Mathieu (White Flame Trilogy)

by Paula Flumerfelt

  “I am a he and I am Mathieu. Who are you?” He squatted down to look her in the eyes. Big crystalline blue eyes met his.

  She perked up, brown hair in a flurry around her. “I’m Emilia. I’m this many.” She held up five fingers. “Want to play with me?”

  “Not right now, sweetie, but I will later, okay?” He put a hand on her head, ruffling her bangs a little bit.

  Puffing her cheeks out, she frown at Mathieu. “Okay…” She turned to Solomon, “Prince!” She latched onto his leg, looking up at him and trying to climb up him like a tree.

  The blond grimaced at the nickname. “Hello, Emilia. Where is your mother?”

  “If she’s bugging you, just give her a good thump on the head.” A motherly, full-figured looking woman came out of a back room, hands on her hips. “And how are you, Nathan? Coming to visit for the night again?”

  “You know this is the only place I’ll stay when I come through here.”

  “It’s the only place to stay.” She deadpanned.

  Nathan leaned against the desk which she was now behind. “And I still think it’s as lovely as the first time I came.” His gaze was intensely locked on her, forcing a light blush over her cheeks.

  Clearing her throat, Veronica brushed her frizzy hair out of her face. “So, who’s the new kid?” Her gaze moved to Mathieu, who was looking at the holographic crystals hung on the wall.

  The redhead shrugged. “He’s our new pet. We’ll see if he’s useful.”

  Solomon came over, Emilia still attached to his leg. “Hello Veronica. You’re looking lovely. When’s dinner?”

  “Polite, aren’t you?” She said, leaning over the book to scribble something.

  “Fairly. But seriously, I’m starving.” The blond man said, arms folded across his chest. “We only ate a sandwich for lunch and Mathieu’s been talking me to death.

  Veronica nodded into the back room. “You know where the kitchen is. Feed your hanger-on while you’re at it.”

  “Which one?” He replied jokingly, tilting his head in the distracted Mathieu’s direction. “Kidding, but yes, ma’am. You coming, Mathieu?” Solomon called over his shoulder.

  “Oh, yeah.” Mathieu trotted dutifully over to his blond counterpart and followed him to the back where the kitchen was. The place had the feeling of a well-lived in home, and had the touches of one as well. There were drawings done by Emilia hanging on the wall, and flowers on the end table in the hall. As they entered the heart of the home, a delicious smelling roasted something was sitting on the stove in an inviting manner. A pot of noodles and vegetables simmered away next to it. “This looks good…”

  Emilia hopped off the captive Solomon’s leg and climbed up onto a stool at the island. It seemed to be her spot in the bright yellow kitchen, and she poked the blond man in the side. “I want some! A piece this big,” she held her hand up to show the size she wanted, “and some noodles, lots and lots of noodles!” She waited with baited breath as Solomon cut a slice of meat for her. Setting her plate in front of her, she picked up the children’s fork and dug in with almost inappropriate gusto.

  “So there, Prince, how much do you want?”

  The blond pinned him with a look. “Don’t call me that.”

  Mathieu pouted. “So she can, but I can’t?” His tone was playful.

  “Yes, I saved her from drowning. I wish you’d drown, though.”

  “That’s rude.” He dished up meat for four, passing them over to Solomon for the rest of the food.

  Solomon shrugged one shoulder. “Get over it.” He took his plate and sat next to the little girl at the counte.

  Mathieu turned to watch them, eating in place. The little girl reminded him of Avian, made him think of what he had once believed the girl would have been like as a child. He had tried to avoid thinking of Avian whenever possible, not wanted to bring down the mood with thoughts of sadness. But right now, he couldn’t help it. Emilia was so sweet and the way she acted with Solomon just stirred up old feelings in him. It tore at his heart, mind slipping back to the meals that he and his best friend would share while hiding from everyone, camping under the makeshift fort they had constructed out of furniture and sheets.

  Solomon’s piercing green eyes lifted from his plate and met Mathieu’s questioningly. He looked away before the blond decided to inquire.

  Sitting at the further point of the counter from them, Mathieu kept his gaze strictly on his plate, staring it down.

  The older generation eventually joined them, Veronica looking a bit flushed. Nathan grinned lazily and took his plate, sitting on the other side of Emilia. “So, kid, what’s new with you?”

  “Mama let me get a cat!” She smiled up at Nathan, mouth half full of noodles.

  Veronica swatted the back of her head. “Manners.” She growled in a very mothering fashion; then, she took a seat beside Mathieu. “I hear that you’re the new kid they adopted to their cause. How did they rope you in?”

  “They didn’t.” Mathieu said flatly, still looking at his plate. He didn’t want to talk about why he had joined up with the ‘rebellion’ or whatever Nathan’s people were.

  “Really? So you just appeared at their doorstep and said ‘well I’d really like to join your organization and I think that what you do is cool; please, please let me be your lap dog’.”

  “And what exactly do they do?” He finally looked up and met her gaze, one eyebrow raised.

  She fixed him with a look. “Torture, assassination, kidnapping. Whatever they need to so in order to accomplish their schemes for taking down the Unithian government.”

