Silver Eyes

A/N - hah! How awesome am I? Two updates in two days. smint45 - hopefully in two weeks you will have lots of chapters to read! I am going on holiday as well, but I'll be on a plane for eight hours and fully intend to spend that time writing!
Enjoy and don't hate me too much for the ending. (Remember - killing the author = no more story)

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The first town they came to after the ghost town was definitely a new experience. Two men, one a wizard and one a mercenary (or so he introduced himself as) with a small child; a girl at that. It definitely turned a few heads, but luckily the story they had come up with was simple and easy to accept. It was more or less true anyway. It was explained that Naia was an orphan, and she had been found barely alive with her murdered family. The only inaccurate part was that they had been travelling and were attacked, apparently by wild animals. Most of the people told were suitably saddened and Naia even gave a few small smiles with all of the attention she received. The experience repeated itself with each new town, and they became the main theme of gossip wherever they went. D’rian certainly didn’t like attention being drawn to them, but unfortunately it was inevitable. And certainly better to be seen as two rescuers. Her bright red hair and amber eyes were markedly different than Asahi’s strawberry blond and green. Of course no one dared look within D’rian’s hood to see if there was a similarity, and generally once the story spread people stopped trying to figure out who the little girl belonged to. It was obvious that all of the younger women, older girl, and any couple who knew of someone of marriageable age, were sizing Asahi up. Of course; he would make a fantastic husband. Not that he hadn’t received looks before; he was too good-looking not to, but now he was handsome, altruistic, and good with children.

Of course, D’rian’s mind kept pushing forward hopeless fantasies of the two of them giving up the ridiculous mission, settling down in the middle of nowhere and raising Naia together. He cursed his subconscious to hell and back for the unreasonable and illogical thoughts, but they wouldn’t stop. If, he scoffed to himself, he could tell Asahi he preferred men and was Fae without getting killed outright or arrested. The scary part was that he found himself thinking, with watching the Knight interact with the little girl who was ever so slowly warming up to him, that perhaps Asahi would be safe to tell his secret to. He found himself weighing his options in his mind, wandering if it would be so bad to tell him. Thinking positively, the man may not care, and with that knowledge would be able to help D’rian keep that secret if and when they did find the rebel group. Of course, the other option was the Knight either killing him on the spot or dropping everything to drag him back to the castle for execution. Perhaps he would even force the Fae to finish their mission and then turn him in.

Either way he was a coward. Even if he worked up the courage to tell Asahi, it was because he was tired of having to deal with everything on his own. He had never allowed himself to really get close to others before, except for the couple who had taken him in, and even then it was different. It was a frustrating situation, and he was starting to hate his weakness quite a bit. The worst part was the girl. Naia may have been very young, but that actually made her instincts even better, and as she had basically claimed him as an adoptive parent, she would be especially sensitive to his moods. If his indecisiveness and depression started affecting her as well, it was unlikely the Knight would overlook it and possibly force the issue. It was obvious the redhead knew he was keeping secrets, and after the debacle in the destroyed town it was safe to assume Asahi knew it centred around non-humans. It made him long for his tower and his unassuming books. Thankfully that awful tense silence hadn’t lasted long, just enough for Asahi to say without words that he knew D’rian was harbouring a secret. Upon reflection (and calming down from the mind-numbing fear of discover) he realized that Asahi was too good of a person to not tell him if he had in fact known. Whether a good or bad reaction, he wouldn’t have been sadistic enough to keep D’rian guessing like that.

Both of their tasks were also going less than well. While everyone agreed that Naia was adorable, no one was willing to take in another mouth, one that wouldn’t be able to pull her own weight for years yet. Which led to their other problem. They had not heard even a rumour of the rebel groups, and since they had to stay out of the taverns with a child, it was harder to get information. After the second town, they had decided that it would be best to have Asahi go down and try to get information while D’rian stayed with Naia. The wizard was less than thrilled with this, but since the kitsune was still a bit nervous over the tall Knight, there wasn’t much choice.

Now, a bit over three weeks out from the ghost town, Naia was finally comfortable enough with the taller man and had in fact fallen asleep on his lap after dinner. D’rian had found himself trying and failing to control a snicker at the uncomfortable position the redhead was stuck in. He was seated in one of the hard wood chairs that the inn provided in their better rooms, his shoulder wedged uncomfortably against the wall, and awkwardly bent to keep the girl from sliding onto the floor. Asahi glared at the wizard, but was still reluctant to disturb the sleeping child. The Fae wasn’t about to let this opportunity past. He quickly volunteered to do the information gathering for the night, and fled the room.

It didn’t take long for D’rian to realize how poorly he was suited for this. He didn’t like talking to people, he had never been drinking before, and to inspire confidence people generally wanted to see the face of the person they were talking to. So he decided to just sit in a unobtrusive spot and listen. If there was anything of interest, he could easily send Asahi down later. But even that hadn’t gone as planned as he was told not too subtly to pay for a drink or give his chair to a paying customer. In small towns like this there was generally only one tavern and nothing else to do once the sun went down, so the tavern was, of course, packed.

