Ch. 11

Rush had finally arrived at the castle, slipping unnoticed through the gardens which were open to visitors during the summer months. He was relieved to see that the generals all seemed to be out. Silently the boy made his way to the room which had been his home six months previously. His room was in one of the less used parts of the castle, meaning that patrols of guards would be less frequent here. Dave had assigned him a room in one of the quieter wings, assuming at first that his new guest would prefer solitude. It had later come in handy for the two boys' nightly games of cards. After the first patrol had passed him by without any of the guards noticing the dark-haired youth in the shadows, Rush seized his chance and slipped towards the room which had been his own. When he reached his former room Rush was taken aback to notice a blond young man sitting inside the room. What was Dave doing in his room?

Rush stood outside the door, watching the young marquis, but not yet daring to enter. Dave sat inside on the very same chair he'd occupied many times during their nightly games of cards, only now the young lord had his head in his hands and was weeping. Rush was at a loss, Dave was always so calm and confident, always in command of any situation. Suddenly he sighed,

"Oh Rush how could you do this? What am I supposed to do without you now?"

Hearing this Rush's heart sank. He hated seeing Dave upset, and hated himself more for being the one to have caused it.

Rush tentatively entered the room, the young man in front of him so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice. The dark-haired boy placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, cursing himself for still not daring to do what he really wanted.

"I'm so sorry Dave"

The young man in front of him, startled out of his distress by the sudden interruption turned round to look at the boy who had disturbed him, blue eyes full of confusion and unshed tears.

"Rush?"

"Dave, I- I need to talk to you. No one else knows I'm here yet"

"Rush, how?"

Rush took a step forward, closing the gap between the two boys, intending to finally reveal his feelings to the man in front of him, when the door burst open.

"Rush!"

Irina bounded in, explaining that she'd heard voices and had come to investigate. Rush could only glare at his little sister for interrupting.

"Lord David? Rush?"

And bringing Emmy.

As Rush took a step backwards, unconsciously putting space between himself and the young lord Irina ran over and enveloped him in a bear hug.

"Rush, I'm so glad you came back!"

Emmy smiled, voicing her own delight at Rush's return.

"So Rush, how did you get back? Do you know it's been six months? Where have you been?"

Rush winced at the barrage of questions. Irina of all people should know now was really not the time. He'd promised himself he would be honest with Dave, but the longer he left it the more likely he was to chicken out and let things slide back to how they had been before. His heart sank at the thought of more time spent living under the same roof as Dave, not being able to tell him exactly how he felt.

"Irina, I wanted to talk to Dave first, y'know?"

"Okay. Oh!"

Her eyes widened in understanding.

"Have you told him yet?"

Author's note: So no-one was too surprised to see Rush. I know this might be a bit hard for some people to believe, but considering that they live in a world where people can be brought back to life through healing arts then I didn't really think they would be that shocked that he's back. Also, considering the Seven managed to come back after being defeated the first time, I think most people are more surprised that he's still fully Rush than being too surprised that he's back at all.