Fic: Desire's Thrall (Or, Romance Novel Nightmare), Chapter 6
Title: Desire's Thrall (Or, Romance Novel Nightmare)
Chapter 6
Author: she_burns1
Pairing: Bret/Jemaine, Bret/Jemayn, Bretta/Jemayn (...it'll make sense when you read it)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4,686
Summary: Bret gets transported into a romance novel. No, really.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is all mine. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author’s Note: Crack!Fic. This part is the most cracky so far - crack!history with crack!names and magic! MAGIC! So, beware all ye who enter here...
Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
After the revelation of the scar, Bret found himself still poking at it surreptitiously. How could such a thing exist on his body without his knowing it? Then again, until Jemayn had ripped his shirt, he had had no idea that his clothing was something less than modern.
He had actually been wearing some strange, black linen vest and, once he had noticed that, he had also noticed he'd been wearing strange matching trousers and shoes. The outfit was certainly more fitting to this time period. Whatever that was.
Bret tried to remember what he had worn to the bookstore in New York but it would not come to him. It didn't really matter. He had much more pressing matters than fashion.
His body was scarred. It was...Bretta's body and, oh god, that made no sense. Unless...maybe he and Bretta had switched places? Bret tried to picture Bretta in modern day New York with Jemaine and the mere thought of it made him flush red with embarrassment.
Would Bretta try to jump Jemaine's bones the same way Jemayn had been trying with Bret? And would...would Jemaine...respond?
This last thought alarmed Bret, because he was quite sure he shouldn't even be thinking it at all. And what's more, he shouldn't be...well...okay, not jealous but, well...
Bret bit at his nails and looked at Jemayn who was making arrangements for their departure. After the barn he had led Bret back up to the house, saying quietly, "I think it would be best if we sought help."
Bret wasn't quite sure what kind of 'help' they were going to get, but he had been kind of crying at the time and it had been upsetting, so he had just nodded and gone along with him. He had also needed to change his shirt.
He now wore a shirt that was, truthfully, no different than the one Jemayn had just destroyed and as Jemayn walked over he felt his heart sort of jump a bit, breath leaving him in a rush, "All right, then?"
"Mmm, I've sent Rahne to go and fetch Taika. By Odin's blood, the man would kill me if he missed out on this..."
Bret frowned, "Missed out on what?"
"Hmm? Oh, where we're going it's...it was Taika's idea and he wanted to join us, so," Jemayn shrugged and then looked at Bret worriedly, "Better now?"
Bret sniffed, "Yeah...sorry...'bout-'bout my...behavior...before..."
"You never need apologize to me."
Bret nodded, then, thinking of the scar, "How...how did I get it?"
"What?"
Bret rubbed a hand over where his scar rested and Jemayn's lit up with understanding, he sighed, "'Twas long ago and I...I was a fool. I...took you with me. Into battle. We had heard word of an invading force. Apparently a native tribe had confused us with our most hated enemies, the Trailians-"
"Trailian...as in, what, Australians?" Bret asked incredulously.
Jemayn made a face, "Aus...what? No, Trailians-"
"...what?"
"They are Trailians, we are Ealanders...even you should know this, Bret," Jemayn chided, though he sounded more amused than upset and Bret was just shaking his head because, okay, in no place in history could he recall Trailians and Ealanders. Still...
"So what happened?" Bret pressed, wanting to know the rest of the story.
"Well, one of the men, dark skinned and smelling strangely of fruit, had me bested. While I may have been bigger, his smaller stature made him quick and crafty. He had unbalance me and I lay there upon the ground as he drew back, preparing to deliver the fatal blow when you appeared and threw yourself before it."
"I...I did?"
Jemayn's eyes seemed far away as he spoke, "It was...so unexpected. You being there, I had...I had left you at camp...I would never have thought," he closed his eyes, "You followed me. You followed me into battle and when you saw me close to defeat, you...I was...when you threw yourself in front of me like that...it took me what felt like centuries to realize what had happened. The cry you released and the blood and you falling upon me...I can still see it...the tip of the sword as it came through you."
Bret gulped, feeling sick at the very idea of being impaled on something sharp and dangerous.
"The man...he was shocked as well. He withdrew the sword from you quickly and you crumpled up upon me as would a piece of paper thrown upon flames. I rolled out from beneath you quickly and...my rage...my rage..."
"It was the wrath of God," Taika spoke up from behind them and Bret and Jemayn turned, startled to see him there, "Or the Devil. Never had I seen him so. He was the Dark Beast that day."
Bret looked from one man to the other, "So...you...you won the battle?"
Taika nodded, "We had been close to succeeding before that. The leader of the tribe, the one who fought Jemayn and nearly ended you, he was just...fighting to the end."
Bret absorbed that as Taika patted his shoulder, a soft smile about his face, "We took you back. You were very weak and you almost died a million times over, but...your heart was strong. You were strong. A lesser man would have surely died but you," he shrugged, "It was an amazing thing to see."
Bret couldn't help but blush. He suddenly really wished he was this amazing man. A man who would throw himself in front of a sword and survive.
Taika rolled his eyes and smacked a hand at the back of Jemayn's head, "And this one...oh, at the time, he was but a bawling tot. He thought for sure that you would die at any moment and 'twould all be his fault...I think he just likes the attention."
Jemayn growled and turned to swat at Taika, but the other man gracefully avoided it, saying airly, "Come, come now...shall we not depart on our journey? I would like to be back by nightfall."
"Loren?" Jemayn asked knowingly.
Taika sighed, "How many times must I tell you that she is insatiable before you will believe me?"
"At this rate, you shall put a babe in belly before the weather warms."
"And what's to say that is not her plan?" Taika asked with a grin that was infectious. Both Bret and Jemayn smiled and before Bret knew it he was mounted on a horse that followed after Jemayn's and Taika's.
This ride was no where near as long as the one they took from the shore to the manor. They approached a building that was more modest than Jemayn's home, but still a nice structure.
