Breakfast almost finished, I called, "Aelius, sit up. Can you feed yourself or do you need me to help?"

Slavian'Aeterna and his friend, whom he called Nel'Andra, sat the table. Slavian complained he could not read, but occupied himself with looking at my assortment of stolen documents and notes. Hearing my tone, he sat up expectantly. Nel'Andra turned his lit eye towards me and, grabbing a ledge, pulled himself up onto the ceiling rafters just above Slavian.

"I-I can make do." My Sun-Child whispered from the door.

I jumped out of my skin. His steps were quiet as a mouse and his voice almost as much. His eyes were unfocused and pale, and his cheeks almost as much. His hair was matted and oiled in old sweat, and his discolored clothes were hanging off his shoulders so you could see his ribs. Even Slavian paused on seeing him.

My heart didn't slow after his little scare; whether out of pride he could stand or horror for his state, I couldn't say.

Aelius held on to the doorframe and moved along the wall with his hand outreached, taking slow steps. At last he found the table. "Where is the doctor friend?" He asked.

Probably doing a task for Caius, I figured. We had a mission to do. "He has a life of his own, my sun. He can't be here all the time."

"Son? Scar-Face is your father?" Slavian asked.

"Sun-child." Aelius whispered. He found a chair and took a breath, steadying himself, before moving it out to sit.

"What's that?"

"Where are you from?" Aelius asked, a touch judgmental.

"Ref."

"Oh, uh, I don't know what Ref call it."

I explained, "Basically, I adopt him if something happens to his family. Slavian, can you clear the table?" I sort out breakfast into the horn bowls and plates.

Papers fell to the floor all at once and I turned to see Slavian had chosen to clear the table in the swiftest manner possible, albeit lacking any manners possible. Then he had the gall to sit up proudly and expectantly. 

I dumped Slavian's share back where it was, earning a frown. I put some in front of Aelius, earning a smile.  "Slavian, you can eat when this is clear."

"I did." He complained.

I prayed to the First Ancestors for patience. Who raised him? "Do you want to eat, or do you want to be rude?"

Slavian gaped, aghast, and at first, stubborn, but his hunger quickly overcame his pride and he picked up the scattered papers. Aelius leaned down from where he was and, even in his weak, blind state, helped by finding what was immediately around him. "Even blind, he knows what to do." I iterated.

"Whatever." Slavian grumbled. With everything collected into his arms, he asked, "Where do I dump this? You don't have any chests or nothin'."

Oh, if I had my master's stick! "First of all, you won't be 'dumping' anything. You will be putting it where it belongs properly. Second, it is judgmental and rude to bring up my poorer standard of living."

Slavian glared at me. If I was anyone else, sure, he might be able to get away with his behavior, but then anyone else would have sought to please his father or been too terrified of his father to act. I was neither, with the added bonus that his father left him in my care. Lastly, if he wanted a battle of pride this feral child couldn't have asked for a worse opponent then a king. So, to put it all in a way he could understand: he could kiss the palest part of my ass.

It took significantly longer this time for his hunger to win, but eventually he came around. "Where do I 'put' it?" Slavian asked.

"Hm." I thought about it briefly. To be fair, there really wasn't anywhere to put it. In my depressed state I had little furniture. "Put it under the bed for now, out of the way."

Slavian did so. Satisfied, I served him and we ate in peace. Aelius was weak, but left me in awe with his resolve, so I let him be as long as he had the strength and will. Slavian turned to questions quickly with a hunger equal to his stomach. Where were we from? Where is Kes? What was Kes like? Why are our full names so long? Why does Aelius have tattoos on his fingers? How did I get my scar? How did I meet his father? Why was Aelius weak and pale? These questions and many more were pressed against me at a rapid pace alongside his devouring, and I answered some I felt were prudent or acceptable, but not others as it was not the time for them or it would be awkward to answer.

Slavian released a loud, spine chilling belch. I sighed. "What?" Slavian asked, laughing. "It was a compliment!"

"Definitely, not a prince." Aelius murmured, albeit snickering. I eyed them both, and let them be boys as they laughed.

The end of the evening meal concluded better than it had started. The prince obeyed my wishes and helped me bring the used dishes out to the fountain. Aelius' strength renewed and he came after us. I took a bag of sand and skin of vinegar. We filled a vase with the fountain's water and set to work. 

