Pluck't

Chapter VII

The trip to the duchy of Lendia was shorter than the trip to the castle, so Toma had that in his favor.  They wouldn't be doubling back through the scene of carnage, which still felt like a stab in the gut to think about.  The walk was tiring, and his legs burned not long into the trip.  Toma had walked around his mother's gardens all the time, but going any real distance was a novelty of which he had already grown tired.

"Are we there yet?" he asked Emil.

"Not yet," Emil said with the patience of a saint.

Toma followed Emil, watching his backside with every step. It was deeply relevant to his interests.  So this is what it felt like to yearn for someone, to want to explore every inch of their body with lips and tongue, and to desire every act the mind could imagine.  He knew he shouldn't lust after this fellow.  He was his savior, true, but he was a commoner.  There could be no future with him.

A voice in the back of Toma's mind put forth the point that he didn't need a future with him, he only needed a couple nights and a sturdy bed.

Toma's cheeks burned, and he smiled to himself.

Emil glanced back, and his brow furrowed.  "What are you so happy about?"

Toma said, "Nothing."  Then, "You know, when we're at the duke's, I can insist my valet share my room in case I need him for anything.

Emil groaned, and Toma said quickly, "It wouldn't be the worst thing, would it?  Do you find me so undesirable?"

Emil turned around and stomped up to Toma.  He looked him over, then traced a fingertip along his cheek.  Toma leaned into the touch, and Emil's breath caught.  "Highness," he whispered, "the things I would do to you border on criminal, but I've a duty to the kingdom to return you to the castle in more or less the same condition I found you."

Toma's eyes narrowed.  "Do you, though?  Am I not a man now, capable of deciding what I want to do?"

Emil said, "And is not your mother the most covetous, possessive creature in all the land, may she long reign?"

Toma sighed.  Mother!  Even out here in the world, he was still smothered in her clutches.  "She doesn't have to know."

Emil replied, "Her spies are everywhere, and trust me, if we did it, half the valley would hear your screams of pleasure."  He smiled crookedly.

Toma wanted to jump on him then and there.  "You're not helping," Toma said.

Emil said, "Of course I am.  I'm saving you from highwaymen and poor decisions."

Toma was dubious about the rescue from highwaymen, but it might not be a lie he was saving Toma from poor decisions.  It's just that they were poor decisions Toma really wanted to make. 

Emil took up the pace again and Toma followed.  His stomach rumbled, but he had another hunger weighing on his mind.  He had to learn how to become irresistible.  He had seen the whores at the tavern the night before, dressed in tight breeches and nothing else, their lips stained with berry juice and their eyes lined with charcoal.  He noticed Emil watching them, and he could guess his desires.  Toma would just have to make himself like those pretty men.  They seemed like Emil's preferred beauty.

For hours, they walked.  It was a nice enough day.  Birds twittered in the trees, and a cool sun cast light on the fresh green buds of plants on the roadside, with a crystal blue sky overhead.  It would be wondrous for Toma, being free of the castle, if it didn't involve so much walking and the ache of grief and horror from the day before.

"We're in Lendia now," Emil said well into the afternoon.  The duke's manor is only an hour away."

"Halt!"

The voice came from the road up ahead.  Six men in the duke's colors approached them, swords drawn.

Emil stopped, and he backed away.  "I beseech you, gentle souls, hear me out."

"There's the kidnapper!" said another of the men.

"And the murderer!" said the other.

They rushed forward with death in their eyes.  Toma stood startled for a moment, then yelped, "Stop!" and leaped in front of Emil to protect him with his body.

One of the duke's men was already swinging his sword, and he stopped short of taking Toma's head off.

"Highness," he said, shaking as he looked upon what he almost did, "we're here to rescue you."

"I've already been rescued, and I won't allow you to harm this man.  He has kept me safe and given me food and shelter."

"Highness," Emil said, but one of the men cut him off.

"Then we shall take you both to the manor and see this man rewarded."

"Actually, Toma said, "in addition to his reward, he's my new valet.  I require his services further."

The man who seemed like the leader nodded.  "Very well.  Right this way, Highness."  He sent a man to run ahead to warn the household they were coming.

Toma followed the leader, and this time, Emil followed behind.  Toma wondered if he was watching his backside this time, and he smiled at the thought.

The duke's manor finally loomed into view.  It was a grand house with a garden that gave Mother's a run for its money, though there were fewer roses and more lavender, wisteria, and aster, with lamb's ear planted along the walkways and grapevines wending along a low mossy wall.  The road led to the front of the manor, where the duke himself had come to greet them, along with Toma's sister, the duchess. 

Her hair was blonde like Toma's, and she wore it piled high and held in place with pins and ribbons.  Her eyes were dark like their mother's and brimming with tears.  As Toma drew closer, she broke from her stoic husband's side and flung her arms around Toma.  "My baby brother!" she cried, clutching him close.  "When we heard about what happened, we were so scared!"

He grunted in surprise and hugged her back.  "I'm all right, Adelina," he said, though tears rushed to his eyes.  For awhile there, he wasn't sure he would ever see his family again.  After awhile, though, he squirmed from her embrace.  He wasn't a child anymore; he had to be a man and take control of this situation.  "Adelina, I'm fine," he said, and he drew back to indicate Emil with a gesture.  "And this is the man responsible.  He will be acting as my valet.  His name is Emil."

Adelina stepped up to Emil while Toma came to clasp hands with the duke.  Finally, someone treating him like a grownup.  He vaguely overheard Adelina thanking Emil for his service and clasping him in an embrace that left him awkward and stammering.  Toma should have warned him Adelina was a hugger.

They were led into the manor, and Toma begged off a reception, wanting only to go to his room.  A servant led him up a flight of stairs, with Emil in his wake.  Proper clothes were brought for both of them, a bath was prepared.  The room was smaller than his own at the castle, but it was still plenty spacious, with a massive bed and a sizable hearth.  There was a comfortable looking chaise, and Toma cast it a gimlet eye.  It was perfect for a valet to sleep on, which meant Toma would have a harder time convincing Emil to share his bed.

Once the door was closed, Toma locked it, then he stepped over to Emil and murmured, "Thank you for bringing me here instead of the castle."  He kissed Emil's cheek.

Much to his disappointment Emil returned the gesture chastely and said, "It is my royal duty, Your Highness."

Toma pouted.  "Is that the only reason?"

Emil hung his head and said, "Not exactly."

Toma kissed him again, this time on the lips, and Emil couldn't help but respond, if only a little.  Toma smiled.  "We should get ready for our bath."

Emil blinked.  "Our bath?"