Eric Linnaeus | Book 3 | Chapter 12 - That Orphan is Always in My Way (Patreon)

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𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕆𝕣𝕡𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝔸𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕄𝕪 𝕎𝕒𝕪ᴍᴏʟʟʏ: ᴍᴀʀᴄʜ, 𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟶. ʀᴇᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: ᴊᴀɴᴜᴀʀʏ, 𝟷𝟿𝟿𝟿.

─── .✦········· ───

The below tunnels of Leúchtend are an undesirable place. Foul-smelling algae grow in the dampness, coating the walls in a sticky slime, and a distant dripping echoes through the tunnels. Under ordinary circumstances, the water is a putrid gray. It flows swiftly through shallow channels and disappears. But after the battle with Lazarus, the rancid water ran slow, tainted with blood and clogged with debris.

Had I not been trained by the Fae, it might have bothered me. Instead, my only concern was returning before the Orphan noticed my absence. His watchful eye was already troublesome, and if I were not back in a timely manner, he would grow suspicious. It’s truly a shame he didn’t perish in the battle.

Seconds stretched into minutes, and after half an hour of travel, I reached my destination unheeded. The air shimmered as I passed through the illusion and stepped from the damp tunnels into a clean, dry area with fresh air. There, a seated figure waited for me with eyes that luminesced from the darkest corner.

“You’re late,” he snapped, as ill-tempered as ever.

“You will have to forgive me; there are few moments in which I may leave my master’s side,” I replied without emotion.

His eyes narrowed in distaste, but the shadowed silhouette of a woman beside him remained perfectly still. “Fine. What word do you bring?”

“We will all be leaving for Dunkel within the coming days.”

“All? You mean both twins will be gone?”

“Yes.”

There was a moment of delay as he thought, “The castle will be unprotected?”

“No. Powerful spells have been established, and their mother has been appointed leadership.”

“What could she possibly do against me?” he scoffed. This fae was hardly more than a petulant child; he had little understanding of subtleties and no discipline. But he did have the correct lineage and would grow into his power well with my guidance.

“She commands the guard, and Ávila is to remain by her side,” I explained. Even in the darkness, I could see his lip curl in distaste. “They will return when their grandfather arrives from Europe. You will have your chance if you are patient.”

“Patient? I’ve been waiting down here in this filth for weeks!”

“And it has served you well, has it not? They cannot find you,” I reminded him calmly.

He ground his teeth in irritation, “Fine. 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡,” he commanded, “And bring me more livestock before you leave. It seems I will be down here for some time yet.”

“As you wish, my Lord,” I gave a polite curtsy as I spoke. The words were arbitrary, but they appeased him, which suited my purposes.

─── .✦········· ───

It had been a long while since I last saw the Dunkel castle; its dark gates and tall towers domineering over the landscape were much the same. But there were some differences. To begin, what was once the slaughterhouse and processing room was no longer. Rather, the kitchens had been expanded, and the remaining area was now cold storage for meats.

The gardens grew lush while the streets were freshened and bustling with activity. Merchants traded weaponry, cloth and trinkets, while ample guards lined the walls. Perhaps the most unusual thing were the Ghouls. Few of the dark-haired creatures intermingled freely with the Fae as they made deliveries.

It made me sick to see. Fae behaving as scavengers and trading with Ghouls on good terms. Disgusting. I would have expected nothing less of Nathaniel, for he has always been weak in that way, but my master indulging his brothers’ new way of life was disturbing. The twins were no more fit to lead than fleas.

Still, I stood behind my master loyally, combing his long hair while he watched his brother train. We were outside in the parkland gardens. Warm light glistened off leaves, and the gentle trickle of running water was interrupted only by the occasional clang of metal.

“Molly, 𝐼 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦,” my master instructed gently. He used no force with the command but enough energy that I didn’t have to think about it to complete the task.

“Of course,” I agreed, unbothered.

“Thank you,” he murmured softly.

My master is prone to unnecessary courtesy unbecoming of his status, and I ignored the polite gesture. If he wished to speak as if he were a lowly servant, I could not stop him, but I certainly didn’t need to acknowledge it either.

I wove his hair effortlessly as my body followed the command, and my attention drifted to watch the other twin. His strikes were slower, weaker, his energy invisible. That was better than I could have hoped for. It pleased me that Nathaniel had not regained his full strength—

A dart struck the tree behind us. It missed my face with less than an inch to spare, the friction blew my hair back as it passed, and my eyes widened. I had failed to notice the Orphan loading an arrow as I was distracted in my analysis, and it caught me unaware.

