Claiming The Remnant

Chapter 51

[ Garrett ]

“Zach!” His Majesty called into the cave, a smile in his eyes as he looked at me.

“Why are you wet?” Zach popped up behind me and I almost fell into the pool again!

“The Captain fell in the hot spring, accidently, I promise I had no hand in it.” The King's face held great adoration for the green haired lad.

“Humm, I’m sure.” Zach gave the King a narrow eyed look and laughed. “So, are we all resolved?”

“Yes.” His Majesty replied.

“No.” I said flatly, much to their surprise.

“Oh, and what have we not resolved?” My King stood with his usual regal air, a presence of authority.

“Seeing Zach reminded me that I wanted to speak with you regarding the employment of children, Your Majesty.” Zach shifted a little uncomfortably and King Leorè regarded me coolly.

“We can speak about that when we meet with your other proposal.” He nodded his agreement. “For now though I think we all have somewhere else we would like to be.”

“Hold on there, if there is going to be such a meeting, I will be attending.” Zach stepped forward, eyes glowing extra bright.

“I couldn’t stop you if I tried.” The King shrugged, unconcerned with Zach’s demand.

“And we have the meeting down here, so I can talk.” He glared first at me and then at the King.

“Well, I suppose that is that.” King Leorè clapped his hands in defeat.

“What if we said no?” I asked Zach with a curious smile on my lips as I walked to my pile of discarded clothes from earlier and rifled through the trouser pockets.

“I would just bring you here anyway.” His voice was hard and his stance defensive.

“Is that so Zach? Pretty rude to be using your intangibility magic to drag people around.” My own stance was more relaxed and the King looked on with patient interest.

“No, what's rude is you thinking that it’s ok to talk about something that concerns me without including myself or another representative for the demographic.” He growled, one foot slipping into the floor as his magic reacted to his emotions. He was certainly smarter than I had ever given him credit but he needed to wise up and control himself better.

“So, you would be ok if… let’s say Sami came instead?” I teased keeping my voice serious as I strolled towards him. Zach looked like he might combust.

“I’m still coming. You can’t stop me.” Zach pouted.

“I think I could…” Our eyes met as I let the cuffs swing from my finger.

“You can try…” His look was almost mocking as he held out his arms.

“Zach, Captain, that’s enough.” He tried to shut us down. Fear tained the King’s voice, the experience with the cuffs had clearly shaken him.

“Well, that depends. Does Zach still think he is invincible? Unaccountable? Unchallengeable?” I stared the lad down in a lazy, confident way. Zach needed to be taught a lesson for his own good. He thought he was untouchable, even after a burnout. I was betting he thought that was a freak accident, that a ‘plouc’ like me couldn’t do anything to such a well of shade and one that was so easy to be used evasively.

“No one touches me unless I want them to.” He was practically grinding his teeth. The scars on his back told me otherwise.

“Let’s see about that.” With a crack of my neck I stepped forward. From the corner of my eye King Leorè seemed torn but relaxed at whatever thought crossed his mind.

“This is ridiculous, I don’t even need to move.” Zach rolled his eyes. “I don’t even need to look.” His brazen confidence had him closing his eyes. The lad needed a lesson in not being cocky.

I grabbed his hand, but I wasn’t fooled. He could easily make any part of himself intangible with the barest thought. Really he shouldn’t have let me touch him at all. There were a few trinkets in my collection that would have already had Zach on his knees. Pride comes before a fall.

Zach snickered as my first attempt to cuff him resulted in the metal falling through his wrist.

“Told you.” Cocky, haughty and without doubt in his own ability but that was his weakness.

“Not so fast, I’ll give it another go.” I closed one cuff over nothing, then tried to close the other cuff over his wrist as I expected it fell through but I was ready, bringing the cuff I’d already closed in quick succession through the intangible part of his wrist and bringing the other cuff backup and closing it around the upper arm.

“Ahh.” He hissed, the syphoning magic taking a bite before he managed to use his magic letting it fall through his arm.

“Attempt number two… pretty luck or pretty smart. Almost had you Zach.” He looked a little fearful but held his ground. Stupid. “Last try, I’m going to win Zach.”

