Take Me Away

Summary: 10 years after Shandaar’s story, familiar faces come back.

Author’s Notes: I’ve decided to make one big chapter out of the two epilogue parts, thus completely ending the story. I want to say a very very big “thank you” to my awesome beta reader, muse, moral support, partner in crime and dear friend, Chlover, because I have no idea where I’d be in this story without her *hugs!*. To my readers, reviewers and supporters, thank you for sticking up with me. This was my first ever published original story, and it won’t be the last… even though I don’t want to end this. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I became attached to the characters so much that I cried when I killed some of them last chapter.

Without further ado, here is the finale of TMA.


Take Me Away
Epilogue


May 1688, Kadessa Castle;

The sun had risen over Kadessa. King Shandaar Kandi, thirty years old, stood by his mirror as he dressed up. Over the years he hadn’t changed that much, but he could see his father’s features starting to peek through. His blue eyes had the same light and vitality they held ten years ago, when the king was a mere young man, fresh out of adolescence. Ever since his mother had passed away from an illness eight years ago, he had to reign over the country. It wasn’t always easy; many counsellors and advisers had passed away, either from old age or disease, but he had managed it with little difficulties.

As for his wife, Queen Hawa, she had passed away while delivering their second child, almost five years ago. Her portrait hung in his room – never could he forget about her. She had been so nice and understanding during those years. Both of them led different lives. While Shandaar was busy with the empire’s problems and needs, Hawa would represent him in other countries or assist him. Kieran had seen it all right – the woman was indeed independent.

During all those years, he kept seeing Kieran. In fourteen years, both men had stayed loyal to each other and were still happy with their relationship, even though they had to hide it. Shandaar still played his role as a king, a husband and a father of two; Kieran was his trustworthy bodyguard, always there to protect his dear childhood friend and king. Hawa’s relationship with her own bodyguard had taken a bad blow after their wedding, but the two women had tried to make things easier.

The silver-haired man turned to Kieran, who was already putting his armor. He had to admit he looked dead sexy half-naked, but a half-naked bodyguard doesn’t last very long when attacked. Shandaar would simply wear his favourite green silk suit; the one with black dragons on it. “Do you need help with that armor?” he asked as he finished putting the long shirt on, rearranging his hair at the same time.

“Nah, I’m gonna be fine. But I was wondering… are you sure you want to do this?” the raven-haired swordsman asked, concerned about his boyfriend’s decision of publicly revealing everything that had been going on for the past ten years. His runaway, his relationship with Kieran, that he was responsible for a few deaths… everything. No more secrets – his people deserved to know. They had supported him all along, now it was the time to be honest.

Shandaar nodded, growing serious. “They’ll eventually figure out anyways. I haven’t found a wife yet and to be completely honest, I don’t want to go through all of this again. It would be more of a burden on the children, having to deal with a new mother. They’re used to seeing me and you together.”

The royal heirs looked more of porcelain dolls than children, with their pale skin and bright sky blue eyes. The Princess, Samhadi – nine years old – had inherited her father’s silver hair while her younger brother, Chaika, only three years old, looked more like his mother with his wavy blue locks. Although they appeared to be calm and polite, Shandaar knew they were mischievous. And unlike their father, they weren’t as sheltered. He wanted them to know what he couldn’t, so he made sure they joined the couple during their trips.

“If something should happen to me…” Shandaar began as he walked to Kieran, “I want you to take them away from here. Anywhere out of the country. I’ll follow soon after.”

“There’s no way I’ll leave you behind” the bodyguard stated, frowning. “There’s no way I’ll let anything happen to you.”

The king sighed and shook his head. He hated resorting to the “I’m your King and you’ll do as you’re told” way, but for the sake of his children, his descendants, he had to. He didn’t want Kieran to go away from him anymore… He looked down, feeling bad for what he had to do. “It’s an order… an order from your king. I’m sorry. I just can’t let anything happen to them.”

Kieran wrapped his arms around the slightly smaller frame, the way he had done thousands of time before. “If it’s what you really want, I’ll do it. I’ll do it for you, and only for you. Because there’s no way on Earth that I’d leave you on your own. And you know it.”

A knock on the door brought the men back to reality. Shandaar gently pulled away from his boyfriend and walked to the other end of the room in order to reach the door and opening it, “Yes?”

