"Arabian Nights"
Part 46
by Beryll
When Sean stepped out of Prince Viggo's suite he could still hear the ring of Karl's heavy boots on the stone floor but the Captain of the Caliph's Guard had already disappeared around the next corner. He was obviously in a hurry to get away.
Which was the main reason why Sean had chosen to rather follow him then spend more time with his Lord. It wasn't like Karl to be so brusque. There had to be a reason for the simmering anger he sensed in the other warrior and even though Viggo had not caught it Sean was pretty sure that Karl's dark feelings were mainly directed at the newest addition to Viggo's growing harem.
Sean knew that the boy had tried to kill Viggo but he had been able to keep his own instincts in check. There was no sense in attacking someone who Viggo obviously wanted to trust. Sean had learned that a long time ago. His Prince trusted too easily and even though he had been disappointed more often than Sean was comfortable with he refused to learn the lesson. He could not be convinced when he had decided to 'better' or 'safe' someone. One could only watch his back and hope for the best.
Karl did not know the Prince long enough to be able to accept that part of Viggo's personality yet. But something told Sean there was more to the roiling anger and deep loathing he had seen in Karl's face when everybody else had been watching the assassin boy sing. And now that Sean's interest in life had finally reawakened he found himself unable to let the matter rest.
He caught up to Karl quickly, falling into stride with him. The short glance the other warrior had for him was an odd mix of relief and coldness as if Karl himself wasn't sure if he wanted Sean with him or not. It confirmed Sean guess that something was indeed wrong.
But he kept quiet, walking next to the Captain. The corridor was not the place to discuss personal matters. Especially not between a slave and his master. Even more so when nobody was supposed to learn that they were friends. Sean suppressed the smile that threatened to show on his face. Friends, brother, maybe even more eventually. Finally he was willing and able to see that he had never been Karl's slave.
It only took them a few minutes to get back to Karl's quarters. Sean firmly closed the door behind the two of them and watched silently as Karl went over to his bed and sat down heavily, dropping his head into his hands, his fingers raking through his many braids. He looked very tired but there also was a tense edginess to his moves that Sean had not seen in him before.
Slowly he went over to the hunched figure, not quite sure how to help the other man. Trying to offer comfort he laid a hand on Karl's shoulder but immediately withdrew it when Karl flinched away from his touch, hissing in pain.
This was a reaction all too familiar to Sean. The move was like a mirror to the pain he had experienced so abundantly in the recent past.
Karl raised his head, anger and pain boiling in his amber eyes but quickly subsiding when he was faced with Sean's worry and sympathy.
"What happened?" Sean asked softly.
For a moment the Captain looked ready to snap something ugly but then he just sighed tiredly, his shoulders hunching over again as he gave up the fight. Without a word he pulled the simply loose tunic he had been wearing over his head, revealing the broad expanse of his back and shoulders to Sean.
His skin was covered with the marks Sean had expected, the angry red lines a whip would leave behind. Though Sean was somewhat relieved to find that the skin was broken only in a few places. He had no idea who had done this to Karl or why it had been done. But by his posture and his grim silence throughout the evening he guessed that Karl had - for whatever reason - accepted the lashes willingly.
Without a word Sean reached for the pot of salve still sitting on the bedside table, unscrewed it and then started applying it to the marks. For a moment Karl tensed up again as fresh pain shot through his sore body but then he relaxed with a soft sigh, allowing Sean to take care of him.
Sean desperately longed to know what had happened to the other warrior but he knew all to well that in Karl's place he wouldn't have wanted to answer any questions. So he bit his tongue and kept his curiosity to himself. Just as his brooding anger at the fact that someone had hurt this man he owed so much to.
When he was satisfied with his work he put the pot back onto the nightstand. A little unsure what to do next he sat next to Karl, his hands folded in his lap. Outside the sun had set and the many lamps of the palace had been lit. It was time to go to sleep and after this long and eventful day and the not exactly quiet night Sean was very tired and he guessed Karl wasn't much better.
So far Sean had always slept on the divan in the sitting room, keeping as much distance from the Captain as he could in such closed quarters. But the last night he had spent in Karl's arms had been a balm to his soul and he longed for the other man's protective embrace even though he loathed his own weakness at the same time.
And then there was the fact that he wasn't even sure if he would be welcome again. After all his pathetic sobbing had already kept the Captain awake for one night. There was a good chance that Karl was getting fed up with a man who obviously wasn't able to overcome his own demons, who constantly needed a shoulder to cling to. Especially as he obviously had his own problems to deal with. It wasn't fair to burden him with the petty problems of a slave...
'Stop it!' Sean firmly told himself before he could plunge into despair again head first. Karl had taken care of him because he was a friend. And friends didn't just turn from one another when the waters got rough. That was what made them friends after all. To think any less of Karl would demean this formidable man.
