Ralph heard the whispers, as did every other person in the room. Women fidgeted and men shook their heads, throwing frightened or stern looks at the young man who was currently being dragged in front of the fair prince, by two strong guards. The fair boy straightened up on his throne and tried to understand better what was going on, as the crowd of people in the Throne Room parted to let the guards and the prisoner pass.
"What is this?" Ralph asked curiously as he looked down on the two guards. They were flanking a very tall, lean young man, with wild red hair on his head, perhaps a little older than Ralph.
"He was caught stealing again, your Majesty." One of the guards grudgingly replied as he gave the redheaded boy a push. "He's been doing this for months. Robbing people and frightening them with his devil looks."
Ralph observed the red boy clench his jaw in anger and throw the guard who had pushed him a vicious look. He cleared his throat to attract his attention and did it again when he noticed the red boy was still settled on killing the guard with his burning stare. Ralph lost his patience.
"You." He called. The red boy looked in his direction and Ralph stopped, taken aback by the intense fury in his icy blue eyes, now being directed at him. Ralph tried to ignore his unnerving gaze as he continued. "What is your name?"
The red boy remained silent, obviously intent on not responding him. The guard gave him a push again and the red boy curved his mouth in an ugly snarl.
"The prince asked you a question, thief." The guard spoke harshly.
Ralph saw the boy tighten his fists and he internally prayed for no more violence. He'd had enough with all the wrongdoers being beaten in front of him by his guards for disobeying.
"Merridew." The red boy looked at Ralph, the frightening fury still in his gaze, but now a spiteful grin marring his dirty face, the sudden peculiar change in his expression surprising the fair boy.
The name sounded familiar to Ralph. The guard had answered him before he could pose the question.
"He's of the old, noble Merridew family. They lost their fortune, the witch of his mother has been executed by the Great Inquisition and his father is a lunatic." He stopped, throwing a disgusted look at the boy. "And it seems the heir is even more lunatic than the old man." He spat. "Devil spawn."
Ralph felt somewhat ill at hearing the information. He had heard of the so-called witches being burned at stake, especially those that possessed locks of fire. Those were of the most evil sort, or so he had heard. He was not entirely certain what he should believe; his father had always told him to keep away from townspeople and Ralph had spent most of his life inside the castle or on its surroundings, and he had never seen many people with red hair, like this boy. He wasn't pleasant to look at, not like Ralph, whose hair was fair and skin was smooth as velvet; no, the red boy was dirty, and his long face was too freckled. And those pale blue eyes were too intense, they frightened Ralph, who had not been often frightened.
In spite of all these, his image was fascinating to the fair prince. He didn't recall ever seeing such a person before.
"What should we do with him, your Majesty?" The guard asked.
"Yes, your Majesty." Merridew imitated with contempt, barring his teeth in an even more ferocious grin. "Why don't you execute me, your Majesty? I bet you can do anything, everyone listens to you, with those fair looks o' yours."
Gasps echoed in the great room and Ralph remained petrified at the words, as one of the guards drew out his sword, while the other pushed the red boy so hard, he fell on the floor. There was a struggle, as someone yelled how dare you address the prince like that, there was a roar of pain, and Ralph's heart stopped in fear, thinking the red boy had been badly hurt. He stood up and saw it was the boy who had actually bitten the guard's hand like a wildling, so hard it drew blood, and the guard had to drop his sword in agony. The other guard raised in turn his own sword to put him down and Ralph screamed, almost desperately.
"Stop it! Don't kill him! Stop right now!"
The guard intent on striking him halted his sword and grabbed the boy by the arm instead. The red boy struggled violently and it seemed he was quite strong, as he was making it difficult for the man to hold him. The other guard, with the bleeding hand, approached to help, although he had a seemingly murderous look on his face. Ralph panicked even more at this.
"Sir!" The fair boy interrupted. The guard put a stop in his tracks and turned to him "Don't do anything to him! Just take him to the dungeons."
The guard remained astounded.
"But, my prince, he insulted you and severely bit my hand. He must be executed, or at least punished in some sort of way."
Ralph got irritated at the suggestions.
"I don't care. Just follow my command."
