by Karma
Ekubatana, The Palsian Year 300.
The day was bright and sunny in the Ekubatana Royal Gardens, where the nobles often spent their leisurely hours. The garden spanned several acres, and was filled with exotic flora, various statues, and countless areas where children could play and be left to themselves.
Accordingly, two eight-year-old boys started to fight. They were both of equal height, though the one with brown hair was much skinnier, almost sickly thin.
"You take that back!"
"I won't!"
A circle of boys formed to watch as the fight became physical. They clapped and cheered.
"Go, go, go!"
"Ohh, that's gotta hurt!"
The cheering excited Darun, as he punched his opponent again. It was like everyone wanted him to win, and it made him feel quite righteous in his act. He threw another punch at the other boy, made contact, and laughed. /That/ was what anyone who called him "stupid" got in turn.
"Go Darun! Beat the crap outta him!"
Darun knew everyone wanted him to win. No one liked Narcasse. He was new but he acted like he knew everything already. He called people mean things, and Darun never forgave anyone who called him stupid.
His next blow caused the other boy to fall to the ground. Unrelenting, Darun tackled him onto the ground and climbed on top of him.
"Give up?"
Narcasse growled at him.
"Do you take back what you said?"
Narcasse glared at him. "No! You're so stupid that you can only fight me with your fists!"
Darun hit Narcasse's face. "I'm not stupid! YOU'RE the one who's stupid! You pick fights with people that you can't win! No one likes you!"
Though Darun did not notice that the crowd had stopped cheering, he did notice that Narcasse was no longer looking at him, but past him.
Something grabbed him and pulled him off of Narcasse. He struggled, and then turned around to see his Uncle Vaphreze, who did not look pleased.
"I...uh...uh oh."
"How many times do I have to tell you to leave Narcasse alone?" Vaphreze demanded.
Darun winced at the tone in his uncle's voice. Wasn't his punishment enough? He had already been grounded for a week, and his bottom still hurt from being spanked. "I'm sorry, Uncle! I won't do it again, I promise!"
Vaphreze shook his head, and the disappointment in his voice hurt more than anything else. "You said that after your last fight with him. He's only been here for a month, and you've already fought with him twice. TWICE, Darun."
"But no one likes him! He makes everyone mad at him! Pastm's fought with him three times already!"
"I don't care how many times Pastm's fought with him. I'm in charge of how many times YOU'VE fought with him. Do you know how embarrassing it is to go to the Royal Historian and apologize for my nephew hitting his ward? If your parents were alive, they'd be very disappointed in you!"
"I'm sorry!" Darun started to cry.
After a pause, Vaphreze pulled his nephew into his lap and hugged him. "Darun," he said, this time his voice gentler, "Remember what I said before about crying?"
Darun hiccupped. "Boys don't cry?"
"Boys don't cry," Vaphreze agreed. He wiped away the boy's tears. "Now, tomorrow, Lord Cheiron and Narcasse will come over for lunch. You're going to apologize to Narcasse, understand?" He waited until the little boy nodded. "Good."
The Royal Historian, Cheiron, and his ward and successor, Narcasse, visited them the next day.
At the beginning of the meal, Vaphreze turned to his nephew. "I believe you have something to say to Narcasse."
Darun stood up and bent his head. "I'm sorry, Narcasse." He wasn't, but his uncle would want no less. His uncle nodded in approval, apologized for his nephew's behavior, and then they started to eat.
Both Cheiron and Vaphreze spoke civilly to each other over the simple meal. Darun and Narcasse glared at each other across the table and said nothing. Darun noted with satisfaction that he had given Narcasse a very visible black eye.
"I am worried about Narcasse," Cheiron confessed. "He doesn't seem to be getting along with the other boys as well as I would like him to. This is the tenth fight he has been involved in since he had first come here." He looked over at his ward, who has silent. Cheiron reached over and patted him on the head.
"Tenth fight?" Vaphreze was surprised.
