A/N: thank you to Yaoigurl12 for being my beta this time around!

This chapter deals with one of my greatest fears, which I have lived through three times… I'll tell you what (if you can't figure it out) at the end… ;) nothing serious, though!

This week's title is from a poem:

My horse's feet are as swift as rolling thunder

He carries me away from all my fears

And when the world threatens to fall asunder

His mane is there to wipe away my tears.

~Bonnie Lewis

By Royal Command

Chapter 36: My Horse's Feet are as Swift as Rolling Thunder

Robin wouldn't normally smile from laying eyes on his enemies' ancestral home –or former home, rather- but after about a week on the road anything with proper walls was a welcomed sight.

As they came to the gate they noticed that it was damaged where the Blackgate coat of arms had been removed and inside the building there were empty walls where marks of paintings –family portraits Robin assumed− had been removed. The Blackgate name and history was getting erased, and in a way it was sad… but no one would be able to carry the name with any pride in the kingdom any more either way, even if it hadn't been banned.

They were received by the overseer and his wife, who both looked nervous to have such important guests after barely moving in themselves.

"The servants will show you to your room, your Majesty, Your Highness… if there's anything they can do for you…?"

"Baths," Robin said hurriedly. "If two of them could be filled, wherever it's convenient, for me and the King, I'd be very grateful. Preferably before dinner?"

"His Majesty sent instructions about baths when he announced your arrival, so they should almost be ready," the overseer smiled.

"Thank you," Robin smiled back. "After washing using a bucket…"

The baths were large for hand-filled ones, the water was hot and the soap smelled divine. Well.. anything would, really, by now. Afterwards they were served a splendid dinner –at a table, no less! – and the wine was excellent too, leading to Robin being in a very good mood around bedtime.

It seemed that they had been given the master bedroom and the prince chuckled as he looked around.

"What's so funny?" Slade asked with a smile as he undressed.

"The Blackgates sure liked things gilded," Robin pointed out, and indeed, it seemed every piece of wood had been coated with gold leaf.

"A bit tacky, yes."

"At least they have a great bed… nice of the rest of the family to leave it behind," the young man smirked a bit evilly. The wine had, perhaps, made him remember how much he had loathed Bryant.

"The widow and her daughter weren't allowed to bring more than some personal jewelry and items. Clothes and such."

"Where are they now?"

"The family owned several houses; I've set them up in a much smaller one, far from Gotham City. I doubt they would be well received at court anyway, but if they don't squander they will be able to be comfortable there."

"Good for them," Robin smirked and, after quickly doing away with his own clothes, hopped onto the high bed and grinned. "Well, Your Majesty… we're finally alone?" he said and patted the mattress next to him.

"I think I'll let you drink wine every night from now on," Slade chuckled.

Robin laughed too. He was a little drunk, but he had looked forward to just being able to enjoy their private moments without the shame and embarrassment that came with doing so in the caravan.

Slade didn't question his luck, he simply took advantage of it, and that night he made sure half the house could hear his young husband… who didn't even realize it.

"I will miss this place," Robin sighed as they left the next morning. In their baggage they now carried a huge, magnificent painting of wild horses running over a large field that Robin had fallen for. When he said he liked it, Slade asked if he wanted it instead of the dagger, at least until they came to Lockhaven. He had admitted that it was a pretty poor gift, as it was something the crown had already seized, but Robin had been elated and that was the important part, the man supposed.

"You will miss the baths, that's what you'll miss," Slade chuckled.

"And the food… and the bed…" Robin added the last with an almost saucy tone, which made the man's groin react slightly.

"I think I might miss it all too…" he had to admit.