A man with orange hair stood in front him – Master Gileen, the new superior advisor. “The people have begun gathering in the court. If you are ready, we will proceed with your speech.”

The king nodded and turned to Kieran, who quickly put the silver cape on and strode to Shandaar. “Let’s get this over with.”

The advisor bowed before the silver-haired man, speaking calmly. He feared for the ruler’s life. “Good luck, Your Majesty. May the gods protect you.”

‘I’m better with Kieran, if I want protection – your gods can’t do much.’ Shandaar thought as he passed the door and walked to the balcony, in the next room. The princess and the prince were already waiting there. He crouched to their level in order to hug them. “Samhadi, watch over your little brother” he asked her daughter, gently patting her head. He couldn’t help but notice how she was tall for a nine-year-old little girl.

“Yes Father” she replied, nodding and smiling. “I will.”

With a chuckle and a wink in her direction, the man got up. “I know one day you’ll make a great queen.”

Masquerading was something Shandaar had always succeeded in; hiding behind his own emotion, showing no fear when he was scared to death. He feared that from now on, he wouldn’t see his beloved children and his lover again; that either they would leave, or that he would be the one leaving…

The king walked to the balcony with his head up high, as usual. The show still went on.

-

People from around the country had gathered up in the courtyard. Most of them were courtesans, aristocrats and other high-class society members, but here and there, commoners could be spotted. With the mass of men and women that were present, there was no doubt that what he was about to say would be known throughout the land in a few days. For a moment, the king wondered why he had chosen to reveal everything. Whether it meant his downfall, it didn’t matter much. Someone else would take his place… someone else would probably do a better job.

Not that he had done a bad job in his eight years of reign. He was even thankful that he had gone through all of the council sessions, as he was aware of the economic, social and other matters even before accessing the throne.

Shandaar eyed the crowd and took a deep breath. It was better to start this now to get it over…

“Thank you for coming” he began, the nervousness barely showing in his voice. “I am thankful to see you all here. Throughout the past years, the support and loyalty you have shown helped greatly. But today, I feel the need to be completely honest.”

Silence fell over the courtyard, and was slowly replace by whispers. Twiddling with his hands, the young king spoke up again. “All these years, I have led a double life. My life since my sixteenth birthday as been nothing but a lie. I was a selfish fool for not telling anyone about it. To hide it all, I ran away. I did not want anyone to learn the truth about who I was, because I thought it would play on the way people saw me. My marriage itself was an affair, as before getting married, I had a lover.”

“Another man,” the king added, trying his best not to flinch under the silent yet heavy pressure. “I ran away to be with him. Rumours were that I had been kidnapped – which did happen later in my runaway – but in fact, I wanted to forget about being of royal blood for a moment. Nothing mattered but me and my relationship with the man I loved, still love and will love forever, no matter what happens. I only married because I had to do it to gain my people’s trust. I wanted to be relied on, to be a good king. A good king has to be honest, and this is what I’ve done today.”

In other countries, maybe he would have been applauded for this act of sticking up for what he believed: love, loyalty and open-mindedness. In Kadessa, Shandaar knew the values were different. Soon, the people would go mad. They would wait until someone strong enough start a rebellion, and they would assault him. From now on, his only support would be Kieran and his children, but that was all he’d need. ‘I can’t let anything happen to the children… and to Kieran.’

In the end, he would face this alone. He had caused all this mess, and it was time to put an end to it, no matter what it was.

The yard slowly went from silent to screaming. They couldn’t trust a king who had given up his entire country for his own well-being. A King was supposed to sacrifice his life for his people, and not the opposite. If the silver-haired man had been with a woman instead of another man, it would have been taken more lightly, but religion had always condemned homosexuality as one of the worst crimes.

With a weak “thank you”’, Shandaar headed back inside, biting his lower lip. The people had reacted as bad as he had thought; he had seen it coming from the very beginning. He tried to remain stoic in front of the equally speechless castle dwellers, but he was shaking a little. “Kieran,” he said as he took a deep breath, “take the kids to Nael. They have been warned that you are coming, and you will be safe there. I will get back to you once this has been solved.” Deep inside, he was sure he wouldn’t come out of this alive. He wanted to persuade the other he would come back and not to lose hope. He found it hard to give someone hope while he didn’t have hope himself.