He passed over a few coins and got the cheapest, and therefore hopefully least intoxicating, ale they had. The serving girl raised an eyebrow, but came back with a glass that was, as he had expected and hoped, very watered down. She gave him an amused smile, but refrained from saying anything mocking about his lack of tolerance, which he was grateful for. He wondered idly if the girl was one of Asahi’s many admirers and she was being nice just to have a chance at him. D’rian tugged at the hem of the robe, wishing that he could remove his hood, and perhaps get his own admirers. It was too much to even consider Asahi being one of them. The wizard shook off his depressing thoughts and brought his mind back to where it was supposed to be - listening for

rumours. He half closed his eyes and went into a sort of half trance, so he could concentrate on picking out any conversations that might be of interest. Most people were talking about inane things, how hunts were going, who was planting what, who was marrying whom, and the other gossip that thrived in small towns were everyone knew everything about everyone else. It was the reason why, after the first few tarrying months he could remember, he had to make for the city, where no one cared what anyone else did unless it affected them. There was plenty of speculation about the two of them and the girl. His gut twisted when he heard several people call Naia ‘their daughter’ wishing it could be true.

Several hours passed, and he heard nothing of interest. Except rumours of his and Asahi’s love life which had his libido flaring and his imagination on a rampage. D’rian hadn’t even noticed when the barmaid, feeling sorry for the man, had continued to bring him drinks. He had, after all, grossly overpaid just for one cup of ale. He leaned his head against the wall, not noticing when the hood of his robe slid off his head. The tavern was practically empty at this point, only one conversation going on, a rather boring one about the weather and travelling. He ignored it and decided that it was high time to head back to the inn room. He stood a bit shakily, and noticing the empty glasses, left a few more coins. His innate Fae grace saved him from crashing into tables or walls, but there were a few close calls. The other couple were sitting by the door, and D’rian felt like the man was staring right at him, a strange sensation since no one was ever able to meet his eyes. Blinking slowly, he shrugged off the feeling as too much to drink and needing his bed, and staggered out the door to the building next door. He decided to compliment the innkeeper the next day for building his establishment so close to the tavern. Damn convenient. It took him a few tries, but the key finally worked and he found himself standing over the bed Asahi had chosen. Naia was curled up at his side. D’rian stared down at the two, leaning over them to watch the moonlight play on Asahi’s noble features. A wisp of reddish blond hair had fallen over his eye, and without thinking he reached out to brush it back. He felt his skin shudder slightly from the light touch and his heart skipped a beat. He wished the man was awake, that he had shivered out of desire, not reflex. “So gorgeous. Gods, I wish I could tell you how I felt. I wish…I wish for a lot of things, you know? I wish I could tell you how I felt, I wish you would feel the same. I wish my family hadn’t died. I wish I remembered my family. I wish Naia’s family hadn’t died. I wish I could tell you I was Fae without fear. But I really wish we could be the perfect little family I saw in my dreams. Stupid right? Heh…or I at least wish I could have some more of that ale. Barmaid was nice. Barmaid probably wanted you. She can’t have you though. If I can’t, she can’t. I’m prettier than her anyway.” His ramblings were broken by a yawn and he settled down on the bed, even if it was a tight fit. His own hand he left resting by Asahi’s cheek, the other he snaked under Naia, holding his makeshift family close. He drifted off into an alcohol induced stupor with a smile on his face.

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D’rian woke the next morning feeling as if the entire army had parade marched through his head. He opened his eyes to close them just as quickly. Stabbing pains joined the marching. Perhaps there was a war going on up there. He desperately needed water, but the thought of moving made him feel nauseous. The wizard reached for his energy to heal, but only succeeded in curing his headache slightly. Apparently hangovers were magic repellent; just his luck.

What in the nine hells had possessed him to drink that much last night? It had only been a glass or two right? Ugh. If he saw that ‘friendly’ server again he was going to punch her, girl or no girl. At least he had managed to get back to the inn room in more or less one piece. A quick glance in the pouch tucked inside his robes showed he hadn’t been robbed, which was good. He wouldn’t have been able to live that one down. Bad enough he came back drunk, if he had gotten robbed as well Asahi would never let him out of his sight again. Asahi…where was he? Normally the Knight slept longer than the wizard, but he didn’t seem to be in the room. Neither was Naia. The other bed appeared untouched, and he started to panic. He forced himself to calm down and think logically. The two most obvious reasons were that he either went into the wrong room, not a big deal as this one appeared unoccupied other than himself, or Asahi and Naia got tired of waiting for him to wake up and went to get breakfast without him. Grimacing, he forced himself to stand and shakily made his way to the pitcher set on the dresser. Drinking a good portion of it, he felt decidedly better.

Feeling more human, he glanced around the room and determined it was their room as all of their stuff was there, except for what was left with the horses. They had kept the mare as Asahi’s stallion glared murder anytime they tried to sell or trade her. They kept the two well apart from one another for now though, not wanting to have to deal with a pregnant mare or newborn foal. It was a relief that the stallion was as well trained as he was or there could have been injuries. D’rian slumped down at the table, wanting to go back to sleep but knowing that it wouldn’t make him feel better. What he should do is go and figure out where Asahi and Naia went, but that felt like far too much work and the sun was much too bright. His eyes were drawn to a piece of paper on the table, and he surprised to see it as paper was hard to find in these towns, since most couldn’t read or write past their names.

The note was from Asahi, and the words left him stunned.

'Rian - went to clean up your mess and see how many other people you babbled to about your heritage. If you wake up before I return DO NOT LEAVE THE ROOM.'

D’rian’s head hit the table with a muted thump, his brain seemed frozen. He turned to watch the door, wondering if it would be Asahi, his friend or Asahi, his executioner who walked through next.

Tbc…