Warning: Fantasy, PG, Ran/Ken.
Disclaimer: Weiss belongs to Takehito Koyasu and Project Weiss.
First Born of the Eighth House
Chapter 1: Ken Couteau
"When I gwow up...when I gwow up I'm gonna newy the Sacwed Fwame!"
"You're whaaat?"
"Newy the Sacwed Fwame 'wi my magic! Pow! Zweee!"
Ken illustrated his point by throwing his arms up in the air and wriggling his fingers. The boy seated beside him, who looked very like his brother, burst into gales of laughter.
"What's a Sacwed Fwame?" he asked once he'd caught his breath.
Ken pouted at him.
"What? You don't know?" he asked.
"'Course I do," the boy answered. "But it's pronounced Sacred Flame, and there's no such word as 'newy'. It's renew. 'Newy'. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" The boy who looked like his brother fell over backward laughing. His red hair contrasted sharply with the green grass of the lawn. "'Newy the fwame!'" he cried and laughed harder.
Ken's pout became a frown, his brows knit together darkly. It suddenly occurred to him that this boy, who was not his brother, was making fun of him.
"Hey! Stop laughin'!" he commanded.
When the boy continued Ken pounced, landing heavily on the boy who finally did stop laughing and tried to shove him off.
"Ow! Get off!"
"No! You're making fun!"
The two of them tussled on the grass. Rolling and snarling, getting in hits and kicks when they could. Before long they were red-faced and winded, but still glaring at one another angrily.
"Take it back!" Ken demanded.
"Take what back?"
"Say you're sorry for laughin'!"
"I won't!"
The boy who wasn't his brother got right in his face, scowling darkly. His brilliant purple eyes flashing.
"You're not gonna renew the Sacred Flame! You can't renew it! You don't have the power to! You're not gonna renew anything!" he cried. "And you know it."
Ken sat up in bed gasping lungfulls of air. After a minute he was able to get his breathing under control and felt his heart begin to slow its rapid beating. Sighing loudly he glanced around the familiar environs of his bedroom. The dented dresser, scratched wardrobe, and the old wooden chair with the sagging seat that sat beside his window helped calm his nerves. Slowly his taunt muscles began to relax.
It wasn't the first time he'd had a dream like that, maybe he'd even had the same one. But lately it seemed as though it was becoming more clear and he was able to remember more details of them. A few weeks ago he'd have woken with a vague feeling of unease and disquiet, but this morning he could actually recall everything the boy had said. Every word.
Looking down at his bedding he realized that the effects of the dream on him were more pronounced as well. His sheets and blankets were twisted and pulled free of his goose down mattress. The quilt his mother and Lady Juliette had made him was wadded up on the floor.
Frowning, he pulled himself free of the tangled mess and climbed off the bed. Scooping up the quilt he dumped it on the bed before taking the five steps to his windows where he pulled back the drapes and gazed out through the many diamond shaped panes. There was a heavy mist over Lake Osino but no frost on the glass, so he threw the latch and swung the windows open. Leaning on the sill he breathed deeply of the crisp morning air.
The boy wasn't his brother. He was certain of that now, although when he was younger and the dreams were new he had thought the boy was Aidan, but now that the dreams were clearer he could see the differences. The similarities were the red hair, pale skin, and violet eyes. However, the boy didn't have Aidan's freckles and his face was thinner, his features finer than Ken's twin.
He shivered in the chilly air and replayed the end of the dream.
"You're not gonna renew the Sacred Flame! You can't renew it! And you know it."
The boy had never said that before. It fed directly into Ken's secret fear and made him colder inside than the air was outside. What if he couldn't renew the Flame?
Five hundred years had passed since the last renewal. Since the legendary pairing of Master Ken Hidaka and his love, Lord Ran Fujimiya. It was once again time and twins had indeed been First Born, to the Eighth House. Ken and his slightly older brother, Aidan. He'd even been named for the legendary healer as proof against failure. But for all of that Ken still harbored doubts.
He'd never dared to share them, but the older he got the more they circled around in his mind. He didn't resemble Aidan or their parents, not at all. His brunet hair and brown eyes stood out in a house full of black and ginger heads. And his skin tanned easily where nearly everyone he knew burned a mean red when out in the sun too long. He was nothing like Katalina Kudou, the ancestor everyone else favored. Second daughter to King Keiji and Queen Aya, she'd fallen in love with and been permitted to wed Lord Aidan Couteau, whom his brother was named for, and the two had set out to fill the House with children. Eleven in all, and every one had either black or red hair. In the five hundred years since their progeny had spread to cover the province. There were more violet eyed redheads than you could shake a stick at and yet the trait had missed him.
He wasn't as powerful as Aidan either. Although his magic was of the Eighth Seat and it was creative in nature, it wasn't half the strength of his twin's, even with Aidan paired. Didn't all the sources tell them that twins doubled the power? If so, then why hadn't it in their case?
What mystified him most was everyone else's lack of concern. Surely his instructors could see what he could? Why weren't they worried? Or his parents? And why hadn't anyone ever discussed the renewal with him? Given him pointers? Or made suggestions?
And why the hell was Aidan so tall?! They had just turned sixteen that winter and already his brother was as tall as their father, Lord Jason Couteau. He himself only came up to the middle of his twin's chest. The perfect height for headlocks and getting thrown over his brother's shoulder apparently.
"You're not gonna renew the Sacred Flame! And you know it."
