The Bad News

Eighteen Years Latter…

“Focus! You must focus!”

The words were harsher then intended, but they had the opposite effect regardless. Sharp, blue eyes cut to the face of the speaker as their owner lost all concentration. The small globe of water that had been rising from an elegant koi pond suddenly collapsed in upon itself with a loud splash. The blue eyes widened in shock as they returned to the rippling surface of the water. A young, handsome face twisted in aggravation and a loud snarl issued from nearly flawless lips.

Turning with a speed and grace hard to find and impossible to replicate, the blue-eyed young man rounded on the speaker.

“How am I supposed to maintain my focus with you shouting at me all the time, Rory?! Honestly, do you even realize how distracting you are?”

Rory’s strangely golden eyes slid closed. He let a light sigh as he allowed his earlier frustration to bleed away before he spoke. Reopening, his eyes looked from the now calm waters of the pond to the indignant face of his… apprentice. Smiling slightly, Rory ran his hand through his jet black hair and chuckled at the youth’s disgruntled expression.

“Caen, forgive me. I didn’t mean to shout and I certainly didn’t mean to break your concentration…”

Rory moved to stand by Caen’s side, though ‘move’ might be the wrong word. He had slid through the air with ease and come to be by the young man with an inhuman agility. Caen was always unable to hide his surprise and slight envy when his mentor moved in such a way. It was something that rarely happened though unless they were alone together or the situation was incredibly dire.

Golden eyes looked down into wide, blue ones. There was a good six foot difference between their heights and Caen had always had a problem with that fact, much to Rory’s amusement. Letting his eyes slide over his protégé’s smaller body, Rory sized him up as he would any other enemy. It was something he often did so as to get a feel for how much farther their training would have to go.

The youth was only nineteen this year and their formal training had only begun some five years ago, but Rory actually saw their training coming to a close within the very near future. He had been pushing his charge hard, harder than any other Rory had ever known in the lad’s position, and Caen was an extremely fast learner. The fact that all of this was exceptionally personal to the young man was also a contributing factor.

Rolling his eyes, Caen huffed a bit before relenting.

“Whatever big guy, I’m used to it by now. I have had to put up with you ever since I was born, so I’ve adjusted.”

His tone was light and matter of fact, but his voice gave the words a sweet edge to them as it always did. Even when he was yelling in a fit of rage, his voice still sounded like some song you might hear from the song birds of noble ladies. When he had first realized this fact, he had been less than pleased with the little chance of intimidation this fact offered him. Once Rory explained how Caen’s voice was so like his mother’s though, the boy had grown thoughtful for a moment before deciding that he absolutely loved the idea of sounding like a song bird. Since that time, he had badgered Rory into telling him, in detail, all of the other ways Caen was similar to his parents whom he had never gotten the chance to meet.

Rory had told him that he had his father’s face, strong and handsome, as well as the man’s hair, golden brown and nothing but a mass of curls. He had his mother’s eyes, a sharp blue color that could freeze someone cold in an instant, and her complexion, soft skin the color of light cream without a single imperfection. The boy’s body was a mix of the two: robust and naturally muscular while remaining slim and compact. By the time of his sixteenth birthday, Rory had to beat the lad’s suitors away with a stick… and sometimes even a blade.

Keeping the youth out of trouble was never very hard, though. He was never far from Rory and they trained together constantly; three times a day, every day. Of course, being so close to something so decidedly delectable was hardly the best arrangement for Rory’s own sanity. He had been aghast the day he had first recognized his own attraction to his charge and had taken great pains to keep it from interfering in his job as the lad’s lifelong companion. Of course, to one of Rory’s kind, denying one’s own pleasures was a foreign and decidedly unpleasant idea… Oh, the sacrifices…

Caen’s face suddenly lit up as he turned his eyes to look at his mentor once more. His voice was excited for once as opposed to intrepid, the usual tone after such an exercise.

“But I was actually doing it, Rory! I could feel the water like usual, but this time I actually commanded it… I just had enough of it ignoring me and I snapped. I just started… yelling at it, I guess. The entire time it was rising I was screaming at it in my head.”

His expression shifted from one of wonder to one of suspicion and incredulity.

