The Alliance - 21. Chapter 21

“I’ll be credited with the death of your father, Alex.” Carl looked towards the handsome young man that he had been on and off with lately, and noted the grimace on his face as soon as he had said the words. Alexandre wistfully looked up at him, making direct eye contact while trying to hold composure. Eventually he sighed and stopped staring at the tall Tomacian, looking down and then back to the prisoner’s garb that he was supposed to be changing in to.

“I know.”

It was just about dawn, a few hours before the party was intended to charade through a border prison in Devan Di Coteau’s territory. Though tension between Alexandre and Carlin had declined dramatically since the revelation of the Tomacian’s identity and the death of a Di Coteau family member, there was still plenty of strain between the two. Carlin knew that Alexandre clearly wished for peace between the two even if the idea wasn’t exactly Nabian in spirit. After all, this entire mission had been to get him back home safely, and strike up some kind of pact or allegiance. A few private visits to each other’s sleeping sacks and a particularly enjoyable encounter in the woods hadn’t hurt either, but Carlin couldn’t help but feel something was missing. Alex didn’t seem cold or distant in the usual way, but more like he didn’t really know what to do or say. And when he tried to question Alex or help him with future planning, things always went sour quickly. Carlin constantly felt like he was walking on eggshells when he brought up his concerns. Eventually, this led him to a conclusion that felt true the moment he thought of it.

Alex is nervous.

And why shouldn’t he be? Alexandre Di Coteau, child of a long line of powerful men and women, conqueror and killer himself, leader, general, and ruthless hunter probably did not get nervous. He has never been able to afford nerves in his life. This emotion must confuse and terrify him… I wish I could assure him somehow. When Carlin realized that this was the problem, he had tried to think of a way to quell any potential fears there might be. This, unfortunately, also brought him to the realization that Alexandre’s current plan was absurd, especially by Nabian standards.

Who will support him for changing the war using diplomacy? Nabian “diplomacy” usually involves brutal warfare or public beheadings. Carlin snapped out of his thoughts after noticing Alex looking troubled and frowning. I don’t like seeing him unsure of himself.

“Without a confession or general public acceptance that Jezebel did it… I don’t know how we’re going to make it known that it wasn’t me. If you make an alliance with the people that killed your own father, no one from your country will follow you.” Carlin stopped changing himself and looked directly at the man that was currently risking so much for him.

“I know that too.” Alex looked again at Carlin while taking off his remaining armor. “It’s going to be difficult to get anyone from Nabius to follow me on the basis of a treaty anyway.” Carlin frowned.

Good point. “So why are you even trying?” Alex slipped a dirty-looking rag over his head and rubbed some dirt on his face, doing his best to look like he was a peasant before answering. He spoke slowly, and deliberately.

“I have a plan that could work. I’m trying because… it could make things better.” He gave a somber look that also suggested a more personal reason for trying to unite himself with Carl Cathcart, but it seemed that Alex had said all he felt was necessary.

Always so reserved. “Damn it Alex. Please just talk to me. I know that things have been strange between us lately, but… I do have faith in what we’re doing. And I just wanted to let you know before tonight… I’m sorry. For all of this. I wish it could be less complicated, but I hope you know that if anything goes wrong –“

“Why would anything go wrong?” Alex asked, looking genuinely puzzled and almost a little offended, as if his plan was infallible. Carl rolled his eyes.

There’s the obnoxiously self-assured Alex I know. “Well. In case our break out of a high-security prison while all of our weapons and armor are being held by Mikhail several miles away goes wrong, I just wanted to say –“

“Nothing will go wrong.” Alex looked completely baffled, and Carlin groaned at the interruption.

“Look, I’m just trying to say –“

“Carlin.” The older of the two had to bite his tongue in order to refrain from blurting out his annoyance at constant interruption. He decided that he’d let Alex say whatever he needed, given that he had spent the last several weeks just trying to make the teen happy. Alex wasn’t exactly a talkative person either, so this kind of insistence meant something. Thus, he stayed quiet and kept his eyes locked with Alexandre’s. “Tell me later.”

Not what I wanted to hear.

