Nearly There Nicely 68

After getting some more sleep, Will woke up a few hours later. Dazed, he opened his eyes. The room was silent, but it felt comfortable and warm. Oh... Will thought as he came to. The scent that surrounds Crow like a thick pine wood is all around here.

Shifting over onto his back, Will pulled down the blanket. The white bright light of daylight spread to his eyes. He stretched his legs for a brief moment, then sat up. Slowly, Will scanned the room. It was clean like the night before, the window across from him open a crack. Just at its base was a selection of plants that looked like grass of varying colors of green, sprinkled with water that caught the light from outside.

“Huh... It's so quiet. And the air feels … clean.” Will mumbled, looking from the plants toward the door to the next room.

Sitting at the desk, Will could make out the shadowed form of Crow's back. Without making much noise, Will eased out of bed and went over to him. As he got closer, he saw Crow was reading a pile of yellowed papers, aged and worn.

“What's that?” he asked softly.

Crow turned to look at Will, then smiled. “Just some cryptic texts.” He answered softly, then turned to face Will. “How're you feeling?”

Will glanced around slowly. “Did... you do something?”

“Yeah.” Crow smiled, then gestured to his eyes. “I'm borrowing a bit of power to create an atmosphere.”

“You can do that?” Will looked at him startled, then quieted down when Crow gestured to his lip to shush.

“It doesn't go very far.” Crow said softly. “It's just a bit of magic to help you sleep. It wears off if we disturb it by talking loud, like our voices ripple the air.”

“Huh...” Will mused looking around. The air felt smelled clean and light. “And you did this for me?”

“Yep,” Crow nodded. “You really looked like you could use it on today of all days.”

At that moment, Will realized Crow had golden eyes sparkling at him. Pausing, Will curled his lip to smile at Crow then stepped toward him. “I take it someone told you it's my mother's birthday.”

“Yeah.” Crow winced, but forced a bit of a smile. “Personally, I think my dad makes a better courier than knight.”

Will covered his lips shyly to chuckle. “Thank you.” He leaned forward to peer at the papers. “And this?”

“Ah,” Crow turned back to them. “I know I said it's not for us earlier, but if Adell's poking his nose around into it, I want to know, too.”

“You mean Invictus?”

“Yeah,” Crow lifted a page up to Will. “It's an old piece from something King Sky said about fifty years ago. He sounds insane.”

Will scanned the page, reading aloud a segment Crow had bordered in an ink square. “Radiance has brought us to Her, gleaming towers that exist nowhere, yet shimmering and surrounded by starlight it is here. Mystified by the cataract, in the heart of the world, the oldest place...” Will looked up to him, “...It cuts off.”

“That's all of it.” Crow turned to the pages, holding up a few. “None of them continue from it. The rest is just scattered notes about weather to and from the Geo Cleft. They went through storms, hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes – all manner of nature's wickedness before arriving at the waterfall.” He paused, then held up a page from the bottom. “All that's left is a painted sketch of the scene – a large waterfall that stretches on forever into the heavens – a thick cloudbank.”

Will reached over and took the picture of scene, then frowned. “Wait. You're not thinking of actually going to the Geo Cleft, are you? Even with a god's power to aid you–”

Crow started laughing, then took the pages from Will. “I'm not exactly into sailing around into the abyss. No,” he put the pages back down onto the desk. “It'll be a waste. However, the Threshold's got lots of portals so I'm sure one of them–”

“I disagree,” Will suddenly raised his voice. The air around them shook and wavered, suddenly feeling dense and heavy. Uneasily, Crow looked around them and then settled his eyes back on Will. “I think your first idea was the correct one – it's not for us.”

Crow frowned, raising a hand to his chin as his eyes returned to blue. Instantly, the cool calm air dissipated and the relaxing feeling of it being just an ordinary home returned. “What are you going to do about Noire then, huh? And Phyte? You know he'll probably pursue you until he can figure out why he couldn't erase you.”

“Then, I'll just go to him.” Will answered stubbornly. “I'm tired of gods and if this'll get him off my back than fine.”

“And Noire?”

“Once Phyte is through with me, so will he, right?” Will asked, then started toward the stairs. “You can go after that weird power of the gods all you want.” Then he continued down and out of sight.

Huffing, Crow sulked back in his chair irritated. It isn't a power of the gods, pfft, what's he... Talking... About... After a minute, he shot up and darted after Will down the stairs. At the base of the staircase, he caught hold of the railing in his hand and turned abruptly. Will had already stopped at the kitchen counter, looking for a cup. “What did you just say? Power of the gods? How do you know that?”

Smiling, Will turned to face Crow, then shrugged his shoulders. “It's funny. I can't really remember. Like it's … buried.”