The fountain of the tower flowed with clean water from a hidden place down as a waterfall into a pool where people sat, cleaned their laundry and dishes, and drank from. The tower's water was as wonderous as its light and air. No matter the floor, there was fresh air. Every room had a hidden source of light that came alive with the sun. Every fountain flowed with clearly, safe water and nothing seemed to dirty it. Still, out of caution or habit, I, and the others I shared the fountain with, did not directly try and test the limit of what could contaminate it. So while we could throw the dirty laundry and dishes directly in, practical sense kept us using washing basins we filled with the fresh water.

Slavian, to his credit, knew what to do with the sand and vinegar, so I assisted Aelius. We took handfuls of sand with some water and scrubbed the particles off the horn plates, followed up with a rag soaked in vinegar to clean them, and because I don't care to taste old vinegar on everything we rinsed in the water.

Aelius started panting, so I leaned over him to check on him. Out of the corner of my eye Slavian picked up the entire water basin and brought it up to the fountain.

"Hey! No! Slavian, don't do that!" I managed to grab it in time.

"What?" Slavian asked, confused.

"We have servants for that who take the dirty water and general filth out to the street aqueducts. We don't do that here!"

"Oh!" Slavian picked it up again with ease and put it down between us, nearly crushing my feet in the process.

One crisis averted, I looked to the next one. Aelius leaned against the fountain, shaking and weak. He was at his limit. To be honest, he was far past his limit. His body could not keep up with his will.

"Aelius, you did well. Thanks for your help." I assured him. My sun-child nodded, unable to even use his voice. "Slavian, can you carry him back to bed?"

"I... can-" Aelius started to protest.

"Aelius, please. Let's not hurt ourselves. One step at a time." I assured him.

Aelius bowed his head further and said nothing. Slavian looked between us briefly, before taking Aelius' submission as the sign to proceed. More gently than I would have thought, the prince took my sun-child on his back and walked back.

------

The kid was light. Slavian had been carrying a very heavy torso of a man for years, and had carried grown men up cliff faces, but even so he wouldn't have known there was someone on his back at all if he didn't feel the boy's weak breath on his cheek or have his tiny butt in his hands. Then to feel his ribs on his back and feel his collar bone, Slavian felt his heart clench. 

He had never felt a man of flesh feel as bony as a metal Soran's exoskeleton.

Slavian sat on the bed and let the younger boy fall back onto it. Instantly the boy crawled into a more comfortable position and collapsed, sweating and panting.

Awkwardly, Slavian noticed the stains in the bed. It would need to be replaced. "I'll-uh- I'll be out there with your- sun-father. Val'Spear, whatever he is." Slavian turned to leave.

A little voice stopped him. "Are you a slaver?"

Slavian looked back at him, "Why do you ask?"

"You're from Ref." Aelius whispered. 

Slavian breathed out, understanding now, "No, I'm not a slaver."

Aelius snickered morbidly, sadly, with acceptance. "Don't lie."

"I'm not." Slavian insisted.

"I felt your clothing. You dress like them. You may not have their speech, but you have their accent."

"Yes, I am from Ref, but-"

"You smell like the ocean."

Slavian looked at the younger boy for a long moment. The prince hadn't known him even an hour, but the Warden-son's instincts and experience from Life's End told him much. The blind boy was hurt physically, but had a fire to push himself. Yet, despite his will to fight, there was also a resignation of fate. Such a contradiction could not last. And Slavian had seen the eyes of many who had chosen one over the other. Even blind, Aelius' eyes revealed much.

"Yes, I do." Slavian admitted. "I lived on a wasteland pirate island and set out to find my father. I went to a port where there were many slaves, and I bought travel to the Imperial capital with work on a transport ship from a fleet employed by a 'Pain Artist'. The cargo were slaves, but I am not a slaver. I have not kidnapped anyone. I have never bought anyone. I have never sold anyone. I was a scrub-hand."

"You worked for a slaver, then." Aelius concluded, whispering.

Slavian, unfortunately, did not have his mother's patience. He hissed, "You are accusing a child whose work was cleaning that he is a slaver because every single employer available on an isolated island is involved in the slave trade."

"You could have chosen other work."

"There is no work outside of the Lords! They are the ones with the money!"

Aelius coughed hard enough to shake and spasm and Slavian stopped himself, remember who he was getting in a fight with. Winning against one so weak gave him nothing so what was he doing? Slavian whispered, guiltily, "Just rest, Aelius. Your sun-dad loves you. Even blind you should be able to see that. Forget about me, forget about all of it."