“You can’t win. A blink and I’m gone.” Zach tutted in annoyance and rolled his ever glowing eyes. I sighed and looked at the cuffs in my hand while shaking my head.

“You’re right, this is pointless. Here,” I dropped the cuffs in his hands, “and I suppose if I don’t need the cuffs I don’t need the keys either.” The keys, my own personal set that I had fished from my trousers, touched his open palm for just the smallest of moments but it was enough. Enough for him to realise that I had won. Enough for a small sting of pain. Enough for his eyes to dim. I lifted them back up. “But then again… these aren’t just any set, they are my personal keys so I think I will hang onto them.”

Zach gulped, his throat bobbing, his eyes welling.

“Zach? Are you alright?” King Leorè called to him softly.

“Zach’s just dandy, aren’t you lad?” I gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder, ensuring I didn’t use the hand that I clutched the keys in. The sympathy in my heart was plainly displayed on my face. “Valuable lesson to be had there. Plenty more lesson’s but let’s call it a night, or a day, whichever it is, huh?”

“Thank you, Captain.” Zach weighed the cuffs in his hands. “I, er, could do with some lessons.”

“Any other time but now Zach.” I yawned.

“Seconded.” His Majesty added tiredly.

“Yeah, I want Rin.” Zach rubbed his eyes and despite his height and the way he acted all grown up I couldn’t stop seeing that he was just a child. “Hands, don’t forget to breathe out.”

“What ha -” We popped up in front of an unfamiliar door. “ppen’s if you don’t breathe out?”

“Oh, you end up breathing in. One sec.” Zach disappeared and came back with another clean set of clothes for me. “So yeah, you breathe in whatever I’m dragging you through and then I have to seperate which bits we didn’t start with, which means my passenger stays in the wall longer. It’s loud, uncomfortable and then you’re trying to breathe out and I got to pay a lot of attention or you breathe out the wrong thing. It’s just better when it starts with air going out.”

“Thanks, that’s interesting. Jo here?” I pointed at the door, yawning. Of all the shades there was the least information on green so it was indeed very interesting to hear that from him. The breathing thing still seemed a little off to me; if you became the wall how could you still breathe? or use any muscles. Weird.

“Yup, nice and quiet here. Tarrin is watching Jo but no one else knows.” Zach smiled at me and I smiled right back. I felt like we had bonded. All these years he had just been a nuisance to me but now I hoped we would be friends.

“Thank you, truely.” I pulled that lad in for a hug then turned to my King and bowed. “You honour me, Your Majesty.”

“Come here.” To my complete surprise King Leorè pulled me in for a hug. “Let me know if you need anything Captain.” Followed by a whisper, “Zach needed that, more than he knows.”

“Bye.” Zach took the King’s hand and they were gone. Ye Gods, this had been a strange, what, couple of days? Maybe it was less. I stripped in the empty hallway, putting on the dry clothes.

Steeling my heart against the fear that was threatening to bring me to my knees I put my hand against the door.

I was afraid of what I would find - again. Even worse, what if I couldn’t find my own heart? What if I couldn’t find space inside myself to forgive? I knew Jo was broken. Not in the same way that they thought, it had nothing to do with them flowing between the expressions of their gender and everything to do with emotional damage they carried. Who wouldn’t be damaged, sold at seven by their own parents to a criminal that not only profited from the suffering of children but revelled in it?

The room was dim. A single lamp with the soft shimmering light of sunset was placed on the floor. Clearly it was not a bedroom originally and had not been used for anything for some time. There was a tell-tale staleness in the chill air, the floor was bare of any rugs and other than the obviously borrowed bed in the centre of the room the sparse furniture was covered.

“Captain.” Tarrin stood with careful quietness from the chair she had been sitting in as she greeted me in a whisper. There was pity in her eyes, long blond hair flowed loose over one shoulder.

