It was one of those times, sitting in his
chair while Kayden was settled in the window, that Damien looked up
from his book and noticed that Kayden's hand was fluttering at his
neck, looking melancholy.
"Kitten, what's wrong?" he asked softly,
startling the boy.
Kayden looked at him guiltily, as if he'd
been caught swiping a sweet from the kitchen. "Nothing, sir."
"I can see something is bothering you,"
Damien said, rising to tower over the boy and place a chaste kiss
on his lips, receiving a blushing nod. "You know I love you, don't
you?"
"I love you too," Kayden admitted with a
smile.
"Then tell me."
"I--" The hand fluttered to his neck again.
"I miss it."
Damien frowned, not sure what Kayden was
referring to, but then noticed the boy's hand at his throat. A slow
smile spread on his face. "Ahh, your collar."
And Kayden nodded.
"Do you feel you need one?" Damien asked
carefully. He loved this boy more than anything, but he didn't want
Kayden to stay with him out of any sort of obligation. The boy
completed him, had made him feel again, in a way that he hadn't
felt since before he'd lost his father.
"No," Kayden answered, shaking his head, and
Damien could see the truth in his eyes. "It ...just... made me feel
like I belonged to you."
Damien grinned. "You do belong to me,
kitten."
Kayden smiled back. "I know."
Kayden frowned when Damien turned to his
bureau and pulled something from the top drawer. Damien knelt down
on the floor in front of Kayden, causing the boy to frown down at
him.
"I wanted to make sure you wanted to stay
with me before I gave you this," he said, opening the small box.
Inside was a silver chain made of elegant loops. A small silver tag
hung from it marked with the Duke's personal emblem.
Kayden's eyes shot up to the sapphire ones of
his master in surprise.
"I had the silversmith make it specially for
you. But you don't have to take it. I want you to know you're free
if you want to be."
Tears streaked down the neko's face as he
grinned widely at his master, shaking his head furiously. "I want
to be here. With you."
Damien rose as Kayden slid from the window
sill. He slipped the chain around the thin neck and clasped it. The
tag hung in the hollow of the boy's throat, and Damien swelled with
pride to see it there.
He leaned down, wiping tears away as his lips
caressed the boy's. "Mine," he growled as he deepened the kiss,
claiming the boy as his own.
Kayden's hands reached around his master's
neck, clutching him as he jumped into the strong arms, wrapping his
little legs around the man's waist. "Yours."
****
"Just go!" the duke waved his hand toward the
garden. He was dressed in his riding habit. He was heading to visit
the southern plantation as he always did on the first day of the
month and would be gone for a few hours. He had talked Kayden into
trying to spend a little time outdoors--without Damien.
Kayden still looked anxious. Even though he
had brought the boy on walks with him, Kayden had yet to really go
anywhere but the kitchen without him. He knew this was a huge deal
for the boy; as he hadn't been 'free' since he was twelve years
old, so the idea was still daunting. While Kayden seemed more
comfortable around people in the house that he saw all the time
now, it was obvious he still didn't wholly trust anyone but Damien,
especially when he was outside around less familiar faces.
"Ready to go?" Captain Brenner stepped up
next to the duke. "I have six more men ready to go."
"Six?" Damien turned his attention from the
fretful boy to his guard. Usually, it was just Geoff and one or two
more men.
Brenner shrugged. "Can't be too careful."
"I see," Damien nodded as understanding
dawned.
"You could go another day," Brenner
suggested.
"The overseer is expecting me," Damien said
dismissively. "It won't take too long."
He turned back to his boy shifting next to
him. It was a nice spring day, warm and sunny. He wanted Kayden to
relax and enjoy it, but he knew it would take time for the boy to
come to trust that he was safe. Unfortunately, with Roman still
lurking, even if he was on the other side of the property, Damien
knew Kayden would never feel totally at ease. Honestly, he didn't
either--and obviously Geoff felt the same way.
He ran his hand over Kayden's head, thumb
brushing over the soft furry ears before resting at his shoulder.
"Try for a few minutes. Okay?"
Kayden nodded but glanced at the ground, his
feet shifting awkwardly in the soft shoes.
