Tristan

Vausterland

The sun shone bright through the tall glass windows, and so did the faces surrounding the long council table. A rare sight where the council members were not either tense or bored as they usually were. Because earlier that morning, good news had come from the North.

"As you may have already heard, Lord Bernard is confirmed dead," King William announced as the council started.

"Ha! I won the bet!" Prince Stefan raised his fist in the air, and everyone turned to look at him curiously. "Sophia and I made a bet on whether that Northman will kill Bernard or not," he explained. "She was so certain we are all being played and –"

"And why are council discussions taken outside the council chamber?" William asked with a narrowed stare.

"Well it's just Sophia..." Stefan smiled sheepishly. "And since she's part of the agreement, so I thought maybe she had the right to know."

"Your Grace, it is great news to learn that Lord Bernard is dead," one of the elder council members said, saving Stefan from William's dark glare. "And that means the Northmen are going according to plan."

"Still doesn't mean we can trust them," the old Lord Aryan of Tyrya snorted.

"Why not?" Tristan objected. "They fulfilled the first half of our agreement and proved their good will."

"What good will? Because they killed Lord Bernard?" Aryan sneered.

"Of course. Killing someone like Bernard is no small feat."

"They would have killed him anyway," Aryan said. "That boy with the short white hair, he would have killed Bernard and taken his place anyway without us being involved, I'm telling you. It's just an act to make us trust them."

"You are a very suspicious person Lord Aryan. You need to have some more trust in people," Tristan frowned.

"And you are one to speak about trust? We trusted you to defend Grytia and you lost it in a single battle because you trusted the enemy to fight clean."

"Aryan, that talk will not be necessary at the moment," William said.

"Not necessary?" Aryan turned to William with a deep scowl. "When I state facts it's not necessary, but you let this human lecture us nonsense on trusting the enemy, the same enemy who fucked us in battle because they played dirty."

"Aryan!" King William warned.

"Lord Aryan, Lord of Tyrya, must we all remind you that this human you so disrespect is King William's army commander?" a wingless knight said. "He lost Grytia, yes. So what if he lost one battle out of hundreds? You Lord Aryan, would have done no better had it been Tyrya attacked in Grytia's place."

"Come on my dear Lords, we're not here today in order to argue!" Stefan said cheerfully. "We should rather be celebrating. Bloody Heavens, Lord Bernard is dead!"

"I agree with the Crown Prince," a young Lord said in an attempt to lift the tension in the room.

"We can't simply celebrate and keep our guard down," Aryan insisted, still scowling. "Even if you want to trust the Northmen, we still have to remain alert and make sure our forces are ready for any possible disruptions."

"I agree with Lord Aryan on this," one of the elder Lords said.

"Very well. We shall keep our forces on alert. And I shall also send to the southern state of Esseria to keep their men ready in case we need them," King William announced before he turned to Tristan. "And you Tristan, keep an eye on our prisoner."

***

Not long after council ended, Tristan entered Mikal's chamber with a smirk on his face and a big bottle of wine in his hand. Mikal who was apparently talking to his reflection in the large gold framed mirror, turned to greet Tristan with a deep frown.

"Why the sour face?" Tristan chuckled. "Don't like what you see in that mirror? I told you it wasn't a good idea –"

"What do you want?" Mikal cut him off, his voice full of resent.

"What could I possibly want from you," Tristan teased, raising up the large bottle of wine, "other than honoring you with the great pleasure of my company?"

"Are you drunk?" Mikal narrowed his eye.

"Not yet." Tristan walked straight to the table where he opened the wine bottle and poured out two cups. "But I plan to. Care to join me?" Tristan handed a cup of wine to Mikal while he held back his deep amusement at Mikal's confused expression.

"Stop fooling around," Mikal scoffed before he turned back to the mirror, frowning in frustration at his reflection. He sighed impatiently and brushed his fingers through a couple of messy locks, smoothing them down over his right brow. Tristan couldn't help but chuckle as he realized the cause of Mikal's distress.

"Stop looking in the mirror. It won't make you any prettier you know?"

"Why the fuck are you here?" Mikal turned around again with a deep scowl.

"I'm here to celebrate! Oh haven't you heard?" Tristan held up his cup and smirked, enjoying every moment of taunting Mikal. "Lord Bernard Nordstrom, Lord of Nordenvania and Guardian of the North, is dead!"

Mikal's earlier bitterness disappeared at once and his mouth hung open for a long moment as he looked up at Tristan in shock.

