For Lord and Land

For Lord and Land
By: Delilah deSora
Part 3
Chapter 8

**

The present is merely the sum of the past.

-Mercaida Aidan

**

Dante had expected an immediate return to the palace as soon as they arrived in Aidus but his lover had other plans. Instead of following the main roadway back to the palace they turned off onto the broad avenue that lead to the only building in the city that could match the palace’s avagavagance.

Marble columns topped with eternally burning fires stood like silent sentinels as the carriage moved between them, the road turning from its normal earth packed roadway into a wide road made of well worn basalt. Before them the temple to Aidan sat, the wide building glimmer white in the sun, as did all of the temples in Ardae. It reminded Dante of the buildings back home and for a moment depression sat heavily upon him.

The building loomed large over them as they came to the elegant sand and rock garden that sat in its shadows. The carriage stopped and Ardel exited, pausing to offer a hand of assistance to Dante who gratefully took it, unsure of how his knees would react if forced to climb down on his power. He was surprised to see that only Breven and Errol remained of their former companions. The two hung back as a young boy in the pale rose of training robes approached. He bowed deeply and then, almost shyly, held out his hand. With barely as ghost of a smile Ardel took the proffered hand, gathered his long robe in the other hand, and followed as the boy led him through the garden.

Dante followed, his feet remembering the path from his former position. All knights were required to spend time training with the priests. He had looked at it as just another history lesson when his time had come and more often then not he begged out of any impromptu meditation in one of the smaller worship chambers when his comrades had chosen to worship. Worse, he had discovered, were the fire rooms used to purify. They had always made him feel dizzy and his skin would itch terrible.

Looking back he now understood why.

He shuddered as the memory of those fire rooms brought back far more recent memories of a similar place. He had not been subjected to that particular bit of punishment since Ardel and Dorjan had had their little talk. He didn’t know what had been said but ever since then he had noticerol rol performing Dorjan’s duties when such duties called for the Lord General to be near the Emperor’s wing and, more importantly, around him.

Indeed he hadn’t seen his former commander excet a t a distance. A few times he had been summoned to the rooms but Dante had always found himself chased back to his own room before the man arrived by Ardel whose voice, while sounding polite, held the particular edge that meant the words were more than just a whim.

He was undecided about the new situation. Granted he wanted no more to do with Dorjan’s punishments or words but he did not wish to have the man forced into disgrace. For all his faults the older man was a fine Lord General. He had the perfect combination of fear and respect from the men under his control and never once had Dante seen him falter.

With a sigh he knocked the sand from his boots respectfully before stepping up onto the red carpet. They passed from the heat of the Ardaen fall into the cool temple. He shivered in delight but the sudden coolness made him realize that his unwashed skin was caked with sweat. He shifted uncomfortably, feeling like an uncultured boar among the temple’s finery.

The acolyte was leading Ardel towards an approaching priest who bowed and spoke softly with the Emperor. Dante stood silently with Breven and Errol as they talked. Ardel gestured at them and they received a sharp glance before the man bowed again. He spoke to the boy who nodded and gestured for the Emperor to follow him.

From behind him Dante caught a hushed whisper before Breven moved past him. He followed his master while the priest approached them. Dante received an annoyed glare that finally came to rest on his dark hair. He gritted his teeth, forcing the anger down. It was not unusual for him to be faced with those who distained his appearance and long ago he’d come to accept it. That didn’t mean it didn’t sting each time it happened.

“We have cleared one of the baths for your use.” He said through tight lips. “I trust you remember the way?”

For a terrifying moment Dante thought the man was speaking to him and had seen through their attempts at hiding his face but the moment passed when Errol stepped past him and bowed.

“Of course, you grace.”

The priest sniffed and whirled on his heel, storming away as much as his training allowed him to. Errol chuckled softly and waved for him to follow. Folding his hands in the billowing sleeves of his robe Dante obeyed.