“Watch it!” Achaicus snapped, annoyed on my behalf.

“Sorry, I slipped,” Eric responded sedately. He was standing beside Calla, holding her bow, and when our gaze met, I knew he had made no mistake. It was interesting that he was still so protective of his owner.

“It’s alright; you missed, and no harm was done,” I assured with grace. He knew as well as I that he couldn’t plainly hit me without consequence, and I enjoyed the slight twinge of irritation my comment invoked.

The Orphan had been particularly annoying since the night of the battle. While we were still at Leúchtend, he had stopped me in the halls outside of the infirmary. He stood with his hand on the wall, barring my entrance with his arm. I greatly preferred him when he was too small to do such a thing.

“Do excuse me; I need to see my master,” I stated. It was rare that he would even leave the room long enough to bother me.

Unfortunately, the blight did not move aside; instead, he spoke, “Where were you?”

“I’m afraid you will have to be more specific, Orphan. Where was I when?”

“During the battle.”

“I was remaining out of the way, as I was commanded to do.” I knew he didn’t believe me, but he also couldn’t disprove the statement.

Eric was silent as he seethed, “You’re not to enter the infirmary,” he announced finally.

“My master is there, and I will remain by his side.”

“No, you won’t.”

“And just how do you intend to stop me?”

“Try it and find out.”

I watched him warily. The brat was more skilled in battle than I, so it was perhaps not worth the argument. “Very well. Then you should be the one to explain to Achaicus why I am not by his side,” I shrugged.

“Fine.”

Eric seemed entirely unphased by that prospect, and I turned to leave but paused as I did so, “Oh, and you should be careful who you threaten, Orphan. You never know who might have seen what-”

I was slammed against the wall before I could get the final words out. The force knocked the breath from my lungs, and the cold steel of a blade at my throat warned me to stay silent. I can’t say I wasn’t surprised; I had never expected him to be so brazen.

“You wouldn’t be the first person I’ve made disappear, Molly. You should keep that in mind before you make idle threats.”

I forced a smile, “I was simply pointing out that there are many eyes in this castle.”

“I’m well aware. And if you cross me, your eyes will no longer be an issue. Do we have an understanding?”

“Of course.”

Footsteps approached down the hall, and Eric’s attention flicked toward the direction of the sound, like a cat refocusing on movement. He hesitated briefly before letting go and disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared. How I wished Nathaniel had never brought him home.

In those moments, I was almost tempted to tell the master’s what I witnessed, for I was perhaps the only person in Leúchtend who knew of what he had done. I had seen Eric leaving the imprisonment chambers with a cloaked figure shortly before Lazarus was pronounced missing, but that was information I wanted to keep until just the right time.

From then on, the close eye he kept on me was relentlessly annoying. It was difficult to achieve my task with him tracking my every move. Still, being Achaicus’s Pet granted me some privileges, and he could not stop me from remaining by my master’s side in plain sight. As such, I was still able to attend important meetings without any trouble:

“Word arrived from Ávila,” Nathaniel was speaking when I returned to the office with a tray of warm tea for them. Since arriving at Dunkel, Achaicus had insisted that his brother keep the bigger office and continue to run the castle as he would. Although it was not uncommon to find them both in the one office working together.

“Is everything alright?” my master enquired.

“Everything is well; see for yourself,” Nathaniel held out the letter for Achaicus to take.

“Still no sign of our father or Radomir?” he sighed, reading it briefly before handing it back.

“Not yet.”

“Do you think they are together?”

My master hesitated momentarily to thank me as I poured his tea for him before answering, “Who could say.”

“It’s peculiar that there has been no word regardless.”

As they spoke, I moved to pour Nathaniel a drink as well. He gave a vague gesture of dismissal, rejecting my offer as he continued. “Whatever, it’s not a problem. You can beat our father again if necessary.”

It was mildly annoying that he wouldn’t drink it. I would have to find another way…

“You have far too much faith in me–… Ow!” Achaicus stopped when a scrunched-up piece of paper bounced off his head. “What was that for?” he complained, looking over to his brother with shy confusion.

“I don’t want to hear your whining.”

“I wasn’t whining…”

“You were.”

Achaicus was about to argue further when there was a knock on the door. “Am I interrupting something?” Eric asked, casually leaning on the doorframe.

“Only my brother’s endless self-doubt,” Nathaniel answered, bemused, “Is there something you need?”

“I wished to speak with you, privately.”

“Is it urgent?”

“…Not especially.”

Nathaniel paused, determining what he wanted before answering. “Very well. Brother, would you and Molly excuse us?”

