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"What's this?" James asked, leaning against a tree for shade.
?Jay grinned, holding out a vial at him. "It's for you."
?Suspicious, James narrowed his eyes at the man. He hesitantly took the flask from him, inspecting the outside. There were no obvious markings in the baked clay, so James opened it and gave it a sniff.
?It smelled bitter and green.
?He turned the questioning gaze to Jay.
?"Where's my thank you?" Jay groused, holding his palms out. "This is a breakthrough in herbology— an expensive one at that!"
?James didn't look impressed. "You haven't even told me what it is."
?"It's to fix your creepy fucking lookin' eyes, kid."
?James had spent the last year living far from any conurbation or village.
It wasn't long after Jay found him that Fabian started his campaign against people with red eyes, regardless of their age.
It wasn't that he ordered for them to be captured, he ordered for their immediate deaths when found.
Men, women, children, it did not matter.
He was being meticulously thorough; and the message was received loud and clear.
?James felt a familiar sting in his chest that he tried to push away.
?Despite the circumstances surrounding James, his appearance, his wounds, Jay never asked a single question about it. It wasn't out of politeness, either, James took comfort in knowing that the man truly did not care. The only thing he gave a toss about was lining his pockets.
?"It means you can finally start helping me with my work. You have a big debt to start repaying me for."
?"Oh yeah, because I've seriously enjoyed getting battered every day." James rolled his eyes, but even if he said that, he was thankful.
?Even though they weren't friends, they were comfortable with each other. James only followed Jay against his will to get Eris back, but they both eventually saw the mutual benefit from it. He wasn't seeking a fatherly-figure from the murderer, nor was he seeking a companion.
?James thumbed the vial, unsure how he felt about it.
?"So, what do I do with it?"
?He was looking forward to getting to see a mug that wasn't as ugly as Jay's.
? ? ? ?
James watched Alex struggle pathetically with the fire, and made no attempt to help. He sat at the back of the wagon, enjoying himself. After such a boring, yet tiring, day, James thought it would be okay to indulge in some light entertainment.
?"I bet that dude Fabian, who doesn't even know how to wipe his own arse, could light a better fire than you." James ridiculed him.
?He could see that Alex was looking up at him from the ground, but he had no idea with what expression. He imagined Alex was probably glaring at him.
?James had become skilled at relying on his other senses in the dark like this, finding them more reliable than his failing eyes.
He could hear the soft splash of a stream nearby, the crystal sound was delicate and gentle, indicating the stream was small enough that it was drinkable.
Even if Alex was too fancy to know how to build a fire properly, at least he could pick the right kind of location.
?James watched Alex's face intently, each spark giving him glimpses of the man's expression. He watched as Alex blinked frequently and flinched every time the twigs nearly set alight, only for a weak breeze to carry it away again.
?Finally, it caught alight. Alex looked both relieved and tense, his face lighting up in an orange glow.
?Interesting...
?"Oy," James called, "can I have a jacket now?"
?At first, James thought Alex was going to ignore him. But, maybe after learning his lesson from last time, Alex pointed to one of the crates next to James.
?"There should be some clothes in there." he muttered. "Help yourself."
?Alex seemed a lot more dejected than he had been earlier in the day, perhaps because of their argument. James' words may have cut deeper than he thought, but it wasn't like he ever had much hope for the guy. He didn't say those things in an attempt to change him, he was just being honest.
?It seemed he got himself involved in something that he shouldn't have.
?James looked to his right, the wooden crate dimly illuminating in the soft light.
It was one of about five that crowded the already tight space in the carriage.
James already knew that he wouldn't be able to see shit inside it.
Instead, he wrapped himself in a blanket and hoped that Alex was too distracted in his own stupid internal journey of self-improvement to register it.
?People were difficult, this is why he never got close to them. He much preferred Eris who was a simple soul. She was happy with whatever, she'd never expressed desire anything more, was never dissatisfied. Jay was the oppposite.
?Thinking about sleeping so close to another person made James feel weird. The last time he'd done so was many many years ago, back when he was with his mentor.
?The crackle of the fire, the rustle of wind, the sound of Alex's shoes scraping against dirt; everything around them reminded him of Jay.
Almost every night they spent on the road like this, sitting silently in front of the fire, taking a break on their way to the next town.
It made him wistful enough to feel sleepy.
?He couldn't tell if the tightness in his chest was homesickness or his abused ribs.
? ? ? ?
James awoke randomly in the night, his toes and fingers stiff from the cold. He lifted his head, disorientated.
?At some point, the curtain had been closed behind him. James could see the glow of the fire behind the material. It meant Alex was probably still awake, feeding the thing.
