Claiming The Remnant

Chapter 49

[ The King ]

“Needed it.” There was a cheeky smile on Zach’s face and then he slipped into the floor leaving the Captain and I alone.

The Captain staggered, it looked like he almost fell and then he half turned revealing a dagger in his hand. A touch of fear and shock intermingled raced through me forcing a tentative step back. The Captain’s face morphed from one of calm to one of anguish.

“I’m not, I wasn’t…” He stepped away from me, sliding to the floor once his back hit the wall. I had no idea why he was holding a dagger but it was clear that, despite my initial concern, he had no intention of using it. Captain Preston simply sat on the floor knees to his chest, head bowed clutching the dagger and sobbing without restraint.

Sighing I took a small step towards him. He didn’t move, as far as I can tell he hadn’t noticed or didn’t care. Seeing that this man who stands so tall, who was alway calm, rational, filled with solutions and above all professional, had lost his composure had me entirely at a loss. Though I tried, I couldn’t quite put myself in his place - imagine what he was feeling. The only things I knew for sure were that he had lied about knowing Taiya, applying the syphoning jewellery had caused him great distress and he clearly thought I would be removing him as Captain; if not worse. Especially as it had, for all intent, appeared like he was going to attack me. Quickly it had been clear that it wasn’t the case but in his mind the damage was done.

Deciding to give him a little space I sat against the wall a few feet away from him. Under the continuous sobbing, choking and occasional gagging coming from the Captain I can hear the gentle, calm sounds of water. My lamp (which I am clueless as to why it is down here) gave a warm sunny glow to the cave. There were three steaming pools of water and no visible exit. Zach really did bring us somewhere we couldn’t be interrupted.

“Garrett?” His sobbing had become minimal so I was hopeful that we could talk.

“Mm-my K-king?” He stammered through tears and fear.

“Please, we are just two men in a cave, Leorè is fine. Afterall I am as much stuck here as you.” I pulled at a loose thread on my sleeve. “I hear you have been very busy… Zach? Is everything alright? The Captain and I are still talking.”

“U-huh.” He made a dismissive noise at me, glowing eyes focused on the Captain. “Give.” He ordered putting down a mug and reaching for the dagger in the Captain’s hand.

“No, it’s Jo’s.” He told Zach in a fearful voice.

“Then put it away, you’ve cut your hand. Bloody idiot.” Zach ripped a strip of cloth from his own tunic using it to nimbly bandage the Captain’s apparent injury. “Sniff this.” Zach held a bundle of cloth up to the Captain’s haggard looking face. “Go on. It will make you feel better.” The lad urged. I watched with interest as Garrett cautiously took a whiff. Instantly he relaxed, taking the cloth from Zach and burying his face in it. A soft content noise came from him.

“Thanks.” Garrett gave a weak smile, Zach handed him the mug.

“Tea, drink.” Ye Gods the lad could be bossy. “And you!” Zach pointed at me scowling. “Play nice, or you can stay here until you do.”

“Of course.” My reply sincere. Garrett, surprised, choked a little on his tea. Zach was a smart young man and was quickly coming to realise he held a lot more power than people initially considered. This situation was the perfect example; if he wished he could leave me here to rot and turn the whole Kingdom on its head.

“Good. Captain,” Zach stroked his hair affectionately, “Jo and Lady Esther are both sleeping now, both have a Healer watching over them. Just be honest with His Majesty, ok? He is a King, his job is to listen to and help his people. You are his people.” Done with his little speech Zach disappeared once again, leaving me alone with a much calmer Captain Garrett Preston.

“What did Zach bring you?” I was almost sure of the answer but very curious to actually find out.

“Willis’s shirt, from the laundry…” He blushed, but his voice was weak and hoarse from all the crying and vomiting.

“That was very sweet of him.” I closed my eyes. “After Clara passed her scent on the bed sheets was the only thing that brought me comfort. I held off on letting the maids change the linen for as long as I reasonably could. In the end of course it had to be done. It was months before I could sleep. Years before sleep came with ease and not from exhaustion.” It wasn’t something I had ever shared, likely I would never speak of it again. My beloved was still dearly missed by both, our children, and myself.

Garrett said nothing in response to my outpouring, he sipped his tea and sniffed the shirt.

“Garrett, tonight was a stressful and difficult situation for everyone, from what Zach just said to you I gather there is something wrong with Willis. Clearly that has taken a great toll on you. Your behaviour was unusual and out of character for sure but I am not an unreasonable man or King.” I sighed. “You are an exceptional Captain, effective, knowledgeable and upstanding, this one incident has not ruined that. You will not be demoted, dismissed or disciplined. However, I need the truth from you. From the gardens until Zach brought you to Lady Esther’s suite to start and then we can circle back to you having known her from before.”