"Are you... sure?" he barely whispered, his hands shaking so visibly.

"Dead sure! We received an official statement this morning."

Mikal's lips twitched, and suddenly, he started laughing. Tristan smiled in amusement as he watched Mikal laughing so genuinely, his single eye sparkling with excitement, and his face so radiant and pure, looking like an innocent child. He had never seen Mikal looking so happy. So happy that tears started falling down his cheeks while his body shook, both laughing and crying.

"Why are you crying now?" Tristan teased him. "Do you regret it?"

"Not in the least!" Mikal wiped his tears and turned to Tristan with a determined look. "I've never wanted anything more than I wanted Bernard dead. This should have been done a long time ago..." Mikal added, almost speaking to himself.

"Well, I'm glad you got what you wanted then." Tristan forced his smile in place. So Aryan was right about this. Mikal would have killed Bernard nonetheless. Perhaps it was wise not to trust him completely yet. And that was just why he needed to get as close to him as possible.

"So," Tristan smiled cheerfully, "as a treat for fulfilling your first part or our agreement, I will entertain you with a little game of chess tonight."

"Chess? With you?" Mikal laughed. "You're the worst chess player I've ever seen."

"Good! Then not only tonight, I will come here every night so you could teach me how to play better." Tristan teased as he walked towards the chess table and seated himself comfortably, his cup of wine still in his hand. "And I shall have my first lesson now."

***

Tristan was already slightly drunk when he arrived at the tavern. The music banged off the walls and the dancers whirled and swayed through the flashing lights and the hanging smoke. Tristan was not here to drink his pain away like he usually did. Tonight, he was here to celebrate, his first step towards getting Grytia back.

"How was your first chess lesson?" Cylia shouted over the loud music and Edward laughed.

"Good! My chess teacher turned out to be surprisingly patient." Tristan shouted back.

"Did you get anything useful out of him?"

"It's still too early, Cylia," Tristan replied. "But apparently, Aryan might be right about him."

The three of them were suddenly interrupted as a heavenly beautiful blonde dancer dressed in a thin golden dress approached them, winking as she slowly swayed her hips and revealed her soft thighs through the long slits in her skirt.

"Good heavens!" Edward gaped at the woman who totally ignored him and moved closer to Tristan.

"Good heavens indeed," Tristan smiled back at the dancer as she continued to approach him with teasing winks and taunting sways. And just as he thought she was close enough for him to touch her, she whirled away, disappearing through the crowds. Cylia laughed out at his disappointment before she raised up her empty cup and shouted out for more ale.

"I see you're starting to show interest in women again." Edward teased while Tristan rolled his eyes. "I was worried you have grown to become like Jared." Edward smirked towards Jared who sat at the further end of the table, only to receive a dark glare from the big beast.

"Theo!" Cylia smiled as a young waiter came to serve them ale, a soft looking boy with straight blonde hair that framed his jawline. "Oh dear, how could you get any thinner? Is Magnus starving you or what?"

"Of course not!" the boy giggled nervously in response while he poured out their ale.

"And where's Alex? I can't see him around here tonight," Cylia asked. Of course she had to ask. Cylia being a regular customer in this tavern knew every single waiter and dancer in here. And Alex was her favorite.

"He is here, somewhere..." Theo said, his voice a bit shaky, and he nervously tucked a lock of blonde hair behind his left ear.

Amid the blasting music and buzzing chatter, a sudden loud crash was heard from somewhere near the back of the tavern. Theo gasped, but the few guests who had seemed to notice the sound soon turned back to drinking and dancing as if nothing had happened at all.

"I... I must go!" Theo said, horror all over his face, and he quickly scurried away to where the crashing sound had come from.

"There's something fishy going on here tonight," Cylia said as she raised the cup of ale to her lips. "And I'm worried about Alex," she frowned, and Tristan rolled his eyes. Of course she was worried about Alex. What she found interesting about that boy, who was always ever mistaken for a girl, Tristan had no idea. "I'm worried about everyone working here to be honest."

"I can't blame you," Edward said. "We know Magnus is not exactly the kindest Master in Vausterland."

"If only I had enough gold... I'd buy this whole tavern, with all the hot waiters and entertainers included." Cylia smiled dreamily, apparently beginning to get drunk. "And the dancers too, so you guys could have fun as well. And I won't charge you."

"How generous, my Lady!" Edward chuckled while Tristan only shook his head.