Robin got a bit more luxury in the coming days, however, because the next day they had dinner at a fort they passed and camped nearby. Slade and Robin went on an inspection round and had polite conversations with the general residing there. The day after that, the king, the lords and Robin took a few guards and rode ahead of the caravan to have lunch at Lord Riley's home. Though it wasn't even half the size of the Blackgate estate, the prince liked it better. It was cozier and the young man's parents seemed like very nice people. His father talked excitedly about an offer to buy some of Blackgate's land for a very reasonably price, and said that they would strike the deal, just as long as the crops turned out well that year. When Robin heard that, he dug around in his pockets and fished out a large ruby. He had kept it from the one's Slade had given him to use as bribes because he really liked the color, but now he handed it to the lord instead. "Even if the crops would be lousy, you still deserve the land more, I think," he grinned and waved away any objections. "I got the ruby from my husband to do what I pleased with," he smiled. "So I'll do just that."

Before they left Slade stole a quick kiss from him.

"What was that for?" Robin asked, puzzled, because it didn't seem to be out of passion.

"For calling me your husband," the man smiled.

"Well… you are!" Robin muttered, embarrassed but also elated that Slade seemed to be so happy about it. It made his stomach heat up in a very nice way.

"That I am," the man nodded almost proudly, making the prince laugh.

Slowly the rich farm land started to give away to a thick, dark fir forest. Timber came from here, Robin knew, but it was considered too much of a hassle to cultivate. The roads were also worse here as they led towards Blüdhaven and were usually only traveled by timber carts.

"We're going to have to put some money into widening and preparing the roads now," Robin told the king.

"Indeed," Slade nodded. "A wide, flat road with a hard surface, as straight as possible between Lockhaven and Gotham City… although I plan on establishing a trading city just before the mountain roads, more or less on the old border. It will make things easier, and if the roads are kept clear we could trade in winter as well."

"And you won't have to let foreigners deep into Blüdhaven," Robin smirked.

"Clever boy."

"I'm surprised you'll let me in."

"Well, I rather like you," the man leered at him, making the young man blush.

The mountains, which Robin had been able to see from his throne room on very clear days, were now starting to loom over them and they seemed to go on forever. He turned around in his saddle, and even though they were on a hill at the moment, and the woods were a bit thinner here, he couldn't see the sea anymore. He had been – barely − able to on hills like this just yesterday. Maybe once they got even higher up, before they moved deeper into the mountains, he would be able to see it one last time.

"What are you looking for?" Slade asked.

"Oh? Nothing… just checking," Robin shrugged.

"I think your friend's carriage is up ahead of us somewhere," the king said, assuming that that was what the prince had searched for. Robin wanted to explain, but at that moment a messenger came galloping up to them.

"Your majesty, letters from Gotham," she said, slightly out of breath, bowing in the saddle as she handed them over.

"Thank you. Stay with us tonight and ask in the morning if I have any replies. General Wintergreen will refer you to someone about changing horses."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the young woman nodded and took off again.

"I still can't understand how your women can do things like that…" Robin muttered.

"What if I told you that 'yours' can too, if given the chance?"

"I don't think I'd believe you," Robin smiled faintly.

Slade chuckled as he opened the first envelope. "Hmm… I need to answer this one, at least. I'll be in my 'study'." The 'study' was a very small carriage which was stuffed full of maps, books and writing materials, which just didn't fit in their sleeping wagon. It was so crammed that it only had enough room for two to sit, but it had a small fold-down table which made it possible to write, even though the movement of the carriage meant it wouldn't be too neatly. Slade wrote shorter messages directly in the saddle but sometimes more than that was needed.

"Did something happen?" Robin asked worriedly.

"No, no, Metropolis just sold us some bad wheat, and we are very carefully going to pretend they made a mistake and give them the chance to exchange it."

"And you are getting involved?" Robin blinked.

"Yes, I was the one who ordered it, to make sure there was enough after all the feasting was done… maybe since they knew it wouldn't arrive until after we left, they thought they would get away with sending us more weevils than seeds."

The prince nodded, anyone would take that as a personal insult. He just hoped it wouldn't escalate; he knew they had a peace treaty with Metropolis and he did not want to go to war with a large nation like that… or go to war at all, actually.

Their nightly activities were getting… easier. Robin didn't even have to pretend to come that night, although he still couldn't fully enjoy it. He thought Slade noticed that something was wrong, but the man didn't ask and he didn't tell… It was like neither of them were prepared for what the other might say. Robin had learned to quickly put those things behind him and, as soon as Slade was finished, he would go to sleep or, like tonight, grumbling wash up in the bucket of hot water the servants had brought.

