Blood of the Neko - 6. Chapter 6

This chapter has some text you may be familiar with if you've read the Neko shorts

Kayden managed to push away thoughts of his master's poor mood as Finn ushered him back toward the house. Joseph Nash and Rafe Saladin followed the two back into the kitchen. As they stepped in, Kayden gave Finn back his warm coat, feeling guilty for having let the man give it to him. But Finn had insisted, citing how much smaller and less body fat Kayden had to keep him warm, which didn't make any sense to Kayden. He'd survived much colder temperatures in the past, but it was easier to just take the coat than argue at the time. He'd been more interested in watching his master ride away.

They all sat down at the wooden table in the kitchen to eat.

Ysmenia brought over some bowls of oatmeal and fruit. She absently brushed her hand over Kayden's hair, pausing as she felt him shivering under her fingers.

"Kit, you're freezing," she exclaimed.

"That's 'cuz he insisted on going out in the cold with no coat or shoes on to say good-bye to the master," Finn grumbled.

Kayden just cut him a scathing look, gathering his warm bowl of oatmeal closer. Abruptly, he felt a blanket dropped over his shoulders. It was the one that normally sat by the hearth for when Kayden would curl up there, especially in the winter.

"I'm fine," Kayden said but pulled the blanket closer anyway. It had been warmed by the fire, so the heat started to seep into his body, washing away the chills.

"Take a nap or something after you eat," Finn said. "I've got a bit of work to do first, but then if you want to go over to the East Wing, I'll go with you."

Nash watched the two with an amused smile. He cast a glance over at Rafe Saladin. The other guard was older than he was by a few years, and Nash admired the way the man fought when they trained. As a neko, he moved with more grace and stealth than most of the other human guards. He had actually thought about asking Saladin about teaching Kayden fighting skills, since they were both nekos maybe there were pointers that Rafe could offer that Joseph couldn't. But after the way Captain Brenner reacted to him teaching the boy, he wasn't sure he should involve anyone else.

"You'll go with them," Rafe said commandingly, and Nash nodded, quietly accepting the order. They both knew if anything happened to Kayden, Damien would have both their heads.

After eating, Kayden watched the other three men leave the kitchen, but he knew that Nash would be by his side again as soon as he left the house. It was like the man lurked in the shadows or something, just waiting for him to leave the house. Sometimes he just watched from a distance, especially if Kayden stayed close to the house. Other times, he hovered closer. Kayden had finally come to accept him as somewhat of a friend, just like Ellis and Finn.

He curled up on the hearth in the blanket, not wanting to be alone in the big master bedroom. He fell asleep to the comforting sounds of Garin's gruff voice issuing orders and Ysmenia's motherly tone maintaining calm in the chaos of the morning routines. He had even heard Ellis chatting animatedly with Lizzy as he had carried more firewood through to the other rooms of the manor.

He thought back briefly to his master's odd mood, but then focused on Harrison's placating words. Maybe Damien was truly just distracted. While Kayden wanted to be Damien's whole world, he knew that he was not, and he had to share him with the rest of the kingdom. It was a bit egotistical to think that he was the cause of every one of Damien's moods, that he could affect a duke, the heir to the throne, in such a manor. Damien had other worries, and Kayden shouldn't panic that he was always the cause of his master's moods--good or bad. With that in mind, peace finally settled over him.

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After waking, Kayden made his way to the stables about mid-morning. Lance Cessel met him with a smile.

"Finn said you were going over to the East Wing today," the stable master greeted. "Are you okay going without him? I need him and Marcus to repair a broken fence."

"Sure," Kayden said. "I'll just saddle up Bella then. I'd thought about going bareback, since Finn was helping me learn, but if he's not going, I should stick with the saddle until I get better at it."

"Probably a good idea," Lance smiled, patting Kayden's back. He looked up to see Joseph Nash walking in. "Well, I see your escort is here. I'll get a horse saddled up for you, Joe."

"Thanks," Joseph said.

Kayden made his way to Arabella's stall, greeting her with a series of cooing noises and soft whispers. She nuzzled against his hand, encouraging him to pet her soft gray fur. Nash just leaned against the stall wall as Kayden brushed his mare.

"So, you still want to train?" Nash finally asked. They hadn't really had time alone together since Brenner had interrupted their mock fight, so Nash wasn't sure how Kayden felt about continuing.

But when Kayden looked up in surprise, Nash figured it had been a stupid question.

"Of course, I do," Kayden said.

Nash smiled. "I think Brenner decided it best not to tell the master either. I think he figures you're going to do it anyway, so there's no need to rile up Lord Whitmore any more than necessary."