“I know that things have been… different between us for a while, but I think that is to be expected. And I’d prefer to work on repairing everything when we have more suitable conditions. As you’ve been mentioning… we’re just a few nights before my potential arrest or execution in Tomacia, armor-less, weaponless, and about to be thrown in prison. This isn’t an easy time. Please, just let me get through this, first.”

Carlin thought about it, and realized that he agreed. Alex was in a stressful position at the moment, and if pushing aside their personal stresses and commitments would help him, that’s what Carl wanted too. “Okay,” he said with a nod. “No matter what happens, what goes right or wrong… as long as you still want it all to be repaired.”

Traces of a smile ghosted around Alexandre’s lips, and he replied. “Of course. But you know, tonight… nothing will go wrong. It’s impossible.” At that claim, Carl raised a questioning eyebrow.

That’s quite a lot to guarantee.

As if he could read minds, Alex erupted into a tossed a dirty smock at Carl for him to wear. “We have Talia.”

***

I hope he doesn’t make us seem weak. Talia had been concerned about leaving Luca in charge the moment that she left the Di Coteau estate, constantly doubting his abilities to lead. Though she agreed that Alex had taken the right people for this mission, wasn’t sure if the manse was left in the correct hands. Perhaps Eamon… but no. She knew that would be a mistake. He’d try something stupid. She rolled her eyes while putting on a coarse cotton dress intended to make her look like a slave girl. Luckily much of the Nabian pink had washed out of her hair, and it looked a shiny blonde. I’ll have to put a few knots in it.

Talia knew that it was only an act, but appearing disheveled bothered her to no end. In every aspect of her life, she was perfect, strong, and in control. Truly, Talia Di Coteau was a model Nabian citizen, uncompromising and viciously ambitious. If even getting a few hairs out of place was problematic, leaving her family home and name in the hands of a sixteen year old that had no formal training of any kind was to her a catastrophe.

But, Talia had faith in her brother’s choice. Indeed, had it been Eamon… I’m sure he would have gotten carried away and started some kind of feud or something. He’s better as a guard… and that leaves only Luca. Talia had known Eamon for several years, given that she graduated from Mullansburg’s academy alongside him. Though she had taken him to bed several times just for gratification, she really hadn’t thought much of him until Alexandre selected him as one of his own men after the ceremony. When breaking into the offices of her instructors, she found that all personal files seemed to indicate he came from low birth in an agricultural settlement to the south. During pillow talk, she came to piece together that his cockiness was probably a mask for his frustration and discomfort with his own upbringing. But he is a hard worker… there’s a reason he made it to graduation. And he’s a good fighter. Talia rubbed a bit of dirt on her arms and hands, and began to walk back towards the group from where she had been changing in the woods.

The saints know that Luca will need a good fighter on his side.

Talia had actually come to like Luca in all the time that she had known him, paying particular attention to how quick of a learner he was. He was resourceful, knew how to read people well, and could have a highly unreadable face if he wanted to. She’d also seen him take a beating and torture from her cousin, knowing full well that Jezebel’s concoctions were usually designed to inflict maximum pain. Perhaps he is not so weak after all... years of rape and abuse have conditioned him. Talia saw Mikhail leaning against a tree, and prepared to hand him her armor and weapons, which he would take via horse across the border. Mikhail could travel through merchant’s entrances, which is why he would transport all goods. Having all of the expensive and elaborate weaponry and armor belonging to the Di Coteaus would only make him more convincing as a traveling salesman anyway. He said something to her as she piled her belongings in her arms, but she didn’t really pay attention.

Maybe he can do this. She knew that Luca could handle Jezebel, which meant he could also probably control Damien. He’s dumber than Jezebel, so I guess that’s good. But if he were forced to interact with someone like Yago or Devan, or my mother in a rage… Talia shuddered. Her Uncle Yago would probably dissect and dismember the boy for fun, and the demon was famous for clawing organs out of people and occasionally even eating them. Devan was known to have killed off even his own immediate family. There were leaders and people in Nabius that almost lived exclusively for violence, and Luca was not one of them. Then again, the worst of them are my family members, who are supposed to be on our side…. Maybe. I hope. Luca will have his chance at playing their games.

“Talia?”

