Rithvik's adoring stare made him spur the horse to a trot. He also looked forward to getting off the saddle and undressing his lover...
***
They'd found that place a few days away from Caer Nittak and had opted for an early camp since it looked perfect for a relaxing stop. The sun reflected in the water of a quiet little lake surrounded by chestnut trees. The calm surface was a mix of blue and green, as if both the leaves and the sky were having a party in the water.
There wasn't much for the horses to eat, so they tied them to low branches and gave them their last hay. They cleared the ground on the lake shore and prepared a fireplace for later, but their eyes kept going to the lake. They badly needed a bath.
"Do you think it's very cold?" Rithvik asked.
Kerrien hesitated. "I don't think so. Let's try it."
Rithvik grinned and they quickly undressed, rushing to dive into the clear water from a group of gray rocks. The lake was deep, especially on the rocky side. The water felt cold at first, but swimming and playing in it soon became quite comfortable. They didn't have soap, but they scrubbed off the dust of the journey and washed their hair.
"Think we could shave as well?" Rithvik asked with an impish smile.
"You should. I don't like it when facial hair hides your beautiful face," Kerrien answered, pulling him closer in the water. They stood on the lake's ground with water up to their chests.
"I don't like your beard either," Rithvik replied.
Kerrien smiled and briefly kissed him. "Let's shave, then. We can continue our games on the ground..."
"You swim like a fish," Rithvik protested following him back to the shore.
"But I'd rather have sex on a bed of chestnut leaves than in the water," Kerrien replied, making him laugh.
They sat on their spread cloaks, still naked, and pulled out their shaving implements. They were each other's mirror, telling the other what he missed. It was more fun than using the clear water of the lake.
Since they were very close to the trees, Rithvik's eyes were greener than usual. Kerrien caressed his freshly clean-shaven face, and then his fingers continued down his neck, along the leather thong and to the amulet Rithvik still wore around his neck.
Rithvik smiled and touched Kerrien's amulet in return.
"Do you think they work?" he asked.
"I don't know." Kerrien shrugged. "I don't trust amulets for protection."
"You're wise for a Human." The female voice startled them both.
Sitting on the rocks was a woman with a tunic made of a nacreous fabric they'd never seen before. She had dark blond hair and blue eyes, and stared at them with an amused smile on her thin lips.
"W-who is she?" Rithvik's voice shook as his eyes widened in wonder.
"Don't worry about me," she answered with a dismissive gesture. "I'm not here to hurt you. But when I saw two handsome young men playing in my kingdom, I had to take a closer look. Aren't you Rithvik of Ker Eziel? What are you doing this far west?"
"How do you know who I am?" Rithvik asked, moving closer to Kerrien who narrowed his eyes.
"You're a member of a Magical Race?" the mercenary asked bluntly.
"Yes, Kerrien Wolfsbane, I'm Waiora," she said with a smile. "Both of you live close enough to bodies of water that I know you. I've seen you around for years, Kerrien, but Rithvik... he was hit by a spell two hundred years ago."
"So how do you know about him, you're that old?" Kerrien asked, still frowning.
She chuckled. "No, I'm not that old, but Water tells us many things. News swims fast, trust me."
"Are you a magic user?" Rithvik wondered.
"Not really, but enough to tell you those charms are completely useless. They make for nice pendants, but they won't protect you."
"Are we in any kind of danger for which we actually need working charms?" Kerrien asked.
"Well, let's say that you're not safe as long as you stay out here in the wild. Both you and Rithvik are magnets for Manusia. I suggest you reach the closest town as fast as possible."
"Wouldn't it be worse if Manusia attacked us in a town?"
"Not really. His attack would alert the local Fajrulo, and he or she would help you get rid of him."
"There are Fajrulo in towns?" Rithvik's eyes were wide again.
"They're the only ones who can stand living with Humans." She smiled. "But they don't like each other, so there's usually just one of them in each community."
"How do we recognize them?" Kerrien asked.
"You don't. They'll find you if you need them. They're shape-shifters, undetectable."