People offered him strange looks and Ralph felt a little too conscious of them, but he shook them off. He descended the stairs of the throne, before he passed Merridew, hung by the arms of the guards, his mouth covered in blood, even though Ralph didn't know if it was from his own wounds or the wound he had caused the guard. Ralph tried to see his face once more as he passed him, without being too obvious, but the red boy was kneeling, while still trying to catch his breath after all the commotion, and the fair boy renounced the idea. People were still watching him and Ralph himself wasn't sure why he wanted to see Merridew's face and why he was saving him in the first place. It was odd.
Just as he heard his guards drag the red boy after them, another thought formed in the fair boy's mind, a thought that he was sure it was going to lead him into serious trouble for the first time in his life.
He waited for dusk to come, before he took one of his cloaks and a torch and descended the stairs, right into the dungeons of the castle, to the prisoners' cells. As he reached the entrance of the passage that led to the right half of the dungeons, he demanded the guard standing at the entrance of the tunnel to give him the keys of one of the last cells.
"I have to interrogate Merridew, so I could take a decision regarding his execution, Sir." Ralph explained, mentally berating himself for finding such an excuse, even though he knew that was the only one that worked well, when trying to convince his father's men. The guard looked at him for a moment, before he reluctantly offered him the key and moved aside to let the fair boy pass.
Ralph was tentative about walking alone in that tunnel, even though he had been there before. It always gave him an ominous sentiment. As he passed dark, humid walls and sinister cells, he stopped in front of the second to last one and inhaled deeply, before he plucked the courage to open the massive wooden door, which budged with a screech. And the fair prince almost turned his back to the sight that greeted him. Or rather, the lack of.
There was darkness of a pitch black inside and the torch in the fair boy's hand only enlightened a small part of the cell, including soiled, wet, cold stone walls, even more soiled floor, and the dark form of a young man whom Ralph perceived to be Merridew, who was sitting on the floor, in a corner. The prince hesitated, before he mentally encouraged himself. The thief was in chains and the guard was still in the tunnel, so there was no risk at the moment, even though the small doubt was still in the fair boy's heart.
He still asked himself why he was doing this again, but no sense was made in Ralph's mind. He did it because he wanted to. Because he found Merridew too fascinating for his own good. Because he was curious about many things. As Ralph approached more, but still remained at a considerable distance, the light fell on the other boy's dirty face and the fair boy almost dropped the torch in his hand at the sight of the red boy's eerie eyes, staring at him from the darkness. Ralph got somewhat annoyed at how easily impressed and frightened he was by someone not much older than him.
Merridew seemed to notice Ralph's uneasiness, because the fierce grin made its way on his face for the second time that day.
"Why, if it isn't the holier-than-thou fair prince." He grinned, but didn't make another move, to Ralph's relief, who tried to ignore all the mockery. "Came here to gloat, see me miserable and filthy in this hellhole?"
"You should be glad I saved your life, because you would have been dead by now." Ralph furrowed his brow. He had never been so defied by anyone, in his entire life. And it was so strange, because the more the other boy insulted him, the more he wanted to know about him.
Merridew widened his eyes and pretended a mock gasp.
"Oh, thank you so much, your Majesty." He jerked and there was clinging of chains and the red boy was suddenly at his feet, pretending to kiss them. Ralph jumped back terrified, before he fled to the other end of the cell, his heart wildly beating in terror.
"Stay away from me!" The fair boy breathed as the red boy barked a rough laugh, before a fit of coughs overtook him for a few seconds. Ralph calmed down a little and softened at seeing the deplorable state the young man was in. After the coughs stopped, Ralph burst out.
"So, is it true?" He asked. "Has your mother actually been executed for being considered an enchantress?"
Merridew scrutinized him provocatively.
"Well, look at me. How do you think she looked like?"
Ralph paused as he studied the boy in front of him, an image of bizarre and chaos. He studied once again the shocking red hair and those light blue eyes, the fury still present, but diminished, as different emotions were there, and the fair boy recognized desolation and remorse.
Ralph made a few steps forward, uncertain.
"And…are you?" He muttered, before he swallowed the knot that had formed in his throat. "Are you actually, you know," He averted his eyes. "Devil spawn?"
He settled his gaze on the boy and noticed the corners of his mouth curl upward. Ralph felt like a fool for a moment, when he thought Merridew was going to start laughing at him again. He wanted to take back his question, when the rough voice of the other boy made itself heard.
"Yes, I am."