Kayden nodded. "He was in a bad mood this morning."

"I noticed," Nash said. "Is something going on?"

Kayden paused. "I don't know. Master Harrison says he's just upset about the situation with the mines. But I think maybe I made it worse."

Nash frowned. "Worse? How?"

"He was pretty upset when he saw some of the bruises from our training yesterday," Kayden said as he retrieved the saddle blanket, saddle, and reins. As he set about harnessing Arabella, Nash stepped up to help him. "I told him I fell off of Bella, and that Finn had just grabbed me harder than he thought when he helped me up, but I don't think Damien believed that."

"Well, what would he think he happened?"

"I think he thinks Finn hurt me on purpose--"

"That's ridiculous."

"I know, but it's the only thing I can think that would make him so upset."

"Hmm, maybe," Nash shrugged.

"Well," Lance Cessel cut in, "Maybe he remembers how Finn acted toward you when you were first learning to ride. Finn and Marcus both were a bit jealous of how well you picked up riding, and they weren't very quiet about it."

The stable master remembered how he'd had to talk to both of the boys about their attitudes. Kayden had watched both of them intensely, admiring how well they worked with the huge beasts. Kayden had looked up to them, idolizing and respecting their knowledge and skill. But both Marcus and Finn had allowed their jealously and anger to flare when the young neko had bonded so easily with Arabella and took to riding her like he'd been born there. Damien had not been pleased at the coldness the stable hands had shown then. It had taken a bit of eye-opening for Lance to get the boys to realize just how stupid their jealousy had been. Since then, Finn and Marcus had both treated Kayden with respect and had been in awe of his ability to pick up skills quickly. Finn had especially taken the boy under his tutelage, and Lance was glad to see that Kayden and Finn got along so well now.

But hearing that Damien might be worried about how Finn was treating the boy, Lance wondered if his lord had truly witnessed the growth of their friendship. Maybe Damien thought Finn might still be harboring ill will.

Kayden paused, considering. "But I'm sure he's seen me with Finn before. He has to know I wouldn't be with Finn if he might hurt me."

Lance shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he thinks you want to learn bareback so badly that you'd put up with anything."

Kayden's eyes widened as that suddenly made sense. Damien did seem to think he was lying about his bruises.

"Maybe you just need to let him see you and Finn together, so he knows you're friends," Lance said.

Nash nudged him. "Yeah, that makes sense. He just needs to know you trust Finn."

"Okay, I'll try. I don't want Finn to get into trouble because of me," Kayden nodded as he led Arabella out of her stall. Lance handed the reins of a bay mare over to Nash.

"And if that doesn't work, I'll talk to him too," Lance Cessel stated. "Maybe he'll listen to one of us. In the mean time, try not to get too many bruises."

Kayden fluidly mounted Arabella and then cocked his head back at the stable master, his pointed ears flicking forward. "That's the weird thing. I get bruises all the time. I wonder why these bothered him so much."

"Again, we may never know, unless he finally talks to you about it," Nash said. "Don't worry about it too much. He'll let it go when he knows you're fine."

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They arrived at the Eastern Estate and entered through the kitchen as Kayden always did. Nash said he'd wait for him in the kitchen while he visited with Lady Penelope. One of the servants grinned at him and led him to the parlor where the lady of the house was sitting.

She hopped up when Kayden was led into the room, dropping her embroidery on the couch next to where she had been sitting.

"Oh, Kayden!" she cried excited. "I'm so glad to see you. It feels like it's been forever!"

He allowed her to hug him, then they returned to the seats. He tucked his feet up under him, since he didn't have shoes on as usual, and he curled himself into the corner of the couch closest to her.

She picked up her needle work, and Kayden noticed it looked like she was decorating the edge of a blanket--a very small one. She was smiling, almost humming as she worked. And he cocked his head to get a better view.

"It's for the baby," she beamed, showing him the delicate embroidery. She had made a 'W' for Whitmore in the corner with several leafy scrolls around it. It was elegantly beautiful for either a boy or a girl.

"It's really pretty," Kayden admired.

He listened to Penelope chatter endlessly about how excited she was about the baby and what they were doing to prepare. Harrison had already called in someone to make the cradle, and he had a decorator coming to help Penelope prepare the baby's room.

"Oh, and Mr. Baudin is supposed to come by today too!" Penelope continued excited.

