Win Some, Lose Lots

A couple of days went by and Evelyn kept growing restless. They hadn't had to go into Barfoss at all, and her curiosity about The Son of the Devil was getting insatiable now. She just had to get a hold of those books. In all honesty, even she didn't know why she felt such a draw to him. She had no idea who or what he was or if he was even real. But with each passing day, she was getting more and more infatuated with him. She didn't tell anyone about this; not the boys and not Felicia or Liana either. No way she was risking the girls freaking out on her. They had already looked pretty shaken for some reason by that old woman's story.

This obsessiveness was making her irritable and impatient. She'd started spending most of her days outside, sitting on the bullpen fence watching Duke and Duchess roam about. The boys put it down as 'that time of the month' and the girls knew she just wanted some space, so they gave it to her. Eve knew that she was being self-destructive but, somehow, she couldn't stop herself. Why the obsession, she asked herself over and over again.

"Eve's out again, huh?" asked Felicia to Liana as the two made dinner.

"Yeah." sighed Liana.

"Did you two do something to upset her?" asked Katherine. She had dropped by to see the five today and she always loved talking to Eve, Liana, and Felicia as they cooked in the kitchen while she sat on the countertop. She realized it herself that these were the first real friends she'd ever made and she wanted to cherish them. Even her mother, who always worried about Katherine being a loner felt thankful that when she'd finally gotten company, it was such good kids. That's why she'd started to let Katherine off easy on her innkeeping duties just so she could make the long trip to the five's house.

"What? No." said Felicia, chopping up the carrots. "I...think...I know what it is."

"What?" asked Liana, although she felt she already knew the answer.

"The Son of the Devil." said Felicia. Liana sighed; she feared as much. "What is with her obsession of the story." she wondered out loud.

"I can't say I blame her, really." said Felicia, stopping the chopping. "I...somehow, I feel drawn to...the story too."

Liana paused. She didn't want to admit she was fascinated by the story too. "You're right. I feel...attracted to him too."

"Him?" said Felicia, taken aback. It wasn't because she didn't believe there was some truth to the old woman's story, it was more a shock seeing Liana also giving believing it to be real.

"But..." said Liana. "I'm not crazy about it. It seems to have affected Eve the worst though."

Felicia sighed. "We'll have to start tying her down if this continues. How long before she sets off to Barfoss alone one day and Alex blows his top about it?"

"You're right." said Liana. "We should talk to her about it. Tell her to give this...infatuation...up."

"Or." said Katherine, in her flat voice. "Help her satisfy her curiosity."

"What?"

"If she's drawn so much to religious fairy tales, let her see all those stories, read all those books. Once she sees there's nothing there, she'll give up her obsession willingly. That would be a better option than you forcing her to do it, only for her to grow even more obsessed about it." said Katherine.

Both Felicia and Liana stood in shock for a second. "Okay, that's the longest I've ever heard you talk." said Felicia. "And it was actually a...really mature take on the matter. I had no idea you were this-"

"Smart?" asked Katherine, her voice emotionless.

"Insightful. I was gonna say insightful." said Felicia, quickly.

Liana patted Katherine's thigh. "She's right though. I think it's best for all three of us to just end this baseless obsession by getting to the bottom of it and just moving on."

Felicia nodded. "I'll go talk to Alex about going to the city. We need a few provisions anyway."

"I'll come too." said Katherine, jumping off the countertop.

The two left Liana to prepare the stew and went to find Alex. "I think they're in the workshop." said Felicia.

"Yes, they are. I can hear them." said Katherine.

"Well...I can too." said Felicia, hearing the clangs of hammer on metal. "But you have better hearing than humans, right?"

"Yes."

"And better sense of smell, balance, speed, reflexes, etc.?" asked Felicia.

"Yes, but not by much because I'm a half-breed. A pure Pantherian would be even better."

"Don't use that word." said Felicia, simply. Her tone was not commanding at all, but somehow it carried more weight than anything Katherine had heard. She looked at her; these people were always so...nice to her. She went a little red thinking of Felicia as her older sister. She'd be so lucky. She is lucky to know her...to know them all.

Felicia opened the door to the workshop and peered inside. It was absolutely fuming in the workshop. Both Alex and Robin had their shirts off as they hammered on the hot metals. Felicia and Katherine just stared, their mouths gaping.

Felicia looked at Alex's huge biceps...how they shook a bit each time he struck with the hammer. His body glistening with his own sweat, his abs and chest more chiseled now than they'd ever been back home. He'd even gotten a bit tanner. His expression was one of focus and his chin looked as sharp as ever.

Katherine meanwhile was staring at Robin. He'd gotten up, turned to pick up a gourd, and exposed his rippling back to her. Right now, he was taking a healthy swig of water, as he let much of it wash over his body, making it shine even more.

"I could look at this all day." said Felicia in a wistful whisper.

"Yeah...me too..." said Katherine, not taking an eye off Robin as she watched each individual droplet run down his sculpted body.

"Felicia?" said Alex looking up suddenly.

"Oh...er...hi...we...were just...looking." stammered Felicia, feeling slow and somehow flustered. What am I doing? We've been dating a long time? Why this concupiscent schoolgirl now?

"We didn't want to disturb you." said Katherine, her voice emotionless but her eyes still fixed on the shirtless Robin.

