Chapter Nine: Rules and Obligations

It was mid-afternoon and Yuri was so bored. Having lunch with Flynn earlier was the highlight of his day, and even that had been rushed. Flynn didn't even have time to leave his desk, so they ate sandwiches together in his office. The one-year jubilee celebration was in only two days, so he had his hands full preparing for that.

It didn't help that the heat was getting so powerful it even penetrated the castle walls. It was just warm enough inside to be uncomfortable, which was warm enough to make Repede want to nap all day and regret his fur coat. Without even a dog to play with, Yuri had started spinning around in circles and then trying to walk while dizzy just because it was something to do.

He stood by a window on the third floor and stared out at the city. Out there, people were going about their lives and not cooped up in a stuffy castle. Even now, at the hottest time of the day, there was more activity out there than in here. How long was this imprisonment going to last? Flynn promised to take him into the city when he had time, but that could be ages!

Surely it wouldn't matter if he just looked around outside for a little bit. He'd be careful and keep his head down and no one would even notice him. He'd be back before Flynn even realized he was gone.

Yuri made his way to the first floor. From here, it was easy to find a window that could take him to the grounds. Sneaking out of the castle was sure to be easier than sneaking in. He pried the window open, climbed onto the sill, and then hopped onto the dry grass. See, he was already halfway there. He just needed to scale the wall, climb over the arch that crossed the moat, and he was home free.

He ran across the short stretch of grass to the shade of the walls. The afternoon sun cast long shadows reaching toward the castle, which helped conceal him as well as protect him from the sun's scorching rays. Even on his run over here he'd felt it sear into his scalp.

Now he just had to find a way over the wall. He was expecting some loose stones he could get a grip on, or a conveniently placed tree. Castles always had things like that - or at least they did in stories. His fingers trailed along the wall as he searched, hoping to find a weak point.

Ah-ha! The stone here was dingier and seemed older than the last section. This wall had probably been built earlier, and the brickwork wasn't as slick. There were a few places where the foot-long blocks of stone stuck out and made uneven ledges. An adult probably couldn't hold their weight on them, but he might be small enough.

Yuri dug his fingers into the highest one he could reach and pulled. His shoes scrapped the wall and he pulled his feet onto the first lip of brick. He had only a few millimeters to balance on, so before he could lose his grip he pushed himself onward and scrambled to the next stone.

The bricks had baked in the sun all day and burned his fingers as he clung to the wall. He was determined, though, and with considerable effort he'd made it halfway up the wall. His arms shook from the exertion and the one time he'd risked looking down to see how high he was, he'd regretted it, but freedom was so close he could taste it.

This next step was going to be a tough one. The nearest brick he could get a grip on was off to the right, just out of reach. He'd have to push off from his current perch and jump a few inches to the right to grab the ledge and then find a foothold before falling. He could see where he'd put his feet; he just needed to grab the outcrop that was less than a centimetre wide. Yuri took a deep breath, braced himself, pushed off from his perch, and then -

"I say! What are you doing up there?!"

The sudden shout distracted him for only a second, but it was a second too long. his fingers scraped the wall but missed their mark, his knee banged the brick, and then he plummeted to the ground.

The grass rushed to meet him and he landed feet-first. Something crunched in his ankle and he fell to the ground with a shriek. Yuri lay face-first on the warm grass, breathing deep and fighting off the tears that had leapt to his eyes in time with the pain.

"What were you doing on the wall?" a second voice asked.

Yuri pulled his head up and used his arm to rub his stupidly watering eyes. A pair of knights loomed over him, one tall and thin and the other quite short. "I wasn't breaking in."

The short one poked his shoulder with the butt of a long spear. "No one climbs a wall if they would be allowed through the gates. What is your purpose in the castle?"

"Nothing!" He pushed himself up and brushed grass from his elbows. When he pulled his legs around, his right ankle throbbed and fresh tears surged to his eyes. Yuri hastily rubbed his face on his shoulder and clamped his mouth tight to suppress a cry.

"Then, I say, what were you doing here?" the tall one demanded.

"I was leaving! I'm allowed to be here - Flynn's my uncle!"

The pair exchanged a look. "That's right," the short one said, "the commandant's nephew is staying with him."