Talia looked upwards, startled to realize that she had walked straight into a circle of Alexandre, Carlin, Roark, and Barclay, all dressed in their finest peasant outfits. None were armed, so it seemed that she had been the last to deliver her items to Mikhail. There were also the two slavers bound in ropes to be kept as guides, but she didn’t count them amongst those included in the circle.

“I’m sorry?”

“I was just asking if you were ready,” Alexandre said with his brows furrowed. She noticed that he looked concerned and slightly annoyed, the way he always did before starting a mission. I need to tell him to get the stick out of his ass later, she thought. Or rather, make up with his boyfriend and get one up it, if that will get him back to the way he was.

“Yes, I’m ready. Has everything been loaded onto the horses for Mikhail to take through?” Alex looked to his left, posing the same question with his eyes.

“I think so,” said Carl. “That leaves nothing to do but get brought through the prison…”

“… which my friend here has told me how to do,” Alex finished, looking at one of the bound slavers.

“Excellent.” Talia moved towards the two men, whose eyes noticeably widened when she came nearer. “I suppose we don’t want any mice squeaking about our plans, do we?” Talia’s teeth gleamed white while she smiled at the men, who by now were shaking. She also noticed that they had begun to sweat, but was confused as to what she had done in their tent the night she captured them that had inspired so much terror. I should really narrow down what technique it is that is so intimidating. After a few seconds of watching them quake, she almost felt bad and frowned.

“Sorry boys,” she said as a knife hilt was pressed into her hand from behind.

***

Skin. The heat of an exposed chest on his own bare back caused Alex to stir, and notice the way that slight perspiration and general dampness of the stone cell caused his and Carlin’s flesh to stick together ever so slightly. He felt Carl’s warm breath on the back of his neck, and his arm draped around his body. Just for a moment, he pressed backwards, burying himself into the cocoon of Carl a little deeper. There, he was warm and comfortable, and he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and drift to sleep wrapped in one of the few people in the world he cared about. He felt a stiff warmth pressing into his back, which instantly aroused him. He wanted to give into Carlin, become a mess of moans and sweat and pleasure with him, right there on the floor of their prison cell. But that would not do, not tonight.

Alexandre’s eyes reopened fully and immediately, and every muscle in his body tensed at the same time. Pupils dilating, he sat up in a swift motion that roused Carlin as well. The older boy started to make grumbly sleep noises as he woke, but Alex silenced him with a finger over his mouth.

The team had walked up to the border prison earlier that day, after disposing of their two slaver guides. By giving a brief coded message to the guards there and presenting themselves in shackles, it had been relatively easy to get into the building as gladiatorial or sexual slaves. Supposedly, the guards would expect the arrival of another slaver, who would pick this group up in the dead of night and continue them along their journey. No such contact was coming, though, as the five prisoners were not actual slaves.

We need to get out ourselves. Its just a few minutes from the agreed upon hour. Though the group had come in chained to each other, prison guards had separated them for separate cells. Alex and Carlisle ended up in a small cell together, while Talia was thrown in with a few other girls, all presumably bedslaves. Roark and Barclay were in the cell adjacent to Alexandre’s. The “prison” was more of a converted storage building or barn, with stone floors, ceilings, five cells on the east and west walls each, and a couple of chairs, tables, crates, and a pile of hay to one end. Amongst all this were scattered guards, each of which – fortunately – looked very tired at this hour. They were sprawled out on various furniture, taking watches one by one lazily.

“Alex,” he heard whispered, and looked down in annoyance at Carlin who was still laying on his back on the stone floor.

“Quiet. It’s almost time.”

In a groggy state, Carlin sat up, grabbed Alex by the back of his neck, and pulled him into a deep kiss. Alex almost gave in to the warm, sweet taste and feeling of the Tomacian’s lips on his own, but stayed focused. In fact, there was nothing he wanted to do more than to throw his arms around Carlin’s neck and let his tongue explore further, but there was no time for that. He lingered a bit longer than he probably should have, but looked Carlin directly in the face after that passionate outburst was done and spoke softly.

“Now is not the time.”

“I know.”

“And you understand why?” Alex didn’t think that his lover truly did understand why he had been so distant, but asked anyway, knowing what Carl would say next.

“I do.”

“Get ready for a fight.”