“Healer.” With a small nod of my head added to my own soft greeting I moved towards the bed. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. Zach just dragged me here. Willis was bleeding heavily from several deep cuts and crying. I couldn’t get anything out of them about what had transpired. All the wounds are closed but the trauma and blood loss have them exhausted. They will be asleep for some time.” Tarrin’s whispered words were of no comfort. This felt like my fault.

“Thank you, Healer Tarrin, you may go.” It took everything to keep my heartbreak out of my voice.

“Thank you, Captain.” Tarrin’s light steps were almost inaudible as she made her way to the door. I stayed at the foot of the bed until the delicate click of the door closing reached my ears.

The floor was icy against my bare feet. A stray thought floated in my mushy brain. Did Zach have a problem with his feet being cold? I was betting Jo was cold. My arms craved them. My heart ached. Fingers hesitated at the edge of the duvet.

The King thought we were mates. I could see the back of Jo’s head, short hair dyed to cover their shade. A pull in my soul, the irresistible draw towards them told me the truth. I loved them like I had loved no other; mates or not. My butterfly, my beautiful butterfly felt the same, they just couldn’t say it but they felt it and it was all consuming, overwhelming, drowning them with emotions they struggled to process. Their shitty childhood was to blame for that. I hadn’t told the King that much about it because I didn’t know that much more myself. Sold at seven years old to that monster. Almost four years in his ‘care’ before Taiya was also in Vercarin’s grip.

Jo was fractured, damaged and traumatised. I’d known that when I recruited them. It’s also why I gave them leniency when they f****d up. They f****d up a lot. This time though it wasn’t an order or a mission it was my heart.

I lifted the cover, smiling when I realised the sheets were clearly imbued to be warm, and slipped in behind Jo.

“Mmmm.” Jo sighed, leaning into me as I spooned them.

“Sleep, my precious butterfly. I’m here.” I whispered into their shoulder, closing my own tired eyes. Jo whimpered slightly, pulling away. “Stay here, in my arms, let me hold you.” Jo’s chest lurched with the beginning of a sob.

“Go away.” Jo mumbled in a strained voice.

“Never. I love you.” It had never been more true.

“But… b-bbut I-i…” Jo sobbed in my loving embrace.

“Shhh, shhh.” I captured Jo’s hand with my own. “It doesn’t matter right now. What matters is I still love you. I still want you. I’m not leaving you. You’re mine. I am yours. No matter what.”

“Yyy-ou left.” Tears came harder. “I don’t deserr-rve…”

“You deserve everything and anything you want. Just rest now my butterfly. We can talk about this later. His Majesty gave us a few days off, that’s nice, isn’t it?” I soothed, rubbing their hand and pressing my body against them. “I’ll take you somewhere, we will have some fun, make some memories, be together.” My lips kissed Jo’s neck and I breathed them in. The scent of their skin easing all my aches.

“Garrett…” Jo hugged my arm, “I’m ss-orry.”

“I know,” I steadied myself, “I forgive you.”

They were hard words to say but it was true. The pain of it would never leave me, the fear and insecurity would linger but I loved them too much to let that win. Jo had made a mistake, one rooted in anger and their own pain, fear and insecurity. Those feelings were fires I knew how to extinguish or at least diminish within myself but all Jo knew was how to let them rage, how to be consumed. My butterfly, my love, broken and burned, hiding, constantly shutting me out because it was the only way they could cope.

“Did… she die?” Jo was tense, waiting for the blow. Jo wouldn’t admit it but they meant something to each other; Taiya was like a big sister to Jo.

“No, she made it.” My butterfly shattered beneath my arms.

“Thank the Earth and Sky.” Wracked with hard sobs Jo’s lean body trembled. “I knew… I knew she, ssh-she was burning up. I don’t know why I didn’t say!” Jo wailed.

I held them while they cried themself to sleep; when I woke Jo was still sheltered in my embrace.

Jo had apparently known that the sickness plaguing Taiya was burnup but all I could feel was concern for my butterfly.

Healers, a Dr, a King with a wealth of information and resources available to them hadn’t been able to find out what Jo had known. The only reason I could fathom was that my butterfly had seen it before or lived it…

Ye Gods, I hoped with every fibre of my being that they hadn’t experienced something so horrific.