"But if he's here legally, why would he have to sneak out?"

"I think the commandant will want to know about this."

"No he won't!" Yuri blurted. "I mean, you don't have to bother him." One hand was occupied clutching his ankle, which was already beginning to swell.

The knights shared another look, and then the tall one nodded and grabbed Yuri under the arms. "Commandant Flynn will want to deal with this himself, I say."

Yuri tried to put weight on his ankle, but the sharp pain forced him to muffle a whimper. Seeing this, the shorter knight wrapped his arm around Yuri's shoulders and helped support him. Making a run for it was definitely out of the question, so Yuri had no choice but to hobble between the knights and glower at the floor.

He spent the entire trip to Flynn's office running through excuses for why Flynn had no right to ground him again. They included that Flynn was being entirely unfair in not letting him leave the castle, that his ankle already hurt a lot and that was punishment enough, that he hadn't actually left the castle before being caught so no crime was really done, and that Flynn was really just a big mean jerk who needed to get his head out of his butt.

The tall knight knocked on Flynn's office door and Yuri scrambled to settle on the best excuse in the seconds between that and Flynn's voice calling, "Enter."

Flynn was still trying to finish what he was writing when they walked in, and glanced up without putting down his pen. When he saw a pair of knights flanking a grass-stained and guilty-faced Yuri, he gave a long sigh and rested the pen on the desk. "What did you do this time?"

Yuri started to explain, "I didn't do-"

"We caught this child attempting to scale the castle walls, sir," the short knight said.

Flynn's gaze turned to Yuri. "Is that true?"

Yuri looked around the room and chewed his lip. "Well…. yeah, sorta…."

"'Sorta'? Did you or did you not climb the wall?"

Yuri inspected the carpet threads. "I did."

"Why?"

Yuri shrugged his whole body. "I wanted to play mountain climber."

"Yuri."

He glowered at the floor. "I was trying to leave."

Flynn folded his hands. "I see."

The tall knight straightened up and saluted. "I say, sir, we are sorry for interrupting you, but we thought you'd want to deal with this yourself."

"I do, thank you. You two are excused. Yuri," he pointed to the chair in front of his desk, "sit."

Before leaving, the knights helped him limp to the chair. Flynn's eyebrows knitted as he saw this. "What happened to your leg?"

Yuri slumped into the chair and shrugged.

The short knight explained, "I think it sprained or broke when he fell from the wall, sir."

Flynn looked to Yuri, who was staring at the desk instead. "How badly does it hurt?"

Yuri's frown deepened. The chance of Flynn letting him off with the injury serving as punishment was next to nothing. The fact that he'd still been grounded even after Cumore beat him was proof enough. "Not that much."

"Boccos, please find Her Majesty and tell her that Yuri has hurt himself and could she please come to my office as soon as possible."

The short knight saluted. "Yes, sir!"

As soon as the door clicked shut, Yuri winced; here it came.

"Why were you attempting to leave the castle?" Flynn sat at his desk with his hands folded in front of him. Someone who didn't know him well might think he seemed quite calm, but thirteen years hadn't changed the cold fury Yuri knew too well.

"I just wanted to look around outside."

"I specifically told you not to leave the castle."

Yuri crossed his arms and raised his eyes to meet Flynn's. "It's not like I was gonna be out for long."

"It doesn't matter how long you were planning to be out there. I told you to stay on the castle grounds and you disobeyed me."

"Actually, I never left the castle."

Flynn breathed heavily through his nose. "You were on your way out and don't deny it. Just because you didn't make it doesn't mean you aren't still guilty."

"Maybe I was just going to go to the top of the wall and take a look! But I didn't make it 'cause those dumb knights made me fall!"

"It isn't their fault you got hurt doing something you weren't supposed to do."

Yuri balled his fists and smashed them on the desk. "You shouldn't have told me not to do it in the first place!" What right did Flynn have to boss him around? Especially how he'd worded it earlier: 'you disobeyed me'. Flynn wasn't someone to be obeyed. They were supposed to be friends!

"I told you exactly why you weren't allowed to leave. Do you remember?"

With his fists still planted on the table, Yuri scowled. "Yeah."

"And what was it?"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "'Cause you think I'm gonna get murdered on the street or something."