"It's no problem." said Robin, grinning his dazzling smile and making her heart flutter. "In fact, I'm sorry. You came all the way here and I'm busy with work instead of paying attention to you."

"It's okay." said Katherine. "I can sit here and wait till you're done."

"In this hot hell?" asked Alex. "For Robin?" He turned to his friend. "She's one to keep." he whispered, nudging him.

Before he could respond, they heard loud galloping coming up the path to their house. It sounded way more than just a few horses...more like an entire company. It sounded like trouble, thought Alex, picking up his sword and shirt. Robin did the same and the two rushed out after the girls.

"Who could it be?" wondered Alex, out loud as he put on his shirt while walking.

"Doesn't matter. Eve's still out there!" said Felicia in a rushed voice.

Liana joined them at the front door; she'd heard the galloping too, and the five of them burst out of the main door. It was like an entire battalion had come up to their house. Soldiers on horses were everywhere, the animals neighing and fidgeting a bit as they stomped their feet. But at the very crux of the company, there was a young man, not older than Robin, atop a white horse. He was wearing very fine and expensive dark yellow clothes, but his dark hair was all disheveled and messy. His features were a bit pasty and he had some flimsy facial hair growing on it. His eyes, though, were shining with malice.

He turned to look at Alex coming out of the house and laughed. "You've got a regular harem going on here. Are all blacksmiths sisterfuckers?" he asked. His voice had a low airiness to it.

Alex had a feeling who this was, so he said nothing as Eve came up and stood with the group. The boy looked amused. "I was out here, hunting, and I decided I'd grace the man who defeated Arrdem Moof with my presence. After all, it takes a real man to beat up a drunk champion, eh?" He stared right into Alex's eyes and he stared back refusing to look down. "Say something, swine. Cat got your tongue." the boy asked.

"I had no idea you wanted a response." said Alex, emotionlessly.

"Hah!" exclaimed the boy. "And here I thought you were only bright enough to hammer iron." Alex just stared at him expressionlessly. Robin and the others, following his lead, also stood there silently.

"Anyway, kneel." said the boy, simply.

"What?"

"Kneel." he repeated, threateningly.

Another man, who'd been standing behind with the soldiers, came up on his brown horse. He was wearing shining, fine purple clothes. He had a goatee and his hair was slicked back to the left. He looked at the six in disgusted anger. "My Sire commanded you to, kneel." he said.

"Why?" asked Alex, simply. "I have no idea who he is."

The man gasped. "How dare you, you insolent dog. You're addressing Master Barrasen, son of the Lord of Barfoss. Now, kneel, before I have you all whipped."

"Don't you only have to kneel to the Empress?" asked Robin. "I mean, you do look like an Empress with those clothes on, but those pubes on your face say otherwise." he said to the Barrassen.

"Robin!" hissed Alex. This wasn't your average tough guy. He was the spoiled son of the ruler of Barfoss. This kid was drunk on his power; he could have them whipped, imprisoned, killed, or worse and there was nothing they'd be able to do. They couldn't afford to anger him.

"All of you." said Alex, his voice one of contained anger. "Kneel."

"Wha-" began Robin.

"Kneel." said Alex, already going down on his knees. That was more commanding to Robin than anything those two men had said up until now and he knew he had to obey Alex. Bracingly, he went down on his knees too.

Barrassen, fuming with anger at Robin's words mustered a fake smile. He tapped his heel on the horse's flanks to make it move and brought the animal to the group. "Your brother has dared to disrespect me, blacksmith." he said in a low voice, placing his show on Alex's head without getting off the horse. "What say you in your defense?" He started rubbing the mud from the sole into Alex's hair.

Alex was fuming with anger, but he knew Barrassen was in absolute power here. The thought of what could happen to the girls kept him focused. "I am extremely sorry for my brother's behavior. I ask for your forgiveness on his behalf." Alex was hating himself with every word...and the shoe being rubbed on his head didn't make things better. Oh, how I'd love to smash this little shit's face in.

"That's not good enough." said Barrassen, smiling, finally taking his foot of Alex's head. He glanced at the girls. "Maybe I'll have them pay the deb-" he suddenly stopped, spotting Katherine. "A demi-human?" he whispered in total disgust as Katherine looked at him with her expressionless eyes.

The man in the goatee quickly rode up. "I'll have her removed from your eyesight at once, sire. And I'll have her whipped for every showing her ugly face to you."

Robin jumped up. "Anyone who touches a hair on her head is gonna have his fucking throat sliced!" he said, one had on the hilt of his sword. He knew if he drew it, chaos would ensue. Alex got up too and the girls followed his suite. "You can do what you wish to me, 'sire', but I'm afraid I can't let you touch the girls."

Barrassen looked at the faces of the two defiant boys and, despite having an entire battalion of guards at his fingertips, somewhere he felt...nervous? Somewhere it clicked to him that if things really were to go awry, those two would be coming straight for his throat. To ease his nervousness, he let out a laugh and the man in the purple goatee glared at Alex. "Shall I have this dog killed right this second, sire?" he asked Barrassen.

"Not yet, Stellwarth. Not yet." Barrassen answered. He turned to Alex, his face suddenly one of hateful anger. "I have been extremely accommodating of your disrespect, blacksmith, but you push me to my limit. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to punish you."