Kerrien wondered if and how many he'd met in his life, unknowingly. "Do they usually pass them off as wizards or witches?"
She pondered. "They used to pass themselves off as gods, but then Humans got smarter, so... I don't know. Maybe wizards, maybe minstrels, maybe storytellers... The closest town is Tassamtor. Or you can reach Havenstock or Salamar..."
"We come from Salamar."
"Ah, yes, you've been seen crossing the Ondan. Well, proceed to Tassamtor, then. I know this place is lovely and I wouldn't mind some company, but it's really for the best if you're in a crowd when Manusia reaches you."
"I'm not dancing to conjure him ever again!" Rithvik said.
She chuckled. "You don't need to anymore. He possessed you once. He can do it again anytime."
Rithvik's shoulders slumped.
"Don't worry, I won't let it happen," Kerrien said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Rithvik's hurt puppy's look made his heart shrink. He'd protect the beautiful prince at all costs.
"Rest well here today, but get back on the road tomorrow morning," the Waiora said, rising to stand on the rocks. "You're a beautiful couple and I wish you all the best."
She waved good-bye and dived back into the lake. Both were silent until the ripples on the surface had vanished.
"You think it's true?" Rithvik whispered, worried.
"She's Waiora. They know a lot more about how things work than we ever will. We'll go to that town and see what happens." Kerrien sighed, then focused on his lover again. "Come here," he said, opening his arms. "I won't let that demon get to you, I promise."
***
The next morning the Waiora emerged to point them in the right direction. They climbed back in the saddle and spurred the horses that way. The Waiora told them they should reach the walls of Tassamtor in three days at the most – one and a half if they killed their horses.
"I'm not killing Sharixen by making him gallop all the way there," Rithvik said, patting his horse's neck and caressing the white mane. "We'll get there in three days."
Kerrien nodded, but tried to make it two days, having the horses trot for short stretches when the terrain was flat and easy. He was slightly worried that Manusia might actually catch up with them, but he was unclear where the king of demons would come from.
He thought Manusia was held prisoner underground, but then he assumed that underground he could move through earth or something like that, since he'd influenced Rithvik all the way to the east and had been active also here in the west. Kerrien had no idea of the reaches of the realm of darkness, but probably the Waiora was right. They were safer with people around them.
Tassamtor appeared as a somewhat large city with stone walls on the second afternoon of travel. The sky was cloudy and a cold wind started to blow as if winter had decided on a late comeback.
"I think we should spur the horses and reach the town," Kerrien said.
Rithvik shrugged. He'd been very quiet since morning and looked paler than ever.
"Are you all right?" Kerrien asked, worried. "If you're falling sick, I really want you within the walls tonight, so we can look for a physician..."
"Sure..." Rithvik's voice was slightly slurred and his eyelids heavy.
"Can you stay in the saddle or do you want to mount with me and then we switch horses halfway?"
The green eyes looked at him, seemingly lost.
"
I feel... weird..." Rithvik whispered.
And then Sharixen suddenly rose on his hind-legs with a neigh of terror and Rithvik was thrown to the ground with barely a yelp of surprise.
"Rithvik!" Kerrien tried to calm down his own horse while Sharixen galloped away towards the town.
Kerrien tied his snorting and uneasy mount to the low branches of a hazelnut tree and rushed to Rithvik's side. The young man was passed out, but didn't seem to have any wounds or broken bones. Kerrien carefully touched him everywhere and gently lay him on his cloak, making a pillow with Rithvik's cloak.
Rithvik looked asleep again. In a meadow instead of his own bedroom at the top of the tower, but still the beautiful sleeper that had first dazed Kerrien. He tried to kiss him awake, but to no avail. Kerrien sighed and settled more comfortably next to Rithvik.
The sun set and Rithvik stirred. Light faded out quickly and Rithvik opened his eyes. Kerrien couldn't be sure, but he thought Rithvik's eyes had turned charcoal black. Rithvik sat and grabbed his face to kiss him hungrily.
Surprised, Kerrien found himself in the grass, with Rithvik all over him in a very aggressive way. He tried to shake the prince away but couldn't. He felt uncharacteristically weak, as if Rithvik suddenly had power over him and was using it to pin him down and do what he pleased.