"The garden and grounds here are safe, kit,"
Brenner stated. "And I have a guard watching the marquis when he
leaves the east wing."
"Really?" Damien said in surprise.
Geoff scoffed. "You act like I don't know
what I'm doing. Of course, I have him followed. He goes into town a
lot, drinking, smoking. He tries to hide sometimes. Gave Loren the
slip the other night, so I think he's up to something, just can't
catch him at it."
"I see," Damien said solemnly, it was still
hard to believe Roman could want him dead.
"So anyway," Brenner looked down at the young
neko, "I promise, he won't come near you again."
Damien grinned at his guard. Geoff knew how
much the young boy meant to him and was making sure that Kayden was
safe too. With just a glance around, Damien could spot three guards
patrolling the edges of the manor and doors.
"Ellis!" he called, seeing the tall brown
neko carrying a basket towards the kitchen door.
"Yes, my lord?" Ellis quickly dropped the
basket next to the kitchen door and hurried over to his master.
"Ellis, would you mind accompanying Kayden on
a walk?"
"I'd love to, sir," Ellis grinned down at the
younger neko, who looked up hopefully.
"If that is okay with you, Kayden?"
The boy nodded with a slight smile at the
familiar neko.
"Good," Damien said, leaning down to kiss the
boy gently. Kayden rose to meet the kiss, but then blushed when he
realized how close the captain and other neko were. "I'll see you
in a bit. Make sure you get lunch."
With a nod to Ellis to indicate that he was
trusting his love to the man and receiving an understanding nod
back, Damien turned to leave with Brenner.
"Come on, Kayden," Ellis urged, nudging the
boy gently. "Let's go run."
Damien saw Kayden hesitate, glancing at the
ground, and he wondered what was holding him back. Ellis had taken
a couple steps ahead of the boy but paused to wait.
Abruptly, Kayden kicked off the soft leather
shoes that Damien had insisted he put on, and took off in the
direction of the garden. Damien, Brenner, and Ellis stared in shock
after the fleeing figure.
The boy sprinted to the tree at the edge of
the garden. And they gaped in surprise as the sinuous figure
scurried up the tree, peeking from between the branches at
them.
"Damn," Geoff breathed, "I've never seen
anyone climb a tree that fast."
They both laughed as Ellis turned to follow,
scooping up the discarded shoes. "I guess, I'll just..." he pointed
in Kayden's direction, "you know... catch up, sir."
Damien just nodded his dismissal as he
continued to laugh. "Thanks, Ellis."
****
Kayden panted from his perch in the tree, a
wide grin spreading across his face. He'd felt so free to run even
just the short distance, knowing he wasn't being chased or hunted.
He watched his master head toward the stables before he turned his
eyes on the other neko jogging closer. He tensed slightly,
wondering if the neko was going to be mad at him for running
ahead.
"Next time, give me a little warning," Ellis
called up laughing, and Kayden's shoulders relaxed.
Ellis settled on the ground near the tree,
laying back on his elbows. Kayden could feel the eyes of the other
feline on him as he climbed higher, wanting to see more. It was
beautiful, the browns of winter had come alive with the vibrant
shades of greens over the rolling hills.
"Let me know when you are done," Ellis said,
flopping down on his back, resting his head in his hands. Kayden
watched the neko's eyes close, his fluffy brown tail flicking
lazily in the grass beside him.
Kayden climbed nearly to the top, as far as
he could where the branches would still hold him. He almost
expected to be yelled at to get down, but the other neko just laid
in the shade, enjoying the quiet.
He didn't know what he wanted to do, now that
he was here. Besides breathe.
He settled on the branch with the sun
filtering through the branches and just let himself be. Alone.
And this alone was different from being alone
before. There was no sense of impending dread, no fear of when
someone would come for him and what they would do. Only peace.
His fingers toyed with the new silver tag at
his throat, as he gazed out over the horizon. This was his
home.
"Hey, Kayden!" Ellis called up to him. "How
about some lunch?"