Alex fumed inwardly. If only those soldiers weren't here, I'd be burying this shit six feet under ground right now. "If...that's what has to be done, sire." said Alex, clenching his fists so hard, his nails drew blood from his palms.

"Hmm." said Barrassen, pretending to muse. "How should I punish you?" He already knew what he wanted to do, but he liked to see the fear of uncertainty in his victim's eyes as they waited for the inevitable judgement. With a pleasured grin, he glanced at Alex expecting to see the terror in his face, but to his disappointment and he saw nothing but fearless hatred in his eyes. Fucker! Who does he think he is! I'll show him. "Yes, I have decided." he said, a malicious smile spreading across his face. "Firstly..." Out of nowhere Barrasen kicked. Alex was caught unawares and Barrasen, still on the horse, managed to land his foot straight on Alex's face. There was a loud thud, and Alex was knocked to the ground with the force.

"Alex!" the five almost screamed in unison.

His eyes began to tear from the from the kick to his nose, but Alex forced himself to get his feet back under him as quickly as he could. Not gonna give the bastard the satisfaction. He felt the mud on the side of his face and cursing every single swear word he could think of inwardly, he got up. Robin lent him a hand and Alex steadied himself. Robin turned to Barrassen. "Why you lit-" Alex grabbed his shoulder, immediately making him stop. The message was clear: Don't make it worse.

Barrassen was smiling. "That's right. You're learning." he said to Robin with a sneer. "Imagine the things my soldiers will teach your little pet cat of over here." he said, looking at Katherine. Robin held his tongue with difficulty. Smiling even more widely, Barrassen turned to Alex. "Don't blame yourself for dropping like an old drunkard, blacksmith. I've had a lot of practice kicking lowlifes."

Alex knew Barrassen wanted a response. Something he could use against him again, so he didn't respond at all. "Now." said Barrassen, feigning a casual tone. "Your punishment will be fifty lashes on the back."

"What!?" exclaimed Liana. "What the fu-" Alex held up his hand again; Liana glared at him, but respectfully fell silent. There were about thirty soldiers standing behind Barrassen. They could not do anything but go along with his whims. If he'd been alone, Alex knew he'd have long gutted the fucker.

"Er...sire...if I may." said Stellwarth.

"Yes? What is it, toady?" asked Barrassen in a good-natured manner.

"We...er...would need our blacksmith in a functioning manner, sire. Fifty lashes will...well, stop him from working. I...er...don't think Lord Druss would be very pleased to hear that."

"Hm..." considered Barrassen. "You're right. Ten lashes then." Somewhere Alex felt a bit relieved. "But." continued Barrasen, suddenly, his expression disgusted. "Since this sisterfucker is getting off easy 'cause he's a blacksmith, he'll make me twenty-five pristine swords as a tribute gift to be delivered within five days."

At this point, even Alex had to use all his willpower to stop himself from bursting out. He wanted to strangle this kid right here and now, but he forced himself to just contend with stabbing his own palms with his nails.

"Why're you doing this?" asked Eve, out of nowhere. Barrassen turned to her with amusement. The thoughts of what she'd be like in bed made him smile. "Your brother here, insulted, beat up, and robbed a man I respected a lot out of his title; Arrdem Moof. I'm just returning the favor." he said, smiling. "Of course, if you'd rather I not whip him, then you're more than free to offer me your body. Maybe I'll just make your brother watch while I fuck you and that'll be his punishment."

Alex almost tasted blood in his mouth from anger. Or maybe it was because of all the tongue biting he was doing? But again, he forced himself to not say anything. But he felt it...he felt that his limit was being pushed.

"No?" asked Barrassen. Eve didn't respond. "Heh, very well. Let's get this over with." Barrassen snapped his fingers and gestured to a soldier who came rushing up on his horse. "Administer ten lashes on this commoner as punishment for disrespecting a highborn."

"Yes, sire." said the soldier, bowing his head. He jumped off his horse and came up to Alex. "Come on, scum." he said.

"Alex, lis-" began Felicia.

"Al, look-" started Robin

But Alex stopped them both. He turned to the five. "Not a word, any of you." They opened their mouths to speak again, but Alex continued. "Not a word. Trust me on this." Felicia bit her lip, tears starting to form in her eyes, but nodded. Alex turned to Robin, and he nodded silently too.

"Aww, you've trained your bitches." said Barrassen. "I almost threw up with with joy!" he said in sarcastic anger. "Get on with it!"

"Off with your shirt, scum." commanded the soldier.

Alex sighed, and took off his shirt. The soldier then dragged him to the big tree that gave shade to most of the house's grounds, and then tied his hands around the trunk so Alex was hugging it. Alex's heart was beating fast now. He knew why he was doing it, but even though his mind was ready, his body wasn't. The soldier then took off the whip that was on his belt, and proceeded to crack it in the air a few times.

The sound of the leather breaking the sound barrier to unleash those bangs was nerve wracking. Especially, since Alex didn't know when he'd start to get hit. Just as he was processing this, he felt it. Bang! It felt like someone had cut open his back. He writhed from the pain, instinct telling him to move but the sturdy ropes holding him down like an animal. Before he could do much more, the rest of the whips came raining down. One, two, three, four, five, six seven, eight, nine! Alex wanted to scream so bad, but he held it down. No way, I'm gonna give him the satisfaction.