Ralph froze, his eyes glued to him. He was torn in two, one part of him doubting the madman's words, while the other believed in them, which heightened his foolish curiosity, even though he was mostly sure the red boy was making fun of him. Then an idea came to him. He would attempt to play his wicked game.
"Are you? You know, my mother has actually read to me stories about warlocks, about a certain Merlin. He was devil spawn too. But he also possessed particular powers, he was a sorcerer. Are you a sorcerer too, Merridew?"
The fair boy crossed his arms smugly, scrutinizing the red boy's features, and the way in which they changed from slightly amused, to dark and harshly serious, when the thief realized the prince was now making fun of him and asking him tricky questions. But the reverse situation did not last, because Merridew suddenly curled his mouth in the same twisted smile, startling the fair boy again.
"And if I say I am? What will you do? Order my execution faster?"
Ralph stared at him with large eyes.
"N-no." He retorted.
That was it. That was the excuse. The perfect excuse Ralph needed to free him. They both knew that discussion was just a pretense.
Ralph needed Merridew as his counsel and guard. Because Merridew would prove himself to be useful for the kingdom. He possessed special abilities. He would defend the prince and his people. He was going to tell them that, so he could get away with freeing a criminal. People were mindless fanatics. They would have believed in that. They believed in the existence of nonsensical entities such as sorcerers and spirits and monsters. They would have been convinced that Merridew was such an entity. And they would have feared Ralph too for having someone like that by his side.
Even more, he could have left the castle and see the world, if Merridew was by his side. His father would not be extremely protective of him anymore. He would not prohibit Ralph's exit, he would finally allow him to roam the surroundings.
The fair boy made a few steps forward and pulled the keys out from between the folds of his robes, showing them to Merridew.
"I'm going to set you free now." Ralph said tentatively.
Merridew looked at him eerily.
"Why?"
"Because you will work for me. You will be my counsel and guard. My right hand."
Merridew gawked at him for a few moments, before he burst into fits of laughs, as if he was a lunatic that had escaped from the madhouse.
"And what is so amusing?" Ralph frowned, irritated and somewhat alerted. The red boy's amusement stopped abruptly. He remained with a roguish smile on his face.
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. I will be your right hand, all right."
Ralph stared at him annoyed and distrustful, the feeling of being tricked consuming him once more. He felt some form of deceit was being formulated for him, but he decided he had to risk this plan for his own purposes. He had to risk it. There were so many benefits he could have gotten from Merridew, that he had to try to free him.
His instinct told him he had a small chance of truly obtaining what he desired, given Merridew's mental sanity and the fact that he was constantly mocking and taking Ralph for a naïve person. He felt Merridew was going to do something to him, sooner or later. He just hoped he would not get murdered.
"You have to promise you won't kill me, if I free you. That you won't do anything to me." Ralph spoke, circumspect.
"I promise I won't." Merridew raised his shackled hands in defeat, amusingly serious. They looked at each other for a few more moments, before Ralph approached and crouched by his side, unshackling his wrists in a hurry, while feeling Merridew breathing down his neck, giving him shivers. The heavy metal landed on the floor with a heavy thud, before Ralph quickly backed away from him, putting a considerable distance between them.
"Alright." Ralph spoke, somewhat insecure. He looked at Merridew, prepared for any reaction, particularly violent ones, but the other boy was just rubbing his bruised wrists as he stood up and expectantly returned the stare.
"What are you waiting for, prissy pants? You have freed me, let's get out of here already." Merridew spoke and Ralph frowned at the insult, as he turned and opened the door.
"Stop calling me names." He muttered peeved. He sensed Merridew following him, too close to him, so he made a few hurried steps, trying to leave him farther behind. Merridew didn't retort, although Ralph felt him closing the distance between them again, almost sticking to Ralph's back.
The fair boy sensed sweat dripping down his temples as he caught sight of the guard standing at a distance in front of them, enlightened by the torches. The man startled as he spotted Ralph and Merridew together. When they were close enough, he raised his weapon in alarm.
"My prince!" He exclaimed. "What is going on?"
Ralph heard Merridew snort behind him, but he quickly took matters into his hands.
"I have freed him, sir." The prince spoke, trying to appear calm and secure. "I have decided to offer him work at the castle. He will be my right hand."
The guard knitted his brow in confusion.
"But how? He is an outlaw and a proscribed thief."
Ralph carried on.
