Whispers of Curiosity

Glast Heim, the greatest city of its time. For the last hundred years, it had grown, thrived, and become a major religious and political center throughout the land. Glast Heim was in its prime. It did not consider itself a part of Midgard, but the city held a commanding presence with the amount of power it had attained over the years. The king was relatively young being only nineteen. His father had succumbed to an illness while away, leaving his son to inherit Glast Heim.

The new king, Andrew, was kind, but ambitious. He held many good qualities but he was not on excellent terms with the church. The bishop had caught wind of some rumors and confronted the young man. Some of Andrew's ideals were disturbing to him. Nonetheless, the young king had advisors everywhere to ensure he became what the people expected him to be.

Despite a few conflicts, politics and religion seemed to work harmoniously. Perhaps this was one of the things that made the city successful. Assuming the right leaders were in place, the proper decisions could be made for the benefit of all. Straightforward politics were given ethical viewpoints. Below the king was a council to help handle the political matters of the public. This group assisted the king in his decision-making.

The king also had a legion of elite knights and paladins called the Glast Heim Legion, which kept order in the streets and protected the city. The church, on the other hand, had a guild of their most capable priests to assist the Glast Heim Legion. Various guilds assisted the Legion or boosted trade with their skills. Glast Heim was an ideal city and seemed almost too perfect.

But it worked.

Few complained and those who loved the city quieted those that did not. One man, more like a specter, was disgruntled and held passionate hate for the city. He could only watch from afar because he had long since been exiled and murdered.

--

"Nicholas! Get back here!" a scholar yelled after his friend. He was out of breath and could hardly keep up with the energetic priest. Said priest was only running because he stole one of the scholar's books. He had been so absorbed in the book and the damned man yanked it right out of his hands. "That book cost me a fortune, you idiot! Give it back!"

"You read too much, Vangelis!" he laughed as he darted in and out of the crowds in the merchant square. "If you got your nose out of the books, you might meet a girl one of these days!" The scholar was a few years older than he was but he had terrible luck with the opposite gender. As he lost sight of Vangelis, he slowed down and stopped near a merchant, scanning the crowd. Out of nowhere, he suddenly fell flat on his face and felt a foot on his back and a hand on the back of his head.

"I said, give me my book. If you do not, I will be forced to tell your wife you were out drooling over some dancer last night." He really had not done such a thing but his wife would punish him without mercy.

"What! No! She would kill me!" Nicholas whined. "Besides, that isn't trupfgof—" He tried to say but Vangelis pushed his face back into the ground.

Vangelis shook his head. "You really are hopeless." He heard the priest mumble something unintelligible and he let the man get up. The scholar could not help but laugh as he yanked the book back from Nicholas and inspected it carefully.

"There was actually a reason I made you come out here," he said to the laughing scholar. After a moment, he ceased the laughter and he waited. "I know you've seen those alchemists going in and out of the castle and I'm curious as to what they are doing. I want you to find out for me."

"Do you mean you are curious or the bishop is curious?" Vangelis asked knowingly.

"Well, both. The bishop is in an uproar because he has heard some things that may or may not be true about what they are doing. It's obvious that they are doing more than making potions, but no one tells me anything and the bishop knows nothing anyway. So, you are the perfect candidate for this little job."

Vangelis thought for a moment and shrugged. "It isn't necessary to tell you everything. You are far too nosy." Only bad things could come of snooping in business that did not concern them. No matter how interested or curious one was.

Nicholas then grasped the scholar's fur trimmed collar and pulled him closer, speaking quieter. "Vangelis, I really want to know! I have only heard whispers and what I've heard is…strange. No one really knows why they are here." The alchemists had created something. Something alive supposedly…but what and why?

"Glast Heim is known for just about everything under the sun but the science of alchemy is not one of them." Vangelis commented. "It's very strange indeed but still none of my business so no, I won't do it."

"Oh come on you big dumb scholar! You work down the hall from that laboratory so you could easily sneak a peek." He knew that if he begged the scholar, he would get what he wanted. Irritating Vangelis to no end was always a source of amusement for him and a way to get what he wanted.

"What are you complaining about today, Nicholas?" a new voice asked brightly. The priest and scholar looked to see Athanas standing there smiling as usual. It was no surprise that the other two men were bickering. Nicholas released Vangelis's collar and threw his hands in the air.

"Nooo! Not another voice of reason! Shoo!" Nicholas sighed. Athanas was the commander of the Glast Heim Legion and a powerhouse of a knight. Not only was he skilled with a sword but he was also skilled in magic thanks to a certain scholar. "I'm trying to get Vangelis to do a favor for me but he refuses. What kind of friend is that?"

"Not my fault if you are too meddlesome for your own good. You're just going to get yourself in trouble." Vangelis said as he crossed his arms. The young priest frowned and eyed the scholar's book. Vangelis noticed and clutched his book protectively.