It was homey, with ivy growing all over one side and Taika whistled when he saw it, "She's doing a bad job of dissuading people into thinking she's a witch with that growing there. Were she not married, children would be filled with fear every time they laid eyes on her, thinking her an evil old crone."
"What do you mean children? I am a full grown man and I fear her," Jemayn sniffed and Taika laughed. Bret wondered who they were talking about when it became very clear, very quickly.
A man walked into view, a timid smile about his face, voice soft, "Lord Jemayn, Lord Taika...it is a pleasure."
"Douglass," Jemayn returned, dismounting his horse swiftly, "How many times must I tell you not to call me 'Lord'. My name alone shall suffice."
"Aye, same goes for me," Taika said as he also descended, "After all, I did steal a servant from you. Surprised I am, that you would honor me by calling me by such a lofty title."
Douglass scratched at the back of his head, "Well, really...Loren was never much of a servant. She was more friend to my wife than anything. Like a sister. Besides, it does not take many to run this humble abode. And Melig always detests us having females about the house. Loren was the sole exception."
"Ah, about that...I was wondering if Ma-" Jemayn corrected himself quickly, "Melig. I wondered if Melig might be about."
Douglass looked surprised, "You would have words with my wife?"
"Well, actually," Taika cut off Jemayn before he could answer, "I would have words with your fine drink. You know that you have the finest vineyards in the land. And...were you to favor us with a song on your fine harp, one knows we would not protest."
Thoroughly buttered up, Douglass waved a hand and Taika smiled, patting his back, "Good man."
Taika and Douglass entered the dwelling while Bret struggled to find the best way to get down from his horse. Getting up had seemed so much easier. He had simply followed the same instructions Jemayn had given him last time. But getting down...
He turned this way and that, legs sort of kicking up in the air. His horse stood patiently, none the wiser, and as Bret lay draped over his back, he could hear an amused chuckle behind him, "Having trouble?"
Bret scowled. He could just see Jemayn with that Jemaine look on his face. The one that said 'you're an idiot'. Bret huffed, "No...just...need a minute...almost-almost got it..."
Jemayn walked up to the side of the horse where Bret's legs dangled and slid his hands up, taking a firm grip of Bret's waist. Bret gasped and lightly kicked at him, "No! No! Stop it! I got it!"
"Odin's blood, hold still! Or at least...flip over so I can take hold of you properly!"
Bret scowled, groaning and muttering as he twisted until he was in a position where Jemayn could take a better hold of his waist. Jemayn did his best to help the other man down, but due to his positioning, Bret toppled forward slightly, sagging heavily into Jemayn's body.
Jemayn's knees bent slightly, but he did not lose his footing, nor his balance as Bret fell into him. Still, their bodies were thrust close together and Bret's hands found themselves clutching at Jemayn's arms in an effort to keep upright. Jemayn slowly helped the other man to stand up straight but the moment had all ready become awkward.
One of Jemayn's hands unconsciously rose and brushed a few stray curls behind one of Bret's ears as he breathed out, "All right, then?"
Bret looked up into Jemayn's eyes and swallowed thickly because then, just then, in that moment, they were just who they were supposed to be and he felt...he wanted...
"Bretta! Jemayn!" a voice squealed.
The men broke away from one another swiftly as Melig emerged from the house. As Bret had thought, she was, indeed, Mel, save for the fact her hair was longer and she wore a dress.
She rushed over to Bret and squeezed him tightly, then did the same to Jemayn. Both broke away from her as quickly as possible and, once free from her, rubbed at their arms self-consciously.
Melig looked at them both with dreamy eyes, "Oh, wow, you guys look so great. My dear husband, he told me of your arrival and I came out as soon as I could to bid you entrance into my home. I would have been sooner but I was distracted by Taika, which I am sure you can understand."
Jemayn did understand. Even Taika, who was a notorious flirt, felt a tad uncomfortable around Melig. It was hard to put into the words, but the woman, she...well, she...
There was a reason she was called Mad Melig.
She ran her fingers up and down Jemayn and Bret's arms as they walked into the house, her body dancing around them in a circle as she waved some herb in the air, voice sort of sing song as she muttered in some language Bret had never heard before.
Jemayn looked at her warily, "You're not putting a spell upon us, are you?"
Melig stopped dancing, eyes wide, "Would I do that? Never! Oh, Jemayn...you're so strong...you could crush me with your bare hands if I bewitched you...your strong, rough bare hands..."
Melig reached out, prepared to touch one of Jemayn's hands but he quickly locked them together behind his back. She then turned her gaze to Bret, "And you...oh, your heart is too pure...why, if I tried to put a spell on you, it would be most naughty...you would have no choice but to punish me...and punish me hard..."
Bret shifted from foot to foot, wildly uncomfortable. Fortunately, it seemed, Doug had more of a voice here than at home, and he spoke up loudly, "Dear, I imagine our guests would like some drink. After all, they have traveled all this way."
Melig rolled her eyes, sighing, "They did not travel far."
"Melig," Douglass said steely and she swayed slightly, purring, "Oh, Douglass...when you put that tone in your voice...and your eyes...like hot coals..."
"The drinks, Melig. If you would, please," he said encouragingly and she giggled, running to him, planting a quick kiss upon his forehead before disappearing into another room. Bret and Jemayn relaxed considerably once she was gone and took a seat with Taika and Douglass at a small wooden table.
Taika shook his head, "Douglass, I know not how you do it."
"What? Melig?" Douglass asked, forking a thumb in the direction in which she had disappeared, "You just do not know, my friends. She is lightning that walks. If I told you the stories of our bedroom-"
"Don't!" Jemayn, Taika and Bret said in unison and Douglass laughed, shaking his head, adding swiftly, "Jealous...jealous is what you would be."
The three men shook their heads and Douglass laughed again as Melig returned with a tray carrying four tankards and a hunk of bread and cheese. The men ate and drank, talking about this and that. Melig would toss in a little now and then, mostly adjectives about Taika, Jemayn and Bret about their attractiveness, which, more often than not, left them feeling uncomfortable.
