Kiss the Darkness Ch. 04

"You will never lose me, Christian." Alexander whispered to him. "I will be with you, always. You're a part of me. I know that now. We were indeed brought together for a reason. You and I are two halves of one soul and we are meant to be together. You're my strength, my love, my life. Without you...I would be nothing."

"Yes." Christian agree as he kissed Alexander. "With you I'm complete. You're my reason for being." He lifted Alexander up, cradling him in his arms like a child, and carried him out of the courtyard, down the tunnel, and out of the ruins. Only when they had reached the mountain path did Christian set him down again, and allowed him to rest, sitting on one of the broken stones. "We'll rest here a bit." Christian told him. "Then when you're ready, we'll leave this place, and thank the Gods to never see it again."

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Alexander looked across at Christian. Christian was leaning against a tree, lost in thought. He'd stood Alexander on the ground then helped him to sit. He was still weak, his limbs shaky, and his head was alive with all the new sensations that he was feeling. His body felt hot all over. He was literally burning up and for a brief moment he felt like he might faint.

Christian was trying to wrap his head around what had just happened to them. Never in his life had he experienced anything so powerful, or frightening. Alexander seemed fine, better than, and that worried Christian a bit. Whatever that light was, whatever power had been secluded in that place, it had effected Alexander somehow. Christian just wasn't sure what exactly it had done to the boy, or if he would even be the same after the strange encounter.

Alexander on the other hand had no concerns about it at all. He felt empowered by it, and stronger than he'd ever felt in his life. All of his fears and reservations had simple washed away and he was now more certain of who he was and where he stood with Christian. Whatever it was that had touched him had definitely given him a strong confidence boost and he could see things so much more clearly now. His love for Christian had somehow intensified where he couldn't imagine being away from him, not even for one second. He wanted them to be together, and he felt a strong need to just give himself over to him.

Alexander stood up from where he had been sitting and walked to Christian. Placing his hand on Christians shoulder, Alexander lay his head against his back and wrapped his other arm around his waist. Christian turned and looked down at him, smiling. "Feeling better?" He asked.

Alexander nodded. "I feel perfect." He lifted his gaze to meet Christians and for a moment, they just stared at one another, drinking each other in. Alexander smiled a shy smile as he placed his hand over Christian's heart. "Kiss me." He said suddenly.

Christian raised an eyebrow as his face lit up. "Of course." He said as he leaned forward, capturing Alexanders face in his hand, he pressed their lips together and kissed him deeply and passionately.

Alexander pushed his body against Christian and allowed his hands to slide down Christians back as he explored his body with his finger tips. Christian shivered at Alexander's touch as his passions began to swell. He wrapped his arms around the boy and held him tightly. He could feel the heat from Alexander's body engulfing him. It was so enticing. Christian kissed him harder, forcing his tongue into his mouth and Alexander welcomed it with excited exuberance. As they stood there, tangled in a lovers embrace, pressed together in the heat of their passion, the world around them seemed to melt away.

Alexander's senses were on fire. Everything seemed so animated. The taste of Christian's mouth was tantalizing. The way he sucked on Alexander's tongue sent waves of desire through him. And the way that Christian touched him had awakened parts of Alexander's soul that until now had lain dormant. Alexander took control of the kiss suddenly, sliding his hands along Christian's upper torso. His fingers began to fumble with the buttons of Christian's doublet as he unfastened them one by one. Alexander slipped is hands up beneath the fabric and gently pushed it over his shoulders then pulled it down his arms, tossing it aside. Next he pulled free Christian's tunic from his trousers and, sliding his hands beneath it, pulled it up over his head.

Alexander put his hands on Christians chest and Christian groaned, his eyes rolling back. Alexander trailed his fingers along his chest, sliding them through the soft layer of light colored hair that covered him. Alexander leaned forward and kissed his chest and Christian bit his bottom lip. Alexander's lips on his flesh felt amazing, his finger tips lightly brushing his skin was intoxicating. He gripped Alexander tightly by the shoulders and pressed his mouth on his once more. God he tasted sweet, like honeysuckle. Alexander gave a soft whimper then melted against Christian so that every inch of his body was molded to him. His lips parted to give him access and Christian's tongue swirled over his, teasing him.