Ken shook his head and closed the windows. It was probably just his mind making his fears seem real. Creating a twin that was more a match to Aidan than he could ever be. Someone with the confidence that he lacked. That's what he told himself as he washed from the basin on his dresser. A knock at the door signaled the arrival of his valet who entered a second later.
"Good morning, Master Ken," the young man said, a cheery grin plastered all over his face. "And how are you this fine morning?"
"I'm fine, Neville. How is your Mother?" Ken asked as he watched the tall thin man search through his wardrobe.
"She's much improved, Sir. Thanks for askin'. The weather is warmer today, Sir. She does better on fine days. Some fog this mornin' but it's clearin' off now. Fine day for your father's hunt, Sir."
"Mmmm," Ken replied.
Everyday almost the same conversation. Pleasantries exchanged, good day for your father's hunt, mother's ride, parents' visits. The ordinary course of events at the Eighth House. It didn't seem possible that the Flame could be renewed from there. That would be something interesting, and nothing interesting ever happened there.
Neville finished choosing a suitable outfit from the wardrobe and turned to lay it out on the bed, but stopped short when he saw its condition. His shock registered on his face and Ken felt his cheeks begin to heat up. He started to figit.
"Master Ken," Neville said. "Did you have that dream again, Sir?"
Ken shifted under the servant's gaze and wished again he'd kept it to himself when he'd first had it. He knew he was a horrible liar but he hated to admit to it. The whole household would know about it by breakfast and the whispering and staring would start again.
"N-not bad," he hedged. "I got too hot, and knocked the quilt off."
Neville didn't say anything but held his gaze for a moment longer before laying out the clothes.
"Folks don't like it when you have bad dreams, Master Ken. They find it worryin'."
"I don't like it either, Neville," Ken stated and submitted to being dressed. He didn't pay any attention to what Neville was putting on him. He simply moved as he needed to, lifting arms and legs for sleeves and pants legs. When his waistcoat was buttoned he stood still while Neville brushed and braided his hair.
Getting the shorter hairs around his face and over his ears to behave was always a challenge. And even the longer ones that hung down his back were fine and didn't take well to braiding. Every morning, and often the afternoons, were a lesson in patience as his head was yanked one way, then the other as a comb raked through his hair. This morning was particularly bad and he winced at every knot. Apparently the nightmare had effected his hair as well.
Finally it was over and Neville opened the door to usher him out into the hall, and straight into his brother Aidan and Kit, Aidan's paired companion.
"Good morning, little...!"
"Not my hair!" Ken yelled, throwing his arms up to fend off Aidan's raised hand.
The taller youth and his tow headed companion blinked in surprised which quickly turned to amusement.
"Bad hair day?" Kit asked, his blue eyes shining.
"It was pretty knotty," Neville volunteered as he turned and left them for the back stairs, no doubt in order to alert a chambermaid about the state of his bed.
"Poor Ken and his unruly hair," Aidan tutted as they fell into stride together.
"Yes, my head still hurts, so I'll thank you not to touch it," Ken pouted.
"How does it get so messed up?" Kit asked arching one eyebrow.
"Unless you've had company you've not told us about," Aidan added.
They both leered at him and Ken felt his cheeks heat. They knew as well as he did that he hadn't had any experiences in the bedroom, and they loved to tease him with their own exploits. Though only sixteen and eighteen Aidan and Kit had already developed reputations for their sexual prowess and indiscriminate natures. So much so that their father, Lord Jason Couteau, had delivered more than one lecture on the subject to the two.
As for himself it was well known that the Renewer of the Flame would meet and become paired to another magic user, and that man would help him renew the Sacred Flame. Since that person had yet to appear Ken wasn't sure what he should or shouldn't do in the meantime. He was quite certain his virginity didn't enter into the picture but he'd actually never seen anyone, man or woman, that he'd been attracted to. And there had been far too many interested in him for far too long. Their attentions had helped drive him into a seclusion he found both tiresome and lonely, but from which he couldn't seem to escape.
"How 'bout it, KenKen?" Aidan persisted throwing a companionable arm around his shoulders. "That new chamber maid's had her eye on you."
He was saved from answering by the sudden appearance of said chamber maid. Her round face was set in a worried frown.
"Master Ken, is it true? You've had the nightmare again, Sir?" she asked as she bobbed a quick curtsy.
Beside him he felt Aidan tense and he shook his head.
"No, no it wasn't...I got hot. That's all," he stated avoiding his brother's frown.
"Well, I'll fix your room good as new," the young woman replied as she hurried past them.
"Nightmare?" Aidan asked and his tone held that particular quality that made Ken wince. Despite all his teasing Aidan was at heart an over protective brother.
"What again, Kenny?" Kit asked.
"That's two nights in a row," Aidan stated removing his arm from Ken's shoulder's but pulling him to a stop by grabbing his coat sleeve. "How bad was it?"
Ken halted but refused to meet his brother's eyes.
"Ken, look at me," Aidan commanded.
Sighing, Ken looked up.
"It wasn't bad," he insisted.
Aidan frowned a moment longer before letting him go.
"We'll see what Ma and Pa have to say," he stated as they continued down the hallway. "Perhaps we should cancel the hunt."
"No," Ken said shaking his head emphatically. "Don't do that, Aidan. It was nothing. Really. Please don't change your plans."
He hated being the center of attention, and he hated being worried and fussed over. As far as he was concerned there was enough of that already.
"We'll see," Aidan said again and they made the rest of the trip down to breakfast in silence. Ken sullen, Aidan and Kit watchful.