Douglass either did not notice or did not care and once Taika felt the moment was right, he gave Jemayn a meaningful look. Jemayn cleared his throat, "Douglass...if I may, I was wondering if Bretta, Taika, and I could not experience some...spiritual help from your wife."
Douglass raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
"They mean my magic!" Melig crowed excitedly, eyes wide, smile edging on fanatical, "I can help you! I have many balms and potions that help with passions, I would be more than happy to rub-"
"No!" Jemayn cried, then, more calmly, "No, no, not-not that...we-we need help with Bret," he patted Bret's shoulder, "He has had had trouble with lost memories."
"Oh," Melig cooed, "Really?"
"Yeah," Bret said quietly, eyes avoiding hers at all costs, "Hit-hit my head..."
"Yes," Douglass said thoughtfully, "I had heard of your capture."
"Capture!" Melig squealed in alarm, "Oh no! What-?! Why-?!"
Douglass sighed, "I did not tell you, dear wife, as I did not want to worry you unduly. And, obviously, I was right to do so. I was quite sure Jemayn and his band would be able to bring the thrall home and they were."
"But Douglass," she whined, outraged, "He has lost his memory!"
"So? Something you can easily help recover, I am sure," Douglass said, sipping at his wine, "Very well, if your require her skill in the dark arts, I am not so ungracious a host as to not oblige you. Just...keep in mind that you should keep whatever you see and hear to yourself. A silent tongue is a safe one," he added this almost darkly and Bret was pretty sure he got the message.
It was kind of sweet, really.
He imagined in this time...again, whatever time it was...that witchcraft was looked down upon and, were word to get out that Melig actually practiced magic, things could be pretty bad for her. Obviously Douglas was trying to protect her. He loved her, and thus, had threatened them should they tell anyone.
Really, kind of sweet.
Douglass left the room and Taika looked ready to do the same when Melig reached out and grasped his arm, "Oh, no, no, no, Taika! Taika, I need you!" she said this in such an urgent way that the giggles that followed after were very disconcerting, she shook her head, "No, no...not that way, though I would love in that way, but, no, no I need you for your powers of the mind. You will help me make an open channel. Be an instrument between Bret and I."
Bret didn't know if he liked the sound of that but Taika did not seem troubled and he highly doubted the man would let any harm come to him.
Melig went about pulling out bottles from various cabinets and Bret watched with some interest as she removed powders and twigs and pretty stones and arranged them here and there before putting a pot of water to boil over the fire pit near the table.
"Where is that saffron-" she muttered under her breath as she searched a variety of places and, once finding it, tossed some of the herb into the pot. She put several other things in there as well and soon the air was thick and pungent with some sweet smell that made Bret sort of sleepy and, bizarrely, happy.
Melig lit some candles and then came over to the table, "Ah, good, good...all is well and prepared for us to begin. It is good you all ready sit across from him, Taika, as I shall need you take his left hand."
Taika did so and Melig smiled, "Good, good, now give me your free hand."
Again, he followed her instructions. She closed her eyes, then, taking in a deep breath, she began to speak again in that strange, lilting language Bret had never heard before. It kind of reminded him of the elvish he had heard in that Lord of the Rings picture.
It took him a moment before he realized she was saying his name, "Bretta...Bretta...give me your right hand..."
Bret licked his lips and did so. Melig gasped dramatically, "Ohhhh....my, yes, yes...the connection is made...I can see...like gold snowflakes before my eyes..."
Jemayn stood outside the group, watching with rapid interest, as Melig's head lolled about her shoulders, "The path...covered in dust and shrouded...blue and purple and...sooo soft and...sad...such melancholy...such loneliness...is this how you feel, Bretta?"
Bret didn't answer, not sure how to, when she spoke again, "No, no...not-not Bretta...Bret. You are Bret. You are...and it is not how you feel now...'tis how you felt before...you were walking...it was so cold and you were...he left you...'mind your own business', his last words, and" Melig's head tipped back, then forward and she let out another startled breath as her eyes opened.
They were glassy and she turned to Bret. She quickly took his face in her hands, her voice full of wonder, "The connection is deep now...no longer Taika do I need...and what I see in you...ohhhh...what I see...."
"What do you see?" Jemayn asked with some urgency, not caring if he was interrupting.
"A world," Melig breathed, tears in her eyes, "Oh...there's a whole other world...inside his head...like our own but so different. I see you, my lord...you are yourself, your face the same, aye, but you are someone else. You are...unsure. You are...you do not love him...or, maybe...you are afraid. Such fear in you...never have I felt such fear as this. And Bret...he too, is weighed down by trepidation...he stumbles and covers and he has had many women with their eyes upon him and he has tried but he does not love them...no...he...love for him...it is right there...right on the edge of his heart but he has yet to fall into it..."
Bret wanted to pull away, his eyes welling up for some reason, but he found himself frozen as Melig continued, "The trees are made of stone and rise high into the sky...such lights...and horses made of metal with strange curves...and...I am there...I see myself! But my hair is short and I...I wear trousers!" she laughed, then, "I look good..."
"Yes, yes, what else!" Jemayn snapped, his patience thin. He did not understand much of what she said, but what he had heard he did not like.
She spoke again, one of her thumbs brushing Bret's cheek, "You are...searching...Bret...you are...lost...home...home...but that is not the answer...there is something deeper than that...the answer...the answer lies through water..."
Jemayn came over swiftly and drew Melig away from Bret, shaking her, "You are just babbling now! Can you make his memories return or not!"
Melig answered not with words. Instead she went limp in Jemayn's arms, breathing heavily. When she opened her eyes they seemed more focused. She pulled away from him and sat at the table. Taika looked between her and Jemayn worriedly. Finally she spoke, "Drink...I need-"
Taika eased a drink towards her quickly and she took a deep mouthful. Bret, whose eyes still glittered with unshed tears, looked at her expectantly. Would she tell them he was a big fat fraud? And what had she meant with that whole love bit? And fear? And Jemaine...
