Chapter 13: Knight

A/N: As you saw in the last chapter, Cesare almost gets it now. Currently, Chiaro is the one lagging. A lot. Poor Cesare.

A/N 2: I do like Volpe's loyalty. It's pretty much the only thing I like about him, though.

"Where is he?" Cesare demanded again, grabbing Niccolo's collar. "You say you know all and see all, so where is Chiaro?"

"I do," Niccolo said calmly, "but I should tell you first, Chiaro doesn't want you to know where he is."

Cesare blinked. "What?"

"He doesn't want you to know where he is."

"Why?"

"Because he's afraid you'll come after him if you know."

Cesare's mind momentarily went blank. "Wait…." "If you left me, I'd hunt you down and drag you back and probably put you to torture for betraying me." His own words echoed in his mind. But that didn't make sense. Chiaro couldn't have betrayed him, because Chiaro loved him, and had chosen him, and—damn it all, he was not going to listen to the demons who tried to tell him otherwise! Last time they'd been wrong—they were wrong this time too. All the same, he couldn't help the creeping numbness that began to flow through him.

"Chiaro betrayed him?" Volpe's voice. Niccolo said nothing. Cesare felt a hand on his shoulder. "Cesare?"

Cesare didn't turn. He was thinking fast. He knew Chiaro. He trusted Chiaro. Chiaro couldn't have betrayed him, because he was important to Chiaro, so there had to be another explanation.

"I'm… I'm sorry," Volpe said. There was a pause. "Honestly, I probably should have said something. I've seen this coming for a while. That was part of why I didn't want you to be so close to him."

Cesare turned to him. "What do you mean, you saw this coming?" he demanded. It wasn't true. It didn't make sense. Chiaro was happy with him. Happy? The demons whispered mockingly. Happy to be with a demoniac? Are you mad? "No," Cesare said out loud. "I'm his best friend. He wouldn't betray me."

Volpe paused. "I think he's wanted to be free for a while now."

"But…." But he'd been so proud when he'd introduced Cesare as his master.

"I think he hoped by being so affectionate lately, he might purge you of the demons completely. It didn't work, and he panicked."

"Why would… no, he said he wanted to stay." Cesare remembered him laughing as they danced… he'd come back just so Cesare could be his partner.

"Of course he said that to you. But you don't see him when he's by himself. He's spent a lot of time looking out the window lately. I asked him what was wrong once, and he told me he was only wondering what it would have been like if things had been different."

Cesare's heart pounded. No, he trusted Chiaro. Chiaro wouldn't betray him, whatever Volpe said. He must have been talking about something else, because Cesare knew Chiaro hadn't left him, not of his own accord at any rate. He looked back at Niccolo, who was raising his eyebrows. Chiaro….

"Will you be all right for that long without me? I mean, it'll take at least three days."

Cesare raised an eyebrow. "I think I'll survive. Just… be careful. Pisano is a dangerous man."

Chiaro smiled and donned his mask. "I've dealt with my share of dangerous men," he said with a wink. "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it."

Chiaro had promised he'd be back. Why would he go to the trouble of promising to come back if he intended to run away? "There… there has to be another explanation," he said.

Niccolo smiled a little. "Does there indeed?"

"He's… he's not dead, is he?" After all, being in a place he didn't want Cesare to go could have several meanings.

"No."

Cesare sighed, his breath shaking. "Is he… is he in some kind of trouble? And… he doesn't want me to come after him because he's afraid I might be implicated?"

Niccolo raised his eyebrows again.

"Damn it, tell me!"

"Cesare, think about where you sent him."

Cesare had sent Chiaro to kill Lord Pisano. Who took prisoners. And then tortured them to death. He felt the blood drain from his face. "But… no, he's Michelotto, he couldn't have been caught!"

"It only has to happen once."

"But he's alive?"

"Yes. Pisano is keeping him alive for a very specific purpose."

"Which is?"

The moth-sorcerer raised his eyebrows again. "Isn't that obvious?"

"He wants me. And he's using Chiaro as bait, and that's why Chiaro doesn't want me to know where he is, because he doesn't want me to go after him and fall for the trap."