"I wonder if your son will have that bathroom done by the time we get there?"

"I think so, yes. We have very competent metal workers in Blüdhaven, the pipes and the water container shouldn't be a problem for them."

"Could you send a message ahead and make sure?" the prince pleaded. "Because if I have to go even one more day than I have to without a bath, I'm going to scream."

"Noted. Although we do have the normal kind," Slade chuckled.

The man seemed to take the young man's longing for a bath to heart, because the next day he rode up to him with fully loaded saddlebags.

"Have you forgotten how to ride again?" he laughed as the prince was now standing on Slayer's back as the horse ambled along.

"I'm just bored," Robin grinned and sat down again. "What do you have there?"

"A surprise. I've left Wintergreen in charge for the day. You and I are going to go on a little excursion."

"Sounds great! Right now? It's lunch soon."

"I brought food, don't worry," the man grinned and patted one of the bags. "But if you don't want to go…?"

"Of course I do! Lead the way!"

They truly let the horses stretch their legs. They then had a bit of a snack in the saddles and were off again. Robin could feel how happy it made Slayer to race, and he and Ore were really fighting for the lead, even more than he and Slade were doing.

After almost two hours something glinted between the trees.

"Look!" Robin called out. "Water!"

"Yes," Slade chuckled. "I couldn't get you a tub, so I got you a lake instead. It won't be as warm, but with this weather and after this ride…?"

"YES!" Robin hooted and made Slayer run even faster. They came to a large clearing and then reached the edge of the small lake. The horse had worked up a sweat himself by now and as soon as Robin had gotten the saddle off –something he had learned to do, even though the animal was so tall it was impossible for the young man to saddle him without standing on something− he stripped off his own clothes and ran into the water. Surprisingly Slayer joined him, and seemed to enjoy it every bit as much as the prince, though he only waded far enough out to wet his stomach and then stood there drinking long, deep gulps. Ore soon joined him, and then the horses returned to the grassy bank for a good roll-around. In the meantime Slade had joined Robin in the water, bringing soap to the young man's delight.

That led to washing each other, which led to ending up on a blanket, which led to things Robin wouldn't have been happy about if it wasn't for them being all alone and well hidden by trees and bushes. As it were he was very happy, and the king couldn't help but notice the enthusiasm.

"I haven't seen you like this since Blackgate manor, and I haven't even brought out the wine yet," he chuckled as they were catching their breaths.

"Yes, well… we're alone here."

"Are you still not over that? I bet people fuck all around us at night; no one cares, Robin!"

"I'm getting used to it!" the prince defended himself. "Last night I even climaxed!" As soon as the words passed his lips, he knew it was the wrong thing to say.

"Last night? Only last night? You always told me you were finished!" Slade frowned and actually looked angry, which made the prince's heart beat a little faster in fear. He had faced an angry Slade before –with different results− but now he felt more vulnerable. They were in the middle of nowhere and the king had the law on his side for whatever he wanted to do. Robin told himself that the man wouldn't hurt him, but he sure looked like he could.

"I did!"

"Don't lie to me."

"I… I just didn't… want you to continue."

"Because someone might hear you? That's just childish, I-"

"Because it hurt!"

It was clear from the king's expression that Robin might as well just have slapped him.

"It hurt? And you didn't tell me? You never said no, Robin!"

"I didn't dare! You would have just done it anyway!" the prince was angry now, and lashed out with everything he had.

The king opened his mouth as it to deny it, but then closed it again and gave a curt nod. "Maybe I would."

The words made ice spread in the young man's stomach and he hurriedly grabbed his breeches to put them on. "I knew it! I knew you wouldn't care!"

"It would only be to teach you that-"

"Teach me?! I have to learn how to lie with you in public?! What am I, your whore?!"

"Don't be silly-"

"I'm not silly! I hate sleeping with you like that! I hate it! You knew that!"

