Chapter 5
Archer
Archer couldn’t believe what was going on around him.
Not only was he in the most comfortable bed he’d ever slept in, and not only was he being given the most care and attention of his life, but he was also happy.
The word felt strange to him, even as he thought it to himself.
It had been a long time since he’d been truly happy.
Partially because he felt like he was burdensome, and partially because the good memories he had were tainted by his friend’s rude, abrupt change.
What had once been joyous memories were now a dark cloud hanging over him because he wasn’t as close to his friend as he thought.
Archer pushed the thoughts away as he laid on his back in the bed, wondering what would come next. Romilly had come to see him at lunchtime, and they spent quite a bit of time together, eating and enjoying each other’s company.
Romilly had asked a few questions, nothing too invasive, and Archer had answered. He was still afraid to ask his own questions — like why they were in a castle and why everyone referred to Romilly with such a high regard. It couldn’t just be that he’d “taken over” as he’d first explained.
Even his mother seemed to speak of him like he was the second coming or something. Archer worried that if he questioned things, he would be forced to leave. He really didn’t want to leave.
Sure, this might not be his forever home.
They would tire of him. They would want their space back.
But Archer would stay for as long as he could.
It had become obvious to him that Romilly didn’t mind all that much.
When the healer had said he needed more rest, Romilly was insistent that that be the case and had his mother let everyone know.
When a young woman came to the door and told him he was due at his next meeting, Archer thought Romilly was going to growl.
There was a rumbling sound, and then a flash of gold in the other man’s eyes again.
Archer knew it had to be the meds he was on.
That was the only explanation as to why he was seeing all of this, why his mind was playing tricks on him.
People didn’t have gold eyes, and they didn’t have eyes that flashed.
They did grumble sometimes, though, so that much was solid.
The night had started to fall, so the view through the window was transforming. As lights covered the countryside where homes were, it was beautiful. Even the glow of the moon, which he remembered as being bright as he laid on the forest floor, wasn’t as scary as it had been.
While deep in his thoughts, a knock came at his door. He didn’t get the chance to call for the person to come in before the door opened and Romilly stepped through.
“Hello, little one,” he said brightly. “I’m sorry it took me so long to return. I’m here to take you to dinner.”
“You’re going to take me to dinner?” Archer said, using his good arm to push himself up.
“Of course. Do you need to use the restroom before we go?”
Archer blushed but nodded. It had been strange before. Each time that Romilly lifted him and carried him into the bathroom, it felt too personal, too close. But there wasn’t much of a choice otherwise. It was either Romilly or someone else. To be honest, he didn’t want anyone else to do this part.
Romilly went through the same routine of coming over to lift Archer up and taking him to the bathroom.
Once he felt Archer was standing on his good leg, he stepped away so Archer could handle his business in peace.
When he was ready, Archer called out for Romilly, and the man was at his side in an instant, helping him to the sink to wash his hands and then lifting him up in his arms again.
Except this time, instead of going back to bed, Romilly took him toward the bedroom door. Out in the hall, Archer observed his surroundings more carefully. He noted all of the fancy artwork and designs. It truly was a castle, a palace. Like it was home to royals or something.
He didn’t remember seeing anything like this on his way in. So how far had he traveled? And where was he? Who were these people? The questions flittered through his mind. He didn’t want to ask, though. Didn’t feel the need to when things were going right.
Archer stayed still as Romilly carried him through the different halls until they reached two wide-open doors that revealed a dining room.
At the table sat four people. He recognized Mira, who had introduced herself as Romilly’s mother.
The other three were similar enough in looks to Romilly that he figured they were his brothers and father — though “father” could have been a stretch.
Just like Mira, he didn’t appear to be much older than Romilly.
What kind of face creams did these people use?
And did they know they could make millions selling it to others?
Romilly eased Archer down into one of the two empty chairs at the table and pushed it forward until Archer was situated close enough to his plate. Then he gently rubbed his hand over Archer’s head. “Are you good, little one?” he asked.