The bodyguard opened his mouth to say he wanted to stay with him, but he was interrupted.

“Do it.” It was a simple order, something Kieran would have complied with right away. Instead, he stood in front of his king, his eyes watering.

The maids and servants present in the room stormed away to let the men together, and took the children to prepare them. Once alone, Shandaar broke down again, his body shaken by sobs. He was scared of what would happen in the next hours. People were probably to arms already, ready to get inside the castle and murder their own king in the name of religion. In less than an hour, his life would either change forever… or end. No matter how hard he’d pray and how hard he would wish for everything to be a nightmare, there was no gods, and this wasn’t a dream. It was real life.

A moment passed before he rushed to Kieran and clung to him like his life depended on the bodyguard. He had a hard time dealing with his departure, and he wasn’t even gone yet. He simply stayed in the man’s arms, crying his heart out. All those years, Kieran had been by his side, so why did he have to let go of him when he needed him the most? He didn’t want him to go. He didn’t want to be left alone again, but he had to. This time he wouldn’t run away. He would face what would come to him, but it would have been much easier if Kieran was there.

Shandaar never saw their last kiss coming. It was painful. He didn’t want this to end, ever. For once last time, he felt the closeness of his lover’s body, their lips locking in a deep kiss.

“Whatever happens, you’ll be the only one in my life” Kieran stated, trying to calm down. He took the other man’s hands in his and squeezed them tightly. Never in his life had he been scared of loosing someone so important to him. “The only one. I’ll be waiting for you.” And as much as he didn’t want to, he let go of the hands of the man he loved, for one last time. Shaking and trying not to cry more than he was, he made his way to the door, opened it, and closed it behind with one last look to his boyfriend.

Inside the room, Shandaar crumbled to his knees, screaming. He wanted to die, to end it right there. But he had to keep hope… he wanted to see Kieran and his children alive at least once more. He regretted running away, having married, telling Kieran to head for Nael. He couldn’t even have a last night with his childhood friend – too risky for both of them to get killed.

He thought that if someone deserved it… it was himself.

Curled on the floor, he wept until he fell asleep out of exhaustion. No one had dared coming closer to him while he was awake. They knew how strong he was and what would have been the consequences. A servant even said he had seen a pair of eyes, similar to a reptile’s...

-

The King woke up at night. He turned around as if he wanted to snuggle with his boyfriend, but found no one. He groaned and turned around again, trying to go back to his original position, but it was useless. He couldn’t sleep anymore. Something was bothering him. As he sat in the bed, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Despite his 30 years of age, the gesture gave him an innocent, childish look.

”Kieran… are you in the bathroom?” he shouted, with the echo of his voice as his only answer. Kieran wasn’t there.

Kieran was gone.

Reality, once again, bit him hard. Kieran had gone with the children to Nael, after the awful reaction he got from the crowd. He could hear footsteps around his room, but some soldiers had been brought inside the castle for a night watch of Shandaar’s quarters. The man took a deep breath and, to make sure everything was okay on their side, walked out of the bed, his feet touching the cold marble ground. He never had liked the feeling and missed the carpet – but not as much as he missed Kieran.

The silver-haired regent didn’t even need to reach the door to see what was going on. A red-haired man burst in, followed by his female replica. Behind them, a small green-haired man made his appearance. Through the faint light coming from the corridor and the window, he could see they all had wide grins on their faces.

“We heard about your problem, King Shandaar. We thought we might offer our help.” No matter how sweet it had been said, the redheaded man sounded sarcastic, borderline hostile. The sword, raised in the air, was not a good sign either.

“You… why… why aren’t you dead!?” the younger man asked, frantically looking for his sword or anything he could use as a weapon. If Kordell Bordin was armed, it surely didn’t mean anything good.

His gaze traveled to the woman. She was pregnant, yet fought? How could she? Wasn’t this dangerous for the baby? ‘My life is in danger and I think about one of my attacker’s baby?’ he asked himself, frowning heavily. At worse he’d fight with his fists, but against swords, he barely had a chance.

