“Well, I guess the first thing that you’re going to need to learn is to show respect. I don’t mean like the way you respect your mom, or you dad, but kind of what we’d show to the Queen of England. That’s the best comparison. Remember, also, that the way you act reflects on me, Brian, and Howi. They’ll expect you guys to be slightly uneducated, but they’ll also expect that we’ll have taught you the basics. The other races we deal with we’ll instruct you as they come.” AJ paused to let what he had said sink in.
Howie picked up the conversation, drawing their attention to him. “I’ve been there as a guest, and I’ll admit that they’re very forgiving of mistakes if it’s obvious that you’re putting an effort in to learning. Elves are the kindest souls I have ever met, anywhere. There really aren’t rules beyond ones that are common decency. Do not hurt others. Treat people with respect. Honor your family and the elders. Show respect for those who are elder and gave gained wisdom.”
The two were nodding their heads. “That sounds easy enough.” Nick said, looking from one to the other. “It’s the same rules I follow, and the way my parents wanted me to be with my grandparents when we went to visit.”
Brian chuckled from where he was still brushing AJ’s hair. “That’s exactly it. Treat them like your honored grandparents. Keep that in mind and you’ll do pretty well.”
Tipping his head back a little, AJ sighed under the feel of the brush. Who knew that having someone brush your hair for you could feel so good? His eyes slid closed. “There’s other little things. Do not ever, even for the smallest thing, lie to them. Like, even if someone asks you if you’re ok, and you’d tell them fine even when you aren’t. Not even that kind of lie. To them that’s the blackest of traits and an offense worth fighting over.”
Sitting up, Howie moved to his knees. “Something else you guys should know. Bowing. When you meet the King, you’ll need to bow a certain way. Like this.” He crossed his arms behind his back, grasping his wrists, and bent at the waist with his forehead to the ground. He stayed that way as he spoke again. “You do not move from this until you are given permission to rise. Do not even look up at him. Answer him if he speaks, but don’t assume that him talking to you means that you get to stand up. You have to wait for him to tell you to rise.” Shifting back up, Howie gestured to them, suggesting that they practice it.
The two exchanged surprised looks, but they did as they were told. When Howie deemed their bows proper, the two sat back up. Kevin rubbed lightly at his knees. “That’s a little uncomfortable.” He admitted, still rubbing a knee.
Brian looked surprised for a minute, then thoughtful. “I never thought about that.” He admitted out loud. “Another of those things, Alex? Flexibility or something?”
“Mmhmm.” AJ mumbled. “Stamina, too. Like how fast we walk, or how we don’t tire from running. Sex, too, usually. We’re unique in that because of our bond. Makes our feelings more intense, so the stamina doesn’t have as much a chance to hold out. We get overloaded basically.”
‘Gee, honey. You criticize me for not realizing how uncomfortable I made them just by looking at you, then you sit and embarrass them by casually talking about our sex life.’ Brian teased him, looking at the flush on Kevin and Nick’s faces. AJ chuckled but didn’t respond. He felt almost as if he was in a meditative state from Brian’s constant brushing. Sensing this, Brian realized that the last part of the conversation was going to be up to him. AJ wasn’t alert enough to remember.
“There is one last thing, guys.” He made a point to look up at them, though he was careful to not stop his brushing. He loved playing with AJ’s hair, and he also felt his love deserved to relax some before having to return to being trulion. “It’s, well, it’s the way people treat AJ and I.”
“What do you mean?” Kevin reluctantly asked. In his eyes Brian could see that their argument earlier was still playing in Kevin’s mind, but it was fading. The two never really did manage to stay annoyed with one another for very long.
“Well AJ told you about him being trulion. We even explained what it means, as best we could. We told you how I’m his baka, and what that means. All of them treat AJ the way a trulion is to be treated. A King above Kings. He is all races and none. He is the spokesperson for every race, human included.”
Despite himself, Kevin was looking slightly intrigued. “That’s what you told us before. Does that mean that people treat you a special way?”
Here Brian bit his lip. He wasn’t sure how to explain this right. “Let’s put it this way. King Flreu is AJ’s grandfather. King of the Elves. We bow to him, right?” When he paused they nodded. “Well, even Flreu bows to the trulion. His word is law in his kingdom, but AJ can countermand his orders.” Their eyes grew wide.at his words.
Both looked over to Howie, who nodded. “Even the dragons treat him differently. The both of them. And dragons are subject to none. They are wise beings who are more wise and strong than any. No man, elf, or creature rules them. But they call AJ a’anish, our master. They will follow his orders to the death.”