"And she always tells me to go easy with the drinks," Tristan scoffed before he drained down another cup of ale.

"Miss Cylia!" an urgent pleading voice interrupted them. "Please help!"

Tristan, Edward and Cylia turned around to the speaker, and they found Theo panting before them with a horrified look in his round blue eyes.

"It's Alexander. Magnus is going to kill him!" the boy cried amid the loud music. Tristan frowned and sat upright as his protective instincts kicked in.

"What happened?" Cylia asked, serious concern on her face.

"I'm not sure, but it seems that Alex had tried to run away earlier. I don't think he really managed to go any further than the next street, because last I had seen him he was in the kitchen, but then a few minutes later I found the guards dragging him in through the back door." The boy paused to catch his breath. "Now Magnus and his guards are beating the hell out of him in the cellar."

Cylia quickly got off her seat only to be stopped by Edward.

"Wait, if he's a runaway slave, I am not sure we have the right to interfere," Edward advised.

"No Please!" Theo pleaded. "He won't survive the beatings, he's so weak! Magnus hasn't even let him eat anything for the past three days and he can barely stand on his feet..."

"Where the fuck are they?" Tristan cut in as he rose off his seat, a deep scowl on his face. The one thing that Tristan could never tolerate was allowing a living creature to starve, no matter what or who they were.

"In the cellar. You go straight that way then turn left and you'll find the stairs. You'll know the room when you hear the screams," Theo almost sobbed. "I can't go with you, I don't want Magnus finding out I told you anything. Please don't let him know I said anything."

"Don't worry sweetheart." Cylia patted Theo's head.

Followed by Edward, Cylia, and Jared, Tristan stormed through the packed tavern, leading the way between the dancers and raised ale cups and floating smoke, until they reached the stairs. As they stopped at the bottom, the blasting music faded behind them, and to the left, distant distorted screams reached through a long dark corridor. Tristan hurried in that direction, struggling to keep his body from staggering under the effect of his earlier drinks.

He stopped at one door, where loud consecutive thwacks and hysteric screams reached from inside. Without thinking, he kicked open the door, and his face turned dark at what he saw. Another thing he didn't tolerate was hurting small helpless creatures...

A terribly thin wingless boy lay sprawled face front on the stone floor, completely naked, his back covered in long slashes up from his shoulders and all the way down to his calves. Without any clothes on, he looked even smaller than Tristan had remembered, his bones showing through his pale skin.

"Lord Tristan," Magnus, a large unpleasant winged man, smiled nervously as he saw Tristan standing in the doorway, "I would have loved to welcome you under better circumstances, but you see, I am quite busy –"

"Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?" Tristan scowled at Magnus and his guards as he entered the room, followed by his own men. "Three large grown men mercilessly beating up such a small boy."

"Why Lord Tristan, I believe you have no right to dictate how I discipline my own slave," Magnus narrowed his eyes, his hold tightening on his whip.

"He's no longer your slave." Tristan challenged. "I'm buying him."

"Well, I am afraid he's not for sale," Magnus challenged back.

"Very well. If you don't sell him willingly, I will have to take him by force."

"Just because you're King William's advisor you think you can take whatever you want? That's power abuse."

"And beating up a weak and helpless boy, moreover starving him to death, is not fucking power abuse?" Tristan growled. "Jared, bring that boy here," Tristan commanded, and Jared stepped forward at once towards Alexander. But despite his menacing form, Magnus's guards bravely stepped in to block his way.

"Magnus, ask your men to step aside." Tristan reached to the hilt of his sword. "I don't think King William will allow you to keep this tavern running if things end badly tonight."

Magnus only stood there glaring at Tristan, before he grudgingly gestured for his guards to move away. Jared took off his black cloak and knelt before Alexander, wrapping up his shuddering and bleeding body. Alexander kicked and screamed as Jared carried him off the floor, as if touched by fire. But Jared, not the least affected, simply pinned Alexander's weightless body within his huge arms and silently walked towards the door.

"You'll pay for this Tristan." Magnus scowled behind Tristan and his men as they turned to leave.

"It's Lord Tristan. And of course I'll pay. I told you I'm buying him." Tristan taunted, knowing well that's not what Magnus meant. "Oh, and I'm buying that pretty blonde dancer you've got up there too."

*********

So, apparently we have new characters joining Tristan's house soon! Any expectations how they will turn out to be?

If you like this chapter, don't forget to leave a comment and vote!