounty,” she murmured and pointed over to the now torn scroll she had been clutching before. It was halfway between my brother and where Micah sat on Shemmy’s lap.
Micah shot up and ran over to it. “I’ll get it!” he cried, not seeming at all disturbed by the destruction around him nor the continued torture Zan performed. “Here you are, sir!” he chirped, handing the ripped but mostly all-there scroll to my brother.
“A royal decree, hmm? From someone who is not at all royal, how pretentious,” my brother mused. He looked over it and saw crude drawings of his comrades, with descriptions and directions as to how to handle each one underneath them. He saw my face there, Pierre and Nairee, Ackerman, Malcolm, and, of course, his three companions. He was relieved to not see the faces of the twins on there, nor Roland’s nor his own. “Confidential,” he read, “to be seen only by select mercenaries, redistribution of this decree punishable by death. Hmm, you broke that rule, didn’t you, Bea?”
“I’m sorry, I did’nae know it was the prince. Says that you all attacked the palace. How was I to know His Majesty would be in on it? Please, I am no threat to you anymore.” Tears fell down the boss’s face, her sorrow making it even clearer how young she was.
“Sorry, babe. A royal decree is no joke.” Zan looked in her eyes kindly, although the kindness was faked. He snapped her neck between his hands, almost taking her whole head off. He then picked himself off her thoroughly crumpled body and walked over to the cart. He was folding and packing up the quilts into a saddlebag, as if nothing had happened.
“Is it time to ditch the cart, you think?” Billiam asked him calmly, as he finished dressing himself. He didn’t want to acknowledge any of the horror and would much rather keep things with Zan strictly business.
“I’d say so. We will undoubtedly be dealing with feet of ice and snow by the end of tomorrow. This thing will just be a nuisance. You should get the prince dressed, should you not?”
“Right.” Billiam nodded and walked to his prince, who had his arms up, ready to be carted off. Shamelessly, Billiam slid his hand up Micah’s gown as he carried him off, getting in a loud slap on his backside.
“I’m sure you had full view of that impact, Shemmy,” said Zan with a laugh. “I am surprised you are not drooling and fawning like a fool.”
Shemmy had not left her spot on the ground and had been staring only at her Gam. She had stopped the enchantment so the right legs no longer tried to walk. Even without its pitiful attempt to continue obeying her, she couldn’t bear seeing her favorite creation in such a state. Zan snapped her out of her misery slightly, and she mumbled out, “Dammit, I missed something?” Although she was curious, she was, for once, not feeling randy in the least.
“Unfortunately, I’m sure there will be many repeat performances,” he responded, shaking his head as he made his way over to her. He reached down to grab her and she allowed him to pull her up. He used a bit too much strength, and she crashed into his strong chest. He surprised her with an embrace and even more shocking, bent down to lay a kiss on her cheek. It was uncomfortably close to her lips, and sufficient in restoring her to a fraction of her regular raunchiness.
“I too am sorry for your loss, Shemmy. Gam was really quite neat,” he whispered and was not lying.
Shemmy studied him as she pulled away. “Yer an odd duck, Zan. You seemed downright delighted butcherin’ them sods. I was surprised ya dinnae dance upon their corpses when you was done. I appreciate ya savin’ us, and helpin’ the prince, though. Spirit, am I glad yer on our side! Deadly, you are! However, I juss cannae put my finger on ya…. Are ya really an obedient soldier, or are ya juss a sadist? Ya juss cannae make yerself be a good, obedient, li’l faelock, right? So why pretend? I feel like I cannae expect nothin from ya. It’s like two Zans in one ginormous package.”
Zan grinned from ear to ear, and it actually was quite genuine. He had been in battle many times of course, but this was the most humans he had cut down at once. He was a little shocked and disturbed by how well it suited him but decided he didn’t care enough to let himself get preoccupied over it. As for her inquiry, he was strangely honest with her. “I think I am all of that, Shemmy. I do like to cause harm, and I do love to lie and ravage. And yet, I feel terrible guilt, so much so I break my back to do good to make up for it. I feel I’ve made up for myself pretty well, most of the time.”
Shemmy stared at him, dumbstruck, as he kept grinning. He was really quite happy. She didn’t know happiness could make her feel so uneasy. “Whatever makes ya feel like ya ain’t shite, I guess!”
Chapter 12
May 9th, 989
BILLIAM AND Micah took the long way around the creek to return to their camp from the last night to retrieve their clothes. Billiam set him down atop the quilt on which he had experienced ecstasy mere hours earlier. Staring at his fragile prince there now, he felt his resolve cracking.
Micah was concerned as he saw the tears welling up in Billiam’s eyes. Before he could inquire, Billiam embraced him so tight he could hardly breathe. “Oh, Micah, I am so sorry. I cannot lose you again. We are lucky they were so stupid. Had they been any more competent, you and Shemmy would be gone and I would be a corpse. I was too greedy….” He trailed off as he fell to his knees, clutching Micah’s legs desperately.
Micah realized he was not nearly as shaken as he probably should have been. His three days alive thus far still felt like a dream, and the four years prior to his death, he was only allowed to experience reality when the cardinal wanted. He had become
so detached, everything was simply passing him by. The idea of being with Billiam again had been the only thing keeping him human. Seeing him in this state allowed Micah’s own emotions to surface, although he was not ready for that, not at all.
His crying sounded like a child, a loud wail escaping his mouth before he fell completely to the ground. The tears wouldn’t stop. The sounds wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t grab Billiam as he wanted and tell him it would be okay. He rolled onto his back and pulled his legs to his chest. The feelings of his four-year suffering were coming out; they refused to be stored in his frail body any longer.
His mother’s and father’s faces flashed through his mind, covered in blood and missing their eyes, just as he had last seen them. Billiam passed by too, getting wrenched from his arms and thrown away from him. Aldrious was towering over him, calling him worm, burning his flesh and cackling. When will this stop? Will this ever stop? thought Micah as the torrent of repressed feelings ravaged his reborn mind.
He found suddenly he could not thrash. A groan of pain tried to emerge, but he could make no sound. Billiam’s lips covered his own, and his body pinned down each of Micah’s limbs. His eyes were loving and concerned. He was not trying to force himself on the prince, as his position suggested; rather he simply wanted to interrupt his fit. He knew of no better way to accomplish it.
Billiam felt Micah growing slightly calmer, tears still spilling from his eyes, yet his attempts to flail had ceased. Billiam kept his lips pressed hard against Micah’s mouth, not wanting to ever hear such a heart-wrenching wail escape him again. To his delight, instead of a cry, he kissed him back. Billiam relaxed, feeling he could let him go at last, and laid his head down on the prince’s chest. It was still heaving hard, struggling to keep up with the pain forced through his heart.
Micah reached up his now freed arms to hug the man lying on top of him. Billiam was exhausted and overwhelmed by his own distress, having dropped all his weight onto him. Although he was heavy, it still felt nice to know he was a comfort. The prince reached his hand into his short, thick hair and whispered, “You can’t worry so much. Look what happens when you cry. I become an utter mess,” he teased him. Although many of his emotions poured out of him, he returned to the desire to hide them away. “I… I hadn’t been able to feel in so long… aside from missing you, hoping to see you, hoping my pain would end… I was totally empty. It might take me a while, Billiam.”
Defiant Revival Page 18