Flynn's hands finally left their folded position to press flat on the desk as he leaned forward. "Because I know there are people out there who mean to do you harm! Yuri, when I tell you to do things, it's because they will help you."

His voice was getting louder now and Yuri found himself leaning back in the chair.

"You said you wanted to live with me, and that means living under my rules."

"You can't boss me around!"

Flynn slapped the desk, and unlike Yuri's attempt this actually made the furniture rattle. "Yes, I can!"

"You're just happy 'cause now you're bigger than me and always get your way! You never asked if I even wanted to go to school and you won't let me leave the castle and you make me go to bed too early and you make me eat vegetables at dinner! If you were really my friend we'd make decisions together like we used to."

"I am not your friend," Flynn snapped, while something also snapped in Yuri's chest.

"W-what?" But Flynn had always been his friend.

"I am your guardian and that means I get to decide these things for you."

"But you're making rules just to prove you can!"

Flynn's shoulders rose and fell as he took deep breaths and when he next spoke, his voice was a fraction lower. "I make rules for you for the same reason I make rules for the Empire: to keep people safe. When people break the Empire's rules, I arrest them. When you break my rules, you will likewise be punished."

"But your rules are dumb! What's the big deal about climbing the wall? I wasn't gonna hurt anyone!"

"You got hurt."

Yuri jerked his head to the side with a roll of his eyes. "That's just on me, though. I can take care of myself."

"No, you can't!"

"I can too!"

Flynn swept to his feet and leaned forward with his hands on the desk. "No, you can't, Yuri. You think you can, but you can't. You are a child. I remember when we were eight years old together, and I thought we could make it on our own, too. But we couldn't have then, and you can't now. You are still a child and you don't know what you're doing and as long as you live with me, you will obey my rules. Is that clear?"

Yuri crossed his arms and glared at the wall off to the right.

"I said, is that clear?!"

Yuri wrinkled his nose. "Crystal."

"After Estellise gets here, you're going straight to your room where you will stay for the rest of the afternoon."

Yuri grunted, "Fine."

They were locked in heated silence for a painfully long minute until the door opened and Estellise entered. "Flynn?" She saw him still standing and glaring at Yuri and he slowly sank back into his chair. "What's going on?"

Flynn gestured across the desk. "Yuri fell and hurt his ankle. Could you please heal it?"

"Of course!" Estellise rushed to him and kneeled next to him. "Show me your foot, please, Yuri."

Yuri twisted sideways and tenderly raised his leg. Estellise rested it on her knee and eased the shoe off his foot. Already it was swollen like there was a doughnut around his ankle. Estellise held her hand over it and let the magic flow. Yuri let out a long sigh as the pain ebbed away and the swelling went down.

"I think it was just a sprain, but I want you to stay off your foot for the rest of the day at least, and take it easy for the next few days. Ok?"

"Just as well," Flynn said, "he's about to spend the rest of the day in his room."

Estellise looked between them and could still sense the tension in the room. "Um… what happened? Are you guys ok?"

Yuri just crossed his arms and sulked while Flynn sighed. "I'll explain later."

"Ok… well, I'll help Yuri to his room, then."

Estellise held his arm and led a limping Yuri through the castle to Flynn's apartment. When they got to his room, he threw himself on his bed and buried his face in his pillow.

Estellise seemed about to leave, but she hesitated for a few seconds and then gently rubbed his shoulder. "Yuri… I'm not sure what happened, but I know Flynn can be pretty strict sometimes. But, you know he really cares about you, right? He just wants what's best for you."

"Yeah," Yuri mumbled into the pillow. "I know."

"Ok… well, I need to go back to work, but I hope to see you at dinner."

Flynn explained the whole thing to Estellise as they walked to his apartment. He'd gone to her office when he finished the day's work. It had been difficult to concentrate all afternoon with his argument with Yuri hanging in the back of his mind.

Contrary to Yuri's beliefs, he didn't like ordering him around. It felt weird for him, too. He remembered Yuri as his friend, but now he was his ward and he had a responsibility to give him the best upbringing he could. Plus, the injury Yuri had sustained validated his choice. Yuri had gotten hurt going off on his own, and that was without even leaving the castle.