Kordell frowned as well and lunged for the king, tackling him on the cold floor. The blade was pressed at his neck. This time, he wasn’t going to miss Shandaar. The idea of raping him like he had done years ago crossed his mind, but killing him was even more arousing. He backed off a bit in order to have a better view of the man and move the blade on his chest, pointing straight at his heart.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, Shandaar. So I’ll be quick. Any last words?” Despite the dramatic situation, the redhead had a sweet smile stapled to his face.

Tears streaked down the silver-haired man’s face as he spoke softly. He knew he was going to die; there was no more reason to fight back; his reasons were gone. “I’m sorry…”

“Too bad saying sorry won’t work.” In a hard yet swift movement of the sword, he stabbed the weapon in the man’s ribcage, piercing through the flesh, muscles and bones with a crushing sound. The blade hit the marble floor with a clang.

Pain rushed through Shandaar’s body, making him twitch and scream. ‘Remove the damn blade!’ he mentally cried, unable to make a sound as his lungs quickly filled with blood. His whole body was numb as he couldn’t breathe, the taste of the red liquid in his mouth was horrible and everything was blurry around him.

Finally, everything went black. No more pain. His very last thought was directed at his lover. ‘I love you…’

Once it was done, Kordell got up and poked the body with his foot. “Get someone to remove the body and clean this mess” he stated, turning his head in Xylon’s direction before walking toward the closet. After all, he had to check what he was going to wear – his rags wouldn’t do anymore now that he was a king. “Just my size. Isn’t this fun?” He turned to his sister, who was doing the same with Shandaar’s dead wife’s clothing that he had never bothered removing.

“Those are gonna be too small for me” the woman replied with a sigh. “Oh well. With the money we’ll have, I shouldn’t worry.” She marked a pause and settled down on the bed, looking at the body on the floor. “He was a good-looking one, that’s for sure. Would have made a nice slave.”

“Can’t have everything” the redheaded male added, still looking through his new clothing. “Having him moping around because his boyfriend is gone would have been worse. We got the people happy by killing the big gay baddie at the head of the empire, and siblings are splitting the chores to keep this country alive.” He left the closet door open and moved to window, looking at the starry sky. “You can make sure things are gonna change around.”

As Xylon came back in the royal bedroom with a few people, Kordell turned to him again. “Good job. Now get me the army and make them launch an attack on Renken” he ordered, grinning widely.

“It will be done very soon, my King” Xylon answered with an equally large grin on his face.

~ The End ~


Final Author’s Notes: Explication for the story in general – more can be supplied on demand ^_^. This is rather long, but explains the motives behind the story.

First of all, keep this in mind: I love difference – hence why this story didn’t end with “Shandaar killed all the baddies and lived through it, raising his kids with Kieran. The end”. I could have done it, but it’s generally overused. Good guys always win, and villains always lose. For once, I wanted the “bad” guys to win. When you take a look at this, Kordell isn’t much of a bad guy. He wants to help his country in a different way, and happens to think his way is better than the Queen’s or later, the Prince’s/King’s.

It’s all about relativity. Everything is relative. To villains, a hero is a villain.

Where Shandaar thinks he can help his country through self-sacrifice (he did marry Hawa because he felt he had no choice to be king in order to help others), Kordell thinks that the Empire is threatened because of Renken. If they eliminate Renken, their chances of saving their own people (maybe annexing Renken to Kadessa as well) and developing into a bigger, stronger nation, rise. So, who’s right and who’s wrong? It all depends on how you see it. It’s all relative.

Another aspect I wanted to bring in TMA was the difference of reaction based on the environment and character personality. Shandaar ran away because of all the restrictions he was imposed. Deep inside, he is a fighter. He wants his freedom, and he gets it. Another character would have accepted the restrictions, but would have been sad and angry, and another one would have complied without whining because he thought it was the right away.

I didn’t kill Shandaar because he’s gay and homosexuality is wrong (wrong? No. I don’t think it’s wrong – love, between consensual adults is never wrong to me, even if you’re twelve people in the relationship; as long as everyone’s happy, go for it!). I killed him to prove the opposite. Being gay isn’t wrong, and he had no reason to die by someone else’s hand because of this.

All in all… it wasn’t a good ending, it wasn’t a bad ending either. But it remains an ending. And this ends my ramble.