"The other boys pick on him a lot," Cheiron said, glancing at Darun. Darun said nothing, and poked at his bread with a fork instead.
"Well, I have an idea," Vaphreze said. He looked over at Darun. "Darun, what have I taught you is the single most important quality of a general?"
"Loyalty," Darun replied softly.
"Correct, loyalty. Loyalty to your king, to the men that you lead, and to your country. Loyalty is more important than bravery or strength. Are you loyal to me, Darun?"
Darun nodded.
"Then prove it. For one week, I want you to protect Narcasse. You will not attack other people, but rather, you will defend him. You will stay by his side and make sure that he does not get into any more fights."
"But"
"Just for one week, Darun."
Darun stared at his uncle, stared at Narcasse, and then stared at his plate.
Narcasse spoke. "I don't need anyone protecting me," he told Cheiron. "I can take care of myself."
Cheiron ignored him. "Thank you, General Vaphreze."
The one-week of protection started and Darun followed Narcasse around.
"Don't follow me," Narcasse said irritably. "You know you don't want to, and I don't want you to, so leave me alone."
Darun glared at him. "I don't want to, but I have to. You heard what my uncle said."
Narcasse gave him a funny look. "And you're going to listen? Loyalty can be bought as easily as anything else with enough gold."
Darun clenched his fists. He didn't understand quite what the other boy was saying, though the tone told him enough. "I'm loyal. I'm doing this just for my uncle, not for you."
"I know that already," Narcasse said haughtily. "I'm doing this just for my uncle," he mimicked in a high-pitch voice. "I'm such a goody-good, I do everything that my uncle says. I'm like a little dog."
Darun glared at him. "I hate you," he said. "I hope the black-eye I gave you hurts, you freak."
Narcasse glared at him as well. "Well I hate you too. Why don't you go running along now and leave me alone. Go run back to your uncle."
Darun ignored his comments and continued to follow him. Narcasse started to walk again, and then he stopped.
"Why are you still following me?"
"I told you why."
Narcasse gave him a look of disbelief. Then he started to run. Darun chased after him.
They ran for a few minutes before Narcasse stopped suddenly. "Hey Kharlan!" he shouted. "You're as stupid today as you were yesterday!"
Kharlan, a larger boy of twelve, was talking to a group of boys. Upon hearing the insult, his face flushed and he turned to the speaker.
"Well if it isn't the new kid, Nark-ASS. What the hell do you want, kid?"
"Just trying to see if I can help you sharpen your wit by exercising it," Narcasse said.
Kharlan blinked. Then his face turned a deeper shade of red. "I'm gonna kill you!" He charged at Narcasse.
Narcasse did not move, although surprise traveled across his face when Darun stepped in front of him.
"Kharlan, leave him alone," Darun said. "He's just being a jerk."
"Move out of the way, Darun. Why the hell are you with him anyway? Weren't you just fighting with him yesterday?"
"Yeah, well, my uncle told me to look out for him. So do me a favor and leave him alone, ok?"
Kharlan considered this.
Then Narcasse stuck his tongue out at him.
Kharlan roared and tried to punch Narcasse. Darun moved in the way. Kharlan shoved Darun aside and raised his fist to hit Narcasse, when Darun came running and shoved him back. His anger redirected, Kharlan pushed Narcasse aside and then attacked Darun.
Darun, though a brave boy, was no match for someone four years his senior. He soon found himself with his face to the grass, his nose itching, and a rain of blows descending upon him that seemed to continue forever.
"Kharlan, stop it."
The blows stopped.
"You've already beaten him up. Don't kill him," the new voice continued. "His uncle will be my general one day, you know."
"I'm sorry, Prince Hirumes."
Darun closed his eyes, feeling humiliated in front of the prince. Then he found he had trouble opening his eyes when the darkness came.
It was dark, and it was cold. It was hot. He whimpered. He heard voices, but he could not make out what they said.
Darun woke up in his bed. It hurt to move, so he laid on his bed and tried not to move.
