|
 A
slight wiggle of the curtains was the
only sign of my presence that morning in the gym on the
lowest floor of the Tower of the Suns. The only one I ever
gave even though I had come to this very spot nearly every
day for forty-four years. It would have been forty-five if
not for the exile from my homeland to which I had just
returned. I couldn't slip, if a dark elf like myself was
discovered to have returned to the elven lands they would be
executed.
 Peeking
around the corner I bit my lip against the sudden rise of
sorrow in my throat. He and the troupe were there, just as
they always had been. Vixos Oakleaf, the court jester from
whom I learned all I knew of acrobats, had already began the
troupe's warm-ups, watching them with his expert eye. I
smiled to myself as he whapped Ben on the backside with the
flute he was never without.
"Yes,
the pikes are perfect, but your layouts would be better if
you weren't staring at Alia's backside all the time, so get
out of heat, Ben," He scolded. For a moment he glanced my
way, an odd look crossing his eyes. The jester plopped down
neatly on the mat, continuing to watch the others critically
while bringing his flute to his lip and playing a melody I
had heard many times before. A piece about seaweed and
otters. His brow furrowed, and suddenly to my horror he
started walking directly towards me lowering the flute
again.
Falling
back on my thief training I pulled back further behind the
curtain, but his footfalls still came. Steeling myself I
grabbed the jester as he turned the corner, clamping a
gloved hand over his mouth. The poor man grabbed his chest,
stifling a scream.
"Calm
down Vix, it's just me. I won't hurt you, I promise." I kept
my voice down out of necessity.
"Mir?
E'li, what are you doing here? They'll kill you if they
catch you..." Vixos automatically dropped his voice to a
whisper.
"I
know... But the Dark Queen has infiltrated the Tower... She
has followers here and I have to find them. I had to come
back..."
"What?!
Here in the Tower?"
I
bit my lip, taking a few steps back starting to tremble
slightly. "I'm sorry Vix... I shouldn't have come down here.
I missed the troupe is all."
Vixos
nodded, "Listen, Mir... You know I'm all over this place
right? If you need any help, just let me know. Not a
fighter, but whatever help I can be..."
I
nodded. "Aye, Sure... Thanks..." I swallowed hard and
started to turn away. E'li there were so many things I
wanted to ask him. Why Vix was the only one who was ever
truly kind to me in this damned Tower, why I always felt I
could trust him when he was under the employ of my cousin
the Speaker.
"I
missed you Mir."
"Don't
see why... I'm just the neighborhood fish."
"Don't
make me wash your mouth out, Mir. I happen to have loved my
mistress your mother. Even if she did have a tendency to
sneak up and splash me with her tail just to see me jump.
She was kind, and beautiful, and wonderful. Is even, I am
sure."
I
paused, jerking my head back to look at Vix in surprise.
"What? You knew my mother? But she never came to the
Tower."
"Well,
I wasn't always here, Mir... I've only been here
for... a while."
I
chewed my lip, the jester was transparent enough that the
fact he was hiding something was obvious, especially to a
trained thief like myself.
"Just
trust me, I knew her. And you have her eyes."
"A
bit... It's more of a mix between her and my... Father..." I
could hardly make myself even mention the insane prince who
killed his brother and attempted to wipe out the rest of his
family as well in a bid for the throne.
"You
know, you're still a prince to me. I know it's treason, but
I can't think of you as dead."
"Don't
worry about me Vix, I'm just a dark elf. I'm not worth
worrying about, especially for a decent law abiding
Qualinesti like you."
"You're
not your father, Mookie.. I can tell you that much... you
have fire, but you are not in the least bit insane. Although
you have his aim." Vixos reached up and idly rubbed a
permanent lump on his skull.
A
dark chuckle born of 110 years of bitterness escaped me. "I
might as well accept that I'm close enough to him... I was
crazy enough to come back wasn't I? Even if it was to do
E'li's work. And my nickname's Mir, not Mookie. Whoever that
is."
"Aye...
Of course, I'm sorry Mir. But trust me, unless you've taken
up a habit of marching around your home in the nude and
talking to spoons you are not your father." Vixos looked up
at me with eyes that spoke of personal knowledge.
Even
with there elven slants, my eyes became sea-green saucers.
"No... You're just the jester, you couldn't
have."
"Prince's
have private fools too." A look of deeper pain then I
thought the jester could ever hold crossed Vixos' face but
he seemed to recover.
