Rhistmaege

Unwanted Monsters

Dovi blinked and the darkness abated, but he could not blink away the pain. He gave a silent thanks for waking without anyone at hand. Rabby's soft feather bed cradled him in a hollow embrace. The door's latch moved. Dovi rubbed away his tears. Be strong for her.

Sir Maclinton Maggutton poked his head in through the doorway. Deep tension in his eyes faded as he saw Dovi was awake. He entered the room and shut the door behind him.

"How you doing son?"

How am I doing? How in Heolor do you think I'm doing....Mother of-  "I'm okay sir. It's just my heart, it hurts. How? What happened?" Tell me it was The Monster and I swear I will kill the bastard with my bare hands. Dovi held his breath.

"Now don't go jumping to conclusions. I know you had some rough times with your father. He says it was an accident."

Dovi had heard of seething before. Had learned its meaning in middle school- but now he truly understood. Gray eyes burned with fury.

Mac Maggutton reached out to touch his arm. Dovi slapped his hand away.

"He did it. I know he did it." Dovi trembled with rage.

"H-how? Did he beat her? I-I want to see." White hot anger flared within.

"Said it was an accident. She fell- into the well. You know she couldn't swim."

"He pushed her down. Are you blind? He did it. He killed her." He hovered on the edge of madness.

"Dovi-"

"Where's he now? If he didn't- Why am I here? He doesn't want me to see his guilty face. He knows I'll see right through." Dovi started to push himself up off the bed. "I'm going-" Mac put his hands upon Dovi's arms and tried to calm him. "Let go! Let me go! Oh, Mom. I'm sorry - sorry I wasn't there." Dovi sobbed and crumpled into Mac's wide chest.

"He blames himself. Said he passed out from too much ale. Chalia tried to water the hogs. Maybe she lost her balance. He loved her. Problem is he hates himself. He hates what he's become. Looks a broken man to me right now. Deep down, he cares for you Dovi. He does. He's blinded by his failures. Thinks being tough will make you hard. Will make you better than him. We both know he's wrong. He can't control himself anymore. Maybe just give him one last chance?"

Dovi pulled himself roughly away and glanced over Mac's right shoulder. The silver letter 'M' engraved into the round pommel of Rabby's dagger gleamed in the candlelight. 'M' is for murder. I will murder the Monster, if it's the last thing I do. He took a deep breath.

"I hate to say this under these circumstances, but that's not all of it. There's more..."

You could tell me I've been crowned King and I could not care one damn bit. I hate that bastard. He leaned back on the bed.

"You've got trouble. I did what I could to keep you here tonight. Might be able to milk another day, but it's the Crown. They want you Dovi. The Minister of Criminal Affairs was there at the school. He saw. You had Rhist pouring from your nose. Unlike anything anyone has seen before. Everyone saw you. They all think you're-a-a Rhistmaege. And- there was, eh, the Venom in your pocket. They'll charge you with robbing Wydenhall if you don't cooperate. You're mixed up real good. I'm sorry, but there's not much I can do. They're watching. Don't even know what to make of this myself."

Dovi closed his eyes. This is all just another bad dream. Lay here for a minute and wait for Professor Puck to shake you awake. After a long moment, he opened his eyes. Mac was still there, looking like he just put his best dog down. He despised that pitiful look grown folk always gave him.