"That's enough! I knew you were a bit embarrassed, yes, and I thought it would pass. You should have told me that it didn't!" the king barked, raising his voice a little.

"I don't want to talk about this, let's ride back!"

"We're not going back."

"What?" Robin swallowed, wondering what the man might mean.

"This is where the caravan is scheduled to stop for the night. Even if something would hold up the main convoy, a small part has been ordered to continue here."

"Great. I'll take Slayer for a ride to meet them, then," Robin huffed.

"You'll stay right here. Don't make me tie you to a tree," Slade told him. "I'm not going to let you ride off on your own… no matter how much I wish I could right now," the man added in a mutter. Robin heard, though, and felt absolutely gutted. He stalked off and began rubbing Slayer down with some dry grass, as the horse had managed to get quite muddy, but that didn't do much to help his mood.

The afternoon was long and awkward. Robin tried to ignore the king and enjoy the lazy hours, but there was no use. When Slade opened the saddle bags and grunted something about food Robin grabbed some, along with a bottle of wine, and sat down on his own on the other side of the clearing. By the time the first soldiers and wagons arrived, Robin had finished off the bottle and was feeling the effects of it. He relived himself in the forest and then went in search of their caravan. He entered it before it had even stopped properly, kicked off his boots, landed on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

It was completely dark when he woke up as Slade came to bed. The man didn't say a word to him, and in the end Robin couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer.

"You're not going to claim your rights tonight?" he asked without slurring too much.

"I don't want to sleep with a child," the man retorted and turned his back to him.

Slade was furious. Yes, he had known that he was pushing the prince, yes he had wondered why he hadn't seen –or felt− any proof that the boy was enjoying himself, but he expected Robin to tell him. Adeline had always told him if he had done something that she didn't like, and he had done the same. Honesty in bed was essential to him in a relationship, it was what he was used to… what he remembered, that was. The people he had slept with since then had been few, and only for a night or two… but Robin was different, Robin was his spouse, and therefore they should be honest with each other… and he had acted like a child again. Embarrassed about something like that, even now when they were married! It was something that was very hard for Slade to understand. It wasn't the worst, though… the worst was the accusation in the young man's eyes. 'You hurt me!' they had said. 'You're a monster!'. Travelling had worn them both a bit thin, Robin the worst, yes, but Slade was also plagued with worry for his sons, and an intense longing to just get home, which made the pace the convoy was travelling in, almost unbearable. It was also very tedious, in the long run, to just ride all day, with very few distractions. No highway man was going to attack a following this large, even a small legion would hesitate, and animals heard them coming from miles off, so they were very safe… which was a good thing. But boring.

Right now he wanted to leave his brat of a husband behind and just ride on ahead, alone, but he knew his responsibilities, and his duties were here for now. Maybe, once they entered Blüdhaven…

"You made us ride with you, but you sure don't seem to want to speak to us," Gordon pointed out to Robin a few days later. He had taken refuge with the nobles during the day, and at night neither he nor Slade spoke. His anger had long since died away, leaving worry and pain behind; was this how it was going to be for the rest of their lives now? Not speaking? Not sharing meals? Not touching? Not even looking at each other? Robin didn't want that, but he had no idea how to reach out to the man and he was deathly afraid of being rejected even if he did apologize. He had never been in a relationship before, and as Gotham was so private, he barely knew how relationships were supposed to work. He hadn't even grown up with proper parents to watch. This was all weighing heavily on his mind, so therefore he almost startled at Gordon's words.

"Oh… I'm sorry… what were we talking about?" he asked. He had suggested that they would ride today. He was looking down on all of them from Slayer's back, as they had more normal sized steeds. Riley's was just barely big enough to be called a horse and not a pony, actually, but she was calm and gentle so they seemed to be getting along just fine.

"We've learned that we might have to leave our carriage behind once we enter the mountains," River said, catching the prince up.

"Oh… why?"

"Apparently the roads are quite narrow and the wheels are too far apart or something…" Gordon grumbled. "But look at the size of the caravans! And they are apparently coming!"