Unable to resist even though he didn’t want to, AJ opened his eyes and looked at their faces. He saw the shock there, and the uncertainty. “So, what?” Nick asked quietly. “Are we supposed to bow to you too?” There was a note of teasing there that set AJ back at ease. Gods bless Nick and his easy going demeanor. It reminded AJ of when Brian had first been introduced to all of this. He, too, had taken it in stride.
“Wouldn’t that be fun, Carter? I always told you I was the shit.” AJ joked.
Brian tugged on a lock of hair, making AJ chuckle. He looked over AJ’s head at his friend and cousin. “Mostly that means that you have to treat him nicely too. None of this shouting at him when he tells you to do something.” Here he eyed Kevin, who flushed slightly. “When it’s just us, we don’t care. At all. It’s nice to be treated normally. But, when we’re around others, when it comes to important things, if AJ gives an order, it’s fully expected to be obeyed. No one there would dare disobey. If they did, he would be within his rights to kill them.”
Those words had a chilling effect. “How about for you? Being baka and all. I still don’t quite understand what that is.” Kevin finally asked. He didn’t sound annoyed, but he did sound cautious. Brian shrugged. It was AJ who answered. He knew better than anyone where what Brian’s ranking was in the eyes of everyone.
“Being my baka means that he is my heart, my soul. He is the one who keeps me in check. He keeps me grounded, and reminds me that I’m still just a man underneath it all. He is my protection, when need calls. My warrior. We are prophesied to save the world from being plunged into darkness. To keep peace between all races. Seek to harm me, and not only with that person have me to deal with, but the anger of a baka as well. He is what marks me as true, the trulion that is spoken of in history, in prophecies. He is my right hand, and my heart. To disrespect him is to disrespect me. Harm him, and you harm me. Though the…worship that others show me isn’t needed for him, it is often given. Not to the same level, or the same depth, but there nonetheless.”
The glade grew quiet. Leaving the others to ponder their words, Brian put the hairbrush back into the pack by his side and set to braiding AJ’s hair. He made two small braids on either side, joining them together in the back to make one long tail. Once that was bound he spread the rest out. Just as AJ turned to kiss him, they both sensed something on the edge of their reach.
AJ rose to his feet. “They come.” He said simply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kevin stared in amazement at the majestic creature before him. Never before had he seen anything more beautiful. Tripha’s scales glittered in the moonlight, drawing colors from the night itself to reflect back. He was like polished emeralds. It was mesmerizing and enthralling. The dragons had been on the ground for ten minutes already and still he couldn’t seem to stop staring in awe.
Beside him, their hands clasped tight, stood Nick. He too was staring. They couldn’t seem to stop themselves. So much had been thrust on them over the past forty eight hours that his brain still felt as if it was reeling underneath it all. Now they had the added information of AJ and Brian’s, well, status, for lack of a better word. To think that his cousin was this important of a person. That he was regarded this highly by a set of people that, until a few days ago, Kevin hadn’t even known existed.
Not only that, but AJ of all people, AJ, their crazy tattooed rebel, was at least three thousand years old. Had magical powers. Was a fated trulion, a King above Kings. The highest authority in all these races and all their lands. That thought alone boggled Kevin’s mind. But, it explained so much to him.
It explained AJ’s behavior earlier that day. The ancient look that had been in AJ’s eyes. The look that Kevin had mistaken for hardness. For coldness. It was the look that royalty wore. A rulers face, showing nothing, required to be strong by their office in life. Required to be the strength of all. It was no wonder that AJ had been the way he had. Or why he had done what he had done. It was his job to protect all. As he’d said, he couldn’t sacrifice the lives of all for the sensibilities of two.
Understanding it made it easier to bear, but Kevin still couldn’t bring himself to go apologize. He felt he had a right to some of what he felt. So many things were being shoved at them that it was any wonder they were getting confused it some places.
But this! Nothing, no words or speeches, could have prepared him for the awe he felt at the sight of Tripha and Alfeera. Or the way his heart gave a small tug at the sight of Brian and AJ on their backs. Brian on Alfeera, AJ on Tripha. They looked…right. As if they belonged there.
The male dragon spoke, and his voice was a deep rumble of music. It seemed to enthrall Kevin even more. “Come, family of our a’anish. We will bear you to their home. Few humans have ever rode upon a dragon. Come, be at ease, and let yourself feel the joy of the moment.”
