Kiss the Darkness Ch. 07

Christian shook his head as he took Alexander's hand in his and faced his father. "What I feel for him is not an infatuation. It's a love true and pure. As for my marriage to Lady Jivete, that is no longer possible. Alexander and I were married at the monastery last night. He is my husband. Our union was blessed by the Gods as well as the High Priest and not even you, father, can undo what was sanctified in the holy temple."

Guillame was suddenly seething with anger. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Was Christian, his son, honestly challenging his authority? "The crown does not recognize the union between two men." Guillame hissed. "Nor does it recognize the union between a human and a Draveil. Without my consent the marriage never took place."

"We didn't need your consent." Christian told him. "We married under the ancient law of Affrerement, in the temple of Xagros. The law protects us, even from the wrath of the King."

"The King is above the law!" Guillame yelled. "In the end, my word is all that matters."

"You may be above the law but you are not above the Gods." Christian snapped. "In the eyes of the Gods were are wed and there is nothing you can do about it."

Guillame considered what Christian had said. He stroked his beard then suddenly a wicked grin crossed his thin lips. "I can not deny the will of the Gods, and if you truly were married in the temple then your marriage is true but a royal marriage is not legal until it has been consummated, as such an unconsummated royal marriage can not be recognized by the crown, and I will not allow this creature to stay the night in this palace let alone your bed."

"No matter." Christian grinned. "Our marriage was consummated on our wedding night. The monks of the monastery provided us a grand wedding feast then we retired to the guest cottage where we spent the night together. I made certain to have the monks save the sheets for your inspection. We have witnesses to the wedding ceremony, and the Gwendell himself has witnessed our vows. Summon him here if you must, but he will tell you, our marriage is legal, sanctified, and blessed by the Gods. Alexander is my husband in every way. You have no choice now but to accept him if you wish me to remain here as your son and heir. Otherwise, I'll take my husband and leave. My place is at his side, and I will not abandon my vows."

The King leaned to the side of his throne propping his elbow on the arm as he contemplated the situation. After a long pause he called for the palace chaplain. The chaplain wasn't a young man but he wasn't what one would consider elderly either. He was probably younger than the King, maybe in his early forties and he had a short cut of salt and pepper hair with a neatly trimmed grey beard and mustache. He was dressed in the usual black and hooded robes of a priest, and around his neck hung a silver eye pendant, the symbol of the eternal spirit.

He walked to the King then bowed before him. The King looked forward and told the man to rise. "Chaplain." He said. "Have you heard all that has been discussed here?"

The Chaplain nodded. "I have, your majesty."

"And what is your conjecture?"

The chaplain thought long and hard before speaking. He looked both Alexander and Christian over, considering his words carefully. "I am disinclined to call the crown Prince a liar, for I've never known him to be deceptive. As such I do believe what he has testified before you, my King. I can not however, verify that the events did in fact take place without speaking to the Gwendell, though I would suppose that he will corroborate all that the Prince has said. Given the information, if it is found to be true and accurate, then the marriage between these two men is indeed blessed by the Gods and can not be denied."

"I See." Guillame scratched his chin. "And what of this law of Affrerement? I've heard mention of it before but I am not overly familiar with it's concept."

The Chaplain ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to recall his training as a young Illiad. "Tis an old an obscure law my Lord, but one that holds true as much today as it did in ancient times if blessed by the Gwendell. If my teachings and memory serve me, the Gods Xagros and Reeyer were lovers, and when they were told they could not be together they created the law of Affreres which protects the union of two persons who exhibit true and pure love for one another. Under the law their union can not be contested based on gender, race, or social standing. The only things which could negate such a union is adultery, excessive cruelty, or death."

Guillame's expression darkened as he listened to the Chaplain. "So, what you're saying is that aside from having this creature beheaded, there is no way to undo this marriage?"

"I...um..." The Chaplain hesitated to speak as he looked from the King to the couple beside him. He was unsure how to answer the King's question but then Christian pulled Alexander against himself and spoke up.