Placing a hand on Nicholas's shoulder, Athanas chuckled. "Go home and see your wife instead of prying into things that are none of your concern." He was often the mediator between the priest and scholar but he did not mind so much. If anything, the duo was extremely entertaining.

"But--"

"Go. I have to meet Lila so I haven't the time to baby-sit you." They heard Vangelis mutter something at the mention of the huntress's name. The priest knew things were about to go sour. "Do you have something to say, Vangelis?"

The scholar just shrugged. "You know what I think about her. She is a lying, disloyal snake and I despise her. You are setting yourself up for disaster and I just don't want to see that happen." Vangelis just knew that Lila did not love Athanas and was just using him for some reason. Sadly, the lord knight refused to listen to him or anyone else. He just brushed him off and went back to her. "Do what you wish."

The lord knight stalked off with a heavy sigh, angry that his friend thought such things.

"Why do you do that?" Nicholas asked. Honestly, he did agree with Vangelis but he felt that making Athanas angry did not help the situation. He also kept his mouth closed because the lord knight could mash the priest into a pulp with ease. Vangelis could at least defend himself if it came to a fight.

"The answer, my dear priest, is simple. I hate her." Vangelis spat the words as if they left a bad taste in his mouth.

Nicholas thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. He really did try to like her in the beginning but the things she said and did made him think otherwise. "So do I. In any case, find out what they are doing in that lab or I will steal more of your things." Nicholas grinned devilishly. Vangelis rolled his eyes and lifted his book over the priest's head, quickly dropping it.

"Gahh! Van…gelis…ouch," Nicholas whimpered, clutching his head.

"This book is expensive because it holds a vast amount of information. Therefore, it is bigger and consequently, very heavy." Vangelis snickered as he turned to amble back to the castle. The priest stood and watched the two Vangelis' wave and walk away.

"…mean…" The priest sighed as his double vision slowly left him. When he could finally see clearly, he made his way back home. As he approached his front door, he paused as a sly grin spread across his lips. He silently opened the door and walked down the hall. He could hear his wife in the kitchen, humming cheerfully. He crept without a sound into the kitchen and as he came within arms reach, he pounced. Wrapping his arms around her, she shrieked and turned her head with a glare.

"Nicholas! I told you not to sneak up on me like that!" she groaned.

"I cannot help that it makes for so much fun," he chuckled. She turned to face him completely and her glare softened into a mildly amused smile. Nicholas leaned down and kissed her softly.

"Well, if you would like to have a dinner that isn't burnt, I suggest you let me finish cooking," she said as she pulled away, smacked him in the arm, and turned back to the stove. "So how is everything with the three troublemakers of Glast Heim?" she asked with a grin. When they were younger, she lost count of all the things those three were in trouble for. She could only hope that her son was more behaved than his father was.

"Fine I suppose. Vangelis made Athanas angry as usual. Athanas stomped off and then Vangelis beat up on me."

"I am sure Vangelis had a good reason to do anything to you. What did he do to Athanas?"

Nicholas sighed as he took a seat at the kitchen table and rested his chin on his hand. "The same thing he always does."

"Oh. Honestly, Athanas is completely love struck. He is blind to her motives, whatever they may be…still; you would think that Vangelis could at least keep his mouth closed to keep the peace," she sighed as she cut up a few vegetables.

"Julia? You don't think Athanas will…marry her…do you? God help us all if that happens. Vangelis would go ballistic and refuse to let a wedding happen. I don't want him to marry Lila anyway but Vangelis would make things so much worse." He could not even imagine if such a thing happened.

Julia nodded, her dark braid swinging with the motion. No one was really sure what Lila's true motives were, but it was clear to everyone but Athanas that she did not love him. Nicholas would be damned if Athanas was brainwashed into severing ties with his friends. Why could he not find a nice girl like Julia? She was a pretty and kind girl with a good head on her shoulders. He could not have asked for a better wife.

"Perhaps we should have a little more faith in him. He may realize what a mistake she is later on." Nicholas hoped she was right but only time would tell if Lila would be out of the picture. "Now, go get your son up from his nap."

--

Vangelis leisurely walked through the waning crowds of Glast Heim back to the castle. To be truthful, he was curious about the alchemists but he knew being nosy would only get him into trouble. As he reached the stone steps, he gave in to his curiosity.

The alchemists lab was only a few doors down from the library…they would never think anything of the librarian with his nose stuck in a book. He opened the large leather-bound book and pretended to read as he strode through the halls and up the stairs, purposely passing the library. He did not stop as he reached the alchemists lab and he walked in, seemingly reading the book in his hands.

"What are you doing in here, scholar?" A female voice asked.

Vangelis glanced up in mock surprise. "Oh! This is not the library. My apologies," he mumbled with a low bow as he turned slowly. Something caught his eye as he began to leave. There was something lying on a table, covered with a white sheet. It had a distinctly human shape. An alchemist bumped the table just then, cursing at his own clumsiness. The sheet had shifted slightly and beneath the shadow of the cloth, he swore something was looking at him. Some sort of eye.