His vision blurred, his knees felt weak, and his mind was unfocused. Alex knew his back had been cut raw. Even the air felt stingy on the wounds. But what he was most dreading to see was Felicia's and the others' expression. He dreaded seeing the pain he'd caused them. The soldier came and undid the ropes around his hands, and Alex's feet started to shake. All he wanted to do was to collapse here and now. But no, he couldn't...he wouldn't. With more willpower than he'd ever used for anything, he forced himself to turn around and look at Barrassen straight in the eyes.

The Lord's son felt a chill go down his spine. What was this freak? He's still standing? Barrassen knew he was a coward; he'd realized that fact about himself long ago...even though he'd never admit it out loud. And seeing this shirtless commoner still staring at him with such defiance, suddenly scared him. What if this fucker sneaks into the mansion one night and slices my throat? Have I pissed off the wrong scum?

"Hope you learned your lesson, shitfeeder." said Barrassen, surprising even himself with how steady his voice was. "We will meet again." he said, even though, at this moment, he felt like he didn't ever wanna see Alex again. He dug his spurs in the horse's flanks and the horse neighed, galloping away. His entire company turned around and rushed out after him.

"Alex!" screamed Felicia, running toward him.

Alex saw her face through his blurry vision, and suddenly, the world made sense. Everything was alright now. Everyone was fine. He could rest now...he could sleep. As they came nearer, his knees finally gave out under him and he collapsed into darkness.

* * *

The days went by. Captain Zorran heard about the news and came rushing down to see Alex. He was bedridden then with Felicia cleaning his wounds again. Robin meanwhile, had started work on the twenty-five swords that'd been ordered. Zorran promised he'd gently try talking to Lord Druss about this and maybe he'd stop Barrassen from further harassing the town's swordsmith. Katherine, though she didn't say much, sat with Alex and kept him company while the others were busy. She really liked Alex. And seeing him do so much for them...she felt even more affection towards him than ever before. Venna heard about the incident from the Captain and came down to visit with a few bottles of healing potions. He'd also called in a favor from a well-known alchemist and had procured some ointments. Venna didn't know why he was doing this himself; he didn't believe in meaningless aid. He didn't believe in charity. But these were good kids. Maybe it was his old age getting to him, maybe he was just going soft...but maybe one day he would be able to cash in the favor....

Those ointments and the potions worked wonders. Within the third day, Alex was back on his feet and in the workshop in spite of the protests of the other five. He knew Robin alone wouldn't be able to complete the order. And if they didn't, Barrassen would come back up like some venereal disease again. Venna told Alex his scars would completely heal because of the ointments, but he still needed rest. Alex knew he had no choice but to ignore him.

Finally, on the fifth day, Alex, Robin, Liana, Eve, and Felicia loaded up the twenty five swords in their cart and set off. Alex was feeling good; it was a bright, sunny day, he'd been healed completely now, the order was complete, Zorran had told him that the Lord had ordered Barrassen to lay off harassing the swordsmith, and the others were cheery again.

"I'm never gonna get tired of this air." said Alex, breathing in deep as Robin drove the cart. "It's always so...fulfilling."

"Yes, it really is." smiled Felicia from the back of the cart. She was happy; Alex was alright now. Everything had turned out good.

"Anyway, I'll go in alone to deliver these to that asswipe." said Alex. "Girls, you stay behind. Robin, stay with them."

Robin nodded. He knew there was no point in even letting Barrassen see the girls; and of course, they couldn't be left anywhere without either Alex or Robin to guard them. "We'll jump off at Kat's place." he said. "You should drop by on the way back home too. Her mother heard what happened; she was really worried."

Alex laughed. "I will. I still have to thank her for all those lunches she sent me."

When they reached the Cat's Cradle, as arranged, Robin and the girls jumped off and Alex set off alone for the Lord's mansion. It was a long road ahead. The cart felt bumpier and the sudden quiet of no one around disheartened Alex a little. "It'll be fun seeing that shitstain's face though, when he sees me up and about and all cheery. Finished his damn order too." thought Alex, happily.

When he reached the city gates, the guards just waved him through without even checking his cargo; they knew Alex by now and knew he was close with the Captain. Once inside Barfoss, it was pain to drive the cart on the crowded streets, but thankfully, the roads leading to the Lord's mansion were smoothly paved.

Soon enough he reached the mansion gates. It wasn't a very big residence compared to what others existed in Decimandria, but it was still the second biggest house in all of Barfoss. To Alex though, who'd never seen a noble's mansion before, it was the grandest thing he'd seen. Alex didn't come to the center of Barfoss usually, what with all the expensive shops and houses. He stuck to the edges of town where he knew people and where the pubs were rowdy.

Two guards stood at the mansion gates with a small driveway beyond leading up to the building. A couple of gardeners stood tending the few bushes and a few other guards patrolled the grounds. An expensive carriage stood in front of the mansion.

The two soldiers at the gates turned to look at the approaching wagon. "Master Wright!?" said one of the soldiers incredulously. Taken a bit aback, Alex shifted his gaze to the guard smiling at him. He knew he was familiar, but where....oh! "Paers!" exclaimed Alex. "How have you been?"