"Natural Death." Christian growled. "The law prevents you from laying one finger on him, and I assure you that I will see to it that the law is upheld. If any harm comes to my husband, I'll take the matter before the high counsel."

Guillame's eyes widened. "You would challenge me?"

"If you force me to." Christian answered him sternly. "No King has been dethroned in five hundred years but that doesn't mean it can't or won't happen. Believe me father, I have no wish challenge your authority, nor do I want to take your throne prematurely, but I will do what I must to protect the one I love. In the end it's up to you though. Accept him and gain a son, or send him away and you lose me as well."

Guillame looked to the Queen then. "What are your thoughts on this?" He asked her.

The Queen folded her hands in her lap as she looked over Alexander. Her expression was kind and gentle and Alexander felt a twinge of hope when he looked into her radiant blue eyes. "What's done is done." She said softly. "And I do not wish to lose my son. If the Gods have truly brought these two together then how can we deny that? I trust that the Gods are working in our best interests for they would never bring someone into our lives who mean to do us harm. I see no ill will in this young man and I do believe that they are in love. I would not presume to stand between them, but I also do not want to see my house in turmoil. If we can not accept that the prince has thought this through and its what he wants then I see only pain and darkness ahead."

Guillame drummed his fingers on the arm of the throne. He was not pleased with what his Queen had said, but he expected no less of her. She was a kind and forgiving woman. The love she felt for her family surpassed all else and while the King did not agree with her, he did respect her. Doing anything to Alexander now would certainly displease the Queen. Guillame had to be careful. He would just have to endure the presence of the Draveil brat for the time being, but he still had no intention of accepting him into his house. Christian's spouse or not, Alexander wasn't just going to worm his way into the palace and he would never sit on the throne. That, Guillame, would make sure of.

"Argyle." The King called for his advisor. "You will take Girart and go to the monastery. Speak to the Gwendell. I want to know if this so called marriage did in fact take place."

Argyle bowed to the King then left as commanded. The King then looked to Christian who was still standing beside Alexander, holding him protectively. "If the Gwendell validates what you have told me then I have no choice but to accept your marriage. Though I will not do so lightly. Know that you have done this against my will and because of that I will not bless this union. That thing may be your husband, but I will never accept him as my son."

He turned his attention to Alexander and spoke directly to him. "Do not expect kindness from me or warmth, for you will fine neither. You are not my family. You are nothing more than a thorn in my side. I will eventually find a way to be rid of you, so do not get comfortable here. Your welcome has officially been worn out. Now, both of you go, I want you out of my sight."

Christian and Alexander bowed to the King though Christian gave his father a fierce and disapproving stare. Alexander's heart beat furiously in his chest as he and Christian left the great hall. For a moment he found it hard to breath and had to stop outside in the corridor to catch his breath. "He hates me." He whispered. Christian took his shaking hands in his and tried to calm him.

"My father is a cruel and heartless man." Christian sneered. "But he can not touch you now. Honestly this encounter went better than I had expected."

Alexander looked at Christian, his eyes wide with fear. "This is not over." Alexander told him. "Your father means to see me dead one way or another. I was a fool to think he'd just welcome me into his house with open arms."

"My father is a problem." Christian agreed. "But you've seemed to have won over my mother and that's half the battle. She will not allow my father to harm you, nor will I. We just have to prove to him that you are not the monster he thinks you are. Once you've won his approval, he will accept you, of that I'm sure."

Alexander forced a smile. He laid his head against Christian's chest and Christian wrapped his arms around him in a loving embrace. Christian had hope and that was a good thing, but Alexander wasn't as optimistic. He had no idea how he would prove himself or win the Kings approval, if such a thing were even possible. Guillame's disliking of Alexander was blood deep and backed by a thousand years of hate. Such a thing would not be easy to overcome, and Alexander was only one man. How could he ever hope to achieve something that even his father, a true King and warrior, could not accomplish? It seemed impossible but still he had to try. Without the King's blessing, how could he and Christian ever truly be happy?

