Hounds and bitches, chap.21

Posted by admin on March 16th, 2008 filed in Hounds and Bitches

When he entered, he found both Lord Kester and Aodh half-naked by the lunch table, eating dessert - a wide selection of fruits and other sweets, and chatting amiably. Both looked thoroughly fucked.
“Ah, my dear,” Lord Kester turned to Keith. “You have returned. This little imp here refuses to tell me what the surprise is about. I can bet neither will you… Well, I am glad you have returned. Did you like the city? You must be hungry. Come, dine with us. There is plenty of food left.”
How did it go, Aodh’s eyes seemed to inquire, a glint of worry in them, so subtle that Lord Kester couldn’t have tracked it.

“I did,” Keith replied politely, putting on a good smile. He sat down with them. “Thank you. I am very hungry indeed.” He began to eat, sending Aodh a glance which said that he would talk later.

“Dig in,” Aodh grinned back at Keith, nodding. Yes, they would talk, they would plot and they would kill Seoras. First in the long line of deaths to clean the plague off the surface of Labhrainn, making way to the new just and good king.
There was pork, there was chicken, there was fish. Enough leftovers to feed a pack of hungry boys. Wine and cider, bread and muffins. Huge beans in minty red sauce.
“Try that one,” Aodh suggested. “If there hadn’t been so much of it, we wouldn’t have spared a crumb.” He rested his head upon Lord Kester’s shoulder, who played with his curls of gold.
“Oh what a time we had,” sir Eidard murmured. “Watch out, Keith… you have a rival here. But Aodh is a sweet lad, he’d make a good friend to you.”

Keith just smiled politely. “Indeed. He has been nothing but good to me. Just like you, Your Lordship.” He continued eating, even if he was not hungry. Gods, he hated the bastard. Wanted him dead. Wanted them all dead.
He needed Aodh. The feeling was strange. Very strange. But he kept on playing. A good little whore.

“See, Aodh, he’s such a little flirt. Just like you when you first came to me. Now, how old were you, again?”
“Fourteen, my lord,” Aodh replied and not so very reverently kissed Lord Kester’s hand. “And I have never had any regrets, I can assure you that. You have taken good care of me and I am sure you will take as good care of Keith. I also promise that I will stand by his side and assist him in anything and everything he needs help with.”

Keith smiled, while he laughed inside. Oh yes, he laughed. Laughed like a mad man.
“I thank you both for everything,” he said politely.

Lord Kester nodded.
“You are very much welcome, my dear. Now, Aodh has told me he has made all the arrangements and appointments you need to have with the tailors and seamstresses and well… the rest of the lot. Do tell them you need a pair of clothing very soon, because I have spoken to the Queen about you, since you have been noticed - by a certain young prince, I might add, and she wishes to see you. There is a small gathering in her chambers each night, and I’ve been told to bring you along. So I must. See if that lot can make you something with these hours. If not, then I’m afraid our dear Aodh will have to lend you. Now, I do trust you into his care, because he has promised me that what happened between you will not repeat, at least not without my consent. You could entertain me some other time, though. I’d love to watch the two of you and join in…”
Aodh kissed his cheek and peered teasingly at Keith.
“What say you, sir Keith? Could you possibly tolerate making out with me?”
“Do say yes,” Lord Kester pleaded. “Be a good lad. See, Aodh wants you so, and so do I. Come, give us both a pretty kiss. We have missed you, haven’t we, Aodh?”
The latter nodded and beamed.

“Yes, of course, Your Lordship.”
Keith smiled.
Kester had no idea how he was being played right now. Just no idea. And Aodh was a genius.
“I could,” he replied with a wink and slipped into Kester’s gracefully, first giving the lord a thorough kiss and then turning to do the same to Aodh.