Niccolo slowly clapped his hands together a few times. "Chiaro would probably be pleased at your faith in his loyalty."

Cesare ignored him and started changing into his riding clothes.

"Cesare, you're walking into his trap?" Volpe demanded.

"Master Cesare," Cesare corrected, not responding to the question. He'd had enough of Volpe being familiar with him.

"You probably ought to know Chiaro has legitimate reason to be worried," Niccolo said mildly. "Keep in mind, he did catch the Michelotto."

"I'll figure it out."

"If you say so. By the way, the reason I'm here at all is because several people have come with news of Chiaro's whereabouts, and for some reason you never heard. I figured you deserved a fair chance."

Cesare turned to Volpe, who didn't even look guilty. He turned away in disgust.

"Master Cesare, I won't let you do this!" Volpe grasped hold of his arm.

Cesare jerked away. "I'm not asking you to come with me, Tagio. I know you hate him. But I will rescue him, or die trying."

"Then you're on your own."

"As you wish."

"Good luck," Niccolo said, turning back into a moth.

Cesare swept out of the room, barely making time to get money, supplies, and his riding cloak before running out to the stables. He rode for hours until his horse could go no further. He wanted to press on, but killing the horse would only set him back. He looked around and noticed the light of a village nearby. He entered the village, leading his exhausted horse. It was just dawn. Would anyone be awake? "A horse!" he yelled, his voice sounding unnaturally loud in the quiet of this town. "For God's sake, a horse!"

A peasant looked out his door. "Sir?"

"Have you a fast horse?"

"Yes, sir."

"I will give you this horse, and…" he counted out gold pieces from his pouch. "And this, for your horse."

The man looked at the gold, eyes widening. "Yes, sir."

Within ten minutes, Cesare had a fresh horse and was riding like the wind toward Pisano.

...

Volpe hadn't stopped pacing since Cesare left. Was it really right for him to abandon his master because he had obviously fallen in love with Volpe's rival and refused to be the all-powerful conqueror he desired? It had been half an hour already. Volpe should have been with him. He sighed. It didn't matter. It didn't matter that Cesare would never do this for him, would never side with him no matter what he offered. It didn't matter that he was weak because of Chiaro. Cesare was his master, and it was his duty to serve. Rushing to the stables, he mounted his own horse and set off after Cesare.

...

Chiaro had given up trying to plan his escape. His hands and feet had been in chains ever since coming, all separately chained to the wall so that loosing one would do no good. He had tried everything to loose the manacles around his feet so he could bite his hands off and escape that way, but to no avail. Of course, biting both his hands and feet off would be pointless, because then he would be unable to run. Not to mention he would bleed to death. He had tried filing the chains against the wall, but the iron was obviously stronger than the stone. Even if filing the chains or biting his limbs off were an option, he was under almost constant surveillance, and constant torture.

Even if they let him go at this point, he wasn't sure he could make it back. He was tied to the rack, and his shoulders were already dislocated. His entire body was in crippling pain. Would Cesare be all right without him? Was there someone else in the world who could perhaps fill his place? Someone else who could send the demons away? Please, God, let there be. He didn't cry out as he was whipped again, but it was more because of exhaustion now than defiance. I'm sorry, Cesare. He would never see his master again. He would never again hear him laugh. He would never again see the gleam in his eyes when he started planning his next move. He would never again be able to hold him and send away his demons. Tears began to course his cheeks, and he almost lost awareness of his torturer because the pain in his heart dominated. Oblivion beckoned to him and he welcomed it.

"Get away from him!"

Yanked away from oblivion, Chiaro opened his eyes at the familiar voice to see Cesare, come from nowhere, rushing at him with a sword, and a second later his torturer was dead. For a split second, Chiaro's heart leapt. Cesare was here! His master had come for him! Then he remembered this was exactly what he didn't want. He watched as the room erupted into havoc, and the demons surrounded Cesare so badly he was almost invisible. "Ce… sare…." He tried to take a breath to call louder.

"Never touch him! He's mine! Mine!"

Chiaro closed his eyes as Cesare practically tore his assailants apart, cutting them into pieces with his sword. He was giving the demons too much control in his anger over Chiaro. Just like Vanozza. No! "Cesare…" he choked. "S… top!" But there was no stopping Cesare. Within minutes, everyone in the room but himself and Chiaro was dead, and Cesare was standing there, panting, covered in blood, his eyes glowing with demonic fury.