Archer nodded, not knowing what to say as the other people in the room observed them.
Romilly smiled and sat down beside him. As if waiting for some cue, everyone around the room moved forward, filling glasses with water and wine and bringing out food to serve on their plates.
Archer watched it all with a fascinated expression.
He couldn’t get over this. It was amazing.
Once the food and drinks were placed, the people around the room disappeared. All but one. They stood like a sentinel at the door, clearly waiting for whatever task was needed.
“Eat, little one,” Romilly said.
It was then Archer noticed everyone else had already begun to dig in while he was focused on the person at the door.
He picked up his fork and knife as if to cut his food.
Then he realized his arm was of no use. Frowning at the plate, he almost asked for help.
But then Romilly was reaching over, taking his plate and cutting his food into bite-sized pieces.
“My apologies, little one. I should have had this done already for you.”
Archer shook his head. “It’s no problem. You’re helping me now. Thank you.”
A snicker came from across the table and Archer turned his head to see which of the brothers it could be.
One of them was massive in size — not as big as Romilly, but he looked softer, less muscular and more marginally fluffy.
The other was shorter and muscular too, but in the way someone athletic could look.
Both had eyes the same hue as Romilly’s.
The bigger one’s hair was cropped short while the other’s was curly and wild.
Romilly put the plate back in front of Archer and then pointed at the two men. “These are my brothers. Hadrian,” he said, pointing to the larger one, “and Eden.”
The one named Eden saluted him with two fingers.
“Nice to meet you both,” Archer said.
“You too,” Hadrian replied, as he ripped apart a roll.
Archer giggled, noticing how eagerly the man ate. He could appreciate that. He enjoyed food as well, and he had missed having regular meals. His travels had meant saving money and eating whatever was available. Being here with this family was providing him with more than he’d had in a long time.
“You’re cute,” Eden said, leaning forward with his elbow on the table and his chin resting in his palm. “How old are you anyway?”
Archer blushed, feeling as if he was under interrogation even though it was a simple question. “I’m twenty-two. How old are you?”
Eden opened his mouth as if to answer, but a throat clearing from the end of the table stopped him.
“I would like to be introduced as well, but since my son has forgotten me, I’ll introduce myself. My name is Silas, and I’m Romilly’s father,” the man said to Archer.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” Archer said, sitting up a bit straighter.
Silas grinned, shaking his head. “No need to be formal here. And if you were being formal with anyone, it would need to be Romilly. He is the leader.”
Archer turned to look at the man beside him. He raised his brows when Romilly looked back at him as though those words weren’t odd, like it made perfect sense that his father would defer to his son for leadership and guidance. Romilly simply shrugged as he brought a piece of food to his mouth.
Mira, bless her heart, decided to jump into the conversation. “Tell us a bit about yourself, Archer. We would love to know more. I understand you’ve been traveling and came across San Noctis?”
Archer nodded, chewing quickly so he could respond. “Yes, ma’am. I traveled here from my home because I needed a fresh start.”
“Oh, a fresh start, you say. And did you pick San Noctis, or did you just happen to find us?”
Archer looked to Romilly, who had already heard some of this, to see if the other man wanted to join in and answer for him.
When Romilly gave a small tilt of his head as if to say continue on, Archer faced Mira again and told his story.
He shared about his journey and how he’d wanted another chance at life, about how San Noctis felt like it was summoning him in a way, even if it sounded a bit odd, and how the wolf had attacked him, which led him to being there.
By the time he’d wrapped up his story, most of dinner had been eaten, and he realized he had taken over the conversation. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t let anyone else talk,” he rushed out.
Romilly’s hand came down over his, stilling the nervous shaking there. “There is no need to apologize, little one. Everyone here is captivated by you. We want to hear your story.”
“But you’ve already heard it,” Archer said in a hushed whisper.
“Yes, and I liked hearing it again. You talking brings me joy.”
Eden snorted as Hadrian hummed in agreement. “He’s right. Your voice is kind of soothing. It’s really weird, but I like it.”