Love. Fear. Jemaine.
The three words tumbled over each other in his mind like clothes in a dryer. Haphazard and hot and dizzy.
Melig sighed, rubbing at her forehead, "I saw two worlds in his mind. Ours and...the other. If someone used magic upon him, it is stronger than any I have ever seen. It's as if...he were another person."
Jemayn looked at him and Bret felt cold. There it was. Melig had seen it. She had caught him.
Taika, spoke quietly, "Is it possible they were trying to...brainwash him. Make him into someone new."
Melig breathed out and shuddered, "Aye...I have...heard of such magic, but...'tis very, very dark. I do not even like to call it that. Magic is...it should not be...I have practiced it all my life with naught but joy, but what others do with it...'tis ugly and deplorable."
"Melig, we really appreciate you doing that," Taika said, then, voice sharp at Jemayn, "Don't we?"
Jemayn breathed in deep through his nose, then nodded curtly, voice gruff, "Yes, yes...I am...sorry, Melig. To draw you away...to shake you..."
Melig blinked, "Did you?"
Jemayn opened his mouth to say more but Melig cut him off with a wave of her hand, "'Tis no matter if you did so, it is good. Bret's mind was drawing me in fast. The connection would have had to have been broken one way or another."
"We shall trouble you no longer, Melig," Taika said smoothly and it was a testament to how much it took out of Melig that she did not argue.
The trio left after a few quick goodbyes and more offers of thanks. They rode home in silence and, once there, they all dismounted quietly, even Bret, who managed to do so himself this time without help.
Taika was the first to speak, "Tomorrow I shall ride to Davion's. He was the one charged with Lord Marcus and Lady Sarah. I shall interrogate the two. Try to find out what exactly they did-"
"Do you think that necessary," Jemayn said tonelessly. He had not looked at Bret once since leaving Melig's.
Bret's eyes stung and his throat felt sore and, taking the reigns of his horse, he silently led the animal away. Taika watched him leave, then punched Jemayn's arm, "What be the matter with you!"
"The matter with me!" Jemayn roared, taking his own swipe at Taika and missing, as the other man dodged it, "You heard what she said! He is an imposter!"
"Aye, I heard what she said, obviously you did not," Taika said heatedly, "She said it is possible they tried to rewrite his mind."
"Oh please," Jemayn scoffed, "'Tis not possible that Sarah could-"
"You would defend her?!"
"Taika, I have no love for the woman, but that level of sorcery-"
"I care not what you say," Taika returned, pointing off in the direction Bret had left, "That man is the man you love. He might not remember a whit of it, aye, he may never remember it, but I'll be damned if I'll have you throw it away because things became hard."
Jemayn moaned, rubbing at his eyes, "'Tis not that-"
"What is it, then? Hmm? Tell me, true. How can it be anything other than the fact that you fear complications. Had things been nothing but roses for you two beforehand? I say nay, otherwise everyone would have known of your love for him. I just recently barely managed to drag the truth from you. Melig was right - you are steeped in fear-"
Jemayn scowled darkly, "I am no coward! Melig said 'twas the Jemayn in Bret's mind, in that other world, was steeped in fear-"
"And I say you are no different!" Taika cried, "Odin's teeth, but you are a stubborn ass! You love him, he loves you! Now work it out, lest I beat some sense into you!"
"You think you could and survive?" Jemayn asked incuriously.
This was a bad move on his part, as the evening's events had apparently put as much a fight in Taika as in himself, and soon the two men were grappling about. Kicks and punches were thrown and it ended up with a sweaty, exhausted heap of men drawing away from one another to lie on their backs in the grass and groan in pain and a bizarre camaraderie.
"Feel better?" Jemayn breathed, wincing at the pain in his ribs.
"Much," Taika mused, all smiles again, "The events with Melig...she did use me as an instrument to reach into Bret's mind...it was most trying...I needed to relieve the tension."
"By fighting me?"
"By besting you."
"Bah! You did not best me!"
"The black eye you shall have tomorrow tells me different."
"I won't have a black eye."
"It shall match your lover's. A purple ringed set."
Jemayn grew quiet, then, "Do you really think he's...still Bretta?"
Taika breathed out, "No."
Jemayn's heart sank.
"He is no longer Bretta, Jemayn. He is someone new...and whether or not magic has played a part matters not a whit. I was in his mind as clear and as sure as Melig, and I felt it there. The fear. The love. And you...you were there. In his mind. Different, yes, but there and...so, so strong."
Taika sat up slowly, wincing himself as he looked down at Jemayn, "I think he is better, actually, than he was. Timid, yes, unsure, certainly, but...there is a sort of roundness to him I had not felt before. You would be wise not to just disregard him."
Jemayn rose on his elbows, his eyes not meeting Taika's, "I...felt the difference. From the beginning. And his...reluctance to be intimate with me has been...but then there is...something else there...something beneath...a sort of...fire."
Taika grinned impishly and poked Jemaine's shoulder lightly, "Mayhap you should stoke it."
Jemayn rolled his eyes, then, sighing, "I wonder where he is now."
"Oh, probably sulking in his chambers. And with good reason. You hurt his feelings."
"He hurt mine first," Jemayn sniffed, "Had he been honest with me-"
"Oh, if he had been honest with you, you would have been just as beastly. Don't lie to me...doesn't suit you."
Jemayn rubbed at his neck, "Would you? Tomorrow? I mean, go to Davion's, I mean..."
Taika got to his feet and pressed a hand to his back, "Aye, aye...I shall see what I can do."
Jemayn stood as well, "Thank you, my friend. Again...not sure what I did-"
"I know, I know," Taika patted at his shoulder as he turned and started towards the manor, "You really do owe me."