Paers grinned and reached up to shake Alex's hand from the cart. He turned to his companion who was looking at them quizzically. "I met him when he first came into town. Took him to Torrley's workshop." he clarified. "Been a long time, eh?" he asked Alex.

"It sure has." said Alex. "But what're you doing here?"

"Guard duty this week." said Paers, sounding morose. "But at least I'm outside and out of reach of the young lord..." he added, peering into the gates.

"I'm guessing you don't like Barrassen." said Alex, laughing.

"Shh!" hissed Paers. "You'll get me in trouble!"

"Sorry!"

"I...heard what happened with the young lord, Master Wright. You okay?" asked Paers, sounding genuinely concerned.

Alex grinned. "Peachy. In fact, I came by to drop the twenty five swords he forced me to make. I mean...ah...the twenty five swords that I'm gifting Master Barrassen as a tribute."

"You completed them?" asked Paers, glancing in the back of the cart. He saw them piled up under a tarp and he laughed. "Only you, Master Wright, can pull off something like this."

Alex just winked. He knew though, Barrassen didn't know that Robin could smith too. If he'd been alone, Alex would not have been able to complete the order. "Mind letting me in so I can get this over with?" he asked.

"Sure thing." said Paers, cheerfully. He signaled to the two guards behind the gate and they unlocked it, swinging it open. Alex nodded to Paers and drove inside. The driveway was unmaintained and a bit overgrown. The two senile gardeners seemed too busy trimming a bush that was already too thin and nobody else seemed to care about the state of things. Alex rolled his eyes; leave it to these rich dumbasses to ruin the shit the commoners could only dream of. Wait, did he just refer to himself as a commoner? Holy shit! ...but maybe that is my life now...

Just as Alex was turning his cart in front of the main doors, they burst open and Barrassen came out, apparently protesting with someone trying to stop them from leaving. "Listen, ladies, please. I didn't mean-"

"That's enough, Barrassen." said a voice.

As Alex watched, two girls came out of the doors too. For a second he thought he was seeing things, but then he realized the two were twins. Dressed in the same dark red gowns and having their light brown hair styled the exact same way, they walked out haughtily.

"But, bu-"

The other twin held up a hand to stop Barrassen and he fell silent. The three got down the steps and a man dressed in black clothes ran up and held the doors open of the expensive carriage that had been standing in front of the mansion. The two girls threw Barrassen one last dirty look before they climbed in and shut the door behind them. The man in black climbed up to the driver's seat, and unable to decide whether he should salute Barrassen or not, just drove off. Alex observed this affair with amusement. Clearly those two came from another rich family of Barfoss. Rich enough to have Barrassen protesting rather than demanding.

Barrassen was mournfully staring at the back of the departing carriage when his toady, Stellwarth came up to him. "I'm sorry, Sire. I...hear those two have ridiculous standards. None of your friends have succeeded despite their best efforts. Those hags are no good for your lordship anyw-"

"You've been hearing a lot of things, eh, frog?" asked Barrassen, irritably. "Don't you dare disrespect the Raithe twins in front of me again, you hear?" Stellwarth hastily nodded, his head bowed. Even Alex had to marvel at how well of a sycophant he was. "And who's this fucker who's been stari-" Barrassen stopped dead spotting Alex smiling at him from the buckboard.

"Trouble with the ladies, m'lord?" asked Alex, letting his grin slip.

Barrassen turned to Stellwarth, fuming. "Who let this shitstain of a commoner in the grounds, Stellwarth!?" he demanded. Barrassen was not only feeling embarrassed Alex had witnessed him begging to someone else, but he also felt...fear. How was it that this sisterfucker was back on his feet and smiling within five days? What if he's here to poison me or curse me?

"You...er...demanded...I mean...he's come bearing the gift he promised he'd give you, Sire." said Stellwarth, throwing Alex a disgusted look. Alex winked.

"Twenty five swords as promised, Sire." said Alex, jumping off the buckboard and going round the back. "Should I carry them into the house or will one of your servants do it?"

"There's no need to enter my house!" snapped Barrassen, quickly. "You're lucky you were even let in the grounds, scum." Barrassen felt angry with himself. Angry that he was being scared of a commoner. What was this guy's problem. No matter what he did, he was still standing.

"You know....funny thing." said Barrassen, seized with an inspiration. "I seem to remember asking for twenty-six swords."

"Don't be ridiculou-" Alex stopped spotting Barrassen's raised eyebrows. The Lord's son turned to his toady. "Isn't that right, Stellwarth?" he asked.

Stellwarth grinned gleefully. "Indeed it is, Sire. I remember it well."

Alex was feeling the familiar rush of anger again, but he forced himself to calm down. "I seem to have dropped one of the swords on the way here then, Sire. I'll go and look for it immediately."

"Oh, no need for that. You already have the last sword." said Barrassen smiling. Alex followed his line of sight to his hip. Herm's sword!

"I...er...have no idea what you mean. Sire." said Alex. How could I have been this stupid? It had become a habit to carry around this sword but I shouldn't have brought such a fine piece to the home of a vulture.

"Yes, you do." said Barrassen. "Hand it over, blacksmith."

"This belonged to my mentor, Sire. I'm afraid I can't give it to you." said Alex, placing one hand on the hilt.