"Scholar!" the female alchemist chided. "Leave now. Pull your nose out of your books and watch where you are going next time, understood?"

Vangelis paused for a moment before facing her again. Who did she think she was? "I think you have misunderstood something. This is not your castle. You do not live here. Therefore, you are not allowed to give me orders." With an artificial smile, he turned and left the room, pulling the door shut behind him rather forcefully. How rude, he thought.

As he entered the library, he took a seat at his desk and set his book in front of him. He was not quite sure what he had seen in the lab but it was no homunculus. Other than what was under that sheet, the lab seemed perfectly normal. Well, hopefully Nicholas would not steal any more of his books now that he had done as he was asked.

--

Athanas could not understand why Vangelis would say such things about Lila. Even Nicholas, though he never said a cross word about her, had the same feelings about her as the stupid scholar. She was not as terrible as they thought she was. The lord knight quickened his pace through the streets and hurried to the café he was supposed to meet his dear huntress at.

Finally, the café came into view and he saw Lila at a table on the patio. He paused for a moment, unsure of why. The wind blew softly, a strange whispering voice carried on breeze. He could not hear it clearly but it was sweet and fascinating. It felt familiar, somehow, but as quickly as it came it was gone. He felt faintly disappointed but continued to the café.

"I was wondering when you would get here," Lila grumbled, a slightly bored tone to her voice.

"I apologize, I ran into Nicholas and Vangelis. How are you, love?" he asked, kissing her cheek before he sat down.

"Fine, fine."

Her expression caused Athanas to frown. "What is it?"

"Vangelis. I don't like him. I know what he says about me and Nicholas thinks the same, he just doesn't voice it." She wanted him to rid himself of those two but he just would not. It was beginning to frustrate her.

"You cannot expect me to break two friendships, if that is what you're hinting at. I have known those two for most of my life. I simply cannot just drop them from my life."

"They hate me!" she hissed. Athanas knew there was no winning this and he certainly could not choose, could he? He loved her with all his heart, but Nicholas and Vangelis were practically his brothers. He turned his gaze back toward the street he had arrived on, still intrigued by something. "I doubt you even defend me when they insult me." she added, looking away from him.

"Lila, I do defend you." It was true. He always defended her. Surely, the words of disdain from Vangelis hurt her and he did not like it one bit. "Give them time. I am sure they will come to their senses eventually," he reassured her, still looking away. Very strange, he thought. He felt like something was there.

"Athanas? What are you looking at"

"Oh…nothing, love." It was certainly something, but what?

--

"Hello dearest Julia." Vangelis smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Dinner smells delicious." The scholar spent most nights in the Locke household instead of in his old library or in his own home. In fact, he was very rarely home for more than a few hours a day. It was lonely. Luckily, Julia always made sure he was welcome in her home.

"Hands off my wife, book worm" He heard Nicholas say from behind them. Vangelis looked back and shot his friend a triumphant grin, hugging Julia closer. A laughing Julia pulled away from him to take her son from Nicholas.

"I caved," Vangelis said, crossing his arms. Nicholas would know what he meant.

"I knew you would. What did you see?"

"Nothing really out of the ordinary. There was this…this thing. I could not be sure what it was because it was under a shee,t but I saw an eye of some sort. After that, they were rude and I left," he explained. He was still rather miffed with the attitude he was given.

"Hmm…Maybe I should take a look for myself." This had been eating at him for some reason. Late in the evening, he would go and see for himself but he would have to wait a few weeks.

"Nicholas, you don't need to go and spy on whatever it is you plan to. I believe it has nothing to do with you, am I right?" He heard his wife say as she set their son, Tarek, in his chair. He shrugged and walked into another room until dinner was served. He was not one for lectures.

Vangelis rolled his eyes. "As if you could stop him?"

"No, I suppose not. I just hope he stays out of trouble," she replied as she began to set out plates. "You know as well as I do that he has the tendency to do so. In fact, so do you. You're both lucky you have Athanas and I to save save you two troublesome things."

The scholar nodded and took a seat next to the toddler. "Van!" he squealed happily. Vangelis ruffled the little boy's hair and sighed. Tarek was something he would probably never have, a child. He was somewhat used to the idea though unhappy about it.

"Julia? Why do women find me so repulsive?"

The woman paused and laughed at his silly notion. "Women do not find you repulsive. In fact, you're very handsome. It just takes some people time to find the right person, someone who loves you for who you are. It might help if you got your nose out of a book or two and took a stroll outside. You might have missed something already."

She was right, he knew. The times he had tried to find a nice girl, it just felt wrong. "Need any help?" he asked.

"Oh no, I'm almost done. Could you keep an eye on Nicholas?" Her husband worried her sometimes. One of these days, he was going to get into trouble over something that neither she nor Athanas could get him out of. She could not watch him all the time so she counted on Vangelis and Athanas to keep him in line.

"Of course."

"I just have a bad feeling for some reason," she said softly. Something felt wrong and it was getting worse by the day.

A/N: R & R if you will!