To his relief they were directed to one of the baths farther from the fire rooms so that no steam reached them. Dante shed his robes and the cape gratefully, slipping into the welcoming water. Errol joined him, keeping to the sides whDantDante happily settled on the bottom of the pool for a few minutes, just letting his element wash over him. It felt like the water sank into his very bones and he sighed in relief.

Finally he returned to the surface only to find the older knight shaking his head. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.” Errol said as he wrung out his hair and climbed out of the bath.

Dante laughed and washed the salt from his skin. “Don’t worry about it. Ardel hates it too and he has to live with me.”

When he felt completely whole again he regretfully pulled himself out of the bath. Errol handed him a towel and he briskly wiped the clinging droplets of water off of his skin. Errol produced a new set of clothest mut must have been brought while he was underwater. He shook out the blue robe and sighed as he recognized the pattern. The knight laughed softly and patted his back in mock sympathy.

With a sigh he pulled the robe on, grateful to discover that it was thicker than the ones normally given him. He tied it about his waist tightly and stepped into the sandals Errol placed before him. They shared a comb, Dante forced to take a few minutes to work the knots out of his long hair. He made a mental note to have it cut because it was getting ridiculously long.

He followed the knight out into the hall and Errol made his way towards the back of the temple where the halls were bereft of visitors. Eventually they came back to the main hall and Dante lowered his head self-consciously. Errol’s hand came to rest on his shoulder it it helped to lighten his spirits a bit. They passed the main sanctuary and Dante smiled slightly as they entered a large hall.

On either side of them artifacts from the past glinted in the firelight behind the false glass walls. Crowns of past Emperors glittered and ancient swords and spears stood as silent testament to Ardae’s bloody past. There were old banners as well as documents that had shaped their lives into what they were today.

The passed through the large guarded doors, Dante adverting his face from the young knight that stood there though he did not recognize the boy and knew the boy would not recognize him. Beyond was a small sitting area and past that laid the most solemn area of the temple.

The Hall of Emperors.

He has spent hours there once, gently fingering the names engraved on the walls before the priests had chased him out and berated him for defiling the sacred place. He’d tried to ask them what it was for but they’d been tight lipped on the subject. His ignorance over the fact that the area was forbidden to everyone, even those that guarded the temple, was the only thing that saved him from being sent back to the Lord General for punishment.

He had never dared to set foot in there again and even now, nearly eight years later, he still felt a sense of dread. Unfortunately it seemed Errol had no qualms about going where he had once been forbidden. Sucking in a deep breath through his teeth Dante squared his shoulders and followed.

The room beyond was long and rectangular. On either side of them were plaques baring the names of past Aidans as Dante remember. What he didn’t remember was the floor being lined in flowers. He peered down at the floor where roses lay under the plaques. In some places there was just a single red fire rose but in other places a red rose lay bound to the larger Aquilaen rose. The vibrant blue flowers looked almost out of place among the red roses and he frowned for he could see no pattern in their placement.

He turned only to find Errol watching him with a faint smile.

“Do you know what this place is?” Errol asked suddenly.

Dante hesitated a moment before finally voicing the suspicion that had plagued him ever since his first visit so many years ago. “They’re buried here, aren’t they?”

He saw surprise in the older man’s eyes before realization struck and Errol laughed softly. “I forgot that you hadn’t seen the former Emperor’s cremation. Most people who see it assume that their ashes are allowed to blow free in the wind.”

“So it’s true then?” Dante asked.

Errol nodded. “The priests like to keep it a secret. After all its hard to believe the Emperors are gods reborn when the proof of their mortality lies so close to the very altar they are worshipped at.”

Dante nodded his understanding. He reached out and gently traced the name before him, a slight frown on his face. “Is this really the resting place of the first Aidan?”

Errol nodded. “Yes. His ashes are just beyond that plaque.”

Dante frowned slightly. “But how can that be? Surely the temple was built long after his death.”

