Disclaimer: Read previous.
AN: Dudes, I'm so fast I scare myself!
Chapter 7: Regression
The mood took a while to rise after Harrol's visit. Arthur was the first to smile about something. Archer attempted to lighten their spirits by suggesting more, interesting drinking games. He even included Edmund in most of them.
The drinking continued for most of the night. Edmund was holding his own if he was to say so. The world had only gone a little crooked and fuzzy since his fifth drink. It was something sweet and spicy, not quite wine. Stell had bought the table a round. When Edmund asked, he said it was good for the soul. Edmund had had three. Two pints before that. He watched the table through the bottom of the little glass and smiled widely when he crossed Valera's eyes.
"How are you feeling, Ed?"
"Very. . ." Edmund pondered the right word. "Good."
All the remaining laughed. Hamied had gone off with one of his many conquests. Archer too was huddled in a corner with one of the scantily clad ladies. Elijah had left a while back and Stell wandered off quickly after delivering the spiced drinks. Romel had accompanied Lauviah home when she declared she was too tired to go on. Only Edmund, Valera and Arthur remained at the table. Edmund was gazing around the room, quite unaware of his own condition, until a pressing need presented itself.
"You wouldn't happen to know where I can find a lavatory?"
Valera and Arthur chuckled drunkenly. Only once Valera had caught her breath did she answer. "There's the alley beside the establishment or this cup," she said, snuffling. She raised a beer mug with a smug smile.
Ed huffed and tripped, getting out of his seat. Arthur and Valera broke down in a fit of giggles. "I'll take my chances," he mumbled, too drunk to focus on more than one thing. He made his way through the rough crowd. He stumbled out of the front door and took a second to adjust to the dark. The sounds outside were almost as loud as the those inside. He smiled when two lovers passed by him, giggling. He quite liked Kestra, he decided. Most of the entertainers had long since disappeared, but a fire had been lit in a square a few houses away. People were playing fiddles, sitars and drums. A medley of notes and melodies were combined into something that could barely pass for music. And yet it seemed to fit the spirit of the night.
There was order in the midst of chaos, Edmund decided. He smiled and shuffled around the tavern, into the alleyway. Mud was pressed into the small groove between two buildings. Ed didn't dare speculate what soaked the ground. What was slowly soaking his boots. When he heard a muffled shriek he stilled. His senses all ticked into gear and instinct overruled thought.
"Shut up!" A slap and a whimper.
Edmund ventured deeper into the gloom. The girl who had shrieked was crying softly. The sound of fabric ripping and sobbing. Edmund frowned when two silhouettes came into view. "Oi!"
They froze. The slighter one was shaking wildly. The girl he guessed. The other, a man, growled in annoyance. "Bugger off, pup!"
Edmund recognized the voice instantly. "Master Harrol?" He wasn't really sure what to address him as, since he had only met him sober once. It felt wrong to call him 'Lord'.
"I said, get out!"
The girl ripped free with the sound of more fabric tearing. Harrol cursed absently while she bowled over Edmund on her path to freedom. He got a fleeting look at her blue eyes before she vanished. He barely felt it when she shoved him into the wall. Despite not feeling inebriated any longer, the alcohol was still very much in his system. He wondered if he was really as sober as he thought, but only got that far until two more shadows appeared at the far end of the alley.
Harrol was pushed protectively behind one of them as they headed for Edmund. He pushed off the wall and slipped a little in the mud. A hand on his tunic yanked him back just as he had turned. He crashed into the wall and hit his shoulder. It immediately started throbbing, but he barely had time to whimper before the first strike fell.
"Beat him unconscious." Harrol muttered in the background.