With Lord Kester beaming at them, Aodh gave Keith his tongue and then his lips followed, gluing against Keith and kissing him thoroughly, yet carefully, as to not make it longer or seemingly better than those he had shared with the Lord himself. To make up, though, he rubbed his hand against Lord Kester’s groin and heard the man heartily chuckle.
But his mind was meshed with Keith’s, almost as if he could read it. They were veiled by darkness and the old sunlit fool would never know.

Keith’s fingers also slipped downwards to pleasure the Lord. He kissed Aodh slowly, but eventually drew away and cuddled into Kester’s arms. As if he had been better.

Lord Kester chuckled and put arms around Keith, kissing his hair.
“You are cute. Both of you. You’re both damn cute and I am one lucky guy to be with you.”
Aodh beamed and kissed Keith’s shoulder, feeling the wound beneath the cloth and seeking to soothe it.

“We are lucky to be able to be with you, Your Lordship,” Keith whispered.
He hurt. Hurt in such a way that he just wanted to go away somewhere and hide. Like he always wanted to. Because the darkness was better than anything else. Better than anything else.

“My dearest lord,” Aodh purred. “It has been most pleasurable and we would of course love to stay with you until the end of times, but duty calls, and our beloved Keith needs to be trimmed and clothed and taught, or else he might slip before the Queen, and appearing in old shabby robes will not do. So, if you excuse us, we shall take our leave from you and prepare for the evening. I promise he will look splendid and you can feel proud of him.”

Keith made to look a little sad, but then he brightened up.
“I would not want to cause you shame, Your Lordship. I will listen to Aodh and hear what he has to teach. I hope I get to pleasure you soon,” he whispered into Kester’s ear.

Lord Kester shook his head and chuckled.
“You’re such a cute flirt, Keith. That you are. Now go, my lads. Go or I will keep you for ever and send a word to the Queen to fuck herself. Go.”
Aodh rose, kissed sir Eidard warmly on his cheek and took Keith by hand.
“Let’s go.”
And so he lead him still by hand through the corridor and up some steps until he could unlock a little chamber and enter, locking and barring it.
Now, this was a chamber much less fancy than the others, but cosy nonetheless. Warm colours of drapes and carpet, a little corner for washing and bed hidden by heavy curtains. A small table with Aodh’s personal belongings such as his medicine kit. Two comfortable old armchairs.
“Sit,” Aodh suggested. “And tell me of the snake.”

Keith sat down tiredly and curled up. He hated the bastard. And the worst would be that he would have to please him many times before he could kill him.
“He fucked me. Used candles on me too. Bit me. Nothing more. Says he wants to introduce me to some people. Might send for me tomorrow night. I bet it’s Cameron. Said that if I were wise, I could get far and stuff like that. Threatened to chop my dick off and choke me with it if I betrayed him to Kester or anyone. Plans to kill Kester, I think.
And that is all.”

Aodh sighed, then walked to the door, opened it, called for someone, gave some orders and returned.
“You did well, Keith. Your sufferings were not for nothing. I had my suspicions about Seoras and his fellow libertines having connections with Cameron and his ambitions, but now you have assured this. Tomorrow night they will gather in a brother tavern, Seoras and his merry gang. You must join him, lure him into more heavy drinking and later a walk upon the castle wall. Then you can kill him. You want this, don’t you?”

“I do,” Keith replied with something that could have been called a smile if it only had not been so vicious. “I can manage. I will kill him. But I need a story. What to tell them. And I need to know how to behave around Cameron.”