Slavian turned to leave. Aelius said, "I can't, its all I see."

-----

With the morning meal concluded and cleaned, I took some of my notes and documents and poured over them once more.

The laws of the Aeterna were unique. I knew most of Kes law, a good bit of North-Ire law, and some of South-Ire, Ref archipeligo, and Ne tribal law that was from second-hand sources. The Aeterna included notes alongside his decisions to illustrate his thought process as he cross-examined the laws of the nations to find what he would utilize into the Empire that would unite them and keep intact to keep it relatively familiar. Among the notes left behind by the Aeterna was laws referenced to the sun-smitten Ref Empire, an ancient Ire Empire predating the split and before any recorded history I know of, and the Soran.

Without extended knowledge of the ancient peoples the immortal remembered, I could only rely on his references of their laws and traditions, but from what little I could make sense of, much of what people thought was new and fresh was actually repackaged from eons past.

This left me with a couple problems. First, just how old was this man? Second, it was increasingly difficult to find an argument when I understood less and less what to argue against.

"Why would he re-introduce laws from so far back?" I pinched my nose against a headache and sighed. Above the door on a ceiling beam, the Soran-Blood made some hand motions. Slavian picked his head off the table enough to look.

Slavian said, "My friend says 'Because people don't change.'"

"And he would know this?"

"He says something I can't translate and 'nor do Soran-Blood age, and nor do Soran-Blood forget.'"

Intrigued, I turned towards the metal man. "Then can you explain to me what Adam means when he writes about 'The Administrator', 'The Triumverate Infrastructure', and 'Ancestral Deceleratism' as it regards Soran law? Because I, sure as the Ancestors are bright, don't know what he is talking about!"

Nel'Andra was still a moment, thinking, and made a quick hand motion. Slavian translated, "He says, 'I am the forgotten. I cannot say.'"

"You just said you don't forget!"

The Soran-Blood gave a very rude, very flesh-like, and very recognizable response. Slavian groaned. "I am not translating that! You two have it out, I'm out. When are we going out to see the city?" He put his head back on the table.

"Depends. I am thinking of where to take you, while also making sure Aelius is well-taken cared of, if not joining us. I'd rather not leave him alone more than abslolutely necessary."

"Looks more like your head is in the papers, again." Slavian complained. "You just left that stuff! You were at it all night! Are you always this boring?"

"Rude." I sighed, admitting defeat. "But true. I did promise. Fine, I'll put it away and think on our journey more." 

I put the papers together and stood up to take them away when there was a knock on the door. Slavian immediately jumped up and headed for the door. "Finally something is happening!"

I grabbed his arm. "Don't answer someone elses door. Thats rude."

"Everything is 'rude' with you."

"You're behavior needs work, might be why." I answered, more seriously. Slavian put his hands up and stepped back. I went to the door and opened it.

What I found gave me mixed emotions. The first person before me was my life-long friend, Fereren. The second person, behind him, was the armored suit I recognized as my newfound ally, Koj'Ineh. The third person, behind him, was Caius.

Caius knew where I lived. 

Slavian, the prince of the Empire, was right behind me.

Fereren's face was the shining avatar of joy, surprise, and excitement. "Val-!" and I slammed the door in his face.

I braced myself against it and looked to Slavian. My behavior no doubt set him on alert as he was startled just as much as I was. "Slavian! Go behind the bed!"

"There is no where 'behind' the bed!" He whispered.

"Just go!"

Slavian ran into the backroom.

I counted to five, let my heart beat settle enough to not look completely panicked, and opened the door. Fereren's face was frozen between being that shining avatar of joy and a confused bewilderment with a little bit hurt. "Val?" He asked. 

"Fereren! I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting company!" I welcomed him with a hug and motioned for them to enter.

"Oh, I can see that." Caius commented, looking around the sparse room with unrestrained disgust as soon as he entered. Koj stayed outside. 

"How long have you been here?" I asked, pointedly facing Fereren.

"Not long. Just long enough to go to the address our mutual affliction gave me." He looked around as he spoke, searching. The kitchen area by the door, the dining half with a couple chairs and a table, and a curtain in the door frame to the backroom were all he would find. My brother's attention fell on the papers on the table. He picked one up. Before I could say or do anything, Fereren looked me in the eye with such hope and pain it gripped my heart. "He says you might have my son."

I nodded. "Yeah, I have Aelius. He's alive, but I will warn you, it isn't good."