Christian brushed his lips over Alexanders then traced their outline with his tongue, nipping at their fullness, and Alexander moaned against him. It all felt so wonderful, so utterly perfect, and Christian was positively on fire with lust. He could feel himself harden, his organ pressed painfully against the impossibly tight leather. Alexander's hand moved down to cup him and slowly he began to massage him through his trousers. Christian began to breath harder, faster, and he realized that he wanted nothing more than to just lay Alexander down among the vegetation and take him, but he stopped. He took Alexander's hand in his his, moving it from his manhood and whispered, "No."

Alexander pulled back and stared up at him, hurt by his sudden hesitation. "Don't you want me?" He asked, tears forming in his eyes.

Christian looked down at him and smiled lovingly as he stroked the side of the boys face. "Of course I do, but not here, not like this. I'll not make love to you in this place. When we do finally give ourselves to each other it should be special, and in the proper place. Your first time should not be rushed, and most certainly not in a place like this, where pain and death still lingers in the air."

Alexander smiled as he kissed Christian's hand. "Alright." He spoke softly. "We'll wait."

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Alexander handed Christian's cloak to him, almost forgetting that he still had it. Christian took it and wrapped it securely around Alexander's shoulders then leaned down and kissed him. "You should get used to dressing as a noble, when this is all over, and you're finally safe, I'm going to buy you a whole new wardrobe."

Alexander smirked. "Am I to understand that you do not care for my simple, peasants clothes?"

"They're fine...for now. But once we are married I plan to spoil you, and there is absolutely nothing that you can do about it."

"Why your majesty, you're making me positively weak in the knees."

Christian chuckled some as he pulled Alexander against him. That was the first time since they'd met that Alexander had called him by his Royal moniker and while it was spoken in jest, Christian never the less found it adorable.

They were happy, laughing and enjoying each others company as they made their way down the mountains path. For the moment, their troubles had been forgotten. Alexander didn't know how long they had been in the ruins of the temple, but as they stepped out on to the field at the foot of the mountain he saw that the sky was ablaze with the light of the three suns that hung above them.

The soft golden glow of the suns stretched out before them and lit the valley below. The city, as well as the small villages surrounding it, were also cast in the bright shine of morning. Alexander turned his head to the heavens and felt the warmth of the suns on his face, more vibrant and beautiful than he had ever remembered it being before.

The masonry sat before them and they walked on to the shed where Necromancer waited. Once there they mounted the horse and set off to their next destination. Neither knew where they were headed now, but it did not matter. They could go anywhere, do anything, so long as they were together. They rode in silence for some time while Alexander hugged Christian and rested his head against his back as he was so fond of doing. He felt closer to him that way. Safe and there was comfort just in feeling his arms encircling him.

Christian was content as well to have Alexander hold him. The closer he was to him the more at ease he felt knowing that nothing could touch him.

Alexander knew the old clique, that love conquered all. He'd never quite believed it before. But, now that he was with Christian, he saw truth in the saying, for he knew that together, they could weather any storm.

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The guard had come back empty handed. Girart knew that the King would not be pleased. They'd gone to the boarding house but had missed Alexander and the Prince by mere minutes. Next they searched the city, the taverns, the brothels, and any place where Christian might hide the boy. It was obvious to Girart that they were no longer in the city, but where could they have gone? It was possible at this point that they had gone into Qedor or one of the other surrounding villages. He supposed that he would have to expand the search to those places as well. The problem with that is it meant more men, and more time on this foolish errand when they should have been protecting the castle.

As the morning shift reported for duty Girart looked over the roster. He had such a headache and these new orders weren't helping matters any. On top of that he had a new rotation of men that had to be trained on the wall and he really didn't have time to deal with such things.