Barrassen laughed. "I'm afraid, commoner, you have no choice in the matter. I wasn't asking, see. I was commanding. Now hand it over before I have the soldiers take it from you and have you whipped again like a bitch."

Alex knew he had no choice. He had to do it. His anger was immeasurable. No amount of whips could hurt him as much as unbuckling his belt did. He slowly ran his finger down the beautiful sheath. Never really appreciated how beautiful she was, Herm. Truly a Royal Captain's sword.

Barrassen stretched out his hand and Alex, each step just increasing his fury even more, gently placed the sword in Barrassen's hands. The one thing I had left of you, Herm. The Lord's son grinned with pleasure at Alex pain. "Hmm...shiny." he said, unsheathing the sword. Alex clenched his fists even tighter as Barrassen swung the sword about a couple of times. It became apparent he had no real knowledge of swords or the value of this particular sword.

"You seem attached to this thing." said Barrassen, amused. Alex didn't respond, but turned around and glanced at the servants unloading his cart.

"While they do that, let me give you a gift." said Barrassen. He turned to Stellwarth and whispered a few words to him and breaking into a smile, Stellwarth rushed off.

There was a few minutes of awkward silence as Alex stood around while Barrassen played with Herm's sword. Watching the sword glint in the sun as the Lord's son swung it without any finesse just kept adding fuel to Alex's rage. But again, he knew he had no choice. Barrassen was the complete authority. The only one above him was his father and he spoiled his son too much to care about some incident like this.

Barrassen meanwhile was feeling ecstatic seeing Alex pained like this. His father had ordered him to not do anything to the swordsmith that would decrease his sword making capabilities. He had been furious that his father had stepped in for some commoner like him. He knew Zorran had talked to his father about it...and he also knew he couldn't touch Zorran. He was too good of a soldier and captain for his father to dismiss over his son's petty bullying. This blacksmith had made him, the future ruler of Barfoss, powerless. It had absolutely enraged him being helpless and he was dying to get back at the blacksmith. This, right here, was perfect. Even his father wouldn't be able to fault him.

After a few minutes, Stellwarth came back followed by a huge soldier in heavy armor. Following those two were a couple of soldiers carrying what appeared to be was a big, black iron ball with a diameter of about three feet. For a crazy second, Alex thought Barrassen was gonna spar with the heavy soldier, but he had different plans in mind.

"I brought one, sire. And the lightball." said Stellwarth, taking a short bow.

"Very good." said Barrassen. He sheathed Herm's sword and very gently, placed it on the ground. "Go ahead, soldier." he gestured.

The heavy soldier took a step forward, and raised his two-handed battleaxe. With a loud shout he brought it down straight on Herm's sword. "NO!" screamed Alex, but the soldier got up and struck again, and again and again. When he finally stopped, the beautiful sheath was completely ruined, but the blade itself appeared to be fairly undamaged.

"You're fucking useless!" spat Barrassen, disgustedly at the armored soldier. "Outta my sight!" The soldier, his head hidden behind a helmet, turned around and left without another word.

"That's why you wanted this sword? To destroy it!?" demanded Alex, feeling a little thankful that it was still undamaged.

Barrassen grinned. "I wanted this sword, simply because you didn't want to give it to me. You have now, and, since it's my gift, I'll do with it as I please." He beckoned the two soldiers who'd placed the iron ball on the ground, and one of them rushed forward and picked up Herm's sword, the sheath falling off.

"Now this, is an interesting thing." said Barrassen, walking over to the ball. "It's basically a lamp, you could say. One that gets the party guests talking." He grabbed hold of the ball around the middle, and lifted the top off like some lid. In spite of himself, Alex gasped. Inside the ball was a blazing green fire. The flames shot up, licking the air around it, the fire absolutely furious. Alex thought he could feel the heat off it standing so far away. Barrassen took the sword from the soldier, and throwing Alex a grin, dropped the blade in the fire. "No!" Alex shouted, taking a step forward, but stopped. There's nothing I can do...

Alex saw the flames quickly engulf the sword. They spread all over it like they were attacking the metal with a vengeance. With an unnatural rate, Alex saw the iron start to lose its shape as it softened. The memories of how he'd first seen Herm take on those bandits who were attacking the orange-seller kid came back. How he'd stood so tall. The memories of how many times he'd faced this sword in a sparring battle. How Herm was so proud of this sword since his beloved Emperor had given it to him. And with scary accuracy he remembered how Herm had used this very sword to defend the girls and him against Sem. How he, Alex, had used this very sword to kill that monster. How this piece of metal had saved the lives of those he held dear...

Barrassen was fully enjoying this moment. He could see how much Alex was struggling as the sword, or rather the metal, turned red and started melting. He wanted to do this because he was angry he still felt scared of Alex. Scared of a commoner...a commoner his father had personally told him not to bother. Fucker!

"Nice, isn't it?" said Barrassen. "The flames never go out and they're hotter than any forge. It can be used as a fireplace on a cold day, a source of light, or like me, you just buy it because you want to. Brought it off a powerful sorcerer, Triffard of Yandelberg."

Alex, fuming inside, looked up straight into Barrassen's eyes. "Yes, I've met him." he said. It was as if a bolt of lightning hit Barrassen. This commoner met Triffard? How come Triffard even agreed to meet this fucker? What the fuck!?