I
simply stared at him blankly. Sinking down on the floor
cross-legged, I closed my eyes fighting back the pain of the
newly opened, but old wound.
"You
knew my father..." I whispered.
"Somebody
had to try to calm him when he was in his rages, Miralas. It
was easier after you were born... he loved you so much. We
all did. Whether you believe it or not, it doesn't change
the fact that I am more loyal to you than to my liege even.
Which is why you must take me with you. For the good of
Qualinesti, that someone not divided in his loyalties would
serve the Speaker."
"You
were the only person I actually liked the first day I was
here. I never forgave Porthios for taking you away." I
swallowed, still managing the keep the pain off my face if
not my eyes, cursing myself for leaving myself open. You'd
think that I would have learned better in over a
century.
"To
me you were the son I never had." Vix flinched the moment he
uttered those words, as if expecting me to strike him for
daring to wish family ties to one of the royal family. "I
know it's wrong of me. But... I wouldn't even hold your
sister after you were stolen. "
I
drew in my breath, tensing even more as I for all my
practice I couldn't keep the tears back any longer. I
managed to whisper, "Why would you ever want a dark elven
fish for a son Vix? You don't deserve that... I'm hardly
good enough for you."
"You
should never have been made a dark elf for falling in love
with a human. The father of our nation did the same. And you
are not a fish, you are the son of a Dargonesti of more
honor and beauty than any woman I have known excepting her
daughter, who was only her equal."
Vixos
sank down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as
a father would a son. I whispered, "You were the closest
thing I had to a father Vix. I never had a dad. I had to be
one."
"To
little Estrie and to yourself... Oh Mookie... The things you
have suffered that you never should have..."
I
shut my eyes again, letting my head fall against Vix's
shoulder. A warm feeling starting to spread over the ache.
"I would have never guessed it Vix, you don't seem all that
older then me. You're what. Two hundred?"
Vix
pointed upwards with his thumb to indicate more.
"275?"
"352
Mookie. And planing to make it to 1,200. E'li
willing."
I
grinned slightly. "You're kidding Vix. I mean, you hardly
eat at all."
"Oh,
like you eat properly at all... I'm amazed your blood still
flows through your veins."
"I'm
a sea-elf... I stuff myself on raw fish..." I replied
slightly huffily.
"Sashimi
is very good for you... don't particularly care for it
myself, but that's not what I'm talking about. I've seen
some of the other stuff you eat. As bad as Gilthanas was.
Sandwiches with globs of mayonnaise." He
shuddered.
"Mayo's
good... Adds lost of flavor."
"Adds
fat and cholesterol!" He exclaimed, and I grinned. "I
sincerely believe that the elven obsession with eating
flavorful fat is the main reason so few of them live to the
full extent of their years! Another thing... You need to
relax a bit... I know, I know, a thief never let's his guard
down, but think of your blood pressure!" I rolled my eyes,
but found myself beaming, this was the Vix I remembered.
"All of my acrobats get regular rub downs, helps with the
circulation and prevents injury. When is the last time you
had a massage?"
"Ummm...
Never?" I replied quite honestly. Even when I had my title I
was never much for pampering.
"Never?!"
Vixos cried in shock. He immediately started working on my
shoulders, mumbling about not having seen a case this bad
since Ben. "E'li and Astra, and you're not in constant pain
from this?!"
"No...
I mean... I have to be tense and ready to move at a moment's
notice Vix."
"Tense
is not the same as ready to move. Have I ever struck you as
one who is not ready to move if need be? If I weren't, I'd
never have survived your father. Had amazing aim with
crockery."
I
winced in sympathy. "Ow... Got hit by a bowl some lady threw
at Estrie once. That hurts."
"Aye,
nice heavy things, aren't they. And always seem to hit on
the edge. Some form of pottery physics I'm not aware of."
Vix replied sagely.
That's
when the burning agony of horribly overtaxed muscles hit me.
"Ow! Ow!"
Vix
calmly got up and returned a few moments later with a hot
water bottle. "Now I know sea-elves can take this much heat,
so don't worry." I winced even more as he set it on my
shoulders. He added with that maddening grin of his, "You
just don't like blood flow."
I
grumbled, but honestly tried to relax. "Vix, this just isn't
natural."
Vixos
sighed. "You know how long it took me to get Ben to stop
being like a tight wound spring? Almost an entire year of
constant massage, ice, and heat... Not to mention
traction."