Oh, God…. "Cesa… re….?"

Cesare turned to him, eyes golden and wild.

"Come… hurry…."

Cesare started toward him, then suddenly fell to his knees with a cry of agony.

"Cesare…." Chiaro's vision blurred with tears. "Please…."

Cesare looked at him, golden eyes wide. They flickered black, then flickered again, like a candle trying to go out. Then he doubled over again, clutching himself and moaning. "No…." He looked at Chiaro again, eyes still flickering, but slightly more sane. Then, quickly, he got to his feet, drew his sword, and cut through the ropes that bound Chiaro to the rack.

Chiaro's shoulders jerked back, and his vision went black with the excruciating pain. When he came to, he was in Cesare's arms, being held much, much too tightly. Chiaro gasped for breath, smothered by Cesare's hold on him. "Cesa…re…" he said. "That… hur… ts." Didn't Cesare realize he was covered in whiplashes, gashes, brands, and bruises? Cesare's fingers dug into him, and Chiaro gave a gasp of pain. His vision went black again, and the next thing he knew, Cesare was shouting at him.

"Chiaro? Chiaro, wake up! Chiaro!"

Chiaro blinked his eyes open and realized he was now being held at arm's length. "Hey… calm… down… I'm okay." Well, "okay" was relative, but he wasn't dead, which was the important thing.

"Chi… Chiaro…." There were tears in Cesare's eyes, which were now pools of gold and obsidian. "I'm not too late… thank… thank God…." He was breathing heavily. "Don't worry… I won't hurt you."

Chiaro was confused. Why would Cesare hurt him? Then he looked around. Demons were flying everywhere, away from Cesare's body, trying to return to it, slowly weakening. Some of them passed over and around the mutilated corpses, but none of them seemed whole enough to interest the demons. How Cesare had managed to remain sane at all was beyond his comprehension. He slowly breathed out. It hurt to breathe. His whole body just wanted to pass out. "Are… you… okay?" he asked Cesare, his words faltering through pain and worry.

Cesare gave a huff that sounded almost like a sob. "Stupid," he said. "Stupid Chiaro. You shouldn't even be asking me that." He drew Chiaro close again, this time holding him very, very gently. "I'm sorry… I didn't find out until last night… I should have gone looking for you." His arms grew a little tighter for a moment, and he kissed Chiaro's forehead before pulling away. He drew in a shaky breath and got to his feet. "Who… who holds the keys?" he asked, looking around at the corpses.

"Pisa… no. He's… not here."

"Wonderful," Cesare said sarcastically. He took a few steps away and was immediately attacked by the demons. He gave a grunt and clutched at himself.

"Cesare?"

"I'm fine," he said. He picked up a few torture instruments with fine, sharp points and turned back to Chiaro. Suddenly, he fell to his knees again. Chiaro close his eyes briefly. Was this what hell was like, watching your loved ones be attacked by demons and being unable to help. When he opened them, Cesare was panting, still gripping this instruments in one of his hands. He was whispering something. Chiaro tried to make it out. "Mine," Cesare whispered, "to protect. Mine to protect."

Huh? Chiaro watched as Cesare managed to get to his feet and came the rest of the way. Chiaro winced a little a the sight of the instruments of torture, but didn't pull away. Cesare took off the gloves he was wearing, and Chiaro gasped. Up to his forearms, both of Cesare's hands were reptilian, demonic claws.

"Ce… sare, your… hands…?"

"Them," Cesare said simply, beginning to pick at the locks.

"Now?"

"Um…." Cesare looked at one of his hands. "It wasn't on the wrists before. That must be from just now."

"Cesare!" Chiaro watched, alarmed, as Cesare tried ineptly to pick the locks on his manacles. "What… are you… doing here?" he demanded, raising his voice and exhausting himself.

"Do you still love me?" Cesare's eyes suddenly bored into his, and his hands on the locks stopped.

"I… yes…."

"Will you stay with me?"

"If… I live."

"Even with these hands?"