“Thank you, My King.” His puffy, bloodshot eyes met my tired ones. “Sorry, calling you by your name is just weird.”

“Hum, indeed, once a King always a King, it is a line that refuses to be undrawn - even in the most private of moments.” I smiled to myself. “Well then Captain, let me hear it.”

With open silence I listen to the Captain recount recent events; his heart break in the gardens, trying to restart Lady Esther’s heart, Willis walking away, Zach almost dying in his arms, walking into the sitting room just at the right moment to stop them accidently killing Esther, his rage at Zach’s room, his rage at the children being under so much pressure, his despair at finding Willis had taken a woman to their bed when they were exclusive, his guilt at crying in a hidden room while his love was self harming. At least I knew why my lamp was down here, and the dagger.

“Aa-and then, yy-you handed me th-at monstrosity. She was already so broken. It seemed unnecessary and ignorant. Zach had told me that no one could touch her but I-i couldn’t think, all I could see was how much pain she was in and room full of people who couldn’t care less. I lost it. I’m sorry. Not for how I felt but for h-how I behaved. There were better ways of expressing my concerns than having a melt down and acting like a ‘plouc’ to quote a certain H-healer.” The Captain finished filling me in. He was still sniffing and crying a little despite the time that had passed. He rubbed his face in the shirt Zach had given him, seeking that comfort. I saw no value in pointing out that Healer Asperonin had also pointed out that we couldn’t touch her. The Captain had been at his limit, too stressed to listen and I hadn’t helped in the slightest.

We lapsed into a mutual stillness as I contemplated everything Garrett had told me. There was a lot to unpack. Zach arrived, no doubt to check I was ‘playing nice’, and delivered a tray of tea and food before leaving again without saying a word.

“Here.” In the space between us I held out a cup of tea for the Captain. He took it, a slight tremor in his hands. “All things considered, the emotional trauma, the lack of proper sleep and having not eaten in over a day, I think you handled it all very well.” I sipped from my own cup, basic and black; not to my taste. Zach must have brought the Captain’s prefered brew. I wondered at the implication.

“I did s**t. My job is to handle these kinds of situations and I cracked - spectacularly.” He told his tea miserably.

“Tealeaf? A cute, tongue in cheek nickname. Slang for thief isn’t it?” I moved on, pushing forward to the next topic. He was not in the right frame of mind to accept that he had done the best he could. Additionally I suspected the proximity of the Remnant was throwing us all off kilter to an extent; some more than others, but knowing the Captain he would be dismissive of that, seeing it as an excuse.

“Yeah, it is.” I saw a tear drip into his cup.

“How did you meet?”

“After Keiran died I picked a lot of fights. One day I picked one I couldn’t win. Taiya saved my ass. I was this close,” He pinched the air with his fingers, “to joining my brother and becoming unravelled in the Earth and Sky, but she stepped in. Never seen anyone fight the way she does, fierce like a wild cat and with the all consuming force of summer rains. Cheeky b***h picked me up off the floor, dusted me off and said - Ye Gods,” He snorted, amused, “this is a direct quote, ‘Best get your squishy f*****g ass back up the castle and train ‘til your balls drop, ya s**t, wet handed excuse for a Guard.’ Then she slapped my ass and walked off. She knew what I was, her enemy when you look at it plainly, but Taiya didn’t care. She saved me because I needed saving from the gang I had started on, then like a total moron I tried to pick a fight with her.” Garrett shook his head with nostalgic disbelief. “She obliged, Ye Gods! Taiya was in the middle of handing me my ass when she took the time to cup my crotch and whisper in my ear that when she is done giving me a beating I better be ready to give her ‘a beating with my man meat’. Seriously. She was infuriating and fascinating all at once.”

“I assume you in fact did… ehem, I’ve never heard it put in such a vulgar fashion,” I was quite surprised, “- beat her with your ‘man meat’?”

“Yeah, she told me I needed to practise at that too…” There was a faint smile on his lips as he rolled his eyes. I coughed, choking a little on my tea. "I hated her as much as I liked her, sort her out more than I care to admit. Without Taiya I would never have made it to Captain, even if Keiran hadn't died, she gave me the ambition. She pushed me, trained me, taught me so much about the world."

"And I assume she improved your 'man meat' skills." I laughed and the Captain laughed too. I just couldn't let that one go.