"Well… they use them every year for trade," Robin said, "so they must know that they can pass, right? Ask General Wintergreen about your carriage, he'll know for sure."

"Um… he was the one who said it was too big…?" Riley said carefully. They had done away with the titles, not that the young nobles had been absolutely required to use them, but they mostly had anyway. On the road together like this, though, that habit had slowly died away.

They had soon travelled for two full weeks and the road seemed to constantly go uphill. The mountains had taken over the sky completely, and Robin didn't like the look of them. They looked so cold and threatening… which made him think about Slade again, and, with a sigh, he sank back into his own little world of misery.

Slade found himself thinking about the prince more often than not. He was almost ready to try to mend things between them – to some degree because Wintergreen was beginning to make threats whenever Slade complained about the situation to him, telling him that they were both idiots and that there was bound to be more cultural clashes like this. The king knew it was true, he knew he should have stopped on that very first night… well, he did now, after the feelings of being hurt and insulted had began to die away.

Still, it was a busy time; the trek up the mountainside demanded a lot of planning and things –and in some cases people− needed to be rearranged. As they didn't carry as much supplies anymore, and would leave many of the soldiers at the border, they would be traveling lighter. He had received word from Grant that the roads were clear at least; the melting water had been kind to them, and there were no landslides. Slade had left Blüdhaven when it was still winter, but thankfully there had been very little snow for a month before that, so they were able to make it down to the lowlands, although even slower than they would travel back again. It had been worth it, though, to try to take over Gotham as early in the year as possible.

All these matters he had to oversee made him tell himself that Robin needed a bit more time to cool off anyway. He didn't want another argument in the middle of the camp, that would be an embarrassment to him. So he let the time go…

As they were finally ready to start braving the mountain roads, Robin got something from Riley: a cold. It wasn't horrible, but came with a slight fever and a stuffy head, and as the weather again had taken a turn for the worse, with a light drizzle which never seemed to want to stop, Robin took refuge in 'the study' that morning, where he promptly fell asleep, leaning against the window and covered in a few blankets the servants had brought.

He woke up to the sound of a pen scratching against paper. When he opened his bleary eyes he found Slade sitting on the seat opposite him, writing a message.

"Oh," Robin said, just surprised that he hadn't woken up when the man had entered the carriage. "Do you… want me to leave?"

"No, rest. How are you feeling?"

"A little better… thank you." The prince added the last part softly, afraid to –somehow- offend the man, but Slade only nodded. Turning his head, Robin looked out the window and gasped. "What a view! We're really high up, aren't w-" He had just looked down, and froze in fear. "There's no road!"

"Of course there's a road, Robin, what do you think the wagon is rolling on?" the man chuckled a little.

"I can't see the edge!" the young man backed away towards the other side of the seat. "Just the steep drop!"

"It's narrow," Slade shrugged.

"I'm… I'm getting out. I'll ride instead," Robin said and grabbed the door handle, which, thankfully, was on the other side of the carriage.

"You can't get out right now," Slade told him, and at that moment Robin saw why; a sheer cliff wall rose up just a few inches from the side of the wagon.

"We're… we're trapped?! We can't get out? We're going to fall over the cliff!"

"Robin…" Slade hurriedly closed the inkwell, put the things aside and drew Robin close to him. "We have a good driver, steady horses and there are spotters making sure we're safe," he said to the young man who was now clinging to him desperately. "You're not afraid of heights; you used to love the roof of Gotham castle, so why are you panicking?"

"I… I don't know, I just feel… trapped! I want to ride instead! Please, can't we get off somehow?"

"One moment." Slade opened the door as far as it would go and called out. "Driver! Stop at the next meeting point and bring the prince's and my horse forward." A faint 'Yes, Your Majesty', was heard and Slade was back to holding Robin who was literally trembling, trying to keep his fear in check. "He'll stop as soon as he can, and the place we're going to make camp for the night isn't far away." At that moment the wagon seemed to skid a little and slowly change direction, and the prince yelled out.

"What's happening?"

"We're coming up on a turn," the king told him.

"A turn? Here?"