"Tomas." Girart called to one of his generals.

"Yes Captain." Tomas saluted Girart as he stood at attention.

"Tomas, you're in charge of the wall. Break in the new pups. See to it that they're made into proper guard dogs."

"Yes, captain." Tomas bowed then went to his post as instructed.

Girart sighed as he looked over the rest of the men. "Larkin, you will take the first and second squads and station them at the front gates. I want Torin and Brion to fortify the courtyard. Send Eoin and Cashel to the guard tower. I think they can handle that. Seamus, you're in charge of the city patrol. And make sure Kearney is patrolling the market place, and not patronizing the whore houses."

The men laughed. Girart went down the line as he contemplated the other soldiers assignments. "I want Ultan with the reserve. If the Gods shine on us we won't need them, but they should be ready at a moments notice regardless and I know Ultan won't fail in that. Riordan and Eamon, the two of you will take command of the Rangers. I need Malachy for some other business." He stood tall, folding his hands behind his back as he looked at his men. "Right, well, you have your orders. May the Gods smile on us today, may our swords stay sheathed, and may our women be horny."

There was a joyful shout from the men as they left the guard house, ready to take their stations. Girart stood and addressed those who were left. "As for the rest of you. You will split yourselves into three units. Niall, Piran, and Rohan...you three are in command. You may have already heard but Prince Christian has left the Palace with a young peasant boy. The details of his alliance with this boy are not important but the King has charged us with finding them both and bringing them back. The Prince is to be unharmed. Attempt to bring the boy in alive if you can, he shouldn't be that much of a problem, as I have heard it, he's not very formidable. When you find them, the boy is to be taken straight to the guard house and placed in a cell."

Girart placed the roster on the table behind him and scratched his head, showing his aggravation. "The problem we face is finding them. They have been gone all night and one detail has already come back empty handed. We can not fail in this. The two must be found and quickly. I can not stress this enough. The city has already been searched and turned up nothing. We need to expand our search to the forest, the surrounding villages, and even the mountains. The King thinks it's possible that the Prince may try to board a ship with the boy and escape the Kingdom. We can not allow that. I've already assigned a small group to patrol the docks. Your task is to continue the search and apprehend the two. Are there any questions?"

The men shook their heads, each of them understanding their assignments and the importance of finding the Prince and his companion. Girart nodded. "Good. If there are no questions then you're dismissed." Then men left the guard house and split into three groups as ordered. Girart sat down at the small wooden table he used as a desk and rubbed his temples. "You better not fail." He muttered to himself. "If you do, there will be hell to pay."

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Rohan and his group split from the rest of the guards and headed up the old blackthorn road to the Eerie mountain pass. The other two groups headed for the smaller villages outside of Avimur. The old blackthorn road was rarely used by anyone and much of it had been overgrown with weeds and other vegetation. In summer it was usually ankle deep with mud and hard to navigate. Wagons often became stuck in the muck and during heavy rains the road became flooded. Because of this it became abandoned and largely forgotten.

Rohan surmised though, had the Prince gone into the mountains he would have taken the blackthorn as apposed to attempting to guide his horse over the large rocks and rough terrain. He found it unlikely that Christian would have taken Alexander into the mountains though as there was no shelter for them and the mountains became frigid at night. That was when something he hadn't thought of before suddenly occurred to him. The old Masonry. If it even still stood. The pair could have sought shelter there for the night.

Rohan wasn't sure if Christian was even aware of the place since it had been abandoned nearly eighteen years prior, but there was always the chance he could have stumbled upon it while attempting to hide from the first detail of guards who had pursued them. Rohan was almost certain that the guards would not have risked venturing into the mountains in the middle of the night, so Christian and his companion would have gone the entire time undetected.

Rohan motioned for his men to follow as he headed up the mountain pass. A few of them hesitated as they looked at each other questioningly but a stern look from Rohan and they quickly fell in line behind him. No ghost nor wild beast was as terrifying as their King when he was angry so the men feared failing in their mission more than braving the haunted peek.

