In Love and War

Chapter Two: General Tullius

The creaking of the floorboards outside my door woke me from my slumber. My eyes peeled open and shifted to the doorway in time to see a shadow move past. Glancing to my window, I could tell it was still the early hours of the morning. Gaius nor Uncle Oritius should have been awake at that hour, so my interest was peaked. I slowly crawled out of my cot and began to follow the shadow down the long hallway in our home. I caught only glimpses of the form as it darted along the walls and around corners. I took a candle from a bookcase as I passed and picked up pace to catch up to the form.

My barefoot steps were light as I followed it down impossibly long corridors. I walked slowly at first but quickened my pace when I wasn't closing the distance. In response, the shadow seemed to move faster as well, staying just far enough away to avoid the light.. I finally slowed to a stop as I neared a corner and decided to peek around instead.

The shadow remained allusive, but this time I saw it slide into a room, shutting the door behind it. I approached the door as well. Even in the dark I recognized it as Gaius', as he had a habit of leaving his boots in the hall and his helm mounted on a hook on the door. My free hand turned the handle, but it didn't open. He had bolted it shut.

I raised a brow as tried the handle again for good measure. When it remained closed, I knocked and whispered through the door, "Gaius?" With no response, I knocked again and spoke a little louder, "Gaius? Let me in, please." Again, there was no answer. I had right to be suspicious.

My cousin was not the sneaking nor secretive type. Moreover, he never ignored me or my pleas. I reasoned he must have been sneaking out to meet some girl and didn't want to be caught. He would have reason to be allusive then. The more likely option, however, was that he was sleepwalking, as he often did when something troubled him. Either way, I didn't plan to leave the door until I checked on him and reassured him word of his nightly misadventures would not reach his father.

I cleared my throat and pounded the door a bit harder. "Gaius," I started in a plain tone, "Are you awake?" I heard movement behind the door. "I won't tell Uncle Oritius if you let me in. I just want to make sure everything is all right." The floorboards creaked on the other side as light footsteps made their way to the door. I held the candle up a little as I heard the soft click of the bolt.

Upon opening the door, I was greeted with unusual darkness and silence. I held out the candle to look for Gaius but saw no one. I cautiously creeped into the room, the light from my candle shining just enough for me to see a few steps ahead of me. Scattered around the room were knacks that should have been on his shelves and tables. Papers and books were strewn across the floor, crumpled and trampled over. His baskets of alchemy ingredients that he usually kept so neatly at his lab were also in array, leaving me questioning what he had done to cause such a mess. I set the candle down on his nightstand. As I started to pick up some of his paperwork and scold him, my finger touched the sticky, dark liquid that dotted the page.

I retracted my hand as soon as the warm substance met my skin. My breathing staggered as I grabbed the candle again, examining the floor closer. The same crimson liquid dotted the floor. The quantity and faint smell told me it was blood. I quickly looked to the bed adjacent to me. The sheets and blanket were splattered with blood as well and a large puddle of the vile fluid pooled on the mattress. A trail of blood ran from its center down the other side of Gaius' bed.

I had to force myself to take each step to look around the other side of the bed. The sight before my split my lips in a cry of fear and heartbreak. Gaius laid face down on the floor, another puddle of blood beneath him. The awkward position on his arms suggested he had tried to get up- or at the least roll out of bed- but the damage had already been done. I knelt down, setting the candle aside, and carefully rolled him on his back. Several wounds rested in his chest, but his throat had been slit for good meansure. The entirety of his night wear was soaking wet with his own blood. There was no chance in reviving my cousin; his should had already departed for Aetherius.