  Nathan’s fork clattered back to his plate and Solomon’s eyes fixed firmly on the wall across from him, the grip on his utensil so tight his knuckles were white. It seemed that Mathieu had been left out of the darker side to the resistance’s dealings, led to believe they were just a bunch of nice people armed with gifts and weapons.

  “Well, I can’t say I’ve seen much of that. As a rule, they’re really more of a family to me than coconspirators in a plot to take over Unith.” Mathieu smiled demurely at her. “I think we all do what we have to so that we can get by. I’m not too worried, though. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m rather stiff and some sleep sounds delightful.”

  Emilia slid off of her stool and wrapped her little hand around one of his fingers. “I’ll take you to your room. I’m not really hungry.” She took him to the stairs, leading him up to a plain looking bedroom. “This is your room. Don’t forget to make the bed when you get up, okay?” She grinned up at him, her little eyes turned into crescent moons.

  “Thanks.” He patted her head like before and closed the door behind him. Mathieu listened for her to go back down the stairs, and when she was gone, he slumped against the wall. “So, that’s their game…”

  Mathieu wasn’t stupid and had figured that more was happening than he was privy to, but he hadn’t really given a thought to what it was. Now, however, he realized it should have been blaringly obvious. They operated like a resistance, all smoke and mirrors, no straight answers, and people who came and went with no explanation. But now Mathieu had to ask himself: was he okay with being a part of something like that? Sure, he’d fought here and there, even did a few not so nice things when he was younger, but he’d never done anything that extreme, or on purpose. Could he commit himself to kidnapping people? Torturing them? Killing them?

  And he found the answer surprisingly easy. Yes, he could, in fact. Without Avian to be his moral compass, he found no resistance from within himself to not do it. He wasn’t squeamish, blood didn’t bother him, and being a part of something, no matter how twisted, was something he could be okay with if it meant killing the King. Nodding to himself, he stripped down and curled up on the bed, looking out the window. He could see the flowers on the hillside just beyond.

  The room, now that he had a moment to look at it closer, was quite nice. The bed was a queen size and the sheets were very soft. The dresser was painted a light pink a
nd the walls were sort of beige. There were flowers in here as well, and a painting of the ocean on the wall above the dresser. Clouds drifted lazily across the sky, putting him into a trancelike state once he started to watch them.

  “Can we talk?”

  He hadn’t heard the blond man enter and sat up, turning to see him leaning against the wall next to the door. “Yeah, what’s up?”

  Bangs hid emerald eyes, and Solomon’s voice was barely audible. “I wanted to tell you from the start, but Nathan thought we should wait until we were sure you were one of us. Most of us aren’t proud of what we do, but we all are fighting for something more.”

  “Why?” Mathieu said, folding his arms across his chest.

  Moving to stand by the window, he looked out at the mountains. “Why? Because the King of Unith is pushing for a war, has been for a while. They take and take and take from us, without ever giving something back. We didn’t even want a war, but after he started making blatant plays for our home, we weren’t going to take it lying down anymore. The resistance was originally formed to just stop our land, our home, from being taken from us…but things got worse. And now that he has willingly sacrificed his daughter, we have come to realize that he will stop at nothing. If he wants a war, we’ll give it to him.”

  “But why are you doing these things if you’re ashamed of them?”

  Solomon turned to face Mathieu, leaning heavily against the floor. “Because we are a smaller force, we don’t have the power to win in a straight forward war. Being underhanded is the only way we stand a chance at surviving, and we…I won’t let the things that matter to me be taken. If I have to pillage, plunder, and kill to do that, then I will.”

  Tapping his chin, he looked at the blond man for a long time. “Well, that’s good because I’m going to help.”

  “What?”

  Mathieu smiled at Solomon. “I don’t have a problem with what you do. I understand why, and I don’t have a problem with it. I just wanted to know why you do it. I’m going to sleep now. Idiot.” He said the last bit in a joking manner.

  The blond nodded and stood from his position against the wall. Solomon retrieved their pack from its place by the door and went to the dresser, putting it away until later. Depositing his clothing beside the pack and pulling on a pair of sleeping pants, He laid down on his side of the bed, facing Mathieu.

  Mathieu smiled at the blond. “You look like someone just kicked your Shadowrider. Quit worrying.”

  “…Alright.” Solomon just closed his eyes.

  “Night, Prince.” He chuckled and closed his eyes too.

  ~*~

  “Get up!” A small weight was digging into his abdomen and he cracked an eye open to find Emilia sitting on him. “Mama says up, or you’ll miss breakfast. Everyone is waiting for you. Come on! Come on!” she was pulling on the ends of his hair, hopping up and down.

  “Jesus, get off me, child.” Mathieu lifted her and set her aside, sitting up. Clothing was laid out for him on the dresser, a note set on top of them. Getting to his feet, he went to the clothes and read the note: Another fun day of riding ahead. “Screw you, too, Solomon.” Mathieu mumbled.