Still the fact remained that the Captain did look like he needed a good night of sleep. So Sean started to rise from the bed to head over to the other room. But when he had just gotten up he was stopped by Karl's hand on his sleeve and amber eyes looking at him almost pleadingly. Gentle and - Sean realized a bit startled - reflecting the sore need for some care and affection.
"Please, stay." Karl said, giving voice to what Sean had already read in his eyes.
And with his simple plea vanished any doubt in Sean's mind that he might be unwelcome. Feeling needed gave him more strength than all the comfort he had been offered. With a smile he nodded.
While he extinguished the oil lamps, Karl got rid of his boots. There was a companionable silence between them that could only grow between two men who lived the same life, who valued the same things. Only a minute later he slipped into bed with Karl, both still clad with their breeches, in silent agreement somehow to keep this barrier between the two of them, at least for now.
They lay close enough that they could feel each others warmth but not quit touching, Sean on his back, looking up at the elaborately pained ceiling that was only a shadowy mix of colours melting into each other in the low light, Karl lying on his stomach, his head resting on his crossed arms.
Sean felt a bone deep tiredness slowly overwhelm him but he was still awake enough to pull himself back from the edge of sleep when he heard Karl's low voice.
"The Caliph had me punished for the failure of my guards." the Captain answered the question Sean had not asked. "They not only failed to notice the assassin enter the Prince's quarters, they also nearly let him escape later, when they should have locked him up securely. They didn't search him properly either. Both times it was the Prince who had to remedy the situation personally."
Sean remained silent, his mind swirling with the many things he wanted to say. Part of him wanted to rage at the fact that Karl had been punished for something that wasn't his fault, that it was unfair. But another part of him understood the Caliph perfectly. Ultimately it indeed was Karl's fault, it was his duty to train the guards. Any failure on their part of in the end his failure. And had the Prince been hurt in the assassination attempt Sean would probably been just as angry at Karl as the Caliph had to be.
"The Caliph had me beaten in front of my men." Karl continued calmly. "To show them what their failure brought about. I think they have learned the lesson."
From the acceptance in Karl's voice Sean could tell that the Captain agreed with his own assessment of the situation. He did feel it was his own failure. And Sean was sure it would not happen again.
At least now Sean understood why Karl's loathing for the young assassin was so deep and why Karl felt such anger at the fact that Dominic was being cuddled and comforted while the Captain had to face his mistakes and work on them.
"The Prince will not approve when he learns of the Caliph's verdict." Sean said softly, feeling the need to comfort Karl as much as the necessity to warn him of Viggo's weaknesses. "He is quick to anger but also soft at heart. Often too soft for his own good."
"I am slowly learning that." Karl shifted, trying to get more comfortable. His face now turned towards Sean he asked: "Has he always been like that?"
Thinking back to the times when they had both still lived at home - no, Sean corrected himself, this was their home now - when they had still been living up north was somewhat painful. Sean missed the dense forests, the rain and the cooler climate. And of course he missed his family, his friends. To follow his Lord south had been the only way to go but it didn't mean there weren't any things he had left behind he would miss for the rest of his life.
But the memories were sweet as well. "Yes." he answered Karl's question, fondly remembering a ten year old Viggo, kneeling in a clearing, splinting the broken leg of a deer, the animal shivering under his touch but trusting the strange small human not to harm it. Sean had been fifteen then and had just been assigned to guard the young prince, the king knowing all too well that his youngest son had a knack at getting himself into trouble.
"Up north it was stray animals he was bringing home." he told Karl, "But he hasn't really changed that much, has he?" he added with a grin, "Only now he has specialized on kittens."
That made Karl laugh. "Yes. I imagine he must always have been a handful."
Again they sank into comfortable silence, now even more relaxed, each of them following his own trail of thoughts about the prince.
"I was wondering if you would be interested in helping me train the guards." Karl said after a while. "The prince said you were a Captain of his father's guard and you surely know a lot of useful tactics me and my men will by unfamiliar with."
The question surprised Sean. After all he was still officially considered a slave by everyone but Karl and Viggo. "Wouldn't that be inappropriate for a slave?" he voiced his doubts.
Karl moved as if to shrug but then remembered his sore back in the last moment and kept still. "You wouldn't be the first man I bought on the slave market who was later freed and joined the guards. I told you right from the start: it just takes some time. I am sure my men won't mind learning anything they can from you after a bed slave had to do their work and save the Prince from an assassin."
Sean nodded. Karl's explanation made sense and the thought of holding a sword again was exhilarating. And the thought of escaping the confines of Karl's quarters and the abundance of time he spend thinking was even better. To do something useful again, to serve his Prince, to have purpose - all those were things he longed for.
"I would be honored." he said.
"And I am grateful." Karl answered. "It will be good to have you by my side."
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to: Beryll
go to PART 47