"Er yeah, yeah she did. She was pretty stern about that. Told me no one wants a man that can't fight, f**k or finance."

"The picture you paint is so far from the docile lamb residing in the Turquoise Suite."

"Yup." His voice was teary. "It's like she isn't there anymore, I basically killed her. I knew she was allergic to that f*****g pain killer and like a cocky bastard I thought I could control it. Even if I had managed to, she would have died on that table anyway. Taiya would never have given up the Remnant."

"You should have told me."

"To what end? Someone had to do it. Gutter rat is as tough as nails, anyone else would have lost their patience and gone in too hard. Accidentally killing her." Garrett explained. "Ye Gods, she knows how to get under your skin. With no one to claim her body she would have just been tossed in the furnace along with the Remnant. This whole place would probably be a crater. With the way imbued objects react to fire… I should think the Remnant would do something similar but on a bigger scale."

"I suppose that makes sense but still, the furnace…" I didn’t finish, leaving the Captain to fill in the blank.

"I was going to sneak her body out, bury her at a spot she told me about. If she gave up the Remnant…" He told me in earnest, "I would have let her 'escape'."

"Quite a dangerous thing to be telling me…" I surveyed him, seeing the Captain in a new light.

"Now or never right?" He shrugged, looking down and tapping a finger distractedly against the side of his mug. I nodded, agreeing with his assessment. The honesty was most appreciated but if it wasn’t for this ‘free pass’ there would have been serious consequences.

"Would you happen to know why she was calling for her mother? There seemed more to it than just the obvious." My heart clenched thinking of the desperate way she had been calling out.

"Yes, yes I do. Coincidentally it's also how I met Jo." He scratched his head. "There was a theft, I went to check out my number one suspect / informant. Taiya was at the beach, hanging with her group. Jo kept bothering her about swimming and Taiya just kept making excuses as to why she didn't want to, then Jo pushed her in. Everyone was laughing when she screamed and hit the water but she didn't come back up. I jumped in after her, got her breathing again. First thing she did after coughing up half the ocean was scream for her mother. Her mates never let her live it down, always teased her about it and she never forgave Jo. They were at each other's throats from that day on." He shook his head. "First and only time I ever saw Taiya cry was when she told me why she called for her mother. I've seen her beaten, stabbed, burned, the lot and she took it all with this f**k the world s**t eating grin but this was a deep wound that she couldn't escape. At around eleven years old her parents kicked her out of the house, tiny village, bless'ed knows where; Taiya wouldn't tell. Alone and starving, she stole some bread, not even a loaf, some slices out of the bin. Practically the whole village comes for her, tied rocks to her hands and waist before tossing her in the water, lake, river, sea don't know, she was intent on keeping the location a secret. Her mother just watched. Let the village try to drown her."

"Who saved her?"

"Vecarin." Garrett growled.

"Why would that vile… oh." I couldn’t imagine, Vacarin, that vile criminal, sticking his neck out for anyone but if he could profit from them…

"Yup, had her on her back and in the ring before she even had her first bleed." Garretts hands were in fists, jaw clenched; I could hear his teeth grinding.

"Ye Gods, and Willis… were they?"

"Seven, sold by dear mum and dad." He spat.

"Fuck." No. “They are about the same age, yes? Taiya and Willis, they grew up together?”

"Yes, Jo was with Vacarin for three, four years before Taiya was picked up. They were with him until I became Captain.” Garrett nodded to himself. “Ran him out of the city first chance I got but couldn't catch him. He is still out there trading in the flesh of children unfortunate enough to be born with the 'wrong' shade."

"When things are tied up here, would you be interested in hunting him down?" I should have paid more attention to the situation sooner.

"I wouldn't bring him back."

"I'm not asking you to."

"Then we have an accord."

"Truly. Once we are sure King Fendryn will not be marching against us you will be free to go." $%^#&$ "I want to change things. This unjust degradation of certain shades and the unnecessary social construct of shade class needs to be quashed. It will take time but it is something I am working towards now more than ever."

"Your Majesty… are we concluded? I would like to go and see Jo now." He said with longing.

I took the cuffs out of my pocket.

"One last thing."

"Do you want me to arrest myself?" He asked drily.

"No, Captain. I would like to correct you on a certain matter. You were correct to say that I was ignorant of the effect these cuffs have but I am no coward and I don't like to stay ignorant. Put them on me." I required a little serving of humble pie, as it were, after the way I had behaved.

"These are too strong for someone with no visible shade…"

"Well Captain, you are not the only keeper of lies and secrets. This," I tugged my hair and beard, "is all dyed." Then I flashed my silver eyes.