Directly on queue, something seemed to arouse the interest of a particularly dirty guard currently on duty, coming from Talia’s cell. Alex imagined that his sister was pulling up her dress or something to that idea, and smirked.

***

Three seated at the table, one leaning against the wall, and the crossbowman seated on the far side. The other six are for my brother and the Tomacian. It is time. Pupils dilated and senses heightened, Talia was barely herself, but exactly who she needed to be.

Lifting her skirts and luring a guard to her cell was almost unbearably easy. Talia faced with her back towards the cell door, revealing her backside as if it was unintentional, but making sure the nearest guard saw. Pretending to inspect a cut on her thigh, Talia’s ears told her that the guard was moving towards her. His advance had taken even less time than she had expected.

Pig.

Had she chosen to be more obvious with something like a wink or seductive stare, she likely would have received a beating or been yelled at for being a whore by the guard. By making the greasy man along the wall believe that a sexual encounter wouldn’t be consensual, Talia knew she would be all the more enticing. He looked like the type that thought a bit too much of himself and would be far too bold.

They always want what isn’t offered.

He walked over, and Talia heard the creak of keys in her barred door.

The fight began as soon almost as her cell was opened. The first guard had obviously intended to force her from behind, which was expected given their positioning. Just as he moved to grab her waist, Talia bent her head downwards and her left leg upwards at high speed. This resulted in her doing a standing split after she felt a heel connect with the man’s nose, which she knew had been broken. At best, her kick had been forceful enough to dislodge the bone upwards towards his brain, but she would settle for unconsciousness if that’s all she had achieved. Talia grabbed his key ring and slid it across the floor to right outside of Alexandre’s before the other guards even started reacting.

With one down, Talia’s options increased and all of her senses perceived her surroundings almost in slow motion. Her decision was made rapidly, and she ran full speed at the crossbowman to the far side of the room.

Jumping legs first, Talia managed to hook her right knee over his left shoulder while he was seated, but twisted so that her right leg was wrapped around of the back of his neck when he stood up and started yelling. Wedging her right calf into the front of his left shoulder and wrapping her left leg around the back of the crossbowman’s right knee, Talia squeezed her two legs together with all of her might. This caused him to bend over towards his own groin, facing immense pressure and immobility. In this position, she knew that she would have just a few seconds before the man lost consciousness, so she took advantage. With both arms free, she grabbed the loaded crossbow at the base of his chair and maneuvered to aim it across the room.

That one has knives.

Talia squeezed the trigger and watched a bolt pierce through cheap boiled leather that was another guard’s armor. The force from the bolt was so great that he sat back down in the chair he had just been in, face stunned as he slipped quickly into death. Sensing that he would have been her most immediate threat, Talia felt more secure in her plan of attack, which lasted much longer in her head than the few seconds it took in real time. She heard sounds of combat behind her, and knew that Alex and Carl were fighting the other six guards in the room. When the man she was still suspended from collapsed from a lack of oxygen, Talia was able to see a glimpse of Alexandre midair, a bare foot whipping across the face of a guard. A resounding crack told her that he had likely broken some of the man’s bones.

Good form.

Looking back towards the remaining two assailants that were now charging her, Talia made a quick dive and slid between one’s legs, raising a fist and hitting him squarely while she passed underneath. Switching sides of the room with them and the distraction of manly pain gave her all the time she needed, and she picked up two knives from the guard she had just shot and pinned to a chair.

The men rushed her again, but this time she was armed. Talia spun easily through two swords, and lodged a knife into one man’s throat. On dislodging it from his now spurting body, she lashed the same knife in an arced downward stroke, opening the second’s face. Just moments later, the two blades she wielded spun through the air, one hitting a guard that Carlin had in a headlock in the eye and the other jamming itself through the hand of a guard Alex was fighting. That caused him to howl in pain and throw his head back, during which time Talia had picked up a sword and thrown it through the air with loud whooshing noises. It stuck cleanly through the guard’s chest, and he fell to his knees before going to the ground. The room was silent, save the breathing of Alexandre, Carlisle, and Talia.

Breathing and heart rate slowing, Talia returned to her normal thought patterns and viewpoint. She walked towards a wide-eyed Barclay and Roark in their cell, and picked up the keys to open it.

Seven out of eleven of them. Not bad.