Fate - 13
Epilogue - 1
"I'm glad you didn't kill him."
Ray frowns and turns onto his side to look directly into Florian's eyes as he asks, "Are you?"
"You're not a killer, Ray. He was kind to you once. Just… try to focus on that." Florian reaches up to smooth Ray's messy hair away from his handsome face and smiles when a heavy jewel-laden necklace slides down his chest. It pools on the bed along with a bracelet and a garnet ring, sheltered in the tiny space between Ray's body and Florian's.
"You know," Florian adds with a smile, "bathing in jewels isn't quite as appealing as it sounds. He reaches back to grab whatever's been poking him in the neck and ends up with a fist-sized blue stone that glitters brilliantly even in the dimmed lighting of the cabin. He holds it up and looks through it, smiling at the beauty of the ordinary turned exotic.
"Find a new toy?" Ray teases, closing his hand around Florian's and the jewel and guiding them downward. He is already looking at his favorite jewels and even the rare blue diamond Florian is holding pales by comparison. "It's yours, then. But don't go flashing it around or you'll make the others jealous."
"They won't even notice. Your cousin Michel has taken quite an interest in Laila and she's not exactly discouraging him." In fact, she was already sharing Michel's luxurious stateroom aboard this elegant ship by the time Florian and Ray arrived. Solomon had stayed behind an extra day to make sure that Azura was properly confined in prison, but he'd insisted that Ray and Florian go ahead. They'd agreed, especially since they had cargo to transport.
"I'm glad she's found someone," Florian says, pushing a king's ransom aside so he can be closer to his lover. "Michel is very like you. It's easy to tell that you're cousins."
"I look better as a brunet than he does as a blond."
"Snob. I didn't mean hair-color. He's got that same… intensity as you."
"Perhaps." Ray concedes after a moment's consideration. But he's too showy for my taste, always flaunting his wealth. That's his mother's side of the family, I'm afraid."
"Well, Laila seems to like him well enough, and he is giving us passage home, even if you did have to bully him into it."
"Bully? Hardly. I'm just carrying on the fine Courland tradition. We're all like that."
"Thanks for the warning," Florian teases, picking up a handful of riches and scattering them across Ray's chest. "Do you think he'll ever get out?"
Although the topic changes, Ray follows it easily. Fear still shadows Florian's eyes and he sleeps restlessly, if at all, haunted by nightmares. Even now his right hand clenches and he unconsciously massages it, just as he has since the day he fired Solomon's gun with intent to kill.
Ray places his hand over Florian's and holds it out flat, pressing it over his heart. This always calms Florian, and after a moment, the blond's head settles onto Ray's chest. He uses his other hand to stroke Florian's back slowly, hoping to calm him into sleep for a few hours. They've given everyone strict orders not to disturb them in their cabin and after that one incident with Michel and a lot of broken glassware, everyone has cooperated.
It took nearly twenty minutes, but finally Florian's breathing evens out and Ray is able to close his own eyes. He has nightmares of his own to battle, but he can't let Florian know. The blond has suffered enough.
There are voices in the corridor, outside the cabin. Michel and Laila, seeming to be arguing about something. Laila again, a bit louder, but still too muffled to distinguish her words. Finally there is a faint thump and the voices recede. Florian shifts and mumbles something in his sleep before settling again. Ray smiles and lets himself drift until sleep finally carries him away.
XXXXX
"You're sure about this?" Ray studies Florian who keeps his head down and his attention on the ledger where he is recording Ray's "cargo". They'd spent harrowing minutes dodging debris, looters and curiosity seekers to reach Azura's inner sanctum, the opulent hidden chamber where he kept his most prized treasures. They'd bypassed larger, heavier items, and filled two mid-sized satchels with gold and jewels enough to rival royal treasuries.
Assured that Solomon was distracting local law enforcement, and that Azura was safely in captivity, Ray had used a small explosive to seal the entrance to the chamber before he and Florian escaped in the confusion.
With Florian's pale skin and hair concealed by his cloak, they'd wandered the maze of back alleyways drawing little attention in the chaos until they finally emerged, sweat-streaked and breathless in a main market area where Ray hired a cart to take them to his cousin's ship.
He'd sent Laila away with his signet ring for both their security and he'd been assured by Solomon that she had indeed convinced his cousin to wait for him and provide passage for himself, Florian and Solomon.
Still, it had been a relief to see her waiting on the dock even if there was the slightest twinge of... annoyance at seeing her standing so close to his pompous cousin Michel.
Ray's patience had been pushed to the limit by Michel's chatter and his
insistence on fawning over Florian. It took Laila's calm but firm request to finally convince Michel to show Ray and Florian to their cabin. