The Switch

A/N: This chapter is beta by my wonderful beta Kylee.:)

Chapter Seven:


“Now that you can understand me Zephyr, I would like to make it loud and clear to you, I don't like you. You are a bastard and I find you quite annoying!” Eric got up and Zephyr stood up as well. As Eric made a move to leave, Zephyr grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

“Eric wait, don't go, I really want to talk,” Zephyr pleaded.

Eric looked into Zephyr’s gray eyes, “I don't think we have anything to talk about Zephyr.” He turned to leave again but Zephyr still refused to let go of his hand. “Let go of my hand!” he demanded, getting angry.

“Not until we talk,” Zephyr answered firmly.

“Damn, you really are irritating!” Eric muttered. “Fine! you want to talk, we will talk,” he finally agreed.

Zephyr didn't let go of Eric’s hand until he sat back down in his chair. He went back to his seat as well. “Eric, I want to know more about you and the world you came from,” he said as the servants brought the food to them and placed it on the table.

Eric leaned his back against the chair and let out a long sigh. “There isn't much to tell. I have a younger brother named Erin, who is too smart for his own good. My parents are assholes who don't give a damn about their kids. As for the world I came from, there is only one word I would use to describe it. Hell! My world is ruled by a family of bastards. Two years ago, that family’s eldest son Logan took over, and things went from bad to worse. It is like living in a nightmare.”

“Go on,” Zephyr urged, wanting to learn more about Eric and his world.

“I have nothing more to tell you Zephyr,” Eric said as he reached for a dinner bun and broke it in half before he ate it.

“It is not that you have nothing else to tell me Eric. It’s just that you have something that you would rather keep to yourself.”

Eric smiled at Zephyr. “If you already guessed that, then I trust that you will let it slide,” he said.

“I will, only because I have a feeling that you will tell me the rest when you feel that you can trust me.”

Eric snorted. “We shall see about that one,” he commented. Then he continued to chew the bread in his mouth.

Zephyr chuckled, then he began to fill both his and Eric’s plate with the food that had been brought out for them. He handed Eric his plate and the two started eating. “I told you a little bit about me, so why don't you do the same Zephyr?” he heard Eric say. “It is only fair,” Eric added.

“Do you really want to know more about me Eric?” Zephyr asked looking up from his plate. He saw Eric take a big bite of the spicy chicken leg that Zephyr had avoided.

Eric swallowed the food in his mouth before he answered Zephyr. “Not really,” he answered, then he took another big bite out of the spicy chicken in his hand.

“I'm an only child,” Zephyr began. “My father is the descendant of a powerful wizard. Five years ago, my father died and my mother went missing.” That was all Zephyr was going to say about himself. He knew that it wasn't much when compared to Eric, but that was all he could tell him. If he was to tell Eric everything, he knew for sure that things would not turn out great for him.

“You know, this whole getting to know each other thing is not working. We are both hiding things from each other,” said Eric. He pushed the empty plate in front of him to the side, and locked eyes with Zephyr. “Let’s make a deal. You stop with your advances, and I will not try to kill you during our journey to find the gate and this stupid box that my brother sent me here to find,” he said.

Zephyr smiled. “If you agree to remain here in my world with me after you accomplish your goal, then I will try to not steal kisses from you,” he replied.

“That's not an option. No matter how much I hate my world, I still have to return to it for my brother’s sake,” said Eric. He stood up from his chair. “Starting tomorrow, if you dare try to take advantage of me, I won't hesitate to knock the air right out of you!” he warned the man. Then he turned and walked away.

“I will have to do everything in my power to change your mind about that Eric,” Zephyr said to himself in a low whisper as he watched Eric’s back.

Zephyr saw Eric the next day at noon. As soon as Eric saw him walking into the yard towards his horse, Eric turned away. Well after the way things went the night before, he didn't expect anything less from Eric. The beautiful man’s opinion of him still stood the same. If he remembered correctly, Eric had called him a bastard and annoying. Zephyr laughed as he remembered it.

"Things didn't go so well last night?" Alana asked Eric as she helped him to get on his horse. "I couldn't help but notice the dirty look you gave my Lord before you turned your head away Eric," she added.