Again his companion nodded. “The temple was built for Cassan. According to the tales I’ve read during its construction Cassan took his Leviathan, River, to travel to the small temples that housed his predecessors remains. At the end of the journey River decided that he wished to see Milya Llyr’s resting place. Cassan agreed and took him to the sanctuary where Saraes had had his Leviathan’s body interned, for Saraes had not had the heart to commit Milya’s body to the fires and had chosen instead to intern him in the manner of his Aquilaen ancestors.

“According to the tale River had been horrified when he had seen where Milya’s body rested and had collapsed. Cassan was, obviously, frantic over his Leviathan’s distress and begged to know what he could do to fix it. You see he feared that Saraes had mistaken the correct manner of burial but River assured him that that is not what had bothered him. What bothered him was a great sadness he said he felt in the tomb. He told Cassan that Milya’s spirit was lonely and he begged Cassan to bring them together.

“He also made Cassan swear that they would not be interred so far apart for River wished to be with him always, even in death. So it was that Cassan thought long and hard. Finally he ordered a long hallway added to the temple. When it was built he had had Aidan, Saraes’s, and his own father’s remains moved to the temple. There was a big fanfare and the remains placed behind the plaques. What they didn’t know was that the urn containing Saraes’s ashes was not the true urn.

“That night Cassan and River returned to the temple alone with a small workforce, for you see Cassan had ordered the room’s foundation built so that it was a latticework of open sections below the floor. Each section was covered with a long piece of marble, as you can see.”

Dante peered down at where Errol pointed and did indeed notice the long rectangles of marble.

“That night the marble piece below Saraes’s plaque was removed . . . and Milya’s coffin placed underneath. Before it was covered he had Saraes’s true ashes placed within it so that Saraes’s remains would rest with his Leviathans.”

“Hence the blue rose.” Dante murmured, kneeling down to finger the bound roses.

Errol nodded. “Yes. When River died he was placed under Cassan’s plaque where he lied undisturbed until Cassan’s own death. As before a false urn was placed behind the plaque while his real remains were placed with River.”

Dante followed Errol’s pointing finger to the second set of bound roses.

“It became a tradition after that. When a Leviathan died he would be interned under his Emperor’s plaque. Unless, of course, he served two Emperors in which case he was placed between theirs.”

“Whose ashes were placed with him then?” Dante inquired.

Errol shrugged. “It depends. Sometimes a Leviathan is buried with both sets of ashes but in most cases an Emperor or Leviathan only comes to truly love one. In that case only the Emperor whom the Leviathan loved and loved him in return is buried with the Leviathan. Such wishes are usually made clear in the private wills.”

Dante nodded his understand as he followed Errol through a second set of doors. Errol lost his smile, however, when Dante suddenly paused, staring down at a single white rose lying alone between two bound sets of blue and red roses.

“What does this mean?” Dante asked.

Errol sighed deeply. “It is an apology.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Those Leviathans whose resting places are marked by a white rose are ones who were failed by their Emperors. They are ones that, rather than live in misery as Leviathans, took their own lives. They are buried with no Emperor for they turned their backs on the one they served, leaving them to plunge back into insanity. Fortunately there are not many of them and this . . . this was the first. His name was Rinan and . . . he leapt to his death off a balcony.

“His Emperor was buried with the Leviathan before Rinan, leaving Rinan alone. The Emperor’s son felt as though he had failed Rinan as much as his father had and, to make amends, always placed a white rose on Rinan’s resting place for he refused to have Rinan forever remember as just another Leviathan. Since then there have only been two other Leviathans who have ended their lives because they could not bear the lives their Emperors required of them and both are also marked with a white rose rather than blue. It is a constant reminder to all of us that things can go wrong and that the Leviathans are not some mindless creatures to be locked away until needed.”

Dante frowned slightly, peering down into the next room. “Surely the priests must think it odd to be ordered to place blue and white roses among the red.”

The smile returned to Errol’s face as they continued to the next room. “Not at all. The only roses they place are the red. The blue and white roses are placed and bound by the current Emperor. The room is locked and the roses are left until the beginning of the new year, at which time these rooms are unlocked and the roses cleaned. However by that time they’ve lost their color so the priests can’t wonder about it.”