"I just feel bad for shouting at him. I should have remained calm."

"Yeah, he seemed pretty upset."

Flynn turned to her and frowned. "You're not supposed to agree with me when I'm being self-deprecating."

"Yay, you learned how to say that right!"

Flynn pouted. "It's not like there were many people in the lower quarter to correct me on the proper usage of 'depreciate' and 'deprecate'." He thought about it for a moment, then added, "Actually, there aren't many people in the lower quarter who even know what those words mean…."

Estellise giggled. "I'm just teasing. But I'm sorry, I know you're trying to vent."

"But on the other hand, I know how obstinate Yuri can be. I had to put my foot down and make it clear to him that I'm serious about being in charge."

"Yes, I understand. Parenting is hard, especially when you're thrown into it so abruptly."

"Yeah…." Her wording frightened him, not because she'd said something new, but because she'd reminded him of something he'd already known but not wanted to admit: he was Yuri's parent. He'd always avoided that word even in his own thoughts, because it was a very scary word. Somehow, 'legal guardian' seemed so much less life-changing. It was true, though. He was all Yuri had, and Yuri needed a parent, and the person who raised him, fed him, clothed him, and disciplined him met the criteria. He was, in practice, a father, and the mountain of responsibility that title came with was even more frightening than becoming the commandant.

"Flynn? Is something wrong?"

His thoughts had slowed him down so she was a few steps further down the hall. "I haven't really thought of myself as his parent until now. You're right, of course. I am his parent. It's just… weird to think about."

"Are you ok with that? Are you regretting your decision to keep him?"

Flynn shook his head. "No. For years I convinced myself that Yuri was just a boy from my childhood and my memories of how integral to my life he'd been were just nostalgic memories. Having him in my life again, I'm remembering all the reasons I loved him when we were kids. He can't be my best friend the way we used to be, but I would be proud to have him as my son… even if calling him that terrifies me."

They reached his apartment and as soon as the door opened, Repede burst out, barking. Flynn abruptly stood back. "Repede? What's wrong?"

Repede sniffed the floor, ran to the end of the hallway and sniffed again, then whined and ran back to Flynn and barked.

This behaviour was far from normal, and Flynn was growing concerned. With a sinking feeling, he looked across the room to Yuri's closed door. It only took him seconds to cross the room and knock on the door. Yuri didn't answer right away and Flynn didn't wait any longer to enter.

The room was empty. Damn. Damn. His mind immediately leapt to Cumore and Herbert; they could have found a way back into the castle. But, there was no sign of forced entry.

"Flynn, look." Estellise was at his side now and pointing at the pillow. There was a note.

Flynn snatched it up and his eyes darted over the sloppily written and poorly spelled words with growing anger.

Flyn-

Dont wory abowt me. im not kidnaped or anething. yu dont need me and i dont need yu, so i thingk we shood liv sepretly. i wont get in yor way and ill be ok by myself. See yu later!

-Yuri

The paper crumpled in his fist. "That stupid, irresponsible…."

"He ran away, didn't he?"

Flynn tossed the note to her. "Read for yourself, if you can. He spelled his own name right, at least."

Estellise smoothed the note between her hands and quickly read it. "He can't have gotten far walking with a limp. Maybe the knights stopped him and are already escorting him back to you."

"I hope so. In case not, I need to inform the knights to start a search for him." Not sure if he was more angry or worried, Flynn stormed out of the room.

Yuri strolled down the street with a smile plastered on his face. Escaping the castle had been easier than he'd expected once he put thought into it. He'd spent the afternoon lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and simmering with indignation. That fury had focused his mind to come up with a truly cunning plan.

The mistake he'd made the first time was that a person climbing a wall to get out of a place was obviously breaking some rule. Knights didn't have to look too closely at a wall-climber to realize they were an escapee. The way to get out was to leave through a way normal people walked out, so the guards would have to be paying attention to realize he wasn't supposed to leave. And who left the castle every day that were so ignored they were practically invisible? Servants.

All he'd had to do was dig out the rough, patched clothes he'd been wearing when he arrived, smear some ash from the fireplace around his face, keep his head down, and join the rest of the weary masses heading home at the end of the day. No one had even spared him a second glance, and now he was free.