________________________________________________

Jivete rose from her seat and watched as Christian and Alexander left the room without so much as a glance in her direction. She balled her hands into fists and narrowed her eyes. "How dare he." She hissed between clenched teeth. Lady Donovan touched her daughters arm but Jivete shook her hand off. "Do not touch me." She sneered.

"Daughter please, do not make a scene." The woman pleaded.

Jivete looked at her mother and frowned. "Don't you have some embroidery to do, mother?"

Lady Donovan looked down, dejected. She cringed as she felt her daughters stare cut into her. The look in the young woman's eyes was cold and full of malice. "That's your problem mother." Jivete told her. "You have no backbone. You allow men and women to walk all over you and you take it all without complaint. Well, I am not like you. I will not let this insult stand." She turned furiously and began walking away from the table.

"Where are you going?" Lord Donovan asked her.

Jivete groaned in frustration. "To the guest apartments." She fumed. "I've just discovered that my fiance has married someone else. I wish to reflect, and spend the rest of the day in solitude!"

Lord Donovan nodded, waving his daughter off. Jivete turned on her heals and stormed out of the room, not caring who saw. The Lord and his wife remained, silently sitting at the table, nearly emotionless, looking lost. King Guillame had been watching the scene unfold with great interest. The Donovan's seemed such odd people to him, and their daughter, she had a fire in her that intrigued the King. He would have to see to it that they did not return home just yet. He may have use for Jivete and her passion, if she would agree to help him, he might just have found a way to get rid of the demon after all.

_____________________________________________

The ladies maids ran after their mistress as she made her way down the corridor and to the stairs that lead to the guests apartments. Her long, fast paced, strides making it nearly impossible for them to keep up. She returned to her chambers and threw the door open with great fury. "How dare he!" She screamed as she entered the room. She stopped and watched the ladies rush to her side, each of them trying to sooth her but she wasn't in any frame of mind to deal with them. Pacing back and forth she tried to think of what to do. She had been humiliated, rejected, tossed aside like trash! The insults just kept piling up but she wasn't about to just give up. Christian was hers, and she would fight for him tooth and nail.

Angrily she picked up a porcelain pitcher that sat on the dressing table and threw it against the wall, watching it shatter into tiny pieces. The shattering glass brought a smile to her face. She imagined Alexander shattering, laying broken on the floor in a million pieces. She would crush those pieces into dust and take what was hers. She walked to the arm chair near the hearth and sat down. "Build a fire." She told the young servant girl who had been standing against the wall, fearfully watching the Ladies outburst.

The girl nodded shakily then scrambled to gather wood for the hearth. Jivete watched her closely, her frustration with the girl ever growing. "Work faster!" She demanded. "I'll have froze to death before you even strike a spark."

The girl whimpered and cried as she rushed to get the fire built. At one point she tripped, dropping the logs on the rug before the hearth. Jivete rolled her eyes. "Get me a blanket." She ordered one of the maids. "Then get this simpleton out of my sight and find me a servant who actually knows what they are doing!"

The maid nodded and hurried to carry out the Ladies orders. Crying, the servant girl was lead out of the room. Jivete sighed and rubbed at her temples. "I'm surrounded by fools." She groaned. "When I am Queen, things around here are going to change. I won't put up with such incompetence." The maid returned and spread a blanket out over Jivete's lap and legs. Jivete looked up and quickly slapped the girl across the face. "That's for taking so long." She sneered.

The girl gasped but quickly returned to where the others stood and tried to control her crying. Jivete hated weakness in her servants and would harshly punish them for it. Fortunately for them, her attention was on another matter. She had been promised the witch's head on a stake but now that she'd actually seen him, and knew the truth about Christian's mystery lover, she no longer wished for his death. Things had just become interesting and she couldn't help but enjoy a challenge. Let the Prince have his demon lover, and let them think, for a while at least, that they are happy together. Soon enough their marital bliss would come to an end and Jivete would then take her rightful place as the Prince's wife and future Queen.

