"You're a bad liar, but a personal free servant for Satsu would be worthy, as no one yet has been able to handle him and his powers like we can. Satsu doesn't have half the guts to do that." The man slicked back his fading black hair, and moved with such grace he nearly floated along in his robes. "Come. You will have housing here, and a small bit of coinage as thank you. Caroline would not be so kind, but she is busy punishing Satsu for I do believe he would've lost that dastardly horse. It has a weak front leg and scares easily. The leg is a birth defect, but he insisted we keep it. Now it's probably being pawned off in the market, or being turned into mincemeat. And if it's in the forest? It won't last long. A weak hearted thing like that, will have it's head ripped off by a troll and turned into dinner. I'll show you to your room. I'll have a servant bring up your bags. Tell me, why are you travelling?"
"Oh, I don't have any bags," Kayin said. "And I travel because I don't have a home. And because there's nothing more interesting to do, sir. Employment as a merchant or a blacksmith doesn't appeal to me. And no one would have me anyway."
"You would have too gain money and such somehow. Your clothes are too refined to be scoundrel as you claim yourself to be." He began to go up a tower, arms folded behind his back as he opened the door. "And a traveller has bags. Or else you would live here. Marilynn!" A girl in a maids outfit with dark brown hair, in a near plaited braid rushed up the stairs and appeared next to him. "Get the bags off of our guests horse, and then take the steed to our stable boy. No peeking into the bags." "Yes sir." And away she rushed to do her Kings bidding.
"Again. I don't have bags. I'm. . . a thief. How would a half-elf such as myself get refined clothes like these, as you say. You will see once you retrieve the horse. There's no reason for me to have any bags, and I swear I'm not lying to you." He shook his foot a bit, the gold button irritating his foot. "It's very kind of you to offer me this room, Your Majesty."
"Thieves have to have somewhere to put their stolen goods. Thieves are common here, and you'll be under careful eye. I suggest you not steal a single thing from this castle. It will not be us, but the crazy old wench at the edge of the forest who will send beasts much scarier then any sleeping dragon after you." Up arrived Marilynn, the whole saddle draped across her shoulders as she nearly fell a few times, before plopping it on the floor. "See? Your saddle is a bag. Little trinkets tucked into it's folds. Alas. I shall go find my wife, and make sure she hasn't killed Satsu. We still have use for him. Make yourself at home. Jeremiah, the butler, will announce dinner soon."
Kayin said nothing to the king, simply watched as he left, then turned to his new room. It seemed to be relatively bare, but he took off his cloak and threw it on the chair in the room, then looked out the window, pushing the heavy curtain aside. "Just relax," he said to himself, and shook out his arms and rolled his shoulders.
Echoes of the kings footsteps broke the much shriller bounces of sound of his wife's screeching at Satsu. He was cowering in the fireplace, trying to avoid his mother. She was severely disappointed in him, and was threatening to pour water all over him until he was near death. He was profusely apologizing, and flaming all over. She would've grabbed him if she could. The king walked in and grabbed his wife, and led her away, speaking to her in low solemn, calming tones. She was about to pop a vein she was so mad, but luckily the king saved her and Satsu in the process. He immediately thundered up the stairs, bolted past Kayins room, and he slid into his own, where he began his breathing exercises to calm down.
Kayin opened the door to his room and climbed the stairs, standing outside of Satsu's room for a moment. He knocked three times and said, "Your Majesty," in a soft voice, trying not to aggravate him. "May I come in?"
"Come in." He said softly, as he lay on the cold floor, belly up. He was deep breathing. A large bruise was blooming on his cheek, from where his mother had harshly slapped him.
"Can I. . . assist you in some way, Your Highness?" He kept his hands tucked behind his back and his gaze averted. He wasn't used to feeling protective, but for whatever reason, he felt like Satsu needed protection.
"The sooner you kill my parents the sooner I stop going through this hellful abuse, and be free." He said with a growl, but the ashes welling in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks revealed that his toughness was just an act so he'd stop hurting. He lay there, continuing to breath. His hair was bright orange, and sparking all over but slowly it stopped crackling so much, and calmed down.
"Well, don't be so outright about it! Someone might be listening," Kayin hissed and moved away from the door. "Look, do you want to talk about it? Or something? I don't know how to help you."
"What's the point? It's not gonna fix everything. All of the staff here are spiteful,and forced to work here. They'll be happy to dance on their graves." He seemed very different here, cooling down. Not the anxious and skittish person as is his normal personality. His breathing exercise was a certain grounding pattern, a magic that took away the anxiety and revealed parts of him he didn't know he had.
"Okay. Still. The king and queen might have spies. Just. . . try and keep it down, okay? We could both be killed." Kayin paced around the room. "What do you want me to do? In the short term, I mean. Besides kill them."
