Poisoned Hearts (A Jaric Fanfic)

3) The Beauty of Destruction

Aric sat at a desk next to his new acquaintance, carving the wood with his knife. He didn't bother to listen to Brundhilde's lessons, as they were all dull and droning. Instead, he began to draw several flaming skulls on the desk's wooden surface with the blade of his rusted dagger. He had always shown exceptional talent in art, though he had never cared, using his skills for menial things like vandalism. Japeth, who apparently wasn't paying attention either, leaned over and looked at his art.

"Did you draw those?" He asked.

"Yeah." Aric replied apathetically, not realizing how beautiful his drawings were.

"Those are amazing!" Japeth exclaimed.

"They're just skulls."

"Well they're amazing skulls!" He repeated.

"Mr. Sader-Mistral, please keep your voice down. And Mr. Lesso, put that knife away. Knives are strictly prohibited in class." Dean Brundhilde said suddenly in a voice of feigned kindness.

"I'll put it away, alright. I'll put it in your skull, you vile bitch." Aric muttered too quietly for Brundhilde to hear.

Japeth laughed. It was a deep, husky laugh, strong and cold but filled with mischief. It fit him almost too perfectly. "Man, would that be fun."

Aric went back to carving intricate skulls into his desk, while Japeth fiddled with a pencil, bored out of his mind. A seconds felt like hours as Brundhilde's droning lecture went on and on, seeming never ending. Finally, she dismissed the boys for lunch and everyone stood up to leave.

Japeth shuffled outside after grabbing his lunch and dropped on the ground underneath his usual tree. Everyone else always sat at the picnic tables behind the school, but Japeth preferred to sit alone. Plus, it wasn't like anyone wanted to sit with him.

He sat under the shade of the tree, picking at a fallen leaf when something rather out of the ordinary happened. Japeth heard a thud a small distance away from him and turned to see that same sharp-haired, muscular boy who'd been daring enough to come near him this morning.

Aric stared distractedly out at the looming gray sky. Then he caught Japeth gawking at him and swiveled to him.

"What?" He demanded in a tone far more rude than he'd intended.

"Why aren't you sitting with the other kids?" Japeth shot back, not offensively, but his voice low and confused.

"I'd rather sit here. Is that not explanation enough?"

"But why? Everyone here hates me." Japeth replied.

"I don't. You're not like the other boys here, Japeth. They're all annoying, uptight do-gooders who worship your brother. But you're not. We may not have gotten off on the right foot, but that doesn't mean we can't still be friends." Aric smiled. Not a cocky smirk. Not a bitter one. But a smile. A sweet, genuine smile. A smile Japeth mirrored with his own lips.

After the boys finished lunch, Aric started heading away from the school.

"Where are you going?" Japeth asked.

"Anywhere but here. But don't worry, I'll be back by tonight." Aric explained.

"But we still have class this afternoon."

"Who says we have to go?" Aric smiled wryly.

"I like the way you think." Japeth snorted.

So when the bell rang for class to start, instead of sitting in that dreary room, the boys ran off in the other direction. After a minute or so of running, Japeth stopped abruptly, causing Aric to skid to a halt.

"Where are we even going, anyways?" He asked.

"Just you wait." Aric answered vaguely, and for the first time, Japeth saw a small rectangular box protruding from the pocket of his black breeches.

"What's that?"

Aric whirled around, slightly annoyed. "Do you always ask so many questions?"

"Sorry." Japeth mumbled and continued running.

After a while, the sky darkened, the color changing from a hopeless gray to a deep purple. The sun had nearly disappeared beneath the horizon, but the two boys kept on running, ignoring the darkening sky and shouts of fair maidens as they trampled flower gardens.

Aric only stopped when they came upon a dry, windy field.

"What are we doing here?" Japeth asked.

He didn't answer, but instead pulled out the rectangular box he had in his pocket. A match box, Japeth realized. Aric smiled mischievously, and Japeth's lips curled into a serpentine grin.

"Would you care to do the honors?" He said, handing Japeth a match.

"It would be my pleasure." Japeth replied, grabbing the match.

He struck the match, lighting up his face with a yellowy glow. Then, with one dramatic gesture, he dropped it on the ground. The dead grass quickly caught, the flames spreading until they were as tall as him. He stood back, watching the conflagration roar with a matching fiery look in his glacier blue eyes. Aric stared into the flames, captivated by the beauty of destruction.

"What did I tell you?" Aric said.

"You didn't really tell me anything."

"Shut up." He teased, punching Japeth playfully on the shoulder.

Sparks flew, causing more blades of grass to catch. Japeth turned to smile at Aric.

"Wow. This is beautiful. I just..." He trailed off.

"It certainly is a lot better than class." Aric joked.

Japeth laughed his deep, devilish laugh. "Damn right."

By this point, the sky had darkened to a midnight blue, glistening silver stars pinned in the sky and a full moon glaring down like an eye of the gods. The boys began to head to their dorms, the pale silver moonlight illuminating their way.

Twigs and pine cones crunched beneath their feet as they stumbled through the village, the darkness shrouding their view of the world in front of them. After a while, they came upon what seemed to be Arbed House. The boys opened the main doors and walked in stealthily, careful not to wake anyone. Then, Japeth walked off to his dorm and Aric walked to his. From his window, Aric could see the flames still burning madly.