The Hardest Path

A/N: Alright, warnings for this chapter. We got...I dunno. Maybe a little language. Perhaps a touch of angst. Mostly just some guy being a jackass. Whoop, there's some of that language, right there.




Nicholas didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until he found himself awakened by loud knocking on his door. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Nic called, "Come in." The door opened to reveal a man who must have been at least six inches taller than Rhett, built to swim, with a thick mop of silver hair and mismatched eyes.

"Rhett sent me to get you for dinner," the tall man said with friendly smile as he moved into the room. "My name is Eurus, I hear Rhett's gonna train you." As he neared the bed, Eurus tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground, cracking his head on the foot of the bed on his way down.

Nic was off of the bed in a flash and at Eurus's side, helping the tall man sit up. Eurus groaned and shook his head, pressing a large hand to his forehead to feel the already forming lump. "Damn that bumpy carpet," he muttered, leveling a glare at the perfectly flat floor. When he turned to Nic with a wry grin, the boy was struck by the effect of Eurus's eyes up close. On the right, the color of a deep forest, shot through with small threads of jade. On the left, dove grey several shades darker than his hair. Both eyes were fringed by thick silver lashes, which was something Nic had never seen before.

Eurus began to squirm uncomfortably and clear his throat, finally speaking up. "Uhm, kid? You're kinda....staring at me. From really, really close up." When that got no response other than Nic's gaze briefly flicking to his mouth, then back to his eyes, Eurus tried again. "Please stop, you're creeping me out! Seriously!"

A mortified squeal accompanied Nic scrambling away from Eurus, mumbling apologies while his cheeks mottled with color. Eurus stood and straightened his jeans, then smoothed wrinkles out of his tee shirt. "Well, that was nice and awkward. Let's eat." Crooking a finger in Nic's direction, Eurus ducked-literally-out of the room.

Since he had no idea where dinner was being held, and his stomach was growling insistently, Nic followed the man down to the large dining room downstairs. In the center of the room, there was a long table with four chairs on each side, and one at each end. One little vase full of yellow daffodils was the only decoration the table recieved, but every other space on it was covered with platters and dishes of various meats, vegetables, breads, and fruits. It seemed the rest of the men were already seated and eating, Rhett waving him over and patting the seat between himself and Andrei.

The vicious glare that Andrei shot at Nic made the boy hesitate, all kinds of murder showing in those vibrant purple eyes. Rhett must have noticed, because he leaned over and gave Andrei a solid smack to the back of his head. "No, Andrei."

A snicker from the other side of the table brought Nic's attention to a man that he had yet to meet, the pure golden yellow of his hair and eyes reminding Nic of a bracelet his mother had owned when he was little. She'd had to pawn it in order to make rent one month. Suddenly, the old clothes he was wearing seemed like a much bigger problem than he'd ever thought. The man across from him had elegance and good breeding practically oozing from his pores, and the coldly arrogant look on his face immediately made Nic feel dirty and cheap.

Lowering his head in shame, he slid into the seat next to Rhett and stared at his empty plate. Mouth full, Rhett gently elbowed Nic and inclined his head at the heaps of food, indicating that Nic could serve himself. Nervously glancing at the blonde stranger again, Nic slowly reached out for a roll. Before his hand could so much as touch it, the blonde smirked and began to speak in a voice just as cold and cruel as the rest of him looked. "Surely you're not going to let that thing eat with us, Rhett. Did you even wash it before you brought it home? I wasn't aware we were still accepting stray whores." The last statement was followed by a pointed stare at Andrei, who froze.

For a moment, the only sound was Eurus scooting his chair backwards far away from the table, plate of food still in his hands. Andrei slammed his fork down and jumped to his feet. The look he'd given Nic was nothing compared to the raw fury on his face now. "You stupid bastard, I swear I'm going to kill you!" He'd actually started to climb over the table when Rhett stood, grabbing the collar of Andrei's oversized black sweater and pulling him back.

The shorter man fought Rhett's hold in vain, finally settling as Rhett bent low and murmured soothingly to him. Without a backward glance, Andrei excused himself and left the dining room.