A quick aside, I may someday go back, after this is done, and write a bit of a remix in which we see Jemaine have to deal with Bretta. No guarantees! ;p
Chapter 6
Author: she_burns1
Pairing: Bret/Jemaine, Bret/Jemayn, Bretta/Jemayn (...it'll make sense when you read it)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 4,686
Summary: Bret gets transported into a romance novel. No, really.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is all mine. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author’s Note: Crack!Fic. This part is the most cracky so far - crack!history with crack!names and magic! MAGIC! So, beware all ye who enter here...
Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
After the revelation of the scar, Bret found himself still poking at it surreptitiously. How could such a thing exist on his body without his knowing it? Then again, until Jemayn had ripped his shirt, he had had no idea that his clothing was something less than modern.
He had actually been wearing some strange, black linen vest and, once he had noticed that, he had also noticed he'd been wearing strange matching trousers and shoes. The outfit was certainly more fitting to this time period. Whatever that was.
Bret tried to remember what he had worn to the bookstore in New York but it would not come to him. It didn't really matter. He had much more pressing matters than fashion.
His body was scarred. It was...Bretta's body and, oh god, that made no sense. Unless...maybe he and Bretta had switched places? Bret tried to picture Bretta in modern day New York with Jemaine and the mere thought of it made him flush red with embarrassment.
Would Bretta try to jump Jemaine's bones the same way Jemayn had been trying with Bret? And would...would Jemaine...respond?
This last thought alarmed Bret, because he was quite sure he shouldn't even be thinking it at all. And what's more, he shouldn't be...well...okay, not jealous but, well...
Bret bit at his nails and looked at Jemayn who was making arrangements for their departure. After the barn he had led Bret back up to the house, saying quietly, "I think it would be best if we sought help."
Bret wasn't quite sure what kind of 'help' they were going to get, but he had been kind of crying at the time and it had been upsetting, so he had just nodded and gone along with him. He had also needed to change his shirt.
He now wore a shirt that was, truthfully, no different than the one Jemayn had just destroyed and as Jemayn walked over he felt his heart sort of jump a bit, breath leaving him in a rush, "All right, then?"
"Mmm, I've sent Rahne to go and fetch Taika. By Odin's blood, the man would kill me if he missed out on this..."
Bret frowned, "Missed out on what?"
"Hmm? Oh, where we're going it's...it was Taika's idea and he wanted to join us, so," Jemayn shrugged and then looked at Bret worriedly, "Better now?"
Bret sniffed, "Yeah...sorry...'bout-'bout my...behavior...before..."
"You never need apologize to me."
Bret nodded, then, thinking of the scar, "How...how did I get it?"
"What?"
Bret rubbed a hand over where his scar rested and Jemayn's lit up with understanding, he sighed, "'Twas long ago and I...I was a fool. I...took you with me. Into battle. We had heard word of an invading force. Apparently a native tribe had confused us with our most hated enemies, the Trailians-"
"Trailian...as in, what, Australians?" Bret asked incredulously.
Jemayn made a face, "Aus...what? No, Trailians-"
"...what?"
"They are Trailians, we are Ealanders...even you should know this, Bret," Jemayn chided, though he sounded more amused than upset and Bret was just shaking his head because, okay, in no place in history could he recall Trailians and Ealanders. Still...
"So what happened?" Bret pressed, wanting to know the rest of the story.
"Well, one of the men, dark skinned and smelling strangely of fruit, had me bested. While I may have been bigger, his smaller stature made him quick and crafty. He had unbalance me and I lay there upon the ground as he drew back, preparing to deliver the fatal blow when you appeared and threw yourself before it."
"I...I did?"
Jemayn's eyes seemed far away as he spoke, "It was...so unexpected. You being there, I had...I had left you at camp...I would never have thought," he closed his eyes, "You followed me. You followed me into battle and when you saw me close to defeat, you...I was...when you threw yourself in front of me like that...it took me what felt like centuries to realize what had happened. The cry you released and the blood and you falling upon me...I can still see it...the tip of the sword as it came through you."
Bret gulped, feeling sick at the very idea of being impaled on something sharp and dangerous.
"The man...he was shocked as well. He withdrew the sword from you quickly and you crumpled up upon me as would a piece of paper thrown upon flames. I rolled out from beneath you quickly and...my rage...my rage..."
"It was the wrath of God," Taika spoke up from behind them and Bret and Jemayn turned, startled to see him there, "Or the Devil. Never had I seen him so. He was the Dark Beast that day."
Bret looked from one man to the other, "So...you...you won the battle?"
Taika nodded, "We had been close to succeeding before that. The leader of the tribe, the one who fought Jemayn and nearly ended you, he was just...fighting to the end."
Bret absorbed that as Taika patted his shoulder, a soft smile about his face, "We took you back. You were very weak and you almost died a million times over, but...your heart was strong. You were strong. A lesser man would have surely died but you," he shrugged, "It was an amazing thing to see."
Bret couldn't help but blush. He suddenly really wished he was this amazing man. A man who would throw himself in front of a sword and survive.
Taika rolled his eyes and smacked a hand at the back of Jemayn's head, "And this one...oh, at the time, he was but a bawling tot. He thought for sure that you would die at any moment and 'twould all be his fault...I think he just likes the attention."
Jemayn growled and turned to swat at Taika, but the other man gracefully avoided it, saying airly, "Come, come now...shall we not depart on our journey? I would like to be back by nightfall."
"Loren?" Jemayn asked knowingly.
Taika sighed, "How many times must I tell you that she is insatiable before you will believe me?"
"At this rate, you shall put a babe in belly before the weather warms."
"And what's to say that is not her plan?" Taika asked with a grin that was infectious. Both Bret and Jemayn smiled and before Bret knew it he was mounted on a horse that followed after Jemayn's and Taika's.
This ride was no where near as long as the one they took from the shore to the manor. They approached a building that was more modest than Jemayn's home, but still a nice structure.