Crow sighed, then stepped past him toward the counter. “I guess... Nevermind that for now. What do you want to eat?” He asked, turning a smile at Will. Baffled, Will stared at him, unsure what to say at his mood change. “It'll be hard to ignore Phyte's actions, but... I'll try.”

Curious, Will looked into Crow's cobalt eyes, studying their depths. “Then.... pancakes?” Will asked after a moment.

“Sure.” Crow grinned broadly.

~*~

Standing at the edge of the graves, just below the dirt path that lead up to Will's mother's grave, Crow and Arluin stopped. The butler had been waiting for Will just outside Crow's apartment with a large umbrella. Without word, he accompanied the two via a small chaise carriage to the graves.

“You're not coming?” Will asked, turning to look at the two men. Crow and Arluin eyed each other briefly then shook their head.

“Never you mind, young lord.” Arluin said, waving his hand. “This is a time for you to speak with your mother without interruptions.” A bit nervous, Will nodded, and then started up the hill. “As for us, I believe an agreement should be made regarding his safety.”

“Sure,” Crow nodded. “I'm his Knight and that's all.”

“I believe by his wishes, you are to act as something far more than a Knight.” Arluin commented not looking to his side.

Crossing his arms, Crow sighed. “I really don't need someone I don't even know telling me that.”

“Then act to his according and you won't.”

“He's not ordering me around!”

“But he is important.” Arluin's words cut sharply back at Crow's.

Up at the top of the hill, Will stood in front of his mother's grave silent. He took in a few soft breaths before forcing out a smile. “H-... Hi... Mother. I'm uh... I'm mad at you.” Bowing his head, Will lifted his hand to brush away a few tears. “Is it strange I haven't been for all these years? I'm mad you got sick – I'm mad you died.” Will took a deep breath and began to shout, “You got sick! You died! You just – You kept me all alone and then when you were gone I was completely alone!”

“Somethings happening,” Arluin said, taking a step forward.

Crow looked up in time to see Will fall to his knees. “Will!” He shouted and sprinted up the hill. “Will, are you okay?” He called as he came up.

He stopped next to Will's side. Crumpled over the gravestone, Will was bawling and crying out nonsense. “You left me! I was just alone!” Crow eased down onto a knee, wrapping one arm around Will's shoulders. “I'm so angry with her!”

“Shh, it's okay.” Crow whispered. “You can be angry with her as much as you want. You won't always be.”

Will sat up, turned to look at Crow, brushed away some tears, suddenly quiet. He hiccuped a few times, then burst into tears and wailing again. “She died and is haunting me! And she left me alone!”

Crow reached out and hugged Will to him. “It's okay. Go ahead and cry. I've got you.”

“It's pointless.” Will cried, hiccuping through his words. “She – she's already – and I've already cried – and it's...”

“It'll be all right.” Crow promised, stroking the back of Will's head. He took care to be mindful of where his ears were, brushing gently with his fingertips through the pink locks. He smiled a bit, taking in a breath, as Will wrapped his arms around Crow's ribs and squeezed hard, continuing to cry into his collar.

“Sir,” came Arluin's voice as he stepped up beside them. “The rain will be getting heavier soon. We should retire to the mansion.”

“Right.” Crow helped Will get up, who continued to cry.

~*~

Will's mansion was a surprising building. Located in a spot between the palace and the Bel'vaz estate, was a small area with greenery surrounding it – long areas of grass empty of color and design. At the center was the mansion, a rather simplistic two-story square-shaped building with double-doors made of thick wood. There were small balconies above the doorway on either side coming out of glass doors from the second floor, and most of the downstairs outer-walls seemed to be arched windows.

Stepping inside, there was a plain wide open foyer. To the left was a living room attached to a small study that they walked through to get to the kitchen at the back of the house. As they walked by, on the right, Crow could make out a large ballroom – not nearly as big as the ones in the estate, but large enough for fifty people – attached to a dining room that came off the other side of the kitchen.

Through the kitchen, stepping through wafting warm air and smells of pastries and some sort of meat being seared for dinner, was a large staircase. After going up to the second floor, Arluin led Crow and Will, who was still sobbing, though quieter now, off to the left down a short hallway. He opened a large doorway and gestured for Crow to take Will inside.

With a nod of his head to the butler, Crow stepped across the threshold with Will hugging him into the room. It was a rather plain room, not much larger than Will's own from the estate. It had a decent sized bed for two people with several comforters and a stack of pillows at the head. It was parallel with the door and wall, so that behind it was a large tapestry depicting forests and lakes and on it's side away from the door was a set of large windows.