Kayden nodded, even though he wasn't sure if
the older neko could see him. He leapt down through the branches
and landed easily on the soft grass at the bottom of the tree. The
other neko looked startled as he straightened.
"You seem... taller," Ellis muttered,
assessing the slim figure, and under the scrutiny Kayden felt
himself wanting to shrink in on himself. "No!" Ellis shouted
suddenly, and Kayden jerked away from him.
"No, don't," Ellis said, more softly. "I'm
sorry. I was just surprised." He slowly stepped closer to the
younger neko. "You look better," he said gently. "You look
happy."
Kayden didn't back away this time, and the
flick of his ears was all that showed of his anxiety. "I am."
Ellis froze at the sound of the boy's voice,
shocked that he had spoken. A huge grin spread across his face.
"I'm glad."
Kayden glanced up at him shyly, apparently
having realized that he had spoken to someone other than Damien.
When no anger or punishment came from the other neko, he
smiled.
"Come on. Let's go get some lunch," Ellis
said, then a mischievous twinkle appeared in his eyes. "I'll race
ya!"
Ellis had only a second to register the smirk
before the boy took off again. Ellis shook his head as he ran to
catch up. Damn, that boy was fast.
****
"I can't fucking believe it," Kayden heard
his master's voice cursing from the hallway, and he jumped up from
where he'd curled up on the couch to nap while Damien went
riding.
Kayden had spent over an hour in the kitchen,
eating with Ellis and a couple other slaves at the kitchen table.
He kept seeing Ysmenia grinning at him while she kneaded the bread
dough, and he wasn't sure what he was doing that caused her to grin
like that. Then he'd catch the chef, Garin, smirking at him too. He
finally looked over his shoulder to see if someone was behind him
that they were looking at. He had almost curled up on the blanket
that seemed to stay on the kitchen hearth, but instead, he had
headed up to his room.
It had been almost two weeks since the
attempted poisoning, and Kayden's whipping at Roman's hand. Even
though he was feeling so much better, he still snuck in a nap when
he could.
Damien came limping in, and Kayden felt the
hair on his tail stand on end. His master had cuts and bruises on
his arms and face, his shirt and pants were both torn and ripped.
Two guards were helping him into his bedroom, and John was rushing
around getting water and bandages.
Kayden tried to stay back, hovering on the
far edge of the bed as the men worked to clean and get his master
comfortable. But he was so scared, his green eyes wide with worry.
Damien kept grumbling and cursing, hissing with each wipe of the
alcohol that John used on the cuts and scrapes to prevent
infection. Ysmenia appeared with the salve and pain medication that
had been used for Kayden.
Kayden hissed in anger at the sight of the
cuts and bruises that littered his master's chest and the
contusions that were purpling on his leg.
He wanted so badly to ask what happened, but
wouldn't in front of the guards. Instead, he whined as he curled up
near Damien's head while John wrapped a tight linen around one of
Damien's ankles, and Damien sighed as he moved his arm to curl
around Kayden, taking comfort in the boy's nearness.
"What the hell happened?" an angry voice
stormed in.
Kayden hissed and arched, instinctively
protective of his master.
Damien laughed at Kayden's reaction, then
groaned as the pain rippled through his abs. "Calm down, kitten,"
he soothed. "It's just Harrison."
Kayden resettled as Harrison approached the
bed, eyeing the mess of his brother.
"So?" he demanded, a knowing look crossing
his face.
"Jester threw me," Damien gritted out, and
both of the men knew that something was wrong with that. Damien's
well-trained stallion had never thrown him, and Damien was an
excellent horseman so that would never happen--unless something
caused it to happen.
"Really?" Harrison snapped. "And what caused
that?"
"Someone shot him," Nash gritted out
angrily.
"What?!" Harrison and Kayden said at the same
time.
Everyone glanced at Kayden in surprise that
he'd spoken in front of others, and he buried himself back into
Damien's shoulder.
Damien's eyes glistened at the thought of
having had to put down his beloved horse.
"Captain Brenner and Salidin headed in the
direction they thought the shot came from, hoping to catch the
shooter," Nash added.
"Fuck," Harrison cursed. "If they'd been a
better shot...."