A fist connected with his head and knocked him flat on his back. It left his ears ringing and a trickle of something hot, dribbling down his brow. It was quite a strange sensation; the cold mud against his back and the warm blood on his face. Someone grabbed his ankle and pulled him through the mire. He clawed hopelessly and only managed to scrape it under his fingernails. The two shadows hovered over him for only a second before the first one kicked out. A booted foot hit him in the ribs. A sharp wheeze exploded out of him and he curled in on himself. A second kick to his back made it arch. Not even bothering to catch his breath, he scrambled through the mud and clamped a hand on a rough brick.
A kick to his knee sent him stumbling, but he got to his feet regardless. He managed two steps before something hard struck him in the same shoulder as before. He let out a sharp cry and sank to his knees. Mud was caking every inch of him, but was the least of his worries. The lashes across his back were burning which meant one or more had reopened. Again. He growled dangerously low in his throat and swung around just in time to catch a foot aimed at his chest.
He caught it clumsily and yanked back. A bone snapped and the thug let out a loud wail. Edmund slipped back further and clawed his way back up by the bricks. Loud voices were mingling with the faint sound of song and music. Shouts and barked orders. The second man grabbed him and tackled them both to the ground in great splash. More punches rained down. Ed could tell he had really angered them by now, by the extreme force behind the punches.
"What the bloody hell!" a rough voice called.
He recognized it instantly as Archer and almost wept in relief. The thug was still laying half on top of him, trying to punch him into submission β something he knew with a fair amount of certainty wasn't in his nature to be. An angry roar mixed with the other noises and the weight was yanked off. Ed heard the sound of skin and bone hitting a wall. A slapping crunch. Something heavy hit the ground and footsteps approached him. He tried to push up, but failed and ended face down in the mud yet again.
"What was it this time. . ." Archer sounded annoyed more than anything, but Edmund didn't mind. "-a damsel in distress?" It was the best sound he could ever remember hearing. He was pulled to his feet, but couldn't support his own weight. Archer stretched his uninjured arm out and pulled it over his broad shoulders.
"I honest-honestly. . ." A groan. "βdon't remember," He knew one of those kicks had injured his ribs. He knew his right shoulder was dislocated or sprained. His left eye was throbbing along with his head and at least one of the lashes on his back was bleeding freely.
"Romel's gonna kill me," Archer grumbled as they stumbled into the street. Valera and Arthur were nowhere in sight so Edmund asked about them. "They left to get Romel." was all he would say.
"Thank you," Edmund muttered shyly after a few minutes of hobbling along. Archer grumbled, but didn't reply beyond that.
The camp was in a state of disarray when they returned. Stell and Hale were frantically running around, packing everything together. Lauviah was arguing with Romel. Valera, Arthur and Elijah looked like they were getting ready for war and Hamied was still missing. They didn't even notice Archer dragging Edmund until they were both a few feet away.
"Romel." Archer called.
All froze. "What happened?" he demanded.
Edmund slouched and suddenly felt every ache. "He doesn't remember," Archer growled. Despite his harsh tone he was very careful when he lowered Edmund onto the ground. Dawn was coming soon, Ed noticed. Lauviah was by his side in seconds. The eastern sky was turning a light blue and the horizon, a brilliant white.
"Valera, Elijah, go find Hamied and drag his ass back here." Romel ordered. Both were off before Edmund could blink.
Though Romel didn't dare push Lauviah aside he still took up most of Edmund's visual field when he kneeled in front of him. "If you want any kind of help from us you'll tell me exactly what happened when you left the tavern."
Edmund had begun shivering, but refused to let it show just how much agony he was in. "He went to take a piss outside," Arthur answered for him. He looked furious.
Taking as deep a breath as he could, Edmund tried to remember in detail what had happened. Most of the fight was a blur, but he remembered why he went into the alley in the first place. "I heard a girl scream." Dark, pleading eyes met Romel's, but the man looked far from forgiving.
"Then what?"
"Harrol was attacking her," He didn't have a word for what he had seen. He knew it was something that shouldn't have happened. Bare flesh. Greedy hands. Something far more damaging than being beaten or tortured.
