BLACK MASK [MxM]

7. Karna and Deene

As the sun rose over his head, Lavi was standing in front of the small fish pool that was near the water fountain. The sun caused the near murky water to reflect the light that disturbed his eyes a little. The cherry trees planted near the park shed up with elegant petals.

Lavi took a deep breath. The spring air combines with wet soil and scent of petals. Of the recent entanglements, it was the only garden behind the palace that calms him. He doesn't want to think of anything right now.

About the gathering of swordmen from the four clans ... neither does Lavi care.

Perhaps by now they have had their elder lecture or are scurrying to search for the fugitive bandhiti. Whatever it is, Lavi doesn't care. He felt no guilt at all for releasing the prisoners. He didn't care what the convicts did. All Lavi cares about is his brother's freedom. The only brother he has, has yet to enjoy freedom after his attempted attack on the imperial council has failed miserably.

At that moment, his brother ended up in prison by them. But little Lavi had no idea what made it happen around him. Only recently did he learn that his brother had secretly sent him, who was badly wounded to the back of the Bathara palace.

Lavi hated that time. An era where he was very weak. His second toughest period after the clan m******e. He's already lost both parents, he won't let himself lose his brother too. So in retaliation for the older brother, he did what the younger brother should have done, which was to help Karna escape.

Lavi closes his eyes, hoping his memory of the darkness disappears a little. Then, in this instant he feels a person's presence through the low, echoing footsteps behind him.

"What is a Bathara great swordsman doing in a place like this?"

Lavi didn't turn. He knew the owner of that voice—Kiril.

The air next to him felt cold as Kiril stood nearby. Lavi still won't look back. He should be asking the same question; what did that guy do? Shouldn't he be in line for the main field?

"It's funny, right?" He heard Kiril's voice again, Lavi raising his eyebrows. "I heard someone s***h Nero's arm badly."

Lavi didn't answer, but walked away from Kiril to the bench under the cherry tree. But within five steps, Kiril pulled his right arm firmly and Lavi grimaced because the guy had directly hit his wound.

"Oops, I'm sorry. Is your arm hurt, too?" Kiril asked. Let go of his hand spontaneously.

"None of your business."

Kiril smiled. "Uh, cold as ever."

A pair of black, white butterflies flew over a flower petal, made him smile slightly.

"I have something to ask you," it finally made Lavi look at him. Kiril caught the gestural asking. "Is it true that Nero harm you that much?"

"You have no right to ask me anything," said Lavi flatly.

Strangely, Kiril still smiled with his sweet smile.

"There was a bodyguard who said that," Kiril shrugged. "I was just trying to make sure. Because no one saw you get attacked by Nero, did they? Then all of a sudden you were found wounded in the woods. God, what if no one finds you that time?"

Lavi was trying to muster all his patience. Clearly, Kiril provoked the anger he was holding back, but if he did something rash, he feared that he would suddenly say the wrong thing.

"Hey, Lavi, Nero has freed several ruthless rebels from prison."

"The fact is that Nero freed all the prisoners," Lavi replied.

Kiril tapped his finger on the chin. "Oh, yeah? Do you think Nero had a different plan for the release of the prisoners?"

Lavi didn't nod or shake his head. His blood felt so boiling, that he tried not to answer, or his anger might explode in that very second.

"Don't you know anything?" Kiril sighed. "By the way I heard this also from the guards. He said they found traces of blood in the river."

That sentence finally got Lavi a little attention. "Blood?"

"Yeah, too bad it's just a blood trail. No other items were found. Unless someone's hiding something there."

The angle of Kiril's lips was very thin, forming a nice smile, which always made Lavi feel disgusted. On the other hand Lavi felt his heart beating rapidly again, hearing about the small discovery of the bodyguard.

Yeah, of course it's just blood. They couldn't have found his black cloak and mask.

"The bodyguards also said that we should beware of those around us. They said Nero may be someone we know. Hm, why is that, huh? Sounds like a betrayal, doesn't it? What do you think, Lavi?"

That's enough! Lavi looked again at Kiril's smiley face dangerously.

"Can you stay—"

"Kiril!"

Lavi froze in his place. That voice again.

"Young master?" Kiril raised his eyebrows in confusion, seeing Arsen running at him.

"My old man is looking for you."

"Master?"

Arsen nodded.

"Too bad, Lavi and I just had an interesting conversation. Right, Lavi?" said Kiril, patting Lavi's shoulders softly and Lavi quickly put his shoulders away.

"Really? What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing," Lavi answered, looking away. "Hurry up and go, I don't want to see your face."

Kiril smiled. "That's just the way Lavi says good-bye. All right, Young master, where's Master?"

"In his chambers."

He quickly darted away, throwing a smile at Arsen. As soon as the pale guy left, Lavi returned to his pending intention to sit on a park bench. Arsen followed him.

"So, what are you guys talking about?" asked Arsen. Giving one banana to him.

"None of your business. He's as loud as you are."

Since Lavi didn't take the banana, Arsen pulled out his hand and placed it there. Lavi scoffed, but then he was forced to eat it. He was hungry, but has no appetite.

Finally they eat in silence. neither one intends to melt the awkwardness and let the situation remain calm. But Arsen silently glanced at Lavi, seeing how the raven ate so gracefully. His cheeks aren't bulging when he's chewing. Arsen chuckled, so obviously it happened, Lavi bit the banana bit by bit.