It was homey, with ivy growing all over one side and Taika whistled when he saw it, "She's doing a bad job of dissuading people into thinking she's a witch with that growing there. Were she not married, children would be filled with fear every time they laid eyes on her, thinking her an evil old crone."
"What do you mean children? I am a full grown man and I fear her," Jemayn sniffed and Taika laughed. Bret wondered who they were talking about when it became very clear, very quickly.
A man walked into view, a timid smile about his face, voice soft, "Lord Jemayn, Lord Taika...it is a pleasure."
"Douglass," Jemayn returned, dismounting his horse swiftly, "How many times must I tell you not to call me 'Lord'. My name alone shall suffice."
"Aye, same goes for me," Taika said as he also descended, "After all, I did steal a servant from you. Surprised I am, that you would honor me by calling me by such a lofty title."
Douglass scratched at the back of his head, "Well, really...Loren was never much of a servant. She was more friend to my wife than anything. Like a sister. Besides, it does not take many to run this humble abode. And Melig always detests us having females about the house. Loren was the sole exception."
"Ah, about that...I was wondering if Ma-" Jemayn corrected himself quickly, "Melig. I wondered if Melig might be about."
Douglass looked surprised, "You would have words with my wife?"
"Well, actually," Taika cut off Jemayn before he could answer, "I would have words with your fine drink. You know that you have the finest vineyards in the land. And...were you to favor us with a song on your fine harp, one knows we would not protest."
Thoroughly buttered up, Douglass waved a hand and Taika smiled, patting his back, "Good man."
Taika and Douglass entered the dwelling while Bret struggled to find the best way to get down from his horse. Getting up had seemed so much easier. He had simply followed the same instructions Jemayn had given him last time. But getting down...
He turned this way and that, legs sort of kicking up in the air. His horse stood patiently, none the wiser, and as Bret lay draped over his back, he could hear an amused chuckle behind him, "Having trouble?"
Bret scowled. He could just see Jemayn with that Jemaine look on his face. The one that said 'you're an idiot'. Bret huffed, "No...just...need a minute...almost-almost got it..."
Jemayn walked up to the side of the horse where Bret's legs dangled and slid his hands up, taking a firm grip of Bret's waist. Bret gasped and lightly kicked at him, "No! No! Stop it! I got it!"
"Odin's blood, hold still! Or at least...flip over so I can take hold of you properly!"
Bret scowled, groaning and muttering as he twisted until he was in a position where Jemayn could take a better hold of his waist. Jemayn did his best to help the other man down, but due to his positioning, Bret toppled forward slightly, sagging heavily into Jemayn's body.
Jemayn's knees bent slightly, but he did not lose his footing, nor his balance as Bret fell into him. Still, their bodies were thrust close together and Bret's hands found themselves clutching at Jemayn's arms in an effort to keep upright. Jemayn slowly helped the other man to stand up straight but the moment had all ready become awkward.
One of Jemayn's hands unconsciously rose and brushed a few stray curls behind one of Bret's ears as he breathed out, "All right, then?"
Bret looked up into Jemayn's eyes and swallowed thickly because then, just then, in that moment, they were just who they were supposed to be and he felt...he wanted...
"Bretta! Jemayn!" a voice squealed.
The men broke away from one another swiftly as Melig emerged from the house. As Bret had thought, she was, indeed, Mel, save for the fact her hair was longer and she wore a dress.
She rushed over to Bret and squeezed him tightly, then did the same to Jemayn. Both broke away from her as quickly as possible and, once free from her, rubbed at their arms self-consciously.
Melig looked at them both with dreamy eyes, "Oh, wow, you guys look so great. My dear husband, he told me of your arrival and I came out as soon as I could to bid you entrance into my home. I would have been sooner but I was distracted by Taika, which I am sure you can understand."
Jemayn did understand. Even Taika, who was a notorious flirt, felt a tad uncomfortable around Melig. It was hard to put into the words, but the woman, she...well, she...
There was a reason she was called Mad Melig.
She ran her fingers up and down Jemayn and Bret's arms as they walked into the house, her body dancing around them in a circle as she waved some herb in the air, voice sort of sing song as she muttered in some language Bret had never heard before.
Jemayn looked at her warily, "You're not putting a spell upon us, are you?"
Melig stopped dancing, eyes wide, "Would I do that? Never! Oh, Jemayn...you're so strong...you could crush me with your bare hands if I bewitched you...your strong, rough bare hands..."
Melig reached out, prepared to touch one of Jemayn's hands but he quickly locked them together behind his back. She then turned her gaze to Bret, "And you...oh, your heart is too pure...why, if I tried to put a spell on you, it would be most naughty...you would have no choice but to punish me...and punish me hard..."
Bret shifted from foot to foot, wildly uncomfortable. Fortunately, it seemed, Doug had more of a voice here than at home, and he spoke up loudly, "Dear, I imagine our guests would like some drink. After all, they have traveled all this way."
Melig rolled her eyes, sighing, "They did not travel far."
"Melig," Douglass said steely and she swayed slightly, purring, "Oh, Douglass...when you put that tone in your voice...and your eyes...like hot coals..."
"The drinks, Melig. If you would, please," he said encouragingly and she giggled, running to him, planting a quick kiss upon his forehead before disappearing into another room. Bret and Jemayn relaxed considerably once she was gone and took a seat with Taika and Douglass at a small wooden table.
Taika shook his head, "Douglass, I know not how you do it."
"What? Melig?" Douglass asked, forking a thumb in the direction in which she had disappeared, "You just do not know, my friends. She is lightning that walks. If I told you the stories of our bedroom-"
"Don't!" Jemayn, Taika and Bret said in unison and Douglass laughed, shaking his head, adding swiftly, "Jealous...jealous is what you would be."
The three men shook their heads and Douglass laughed again as Melig returned with a tray carrying four tankards and a hunk of bread and cheese. The men ate and drank, talking about this and that. Melig would toss in a little now and then, mostly adjectives about Taika, Jemayn and Bret about their attractiveness, which, more often than not, left them feeling uncomfortable.
