Chappy 10: Falcon, Wolf, and the Old Bat
King Voltaire sat in his studies, scowling over a piece of paper. 'Damn, we're going to have to raise taxes to pay for the eastside bridge's reconstruction. I knew that wasn't a strong enough frame.' He thought bitterly, although it was he that didn't want to spend anymore money on it. He was lucky the townspeople were so naïve, they didn't even notice how black and greedy his heart really was. No one realized he kept more of the tax payers money than he should have. Well, all except Boris, and Kai had his suspicions.
Speaking of his fool of a grandson, he still hadn't found a wife, although he had heard Kai had spent the night with only one person. He had heard rumors, or facts as the young blond soldier, Max, seemed to know quite a bit, had said his partner was definitely male but could be mistaken for a woman if just glanced at. But Voltaire didn't care about what he looked like. He was still a guy, and he could not accept that. Kai had to marry a WOMAN and not a MAN. Imagine if he let his grandson marry a man! There would be no child to take the throne, the people would probably turn against him, and you can't show off your wife at parties when she's a man. They'd have no more alliances, the people would probably start to doubt Kai's abilities, and the soldiers would think him a joke. Besides, focusing on Kai and his future bride kept his mind off those damned gay soldiers of his. The cook had already complained about two of them making out in her pantry, and her assistant, Oliver, kept getting frequent visits from one of the other blond soldiers, Enrique I believe it was, while they were working! It was if every woman in the castle had become invisible.
At first, Voltaire thought about punishing those three soldiers, but then again, they'd probably resign for harassment to their sexuality, and they were actually his best fighters, under Kai of course. Even at a young age, Tyson, Max and Enrique were extremely talent with a sword, and he didn't want that talent wasted by taking orders from anyone else. If anyone dare attack his kingdom, he wanted to have the best army to assure his victory. He's throw the enemy king into his jails and take over the idiot's land.
While on the subject of jail, the King had sent his soldiers to search through every house for the escapees. The murderer had been caught two years earlier hanging one of his soldiers, who had served as a tax collector. Apparently, the redhead either didn't want to give up his money, or he had none. About a month later, a lavender-haired thief was caught trying to steal one of the Lady's necklaces with a large ruby on it. He attempted to run, but he wound up in the cell next to the psycho killer. That was a big mistake on Voltaire's part. They were both geniuses, for criminals, and had managed to escape. Of course, the guards assumptions were utterly ridiculous. The bars had been iced over and broken and there had also been blue feathers on the floor. A priest had come to inspect the scene. He said it was the work of guardian spirits. It was a crackpot theory.
The priest had explained that spirit guardians took on the shape of the person's inner beast. He suggested there was some sort of bird, at least, and a northern animal, like a polar bear or a walrus. The King had heard of such things, but he never believed it. When he was merely a boy, he was told a black phoenix would come to help him if or when he truly needed it, but nothing had come to 'help' him. Kai's was said to be a phoenix, and he had overheard others. Some of his soldiers talked about having dreams about theirs; dragons, turtles, sharks, panthers, leopards, lions, bears, monkeys, elephants, gorillas. It was completely absurd! There were two criminals loose and all his soldiers could talk about was their silly dream-pets.
Voltaire stood, looking out the large window behind his desk. The night was creeping upon the sky. Everything lay in dim shadow as the sun sent it's final goodbyes and melted under the horizon. The stars began to twinkle and twas the moon's time to shine. The room behind him lay in darkness save what the pale sky eye could see. This night was calm, with a gentle breeze carrying the warmth of the early summer.
Suddenly, his ears heard the small sound of his priceless angel antique being picked up from atop the fireplace, and being stuffed into a bag. The statue was about the size of his lower arm, made of pure gold and silver, and encrusted with rubies. It was a piece offering to him around twenty years earlier from one of the neighboring kingdoms. A year later, he attacked and took over said country. He turned to see the thief that had escaped his prison. 'The fool, like a mouse climbing into the cat dish.' He started towards the boy, but stopped as he felt cold steal press against his throat.
The thief turned around, holding up the bag. "Thanks for the gift. I'm sure it will fetch a nice price." He said smugly.
"Put it down if you know what's good for you." Voltaire glared daggers at the thief, but became extremely wary as the one at his throat pressed dangerously closer. A voice, one familiar and one he most hated, hissed in his ear.
"You can't tell my Bryan what to do, and besides, you're not one to make demands. Yell for your guards and I'll make sure you can never speak again." murmured the murderer. He could imagine the arrogant smirk the smart-ass was wearing.
"….Take it. Take whatever you want, just don't kill me." The King said, though still in the gruff, orderly way. When they let him go, he'd have them captured faster than you could say 'execution'.
The thief grinned and walked over, grabbing a candlestick, dumping the candles onto the floor, and shoved it in his bag. "That doesn't really fit into our plan. See, we plan to take anything remotely valuable in this room, and by the way, thanks for leaving the lights off, it makes my job so much easier. But we planned to make an exception for one more thing. See, it's not as valuable, it's hardly valuable at all, but you'd be better off without it."
"And what would that be?"
The murderer chuckled sadistically in his ear. "You're life, old bat." The sharp blade sliced through his throat and into his arteries. He was let go to drop on the floor as his veins pumped out his blood. He tried to yell for help, but his blood came up his throat and poured out his mouth. He was sickened by the metallic taste but he couldn't worry about that. His vision was going blurry, and he was growing cold. But he saw the murderer and the thief leave, hand in hand. And only one thought went through his mind before it was lost.
'Are there no women left in this world?'
Tala and Bryan hid in the shadows of the city, avoiding the guards on patrol. Of course, they didn't even bother to check the alleys, so it was good for the criminals. Tala watched as one walked passed, his hand clenching his dagger.
"Tala, you're not going to make a mess on the road where everyone can see." Bryan whispered in his ear, linking their arms and pulling the redhead further into the alley.
"Well, let's get out of here before I become a serial killer." He said, grinning.
The lavender haired boy gave a loving smile. "Oh you. Even killing the bastard wasn't enough. Maybe I should call Falborg for a quick escape?" He suggested.
Tala turned Bryan around so he could wrap his arms around his waist and pull him into a kiss. He kept it chaste and parted, but let his hands wander on his lover's back. "It wouldn't be the first time. Besides, I love having a good reason to hold onto you."
"You never needed a reason before." Bryan smirked seductively, his arms around Tala's neck.
The guards didn't even notice the big, blue bird flew down from the sky. He landed gracefully in the alley where his master was waiting. Bryan climbed onto his shoulder and Tala climbed on behind him, his arms around his boyfriend. Falborg flew up into the sky, once again unnoticed by the people below.
Revenge was sweet.
A/N: Not as long as I had hope, but it's the longest I've written. I hope you all like it and I hope you all REVIEW!