"You...met...him? Scum like you? What could he have seen in a commoner like you?" asked Barrassen, trying his best not to sound scared. A commoner rubbing shoulders with sorcerers?

"Maybe there's more to this commoner than meets the eye" said Alex, his voice one of cold anger. "Good day, Sire." he said, jumping on his wagon. As Barrassen stood there open-mouthed, Alex whipped the reins and the horses set off in a trot, away from the Lord's mansion.

* * *

The ride back to Cat's Cradle was long. Alex felt naked without his sword. For so long it had hung across his hip, that now, when it wasn't, he felt...incomplete. He was angry with himself that he had just stood there and let Barrassen bully him like that. He was angry that he was helpless because of the...the girls. Felicia's face floated in front of his eyes, and he calmed down a little. He played with the idea of just moving from Barfoss. But...no, that isn't possible. Barfoss was their home now. He couldn't drag the other four on a wild escape through Decimandria again. Where would they even go? Who's to say the other Lords weren't worse than this one? No, he had to content with the hand he'd been dealt.

Alex let out a bitter laugh. A year ago, he had wings; he could've gone anywhere in the world, settled down anywhere. Could've switched jobs when he wanted. He'd go to clubs, he'd dance, he'd party. And now...suddenly, he had roots. Is this what it means to be a grown up? Tired and tied down? But, then again, a lot things were different too. He wasn't on Earth anymore...he was here, wherever here was.

Suddenly, he felt fear. What...was this life? Why had they been brought here? He'd been living here and adapting as best he could but...there was no avoiding the question anymore. Why had they been teleported here? And...why had they been abandoned like this then? What was this...chapter in life? They had been living just normal lives? What was 'normal' anyway? How many months has it been? How long since I've just let life decide for me where it was taking me? Why this casual life? What...how? Don't people who get in situations like this usually end up as kings, queens, lords? Why was he a commoner here? WHAT is going on?

Alex shook his head. Something had to come up soon. Without even realizing it, he'd settled down. Actually settled down. The plans to go back home had gradually faded away...even the memories of home seemed like a faraway dream sometimes...

But what can I do anyways? I have no ideas...no means. And...why...why am I hesitant to leave this world? Like something's...tying me here...

Alex blinked. He'd reached Cat's Cradle. Absentmindedly, he reached for his sword grasping only air. Letting out a deep sigh, he dragged himself off the buckboard, and slowly took the four steps to the inn's door. Doing his best to change his expression, he swung open the door and walked in.

Cat's Cradle was fairly bustling this afternoon. It was quite popular among the other races and demi-humans and it was virtually the only tavern in the outskirts of Barfoss. Alex spotted a group of dwarves already drinking, a few hooded figures discussed things in quite tones, elves sat with their usual elegance, their bows resting by the side of the table. Then he spotted Katherine serving the customers; guess her mother wasn't gonna let her off if she was in the tavern. He looked around a bit and spotted Liana, Eve, and Felicia sitting on a corner table at the far end of the room.

They were busy discussing something so they didn't spot him till he was already climbing on the empty chair. "Alex!" said Felicia, sounding relieved. "How'd it go?" Alex took a swig of water from Felicia's mug and put it down with a thud. "It...went well." he answered. No need to let the girls know about the details.

"Really?" asked Liana, sounding a bit skeptical.

"I don't think he was expecting me. He'd even forgotten about his damn 'order'. When I met him, he was begging some rich twins...Raithes?...about something." said Alex.

"Raithes?" asked Eve. "I know about them. Katherine told me. They're one of the oldest families in Barfoss and one of the richest. To begin with, Barfoss doesn't have a lot of nobles, but these are the most influential after the Druss'."

"Druss?" wondered Felicia. "I always thought Druss was the Lord's first name not his surname."

"Seems so." said Liana.

"What's the Lord's first name then?" asked Eve.

"Jazzfern, I think." said Alex. "Walfred told me once."

"Oh."

"Anyway." said Alex, taking another gulp of water. "Where the hell is Robin? I thought he'd gone to the toilet or something."

The three girls immediately became uncomfortable, suddenly very interested in the table. "Girls..." said Alex, warningly. "What happened?"

"Er...he...got into a fight with Katherine." said Felicia.

"Fight? With Katherine? But what could they fight about?" asked Alex, in disbelief.

"I don't know exactly. Apparently, Katherine had had an argument with her mother before we got here. Then Katherine said something to Robin or took her anger out on him or something. He got pissed and said something back. Then they had a kind of silent fight at the other end of the room and Robin stormed out to the backyard. He's been sulking there since."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Kids." he grumbled. He sighed and got up. "I'll go talk to him."

"Be...careful. He's not in the best of moods." warned Liana.

Alex just waved and took the door in the rear which led to the small backyard. He spotted Robin standing under the only little tree that grew there, looking up at the sky. He hadn't noticed Alex walking through the door.

"Trouble with the ladies?" asked Alex, genially, walking up to him. "Funnily enough, this is not my first time saying that today."

"I'm sorry I'm not drowning in pussy." said Robin, sarcastically. Alex said nothing but came and leaned against the tree too, adjacent to Robin. After a few silent minutes, Robin couldn't help himself: "I assume it went well?" he asked.

"Ah...well, I didn't get whipped, so there is that." said Alex, smiling.