It took Howie using magic to help them mount. Kevin couldn’t help shivering when he felt air wrap around his waist. It lifted him, gently setting him on the saddle behind Brian. Next Nick was brought up and set behind him. It was soothing to feel Nick’s arms wrap around his waist. Somehow, his lover was taking this in stride so much better than he was. An he had been the one to know about Brian’s magic!
That thought still ate at him slightly, though Brian had granted him forgiveness. It was obvious that Brian was more at ease with him, because when Kevin tentatively wrapped his arms around Brian’s waist to hold on, Brian grabbed his hands and pulled him on tighter. He grinned back at him. “You’ll love it, guys. Don’t worry.” He reassured.
So many things about Brian had changed. It wasn’t just the rings around his irises, though that took some getting used to. It almost looked like another ring was coming in around that, kind of like AJ had. It wasn’t even the points on his ears. No, it was more internal. Brian seemed peaceful inside. More…whole. Like a part had been missing, and now he had found it.
He looked even more himself in the clothes he had thrown on. Dark red breeches and a lighter red jerkin. His hair was still a short mop of curls, but it looked almost, shinier. He smiled more readily, and he seemed to have lost that shy part of himself. Nothing seemed to fluster him. But even beyond that, there was so much more. Seeing Brian fight with that sword, and then against those creatures, Kevin had seen that Brian possessed the same quality AJ did. A kind of coiled lethality. Hidden deep down inside, but there.
Then there was Howie. It was slightly easier to deal with his story. He was older than AJ, true, and he also had magical abilities. But underneath that, he was still Howie, a man who had been made immortal. He wasn’t part elf like Brian and AJ. He wasn’t a King. He wasn’t a man who was fated to save the world. Next to all that, his immortality and magic seemed mundane.
It was hard to put the images of the three men he had thought he’d known to the three who were here with them now. Kevin found himself staring as Howie lifted himself up behind AJ. Then AJ cried something out in a language that Kevin didn’t know, and all thought slipped from his mind.
Alfeera spread her ruby wings wide and arched her long neck. Her tail swished and her wings flapped. Then they were soaring in the air. Kevin clung tightly to Brian’s back, terrified of falling off, yet unable to stop watching as the ground became smaller and smaller beneath them. It was the most terrifying and exhilarating feeling that Kevin had ever experienced. He heard Nick gasp and then laugh behind him, and realized that he was laughing as well.
Spreading his arms wide, Brian tipped his head up toward the sky, smiling at the joy of being in the air. It was amazing, and beautiful, and terrifying all at once. Kevin wanted to bury his head and hide. He wanted to never look away. Time seemed to stretch on and on forever, and yet it almost felt like they had barely been in the air, flying in the clouds!, before he saw Brian gesture with one hand, and heard him say, “Look down, gentlemen. Take a look at what few human eyes will ever see. Watch the ruins as we hit the new barrier they’ve erected, wider than normal. Watch it change.”
The two did as they were told, looking at the castle ruins below them as they came closer and closer. This is where they were going to? Where was everyone? Where was the beauty that they’d spoken of?
Suddenly it seemed as if everything changed. Where there had been empty fields and a simple forest, now there were what looked to be hundreds of what he assumed were elves. Dragons lazed here and there. In the water, on the ground, in the tree. On large rocks. The castle had changed too. No longer a ruined looking set of stones, it was in it’s full glory. Music and light and sound came from within its walls. He caught sight of beautiful gardens and elves running around the courtyard.
Alfeera touched ground with a landing that was softer than Kevin had anticipated. Her wings settled against her sides. With Brian’s magical assistance they all dismounted.
A handsome elf strode toward them. It surprised Kevin to see that, in the elf’s face, he could see a strong resemblance to AJ. This must be the King, AJ’s grandfather. Just as he remembered what to do, Kevin saw the others drop to their knees. He followed suit, bowing as he’d been taught. A musical voice filled his ears. “Rise, Kevin, cousin of my grandson Brian. Rise Nick, heart song to Kevin, cousin to Brian. Welcome to my Kingdom. Ever is family always welcome here. Rise, baka. Rise, trulion.”
As Kevin and Nick rose they saw the King move to where AJ and Brian now stood. To their surprise, the King knelt before them, bowing his head into the dirt.
“Bow not to me, grandfather.” AJ said softly, his hands coming down to assist the elf to his feet. When he was standing, Brian and AJ embraced him. The kindly elf smiled, an arm over each of their shoulders. He turned to face Kevin. “Welcome! Let us rejoice, not only for their homecoming, but for the welcome of family! Come, we have much food prepared and music to be played!”
There was nothing to do but smile at this man so full of happiness.