The Red String Of Faith

Chapter beta by Kylee.

Chapter Twenty-Six:


“What a big surprise to see you here at my castle Sebastian! What brought you here?” Anders asked with a smirk.

Sebastian wore a smirk of his own. “Anders, how surprising to see that you are king. Who did you have to kill to sit on that throne?”

“Your first consort,” answered Anders.

Anger formed in Sebastian’s eyes, but he remained calm and composed. “Let’s cut to the chase Anders, return Eli and Caelane to me.”

“I can't return Caelane to you Sebastian. As for Eli, if you want him back, you are going to have to fight Conor for him.”

“You know that I won't fight Conor for Eli because you know that I don't love him. As for Caelane, you know that I am only asking you to return him because he is Jamie’s brother. However, I will fight you Anders. I want your blood.”

“I will have your head Sebastian. The world is not big enough for the two of us. Either you die or I die.”

“The same goes for me Anders, so be prepared,” Sebastian said before he walked away.

“Felix I know you’re here!” Ander called out to his stepson the moment Sebastian walked out the door.

“Father,” said Felix as he emerged from his hiding place.

Anders stood up and walked over to his stepson. He drew his hand back and slapped Felix across the face. “Where have you been? I promised your dad and your grandfather that I would look after you. How am I supposed to do that if you aren’t here?” he said angrily.

“I'm sorry Father for making you worry.” Felix apologized with his head down.

“Go to your room Felix. You are not allowed out of the castle unless I say so. Understand?” Anders ordered.

Felix nodded his head and rushed out of the throne room. He didn't dare to ask his stepfather about what he just heard.

Sebastian went alone to meet the king of Serey, leaving Jamie at the small cottage with Nicholas to look after him. Jamie paced back and forth, wishing that Sebastian would hurry up and return with Caelane and Eli. However, when Sebastian returned he was alone.

“Your Highness, where are Eli and Caelane?” Jamie asked.

“They told me to tell you not to worry about them, and that we should return to Zhanthia right away. They will follow us four weeks from now,” Sebastian lied with a straight face.

“But why? I thought Caelane was looking forward to returning to Zhanthia with me. I know that Eli wanted to remain here because he had things he needed to do, but Caelane also?” Jamie said with bewilderment. It just did not add up, and why wouldn't Sebastain look him straight in the eye?

Sebastian saw the look on Jamie’s face. He knew that Jamie was pretty smart. If he didn't come up with another lie, he would soon find himself at the mercy of Jamie’s tongue, lecturing on what was right and wrong. Not only that, Jamie would probably never speak to him again if he knew. He put his arms around Jamie. “There is nothing we can do Jamie. They are both adults, they can take care of themselves, and besides Caelane is not alone, he has Eli with him.”

Jamie contemplated for a long time. He sighed, “Alright. I guess there is nothing we can do Your Highness and you are right. Caelane is a big boy now and I trust that Eli will watch out for him. However Your Highness, if they don't return to Zhanthia in four weeks, I will return here with or without you to bring them back.”

Sebastian calmly leaned down and kissed Jamie on the brow. “Don't worry your little head off, they will be fine,” he whispered. Jamie nodded, he was still reluctant to leave without Caelane and Sebastian seemed to be hiding something from him. Knowing this made him reluctant to leave.

----------

Conor stopped and opened the door to the room he had put Eli in. He entered the room to find Eli glaring at him. Conor placed the tray of food on the table. He sat down across from Eli. “Eat up,” he ordered.

Eli picked up the glass of water and splashed it on Conor’s face.

“Why do you have to make things difficult Eli?”

“Because I hate you Conor! Enough said.” Eli lied.

“I didn't realize that you hated me that much. I must really have hurt you badly when I left you to marry another huh?” said Conor.

It was pure torture being in the same room as Conor, and having him dig up the old wound was like a slap to Eli’s face. “You’re right Conor, I was hurt badly. If you were me, you would understand the pain I felt when someone who claimed to love me married someone else. Now why don't you leave me alone and go see to your prince?” Eli said in a calm and composed manner.

“Are you sure you want me to leave Eli? I thought that maybe you wanted to pay a little visit to your little friend Caelane,” said Conor.

Eli’s eyes flew wide open at that. “You are going to take me to see Caelane?" he asked.

“Yes, but only after you eat your meal,” replied Conor.

Eli sat down quickly and he began to devour the food, wanting to see for himself that Caelane was alright.

-------

Caelane turned towards the door expecting to see Anders but instead standing right between the doors was Eli.

“Caelane are you alright? Did they hurt you?” Eli asked, his voice full of concern.

“No. Anders won't let anybody hurt me,” replied Caelane.

“I'm sorry Caelane. It was because you were with me that they took you as well.”

“No, don't be. It’s not your fault Eli. It’s Anders, he wanted me here as well.”

“Why Caelane? Why would he want you here? Have you met Anders before?”

Caelane nodded his head, "Yes he is the person I told you about. He's Ray except he's not Ray. He said that he cares for me and wants me with him always. And he did things to me.”

Eli’s eyes went wide open. “Did things to you? What kind of things Caelane?”