My master rolled his eyes but obliged the request, “Molly, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒, we will go.”

“Yes,” I agreed simply.

“Where’s your cane?” I heard Nathaniel ask as we were leaving.

“I still can’t find it.”

I kept my face neutral as I passed but could hardly help a small smile. The Orphan wasn’t going to find his cane any time soon; I’d made sure of that.

─── .✦········· ───

As the weeks drew on, the most challenging part of my job became separating myself from Achaicus. He always wished to have me by his side or know where I was. It was not that he distrusted me; rather, he was excessively concerned over my well-being, so I struggled to move unnoticed.

To make matters worse, in the rare instances that I was able to leave Achaicus, I found the Orphan tracking me. So it was not until he left with the other human, Charles, on an external job that I could move freely about the castle. At an opportune moment, I slipped silently into Nathaniel’s office and began searching through the piles of paperwork.

It was impossible to say how long he would be out, but I wanted to find everything they knew, every plan they might have that I wasn’t aware of. Unfortunately, I hadn’t sifted through even half of it before he returned, and I was forced to activate my gift immediately to avoid being noticed.

I remained perfectly still and quiet in the corner while Nathaniel worked at his desk. He sat unmoving for hours, reading through the paperwork and occasionally signing some of it. When bored or agitated, he would fiddle with the silver ring on his thumb or pace the office and only looked up when there was a knock on the door.

It was by then the late afternoon, and he flicked his wrist lazily, sending a small burst of energy to open it. “Calla,” he greeted the girl casually as if expecting her.

In her arms she carried a new stack of paperwork and gave a polite bow as she entered. “The infirmary reports,” she announced.

“Why are there so many? There weren’t any yesterday,” Nathaniel groaned, rubbing his temples.

“There are many today because Markos neglected the reports yesterday in order to have the afternoon off with Miss Walsh.”

“Of course he did.”

That was an interesting piece of information to learn that Markos was spending much of his time with a human girl other than Calla.

“If it would please you, I can assist with the reports,” she offered emotionlessly, and he hesitated, surprised.

“Markos doesn’t want you to return to him immediately?”

“No. He has said I may spend my afternoon as I wish.”

“And paperwork is your ‘wish’?”

“No.”

“Then go do what you want,” Nathaniel sighed, almost as if he were frustrated with her.

“I wished to train with Eric or Charles. As they are away, that is not possible. So I would choose to make myself useful in another way,” she knelt respectfully.

“There’s no need to kneel.”

“My apologies,” she stood again without complaint.

“There’s no need to apologize either,” Nathaniel said, exasperated, while the girl seemed not to know what else to do. “Calla, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.”

He beckoned her over, and she did as she was bid. When she stopped before him he reached out a hand to lightly tug on her hair. “It’s okay,” he told her firmly.

With his statement she looked confused, but dared not move with him still holding a lock of her hair, “I… I’m sorry… You must forgive me, for I do not understand.”

“It’s okay for you to take an afternoon off. Go to the bathhouse and lay in the hot water for a time or go to the seamstress and have them make you a new dress or the smithery to get a new bow. Paperwork is dull. There’s no need for you to suffer with me,” he assured, tucking her hair behind her ear as he pulled away.

“I don’t believe that is what Markos intended.”

“If he should say anything, tell him you have my permission.”

She hesitated still. I was sure Nathaniel’s leniency was as confusing to her as it was to me, although I at least understood he was likely only being so considerate because of her relationship with Eric.

“Go, Calla…” he reiterated.

“…Why?” she asked so meekly I hardly heard it.

He looked as though he was about to answer when a great commotion erupted, catching them both by surprise. Claire stumbled into his office, all but falling through the doors and holding onto the doorframe for support. Her forehead was slick with a cold sweat. She rested a hand on her stomach, and her teeth were gritted.

“I need your help!” she snarled. Her tone was like that of a wild animal caught in a snare, while Nathaniel looked like a deer in headlights, unable to process what was happening. “Right now, Nathaniel!” the girl gasped, holding her stomach tighter.

“What exactly do you expect me to do-”

“I don’t fucking know; just help me!”

“How?! What’s wrong?”

“I don’t KNOW! You’re the fairy, you tell me! I’m in pain.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come here! How the hell am I supposed to help!?”

“Use your magic and do something! If I lose this child, I swear to goodness I’ll-” she doubled over again, and Nathaniel moved to keep her steady on her feet.

“You need to see Markos.”

“No! He can’t know yet!”

“Then I don’t know what you expect me to do-!”

