Dark Stag Ch. 14

"That sounds rather dangerous..." I noted.

"I mean, sure. It's not smart but I know survival. I know the Caucasus. And the Syu people are so open and inviting. We're both half Syu! We have their way in us!" Roi said, so confident on the matter.

"True." I responded, heading to the counter. The woman at the counter nodded.

"Everything you want to purchase is covered." She said.

"Thank you." I said, as she bagged it all.

We walked over to another store.

"So, how'd you managed to stay so long when father died weeks ago? I mean, what did you do?" I asked.

"Right off the rip, I changed Sir Socoshian's place from king's hand to third commander and began breaking down all of his roles, giving them to other people. Then I began adding more stuff to get in his way which arguably was the main challenge. It lasted a good two and half weeks. I had some serious help though." I explained.

"From the Free Agents?"

"Not just the Free Agents..." I said as we entered another shop, "Do you know who the Lutna clan is?"

"No..." Roi said, very perplexed.

"Okay, so we're half Syu and half French. That French side is a group of people known as the Lutna Clan. I don't know much about them but I know mother was one. She was on an escort mission when the Bourgion family went to Burgundy for political reasons a number of years ago and the two fell for one another. I actually learned a lot about both mother and father before you know..." I said, wishing they were still here.

"So... the Lutna Clan... Why would they be here?" He asked.

"I'm not sure." I shrugged.

" Mother had to be someone of high importance if Lutna Clan members came thousands of miles for her." Roi noted.

"I never thought of it like that..." I said, stroking my chin.

"Where are they now?" Roi asked, watching me sort through the assortment of underwear.

"They left... One... His name was Dior. Roi, he was all for me! He was ALL for me!" I said, placing a hand on my brother's shoulder.

"You didn't do anything with him right?" I asked.

"No, but I wish. I mean, Kijus and I are NOT in a relationship. We have feelings for each other but we never established anything... I could have but then again he was my knight..." I said.

"You sound like you really was into him." Roi said, pacing around slowly, looking at the the arrangement of things in the haberdashery.

"I was kind of scared of him. I didn't know him as well as I wished. He was so guarded, but when it came down to protecting me. He was a straight up warrior, primal even!" I said.

"Really?" Roi asked, surprisingly intrigued.

"I mean he was a beast..." I said, putting some undergarments in a basket.

"What did... what did he do?" Roi asked, very much intrigued.

"Okay, so Sir Ruben, the Lutna Clan leader here, came into my room one morning saying that Sir Socoshian's forcings were marching on the palace. So I got my happy ass up and threw on clothes and we rushed down to the service tunnel. But Sir Socoshian was one step ahead of us! He was already down there waiting on us with armed mercenaries and took us all in. An exchange of words later and somehow I pulled out the gun a Lutna Clan woman gave me. Before I knew it, Dior had a mercenary pinned in front of him, using the guard's rifle which was still in his hand to provide fire." I chuckled.

"That sounds impressive. What happened to him? And what Lutna Clan woman?" Roi asked, very confused.

"They just left. They said they'd back. I was a little upset when they left so I didn't think to question them." I said, wishing I hadn't let my emotions get the best of me, "The Lutna Clan woman... okay this is where it gets a bit iffy. She was working at the funeral where mother was buried. Not only that, but supposedly mother's dead body was fake and the Lutna Clan at the mortician space disappeared, leaving the only Lutna Clan left being the ones in the palace."

"Okay that's weird." Roi said, looking unsettled, "But it would have been nice to meet them..."

"Sorry." I shrugged.

"It's okay." He said, making no big deal of it, "You ready to head back?"

"Sure." I nodded.

"Good, because I haven't been training Bastion all day." He sighed, ready to get back on it.

"Gou told me that's what you've been doing." I smiled.

"It's changed the way I view animals, man. Those Dark Stags are like gifts from the god's..." He responded, "Not to mention, I'm getting a bit better at riding them. I don't know how Kijus does it. It's sickening to the stomach to ride for longer than five minutes..."

"Oh man, those vehicles the free agents have are just awful... They're even faster than Dark Stags and made me so queasy..." I said remembering the rather long ride.

"You're lucky... I never rode in one before..." Roi chuckled.

"You should' it's awesome!" I said. Roi looked at me with confusion before laughing.

We made our way back to the abode, where something smelt delicious. Everyone crowded around a table as Gou's grandmother made a stir fry.

"Come on..." Gou said, ushering us over. Roi and I looked at each other before he headed over with a shrug. I followed.

Roi sat next to Muna, the only available seat next to Mercury. Mercury was busy reading the letters on the table, the letters from Kijus. It struck me as odd, but he was involved in this as thick as the rest of us. He didn't look happy at what he was reading.

"So," Gou began, looking at me, "To give you a bit more information on the Kijus situation. The brothel that Kijus is in has a training period which is about six weeks long. Kijus is already four weeks in and things are pretty much ramping up at this point. The goal is to break someone's spirits then to build them anew, in an image that Felker Distribution designed."