Rhett took one look at the smug look on the blonde's face and had to fight down a wave of his own fury. He'd seen the one thing everyone else hadn't; the tears of hurt in Andrei's eyes just before he left the room. "Dammit, Asteros," he hissed at the smirking blonde. "Why do you have to be such a dickhead all the time?"

Tsking and rising from his seat, he feigned a wounded look. "Me? Would I do such a thing? And you know I prefer to be called Aster." He walked around the table and paused at Nic's chair, close enough for the boy to see the disgust in his narrowed golden eyes. "I suggest you keep your whores away from me, Rhett. Otherwise...I will not be responsible for my actions." Ignoring Rhett's growl, Aster sauntered calmly from the room.

Only after Asteros had left did Eurus scoot his chair back to the table. It seemed to Nic that this was a pretty common occurance. Turning to Rhett, who returned to his seat, Nic asked, "If he causes such trouble, why don't you replace him?"

Rhett took Nic's plate and began piling food onto it. "Because we have no one to replace him with, honestly. His skills with the sword are unmatched, and he does his job very well. I just wish he wasn't such a shit. He takes to teamwork like a whale in the desert." He thunked down a very full plate in front of Nic. "Eat up, kiddo. Andrei's got pajamas waiting in your room for you."

Nic's surprise must have shown on his face, but he did as he was told and began to eat. As the first bite hit his tongue, his eyes widened. The food was good. "Did you make this?" Nic managed to ask between bites.

"No," Rhett answered with a grin. "We have a few cooks who handle all that. If we had to cook for ourselves, we'd never have time for anything else." His expression turned serious. "From now on, I want you to eat your fill without being told. Believe me when I say you're gonna need the fuel. And ignore Aster. He's just depressed because no one loves him."

All three of the males at the table shared a short laugh at that. After the meal, Nic patted his belly and sighed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten so well. Nic wondered how his mother was doing, and resolved to ask Rhett about her later.

Eurus disappeared upstairs as soon as he finished eating, and Rhett and Nic followed shortly after. Nic asked about the dishes, and Rhett smiled as he explained that someone else would handle that, too. Rhett's room was the first one on the left, next to Eurus's, and he paused in the doorway to look at Nic. "Get some more sleep, kiddo. We start training first thing in the morning. If you need anything, I'll be in here or downstairs."

Mumbling his goodnights to Rhett, the boy shuffled down the hall to his room, smiling at the pair of purple and black striped pajamas laid out on his bed. "I'm sensing a theme here," he said as he held the clothes up. When he put them on, they were too big, but not nearly so bad as it would have been if he'd had to borrow something from Rhett, or even worse, from Eurus.

Crawling into bed and closing his eyes, Nic tried not to let Aster's harsh words run around in his head. Instead, he thought of his mother, wondering how she was adjusting to her new life. Maybe the doctors would be able to help her, where he hadn't.

Thinking of his mother brought him to thinking of his unknown father. What would he think of Nic's situation now? If he knew his son had been a prostitute, and that he was still most likely going to be one, how would he feel? Shame, no doubt. But if Nic could become a guard, what then? Would his father be proud if he knew that?

For some reason, Nic hoped so.



A/N: Right, well. That was fun. It took me a long time to write this, and I'm sorry. I've been wicked sick with some weirdo lung grossness, and I was having a hell of a time dragging myself out of bed. But, there it is! The main boys are all introduced, I think. So far, that is. Jeez, Aster. Could you be more of a mean spirited bitch, please? Lol. Anyway. Next chapter...Liam visits??!!! A party in the making! Tune in and see it!


I think I neglected to respond to some reviews. So....here we go.


violetstorm: Sorry that I missed responding to your review! In answer to your question, I think I might have to time skip a little bit, but it won't be such a huge one as the last one. Thank you so much for reading this!

Emeraldawn: Thank you for reading, I'm glad you like it so far. Now, as for his aunt finding out what she did...who says she doesn't already know?

Breet: Wellllll, Breet. Let's get right to the important bit, shall we? There will be much secks in the future. Hello, I made all the important guys attractive for a reason. Lol, yes. That includes Telin.

Wynja: Yeah, a lot can and will go wrong here. Over and over. And over. And. Again. Over. xD But it should be fun!