"No matter. Merridew would prove to be of good use here. He has certain special abilities. He might be...a warlock." At this, the guard backed away in fear and suspicion, and Merridew almost burst out laughing. Ralph quickly elbowed him in the gut, and the red boy grunted as air was knocked out of him.
"Would you stop looking so amused." Ralph hissed quietly as he turned his head and threw him a deathly glare. "You will get us in trouble." The red boy growled something, apparently resentful of Ralph's punch, but other than that, he tried to tame his features in a blank expression.
"My apologies, prissy pants." He half mouthed, purposely using the insult again. Ralph scowled, before he turned to the bewildered and uneasy guard, who was gaping at them in agitation.
"No need to worry, sir." The fair boy smoothly continued. "Merridew will be a faithful servant of the kingdom. And now, if you are so kind as to move aside and let us pass, I will be eternally grateful to you."
The guard looked at them dumbly for a few more moments, before he slightly bowed, stepped aside, and almost backed into the wall when Merridew passed him.
Ralph would have laughed at his reactions and wondered why a grown up man, forged and roughened up in battle, was so afraid by a sixteen years old boy, but Merridew was already as tall as the guard, despite being less muscular, and his red looks surely inspired fear in those superstitious people. Most townspeople apparently feared him and Ralph eagerly realized he could have done anything if Merridew had joined him.
They walked in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of their heavy breathing and steps rolling against the stone walls. They reached stairs at one point, then the massive door that led to the upper part of the castle. As Ralph pulled another set of keys out to open the door, he felt a firm hand on his back, pushing him into the wall on the side of the door; he yelped and dropped the keys. His mouth had been covered by a rugged hand, before he even had the time to comprehend what was going on.
"Now, I will take these keys and bid you farewell, princess." Merridew viciously spoke into his face, keen blue eyes boring into Ralph's wide green ones. The prince yelled into his palm, but Merridew was intent on acting according to his own will. He studied the fair boy, eyes narrow, as if he was planning something.
"I will tie you up, which I need both hands for. But if I take my hand off your mouth so that I can tie you, you will surely scream for help and that is not in my benefit." Merridew grumbled to himself, apparently dissatisfied with this conclusion.
Ralph stared back, wide eyed, before he struggled and yelled muffled words into his palm. Merridew growled annoyed. He violently backed Ralph into the wall, one hand hurtfully holding the fair boy's arms behind his back, the other still on his mouth. Ralph's body thrummed with fear and anxiety as he was unsure what the savage in front of him was formulating in his mind, but he didn't have time to think of the possibilities.
Merridew took his hand away and Ralph opened his mouth, prepared to yell, before something else forcefully slammed itself into his lips, and the fair boy's eyes bulged out when he saw Merridew's mouth covering his own. He froze in shock as it dawned on him that Merridew was kissing him. He was kissing him. Like men and women did. And that did not go well for his mental health.
He fought and opposed, but it seemed he was powerless as Merridew kept him in a cage, his arms surrounding him in a tight grip. Ralph still panted for air from all the thrashing and the effort, and the slightly open mouth provided the perfect opportunity. Merridew pried his lips further and invaded his mouth, a warm, wet tongue tangling with his own, and Ralph whimpered quietly, the act doing something to his mind and body. It was wrong, wrong on so many levels, and yet he struggled less and less, until he remained limp in the other boy's arms, head thrown back, and mouth becoming more and more compliant, until he found himself responding to the harsh movement, in his own clumsy way. He had never kissed anyone before, but kissing Merridew felt better than anything he had ever experienced in his short life, despite that he was still partially tormented by the immoral act in which they were engaging.
It was as if he couldn't stop himself, his body burned in every place Merridew touched him, his lips were on fire beneath the bruising kisses. He felt Merridew's hands on his lower back, groping underneath his robes, and the fair boy moaned at feeling Merridew fondle him through his trousers, calloused hands rubbing at his crotch, then trailing his sides, until they reached his behind, grabbing at his rear with a force that left him panting and voicing embarrassingly loud moans. The red boy growled into his mouth, before he forcefully slammed his hips into his, pushing into him, while his mouth trailed the side of his face, until it reached the fair boy's neck. His teeth aggressively raked against the smooth skin, determined on making his mark.