"Yes… but Ce… sare… fighting… for me… will make… it worse." Damn it, he could barely talk. "Why… did… you come?"

"To rescue you. Obviously."

"I said… you would…n't come… I thought… you… were smart … it's… a trap… you… idiot."

"How on earth do you have the energy to argue with me when you've been hurt this badly?" Cesare asked, sounding mildly interested and not sounding like he'd registered a word of what Chiaro had said. "Damn him, what did they do, pull your fingernails out?"

They had, but Chiaro didn't bother to say so. "Cesare… the king… is not… supposed… to rescue… his knight. You should… go… while you can." Judging from Cesare's lack of skill, he probably wouldn't be finished picking these locks until Pisano and his men had come and killed them both.

"I'm not letting them kill you."

"But…."

"Chiaro, this is what happens when you're not with me," Cesare said, holding up one of his hands. "What do you think would happen to me if you died?"

"But… you…."

"Stop arguing with me."

"But…."

Cesare sighed heavily. Then something like a smile passed over his face for a second before he became serious again. "Look. I think I'm in love with you."

These words took a second to register. When they did, Chiaro's thoughts scattered. "Wh… what?"

"I'm in love with you. Will you marry me once we return to Rome?"

Chiaro stared at him, wondering if he'd completely lost his mind. "Uh… m… m… but…."

"I know, technically I'm not supposed to have any sort of lover, being a cardinal, but I think I could make an exception for you."

Chiaro's mind whirled. He could barely take the shock, let alone the thought of how badly this would mess everything up. Hadn't Cesare said… and why on earth was he talking about this now? To say why he was so desperate to rescue Chiaro? Chiaro's stomach turned a little. What was he going to do?

Cesare looked up at him, seeming a bit concerned. He smiled a little and looked back at the lock. "Think about it before you answer."

Chiaro was trying to do everything but. He had to figure out some way to fix this. Some way to take their relationship back to normal. What had happened? Was this some kind of bizarre dream?

"Of course, Volpe will be terribly jealous, but I didn't think you'd mind that."

"Ce… sare…."

"Shh. I have a confidence for you."

Chiaro said nothing, not sure he wanted to know.

Cesare smiled at him and leaned close. For a second Chiaro was terrified that he was going to try to kiss him, but instead he put his lips close to Chiaro's ear. "I'm joking," he whispered.

Chiaro blinked. "You… are?"

Cesare pulled away and placed an empty manacle in Chiaro hands. He gave a laugh. "You're so gullible."

Chiaro gave a sigh, feeling a flood of relief. "Not… funny…."

"It wasn't meant to be," Cesare said, smiling infuriatingly as he started on the next lock. "It was meant to distract you. Have to admit, it worked." He winked. "Now, are you going to be a good knight and do what your king says, or do I have to come up with some other method of distracting you?"

Chiaro managed barely to resist returning the smile and glared instead, but by the time he'd managed the glare, Cesare had already looked back at the lock he was working on. "Cesare… Lord… Pisano… sold his… soul… to the devil."

Cesare met his eyes, looking a bit startled.

"All… of it… you can't…. beat him. They'd… take over."

"I'll figure something out," Cesare replied.

"If… you die… for me… he'll still… kill me. Pointless. Can't you… go out… the way you… came?"

"No. The door doesn't open from the inside."

"What?"

"We'll escape together through the castle."

"We… can't! Do you… know how… many guards… he has?"

"Of course. I intend to kill every one of them that stands in our way."

"Oh, that's going… to look great… on your record. What if… you get… killed in the… process?" He started coughing. He was talking too fast.

"Then I get killed."

"Damn it… Cesa…re! Why… did you… come here… if… if you knew… it was a—?"

His words were cut off by Cesare giving a sigh of exasperation and suddenly gripping the lock in one hand and using the other to push Chiaro's head against the wall, though not hard enough to hurt, and covering his mouth. "Stop. Arguing. With. Me." Having Cesare's demonic hand pressed over his face was so alarming that Chiaro was shocked into silence. Hadn't Cesare been laughing at him a minute ago? Was he actually in his right mind right now? Cesare pulled his hand away, licked the blood off it that had come away from Chiaro's face, looked momentarily startled, then shook his head a little and went back to the lock.

