The Hardest Path

A/N: Let's see, warnings for this chapter....none, really. Hm....yeah, no.


As they drove, Nic caught Rhett glancing at him every so often. The attention made the boy oddly uncomfortable, considering his recent line of work, and he squirmed in his seat as his face heated considerably. Curiousity overpowered his nerves, and the next time Rhett glanced over, Nic met his gaze with a sharp and irritated, "What?"

His rudeness had less than the desired effect, Rhett flashing that oh-so-nice smile once again as he guided the car into the sleazy motel's parking lot. "I was just wondering when you last got new clothes, kiddo. Looks to me like you've grown since then."

Embarrassed all over again, Nic glanced down at himself, realizing for the first time what he must look like; too-tight jeans that showed more than a little of his skinny ankles, a shirt stained with blood and other things, a few sizes too small with a gaping hole or two. The only things that still fit him properly were his shoes, and even they had more than their share of holes.

"Yeah, well," Nic pouted as he made a vain attempt to tug his jeans down, "Some of us don't have a lot of spare cash lying around." Spine arrow straight, the boy clambered out of the car with a clumsy grace seldom seen outside of teenage boys. Rhett knew he'd offended the child, and to him, that was a good thing. If the kid had pride, he had the makings of a future, and that was something Rhett was counting on.

The bodyguard afforded himself a leisurely stretch before following Nic up the stairs to his motel room, leaving the car idling to save time. Standing behind his would-be charge, Rhett was struck by just how small the boy was for his age. The top of his head barely reached the man's chest. Now, Rhett knew he was tall, but he wasn't all that tall. "Don't you kids drink milk around here?" Nic looked at him, face blank, and Rhett frowned as he realized that what he said could be taken in a very bad way. "I didn't mean it that way," he drawled, tapping the door to remind Nic of what they were doing.

Swallowing as butterflies danced the cha-cha in his stomach, Nic pushed the door of his motel room open a crack, squinting into the semi-darkness. The room was illuminated only by the glow of the television, curtains drawn tightly over the one window to keep out the light of the street lamp. As usual, Charity was perched at the end of her bed, eyes fixed on the television screen. Besides the odd pile of clothes here and there, the room was clean, something Nic saw to on the days when he had the time.

Nic gestured for Rhett to come inside and stand near the wall, Nic moving into Charity's line of vision and touching her arm very lightly. When that got no reaction, he shook her gently. "Mom, it's Nic. Can you look at me, please?" Nicholas hated the fact that Rhett was seeing how sick his mother was, how he had to talk to her to avoid a beating, or her breaking down more than she already was. These days, he had to talk to her like she was a child, rather than his very adult mother.

Thankfully, Rhett said nothing, though Nic knew that he was seeing every detail, probably filing it away for later examination. "Mom?" Nic tried again. Slowly, as if she was in a daze, Charity looked at her son, no recognition in her eyes. By then, Nic was so used to that hazy look that he didn't skip a beat. "Let's go for a drive, Mom. We'll have fun."

Charity blinked a few times, glancing between Nic and the tall man near the door. "That's not Santa," she huffed before stubbornly turning away from both males.

Shame and frustration tensed his stomach, and the boy bit his lip against the stream of harsh words that desperately wanted out. The feelings found the hidden rage in him, prodding at it until it stirred and stretched like an awakening beast inside him. For one brief moment, he turned to Rhett with that rage filling his eyes, all the undirected hate and pain from the past year written plainly on his face.

Rhett stepped forward, giving the kid's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Go wait in the car, kiddo. I'll get your mom and your stuff." It was an earnest offer, born of a genuine desire to help. Because the bodyguard knew the look in Nic's eyes, and had worn a similar expression a time or two himself. That was the look you got when you were just this close to snapping completely, going postal. The look meant you couldn't take much more, not one day more, not one hour more. Not without killing somebody.

More grateful than he could express, Nic started toward the door. "I don't want any of the shit in here," he tossed over his shoulder as he closed the door behind himself. A minute later, Rhett heard the car door slam shut. Focusing on the task at hand, Rhett approached Nic's mother, speaking in a gentle tone. "C'mon now, ma'am. I'm going to take you out of here." She ignored him, which he almost expected. As much as his upbringing screamed against disrespecting women, he was in no mood to play any games with this particular lady.

Charity shrieked at the sudden firm grip on her upper arm, pulling her to her feet. With her free hand, she struck out at Rhett, only to have that hand caught in his grip as well. All else failing, her feet swung toward his legs, the one successful kick resulting in a soft grunt on his part. "I do apologize, ma'am," she heard him murmur, just before a sudden pain hit the back of her skull and her world went black.

