Fay Tale - Chapter Two
“Daddy?” Lily asked as Seris tucked her into bed that night.
“No I will not tell you the story of the fish who lived under the rainbow,” he said automatically. “You’ve already heard it twice this week.”
“Not about the fish,” she said, shaking her head and sending the blonde curls bouncing. “I have a question.”
“What is it flower?”
“...is Lily in trouble?”
“Did you do something you should be in trouble for?” Seris asked shrewdly.
“Daddy got pointy-eyed when he was talking about Lily at the table,” the girl muttered, picking at the bedcover so she didn’t have to look at him. “Daddy only gets pointy-eyed when he’s madd.”
The prince settled on the bed beside her and hugged his child tightly.
“Daddy wasn’t angry at you, Lily. He was angry at the nobles who were sticking their stupid, ugly noses into Daddy’s business.”
“Calling people stupid is rude,” Lily pointed out.
“Ruder than duck farts,” Seris agreed, making her giggle. He released her and held out his pinky. “Don’t tell Angel I said rude things?” She clasped it with her own.
“Won’t tell Angel,” she replied solemnly.
He fixed the covers once more then sang to her until she fell asleep. The prince kissed her forehead then made his way across the hall of their royal wing to his brother’s room.
Angelis sat at a small desk, preparing for the next day’s work by lamplight. Seris kicked off his boots then collapsed on the bed with an unhappy sigh.
“Exactly how furious is the king with me?”
“What reason could he possibly have to be angry?”
“Well-”
“The fact that you interrupted the entire dinner with your tirade?” Angelis continued ruthlessly, “or that you threatened to eviscerate one of his nobles before all the gathered families?”
Seris groaned.
“Alright. Alright, he’s madd! Damn me to the ninth hell already and get it over with!” Seris covered his head with one of the goose-feather pillows on his brother’s bed.
“There is no reason to damn yourself just yet,” the blond vampire replied. “He will probably give you a stern warning in front of the court then flood you with busy work to keep you from having the time to be idly insulted.”
Seris refused to answer him.
Being used to his brother’s petulant ways, Angelis did not try to solicit further conversation but continued to work until he finished his task. Then the prince carried the lamp over to the wardrobe and changed his clothes for ones better suited to sleeping before perching on the bed and brushing the long waves of his golden hair.
“I wanted to do that,” Seris muttered from under the pillow.
“You were too busy pouting,” Angel replied as he snatched the pillow away.
He tugged and prodded until the mutinous Seris had also been divested of his clothing then slipped the nightshirt over his head.
“Hair,” he reminded the younger prince when Seris would have lain back down again.
The dark-haired man rolled his eyes but obediently turned so that his brother could brush out the shoulder-length hair. Angelis scooted behind him and began the careful strokes to rid the dark hair of the day’s tangles as he had done nearly every day since they were children together, newly turned in their vampire rookery.
“What will you do?” Angelis asked as he combed. “This is the fifth set of ladies-in-waiting Liliana has run away from.”
“She didn’t run away. She didn’t even leave the castle.”
“She escaped their caregiving and hid so well only you or I could find her, Seris.”
“She was going on an adventure,” Seris muttered, ever defensive of his child.
The blond rolled his eyes then after a few more strokes set the comb aside.
“You may lay down now.”
Seris quickly crawled under the covers and snuggled into place. Angelis smiled as he joined him.
“Will you take her tomorrow? I’ll have to meet with the old bat to find out what my punishment will be,” Seris asked with an unhappy sigh. “I bet it will be paperwork. He knows I hate paperwork.”
Angelis let out a soft peal of laughter, making his brother turn and stare.
“My apologies Seris,” the older prince said, turning slightly to hide his smile. “I know how much you hate the inconvenience of documentation.”
“And yet you’re laughing at my misery,” Seris noted dryly.
“Never at you, my winged heart, but simply at the situation. How far we have come when documentation and late nights are considered the worst we may face in this life.”
Seris turned and nuzzled against his brother.
“Recording which manures have a better crop yield may be less of a danger physically, but I assure you my brain is quite in danger of turning to a bored mush,” he said playfully, determined to drive away the old memories from his brother’s mind. Angelis gave him a quick smile.
“I recall the bad only to be grateful for the present,” he assured the younger man.
“And now that you’re properly grateful think of something else.” Angelis chuckled as Seris wrapped an arm around him. “And to turn the subject back you never answered my question,” the dark-haired prince reminded his brother.
“Of course I will watch Liliana. No doubt Bremen will complain loudly about how distracting she is while we checking the new dwarven facilities but–”
“He’s all wail and no claw,” Seris insisted, closing his eyes. “If he wasn’t the king’s obvious favorite, I would’ve booted him off a tower. He leaves fur all over my clothes.”
