Salem
I woke up and looked over, frowning at seeing my father instead of Bastion. I thought I told that bastard to get out of here... As if he could read my mind, Father opened his eyes and looked at me as I stared at him.
"Why are you still here?" I grumbled.
"To make sure you are well."
"I'm fine. Where is Bastion?"
"I told him to leave because I could take care of you."
I coughed while trying to scoff and turned away from him.
"You can't take care of anything. If you could, Mother would still be alive."
I heard Father sigh. "Salem, you throw me too far under the wagon in regards to your mother. You don't know what I did for her. I had to fight to keep her here inside the manor. Do you know how many times the duchess wanted me to throw her out because she was always ill? How many times I fought and begged and pleaded for her not to do anything to her? Son, you don't know half the things I had to do to make sure that she even stayed inside the house so that she could try and get better. I worked more and acted more than I ever could have imagined in the months your mother was ill. While you were sleeping at night, I took care of her. I sent you to bed when you couldn't remember in your half dazed sleep. I had to watch the woman I love die of a broken heart that I couldn't fix... I had to watch you slip farther and farther away..."
"You could have dropped the dukedom anytime, Father. You chose to keep it because it was convenient for you." I spat.
"You are making your own conclusions about things. I loved and still love your mother very much. The duchess is nothing but a woman to have beside me at parties and official business. I wish I could have done something for your mother but I couldn't... she was too far gone before I was free to go to her. You were and still are completely out of my reach. I do not deny that I caused your mother pain but on purpose or for joy? No... I would have rather killed myself than to see her in so much pain on purpose."
I tried to believe him as I did when I was younger but I knew that there was a twinge of greed in my father and that that greed drove him on to become the duke of this house and leave my mother to rot. I coughed hard and coughed again, putting the sheets over my mouth. When I pulled away, blood had stained them and I leaned back, exhausted from the wracking of my body.
"You're dying, you know?"
"Yeah."
"And you're alright with that?"
"I know what's wrong with me and I know that it's for the best. I've done everything to be kind..."
"Kind? Son, I think you're mistaking something else for kindness."
"No one but me will know the kindness I've performed."
"Then what use is the kindness?"
"It is for God to decide." I snapped.
The door opened and Uma brought me my food. I looked at it and smiled a little.
"Who would make me stew?"
"Lady Cavensold, milord." She said, giving a slight curtsy.
I smiled. "Ah, so it would be..."
I was just about to dig into it when the door opened abruptly and Minerva stood in my doorway with a heavy expression.
"What in the world?"
"My child... my child has been kidnapped!"
"Are you certain? Just out of the blue like that?" Father said.
"That's what kidnappings do." I growled. I looked back at Minerva. "Who was kidnapped?"
"Bastion. Eadric said that Xerxes had been playing in the stables and heard a voice he didn't recognize. He hid himself and saw a woman take Bastion away. My lord!" She fell to her knees, clasping her hands in the air like a nun. "Please! Please, I beg of you! Please help me find my son!"
"Get up." I grumbled. "You don't have to ask me to help find your son for you... Give me a moment to eat and I will get a horse myself and find him."
"You're going to eat while that boy is being taken farther and farther away?" Father asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"I'm eating because I need strength to go after him, don't I?" I hissed. "This is the first time in a while that I've been well enough to even want to eat. In order to keep focused and strong, I need to eat something."
"Duke Barma is right. I do apologize. Please, eat your meal..." she said, seeming dejected as she began to leave the room.
"Minerva." She turned to me and I smiled at her. "Please do not think me as passing this matter out of the way. I truly will be going after your son once I am finished. If I were not so weak as of now, I would jump up and go at this moment."
She smiled a little. "I understand your plight, Duke Barma. I thank you kindly for even wanting to try and help."
"Where is Andrew then?"
"He went to get the town doctor to help you..."
"Ah..."
Minerva gave a small curtsy and walked out of the room.
Father looked at me.
"You have feelings for Lady Cavensold?"
I looked at him and put my spoon into the bowl of stew.
"What of it?"
"She is your friend's lady, Salem..."
"She was mine first. You'd never understand..."
Father just watched me as I tried to eat the delicious soup without thinking of the last time I ate it and the horrible scene I came upon in the kitchen.
*********************
Once I was full, I slipped out of bed and walked as best I could to my closet, beginning to pick out my clothing.
"Do you want me to help you?" Father asked.
"No. I need to do this myself."
"Well, if it's any consolation, if you let me help you now, you will have more strength to help Lady Cavensold later." I looked at my father as he smirked. "See? I can make good suggestions."
I sighed and wobbled back to the bed, leaning on it, waving for him to do what he pleased. He began to quickly look through my clothing when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened but nothing came in. I had a feeling it was Xerxes and was proved right when the bed dipped beside me and I felt arms that weren't there around my neck.
"Duke Barma! Some lady stoled Bastion!" he cried.
Father turned, startled, and then looked around.
"Do you hear a small child?"
"It's Minerva's son, Xerxes. He is invisible."
"Preposterous..."