Nic's stomach crawled up into his chest in panic when he saw Rhett carrying the small, limp form of his mother down the stairs. Jumping out of the car, the boy rushed over. "What did you do?"

Ignoring the question, Rhett bundled Charity into the back seat of the car, taking care to buckle her seatbelt. After she was securely fastened, Rhett got himself into the car and waited. After a tense moment, Nic got in as well, as Rhett had known he would.

"You're sure you don't want anything from the room, kiddo? Last chance." Rhett thought it best to make the offer, though if it were him, he wouldn't want anything from that hell hole, either.

Nic shook his head and crossed his arms, staring out the window in silence. Unlike some people, Rhett had no need to fill silence, using the free time to think instead.

As for Nic, the view outside the car was steadily improving the further they drove from the almost-slums he'd been staying in. Theaters, parks, and shops met his eyes, things he hadn't seen or thought about for nearly a year. Their drive through downtown passed far too quickly for Nic's enjoyment, and they were soon nearing the outskirts of Theas again, ritzy houses with perfectly trimmed green lawns marking the better side of town.

They pulled into the driveway of the brothel, which was set apart from the other houses, and further from the street itself. A narrow pathway marked with cobalt blue and white gravel led from the driveway to the steps of the front porch, which both Rhett and Nic followed. Nic glanced back to the car at his mother, still unconscious in the back seat. "Leave her," Rhett said as he knocked on the brothel's front door. "I'll have someone get her when we get inside. She'll be fine." Coming from anyone else, it might have sounded dismissive, but Rhett's honest eyes and trustworthy manner put Nic at ease.

A young girl with long, honey-colored hair opened the door, smiling warmly at Rhett before letting them inside. She couldn't have been more than a few years Nic's senior, but she watched Rhett step into the building with more than a little female appreciation. Apparently the man was used to it, because he ignored it with no trouble, only speaking to her to tell her to have someone get Charity from the car, and tell Laurel that Rhett had returned.

Nic followed the bodyguard from the entrance of the house to the living room, which seemed to serve as a waiting area. There was only one other person in the room, lounging on one of the many couches placed around the room. His clothes appeared secondhand at best, but he would never get mistaken for anything less than rich. Every one of the deeply green hairs on his head was perfectly arranged in an expensive cut that had probably cost more than his entire outfit.

"Telin," Rhett said smoothly as he dropped himself onto a couch and indicated that Nic should do the same.

Telin raised his hand in a short wave, a lazy smile giving him a look of mischief. As Rhett the boy settled, Telin sat up straight and propped his chin on his hand, regarding Nic with no small amount of interest. "New talent, hm? Little young, don't you think?"

Next to Nic, Rhett stiffened, then relaxed slowly enough that it was clear he was forcing himself. "I didn't bring him here for that," came his gruff response. Clearly changing the subject, Rhett asked, "Wouldn't your sister beat you if she found out you were wasting time here? According to her, you Kagailas' always need to be busy."

Telin snorted and looked away, stretching his long legs out in front of him. "Well, if she asks me where I was, I'll just say I was helping Auntie Laurel with her business. That'll do." Telin sighed deeply, calling Nic's attention to the fact that his white dress shirt was unbuttoned completely, material parting to offer flashes of smooth, tanned skin.

Rhett seemed oblivious when Nic began to squirm in embarrassed awareness of the easygoing man on the couch, something the boy was mightily grateful for. Telin turned that lazy smile to Nic, a different light in his soft grey eyes telling Nic he wasn't nearly as clueless as the guard. The boy met his gaze for all of three seconds, eyes dropping to the blue-grey carpet as a dark flush crept up his neck.

"So," Telin said with an edge of laughter in his voice, "If you didn't bring him here to work for my aunt, why'd you bring him? Gonna add another member to your Guard?"

Rhett shook his head. "It's called the Four Guard for a reason, Telin." He gave the boy beside him a speculating look, the wheels in his head turning for a moment. "No, if he goes into the Guard, it'll be as a replacement for one who has failed."



A/N: Whoooooo. This chapter was harder to write than the last few. Probably because I'm stressed by my job right now, so I'm having trouble thinking. However, I like how this one came out. I finally got Telin into the story! Dammit, he's kinda sexy. Alright, next chapter....we meet Aunt Laurel. Also, Nic's introduction to yet another new life, under contract. And what's going to happen to Charity? Tune in soon to find out!


Wynja: Alrighty, no dark fluff yet, but we're getting to that point. And I'm happy that I'm finally starting to introduce men into the story. xD Soon we'll have a full cast of characters, and you can make your requests. Yay!


maloanne: Thank you for reading my story, even though it looked like het. I was really nervous about that at first, because obviously this is in the slash section, so....yeah. But hey, I'm glad you enjoyed. Hope you like this update!