Page 10 of Bloom
Of course, he figured Clementine and her wife were fine, but it was still a relief to see the words and know his childhood friend was safe with her wife.
He’d met Clementine at the age of three when a traveling fair had come to the city, and his parents had taken him. Aleric had spotted a small wooden horse on the ground and picked it up when his parents hadn’t been looking. Clementine had marched over with her pigtails bouncing and a scowl to say it was hers and demand it back.
Finders keepers, losers weepers had been his attitude. She’d pushed him. He’d pushed back. Father had seen him shove the girl and popped him on his bottom with a warning. No future lord was going to push around commoners, literally or figuratively, and he certainly wasn’t allowed to steal a little girl’s toy. Clementine’s Father had hurried over, and Mother had explained what happened and why Clementine was sitting on her butt in the dirt and wailing.
He wasn’t sure who’d later suggested it. She had been allowed to come to the Castle to play with him, and they’d ended up being friends who shared their toys without pushing or shoving.Aleric was pretty sure her Father had been hoping they’d get married one day.
He hadn't planned on his daughter falling in love with their servant when she was much older. Clementine hadn't been permitted to marry a servant, not with the position of future Countess on the line. She only liked women, so he’d helped her to run away with her true love.
If a couple separated for any reason, they weren’t supposed to remarry anyone for four years, but Clementine and Bella had gone far away where no one knew them and married. Aleric was sure the Goddess Elira didn't mind. Their marriage had only been to make it easier to help her run away.
A good deal of the court was made up of cousins who were distantly related by blood or had married in. That didn’t stop them from gossiping, and some thought Aleric had been monstrous to make his wife run away. He couldn’t tell the truth because Clementine’s Father would demand to know where his daughter was, and Aleric wasn’t ruining her peace.
She’d be back one day, and her Father wouldn’t be able to do a thing such as demand that Lord Monet force Clementine to go back to her husband.
Aleric missed her and wished he could say the danger he was in simply to unload it. He hadn't been able to speak of a particular incident before.
Why put the worry on her now? She deserved to be happy with her wife, and it wasn’t her problem.
It was getting late, so he figured he’d write another day. They had doves, and he didn’t need the one who had moved on from the quill to peck at an old book.
“Knock it off,” Aleric whispered and put out a hand for the bird. “What are you? A hen? Peck, peck, peck.”
The dove hopped onto his finger. “Reply?”
“No reply. Go back to where you came from.”
He brought the bird close to his forehead and pictured Clementine in East Forest. The dove had come from her, and he would return. The bird stared at his forehead as he read the fairy’s thoughts. With the image and command, he’d know where to fly.
“Take your time, and don’t rush on the way.” Aleric held his hand out in the direction of the open window, and the dove took off. In a flash of blue feathers, it flitted out and was gone.
Aleric wished he could fly away with no worries or real concerns.
***
Dressed and ready for the day, Aleric entered his sitting room. Jaime was asleep on his stomach with the blanket twisted around him and half on the floor. Since his sleep pants were too tight and not made for someone over a half foot taller with so much muscle, Aleric had an excellent view of his round ass. The kind he’d like to grab if he was on his back with legs spread while getting railed.
Not that he’d ever do that anymore. He hastily left the room and swore at himself. Sometimes, it was tempting to go to a whorehouse and find a man to fill his ass. Even without the kinky stuff he used to love, it’d be a relief to have his brains fucked out for a change.
But even with a whore, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Breaking his rule once would lead to doing it again, along with other things, and he couldn’t risk putting himself in such an unsafe position again.
Some courtiers ate breakfast in their rooms. Father almost always came to the Hall, and he was in his usual chair with his cane hooked over the arm. Morning sunlight flooded through the huge windows to the left, highlighting the silk and trim of the courtier’s clothing. The magic light, which appeared to comefrom nowhere and was used for cloudy days or evenings, wasn’t on. Once Aleric greeted Father and sat, he told him the news.
“So he’s a slave?” Father frowned while his son selected a piece of toast from a platter on the table. “What’s his name again?”
“Jaime Meyer, and no, he’s not really a slave. I’m paying him.” Aleric had left out the part of Jaime sucking him off last night or how he’d be paid as long as he gave Aleric more blowjobs. Two of their most trusted guards were gone now after decades of service, and he wouldn’t go through the city at night with the others. It’d be easy for a certain someone to pay them off, and he didn’t want a knife in his back.
“You’re not letting him leave. You know how I feel about slaves. It’s the law in Soleil, and I wouldn’t tell the Regent otherwise or question the law his brother made, may Elira rest Jean’s soul. That doesn’t mean I need to approve of the concept or that we need to keep slaves.”
“I’m paying him,” Aleric repeated. “If you thought he was guilty, he would've ended up as a slave. Who knows who would buy him? This was a case where either could be lying. You tend to side with locals. Don’t you?”
“Well, yes, but-”
“If he’d been arrested and brought before you, who would you pick?”
Father couldn’t pretend he didn’t tend to side with locals when neither had proper evidence and it was all based on what either party said. He furrowed his brow and took a sip of his tea. “I don’t like you owning a slave. I didn’t raise you like that.”
“He’s more like an aid. He’ll get a wage, and it’s not like I’ll be beating him. If he is guilty-” Honestly, Aleric didn’t think he was, and he shrugged like he wasn’t sure. “In the future, he’ll hopefully think before he acts so he doesn’t end up as a realslave. Being forced to stay in a Castle for a year is a much better deal than prison or the home of whoever might buy him.”