"What? This time you didn't act like a little bitch then?" asked Robin, knowing that he was being angry at the wrong person. But he was just...angry. Angry at everything.

Alex clenched his fist a little, but calmed himself with a deep breath. "If you think I took those lashes out of cowardice, then...well, maybe you're not as smart, mature, or capable of protecting the girls as I thought you had become."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Robin, pushing himself off the trunk of the tree and looking straight at Alex.

"Exactly what I said." said Alex calmly, looking up at the bright sky.

"Or maybe, you just don't get that 'protecting the girls' can be done without being a grovelling little insect." said Robin, spitefully.

Alex shook his head. "You're angry, Rob. Go home. Take a walk, take a bath. Calm down."

"Oh, fuck being calm." said Robin, his temper increasing. "Again with being a bitch and telling me to run off? When are you gonna grow some balls?"

Alex took a deep breath and stood up, facing Robin. "Listen, young love and all is fine. You're gonna get in fights. Stop being so self-destructive over a single one."

"No, but I'm seeing things clearly no-" Robing stopped dead, spotting Alex's empty hip. "Where's your sword, Alex?" he asked.

Alex shrugged. "Beats me." he said, truthfully.

"Where is Herm's sword, Alex?" Robin, asked again.

"Barrassen took it. Made up some excuse of having ordered twenty-six and not twenty-five swords." said Alex. "And then proceeded to melt it down in front of me in some magical lamp-ball thingy."

"What!?" asked Robin, incredulously. "And you let him!?"

"Oh, don't kid yourself, Rob. You didn't give a shit about that sword anyway. When was the last time you picked it up, huh?"

"When I tossed it to you to kill the fucking monster that kille-" he stopped, remembering that night.

Alex sighed. "I think it's time to go back home. We've had enough of an outing today." He started walking away when Robin grabbed his arm.

"Where exactly is home, Arkwright?" he asked.

Alex snatched his hand away from Robin's and looked him dead in the eye. Robin turned around. "What're we doing here, Alex? We don't belong here. What happened to getting back home? What happened to home? Do you even remember it?"

Alex said nothing and there was a pause as they stared each other off.

"What the fuck are we sitting around here for?" screamed Robin. "Why aren't we out there? Why the fuck aren't you doing anything!?"

Alex snapped. "Not doing anything? Not doing anything!?" he shouted back. "So, I should everything? Everything I've done until now is for you four! You think I want to be stuck here? You think I want to work my ass off in a forge day in and day out!? What I'm doing, I'm doing for you all!"

"And that's not good enough!" shouted Robin back.

"Yeah? Yeah!?" asked Alex. "Then why don't you do something? What? You're still here? You still want me to babysit you like I've had to since we got here!?"

Robin almost drew his sword out, but stopped himself. "I wanna go home. I've had enough of this place. Maybe it's about time you came out of this...fucking...stupid fantasy...of yours and realize, we don't belong here!"

"And maybe you should stop acting like a child and grow up! Maybe you should realize that we're stuck here! Forever!" shouted Alex.

Robin let out a roar of anger and tried to draw his sword, but Alex caught his hand and aimed a punch at him. Robin dodged and swung at Alex which he caught. He held Robin's arm in place and was about land a hit on him when he realized what he was doing. With a gasp of air he stopped himself. Each other is all you have left in this world.

"That's enough." said a quiet voice. "Please."

Robin and Alex turned around and saw Liana, Eve, Felicia, Katherine, and her mother, Kartha, observing the scene unfold with horror. How long have they been standing there? How much did they hear? Both the boys dropped their hands and stood around awkwardly, their gaze downwards.

"Stop. Please." repeated Katherine. She walked up to Robin, and placed a hand on his cheek. He tried to shake it off, but she held it there. "I'm sorry." she said, in a quiet voice. "I've...never been good with words, but...I'm sorry."

Robin met her eyes. Katherine continued: "I...can't...I..." she stammered then took a deep breath. "Don't leave me." she said. "I...can't...imagine not being able to see you. And over such a stupid fight? It seemed so important just a few minutes ago...but...the thought of you leaving me...I...can't...I...realize, you're way more important. Please...don't leave me."

It was like soft wind soothing him down. Suddenly, all of Robin's anger faded. Her delicate hand on his cheek felt pleasant. He grinned. "Walk me home?" he asked. Katherine grinned, and nodded vigorously.

Taking Kathrine's hand and without another word to anyone else, Robin left. Alex let out a deep sigh. Can't believe I almost beat him up. But I guess we both needed to let off some steam. Alex grinned thinking of Katherine and Robin going home. Guess I'll give him a few hours alone in the house with Katherine.

Felicia looked at him, curiously. She knew he was more frustrated than he let on, but hearing him...she'd had no idea how trapped he'd been feeling. "What're you grinning about?" she asked, walking up to him.

Alex shook his head. "Nothing." He met her eyes. "Don't worry." he said, taking her hands. "I'm fine."

Kartha came up. Time to put all this unpleasantness behind us. "You've healed well after what that bastard did to you, Alex." she said, cheerfully. "I'm glad."

Alex grinned and gave her a mock bow.

"Come on then. Katherine told me you weren't eating well. Time to make up for all those lost meals." She took Alex's arm and dragged him inside.

The three girls looked at each other, shrugged, let out a laugh, and followed the two inside the inn.