Crow eased Will over to the bed, then glanced around. There was a trunk of some sort at the foot of the bed, a matching pair of wardrobes and a doorway that led off to the right to an attached bathroom suite with a large tub for soaking in.

“Oh he'll love this,” Crow spoke softly as he came back to the bed's edge with a towel from the bathroom and a cup of water. He shifted onto the edge of the bed and handed the towel to Will.

Will had settled down onto the blankets, pulling one up over his shoulders as he'd brought his knees to his chest. Quietly, he took the water and held it to his lips as he took a few tentative sips as he began to calm down.

After a few minutes, Crow asked, “Feel better?”

Will shook his head, then took another sip. “No.” He reached his hand out, and Crow passed him the towel. After wiping his face and taking a few breaths to calm himself, he continued in a raspy voice. “I kind of want to scream.”

“Do it.”

Will chuckled but shook his head. “Maybe when my throat doesn't hurt.” He took in a breath then sighed.

“This is a nice place,” Crow commented, immediately wanting to change the topic.

Will lifted his eyes, dreary, and glanced around. “But I'll be alone here.”

Frowning, Crow shifted forward so his face was all Will could see. “How do you figure that?”

“Adell, Alexander... Even Mia. They aren't here.”

“So?” Crow straightened up. “You've got that Arluin guy, and someone's downstairs cooking dinner right now. You won't be alone. I'll even be around to see you every day.”

Will looked up at Crow, watching him quietly for a moment. Crow noticed himself being studied and smiled at Will. His hair was damp, but still styled in his owl spikes, and his clothes had mud on them from the hill. Focusing in on Crow's eyes, Will looked from his left to his right slowly, studying each individually. “You won't go after that glistening tower in the Geo Cleft?”

Crow frowned, “I won't say... never...” Immediately Crow could tell from the blank, tired expression from crying that Will's face had darkened with a bit of depression. “How about, if I do go, you go with me?”

Will shook his head. “Oh, come on, Crow.” He paused, then smiled a bit, “I am a candidate to be King. Crown princes get to know special knowledge.”

Special knowledge? Like what? Of the glistening... Of the Geo Cleft? Wait... Does he... Crow gaped, his face turning white. “You... Knew... About the gods.”

“Dragons, gods, same thing.” Will leaned his weight back. “The Threshold was new information.”

“S-so... Why aren't you afraid of them?” Crow placed a hand down to brace his weight as he leaned toward Will's face.

“Hmmm.” Will mused, then shrugged a bit, then smiled genuinely at Crow. “Because I don't believe in gods?” He paused and met Crow's eyes. “After meeting Matéas like that, I'm sure now. They aren't gods. And what those papers said – a tower glistening of water – there sleeps something not for us.”

“Yeah?” Crow asked. “So? What about the it?” He leaned forward and whispered his words across Will's face, “I want to know the secret.”

“Hm,” Will shrugged, looking to the blankets by his feet. “I have a vague memory – a dream – where King Sky told me 'There where nothing is visible, but everything is seen, is a very special kingdom. Something older than Theghesalia.'”

“A... A kingdom?” Crow's jaw hung open.

“A kingdom.” Will nodded. “I don't think asking a seventy-year-old King would do any good now, but... When he told me, it gave me the feeling that I should never go there.”

“You?” Crow asked softly. “You specifically?” Will nodded, taking another sip of the water. Crow slid across the blankets to Will's side and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “Well,” he sighed, “Let's ignore it right now. You really should rest.”

Without a word, Will laid his head against Crow's shoulder and shut his eyes. Startled by the contact, Crow felt his shoulders tense.

Bother about it later, if there ever is a later... But knowing Crow's attitude, we might end up finding out what it is. Will took in a slow breath, then sighed again. I'm tired from crying and my head still hurts, and crying made it worse. He chuckled suddenly in the silence from his thoughts, “I didn't think I was that mad at my mother. I got so worked up, I started crying.”

“It's not as bad as before,” Crow replied, patting Will's shoulder with his fingers of his arm wrapped around him. “You cried yourself to sleep before.” He shifted forward to look at Will in the light. “Exhausted or feel better?”

“Both.” Will nodded. “I'll be okay to eat supper in a bit.”

“All right.” Crow shifted his weight to get up.

“Wait.” And Crow stopped, turning back to look at Will's tired face. “I'd … rather you held on a bit longer.”

“Uh... Sure.” Crow nodded, and settled back into his position.

Will relaxed against Crow's side. Eventually his knees falling toward Crow's legs as he took steady breaths to relax himself without stifling down his emotions. Every few minutes, he'd cry again and have to wipe away the tears, but it wasn't suffocating his throat this time.

It's okay to be mad at her, cause I won't always be... Will repeated Crow's words to himself as he took the time to calm down.