Romel nodded and gestured for him to continue.
"I called out and the girl ran," Shadows replayed behind Edmund's eyes. "Two men came out of nowhere."
"Harrol's guards. They're as corrupt as he is," Arthur growled.
Romel sent him a glare that promptly shut him up and returned to Edmund. "Then what?"
"Then they attacked." he finished. He was actually longing for some of Lauviah's foul-tasting tea. She was busy cleaning up his face. The mud hadn't even dried yet. It stank.
"That's going to get infected unless I treat it," she said. She seemed completely focused on her task and reminded Edmund so much of someone else. Someone younger. Someone he knew.
"Then treat it while we talk." Romel snarled.
She didn't let his tone shake her that Edmund could see. Instead she just left to get her little box of herbs and salves. He had no doubt that she had something nasty; particularly designed to disinfect open wounds while causing as much discomfort as possible.
"Did Harrol recognize you?"
Edmund nodded meekly and wished he could crawl into a hole at the look Romel sent him.
"Alright," He stood and turned. "He'll be here soon or he's already on his way. We need to pack up now and leave as soon as we can." He left Edmund to deal out more instructions. "Hale, pack everything you can into our sacks. Ed has to ride Star until we can stop to get him checked over."
Edmund had never felt so guilty. He may very well have ripped apart any shelter these people had in Kestra. Ruined any chance of them returning. Shredded business- as well as personal relationships. He slouched over his bruised ribs and allowed memories to wash over him. The girl had looked so terrified. So young. Auburn hair and bright, blue eyes. Anger bubbled up inside him at the thought of what might have happened to her.
He should have protected her. Unconsciously he began grinding his jaw. Lauviah asked him to stop when she reappeared. She tilted his head up and back to study the cut on his brow and his bruised eye. "I need to bleed this or it will swell shut and you won't be able to see out of it for a week," she said as she pulled out a small, curved knife.
Edmund shied back, but settled when the grabbed his chin. She looked deep into his eyes for a second to calm him. Then she drew two, thin lines in his skin. It was so sharp he only felt a burn and then warm blood, gushing down the side of his face. The blood had accumulated and cascaded into the collar of his tunic.
"It looks worse than it is. Head-wounds always do." she remarked absently while she fished out a jar of pungent salve. It smelled slightly of ammonia.
Edmund frowned, but sat still when she rubbed it into his cuts.
"Did you rip your lashes?" She caught his eye and noticeably sagged when he nodded. "Perhaps we should just tie you to a chair from now on,"
He smirked, but quickly thought better of it. He counted four cuts on different places on his face. One on his left brow. Two around his left eye and a chapped lip.
"We need to get your shirt off." she said and packed away some of the supplies.
Edmund would have sighed if it wouldn't have murdered his ribs. "I can't lift my arms," he confessed. His head was bowed.
Lauviah slouched even further and glared at him with a weary expression. "Then we'll cut it off." Just as she was about to remove the shirt, a shout made everyone jerk.
"ROMEL!" The large voice of a man who was surprisingly small. Harrol had made the trek to the campsite in record time. Four of his strongest men were with him.
Edmund stood up instinctively.
One of the men who had attacked him was there. He had a glorious shiner and a limp. "Your bastard attacked me tonight!"
Just then Edmund absently noticed that birds were beginning to sing. The sky was getting even brighter. The sun hadn't crested the horizon yet, but was illuminating the sky and turning it all a radiant yellow.
"Oh really?" Romel asked calmly. He sauntered over to greet the little man. "Because Valera swears he was with her all night. Can you prove he attacked you?" he smirked.
That was the wrong thing to do to a man who already had inferiority complexes. "I want him!" he hissed.
Edmund could feel rage simmering in the pit of his stomach. It was hissing and spitting like a wild beast. He remembered the girl he had saved. Those blue eyes. How alike she was to someone he couldn't remember.