"Ben?
Why was he like that?"
"Same
reason as you. Saved him from the gallows two years before
you got here. He got himself caught by a very tricky ward.
He was 70 years old and they were going to hang
him."
"Really?
I..."
"Shh!"
Vix suddenly warned, throwing a cloak over me. I backed
further into the prop room, curling up on the
floor.
I
recognized Benvolias' voice. "Vix? You okay? We're all done
out here and want to know if we can go now." I suddenly
tensed, and bit down on my tongue as my muscles burned like
fire again. "Okay... Just thought I heard voices or
something... You talking to yourself again?"
"Aye,
Ben, of course. I'm just not happy with the embroidery as
usual and trying to think of how to improve it. You go ahead
and go eat."
I
finally simply couldn't take the pain anymore. And the
slightest of whimpers escaped me. I caught Vix whimpering to
cover quickly. Probably using the embroidery as an
excuse.
Ben
shrugged, sitting down on the cloak I was covered with.
"It's about Prince Miralas again, isn't it. You've been
crazy since he left, Vix. But hey, street rat instinct, I
have a feeling he'll worm his way back from
exile."
Ben
tapped my shoulder absently with a finger and stiffened in
surprise at the even louder agonized whimper that escaped
me.
"Vix,
from the musculature and the tone of the whimper I'd say
you're going after women on steroids again." Benvolias said
good humoredly.
"I'll
give you about five seconds to get off me before I hurt
you," I snapped. Ben stood up quickly and I pulled off the
cloak.
"Allow
me to make a formal introduction, since there hasn't
actually been one... Miralas, this is Benvolias," Vixos said
a tad wearily.
"The
second Kanan I have ever sat upon in my life... I am a
privileged man." Ben grinned brightly.
I
smirked. "And before you think I have a death wish, the
dragons say the Queen has gained followers here. I have to
find them."
"Ah,
sounds like a job for a snooping rat to help sniff out. I'm
better than a terrier. Ask Vix who is his best source for
inside info." He replied.
"Me."
Vix stated matter-of-factly.
I
couldn't help but grin. "By the way Ben, the next time you
sit on someone, make sure they haven't been victims of Vixos
oh-so-tender hands." The last part dripped with
sarcasm.
Ben
patted me on the back. "I thought he was nuts, too. But it
actually does help. Brought me from having catlike reflexes
to what I have now. And it stops hurting after about the
third time." A dagger materialized in his hand and was gone
without him even seeming to move.
I
hopped back, tensing up reflexively and groaning. "Stop
it!"
"Aye,
apparently gave him an incurable ego and an ability to
unnerve anyone within thirty paces." Vixos remarked dryly. I
smirked.
"Ready
for the ice now?" Ben asked. He obviously knew this
treatment as well as Vix did.
"I
don't think that's a good idea Ben, ice is liable make him
more then relaxed, he's a sea-elf, their torpor and
all."
"Just
make me a spot in the mats to sleep. Where I'll be hidden
until it melts and I wake up." I suggested.
And
that's what was done. Ben collected the ice while Vix and I
formed the gym mats into a fort where I could sleep
unmolested under the effect of the ice.
"Alright
Mir. Go ahead." Vix said once Benvolias had returned. I
nodded and vaulted over the mats, twisting to the ground on
the other side.
"Aye.
You're right Vix, he does over-rotate to the right." Ben
commented.
"That's
on purpose. I can't push off my right arm when I'm carrying
a saber now can I?" I replied huffily.
"Now
how about getting out? Can you do a hand press?" Vix
asked.
I
tried, and miserably failed. "Ummm... No." Ben simply smiled
and walked over to the stacked mats, his wild elf blood
giving him quite a bit more muscle than my house elven frame
along with another two inches. He neatly pressed up on the
mats into a handstand, grinning at Vix upside
down.
Vix
sighed as I stuck my tongue out at Ben. "Do you remember
what I told you about street rat egos decades ago,
Miralas?"
"No...
What?"
"That
they're incurable. Just remember that you never got
caught."
I
chuckled and curled up in my hole while Vix dropped the ice
in.
"Get
some rest Mir. I'm off to make Ben do presses until he begs
for mercy." Vix shot me his mad and maddening grin as he
grabbed Ben's arm. I winked up at Ben and him before they
disappeared, Ben's face holding a look of mock
horror.
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