?It made sense for Alex to stay alert. For as long as James was in his custody, the man could not sleep safely, whilst James could. It gave James an advantage. It would only be a matter of time before the knight started making tired mistakes or lost concentration.
?Even though James had very strict regulation on his personal space, he had often spent nights sleeping next to Jay, their backs touching to keep each other warm. He wasn't against suggesting this to Alex, but he doubted the other would agree to it.
?Awake and alert, James abandoned the idea of going back to bed, and instead ventured out of the wagon, still wrapped in the blanket.
?He raised an eyebrow at Alex when the curtain made wooden chopping noises when brushed aside, little bits of string tied to the fabric edge with sticks attached. It was basically an alarm.
?James wasn't particularly offended by it.
?"The joke will be on you when this pisses us off all day." he warned.
?Alex looked exhausted, barely able to summon his unimpressed scowl at James, his eyes underlined with dark bags, his hair tousled like he'd been running a hand through it all night. Still just as handsome as the day before.
?Unlike the orange glow of the fire, James looked to the sky which wearily mustered the start of a cold blue morning light. Day would arrive in a matter of an hour.
?"Sleep well?" James asked him, just to be annoying.
?Alex didn't respond, instead, his eyes watched James hesitantly. James felt nervous to be the recipient of that look, it was almost like Alex was trying to puzzle something together in his head, like he knew something.
?"I couldn't sleep, I was too busy thinking about something." Alex said, the royal language coming out fluently.
?It was then that James realised his mistake.
?His blood froze, only a slow blink betrayed his inner turmoil, but he was sure that was enough for Alex to read. Shit. Shit. Shit.
?"Where did you learn it?" Alex asked conversationally, James couldn't miss the gratification lining his lips.
?"It's useful for the job." James replied, a beat too quick. His stomach churned uncomfortably.
?"Must have been hard finding a teacher," Alex mused, tapping his finger against his chin, "only a few people have access to those kinds of learning materials."
?James shrugged. "Nothing opens doors better than money. There's no such thing as noble exclusivity, not really."
?It was such a stupid mistake of James to make. He wanted to batter himself in the head. His mind had been so over-occupied in pissing off the knight that he let something huge slip. This was the closest thing anyone had ever known. Not even Jay knew.
?Instinctively, his fingers twitched with the urge to kill him, protect himself from the information he'd leaked. But, he couldn't. He couldn't yet, not without Eris.
?"What other languages do you know?" Alex went on to ask.
?James took in a steady breath, calming himself. Even if Alex knew this, it was too much of a stretch to reach the truth. James was still safe. He was okay, he told himself.
?"I know quite a few, actually." James said, feigning nonchalance, and then sat himself down at the dying fire, opposite Alex.
?His ankles ached from the constant metal weight pulling on them, he resorted to pulling up his trousers to inspect for any skin damage.
?"Talumni? Esparian?" Alex fished.
?It was better to be truthful in situations like this, just in case James got caught in a lie later.
?"Of course." James admitted, "My Esparian is lacking, though."
?"Ashadi?"
?James looked at Alex, giving him a questioning eyebrow raise.
?"That's one of my better ones, truth be told." James answered. "It's remarkably similar to Talumni, too, which I learned first. You?"
?"Me, what?"
?"Do you speak Ashadi?"
?It was somewhat of a loaded question, and the answer would depend on how generous Alex felt at that moment. Perhaps Alex simply wanted to humour him, or maybe it was repayment for James' slipped secret, because he gave quite a useful answer.
?"I never learned it," Alex said, "but I know a little."
?James couldn't help but smile pleasantly, surprised yet satisfied with the answer. The reward nearly made up for his stupid mistake.
?Alex seemed to know what James had been asking, and seemed charitable enough to give him an answer.
?James' brain got working connecting the dots.
Ashadi wasn't Alex's first language, Khearian was, yet he still knew 'some'.
In that case, he would have had to have been exposed to some Ashadi people at some point, since he was never taught.
Possibly slaves? But it would be weird for a family of Ashadi people to be keeping their own race as slaves.
It was unlikely his parents spoke it too, otherwise they would have taught him.
Maybe he had spent some time in the country?
But, that was unlikely, considering the war.
?James was somewhat happy chewing the mystery Alex had given him.
?One thing James did know now; Alex was Ashadi purely in race, not in culture.
?"Interesting." James said in the Ashadi language.
?Alex shook his head with a huff. "No idea what you just said."
?"Wow, it must be really bad then." It wasn't an insult, but genuine surprise.
?"I said, didn't I? I was never taught."
?Even though James still did not like the man, he had now found a single likeable trait in him.
?"You're interesting." James declared, fully intending on solving the riddle of Alex.