It was the wildest and most violent sex Kerrien ever had and it drained him of all energy. When he woke up at dawn, he felt still dizzy and bruised. Rithvik stared at him with his black eyes and smirked.
"Get up, Kerrien. I was about to leave without you."
The tone was blunt and the face was stern. Kerrien felt something was wrong with his lover, but couldn't tell what. He groggily sat and gathered the cloaks, mounting his horse behind Rithvik who took the reins. He'd never felt this dazed in his life before.
Rithvik was in command. There was something wrong with that. But Kerrien was too confused to object. He couldn't put two thoughts together, they kept flying away and he couldn't concentrate on anything.
He hurt everywhere and seemed to remember that Rithvik had scratched and bitten him in the heat of passion. But the night had been so dark that his memories were a confused mess of pain and pleasure.
Rithvik spurred the horse forward, but before they reached the town's gates, another rider came forward as if to meet them. Kerrien recognized Sharixen's almost white mane and tail on the black body.
Rithvik reined in when he was close enough to confront the other rider.
"That's my horse! Give it back!"
"Finders keepers," the other replied with a pleasant smile. He was fair-haired and oddly dressed, with a lute hanging on his back. He didn't wear weapons except a small dagger and looked more like a minstrel than a warrior. "So you're the one who scared this poor animal away?"
"I didn't scare anyone," Rithvik snapped. "Give me back my horse."
"Make me."
Rithvik jumped off the horse's back and unsheathed his sword. The other elegantly dismounted and put down the lute. Kerrien could only stare, unable to do anything.
"This time you won't get me, Runedemon," Rithvik said through clenched teeth.
"Oh, please. I got rid of you when I was much younger!" The other shrugged. "Why do you keep using this body? Do you like it so much?"
Rithvik scoffed. "Your spell preserved it quite well, don't you think?"
"I didn't think Rithvik deserved to die. He was stupid and naïve, but this doesn't mean he was bad."
What the hell is going on? Kerrien thought, confused. He's talking to Rithvik as if he were... possessed... Wait, there's a demon coming after us, isn't there? I can't remember...
Rithvik attacked with a scream of hatred, but his sword bounced on an invisible shield. The stranger tsked and shook his head.
"Manusia, you should know better than trying to use brute force with me," he chided.
Manusia! The king of demons! The name was like an alarm trigger. Whatever spell had held him vanished. Kerrien's mind finally connected the dots. Manusia was inside Rithvik's body! How could he free his lover? He couldn't strike Rithvik's body!
He got off the saddle and stared, hopeful, at the stranger, meeting wise brown eyes.
Rithvik was panting and glaring at both of them. Black eyes. Definitely not Rithvik's eyes. This explained the different behavior since last night.
"I will kill you, Runedemon," Rithvik growled. "But I'll get rid of this stupid Human first!"
Kerrien unsheathed his sword just in time to parry Rithvik's blow.
"I can't hit him," he shouted at the stranger. "Tell me what I can do!"
"I don't want to see Rithvik dead either, don't worry," the other answered calmly. "Just disarm him and hold him still."
Easier said than done, but Kerrien's sword skills were obviously better than Manusia's. Rithvik's sword flew out of his hand and Kerrien bounced forward, throwing the possessed young man to the ground.
They wrestled for a moment, but Manusia had lost the surprise effect and didn't manage to spellbind Kerrien again. When he looked into those black eyes that had tainted his beloved's face, Kerrien's anger grew. He managed to roll Rithvik's body over and twist his arms behind his back, making the demon inside him scream in pain.
"Pull him up," the stranger said, coming forward.
Kerrien used all his strength to pull the struggling Rithvik to his feet. Foul words were coming out of his mouth, and Kerrien didn't understand half of them. But he held Rithvik's arms behind his back and kept him as still as he could against him, although the prince tried to kick himself free.
The stranger came forward, serious, and put a hand over Rithvik's face. Kerrien thought he saw fire coming from that hand and Rithvik screamed with the distorted voice of Manusia. Flames grew and Kerrien let go.