"I don't like to be seen when I'm eating," lavi says suddenly. His excellent insights captured what Arsen was doing.

"You look so graceful when you eat."

That sentence makes Lavi cough.

Arsen sighed, he darkens inside and Lavi still hears his voice in the distance, "I'll get you a drink, don't go anywhere."

And then he returned the next few minutes when Lavi wasn't coughing, but he continued to drink the warm tea that the blonde had given him.

"Feel any better?" Arsen asked.

"No."

"Huh?"

Lavi ignored, he went back to eating the banana in his hand, the other half. Suddenly he felt hungry after coughing because of arsen's speech.

"Does your wound still hurt?"

Lavi glanced at him, it's been a week since he got that wound.

"Not really."

The blonde guy seemed quite content. "Such wounds are long enough to heal. You recover quickly because you listen to me."

Lavi wasn't pleased with such speculation.

"At a hospital, a wound like that would have to be stitched with a special needle. It prevents more blood loss." Arsen said, but he remembered that here doesn't know what a hospital is.

That was the first she had ever heard in her life. Lavi frowned, feeling a little strange.

"Are you disgusted that I talk about blood when we eat?"

"No problem."

Although saying that, Arsen didn't feel disgusted at all and kept eating a banana in his hand. Lavi held his breath while gazing at Arsen' strong jaw that chewed the banana.

"Is the city safe?" Lavi asked suddenly. "You seem to have a pretty nice life there."

"What do you mean?"

Lavi didn't answer his question again, making Arsen sighed.

"If you want I can take you to the city."

Lavi looked away. "I want to be free."

"Of course, I'll help you get out of here," Arsen gently patted Lavi's head. "If you really want to go to the city, I can take you there."

'I can't. Although, I really want to.'

Lavi was stunned, however, he couldn't have said it, but it would have exposed him in a very indirect way. The palace guard was now getting stronger, Lavi is about to bury the intention of escaping.

If Lavi fled to the city at this critical time, he feared to endanger his brother. He wished only that his brother could think carefully and be long gone before the experts could sniff out his existence. Lavi here was fine. How do he deliver the news?

"Hey? You're drifting!"

Lavi turned to Arsen with a look full of hope. "Do you think I'll ever be free?"

--------

Karna Adikara squeezed the object in his hand and closed his eyes. That afternoon when he went down to the river on horseback, he found a pair of ragged black cloak and a shabby black mask. The two things were found in the bushes by the river. Just by looking at it, the raven guy believes it belongs to his brother. He sighed heavily, the cloak almost covered with dried blood.

Almost a week ago they promised to meet on main street. After he had been released from prison by his brother, they promised to meet. For a moment he felt concur with that decision—in other words let Lavi fight the palace forces and they split.

While Lavi was saying that he would survive, he also promised them a steady tone of voice.

But what happened?

It never even kept.

"What did you find, Karna?"

Karna opened his eyes. The figure of a long-haired man who had brown-colored hair, standing at the edge of the river, looking at him in confusion. Meanwhile, the man's hands were busy scooping water into the bamboo container.

"My brother's cloak," Karna said as he turned around and approached his fellow prisoner who had also escaped. "Look at this, Deene."

Someone named Deene took the thing Karna handed him. His forehead wrinkled as he recognized the cloak and the mask.

"It's your brother's, isn't it?"

Karna nodded.

"But there's blood. Whose is this?"

"I hate to admit it, but I'm sure this is Lavi's blood," he pointed to the front of the cloak. "There's a rip here."

Yes, that rip looks like it was made by a dagger.

"So you're saying Lavi got hurt? And that's what's keeping him from seeing us?"

Again Karna nodded and took a seat on a big rock. His gaze was upon the cloak. "Is it possible he—"

"No," said Deene quickly, "don't be prejudiced. Whatever comes to your mind, whether Lavi has been captured or Lavi isn't safe, please hold on. Bad thoughts only make you fall."

When he didn'tt hear his companion reply, Deene lifted a bamboo that had been filled with water.

"Drink up, you need it," Deene smiled slightly. He was very aware of Karna's suffering. Being in the same cell with the man made him somewhat aware of the relationship between Karna and his brother. "Hold on, trust that Lavi is okay."

"But why didn't he see me?"

Deene pointed to the blood stain on the cape. "Do you know what this blood means? That means Lavi got hurt. He must be somewhere to heal his condition. Good, you got it. Well, come on, we've got to get back to the woods before anyone even knows we exist."

But in the next few step, Karna holding his arm. It wasn't very strong, but Deene felt some lingering doubts. He turned around and found Karna speechless, blank out of sight. Then he took Karna's hand and patted it.

"I know how you feel."

"How about we go back to the palace?"

Deene shook his head. "No! Why don't you understand? You want to waste your brother's efforts?"

That's not true. Karna never wanted to waste whatever Lavi did. However, his position as a big brother also left him unable to think well. He would even trade his life just to see Lavi—or take his away from the palace.

Deene will never understand. This is what a bond is. Something that makes a person both strong and weak at the same time.

"I'm going back to the palace, Dee, with or without your permission," Karna said coldly, at first glance he eager to kill someone.

Assuming he meets a formidable barrier, the idea of killing them isn't bad. Lavi's life is worth even more than a thousand lives.

Deene sighed. "You're so irresistible, aren't you? Come on, let's strategize."

"I can't believe you agree."

"Hey, this is what you call payback, Man."

tbc.