?Alex winced, like he regretted ever saying anything.
Even if the feeling was mutual, Alex would never admit that to James.
?He loathed the guy, but a lot of the heat behind Alex's hatred for the man was slowly being replaced with a kindling curiosity.
?Even with James' excuse, a commoner simply would not know the royal language. They just wouldn't. Hell, not even many lower nobles did. So how did James?
?James was incredibly intelligent and sharp, he couldn't help but wonder why he was killing people for a living, when he held so much more potential.
?Alex wondered if it was perhaps something to do with the previous Jay.
?Alex knew there must have been more than one of them, the method of murder had changed at least three times since he appeared.
It wasn't until the third change that he became famous— when the deaths became that much more frequent, his victims became that much more prolific, and the rumours of their charred bodies began floating around. It had been about ten years since then.
?Perhaps the victims all had something in common that Alex hadn't seen before. James spoke about justice and saving people, but he didn't think he did that to try to change Alex's opinion on him. James didn't care how Alex viewed him.
?He wondered if James would answer the questions Alex had.
?Alex snapped out of his daze when he noticed James continuously rubbing his eyes.
?"You okay?" Alex asked, more interested in what he was doing than anything.
?Alex had noticed it yesterday, but James' eyes were red with soreness. Today they seemed worse.
?"Yeah, they get dry." he hesitated. "Don't suppose you brought my bag with you? I have medicine."
?Alex hadn't.
?"Then, I'll cope." James said, before promptly changing the subject; "You should bring me something to eat because I could be hungry enough to eat a horse, if you're not careful."
?"Get it yourself." Alex snapped.
?James did so, the blanket dropping off his shoulders as he stood. Alex wondered why he had taken the jacket off if he was cold.
?He couldn't stop himself from watching the way the muscles in James' lean figure bunched and tensed as he moved, his movements slow and deliberate like a cat. His shoulders were broad and strong, his waist skinny.
?He quickly averted his gaze.
?He stood and walked to where he had tethered the horses overnight, distracting himself by murmuring to them. Rather than being pet, they clearly wanted something yummy to eat and they quickly got bored of Alex after they realised he was empty handed.
?Once he walked back he was surprised by the sight.
?Rather than eating, James had raided the crates to pull out medical supplies. His left hand had already been bandaged and Alex watched as James made progress in covering his entire right arm in the material, struggling with the awkward angle.
?Alex didn't go to help him.
?"What are you doing?" he asked.
?James looked up, the end of the bandage between his teeth as he tied some up his arm with two hands. He spat it out and then regarded Alex curiously.
?"Well, it's ugly." he said, as if it was obvious.
?"It looks painful."
?He expected James to laugh, but instead James didn't let any emotion on at all. "Happened when I was a kid, I hardly remember it anymore. Doesn't hurt, just looks real bad."
?Alex nodded. With the increased daylight, now would be a good time to start preparing the horses and carriage for travel again. Instead, the nagging questions in his head reached their limit of patience.
?"I've asked you before..." Alex began, "but, what did you do with that kid?"
?James stared for a moment, his brown eyes moved around slightly as if he was weighing something up in his head. Alex waited for him to make his decision.
?"I'll trade," he said, finally. "an answer for an answer— just like earlier."
?Alex couldn't imagine what James could possibly want to know in return. That made him waver.
?"Why?" he asked.
?"I'm interested in you." James said, point blank.
?Alex froze in surprise, caught off guard by the wording. Though he knew James wasn't talking about it in that way, he couldn't help but feel self-conscious.
?"Okay, deal." Alex nodded, "I want to know what you did with the kid."
?James' lifeless gaze didn't falter. "I took him to the Talum border so he could flee the country."
?Alex's brows furrowed in confusion. "Flee the country?"
?"Nope. You had your question, now it's my turn."
?James tilted his head, as if considering the question in his head.
?"Did your family ever own slaves?" James asked.
?The question wasn't something Alex was prepared to hear. He clenched his fists, a mixture of hate and tenderness hitting him. He had no idea what expression was on his face right then. He took a moment to calm himself internally, disgusted with the answer that would come out.
?"Yes," he said, gritting the words out, "they do."
?James didn't look one way or the other, simply accepting the information with a nod.
?"Very interesting..." he heard James murmur.
?"Now tell me— flee the country?"
?James finally smiled and shook his head. "Nope, I'm done with the question game for now. Go do your thing so we can get moving."
?Alex ground his teeth. "You plan to just watch, do you?"
?"Yes, I plan to just watch. What are you gonna do about that?"
?Sighing, Alex decided to walk away from the situation and get the horses. He didn't need to turn around to know James looked disgustingly smug in that moment.
A/N: Current word count: 23,288