Vote ~ Comment ~ Enjoy!
One week later
Hunter's face was certainly one to capture. If one could contain the power and depth from a thundercloud, his face could. His dark eyebrows shifted down, his all-consuming black eyes shrinking but flashing with the strikes of lightning. Darkness draws to him as he glares down his older brother. Logan pauses and swings his catch onto his shoulder. He glances at Leo who shrugs, a large smirk places on his lips. Logan is returning to a tempest that had already risen to dangerous heights. Hunter stands; his eyes flashing as he pointedly moves his glare to Leo. Leo raises his hands in surrender but the smirk does not drop. Hunter narrows his eyes even more. Jag lets out a guffaw and receives a scowl from Hunter and a warning look from Leo.
"What exactly did I miss?" Logan asks hesitantly. Hunter shakes his head and bites down harshly on his tongue. "Leo?" Logan asks him directly; clearly Hunter is far too annoyed to do so yet.
"We woke up to find you gone. Hunter thought that they had found you and taken you." Leo replies, his tone neutral.
Hunter shakes his head, his eyes defiant as he watches Logan. "I woke up and you were gone." He bites out. "We are still within Ricell lands and you decide now is the time to wander off without a protector? Did they starve your brains from you?"
Logan tosses his three rabbits to Jag who catches them with a impressed nod. Hunter rolls his eyes.
"I wanted to be of some use. We needed food so I went out and I got us food. I did not go far; you could have easily found me." Logan tries to placate. The storm cloud within Hunter grows and Leo stands, holding out his hands in a placatory gesture. This does nothing to help matters.
"I tried to, but Wolfe's man refused to let me." He spits at Leo's feet and strides away. Logan watches him go while running his hands through his hair.
"I did not believe you had been taken. I thought it was more likely you had gone hunting since my knives were gone. I did not want Hunter ruining your first true sense of feeling free since..." his gruff, deep voice trails off and Logan nods.
"How did you prevent him?"
"I held him down." The giant shrugs but Logan winces.
"Stay here. I will go speak to him." Logan quickly follows his brother's footsteps. A broken twig here and there, soil moved under foot helps him to stay on his trail. Eventually he catches up and calls out to him. Hunter turns, the storm muted with the long walk.
"You should not have followed me. You should have stayed with your protectors." Hunter berates him. Logan lifts his shoulders and drops them, a smile touching his lips. "Why do you look so happy?" He warily regards his brother.
"You were worried about me." Hunter turns away. "Next time I will wake you but you still will not come with me." Hunter turns back, his mouth open to object. "My muscles still work; they had just grown tired with lack of food. They are no longer so fatigued. That is thanks to you. I still know how to protect myself and I will make sure that I do so."
Hunter studies his brother and finds that his words are true. Logan is still much slimmer than he ever used to be but now there is meat on his bones and within his cheeks. Slowly throughout the week he had been eating more and more, he had been depending more on his own strength and now he was strong enough to hunt by himself. Hunter runs a hand across his face and deeply exhales.
"I am sorry. I am turning into Bronco." He says with a touch of distaste. Logan laughs, agreeing with the statement. Out of all the brothers Bronco was most certainly the one who watches over them and worried about them. He would have gotten equally angry, if not more so, if he had woken to a brother who had been weak gone. Not even Leo would have been able to hold Bronco back if he intended to find those he cared about. "Forgive me brother?" he extends his arm and they clasp forearms.
"Of course. You can keep messing up if you like; it is still a wonder to hear an apology from your lips." Logan teases and Hunter shakes his off.
"We should get back to camp; I do not wish to stay in these lands any longer than we have to."
They trek back through the woods and find Leo and Jag. In their absence they have packed up camp, covered any trace of a fire and collected the horses. They wisely choose not to comment on previous events. Instead they hand over the reins and mount their own horses. They all start off at a steady trot. Hunter relaxes slowly and when the men have seen the visible evidence they start to laugh and chat between themselves.
○ ○ ○
Lord Kier taps his silver spoon against his glass, filled with the best wine the land has to offer. Silence falls across the room, marred only by shuffling feet and curious mutters. A pointed stare at the guilty parties even dulls that. He smiles across the room. He assesses his two sons, both dressed in their best formal wear and with relaxed stances. They both watch him with shrewd, thoughtful eyes. Gethin shifts to his right foot and raises his eyebrows, teasing his father's prolonged silence without speaking.
"We are gathered here to celebrate my daughter's," here he pauses and extends his hand. She steps up to him and he puts his arm around her shoulders. She beams up at him. He tries not to let the thought that it still does not reach her eyes distract him. "Zara, engagement to Egan." He gestures with his free arm for the young man to join them. He steps up, nodding at those who grin brightly at him. His sisters, Ebony stands right at the front and her eyes glint with victory as he passes her. "However, today I will also make an announcement that is incredibly important to all those here."