A wicked smile crossed her delicate features. "So, Alexander." She let the name slither past her lips in a long, drown, out breath. "Be ready." She whispered. "You're about to experience a hell like no other."

_________________________________________

Christian slowed as he approached the doors to his private chambers. There in the hallway stood Amos, watching him with concern. He and Alexander stopped and Amos looked them both over, shaking his head. "So, you actually did it." He spoke to Christian. "You actually married him. Do you have any idea what you've done, Christian?"

Christian opened the door and looked to Alexander. "Go on inside my love. Wait for me, I won't be long."

Alexander looked at him with concern in his eyes.

"Go on." Christian told him. "I'll be fine."

Alexander nodded then entered the room and Christian gently shut the door, turning his attention back to Amos.

"A Draveil?" Amos narrowed his eyes. "I always knew there was something off about him but I never thought...a demon? Christian, how could you marry a demon?"

"I don't have to explain myself." Christian told him. "Least of all to you."

"It hurts me to hear you say that." Amos looked down sadly as he leaned against the stone wall. "I know that you're still angry with me, but my feelings for you haven't changed. I'm worried about you Christian. Has it ever occurred to you that this man, this demon, could be controlling you somehow? Making you see things differently from how they are."

"No." Christian answered sharply. "I trust him with my life, more than I trust you. And, for the record, I'm not angry with you anymore. I simply do not care about you one way or the other. I can't expect you to understand but I'm happy now. Alexander makes me happy and I will not allow anyone to ruin that happiness. Not my father and certainly not you."

"You can't see it but you're different now. Alexander has caused some change in you and it frightens me. I don't think you even realize the hold he has over you, it's like he's bewitched you."

Christian sighed. "The only change in me is that I no longer have just myself to live for. Alexander is my life and there is nothing that you or anyone else can say that will change the way I feel about him. At any rate, he's my husband now, you just have to accept it and move on."

"I can't accept it." Amos tried to fight back the tears that had formed in his eyes but he couldn't, his heart was breaking. "I just hope that you will soon come to your senses Christian, and see Alexander for what he is. When you do, I'll be here waiting for you. I still love you, with all my heart, and I have hope that one day you will return that love."

Christian laughed bitterly as he shook his head. "You still love me?" He asked.

"I do." Amos confessed. "I do love you Christian."

"Well, that is your misfortune then." Christian pushed the door open and stepped inside. He turned to Amos once more and stared at him, hard. "I will never love you Amos. If anything I despise you. I'm going to go inside now and spend the afternoon with my husband. You can use this time to pack your belongings then leave the palace. You are officially dismissed."

"Dismissed?" Amos was in shock. He stared at Christian, his eyes wide. "Where am I to go?"

"I don't know." Christian told him. "And I really don't care. Perhaps your father will take you back. Whatever you do, you're no longer my concern. I wish you well, I really do. But I can not keep someone in my employment whom I do not trust. I expect you to be gone by nightfall." With that, Christian shut the door, leaving Amos standing alone in the hall, speechless, and terrified. He had never known life outside of the palace. Up until this point his life had always been about Christian but now, he had no idea what he was going to do. It suddenly felt like everything, his entire life, had just crumbled and fallen to pieces. There was no where left for him to turn now.

Christian stood by the doors in the attendants room and rubbed his temples. He couldn't take even one more person questioning him about Alexander. He hadn't expected a very warm welcome but the over all attitude they'd encountered so far was disturbing. The only one who seemed even remotely happy for the couple was the Queen. He left the attendants room and walked into the sitting room, where he found Alexander seated on a couch in front of the hearth. He was smiling as he leaned forward and allowed the heat of the fire to warm his face. A young boy about ten years of age was kneeling by the fire and stoking it as Alexander spoke to him.

The boy laughed and smiled wide as though Alexander had just said something amusing. The boy seemed to like Alexander, and Christian was glad. The innocence of the child hadn't been destroyed by pettiness and prejudice. He liked Alexander for who he was, and nothing about him mattered other than the fact that he was kind to the boy. When Christian came into the room the boy stood up and immediately took on a more serious expression.