“Oh.”

They passed through two more rooms before Dante suddenly realized that Errol was no longer beside him. He turned questioningly only to discover the knight standing in the middle of the last doorway, feet far apart and hands clasped behind his back. The knight glanced over his shoulder and smiled.

“Tell him to take all the time he needs. I will allow no one to pass to disturb him.”

Dante nodded and moved towards the final room.

Ardel was sitting on one of the stone benches that ringed the center of the room, his head bowed as he fiddled with something in his hands. At his feet lay a set of empty rose boxes and inside Dante could just make out a packet of left over ribbon used to tie the roses together. He stood silently behind his lover, unwilling to disturb the man’s thoughts.

He contented himself with reading over the names before him. He easily recognized two of the names of former Emperors, one being Ardel’s own father, though he did not recognize the three names in between them. He recalled Ardel’s confession of a murdered grandfather and nodded to himself, having figured out one of the names. The other two, however, he could not fathom.

Ardel suddenly sighed and rose. Dante watched as he knelt before Mercaida Aidan’s plaque and placed a white rose over the bound blue and red. He frowned in confusion as Ardel glanced up at him. The man gave a humorless laugh as he sat back on his knees.

“I wronged him,” Ardel murmured, “it is only fair to pay recompense.”

Dante knelt behind him, pulling the smaller man back against his chest and resting his chin on the top of Ardel’s head. “I am sure he appreciates it.” He whispered.

They sat together in silence, Ardel winding their hands together. Dante kissed the top of his head and gestured towards the three plaques beside them. “Who are they?” He asked. “I recognize Emperor Micah’s name but not the others. I assume one must be your grandfather but I’m lost as to who the other two could be.”

Ardel smiled faintly. “Rhys Aidan was my grandfather. The man next to him, Doren was my father’s older brother. He died when his horse was spooked by a snake and threw him.”

Dante nodded. “And Einan?” He asked when Ardel had fallen silent.

There was a soft sigh from the man in his arms. “Einan was my brother.”

A thrill of surprise ran through him and Dante stared up at the plaque with wide eyes. “Brother? I didn’t know you had one. I had always thought you were an only child.”

Ardel shook his head. “No. He was born six years before me.”

“How did he die?”

“An illness.”

Dante shuddered, the thought of losing his own older brother birthing a cold terror in his heart. Unconsciously he tightened his arms about his lover. “I’m sorry. That must have been horrible.”

Ardel shrugged. “He died before I was born so I have no memory of it.”

“Oh.” Dante sighed and glanced at the empty wall beyond Mercaida Aidan’s plaque. “I suppose this is where we’ll be buried then.” He mused as he reached out to touch the bare floor.

Ardel nodded. “One day.”

Dante smiled humorlessly. “Let’s make sure it’s not for a long long time.”

Ardel returned his smile. “As you like.”

**
Dante had never thought he’d be overjoyed at returning to the room he shared with Ardel but the thought of lazing about on the bottom of his pool was infinitely appealing. On their return he moved to go to his own rooms only to find himself halted by a hand closing about his forearm. He paused in mid-stride, glancing back at his lover curiously.

Ardel smiled at him slyly. “You wanted to know why we went to Velin, did you not?”

Dante blinked in surprise. “Well . . . yes.”

“Then I shall tell you.” Ardel tilted his head up and Dante shivered as his lover’s warm breath blew over his ear. “It was to give them time to finish my gift.”

“Gift?” He asked, curiosity eating at him.

Ardel nodded and urged him forward. “It was to be a midwinter gift but I think it would be a shame not to enjoy it before winter takes away part of the beauty.”

Dante followed his lover into his own set of rooms. He glanced about curiously finding nothing out of place until a spark of light where there had once been a dark wall caught his attention. He stepped past Ardel and moved towards the wall where now a set of doors stood.