Caelane stood on tiptoe and whispered into Eli’s ear.

“That bastard Anders! I am going to kill him!” Eli shouted.

Caelane had never seen Eli shout before. Eli always seemed proper and well composed.

“Caelane do you like Anders?” Eli asked.

Caelane nodded his head, “Yes I like him. He lets me be myself without making me feel like a crybaby. He is very kind to me, he never gets mad at me when I cry. Instead he comforts me and tells me that everything will be all right. He makes me feel safe.”

Eli wanted to ask more. It sounded to him like Caelane was in love with Anders and that wasn't a good thing. However he didn't get a chance to ask as Conor came in and dragged him out of the room, saying that it was time to leave.


“Caelane, take care of yourself until I can get you out of here, and stay away from your dad. I saw him so I know that he is here as well. He won't hesitate to hurt you, and since I am stuck here as well, try to come to me for advice when you don't understand anything!” Eli yelled out as he was dragged away by Conor.

“I will!” Caelane yelled back.

Caelane watched Eli disappear from his line of sight before closing his door. His door swung open once more ten minutes later. He turned to see who it was and was not surprised to see Anders. Suddenly he recalled the little talk he just had with Eli and his face turned red. He quickly turned his head away.

Anders wondered why the boy’s face was so red. He went over to Caelane. “So what did you and Eli talk about?” he asked. “I met Eli on my way here and he stopped and slapped me hard, accusing me of taking advantage of you.” He added, “I would have killed him if he didn't show how concerned he was for you Caelane. Now tell me what did you two talk about?”

Caelane’s face got redder. “Is it okay if I don't tell you?” he asked.

“No,” replied Anders. “What is it that you are trying to hide from me Caelane?”

“Nothing. I just told Eli in great details about what you did to me.”

“I see. That explains why your face is so red, and why Eli is so angry at me,” Anders commented. “Caelane, are you still mad at me now for taking away something so valuable from you?” he asked the boy. “I did force you into it, so I won't be mad at you if you're still angry with me,” he added.

“You shouldn't have done it if you didn't want me to be mad at you," Caelane commented. "But I forgive you Anders.”

Anders pulled the boy into his chest and held him tight. Caelane put his arms around Anders and tilted his head back a bit to look up at him. He smiled warmly at the man. He might get angry at Anders, but he could never hate him. He knew that for a fact.

--------------

As soon as they returned, Conor pushed Eli down on the chair, holding his head in place with his right hand and kissing him fiercely. Eli pulled his mouth free and pushed Conor away with all the strength he had in him.

“What the hell do you think you're doing Conor?”

What I should have done twenty years ago,” replied Conor. He grabbed Eli and hauled him over his shoulder. He carried Eli to the bed and dropped him onto it. Eli tried to roll away, but Conor caught him by his shirt and ripped it in the process. Seeing the look in Conor’s eyes scared Eli. He kicked and screamed for Conor to let him go as the man grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him down toward him.

“No...let go... Conor damn you!”

Conor frowned, “You're stubborn aren't you?”

“You're married Conor, and so am I. You can't do this!”

"That is exactly why i'm doing this Eli. You were supposed to be mine, not Sebastain’s. I am only taking what should have been mine.”

Conor yanked Eli’s pants off him and unbuttoned his own pants. He pulled them halfway down to his knees. He spread Eli’s legs apart and settled himself between his thighs. “Hold still!” he commanded when Eli kept struggling. Since Eli wasn't a virgin, Conor didn't feel the need to prepare him for his invasion. He pushed forward with one powerful thrust.

“Ahhh!” Eli cried out at the sudden penetration. His hands gripping the bedsheet beneath him tightly till his knuckles turned white.

Conor stared down at Eli. It was too tight. There could only be one reason why it was this tight. A virgin. Eli was a virgin. “You're still a virgin!" His voice sounded thick, hoarse and incredulous.

Eli rolled his head to the side, refusing to answer Conor. Conor brought his face back to look at him. "You don't know how happy this makes me Eli!” Conor said before he slammed his mouth down to capture Eli’s. Slowly he began to move. “Just relax,” whispered Conor as he thrust in and out of Eli. Tears formed in Eli’s eyes. They ran down his cheek as Conor took what he wanted from him. He bit down on his lips hard to prevent himself from making the slightest sound, not wanting Conor to think that he was enjoying this.

Conor thrust in one final time and spilled his seed inside Eli before rolling off to lay next to him. He was still trying to catch his breath when Eli pushed him off the bed, screaming for him to get out, before getting up and disappearing into the bathroom.

Eli dropped to his knees and curled up into a ball on the bathroom floor. How could Conor do this to him? His hand went up to stifle his cries. He didn't leave the bathroom until he heard Conor leaving the room. He stood up slowly and started a hot bath for himself. He got in and soaked in the hot bath until his white skin turned red. He wiped his tears away and slowly climbed out of the tub. He put the bathrobe on and opened the bathroom door. He walked straight to the bed and climbed into it. He pulled the cover over his body and shut his eyes. He made up his mind that night, he would never forgive Conor.