Douglass either did not notice or did not care and once Taika felt the moment was right, he gave Jemayn a meaningful look. Jemayn cleared his throat, "Douglass...if I may, I was wondering if Bretta, Taika, and I could not experience some...spiritual help from your wife."
Douglass raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
"They mean my magic!" Melig crowed excitedly, eyes wide, smile edging on fanatical, "I can help you! I have many balms and potions that help with passions, I would be more than happy to rub-"
"No!" Jemayn cried, then, more calmly, "No, no, not-not that...we-we need help with Bret," he patted Bret's shoulder, "He has had had trouble with lost memories."
"Oh," Melig cooed, "Really?"
"Yeah," Bret said quietly, eyes avoiding hers at all costs, "Hit-hit my head..."
"Yes," Douglass said thoughtfully, "I had heard of your capture."
"Capture!" Melig squealed in alarm, "Oh no! What-?! Why-?!"
Douglass sighed, "I did not tell you, dear wife, as I did not want to worry you unduly. And, obviously, I was right to do so. I was quite sure Jemayn and his band would be able to bring the thrall home and they were."
"But Douglass," she whined, outraged, "He has lost his memory!"
"So? Something you can easily help recover, I am sure," Douglass said, sipping at his wine, "Very well, if your require her skill in the dark arts, I am not so ungracious a host as to not oblige you. Just...keep in mind that you should keep whatever you see and hear to yourself. A silent tongue is a safe one," he added this almost darkly and Bret was pretty sure he got the message.
It was kind of sweet, really.
He imagined in this time...again, whatever time it was...that witchcraft was looked down upon and, were word to get out that Melig actually practiced magic, things could be pretty bad for her. Obviously Douglas was trying to protect her. He loved her, and thus, had threatened them should they tell anyone.
Really, kind of sweet.
Douglass left the room and Taika looked ready to do the same when Melig reached out and grasped his arm, "Oh, no, no, no, Taika! Taika, I need you!" she said this in such an urgent way that the giggles that followed after were very disconcerting, she shook her head, "No, no...not that way, though I would love in that way, but, no, no I need you for your powers of the mind. You will help me make an open channel. Be an instrument between Bret and I."
Bret didn't know if he liked the sound of that but Taika did not seem troubled and he highly doubted the man would let any harm come to him.
Melig went about pulling out bottles from various cabinets and Bret watched with some interest as she removed powders and twigs and pretty stones and arranged them here and there before putting a pot of water to boil over the fire pit near the table.
"Where is that saffron-" she muttered under her breath as she searched a variety of places and, once finding it, tossed some of the herb into the pot. She put several other things in there as well and soon the air was thick and pungent with some sweet smell that made Bret sort of sleepy and, bizarrely, happy.
Melig lit some candles and then came over to the table, "Ah, good, good...all is well and prepared for us to begin. It is good you all ready sit across from him, Taika, as I shall need you take his left hand."
Taika did so and Melig smiled, "Good, good, now give me your free hand."
Again, he followed her instructions. She closed her eyes, then, taking in a deep breath, she began to speak again in that strange, lilting language Bret had never heard before. It kind of reminded him of the elvish he had heard in that Lord of the Rings picture.
It took him a moment before he realized she was saying his name, "Bretta...Bretta...give me your right hand..."
Bret licked his lips and did so. Melig gasped dramatically, "Ohhhh....my, yes, yes...the connection is made...I can see...like gold snowflakes before my eyes..."
Jemayn stood outside the group, watching with rapid interest, as Melig's head lolled about her shoulders, "The path...covered in dust and shrouded...blue and purple and...sooo soft and...sad...such melancholy...such loneliness...is this how you feel, Bretta?"
Bret didn't answer, not sure how to, when she spoke again, "No, no...not-not Bretta...Bret. You are Bret. You are...and it is not how you feel now...'tis how you felt before...you were walking...it was so cold and you were...he left you...'mind your own business', his last words, and" Melig's head tipped back, then forward and she let out another startled breath as her eyes opened.
They were glassy and she turned to Bret. She quickly took his face in her hands, her voice full of wonder, "The connection is deep now...no longer Taika do I need...and what I see in you...ohhhh...what I see...."
"What do you see?" Jemayn asked with some urgency, not caring if he was interrupting.
"A world," Melig breathed, tears in her eyes, "Oh...there's a whole other world...inside his head...like our own but so different. I see you, my lord...you are yourself, your face the same, aye, but you are someone else. You are...unsure. You are...you do not love him...or, maybe...you are afraid. Such fear in you...never have I felt such fear as this. And Bret...he too, is weighed down by trepidation...he stumbles and covers and he has had many women with their eyes upon him and he has tried but he does not love them...no...he...love for him...it is right there...right on the edge of his heart but he has yet to fall into it..."
Bret wanted to pull away, his eyes welling up for some reason, but he found himself frozen as Melig continued, "The trees are made of stone and rise high into the sky...such lights...and horses made of metal with strange curves...and...I am there...I see myself! But my hair is short and I...I wear trousers!" she laughed, then, "I look good..."
"Yes, yes, what else!" Jemayn snapped, his patience thin. He did not understand much of what she said, but what he had heard he did not like.
She spoke again, one of her thumbs brushing Bret's cheek, "You are...searching...Bret...you are...lost...home...home...but that is not the answer...there is something deeper than that...the answer...the answer lies through water..."
Jemayn came over swiftly and drew Melig away from Bret, shaking her, "You are just babbling now! Can you make his memories return or not!"
Melig answered not with words. Instead she went limp in Jemayn's arms, breathing heavily. When she opened her eyes they seemed more focused. She pulled away from him and sat at the table. Taika looked between her and Jemayn worriedly. Finally she spoke, "Drink...I need-"
Taika eased a drink towards her quickly and she took a deep mouthful. Bret, whose eyes still glittered with unshed tears, looked at her expectantly. Would she tell them he was a big fat fraud? And what had she meant with that whole love bit? And fear? And Jemaine...