“We didn't get to know each other like you wanted Alana. Instead we now know even less about each other,” answered Eric.

“What happened?” asked Alana.

“Nothing. We both decided that there were things in our lives that we did not wish to talk about.”

“I see. Then I hope that you will both get to know each other little by little during this journey of yours,” said Alana.

Eric turned his horse to face the gate. He glanced down at Alana, “Don't count on it,” he told her. Then he gave his horse a good kick and rode off ahead.

“My Lord, how are you supposed to win his heart if you are not willing to open yours?” Alana asked when Zephyr reached her side on his horse.

“The same way my father won over my mother,” Zephyr replied. Then he rode off. Alana sighed and shook her head as she watched her lord catch up to Eric.

-------
They had been riding for quite some time now. He could see the village ahead of them. He could feel Zephyr’s eyes on him, the man would not stop staring at him. How was it possible for the man to ride and stare at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder. “Stop staring at me!” Eric snapped angrily at Zephyr when he could no longer stand it.

“But I like watching you,” replied Zephyr, his eyes sparkling with laughter. He had managed to get under Eric’s skin again. He loved it when Eric became angry, that was why he purposely kept staring at him.

“I don't care! I don't like you staring at me like that,” Eric retorted.

“Like what?” Zephyr asked, feigning ignorance.

“Like you want to kiss me,” Eric replied.

“But I do want to kiss you,” said Zephyr.

“Well I don't want to kiss you!” snapped Eric. “ Plus you are a bad kisser Zephyr,” he lied, hoping that the man would leave him alone if he thought that he didn't like his kisses.

“Really? Then let’s see if that is true or not, shall we?” Zephyr reached over and lifted Eric off his horse and on to his as easily as if he was lifting a small child. As Eric opened his mouth to demand to be put down at once, Zephyr covered it with his warm mouth. He thrust his tongue inside deeply and swiftly.

Eric was so surprised that he tried to pull back, but Zephyr tightened his hold on him, not letting him pull away. Zephyr’s mouth was hot, and his tongue ran wild inside his mouth, tasting him. Eric soon found himself responding to the man’s wild kisses. Subconsciously his hands went up and around Zephyr’s neck. When Zephyr suddenly pulled away, Eric could not help but feel a little disappointed that Zephyr had ended the kiss. He glanced up to see Zephyr smiling smugly at him.

“Wipe that smug off your face or I will smack it off for you!” said Eric. Then he elbowed him hard in the rib and slid off of Zephyr’s horse. He walked toward his own horse and decided to walk beside it instead of riding.

“Eric, you really know how to hit a man,” said Zephyr, still feeling the pain from a moment ago.

“Huh! It is what you deserve for what you just did,” Eric snorted.

“But you were enjoying it, you even had your arms around my neck,” Zephyr reminded him.

Eric’s eyes grew mad with anger at the reminder of his stupid actions. “Get down from your horse right now Zephyr and let me kick your ass!” he demanded.

Suddenly from out of nowhere, a spear came flying right towards him. Eric didn't have time to react as he noticed it too late. Zephyr leapt off his horse and pushed Eric down to safety just in time. “Are you okay?” he heard Zephyr ask him. He nodded his head.

“Zephyr!”

Both Eric and Zephyr turned to see who was calling Zephyr’s name. Eric was surprised to see a very pretty woman with dark brown hair, wearing a white gown and running toward them. Zephyr just ignored the woman. He stood up and then helped Eric up as well.

As soon as she reached them, the pretty woman threw her arms around Zephyr’s neck and kissed him in front of Eric. Eric suddenly became enraged with the woman. He wanted to grab her and tear her away from Zephyr, but he didn't. If he did that, Zephyr would think that he had come to like him, and that was the last thing he wanted. Why the hell did he feel that way? He himself did not know either. As he was lost in his thoughts, Zephyr managed to tear the woman away from himself. “Eric?” he heard Zephyr call him. Eric pulled himself out of his thoughts and glared at the man.

“You are quite a charmer Zephyr. I must applaud you for getting kissed by such a pretty woman,” Eric said with a cynical smile.

“I'm really sorry Eric that you had to witness that,” Zephyr apologized to Eric. He turned to the woman clinging to his arm. “Monica, don't you have something to say to Eric?” he scowled at the woman.