His uncle was instantly beside him. Vaphreze brushed some of the hair out of his face. "Good job, Darun," he said. He put his arm around Darun's back and supported him up with it, while with his other hand he held a cup of water for him to drink.
When Darun finished, Vaphreze gently let him back down. He nodded at someone across from him, then he turned back to Darun. "Get some rest. If you need anything, ask Narcasse." And then Vaphreze left.
At hearing the other's name, Darun felt dread in his stomach. Reluctantly, he turned his head to look at the other person near him. Narcasse was sitting on a chair that was next to his bed. Darun considered telling him to go away, but he felt too tired to handle another argument. So he said nothing.
Finally, Narcasse spoke.
"Kharlan beat you up until Prince Hirumes told him to stop. Then you got sick."
Darun turned his face away. The last thing he wanted to hear was Narcasse making fun of him for losing the fight.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think you would...actually fight. I thought you would run away when you saw Kharlan and me fighting. I didn't think that you would actually listen to your uncle."
Darun looked at him again. "I told you I would, didn't I?" He was mad. "If you hadn't said that stuff to Kharlan, this wouldn't have happened."
"I know that NOW," Narcasse tried to explain. "But I didn't think you would actually stay and fight. No one else would."
Darun shrugged, and then winced from the movement. "My uncle asked me to. It wasn't for you."
Narcasse bit his lip. After a pause, he said, "I know. But I really am sorry. I take back what I said about you being stupid."
Darun eyed him warily, then decided that he was telling the truth. He relaxed.
"It's ok. I'm sorry I gave you that black-eye."
"It's ok."
There was a moment of silence.
Finally, Darun spoke. "Why do you talk so weird, Narcasse? You say stuff that no one else gets. Like what you said to Kharlan. I don't get it at all, and he didn't either. He just knew you were making fun of him."
"You didn't get it? You don't think anyone did?"
"Nope."
"Oh." Narcasse looked puzzled. Darun tried to help him.
"Like the first time you got into a fight here. With Pastm. He didn't know what you were talking about. He just thought you were making fun of him. And everybody likes him, so when you got into a fight with him, everyone hated you."
Narcasse looked surprised. "I said his throw was matchless."
"Right! Exactly. See?"
Narcasse frowned. "Matchless is a compliment."
"Oh." Darun thought about it. "He thought you were insulting him, once by saying the insult, then twice by saying a word he didn't get 'cuz then it would mean that he was too stupid to get it."
Narcasse said nothing.
"I mean, no one understood what you were saying," Darun said quickly, trying to defend Pastm. "And then when you frowned someone else told Pastm that you were makin' fun of him so he got mad."
"Oh."
"So you know, if you want to insult people, at least say stuff that people know. Like 'Your mother is so fat that farmers thought she was a cow.' Stuff like that."
Narcasse laughed. "I see. Like 'Your sister is so horrific that she makes beasts appear beautiful in comparison'?"
Darun laughed, though he did not understand all of it. "Better yet, 'Your mother is so hairy that people thought she was a bear.' "
Narcasse shook his head and then laughed. Then he grew somber. "I don't like insulting people's mothers. I don't have one." He looked at the ground. "Lord Cheiron picked me from the monastery because I could read and write better than the other orphans the monks were raising."
Darun was quiet. Finally, he said, "I don't have a mom either. Both my parents caught the plague when I was younger and Uncle Vaphreze has been raising me ever since."
There was a pause.
"You know, Darun, you're not half bad." Narcasse gave him a tentative smile.
Darun smiled back. "Thanks. Neither are you."
notes:
Beta ed by the awesome Shrenee! Thanks!
Apologies to RB if it sounded too similar to her own chibi fic. I didn't realize how similar they were until nine chapters later, otherwise I wouldn't have put in certain lines.
And yes, Narcasse speaks oddly for an 8-yr-old. he's one of those precocious kids. if he were around today he'd probably be one of those kids that are in med school by the age of 12.