“He’s an unrepentant savage,” Angelis soothed as he kissed his brother’s temple. “Goodnight Seris.”
“Night Angel.”
And the princes slept.
~~~
Bremen sneezed twice in rapid succession. He wrinkled his whiskers then licked a chocolate-brown paw before rubbing it vigorously over his nose. When he finished washing the offending member, he looked up to find the king regarding him.
“Somebody was thinking about me,” the cat announced proudly.
“Perhaps it was Scylla. It is possible she is partial to cats.”
Bremen glared at the king. The king returned to his perusal of the document in his hand.
“Maybe she prefers royalty for her snacks!” he challenged. “You’re more of a meal than I would be!”
“Given her excessive size, I believe we would be equally insufficient for satisfying her appetite.”
The royal advisor gave himself a comforting lick on the shoulder before getting to his feet. He stretched out his front legs before hopping up to the arm of the divan he occupied.
“What are you going to do with Seris? He really tweaked the nobility’s tail feathers this evening.”
“I have given some thought to the prince’s continued lack of discretion of late,” the king replied. “I am still considering the matter.”
“He’s got a mama bear switch when it comes to his child,” Bremen said as he leapt to the desk where Anand sat.
He landed on the one clear corner purposefully left so for his launching purposes. The king had grown tired of picking up stacks of paper when his travels between divan and desk had habitually knocked them over.
“It has not escaped my notice. He is much more difficult to keep in line when he overreacts to simple insults.”
“I think it’s rather cute he has a sensitive side,” Bremen said as he wended his way carefully between piles. He waited until the king had finished signing document then rubbed his cheek against the quill’s feathered tip. “Don’t you?”
“It is hardly convenient when one is trying to run a country,” the king said as he brushed the quill against the cat’s other cheek.
“You manage well enough,” Bremen pointed out slyly.
Anand didn’t encourage his nonsense with a response. The cat batted at the quill until the king pulled it back.
“The girl holds the key to the prince’s obedience. I will need to take care of her first.”
“Seris will kill you if you harm her,” Bremen said seriously.
“There are ways to control individuals that cause no physical damage as well you know.”
“Meddling with that girl will cause him to attack you, Majesty.” Seeing no change in his expression the royal advisor tried a different tact. “Have you ever thought about letting him go? Your position is secure after all. You could always find a different heir.”
“No.”
“I’ll grant Seris is exceptional, but you could always find someone else with similar characteristics,” Bremen pressed.
“We are finished with this discussion,” Anand warned.
Bremen stalked across the desk in disgust. He shouldered perfectly straightened documents askew and even flicked his tail rudely under the king’s nose before hopping off the desk and out the door to the king’s adjoining bedchamber. Anand made a mental note to check his shoes in the morning for mice before returning to his document.
~~~
Maidd sighed inwardly. Outwardly he continued his impassive demeanor. He’d found that smiling around humans only made them reach for their weapons.
“I want to work,” he repeated slowly. “Here. With bricks.”
The human scratched his beard as he gazed up at the ogre but said nothing. Maidd resisted the urge to shake the master bricklayer. He’d tried applying for work at three other places since arriving at the city yesterday. Today was going no better.
“Ogres don’t make bricks,” the man finally said.
“Most ogres don’t,” Maidd corrected. “I do.”
The man nodded slowly, thinking deeply about the reply.
“Why?”
With an effort Maidd kept himself from bellowing at the man.
“Because I need work.” He gestured toward the temporary medallion around his neck. “Gotta work to stay right?”
“True true.” The man nodded agreeably. “But we don’t have any work here.”
Maidd muttered something very rude in ogrish.
“What was that?”
“I said thank you for your time. I’ll be going now.” The ogre turned to walk away.
“But I have a job for you.” This time Maidd did bellow.
“Make up your mind! Do I have a job or don’t I?!”
“I don’t have a job for you,” the bricklayer replied placidly. “But I have a friend who knows somebody who might need someone like you.”
The ogre’s eyes narrowed.
“Does this friend who knows somebody have a job that’s legal?”
“Legal enough to get you a permanent medallion.”
“Then I’ll take it.”
Author’s Corner
Intros are important. I wanted to give my fiends a gander at Bremen’s breed of cat. I adore Siamese cats. There’s just something about their long nose, super-sized ears, and lanky body that just screams drama queen. Speaking of drama, as I was researching cat photos to head up this blog post (I love my job), I came across the top photo of the seal-point Siamese. I really liked the photo since it shows the very specific physical configuration of that cat. But. I also came across this photo of a Siamese kitten (kittens are white at birth and develop their colors later) who is making such a little shit face that I desperately wanted to include it. When Bremen is being sassy, please picture this exact look on his face.