"A-ah-Merridew-"
"It's Jack," He grumbled into Ralph's neck, before he retreated his head, face a few inches above the other boy's. Ralph's pale locks were stuck to his forehead with perspiration, his lips were swollen and red, from the other boy's rough mouth. They looked at each other in silence for a few moments, heavily panting and flushed.
"Jack." He repeated quietly, almost in a daze. A low, broken sound was pulled from his throat, when Merridew took his lips again, but far less intense than before, their kisses slow, open-mouthed, and gentle, both boys murmuring into each other. Ralph heaved his hips, trying to force them into Merridew's, but they only met air, as Merridew suddenly pulled away and ended the kiss with a loud sound.
Merridew wickedly smiled down at him, and Ralph's daze turned into cold consciousness when he noticed he couldn't move his arms, as they were immobilized behind his back. And that's when he realized that Merridew had tied his hands during their small session with a ripped piece from his robes. He had been tricked.
"Didn't think that would work, but it apparently did." Merridew grinned, showing his sharp teeth. He bent and took the keys from Ralph's feet, before he gave the fair boy a small, sarcastic salute. Ralph boiled inside as he turned even redder, from anger and from the method Merridew had used to trick him.
"You won't get away with this, Merridew!" He snapped furiously. "My guards will find you and you will be thrown back into my dungeons!"
Merridew frowned, but didn't retort to that. He turned around and quickly put the keys inside the lock, urgently opening the door, probably decided on fleeing the place before Ralph even had time to scream, even though the fair boy didn't do anything in that sense. He gazed at Merridew, his anger diminishing, as his heart was still beating loudly inside his chest, from everything that had just happened.
"Jack." He called softly. Merridew froze, especially at hearing his first name again, called out in such a soft manner. He turned his head, eerie eyes scrutinizing Ralph with a power that the fair boy didn't think it was possible. They gazed at each other, before the fair boy spoke first.
"You can have a good life here." He paused, as the red boy narrowed his eyes, clearly displeased with Ralph's attempt to delay him. The fair boy's longing increased, as he fantasized that the other boy would be by his side at all times, if he stayed. He imagined their previous act repeating and even more than that; blood rushed into his cheeks, his heart thumping louder in his ears. "Y-you will not starve and you will get one of the best chambers and really good clothes. You won't have to steal anymore to survive."
Merridew gaped with vile eyes at him, before he ferociously approached him, and the fair boy leaped at the swiftness of his movement. "Do you actually think I will accept following your orders?" He spat. "Do you actually think I will ever accept following anyone's orders?" He stared in madness. "Never."
"But why?" Ralph retorted, desperate. "You will have a good life, a way better life than what you have now!"
Merridew gave a wild laugh, and the fair boy's left warmth vanished completely at seeing him acting like the worst maniac. His amusement brusquely turned into icy fury, as he leaned forward and hissed.
"You don't know anything about my life, alright? So shut the bloody hell up."
Ralph looked at him, shaken up and wordless, as something painful gnawed at his gut. Merridew's expression somewhat softened, before his hand reached up to touch the smooth side of the fair boy's face, and Ralph slightly recoiled at the gesture.
"I would take you with me, but you would give me too much trouble. " He spoke with a frightening stillness. "Way too much, even for me."
Ralph held his breath, the strange pulsing through his body returning at the proximity and sudden softness of the other boy. He knew it was another trick, just like the last one, but he couldn't stop the fluttering in his stomach and the heat that spread underneath his skin.
The hand fell and the red boy gave him one last intense look, before he turned and opened the door, and Ralph was jolted from his reverie.
"Jack!" He called panicked and fearful. "Don't be foolish! You will be caught sooner or later!"
But the red boy just smiled.
"Maybe. Until then…see you later, prissy pants."
With that, he was gone, leaving the fair boy in a turmoil, the deafening silence loud in his ears, while he still breathed harshly from the confrontation. It was as if the fiercest storm had passed through his life and left it in a mess. Merridew had been the most unusual being that he had ever encountered, but also the most thrilling one.
He had been like a shadow, like a demon that had captivated him, before he cunningly deceived him. Deceived him into wanting to see him again, into wanting to be with him and belong with him, in spite of the fact that it was sinful, atrocious, and unwanted in their world.
And as he gazed at the pale, yellow glow of the torch flame that fell on the cold walls, the fair prince realized that he had really been spellbound by a sorcerer.