Rithvik's body collapsed, writhing through flames that didn't consume it but purified it, until the prince lost consciousness again. Kerrien fell to his knees and touched the clean-shaven face and body to check they were indeed unharmed and unburned.
"It was a spell, not real fire," the other said rubbing and then shaking his hands as if he'd washed them with air. "He's fine, don't worry."
"Is he in some kind of magic sleep?" Kerrien asked, worried.
"Yes, but I'd wait to kiss him awake if I were you." The stranger smiled. "Give him time to recover."
"Should I let him sleep for another two hundred years?" Kerrien asked, frowning.
"Oh, so you're the one who found him! What's your name?"
"Kerrien. And you are?"
"At the moment Aedwyr the Minstrel. But Rithvik knew me as Morthi, the court wizard. I also looked different, more like an old man. Young wizards weren't really trusted, so I took on the face of a white-haired wrinkled man..."
"So you're a Fajrulo," Kerrien said, rising. "Runedemon is your real name?"
"No, it's not my real name. It's the Fajrulo name I'm known by. My real name holds too much power to be told. Not even Manusia knows it, or he'd have defeated me."
"So how should I call you?"
"I told you, Aedwyr. You know, Tassamtor over there is well known for its race tracks and talented street performers. I'm one of them. You can usually find me at the Fighting Knave Tavern which is just beyond the entrance."
Kerrien glanced at the town walls now not too far away. The horses were grazing peacefully.
"Do they have stables?"
"Yes, of course. Are your horses trained for races?"
"No, they're for traveling and hunting."
"Then nobody will try to steal them. Come, I'll help you take Rithvik there. Is that really his horse?"
"Yes, he called it Sharixen."
"Like his war stallion." Aedwyr chuckled. "The other Sharixen was all black, though."
"Aedwyr... did Manusia influence me while in Rithvik's body?"
"You were traveling with Rithvik, right? You were the first person he found by his side, so of course he spellbound you. He wanted to use you as a bodyguard when he claimed
the government of Tassamtor. There's one elected official in town, but Manusia planned to take over. And after this city, the world, of course."
"Well, thank you for stopping him. What else is Tassamtor famous for?"
"Its cuisine and a lot of illusionists. Mostly Humans trying to pretend they can do magic." Aedwyr scoffed, then looked sternly at Kerrien. "Of course you haven't seen anything here today. I'm just a minstrel and we met outside the town walls."
Kerrien nodded. "What is their most famous dish? Do they have roasted boar?"
Aedwyr laughed. "Are you trying to please Prince Rithvik? I can tell you why he loves roasted boar. He was sixteen when he killed his first boar and so proud of himself! It was probably the first time his father complimented him."
"Oh, so it has a special meaning to him... although I hope he doesn't consider me a father!"
"You're too young to be his father! And I'm sure his first thoughts at seeing you weren't the thoughts of a son for his father, no more than yours were of brotherly love!"
Kerrien smiled sheepishly. "So do they have his favorite dish at the tavern?"
"No, no boars, but very creative fish dishes that will make you forget your meat diet..."
***
The Fighting Knave Tavern was a large and decently clean place just beyond the town's main gate, much like Aedwyr had anticipated. The drinks were overpriced, the food was overpriced, but the rooms had low prices and Kerrien managed to find a room for him and Rithvik who was still passed out.
Aedwyr helped him to lay Rithvik on the double bed, and then suggested they go back to the main room.
"Let Rithvik sleep until tomorrow morning," he said. "He needs it."
"But he hasn't eaten since yesterday!" Kerrien said, worried.
"Two days without food won't kill him." Aedwyr grinned. "No more than two centuries."
The main room was filled with a healthy crowd. The noise was quiet and subdued, with some patrons openly armed. Aedwyr and Kerrien sat in a corner as far as possible from the darts game. Kerrien noticed a dangerous-looking wizard who seemed to be getting free drinks.
"Is that an impostor or illusionist?" he asked Aedwyr.
Fairy Tales Revisited on Silvery Earth Page 27