"Yes, the road climbs the mountains in twists and turns, almost going back on itself. But we're soon about to round it and head down on the other side and half way down there is a large flatter area where we can spend the night."

"Okay… Okay…" Robin mumbled, more or less to himself. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about, I bet you are not the only one in the caravan who is afraid right now."

"No, I mean… for everything."

"I rather doubt you're sorry for everything, " the man chuckled, "but I'm sorry too. For most things."

"I just… should I tell you when I don't… want to?" the prince asked.

"Always."

"But will you… care?"

"From now on, yes, I swear. If you don't want to sleep with me ever again, even."

"Oh, but I do! I've… missed it… maybe just not in the middle of the camp?"

"I'll make sure we can sneak off somewhere… unless you'd rather wait for Lockhaven?"

"Sneaking off sounds good," Robin smiled a little and winced as the carriage rocked a bit. "I really, really hate this."

"It shouldn't be far now," the man tried to soothe him.

It felt like they were creeping forwards for hours, though, until the cliff wall suddenly got further and further away, and then the carriage stopped.

Robin jumped out as fast as he could on his shaky legs, and took deep breaths of the high mountain air.

"Are you feeling better?" Slade asked him quietly, so no one would overhear.

"Yes… yes… a lot!" Robin finally smiled. "Kiss me!"

"Right here? In front of people?" Slade pretended to be shocked. "Robin, you have nothing to prove-"

"Kiss your husband, right now!" the prince ordered and reached up to wind his arms around the man's neck. Some of the few spectators hooted or whistled as their lips met, but Robin didn't pull away in the least. He really needed this… this proof, that the man wasn't still angry and that everything was well between them again.

Robin gave the king a grin when they parted. "Now I'm all better," he said. "Now, where is my horse?"

Riding on the narrow winding road was nothing to the prince; he very much enjoyed the view and felt perfectly safe. The road was quite well maintained, it seemed, but Slade was talking about making it better, and wider. Where they had stopped, the mountain side had been chopped away, so two wagons had a chance of meeting, and those places were quite frequent, but the king wanted to make the road that wide the whole way, if possible. It would take a lot of work, and he said he hoped to bring a few specialized builders from Gotham and other countries, in to help with the technical difficulties that might occur.

Robin listened happily to all this, just enjoying the sound of the man's voice again, trying to come up with questions so he would continue talking. He couldn't help beaming at him, and for a moment it almost looked like the man blushed… but it was probably the rather cold wind or a trick of the light.

Slade glanced at his young husband a little later. The boy had given him a smile a few moments ago, which had made his face heat up like it hadn't done since he was the prince's age himself, for crying out loud! He was beyond relieved that they were on speaking terms again, and beat himself up for letting it go this far. It had been childish, like Wintergreen had pointed out to him more times than he cared to think about. There was something about the prince that brought these kinds of feelings up in him, though, for good and bad. It was like he couldn't think clearly around him; just react. And when the young man had said what he had… for some reason those mere words got to him, hurt him, like daggers… and that was not something that happened either: even if Slade cared what some people said, words were just words. He rarely –if ever− felt threatened by them, and though he sometimes got a bit annoyed, he rarely got angry or worse: hurt. And he damn well didn't blush from a look! Robin didn't seem to know this, though… the man felt like the boy wasn't playing by the rules.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Next week's chapter is the last one! And everyone dies! … no… of course not. But there will be baths and food, finally, which is everything that we're looking forward to, isn't it? Yup. Anything you'd want to happen in the last chapter? Yes, of course it's already written, but I'm curious... ;)

About my greatest fears (well… one of them) yup, it's travelling on those kinds of mountain roads. The first time I did that was in Norway when my dad was driving the car (bad enough) the next two times were on the Canary Islands in a EFFING BUSS… with people driving like maniacs and just honking a bit before going round corners and… yeah… it doesn't matter if you're afraid of heights or not; being stuck in a car which has the wheel on the edge of a cliff is NO fun… So I let Robin panic a bit.. .;) I can't even watch TV shows when they drive like that even though I know that if a car would have crashed they wouldn't show it on TV… ;)