When Kayden frowned in confusion, she explained. "He's a tailor from the Southern Isles, and Harrison hired him to come by and show me some new styles he has while he's in town. Apparently, they are more comfortable than the corsets, especially if my belly is going to be expanding soon. They say his wares are perfect for expecting mothers, looser and more forgiving then the tight dresses I usually wear."

"The southern isles?" Kayden asked, not sure of where that was.

"Oh, yes, it's the islands to the south of Marsten. It's much warmer there and they have some rather exotic fruits and animals as well. Oh!" she suddenly gasped, as if remembering something. "The peacock Oliver sent to Damien last fall--"

"Azule?"

"Yes, Azule. He came from the southern isles."

Kayden's eyes lit up, now excited to meet someone from where their new pet peacock had come from. Oliver Druet had sent the bird as a gift to Damien, and Kayden remembered being so excited at seeing the colorful, exotic bird that he had literally pounced on the poor thing wanting to pet it. And then Damien had said it was supposed to be part of their Fall Festival dinner, and Kayden had almost darted back into the poultry corral to free the bird. But then Damien promised not to harm the bird, and that they would keep the peacock as a sort of pet instead.

Kayden loved watching Azule and his beautiful blue and green feathers, and Azule didn't seem to mind him now that he didn't think Kayden would try to eat him. Kayden had collected the feathers that the bird plucked and had made a fan for Penelope as a wedding present. Of course, he'd had to fight Ysmenia for them. She kept taking them too to attach them to a stick. Ysmenia called them her feather dusters; Kayden just called them dust spreaders.

A servant appeared in the doorway. "A Mr. Baudin is here to see you, my lady."

"Please, show him in."

A tall man appeared with a male slave carrying a trunk behind him as well as a young woman at his side.

Penelope stood to greet the exuberant man. The slave took the man's scarf, and Kayden vaguely wondered why he had one on in the first place. It was spring, and it was more than nice enough outside that a coat, let alone a scarf, shouldn't be necessary. But it looked more silky than warm, so he thought maybe it was for show.

"Welcome, Sir Baudin," Penelope waved her hand toward the parlor.

"I am exzited for zu to zee ze bootiful itemz I haz for zu from zee zouthern islez," the man said cheerfully.

Kayden frowned at the odd man in the brown coat, embroidered with gold thread. His skin was darkened by the sun and his white-blonde hair stood out in contrast to his dark skin tone. Kayden tilted his head, pricking his black ears forward as he strained to understand the man's odd accent. Obviously, they spoke funny down in the southern isles.

"And I am very excited to see what you have. I've heard your outfits are so much more comfortable than these corsets during pregnancy."

"Oh, me lady, yez, theyz zo much bettur thanz thoze tightz corzets. Iz reallyz thinkz that zu will luv ze bras and ze skirtz I haz to zhow zu."

Kayden frowned. "Zebra? What's that?"

Both Penelope and the man laughed. The male slave and female servant who had accompanied the man dropped their heads to hide their smirk of laughter. Kayden flushed, upset at being laughed at.

"Oh, Kayden dear, he didn't say zebra. He said the bra," Penelope explained. "It's like, well, like a short corset, for um..." She glanced down at her chest, obviously trying to determine how to put it delicately. When Kayden cocked his head trying to figure out what she was trying to say, she finally lowered her voice and placed a hand on her chest. "It's like a small corset for ... "

"Forz a womanz boozum," the man said proudly.

Both Kayden and Penelope flushed slightly, although, Kayden was probably redder than she was, but it was hard to tell. Kayden unfolded himself from the corner of the couch, figuring now would be a good time to leave.

"Ah, I think, perhaps, I should be going," he said politely, still feeling the flush up his neck and ears. Penelope just smiled, knowing he wanted to escape this conversation.

The man smiled gently. "Zorry, me boy. Myz aczent iz hard toz underzand zumtimez."

Kayden just nodded, not wanting to embarrass himself anymore by speaking up any more than he had to. "It was nice to meet you, sir," he said, then turned, nodding to Penelope. "My Lady."

The man zeroed in on Kayden's bare feet as he stepped toward the parlor exit, obviously surprised by the fact that he had no shoes on. "Zwhere iz jour zhoes, me boy?"

Kayden narrowed his eyes at the man, not wanting to be chastised for that at well as not understanding what ze bra was. "A broken shoelace," was all he said in way of explanation as he made his escape back to the kitchen where Nash waited for him.

"Ready to go already?" Joseph asked.

Kayden just nodded, as he rushed toward the door.

He'd never been so glad to leave the Eastern Manor in his life.

And yes, I know everyone is getting a little frustrated with Damien's jealousy.... hang in there.