“Is that what I was supposed to do from the beginning? Yell at it?”

Rory laughed. He laughed hard. The sound boomed out like thunder and filled the entire courtyard they were in. His teeth glinted in the sunlight and for the millionth time Caen’s eyes were inexorably drawn to them. Less teeth and more like fangs, Rory’s smile was a bone chilling thing to see… for most. Caen had always found it fascinating. Honestly, it was one of his friend’s best physical features next to his golden eyes and ample musculature. Realizing he was staring, Caen quickly averted his gaze and waited for the big guy to finally stop laughing like an idiot and answer his question. Snorting slightly, Caen simply thought to himself, dragons, sheesh.

Finally regaining control over himself, Rory wiped the mock tears from his eyes and shot the youth one of his rare grins revealing his knife-like fangs.

“No, fool; you aren’t supposed to go around yelling at elements. Really, that’s just poor form. You’re supposed to develop a cordial relationship so that the element obeys you because it desires to. That’s the ideal method of invoking your power, any power: a mutually beneficial relationship where you provide the object of your efforts with glamour and, in return, the object serves you.”

Huffing again, Caen crossed his arms and turned to glare at the pond. The fish beneath its surface suddenly darted away as though they could sense the young man’s baleful gaze.

“Then why do I have such a hard time with this? I’m so close to mastering my power, I know it, but something just isn’t clicking… Is my glamour just not good enough?”

His irritation had faded as he spoke and was replaced by simple confusion and a hint of hopelessness. The youth just looked so forlorn… In a rare moment of sympathy, the dragon moved closer to Caen and wrapped one arm around the lad’s shoulders. Caen unconsciously snuggled deeper into the embrace while wrapping his own arm around Rory’s waist.

“Don’t be stupid, of course your glamour is good enough. The elements are just fickle, Caen, as I’ve told you countless times. Some require more work to command than others. Even the greatest Fey Lord must humble themselves in order to sway certain elements to their cause.”

Turning his gaze to his young charge, Rory’s eyes were filled with sympathy as well as something else.

“Actually, just the fact that any element responded to your anger of all things tells me that you’re far more powerful than I had first thought. I’ve never heard of an element being swayed by being yelled at… particularly by some upstart brat like you.”

Turning his head so fast that his neck should have broken, Caen shot his guardian a haughty look of indignation. Swatting at the giant and breaking from the embrace, the youth’s voice came out more like a squawk than he would have liked.

“Upstart?! Brat?!”

As he squawked and swatted, Caen reached out with his glamour and fed it to the world around him. With a simple thought and a lot of effort, he called for the ambient moisture in the air to coalesce in an area centered on Rory’s feet. With wide eyes and an undignified yell, the dragon suddenly slipped and toppled over to the ground in a heap. Caen giggled and danced away, entirely pleased with himself.

With a playful growl, Rory shot up like a snake and moved with the agility from earlier. Catching Caen in an iron grip, he picked the young man against his chest and slung him around in a wide circle. Caen had meant to yell in protest, but his voice caught in his throat upon being lifted and when he started turning like that he couldn’t contain a sudden burst of laughter. It was like he was six again and Rory was twirling him around just for the fun of it, one of Caen’s favorite memories.

When Rory finished spinning, he came to a stop and set Caen back on his feet, but he didn’t release the young man from his grip. His muscular arms were wrapped around the lad’s slender waist and he really didn’t feel like letting him go. Not minding one bit, Caen let his body lean further into the embrace. It was a slight difference, but it was enough to make Rory aware of how the pair must look. Then again, Caen seemed to be enjoying himself… and really, what was Rory there for but to keep the young man happy and safe? If making Caen happy might be a way to making himself happy, then why shouldn’t he just give in to his desires…?

Just as Rory found himself admiring the pale, exposed neck of his young charge, a loud ‘ahem’ came from behind the pair. Relinquishing his hold on Caen as though the boy were an open flame, Rory turned to face the disapproving gaze of Mistress Carnet, one of the most frightening women Rory had ever had the displeasure of meeting. Her steely glare was enough to wipe the dragon’s previous smile from his lips and avert his gaze, no matter how slightly.