It would have been quicker going through the field but then they would have been seen too easily. The narrow mountain pass ensured that they could reach the masonry undetected.

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Christian wanted to get as far from the demon temple as he could. This meant traveling west which limited his destination to two possible places. If he went over the mountain it would take him near Orsa and also the edge of the black swamp. If he took the mountain pass to the old Blackthorn road it would take them dangerously close to Avimur but he could take the Blackthorn all the way into Unelin. Unelin bordered the Rune sea and was governed by Lord Durnam, who was currently at odds with King Guillame. Christian foresaw two possibilities. Lord Durnam would discover the Prince and Alexander and turn them away out of spite for Christian being the son of Guillame, or he might grant them safe passage just to spite the King.

After careful consideration Christian decided either outcome was better than risking Alexander's life by returning to Avimur. With his mind made up, Christian headed for the mountain pass. It was a long, narrow, and winding path that cut through the rock and allowed a less treacherous way to navigate the mountain. At least it had been at one point. It had been years since anyone had really traveled that way and Christian had no idea what effects the years of neglect and harsh weather may have done to it. There was always the risk of rock slides and in winter a thick sheet of ice made the path more dangerous. While the mountains peek was covered in snow, Christian and Alexander were lucky that the weather was still warm.

It had not rained in at least a week so the pass was free of mud or muck. All that Christian had to worry about now was whether or not the pass was still clear and easily traveled. If not, he would have no choice but to go over the mountain itself. With just two men, one horse, and no provisions, the likeliness of surviving that journey was slim. Christian said nothing of his fears to Alexander as he didn't wish to frighten him unnecessarily. As long as they were able to make it down the mountain safely there was nothing to fear. Christian just hoped that the Gods were smiling down on them.

Aside from a few fallen rocks here and there and the occasional fallen limb that Christian to stop to move, the trail was otherwise easy to traverse. Necromancer hesitated along the more narrow parts of the path and Christian had to dismount so that he could guide the horse on foot. They had come to a part of the pass where a large boulder jutted out from the side of the mountain, obscuring part of the path. Years ago this particular section of the pass had been named the devils junction. Mainly due to the fact that it was impossible to see around either side of the boulder, making it quite dangerous to travelers.

Not only was the path too narrow for travelers to pass one another, the obscured vision could lead someone face to face with an angry goat, mountain lion, or bear. One had to be extra vigilant and know their surroundings. Even a lone snake could spook the horse and cause it to rear up, throwing its rider. That meant an eight or nine foot drop off the path to the rocks below. Christian stopped the horse and dismounted as he looked around. Alexander had grown concerned but Christian assured him that nothing was a miss. "We can get around it." He told him, "But it would be better to walk the horse."

Alexander nodded and began to dismount when he suddenly heard something that had him frozen in place. Christian had heard it too and he backed up a few steps towards Alexander and the horse. Necromancer was standing still. He shook his head and grunted but other than that had not moved, yet Christian had heard the unmistakable sound of hooves stomping the hard, dust covered ground. It wasn't just one animal either, what he heard sounded more like a group of riders coming up on them.

"What is it?" Alexander whispered.

Christian held his hand out to silence him. Christian carefully moved to the edge of boulder. Finding a strong foot hold on the side of the hill he pulled himself up, still hidden behind the rocks, and peered over the side. "Shit!" He breathed nervously. Climbing back down he turned to look at Alexander and Alexander saw the worry on his face. He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Guards." Christian whispered. "Palace guards. A small detail of them but still too many for us to fight." By US he no doubt meant himself as Alexander could barely hold a sword yet have the knowledge to fight trained soldiers with it. "Shit!" He cursed again. Alexander looked to him for what to do but he was at a loss. They could go back the way they had come but there was really no where else to go but up and over the mountain. They couldn't return to the masonry. They would be found there for sure. That left him with little else to consider. He moved to the edge of the pass and looked down.