Gethin frowns, his glance sliding to Zara trying to grasp some information from her. To his irritation she steadfastly refuses to look his way. He edges his way forward. What announcement could his father possibly be making now? And why does he not know of it? He notices that Egan looks just as confused as he is feeling. Yet Zara does not seem confused but instead waits for her father's next words with anticipation and barely concealed happiness. Gethin finds himself next to Gavriel and nudges his arm. Gavriel shakes his head slightly, confirming he does not know either.
"There has been much speculation over the last year as to who would receive these lands in full." Gethin's hand clenches into tight fists. Gavriel struggles to concentrate. "I have finally come to a decision." Lord Kier's gaze falls on his two sons, as does Zara's. Gethin moves his hands to behind his back and smiles charmingly at both father and sister, despite the pit growing in his stomach. Gavriel sways slightly but not enough for them to notice. "Your new leader will be Lady Zara and her husband, Lord Egan."
A few seconds pass where nobody moves, nobody speaks, nobody reacts. Gethin's venomous reaction is hidden by the sudden roar hitting the roof. The people clap and rush forward to congratulate the new couple and their new Lord and Lady. Gethin swings round to temper down his anger, glad that the people reacted before he could show how he really feels about his father's decision. When he turns he looks joyful at the announcement. He goes forward and kisses his sister's cheek.
"Congratulations sister, I could not be more proud." Lines form at the edges of his mouth as he strains to remain smiling. Zara lights up and grins.
"No hard feelings?" She extends her hand to him. He clasps it and chuckles.
"Of course not. You are my little sister, how could I ever feel such a way towards family?" Zara's smile falters slightly but she remains outwardly happy at Gethin's words. She looks past him and frowns, her forehead creasing a tiny bit. Gethin follows her gaze. "Is something wrong, little sister?" She sweeps her grey eyes across the room, gazing at each face before moving on. There is one that she cannot find.
"Where is Gavriel?" Gethin frowns and searches for him also amongst all the faces. He is not there.
"He was right beside me when your surprise announcement was given." Gethin says; his tone puzzled. However Zara reads something else in the tone, something dark and perhaps envious. She will have to tell her father if he is not eavesdropping on the conversation.
"We should find him. Perhaps he is not as happy for me as you are." Gethin bites his tongue and nods. He follows her from the room, staring at the back of her head as thoughts run through his mind. Why did their father choose her? What had she done to get him to choose her? Gethin did not think she had even been in the running. He always thought it would be him or one of his brothers. With Jasiel out of the way, Gethin felt his chances were much higher. He thought he could beat Gavriel to the role. Gavriel's impulsiveness could have gotten him in trouble with a little push. Never did he think he was contending with Zara also. Maybe they should never have brought her back home.
Zara turns a corner and gasps. Her hand shoots up to cover her mouth as she looks on in horror. Gethin reacts quickly, pulling her back and rounding the corner himself, before her. "Gethin." She breathes out, her voice shaky and close to tears. A smear of blood down the wall leads to a head of reddish brown hair. Gethin presses his lips together and kneels by the body's side. He presses his fingers into his neck. His teeth grind together until finally, after long drawn out moments, he finds a heartbeat. "Is he...?" Zara weeps behind him.
"Yes." Gethin answers shortly. He gently manoeuvres his brother's head forward so he can see the wound. It is only a small cut; he must have fallen and hit his head on the way down if the blood smear is anything to go by. Zara sinks to her knees, tears coating her cheeks. Gethin frowns and glances at her. "He is alive." He affirms and she looks up, surprise reflecting in the depths of grey. Gethin finds it strange how quickly her tears dry up.
With some difficulty he lifts his brother's heavy body from off the ground. Zara steadies his head so that it does not loll back. He carries him to his bedroom, Zara following on his footsteps. He lays him down there and turns. "What are you still doing here?" She jumps at his angry tone. "Go and get a healer."
"What do you think happened?" She asks and he scowls at her.
"Father may have made you Leader of these lands down there but that is no excuse for standing around and asking questions. Your brother has hit his head and does not appear to be able to wake up. Go and get a healer." He orders.
She bristles at the authoritative tone. "Why do you not go and get a healer yourself?" Gethin exhales slowly, trying to keep his anger under check. Today's events are certainly testing him. "I do not trust you to be alone with him." She says calmly. Gethin lets out a short, almost hysterical, laugh.
"Trust me? What lies have you been telling father? No way would he have chosen you to be his successor unless you manipulated him."