Caen though, merely turned to look at the woman and gave her his patented look of disinterest mixed with mild disdain. When he spoke, his voice sounded bored, but carried a hint of irritation.

“Mistress Carnet, haven’t I repeatedly told you of my dislike for being bothered during my training times?”

The woman’s glare lost some of its potency, but it still clung to her. She was one of those women who always had a look of disapproval about her. When she spoke though, she at least sounded contrite. Her eyes dropped to the ground and she bowed her head to her Prince.

“Of course Prince Caen and I beg your pardon, but I have news that could not wait…”

Rory’s head snapped up and his golden eyes took on a dangerous gleam. Important news in this day and age was often very bad news. Caen’s look also became markedly more interested as his blue eyes narrowed in anticipation. When he spoke, it was in the voice of one of royal blood.

“You have my pardon Mistress. What is this news of which you speak?”

Lifting her head, but keeping her eyes downcast, Mistress Carnet spoke and her voice actually wavered. Rory was instantly put on high alert.

“I’m afraid that Lord Alford has decided to swear loyalty to Queen Astir… His forces have stood down and are going to allow the Queen’s armies to advance.”

Caen nearly fell over, but he managed to catch himself just in time and merely stumbled into Rory. Catching the Prince, the dragon let out a loud snarl. His eyes now glowed and seemed to move like molten gold. His mind was already moving faster than any human’s could as he calculated the implications of Lord Alford’s utter failure and lack of loyalty.

Recovering himself, Caen stood up with his head high and his back straight. His voice didn’t waver as he spoke and for that, he was grateful.

“Mistress Carnet, please call a meeting of my military aids. Once you’ve done that, await my return to my chambers. We have a few letters to send…”

As fast as Rory’s mind had moved, it had moved in the wrong direction. He was thinking of a military strike, but that seemed to only be half of his Prince’s plan. Deciding to see what the young man had in mind, the dragon’s eyes cooled and he resigned himself to waiting. Whatever Caen’s plans might be, he knew that he would be in on them and play a major role. It was a good thing too, considering how terrible Rory was at sitting on the sidelines.

Author's Note

General thoughts about character development would nice. Also, please let me know if the end of this chapter was a logical one or if it should have been longer. I know it could have been, but I want to know if I cut it off too soon. Thanks!

Reviews

[Kiro]

I generally love to read moments where people are training, especially if they have good relationship with their tutor. You have built nice chemistry between Caen and his teacher, I can just feel the bond of years between them.
I say that this chapter was easier to read than the last one, it woke my interest right away and carried through the chapter. It seems Caen will be powerful man, I can not wait to see what faults are you going to give him to balance that out.
And I seriously loved the part of yelling at element.

[Slithering Angel]

Yes, the yelling bit was actually my favorite part to write. I'm trying to establish the 'magic' as being 'alive' somewhat and the elements, being naturally wild, seem like they would be the most difficult things to command. Does that make any sense?
As for the relationship, I'm really happy it shone through like I wanted. The years of being together and the camaraderie that develops as well as the romantic feelings that can come about. I'm hoping the romance isn't too gratuitous, though.
I'm unbelievably glad that this chapter read better than the last. It felt easier to write, so I was hoping that would come through during the reading.
As for flaws, I think Caen's will have more personality flaws than anything. I haven't shone his personality completely just yet, but you can be sure that it's going to be interesting...
And as always, thank you so much for the wonderful review, Love~

[Kiro]

I think the romantic feelings that are developing are not at all too obvious; there barely is a hint, that might even be read as them being just generally happy with each others company. This is only my opinion though, and I have been known to be blind to anything subtle...
And as I have been always "taught" that world around us is "alive" (I really hope this makes sense and I don't sound like some cuckoo lander... too much) around us, I really enjoy how you make the elements sound in this. I seriously want to read more, and that's a rarity among the texts I read in the net, though seems to become more common the more I read your stuff.

[Ravyn]

I loving it! Soo, who gets sweet little Carnet, the dragon or the guy from the prolog?

Either way keep up the good work! And I can't wait to find out what happens!

[Slithering Angel]

lol Don't you mean Caen? I don't think anyone wants Mistress Carnet. xD

[Ravyn]

Yeah...I had the brats barking all around me.