He reached out and hesitantly touched the carved glass of the double doors. Frosted leviathans and dragons twisted among roses through panes of blue glass the size of his hand. A frame of heavy wooden rungs designed to withstand the test of time ran between the panes. His hand slid down to the golden latch and he glanced back hesitantly. Ardel nodded, his hands clasped together in nervousness.

With a mental shrug Dante pulled the double doors open and stepped beyond them.

Before him stretched a balcony and with suddenly shaking hands he took four steps and gripped the railing, peering down as his fingers dug into the marble. A hand touched the small of his back as he surveyed the enclosed garden beneath him. He blinked and turned to the side. Ardel smiled softly and shrugged. \"Its not finished yet but I didn\'t think you\'d mind.\"

Dante\'s eyes flickered back over the ribbon of water meandering through the garden to a small pond before it slipped under the wall and away. Newly replanted trees from his homeland stretched their pale limbs to the sky as their roots disappeared under the still water of the pool. A few were even in bloom, their flower laden branches coming to skim the water\'s surface. Among their graceful forms where the wide palms of ferns and the dark leaves of irises and the blue rose.

He smiled and captured Ardel\'s lips in an impulsive kiss.

\"It’s lovely. Thank you.\"

Ardel smiled brightly and stepped back, gesturing to the end of the balcony where Dante could just barely make out a dark pathway along the inside of the wall. \"If you don\'t feel like climbing all the way down and back up.\" He explained with a teasing look. \"And if you do . . .\"

Dante found his hand caught in a firm grip and he followed Ardel to the other end of the balcony to a gap in the railing. Spiraling directly down was a long staircase made of brass that shone brightly in the Ardaen sun. A wooden railing spiraled down alongside it and Dante was grateful for that foresight. He didn\'t relish the thought of running his hands over metal that had spent all day in the sun.

\"This is a lot of work. How did you manage it so fast?\" He asked as he followed his lover down the stairway.

Ardel glanced back at him. \"Most of it was already here. The balcony was made for Milya by Saraes when the wing was originally completed. The garden and walls were added by Cassan. I don\'t remember when the walkway was put in place but it still needs some reconstruction so I wouldn\'t suggest trying it just yet.\"

Dante frowned, peering upwards at the balcony above them. \"Why was it walled up?\" He asked, glancing back down.

A strange look passed over Ardel\'s face that looked like equal parts fear, sorrow, and anger.

\"A Leviathan jumped, a long time ago. He died and it was decided that the balcony was too dangerous to leave.\"

Dante turned his attention back to the balcony and judged the height. After a moment he forced his mind from such morbid thoughts with a shudder. \"I hope hund und peace.\" He murmured.

Ardel shook his head. \"There was no peace for those he left behind. It was a selfish act.\"

Dante met his gaze firmly. \"We are all allowed a moment of selfishness,\" he stated, \"especially when our entire lives are dedicated to smoothing the way for others.\"

Ardel was silent a moment before shrugging. \"Enough talk of this. Come enjoy the garden with me. Oh, and Dante?\"

Dante blinked and peered at him. \"Yes?\"

\"If you jump . . . I\'ll make sure you never have a moment\'s peace for when I find you again I\'ll spend all eternity nagging you about it.\"

Dante laughed softly and wrapped his arm about Ardel\'s waist, pulling him close so that he could press a kiss to the crown of the Emperor\'s head. \"Do not fear. I would never mar this gift in such a way.\"

He didn’t miss the look of intense relief that flashed over Ardel’s face and he wondered how hard it must have been to make the decision to reopen the balcony. He wondered how many times his lover had reread the accounts of the aftermath of the action that had closed it. He shook his head and followed silently as they moved through the fauna of his homeland.

They came to a small clearing among the trees and Dante pulled Ardel down onto his lap. Wrapping an arm about his lover’s waist he gently cupped a slightly flushed cheek. He ran his thumb over Ardel’s lower lip. The red haired man turned his face to kiss the palm of his hand before leaning forward.