"Do you think they'll break him?" I asked, concern for him starting to seep back into my heart.

"No considering he's now working a different angle. Not only is he searching for his sister," Gou said, noticing an eyeroll from Mercury, "But he's getting information from a Felker lordling about one of Sir Socoshian's distributors. It's an avenue we Free Agents didn't know we could use but are willing to take full advantage of."

"What exactly does that mean?" I asked.

"It means they they are using Kijus just like Kijus is being used up in that brothel..." Mercury sighed.

"Boy..." Roi warned, giving Mercury a daring glare. Mercury just chuckled, leaning back in his seat. He looked so accomplished. Was he always the subliminally wicked?

Nonetheless, what he said put fodder in my mind! It didn't really hit me until now that Kijus was probably having copious amounts of sex with other men, even women. It disgusted me, it plainly did! Everyone else was drowned out as I spiralled into some place, a place that I never knew was there! It was dark cavern in my mind, one that felt so very justified right now!

Soon food was served, it doing nothing to ease my mind. We all ate, everyone leaving the only one left being Mercury and I. I slowly turned to him...

"What did you mean?" I asked. Mercury looked at me with a smile as if he were waiting for this very moment...

"I meant... He's being fucked ruthlessly in all kinds of fucked up positions, with toys and tools, and anything else they feel they need to wreck the boy with." Mercury said plainly.

"That is degrading... How could he even subject himself to that..." I gasped, beyond shocked.

"I don't get that boy... I really don't... He's never getting out of that place..." Mercury said.

"What?" I asked shocked.

"He pretty much sold his soul. It's impossible to get out." Mercury shrugged.

"But he escaped to free you!" I refuted.

"He did... didn't he? Oh yeah, I guess that was supposed to right his wrongs! He still did me wrong!" Mercury said back, full of fire.

"What?"

"Kijus was a seducer... A straight up seducer..." He said, looking deeply into my eyes.

"No... No he wasn't." I denied.

"Tell me... Did he keep himself close to you but at an alluring distance? Did you give you tiny details of his life, made them seem oh so very significant but it still wasn't indicative of who he truly was? Did he play dumb about knowing exactly how to use his body, exactly how attractive he was, the allure he held? Did he make you feel so important for being the one person he opened up to?"

"Yes..." I said, my eyes darting around, realizing it all.

"Kijus manipulated us both... both." Mercury said. It then hit me! He did!

"Wow..." I shuttered.

"He ruined my life...almost got me killed as well as my friend. My friend didn't deserve to be involved in this shit! Not in the slightest!" Mercury said, his tone biting and hard. He was deeply upset.

"But, he didn't do any of those things to me..." I responded.

"I highly disagree... He ruined your life... All of what happened to you is because he showed up! If it wasn't for him, your parents might still be alive, you'd still have an empire, you'd still be in that palace with all the amenities you could want, you'd still have all the riches you want but no, we were played but some foreign scum... He derailed an entire nation, made it swing in the balance of that evil, evil man... Socoshian..." Mercury said through the grit of his teeth.

This all made sense now.

"And it still," Mercury continued, "It still fucks me up! He made me feel so important, so partial to this mission, this mission bound to fail! He made me feel like it wouldn't succeed without me!"

"How did he do that?" I asked.

"He. Slept. With. Me!" Mercury said. It made my breath seize. It was a chill that went through my body. My heart throbbed so hard I could hear it in my throat.

"What?" I asked, having to hear it again.

"He... slept... with... me!" Mercury said again.

"This...this..." I said, unable to find words. Truthfully, I felt disgust. I trusted Kijus!

"At least you know, now." Mercury sighed, getting up from the kitchen island.

The only thing I could do was grab a pen and paper and begin to write Kijus this last letter...

'You...

I don't want there to be anything between us any more! I've been thinking and come to realize that everything that has happened to me happened after you came into my life... And those things are not good! You've started a chain reaction that ruined everything! Not only that, but there was trust between us and you went behind my back and slept with Mercury... That is a betrayal I just can't forgive!

Not only that, but you're living a low life that you've shamed before! How, hypocritical! You're being whored around and fucked senseless while I wait for you to return. Why must I put myself through that for someone like you? You're not this pristine and perfect individual. You are facetious, manipulative, just down right cunning. Well I caught on! You played me well enough, got my kingdom lost, my parents killed, and everything I ever cherished gone! This will be the last time I write you, the last time I support you, the last time you ever hear from me.

We. Are. Finished!

Richard Bourgion...'

I folded the letter, placing it in an envelope. I headed out to the paddocks where Bazahra was. I placed the letter in her pouch, the smart bird looking at me.

"To Kijus..." I said. She gave a short chirp before taking off, leaving the paddocks.

As she left, so did my care for anything else. I wanted nothing to do with the Free Agents, the palace, the city filled with traitors, anyone! I just wanted to crawl into my bed and cry. And that was precisely what I did...