Instead of being intimidated, Romel took two steps closer until he was nose to forehead with Harrol. "The day I give you anything you're not entitled to, is the day fire rains from the sky." he growled.
Harrol was livid and refused to acknowledge his adversaries' superiority. "I can take whatever I damn well please! This is my town, Romel! Just because you take a liking to a wounded puppy doesn't make him unreachable," Harrol then did the single worst thing that night. He gnashed his teeth together and slapped a hand around Romel's neck to maneuver his face down. "I own you and your little pack of misfits!" he hissed.
Edmund saw Romel's shoulders square and felt surge of fear inside him. Romel was intimidating in a relaxed state. When he coiled up as he just had, he was like a tidalwave. But nothing happened. Harrol let go and Edmund could see a sudden and brief rush of fear in his eyes as he backed away. Romel passively watched Harrol back off. He turned and strode straight up to Edmund. Right in front of him he turned to address the stumped thug. "I've overlooked your misguided sense of ownership for a long time. Maybe I did set the pup loose tonight just to see what he had in him."
Edmund's dark eyes shifted to Romel. He frowned. What was he saying?
"You've been operating under the impression that you're better than us, Harrol." His voice lowered to a threatening roar. "The kid did what he did because I let him!"
Edmund eyes narrowed in on Romel. "What?"
The large man turned with a far too self-confident, far too aggressive, smile on his face. He was challenging him. "You really think I don't know everything that goes on with you?" He stalked closer until he was breathing down Edmund's face. "Nothing happens without me knowing. You think I didn't see that son of a whore slip outside with that girl?"
Edmund half shook his head in denial. He couldn't have seen. He wasn't there. He had gone home. Hadn't he? "Then why did you let me go out there?" If he had seen Edmund go into the alley why hadn't he stopped him? Or helped?
"Because I wanted you to," he snarled.
Edmund's blood pressure skyrocketed. He was glaring up at Romel's dark eyes with rapidly climbing rage. "You would have let that girl get raped just to test me?" His voice dripped with fury.
"Yes."
And there it was. There was no guilt or shame. Romel had been willing to put that girl through hell just to test him.
"And guess what," Romel continued. "You failed." He turned back on Harrol. "Take him." He waved a hand and stepped aside.
The remaining company was stunned. Speechless. Right until Valera spoke up. "What!" she shouted furiously at Romel.
Harrol had finally realized that he was free to move and waved two of his guards up to get Edmund. "No." Lauviah shouted at Romel and Harrol when the guards pulled him to his feet. "Romel, what the bloody hell are you doing!" She was furious.
"You mean I dragged him all the way from town for nothing-" Archer growled.
"Shut up!" Valera snapped. At once Romel's "pack" started barking at him.
Edmund struggled against the two guards when they ripped him away, but felt Lauviah slip something into his hand. Her small knife. He palmed it and continued to struggle against their iron grips. Romel had his back turned and arms crossed, as far as Ed could see. None of the others dared come near him, though they continued to shout.
The guards dragged him over to face Harrol with the others shouting intermittently at their leader and the thug. "You see, boy. I always get what I want."
Edmund ground his jaw and glared daggers.
Harrol wasn't impressed with his anger with his guards flanking him. "You think I didn't find that girl the second you left and had my way with her?"
All at once it was as if his body moved on its own. He ripped free and swung the knife into one guard and quickly into the other. There it imbedded itself in his ribcage so Edmund let go and hurled himself at Harrol. The two remaining guards stepped in his way, but he caught one in a headlock and snapped his neck in an almost fluid movement. The last one, the one who had fought Edmund earlier, backed away with his hands high. Without further consideration Ed tackled Harrol to the ground. They skid several feet back. Not two seconds passed before Edmund started swinging at his face. He punched him again and again and again. His arms were pumping like pistons. Machines he couldn't remember seeing, but remembered anyway. He kept punching and punching until Harrol was hardly recognizable anymore. Until blood started squirting out in little drops that hit his face.