Chiaro was silent for a moment, wondering if it was possible to convince Cesare to leave before he got killed without appearing to argue. Meanwhile, Cesare methodically worked on the lock, eyes smoldering, though from what exactly Chiaro couldn't tell. "Chiaro, you are the only person I have left," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "And I will be damned if I let you die too. I was too late to save Vanozza, but I will save you or die trying, because I would rather die than live without you. For once, can't you let me be the knight? Allow me to rescue you for a change? I'm trying to do something good here, Chiaro!" His voice was intense, almost angry.

Chiaro wondered if he really should just stop arguing. But the thought of Cesare dying for him just seemed so wrong. And he'd hardly been better off for trying to rescue Vanozza. "I… understand," he said, exhausted, "and… I'm grateful… but…." But on the other hand, if he died, Cesare was hopeless. He would fight and struggle against the demons until they devoured him and took over his soul. He would lose every bit of him that was still Cesare. "Okay," he said. "Okay… please… save me… but… be careful." He really didn't want to leave Cesare now.

Cesare seemed to relax a little. "Thank you." He handed the other manacle to Chiaro.

Chiaro dropped the manacle and drew Cesare into a hug, ignoring the excruciating pain this movement caused.

"Chiaro, we don't have time for this," Cesare said, starting to pull away.

"Yes… we do." Cesare tried to struggle for a moment more, then relaxed, hugging Chiaro back. Chiaro held him closely, trying to see how much damage the demons had done in his absence. Quite a bit, it seemed. Even being so close to Chiaro these last few minutes, and now being in his arms, Cesare's eyes still weren't going all the way back to normal. "Hold… still," he said, and he cradled Cesare's head, trying to send them away. Get out of him. He's mine. He pressed his forehead against Cesare's, wondering if that would help.

Cesare gave a soft moan. "What are you doing?"

"Just… relax." He let go so he could take Cesare's hands, noting that Cesare's eyes were normal again. "Holding… your hands… doesn't… seem… to help."

Cesare smiled a little. "Are you going to stop telling me I should leave you to die now?"

"Already… did." Cesare needed him. That much was certain.

"Good. Worry about my hands later. I hear them coming."

"Don't… use them…."

"I don't know that I have much of a choice. Here, work on your ankles."

"Cesare, you're… wounded!"

"Am I? Where?"

"Your… arm."

Cesare looked at it like he hadn't noticed it before, then took his sword and rubbed the edge against the wound.

"What… are you… doing?"

"My blood is poison, remember? This makes me more effective."

Moments later, Pisano's men rushed into the dungeon, and Cesare went wild. Chiaro watched the demons descend, lending him their strength. "Damn… it," he hissed, picking at his locks much more effectively than Cesare had, even with his wounded hands. He had been a professional thief, after all. He had to get up and fight, before… before… finally! Chiaro braced himself against the wall and got to his feet. He steadied himself for a moment and then grabbed a sword from the wall. He couldn't lift it. His arms refused to obey him. His body threatened collapse at the exertion. He gave a growl of frustration and tried again. As though some miraculous force somehow gave him the strength, he was able to lift the sword and rush in to join Cesare. His body was still in excruciating pain, but he ignored it.

"Chiaro? Sit down!"

"No, I'm still your knight!" He ran someone through who was about to behead his master, and a second later Cesare had stopped someone from cutting Chiaro's arm off. It went on like that, each of them protecting the other more than himself, until all the men were dead or incapacitated. Then came Pisano, sword drawn, and Cesare caught his sword with his own.

"This is my fight, Chiaro. Sit down." His tone was one of authority, one Chiaro had never been able to disobey.

Chiaro did as he was told, though "collapsed" might be a better word than "sat." Whatever mysterious strength he'd had was now gone. He managed to sit against a wall and watched his friend and his captor circling each other, both with drawn swords.

A/N 3: So now Chiaro kind of gets it. (*rolls eyes) And I know, two cliff-hangers in a row is cruel, but honestly, this chapter was really, really long. Oh, and it really was a joke, by the way. Cesare was trying to figure out the one thing he could say to completely distract Chiaro from the situation—and he guessed right.