Archer thought Hadrian gave off surfer-guy vibes and himbo energy, if he was going to use a word he used to hear some of his coworkers say.
Eden, on the other hand, was much more of a brat.
He was mischievous. Archer didn’t need Romilly to explain his siblings’ personalities to pick up on it.
And his parents, while seemingly impassive about it all, were watchful.
He knew they were cataloguing all of the day’s events.
The rest of the meal turned into the family sharing bits about themselves.
Mira shared her love of pottery, which Archer asked to see once he was well enough to walk around.
She was delighted that he showed interest, since none of her children wanted any part of it.
She corrected herself from saying “boys” with a meaningful pause.
When Archer looked to Romilly, the man explained, “My other sibling, Soren, who isn’t here right now, goes by they/them pronouns. You will meet them when they return from their business trip.”
Archer understood right away. He was no stranger to pronoun use, and he was glad he’d been told ahead of time.
Silas, despite being more reserved than the other members of the family, eagerly told Archer about his love of gardening.
Archer wasn’t a big fan of gardening, but he accepted the offer to be shown the various plants Silas had collected from all across the world.
It would be interesting to see, given how exuberant the other man was about them.
Hadrian talked about his love of food and his desire to learn how to cook it all.
“Chef won’t let me take lessons because she says I’ll put her out of the job,” Hadrian said, rolling his eyes.
“As if we’d ever let her leave. She’s amazing.
I just want to know how I can make myself some snacks, you know?
A guy’s got to eat.” He patted his stomach.
Archer giggled. “Hey, I’m in full support of you learning. You’ve got my vote.”
Hadrian beamed at him, happy in a way Archer didn’t expect.
Eden, the most chaotic of the group, shared his joy of everything. There wasn’t a single thing he seemed to dislike, whether it was food or exercise or movies or TV. He bounced from topic to topic, and Archer recognized it for what it was. Someone whose attention was hard to hold.
He didn’t want to be judgmental. Instead, he followed each change of subject and answered questions as he could. The family seemed impressed by this, Romilly even going so far as to reach over and squeeze Archer’s knee in a show of support.
That made Archer’s body heat. He had to fight back the feeling that tore through him. A few people in the room sniffed the air and Romilly growled, as if telling them something without words.
Has someone farted? Was it me? Do I stink? Archer thought to himself.
He needed a shower, yes, but he didn’t think it was that bad. Surely Romilly wouldn’t have brought him down to dinner if he was off-putting.
When no one said anything about body odor or the like, Archer turned to Romilly, who was scowling at his family. “I’m quite full and kind of tired now. Is it okay if you take me back to my room?”
Romilly’s expression cleared as he turned to face Archer. “Absolutely, little one.” He looked around the table. “Good night, everyone. I will see you all tomorrow, yes?”
His family nodded in return. “It was lovely to meet you,” Silas said. “And when you’re well, I will take you to meet all of the plants. They love to be spoken to.”
Archer agreed easily.
Hadrian waved to him as he stacked up his empty plates. It warmed Archer to see that even though they had help, the young brother was pitching in. He didn’t just expect to be taken care of.
Eden bounced in his seat and said, “Night night, sleep tight. Don’t let anyone bite.”
That made Hadrian snort and Mira scold him. “Hush now, boy. You’re not too old for a time out.”
Eden frowned, going still for a moment before turning to his father. “Dad, mom is being mean again.”
Silas chuckled, understanding his son was being dramatic for the sake of the bit.
Mira, unlike the others, stood up and came around to hug Archer goodnight. She patted his cheek gently and pressed a kiss to his forehead. The connection was felt through every part of his body.
It was comforting.
It was relaxing.
It made him feel even more welcome than their words and actions had so far.
He marveled once again as Romilly picked him up at how he had wound up in this place, how he had become so lucky to be around these people who didn’t see him as a problem or something to be gotten rid of.
He had never been so happy in his life. He felt like he truly fit. And he couldn’t wait to see where it would go.