  Chapter

  Twelve

  Mathieu chuckled to himself and sniffed the clothes. They smelled strongly of Solomon. He shouldn’t have been surprised considering some of the others had made sure to stock up his half of the dresser in his shared room. It seemed the joke had continued from Unith because they had gotten him all girls’ clothing. The ones on the dresser were men’s clothes. Ushering Emilia out of the room and closing the door behind her, Mathieu changed into the fresh clothes but found he wasn’t willing to wrestle into his boots yet. Lacing them yesterday had taken a good ten minutes and he needed food before attempting that. Humming softly he ran his fingers through his hair, undoing a few knots. He’s slept rather well.

  The door banged open, scaring Mathieu as he attempted to braid his head. Solomon stood in the doorway, arms folded over his bare chest. “Ah, someone is a liar. Emilia said you hadn’t gotten out of bed, but look at this, you’re dressed.” Solomon looked at Mathieu’s bare feet, “Sort of. Do you want some breakfast?”

  “Yes, I would. And why are you half naked? Trying to pick up Veronica?” Mathieu smiled at him with an eyebrow wiggle.

  The blond gave him a flat look before walking away without a word. Rolling his eyes, he followed the bare-chested man downstairs. Stopping in the kitchen, Mathieu picked up the plate that had been prepared for him with two eggs and some pancakes. He wandered after the other male, ending up outside in the garden.

  Emilia hopped off the log she was sitting on and ran to Solomon, pulling him by the hand to the flowerbed. “Put the pretty blue ones here!” She pointed to a spot in the dirt and tapped her foot adamantly. Looking over her shoulder, she waved at Mathieu in greeting.

  “Okay, okay.” The blond knelt down next to the little girl and picked up the trowel, digging where directed.

  “I thought we were leaving…?” Mathieu used his fingers to eat, balancing with his hip against a post in the fence.

  Solomon rolled eyes at him over his shoulder. “Yes, dear, but Veronica and Nathan went on a ‘picnic’ and will be back in a few hours. Scared to be alone with me?”

  “You wish, blondie.”

  “Excuse me, but I’m here too.” Emilia crossed her little arms and glared at Mathieu. “Prince is spending the day with me, not you.”

  Mathieu raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

  “Yep.” Giggling, she watched Solomon finish planting the flower. “Good job!” She commended her worker.

  Patting Emilia on the shoulder, to which she blushed, Solomon made his way over to Mathieu, dusting his hands off. “She’s obsessive.” He murmured to Mathieu’s, looking back at the girl.

  “Don’t say such mean things about your girlfriend.”

  Solomon’s brow furrowed. “ She’s not my girlfriend.”

  Huffing, Mathieu set aside his plate. “I was kidding, okay? This place is really pretty, you know.”

  “Enjoy it while you can. We’ll be camping on the way back. There’s a really nice place just up that hill. Want to go see it now?”

  “Uh, sure.” Mathieu looked around and whispered conspiratorially, “Can we ditch the little one?”

  Solomon nodded, looking around to see where Emilia had gotten to before he spoke. “I’ll drop off your plate, pick up a shirt, and we’ll go.”

  “I’ll be right here.”

  While Solomon disappeared into the house, he stood up and went to go see the flower. “Why, you sure are beautiful.” Light fingers brushed over the petals. They seemed to brush against his digits, wanting affection. He was happy to oblige, humming quietly to them for a few moment. “All you have to do is sit here in the sun and look pretty.”

  “You do that pretty well yourself.” Solomon stood at his shoulder, petting his hair like he was a dog.

  Swatting at the older man’s hand, Mathieu stood. “I’m not a pet. Quit that. Are we going?”

  Chuckling, Solomon nodded to a steep hill. “Yep, right up there. Come on.”

  The hill was a small distance away and it didn’t take them long to reach the path that went up. Mathieu wished he had put on shoes, but the path wasn’t too bad on his feet. A few of the sharper rocks made him wince, but he didn’t complain out loud. It only took half an hour or so, especially at the pace Solomon was walking, to get to the top and over the crest. Just below them in a small valley was a patch of flowers different from the rest with a few trees set in a loose circle. “Oh wow…”

  A bigger, calloused hand wrapped around his and led him down the hill. At first, the contact made Mathieu blush, but he soon realized that Solomon was making sure he didn’t fall; the downward slope was pretty steep as well but there wasn’t a path. As much as he hated it, he was stumbling along behind the other man and if not for the hold Solomon had on him, he would have fallen. “These are called Night Flowers.” Solomon drop
ped his hand as soon as they entered the circle of tall, willowy trees.

  Looking down, he carefully stepped to the center without trampling on any of the delicate, silver flowers. Sitting in a spot where the flowers were a bit thinner, he looked closer at them. They were made of multiple shades of silver, some dull, some shiny, but all combining to make a delicate masterpiece. The blond sat beside him, leaning back on his hands with his legs crossed in front of him.

  “Normally we stay at the inn for a few days. I’ve spent a lot of time here.” Solomon offered, looking at the sky.

  “I wouldn’t have taken you for one who likes flowers. Kind of girly, you know.”

  “Mathieu, I’m not stupid. I know beauty when I see it…” The look the blond was now giving him made him flush from the roots of his hair to the tips of his toes.