Love. Fear. Jemaine.
The three words tumbled over each other in his mind like clothes in a dryer. Haphazard and hot and dizzy.
Melig sighed, rubbing at her forehead, "I saw two worlds in his mind. Ours and...the other. If someone used magic upon him, it is stronger than any I have ever seen. It's as if...he were another person."
Jemayn looked at him and Bret felt cold. There it was. Melig had seen it. She had caught him.
Taika, spoke quietly, "Is it possible they were trying to...brainwash him. Make him into someone new."
Melig breathed out and shuddered, "Aye...I have...heard of such magic, but...'tis very, very dark. I do not even like to call it that. Magic is...it should not be...I have practiced it all my life with naught but joy, but what others do with it...'tis ugly and deplorable."
"Melig, we really appreciate you doing that," Taika said, then, voice sharp at Jemayn, "Don't we?"
Jemayn breathed in deep through his nose, then nodded curtly, voice gruff, "Yes, yes...I am...sorry, Melig. To draw you away...to shake you..."
Melig blinked, "Did you?"
Jemayn opened his mouth to say more but Melig cut him off with a wave of her hand, "'Tis no matter if you did so, it is good. Bret's mind was drawing me in fast. The connection would have had to have been broken one way or another."
"We shall trouble you no longer, Melig," Taika said smoothly and it was a testament to how much it took out of Melig that she did not argue.
The trio left after a few quick goodbyes and more offers of thanks. They rode home in silence and, once there, they all dismounted quietly, even Bret, who managed to do so himself this time without help.
Taika was the first to speak, "Tomorrow I shall ride to Davion's. He was the one charged with Lord Marcus and Lady Sarah. I shall interrogate the two. Try to find out what exactly they did-"
"Do you think that necessary," Jemayn said tonelessly. He had not looked at Bret once since leaving Melig's.
Bret's eyes stung and his throat felt sore and, taking the reigns of his horse, he silently led the animal away. Taika watched him leave, then punched Jemayn's arm, "What be the matter with you!"
"The matter with me!" Jemayn roared, taking his own swipe at Taika and missing, as the other man dodged it, "You heard what she said! He is an imposter!"
"Aye, I heard what she said, obviously you did not," Taika said heatedly, "She said it is possible they tried to rewrite his mind."
"Oh please," Jemayn scoffed, "'Tis not possible that Sarah could-"
"You would defend her?!"
"Taika, I have no love for the woman, but that level of sorcery-"
"I care not what you say," Taika returned, pointing off in the direction Bret had left, "That man is the man you love. He might not remember a whit of it, aye, he may never remember it, but I'll be damned if I'll have you throw it away because things became hard."
Jemayn moaned, rubbing at his eyes, "'Tis not that-"
"What is it, then? Hmm? Tell me, true. How can it be anything other than the fact that you fear complications. Had things been nothing but roses for you two beforehand? I say nay, otherwise everyone would have known of your love for him. I just recently barely managed to drag the truth from you. Melig was right - you are steeped in fear-"
Jemayn scowled darkly, "I am no coward! Melig said 'twas the Jemayn in Bret's mind, in that other world, was steeped in fear-"
"And I say you are no different!" Taika cried, "Odin's teeth, but you are a stubborn ass! You love him, he loves you! Now work it out, lest I beat some sense into you!"
"You think you could and survive?" Jemayn asked incuriously.
This was a bad move on his part, as the evening's events had apparently put as much a fight in Taika as in himself, and soon the two men were grappling about. Kicks and punches were thrown and it ended up with a sweaty, exhausted heap of men drawing away from one another to lie on their backs in the grass and groan in pain and a bizarre camaraderie.
"Feel better?" Jemayn breathed, wincing at the pain in his ribs.
"Much," Taika mused, all smiles again, "The events with Melig...she did use me as an instrument to reach into Bret's mind...it was most trying...I needed to relieve the tension."
"By fighting me?"
"By besting you."
"Bah! You did not best me!"
"The black eye you shall have tomorrow tells me different."
"I won't have a black eye."
"It shall match your lover's. A purple ringed set."
Jemayn grew quiet, then, "Do you really think he's...still Bretta?"
Taika breathed out, "No."
Jemayn's heart sank.
"He is no longer Bretta, Jemayn. He is someone new...and whether or not magic has played a part matters not a whit. I was in his mind as clear and as sure as Melig, and I felt it there. The fear. The love. And you...you were there. In his mind. Different, yes, but there and...so, so strong."
Taika sat up slowly, wincing himself as he looked down at Jemayn, "I think he is better, actually, than he was. Timid, yes, unsure, certainly, but...there is a sort of roundness to him I had not felt before. You would be wise not to just disregard him."
Jemayn rose on his elbows, his eyes not meeting Taika's, "I...felt the difference. From the beginning. And his...reluctance to be intimate with me has been...but then there is...something else there...something beneath...a sort of...fire."
Taika grinned impishly and poked Jemaine's shoulder lightly, "Mayhap you should stoke it."
Jemayn rolled his eyes, then, sighing, "I wonder where he is now."
"Oh, probably sulking in his chambers. And with good reason. You hurt his feelings."
"He hurt mine first," Jemayn sniffed, "Had he been honest with me-"
"Oh, if he had been honest with you, you would have been just as beastly. Don't lie to me...doesn't suit you."
Jemayn rubbed at his neck, "Would you? Tomorrow? I mean, go to Davion's, I mean..."
Taika got to his feet and pressed a hand to his back, "Aye, aye...I shall see what I can do."
Jemayn stood as well, "Thank you, my friend. Again...not sure what I did-"
"I know, I know," Taika patted at his shoulder as he turned and started towards the manor, "You really do owe me."
A quick aside, I may someday go back, after this is done, and write a bit of a remix in which we see Jemaine have to deal with Bretta. No guarantees! ;p