He kept swinging even as strong hands pulled him back and pinned his arms behind his back. It was Arthur and Archer, he realized absently. All he was really focused on was his anger towards Harrol. He strained in their grips. He roared out in anger and felt a fury unlike anything saturate him. He wanted to kill him with a passion. Romel moved into view and calmly kneeled in front of the bloodied thug. Harrol was only just starting to squirm. Whimpering and pleading without knowing who he was talking to.
Romel leaned down and spoke in a calm voice they could all hear. "Nobody owns me," He stood and faced Edmund. "Don't ever forget that." Romel still looked angry, but was nothing compared to a furious Edmund.
The dark-haired youth tried to struggle free when Romel approached and stepped right up in front of him. "I wanted to know who I was dealing with," he said. Edmund could feel his limbs shaking. His anger was leaving, he realized with regret. His pain was returning. Romel still looked like he felt no remorse for the mayhem he had instigated. "Now I know." He glanced at Arthur and Archer. "Let him go."
Edmund struggled the second the command was given, but Arthur and Archer held tight. "He'll beat you to a bloody mess, Romel." Archer said through grit teeth.
Edmund wasn't making it easy for them to restrain him. "Not that you don't deserve it," Arthur bit out.
Romel glared at him, but didn't fight it. "He stays." And to Edmund he said, "You passed the test." before he left to do what God only knew.
They released him and Edmund was two seconds from tearing after him and tackling him to the ground. Much like he had with Harrol, who was being hoisted up on the back of the last guard. Ed started towards Harrol's guard, but before he could go, Arthur gripped his arm and whirled him around. "Edmund, calm down!"
Edmund tried to yank himself free, but couldn't.
"Look at me!"
He stilled.
"Edmund!"
He sighed.
"Look. At. Me."
He turned.
Arthur's eyes were wide and full of concern. "You need to calm down." His voice could have calmed a horde of frenzied horses.
Without giving his body the right, Edmund sagged. He relaxed and only then noticed his ragged breathing. The pain in his ribs. His throbbing head. How every inch of him ached. He began shaking almost instantly and folded over. His knees hit the ground and were promptly followed by his forehead.
"Lauviah!" Arthur called. Archer had already left to follow Romel, but Edmund didn't really care.
Was this all a game to him? Romel had to know what kind of effect he had on people. Shock was setting in. What was wrong with these people? He tried to stand on his own, but his legs wouldn't support the weight. His shivers settled in his chest. His shaking inhales turned to whimpers. He gave up trying to stand. Gave up trying to think.
Lauviah kneeled in front of him and started re-examining his wounds. "He needs to be cleaned up." she said to Arthur.
It was Valera who answered. "There's a river not far where people have been getting water. Take him there."
Lauviah and Arthur managed to get him to his feet through a combined effort. Everyone watched him go with concerned expressions. Edmund's head was swimming. He was having a hard time keeping track with reality. Strange faces were flashing in his mind's eye. Faces that seemed so real. A voice of reason, attached to a tall, blond man. A woman with a deep voice β calm, but charged like the ocean β with midnight-black hair. A lovely girl with deep blue eyes and auburn tints in her long hair. The smell of roses, citrus trees and leather. All of it intermixed with pain and wheezing. People he had only known a few days, but who seemed to already know him.
The sense of being undressed and submerged into freezing water.
A hoarse, but kind voice, shushing him. "Shh, shh . . . I know- I know it's cold! It's alright, Edmund. Don't struggle- It's alright! It's alright. . ."
He began shivering violently and folded into the arms, encircling him. The memories dissipated like smoke and left behind only the harsh reality. Pain. Cold. Strangers mistaken for family. And in that instant he missed home more than he ever had. But how could he miss something he couldn't remember?
AN: Aaaaaaannnndd. . .breathe. How was that?