"No it's not!" Xerxes yelled. "No one believes me..."
"I know you're there, X. Will you run and tell your mother that I'll be ready to come down in just a moment?"
"Alright!"
I heard him run away and looked at my father, who was looking at me as if I were daft.
"You obviously haven't heard about the Thrathums then."
"I have heard tales of those with special abilities but I've never seen one... or rather, not seen one."
"They each have a special ability, which is why we need to find Bastion quickly."
"Why is that?" Father asked, walking over and putting the clothing on the bed as I stood up.
"Because Bastin's ability is to grant any wish that's said to him. He must grant it. There are a lot of things that his captor could do if they found out that he granted wishes upon request."
"Grants wishes? Arabic tales! Nothing but those Arabian caravans full of their mystical stories of sorcerers and those genies..."
"This is not a joke, Father." I growled, holding onto his shoulders as he slipped my pants on for me. "It's true... I know because I'm living in a wish right now."
"Really?" he asked, lifting his black eyebrow at me. "How is that?"
"I know exactly what's wrong with me. I know exactly why I'm suffering and why nothing is helping it get better."
"And why is that?"
"Bastion's granting has a side effect to anything that is long lasting or goes against nature. The backlash causes the illness. It's all the things that could have and should have been in the course of time but isn't becoming because I altered time and history."
"Really?"
"Yes."
As Father dressed me, I recounted the whole story to him about what happened with Minerva the first time around and how I got here now. He listened closely to me, asking questions every now and again but he didn't interrupt and he didn't act like I was boring him, like he usually did.
Eventually, he finished clothing me and I coughed hard into my hand, seeing blood spatter on my hand. I cursed a little but wiped it on my blankets.
"So you're saying that in order to make things right for that little family, you risked your life to receive the backlash of prospective time that is now being altered, correct?"
"That about sums it up."
"It sounds so preposterous."
"But it isn't. I know Lady Cavensold's little family almost as well as I know my own. I was cruel to them and kicked them out when they needed me most. If it hadn't been for me, this wouldn't have happened but... but to save Bastion from the fate that I'm suffering now, I took on this pain."
"Why though?"
I straightened my jacket, even though it was way too big on me because of all the weight I'd lost due to sickness. I looked at Father and smiled.
"Because I love them all dearly and would do anything to make sure that they were safe and happy..."
Father stared at me for a moment and then sighed, touching my face.
"You're that much like your mother. I'm proud of you... Now, go get that boy."
I smiled and walked out of the room.
****************************
Minerva
I was so anxious I was calm. I always prided myself in being able to effectively worry myself into a level of calm that even I couldn't understand. But waiting for Duke Barma to finish his food so that we could go rescue Bastion from his captor was the calmest I think I've ever been in a long time.
"Are you ready to go?" I heard him ask and looked back as he descended the stairs.
My heart immediately went out to him because he looked like death had decided to accompany him. I felt horrible for asking him to help me.
"Oh, Duke Barma, I did not know that you were ill. If I could have seen you better in the light, I wouldn't have asked you to help me at all. Please don't hurt yourself."
"If didn't want to help find Bastion, I would not have gotten out of bed. Come, help me to the stables so I may get on my horse. I must warn you and apologize for the smell. I tried to freshen up as best as I could." He said, holding out his hand.
I walked over and took it, but he put it on my shoulder instead and I had to admit that he was a little... pungent.
"You are due for a nice long bath, if you don't mind me saying, milord."
He laughed a little. "It's nice to hear you speak normally to me... except the 'milord' part. I told you to drop that a while back."
I don't know what he's talking about but we made our way to the stables and we both got on a horse.
"Do you have an idea of who might have taken Bastion?" Duke Barma asked me.
"No, I don't. I don't know of anyone who has anything against the children. A woman at that..."
"Wait! Wait!" someone yelled.
We both looked to see Eadric running toward us.
"Eadric..."
"This came for you, Lord Barma."
He was about to take it but it looked like was using all of his strength to just stay on the horse. I grabbed it instead and handed it to him. I made my horse sidle up next to him as he let go of the reigns to look at the letter. He read it and frowned deeply.
"Well then... I wouldn't have thought her capable of such folly."
"What does it say?"
"We are in luck that it is from our captor: Lady Sophia Jacoby."
"Lady Jacoby? What does she have against Bastion? She is a might older than him." I said with a frown.
"According to this, it's in response to me not paying attention to her. What part of "rake" does she not understand?"
"What do you mean?"
"As everyone so kindly reminds me, I am a rake. Rakes are not known for their loyalty. I had one little romp with her and ended up in a... real predicament and now she's taking it out on you?"
"That's what you get you messing around with women's values."
"I've had a change of heart since then," he growled, stuffing the letter into his jacket pocket. "I know where she lives. Let's see what she wants."
"I'm coming too." Eadric said.
"No, Eadric, you stay here with Xerxes. He's already scared from watching Bastion get taken away. Take care of him while we go to get your brother back."
He was disappointed but for once didn't argue with me as the duke and I headed out on horseback toward the Jacoby home.