Dante tilted his face up and let his hand slid back through Ardel’s hair and settle on the back of his neck as their lips met. His tongue flickered against his lover’s and Ardel’s lips parted obediently. Their tongues met and Ardel groaned, pressing closer to him as he teased the other’s mouth.

Ardel tasted of fire and wine and he savored it, letting the fire lord’s heat flow into him. He felt hands bury themselves inside his robe, talented fingers scratching lightly at the nubs of his chest. He pulled back slightly, hissing in pleasure.

Ardel smiled darkly as he shifted so that he could straddle his Leviathan. He flattened his hands against Dante’s chest, pressing his palms against the hardening nubs and making small circles as his fingers teased these mse muscles. Blue eyes narrowed and he shivered at the look. Licking his lips he leaned forward to press hot es aes along Dante’s throat.

His Leviathan’s hands tightened about his waist and he couldn’t stop the gasp as he was rocked forward, a movement that pressed his hips firmly against his lover’s. He ground against the hard body beneath him, his hips making long rolling movements. With a groan of pleasure he let his head back.

Strong fingers tore away the tie at his waist and he shivered deliciously as his robes billowed open. A large hand slipped inside and Ardel shivergaingain at the cool touch. The hand pressed against his lower back slid down to cup his ass and he arched as a finger pressed against his opening. Mentally he cursed the robes that kept him from the skin on skin contact he craved.

He was drawn forward and he wrapped his fingers in the long black hair as sharp teeth closed over his nipple, tugging it to attention. He bit back a scream as it was ruthlessly assaulted, leaving him panting, every muscle trembling in tension and pent up passion. Dante’s tongue lapped over the swollen nub as though to sooth the small hurt and he shuddered at the sharp tinges of pain it caused.

His Leviathan growled, a sound that made him keen in want as the mouth caught the other nub. His hands slipped to Dante’s shoulders and he stared up at the darkening sky, thanking whatever gods had deemed to grant him man as his own. Kaze’s deception had woken this creature of pain and pleasure within him but only Dante could make him feel so protected. He found that he needed to give himself to this man. He needed his Leviathan to claim him completely so that he knew, for the first time in his young life, that someone wanted him.

Bowing his head he kissed the crown of his lover’s head. “Take me.” He whispered.

A hand dipped down between his legs and wrapped about his cock. Groaning he rose up onto his knees as he was bade and when he was finally allowed to sit back it was to meet a need as hot and demanding as his own. He forced his muscles to relax as he was guided down onto his lover. To distract himself from the initial pain he pressed his lips against Dante’s.

They both stilled for a few seconds before Ardel lifted himself up, sucking in air through his teeth as he was emptied. Dante’s hands clasped his waist and guided him back down. It was a slow dance and at first Ardel felt the fires within him roll in annoyance but when he looked up to demand a faster rhythm he was caught by fathomless blue eyes. Unable to look away he relaxed and allowed the passion between them to build slowly.

Over and over again he was filled until he could no longer sit up on his own power. Wrapping his arms about his Leviathan’s waist he buried his head against Dante’s neck, his breath coming in heavy pants. Finally neither of them was able to hold back any longer and Ardel bit down on the broad shoulder as he was claimed by the larger man.

His fingers hooked into claws and desperately he scratched at his Leviathan’s chest, earning a snarl of pleasure and redoubling of his lover’s efforts. Dante thrust into him harshly and he arched, screaming as it became too much. Hands caught his and a hot mouth clamped onto his as Dante thrust into his suddenly limp body. He felt his lover stiffen and he swallowed the primal growl as Dante’s power slammed into him. It left him feeling weak but his mind was blissfully clear as it swept through him and banked the fire within.

With a sigh of contentment Ardel allowed himself to be pulled down onto the soft grass.

He buried his head under his Leviathan’s chin and smiled.

With all of his heart he prayed that time would just stop so they could lie forever surrounded by the sweet smell of roses and covered by a blanket of stars.