I'm back!
Sorry for delay I have been terribly busy and then lost my drive for Godchild fics…first to Saiyuki, then to Gakuen Heaven then to reams of work.
Lots of love to all who reviewed, the amount of compliments are enough to make me big headed. 'Phenonemal'? My writing? Me!
Oh and I'll end on saying thanks to my Riffette aka Keiko Hanyou for her review saying 'Wonderful dreams that dont allow you to rest?
CAIN HAS EROTIC DREAMS! YES! dances I sure hope Riff is in them!' which inspired me to write this XD No erotic dreams though!
The dreams were back in all their terrible beauty.
Riff had lain awake half of the night trying to keep them away and so hadn't been surprised when there had been no new letter. He wished there had been. It would have given him something to worry about other than his twisted subconscious.
In his dream, he had been embracing Cain in a way that would never happen in the waking world. The young lord had been smiling beatifically, his hands lightly caressing the muscles of Riff's back. The room around them had been wreathed in shadows, which sometimes coalesced to look like a figure, watching the scandal silently…
If that hadn't been symbolic, Riff didn't know what was.
Riff tried to push the whole business to the back of his mind; he could think about it later, when he wasn't in the company of the object of his confusion. Cain looked tired again this morning and so was even more irritable than usual.
"I don't see why I have to buy another jacket." He grumbled as Riff opened the door to the tailors for him. "They're very expensive for what they are and it's not as though it's my fault it got ruined."
"Whose fault is it then, milord?" Riff asked wearily, too tired and confused to waste much time on manners.
"Christine…whatever her name was." Cain replied promptly. "She's the one that threw the wine all over me. And she could see that I was wearing a white jacket."
"In all fairness, Lord Cain, you had provoked her somewhat. The week before you told her that you wouldn't be attending the party of Miss Isobel at all because of work and then she sees you attending the party with none other than Miss Isobel herself…they do say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
Cain just sighed and wandered over to the tailor disconsolately. He quickly placed his order and then loudly complained when he was told that he would need to be measured. Riff ignored his pleas to leave and watched as he was ushered into another room. Once he was out of sight, Riff sat down heavily and let his head drop into his hands. He would let himself think about the dream now.
First of all…why was he having the dreams again at all? He had talked himself out of them long ago but… maybe it was the letters, putting love back on his mind. Riff had never really known love, or at least he didn't think he had. Not romantic love. Except…a few years before. It had hit him while he had been out walking with Cain. For one moment, he was ready to dance and sing in the sheer beauty of the emotion that overtook him…until he had remembered that Cain was in his care and was a young boy despite acting much older.
That thought had been enough to stop Riff from contemplating it any further and it had been a few months before the dreams had stopped. He hadn't let himself think about it since then, not once. Perhaps that was why he was so ready to embrace the affections of someone he had never seen or met, because the love he yearned by was so close and so impossible.
"Yes, well, that's the kind of comment I would expect from a nobleman like you."
Riff turned to see Cain walking towards him, a false smile plastered on his face. Watching him walk away was a young man with a smirk; the tailor himself was watching with impassive eyes. What did it matter to him, if clients fought? As long as he got the money, it was alright.
"We're leaving, Riff." Cain said simply and Riff rose to his feet, inclining his head slightly.
"Nice dog you've got there, lord." The young man shouted after them. "You've got him trained up nicely."
Cain froze. For a moment, everything hung in the balance and Riff could imagine two ways things would go. Either Cain would brush off the comment and they would leave, no more damage done than a bad mood. Or, Cain would do something reckless. The barely controlled anger in his master's eyes led him to believe the latter.
He watched as if in slow motion as Cain began to turn around, mouth open to send some scornful remark. Without thinking, Riff laid a gentle hand on Cain's arm and sent him a pleading look.
Time flowed back. Cain stopped turning and sighed.
"Alright, Riff." He murmured. "Let's just go."
They left the shop in silence and Riff didn't ask what had happened to make the other man so angry; it seemed irrelevant now. He knew only too well that Cain's assumed attitude of arrogance could get him into trouble. It was one of the things that made him so endearing, although that didn't make any sense at all.
Riff sighed. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore.
They had finished shopping and Cain had made the simple decision to go and catch up on his sleep. However, such a simple decision had sparked off a tiny mirror of a war.
Mary scowled and glared at the floor.
"Older brother, this is stupid." She stamped one tiny foot for effect and Riff concealed a smile. "I don't need anyone to look after me, you're only going to be in your room."