Aodh smiled.
“I sent for ice. I will tend your wounds before sir Eidard grows suspicious. A story, aye? First of all, you would be obeying Seoras, whom you fear but also are attracted to. Besides that - the snake is ambitious. You may act out that so are you. Be it through beds or otherwise, but you seek a higher position. You do not like the Queen - good. You think prince Fingall is a fool - even better. You see Cameron as a spirited and powerful leader - excellent.
Now, as to Cameron, then there is one main fact you must always bear in mind - he has only three labels for people: the useless and harmless whom he disregards, the useful, whom he trusts not but uses to fit his purposes, many of those believing that they have gained either his trust or even his affection - how very wrong, and the third - the possibly dangerous, whom he will eliminate sooner or later, most likely using the second category to eliminate the third. Queen Beathag is a clever and cruel manipulator. Cameron is of her blood and learned from her mistakes. So far, he has made none himself. Bear in mind that he may keep his brother Frank as his closest companion and trustee, but if he but suspected the other has betrayed him, he wouldn’t hesitate a minute to cut his throat. That is the nature of Cameron. Be useful to him, be loyal, be trusted, but never ever think he trusts you or believes in your loyalty. He’s a gamer just like we.”

Keith listened attentively and committed everything he heard steadfastly into his memory. He would need it. Oh, how dangerous the game had become. More dangerous and hurtful than anything else before it.
But he had to. So that one day he might wake and see all of them cast down from power. To see a world with no place for whores. And then he would end. But no. No good to think about that.
“I understand. I will do so.”
He nodded.

“If we won’t fight, no one does,” Aodh whispered, and then went to answer the door. He returned with a bucket of ice and towels, having bolted the door again. “Take your clothes off,” he said softly. “I need to inspect your injuries and treat them. You look more hurt than you express. Don’t fool me, Keith. I remember what wax felt like.”

“It’s nothing. I have gotten used to that.” Keith began stripping himself.

Aodh sighed and wouldn’t argue. Then he saw the burns and hissed, blue eyes lit in vicious fire.
“Justice,” he whispered. “Justice that he dies by your hand. The little one, Alan… He died. Last in the line of many.”

Keith bit his lip.
“Yes. He will die. Will die.”
By my hand.
Do not think of it. So many of them had died. So many. So many died each day, playthings tossed away carelessly. Raped to death, killed, or gone mad and killed themselves. The list went ever on.
No justice but their own.
“Dammit.”
He felt like throwing up.

“I’m sorry, Keith,” Aodh murmured. “I’m very sorry. And I have no condolence or sweetness to give you, no comfort, nothing. All I have, I have already given you. Hoping it would keep us both alive a little longer. We are doomed as we walk and doomed as we talk. Tools, but no longer tools of them but against them. No longer belonging to them but belonging to something greater than gods because even these gods have been made by men. We belong to the justice that says - every action causes a reaction and what you do unto your fellow men will be done unto you.”
He shivered, his voice hoarse.

Keith nodded.
“I think we should…the ice and stuff.”
He really was no good at this deep talk. It made him squirmy and uncomfortable. He did not want to think about these things.
One day you have to stop running, Lachie had said. Keith did not care. He did not run. He lived. A whore’s life, but still a life. “You don’t have to be sorry. Done this all my life. So, nothing to be sorry about.”

Aodh exhaled heavily.
“Yes. We should.”
He lied one of the towels out on the bed, scattered ice on it and covered it with another towel.
“Lie on it, please.”

Keith did so, feeling the ice under his back. It was cold, but much more pleasant than the candle wax had been.

“You may turn when you feel like it. I will put the bucket beside you, so you can take some lumps and hold them where you like. It will take down the swelling, otherwise the red marks might stay. Now I will clean up your shoulder and hips with the grain spirit, alright? And once we are done you can dress up and we will go talk to the tailors. Unless you have other plans.”

“No. I don’t have any plans.”
He had none. He was actually led by Aodh. But…but he found that he trusted him a little. Soon he turned around, on his stomach. “Yes, go ahead. I can manage. Thank you.”

Aodh nodded and poured spirit over a cloth. Then he lie beside Keith, offering his lips while his fingers with the cloth moved towards Keith’s bloody shoulder.

Keith kissed Aodh, almost tenderly and forgot himself into the feeling, so that he would not have to think about anything else. Everything else was so bad in this world. The only good thing was Aodh, his lips, his fingers, his body.
His darkness.