“No I don't Zephyr. He hurt you! I saw it with my own two eyes,” replied the woman as she glared at Eric.

“If you saw us, then that would mean you also knew why he hurt me Monica. I insist that you apologize to Eric for almost killing him or I will be forced to hurt you!” Zephyr threatened her.

“You can't be serious! You are going to hurt me because of him Zephyr?” Monica shouted and stomped her foot.

“I am dead serious Monica. I can't have you go around killing everyone I kiss just because you are jealous and can't remember that you and I were over a long time ago. Apologize to Eric right now!” Zephyr demanded harshly.

Monica bit her lips then shouted. “I'm sorry!” she forced herself to say.

“I am not going to accept that kind of apology Zephyr. She needs to want to apologize on her own or else it means nothing,” said Eric. He climbed on his horse and rode ahead into the village.

Zephyr turned to Monica. “There is no excuse for your actions Monica. Don't show your face to me again. If you do, I will kill you!” he warned her. He urged his horse forward and rode off to catch up to Eric. He left Monica alone there on the road to sob her eyes out.

Eric didn't say anything when Zephyr caught up to him. He ignored the man when he tried to explain his relationship with Monica to him. As soon as they entered the town, they were greeted by the villagers.

“Lord Zephyr! It has been so long since you passed by here, we thought for sure that you had forgotten about us,” one of the villagers said.

“I have been very busy everyone,” Zephyr told them. “Let me introduce you to someone special to me.” Zephyr reached over to Eric and took his hand in his. Eric gave him a puzzled look. “This man here with me, his name is Eric. He is someone I wish to marry.” He announced his intentions to the villagers. Eric gasped in horror. His mouth hung open in shock.

“Lord Zephyr, you can't be serious. He is a man, he can't give you any sons!” The person who said this was Monica, who somehow managed to catch up to them on foot after she cried her eyes out. She glared menacingly at Eric.

Eric, seeing the way the woman was glaring at him, reached over and put his arms around Zephyr’s neck. He gave Zephyr a long kiss in front of everyone and then pulled away. “I will marry you Zephyr," he said to aggravate Monica. He succeeded at making the woman furious, he could see the jealousy and anger burning in her eyes.

“You are a man. How can you kiss Lord Zephyr who is a man like you? Don't you feel any shame for doing such a thing?” Monica said angrily.

“If I should be ashamed, then Lord Zephyr should be as well. Since I met him, he has been stealing kisses from me,” Eric smirked at the woman.

“Lord Zephyr! You can't let him get away with saying such things about yo---”

Zephyr looked at Monica. “Didn't I just warn you not to show your face in front of me Monica? Do you really wish for me to kill you that badly?” he reminded the woman. Then he turned to the villagers.

“I came by here to announce to you all that I cannot give you my protection from the Gias any longer,” he said to them. “I am sorry to have to break this terrible news to you all, but I have a very important thing to do right now, and I don't know if I will even make it back alive,” he added. “I hope that you all understand.” he added again.

The head of the villagers came forward. “Lord Zephyr, you and your family have been protecting us from the Gia for many years, and for that we thank you. We all wish you good luck on this mission. Who can we go to see to ask for their help to protect us?” he asked.

“Alina has already asked someone very close to her to protect you all during my absence. I can assure you that this person’s spell is a strong as mine. The Gia will not be able to enter the village. This person will arrive a week from now, until then do your best to protect yourselves,” replied Zephyr.

“Monica turned and ran off. Eric looked up at the sky and then turned to Zephyr “You know, it’s getting dark. We need to go,” He reminded Zephyr.

Zephyr nodded his head and said his goodbye to the villagers. Both he and Eric urged their horses forward and rode out of the village. The village people sighed. “Is our lord really going to marry that man?” one of them asked the others.

“Yes he is going to marry that man. Didn’t you see the look he had in his eyes when he gazed at that man next to him?” said the villager chief. He spun around to face his fellow villagers. “Okay people. Go and gather any weapons you can find and use them to defend yourselves. You heard what our Lord said.” Everyone hurried off to do just that. Night was coming and the Gia would arrive soon. Without Lord Zephyr’s spell, they would be in for a long, rough night.


End of chapter seven.