The sky was a deep blue-grey now that the sun had dipped below the horizon. He had just reached the public quarter, and if he kept walking downhill he was sure to find the stairs to the lower quarter soon. His foot hurt with every step, but it had gotten better from an afternoon of lying in bed and Estellise had healed the actual damage, so it only slowed him down a little bit. He'd been out of the castle for probably about half an hour now, and hoped to reach Hanks' house in the lower quarter after another half hour. Hanks was sure to help him.

He walked along a wide road lined with stalls. The vendors would have begun packing up now during the winter, but since the sun setting meant people were finally willing to roam the streets, the evening shopping period had just begun.

Yuri was about to turn a corner and hopefully find the stairs to the lower quarter when someone tapped his shoulder. "Huh?" He turned around and his stomach dropped.

"There you are," Mr. Herbert said. "I've been worried sick about you."

Yuri backed up to escape the hand on his shoulder, but Herbert switched his grip to Yuri's upper arm.

"Come on, now, it's time to go home."

"I don't think so!" Yuri tried to jerk his arm out of the man's grip. Herbert started walking, dragging Yuri along. "Let go of me! I'm not going with you!"

They were starting to get attention from shoppers and vendors. Yuri leaned backward and pulled to escape Herbert's grip, cursing his sore ankle for not giving him a good foundation.

"Now, now, stop throwing a fuss. Your mother told you to be home an hour ago."

"No she didn't!" Yuri stumbled forward as Herbert jerked. He whipped his head around to see shoppers watching them with concern. "Hey! He's not my dad! Argh, let me go, you jerk!"

"Excuse me," a woman with from one of the stalls strode toward them.

Yuri could tell Herbert was getting nervous. Good! He hadn't let go of Yuri's arm, yet.

"What's going on here?" the woman demanded.

"I'm terribly sorry for causing a scene," Herbert said. "My son likes to ignore his curfew and my wife was growing worried."

"You liar!" Yuri twisted as they stood still in an attempt to break away. "Lady, this guy isn't my dad and-"

Herbert slapped his free hand over Yuri's mouth. "Yuri, don't you know lies like that could get your dad in big trouble?"

The woman frowned as she glanced between them and then crouched to Yuri's level. She locked eyes with his and said, "Tell me the truth: do you need help?"

Yuri met her eyes and tried to impart them with all the honesty and fear he could. He hated to admit he was scared, because the whole point of leaving the castle was to prove he could make it on his own. But, he had no idea what Herbert wanted to do to him beyond a vague idea of science experiments and he simply wasn't powerful enough to escape on his own. He nodded firmly. "Please."

The woman abruptly stood up. "Sir, you need to let go of this child."

"But he's my son."

"Liar!" Yuri kicked his shin, which really hurt his ankle but had been worth it.

"Let's go, Yuri," Herbert grunted. "We're going home."

The woman grabbed Yuri's other arm. "I don't think so."

The clank of armour announced the approach of a knight. Yuri looked over with hope, but then it turned back to dread.

Cumore surveyed the scene and then asked, "What's this disruptance all about?"

"Oh, thank goodness," the woman said. "Sir, this man is attempting to abduct this little boy."

"Dear me," Cumore drawled. "How heinous. Both of you will have to come with me." His hand landed on Yuri's shoulder and the women released him. Cumore made it look comforting, but Yuri felt how firmly those fingers dug into him.

"I'm not going with you!"

"Shh," the woman said. "Don't worry, he's a knight. He's here to help you."

"No, he's not! He's in on it!"

"Don't be scared. I promise the knights are the good guys, ok?" She smiled at Cumore. "I'm so glad you arrived, Captain. I'll let you handle this."

"Oh, I should be thanking you, ma'am." He gave her a slithery grin. "If a good Samaritan like you hadn't stalled this vile abductor, there's no telling what might have happened. I have everything under control now, though."

"Wonderful. Goodnight!"

Cumore took Herbert by one arm and Yuri by the other. Quickly and firmly, and led them both off the main street. Once they were out of site of the crowds, Cumore grabbed Yuri and slung him over his shoulder.

"Now then," Cumore said, "let's try this again."

"Put me down. Put me down!" Despite his efforts and punching and kicking, Cumore carried him away with little trouble.