"How bad?"

"I-" I had no words. "You will need to see it for yourself."

He nodded, gulping. He motioned to the curtain. "Back here?" He stepped up to it.

Immediately there was a flurry of steps, and in one motion Fereren stepped back and to the side at the same time a curved blade swiped down through the curtain. He grabbed the hilt of the blade in one hand and the back of Slavian's neck in the other. At the same time the Soran-Blood swooped down from the rafters, holding on with one arm, and with the second extended his claws around Caius' neck to behead him or slit his throat. Caius was unaware, the Soran-Blood was silent as the wind.

"Hold it!" I yelled.

Everyone froze.

"Who is the kid?" Fereren asked, unphased and in control.

"My name is-"

"He's nobody." I rushed in and answered for him. "Just the son of a friend. I'm taking care of him for a few days at the behest of his father." I added, "He has been protective of Aelius."

Fereren eyed me briefly, but nodded, catching my message. He said, "Release the sword, kid. I'm Aelius' father." Nothing happened. Fereren continued, "I appreciate you guarding him, but if you persist I will have to snap your wrist between my fingers."

Nothing happened for a long moment, and I felt my heart racing again. Nel'Andra still had his claws pointed at my brother's veins. My brother was unaware and watching the exchange between my best friend and the son of my worst enemy with amusement. Finally, Slavian loosened his fingers and Fereren slid the knife out of his hand. He put the knife to the side and released Slavian's neck. Immediately, Nel'Andra withdrew his claws and climbed back into the eiling raftors as silently as the wind. Caius briefly turned his head around, but found nothing. I released my breath.

Fereren stepped into the room through the curtain, and judging from the sucked in breath, he took it as well as I expected. A moment later, I heard Aelius stir and I stepped away to give them a moment together.

"Of course, you adopted some pirate's brat." Caius scoffed. "Shoulda known you'd be running an orphanage after you picked that snail off the road." Looking at the prince, Caius asked, "What's your name, son?"

"Slavian."

Caius stared at him for a moment, "That name sounds familiar." I felt my blood chill at his tone. "Do your parents work for me?"

"Probably not." Slavian dismissed. "We don't work for others."

"Freelancer captain huh?" Caius mused, a hint of approval in his tone. "At least my brother remembered himself enough to keep his associations to something half-way resembling nobility."

In the background, I heard Aelius crying and his father comforting him. Slavian clearly heard it as he eyed the curtain uncomfortably. I didn't have to be a mind-reader to know he was comparing it  to his own fatherly encounter. 

"Shall we take this outside?" I suggested. 

"Not yet." Caius stepped past me and into the backroom. "I'm here for whats mine." 

I doublechecked myself. Slavian had been foolish enough to present himself, but was not so dumb as to reveal his identity. Aelius was in arms reach of Caius, but was under the immediate supervision of at least four people who would jump to his defense if my brother tried to pull anything. Nel'Andra was staying hidden, observing, and thankfully understanding the atmosphere enough not to interfere. That left only the documents Caius wanted which Slavian hid beneath the bed. Caius was many things, but he wouldn't incur Fereren's wrath so far as to toss the bed in searching for it.

"Oh, hello." Caius whistled. Through the gap left behind by his entrance, I saw papers jutting out from under the bed. I eyed Slavian, and he had the understanding enough to wince. 

Caius stooped down and pulled the documents out from under the bed. My heartbeat kicked back into full run for the millionth time today as I watched him catch us in the lie.

Fereren took enough of a moment away from his son to ease him down gently and face Caius. "Can't you give us a moment?"

"Sure, I will." Caius smiled gently. "My, he certainly is in rough shape! Blood loss is difficult to recover from, so be sure to eat well." He stepped forward and put a gentle hand on Aelius' shoulder. "Everything will be alright, son."

As soon as he said it and put his hand on Aelius, the boy flinched violently, nearly flinging himself across the room to get away from him. Caius pulled himself back as quickly as Fereren nearly throttled him, but cooler heads prevailed and Fereren went to hold Aelius down to keep from hurting himself. Caius stepped out.

"Try to provide comfort and this is what I get?" Caius muttered. He dropped the booklet on the table and sat down to wait. I clenched my fist and would have hit him if I was my old self, but he was the one with the power here. 

Lost in my contained fury, I missed a brief exchange to which Slavian told me about later. Fereren asked his son what was wrong, and Aelius simply said "He reeks of the ocean."