Cain sighed. "You wouldn't be saying this if it was anyone other than Oscar, would you Mary?"
Oscar stepped forward from where he had been lurking to avoid a fight. "Don't be ridiculous, Cain," he began, "Mary loves m-"
"He just makes it all worse!" she practically screamed and everyone took a step back from her lest she should explode. "I can look after myself! Leaving an idiot like Oscar here is just insulting!"
Cain hesitated for a second and then yawned widely. "I'm too tired to argue this Mary. We can fight later if you want. Now, I am just going to sleep."
With that, he left the room where Mary was obstinately avoiding Oscar's attempts to catch her eye. Riff made as though to follow Cain out of the awkward atmosphere but was halted in his tracks.
"Stay here, Riff," he said, turning ever so slightly. "I don't trust the two of them not to wreck the house right now."
"But Lord Cain, I-"
"Besides," Cain smirked. "If I have any problems sleeping I know I can call you."
He gently shut the door to his room leaving Riff more than a little confused. What had the last comment meant? A blush rose inexorably on Riff's cheeks and he made sure to fight it back before turning around.
In the short time he hadn't been paying attention, Mary had managed to throw half the cushions and a lamp at Oscar who was still advancing on her slowly, hands held up in defeat.
"Mary, can't we talk about this?"
Thwump. Another cushion to the head.
Riff leant against the wall in the corner, content just to make sure nothing valuable got broken. Oscar would never learn to give up and Mary would never give in so there was no point intervening. Plus, this gave him a few in hours in which to think.
The hand was shaking as it formed the few letters to be written onto the tiny scrap of paper. It then moved and brushed the last threads, feathers and dried lumps of adhesive off of the table. A sigh was breathed, full of weariness but the happiness of a job well done.
A door opened and footsteps padded down a carpeted hallway. Another door was opened, hidden by the noise of something distant smashing. There was a rustle and then the noises repeated.
Finally, the sound of deep breathing filled the air as sleep came.
Riff was able to retire to his room early as Cain had never returned from his room and Mary had chosen to go to sleep, worn out by fighting with Oscar. A maid was cleaning up the chaos of the sitting room and the other servants knew how to g about their duties; there was really nothing for Riff to do.
He opened his door as usual, walked into his room normally and then froze. A new letter was on the windowsill, along with something white which seemed to glow in the moonlight filtering through the open window.
Riff virtually slammed the door shut, crossed the room hurriedly and tore open the now familiar black envelope.
My most wonderful Starshine,
I appreciated the smile today and thank you for it; it must have been a hard thing for you to do. It proved to me that you aren't hostile towards me as I had feared. That gives me great hope, although I fear our time for talking is running short.
You know I cannot answer that question. Answering you would tell you who I am, that I am sure of. You wouldn't want to know that. Not yet. Though I am surprised you haven't worked it out already, you're normally so clever in these things.
What to write in the final paragraph? I suppose I will leave saying that I am glad you are flattered and also a little sad. I know I cannot expect compliments from you yet but part of me yarns for them, just to know that you feel the way I do. Not that you do, I suppose. You're far too sensible for that.
Here, the name Shadow had been crossed out and another paragraph added underneath in a slightly different ink.
I could not deliver this letter to you at night as you persisted in staying awake. Was something troubling you, my sweetest angel? If it was me then I am sorry. I hope the new gift makes up for it.
Shadow.
Riff dropped the letter and picked up the shining white object. It was another rose made from feathers and next to the black one from before, it was breathtaking. Acting on impulse, Riff found a ribbon – an item that always seems to be lying around in wardrobes – and tied them together. He then placed them under his pillow before lying down.
He was worried for a moment; what if sleep brought back those horrible dreams from before? It wouldn't do to think of his master that way, not with two roses lying under his pillow. Cain's words from the day before drifted back to him.
"The problem with wonderful dreams is that they never let you get enough rest."
Riff smiled. That was true, and he was tired…perhaps he would risk it.
As he fell into a doze, someone was watching him from the shadows and as Riff's breathing settled into the steady, unflattering tones of the deeply sleeping, the figure smiled out of the darkness.
Thanks for waiting so long :) Tell me what you think? I believe there will be two chapters after this.
Oh and check out the c2 An angel and a devil for more Cain & Riff fics. I feel like I should do my part to spread the word XD
If anybody needs a beta reader, check out my beta profile and I'd be more than happy to help if I fit your needs :)