“She’s pregnant…” Calla murmured, causing them both to hesitate, as they had forgotten she was there.

“Yes,” Claire breathed painfully.

“Do you know what this is, Calla?” Nathaniel asked as it dawned on him that she would know better than he.

“Yes.”

“Can it be helped?”

The girl nodded; but made no move. I wonder what she could have been thinking. It was unheard of that a fae should get anyone other than his contracted human pregnant, and it made her obsolete. Perhaps she would do nothing and allow this girl to die along with the child.

“…Yes,” she answered calmly at last.

“Can you help her then?”

“No. The child’s magic is causing false contractions. She needs salt, and there is none here.”

Nathaniel sneered in annoyance, “Fine. Calla, 𝑔𝑜 𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠. 𝐻𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑦; 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠.” He gave the orders with authority, and she moved immediately. In the meantime, he scooped Claire into his arms and left the office. “𝐷𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑,” he commanded, forcing her into involuntary silence as they traveled.

It was difficult to follow them and not be seen while also being close enough to slip into his bedroom behind them unnoticed. Fortunately, they were too distracted to care as the command wore off Claire, and she began to scream again.

Nathaniel ignored that and moved directly to the bathroom. Balancing her on his knee and supporting her with one arm, he sent the request tiles away for warm water single-handedly before dumping her into the tub fully clothed. She looked like a soggy wilting rose with the excess folds of fabric spilling out and turning semi-translucent as the tub began to fill.

Calla arrived with the salt as commanded moments later, and Nathaniel stepped back. “Put the salt in the water around her, not too much.”

That was a good idea, no matter how ironic.

A few minutes passed before there was any noticeable difference, and the girl began to relax. She pushed the hair from her face and laid back in the water as she began to laugh hysterically. “He must be strong!” she spoke through fits of giggles.

Neither Nathaniel nor Calla responded. I imagine they were both too horrified to find any words.

“May I go?” Calla asked quietly after a delay.

“Yes…” Nathaniel agreed, and the girl left without saying another word.

“She’s mad at me, isn’t she?” Claire asked, tilting her head to look at Nathaniel from her slumped position.

“Something like that,” he agreed without elaboration.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room until the girl reached out to him, “Can you come here?”

“Why?”

“Just… Come here.”

He moved begrudgingly, and when he was close enough, she took hold of his arm, hugging it close so that he was forced to sit beside her. I was sure sitting so close to salted water wasn’t comfortable for him. “Thank you,” she murmured.

“You should thank Calla, not I.”

“I meant… for making me talk to Eric first.”

“That wasn’t for your benefit.”

“No, but there were some hard things I needed to hear, and you knew he would tell me…”

“Then why have you not told Markos? He would be able to help more than anyone. Moreover, how has he not noticed on his own yet?”

The girl laughed again, rubbing her stomach in a smooth circular motion. “He hasn’t noticed because I keep him very distracted with other things~”

“I’m not going to guess what you could mean,” Nathaniel responded flatly.

“Besides,” she continued, unfazed, “I’m sure he just thinks I’m just getting fat and is too scared to say anything.”

“That could be possible,” he agreed, amused, “Still, why have you not told him?”

“Did you get those rings made for me?”

Nathaniel looked exasperated as she changed the topic for a second time, “They will be ready soon.”

“Good. I’ll tell him after I propose. I don’t want him to say yes because he feels like he has an obligation…”

“Markos would never agree to anything he didn’t want to do.”

“You don’t know that,” she pouted as he folded his arms.

“I do, actually. Believe me, he’s a self-centered man.”

“Oh yeah? Well, he risked his life for you and your brother.”

“Yes, and it was extremely unlike him.”

“Shut up, it was not!”

Nathaniel chose not to argue with her further and instead asked, “Will you keep this child if he answers no?”

“…I will,” she answered softly, “How could I not? I love him already.”

“Why do you keep calling it a ‘he’? How could you know?”

“Because a mother just knows, okay? Besides, we’ll see for sure when you take us to our next appointment.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you’re going to be his Uncle Nathaniel, and you’re the only other person who knows, so, you kind of volunteered.”

He shook his head, “To begin, I’m not Markos’s brother, so I’m not this child’s uncle. And secondly, I’m not taking you anywhere.”

“Please? Please, please?”

“No,” he grumbled, embarrassed, “And you should probably get out of the salt now. Too long, and you’ll damage the fetus.”

“Him.”

“Whatever.”

The more the girl spoke, the more I understood: she was in love with a fae, and there are many ways to weaponize such love.

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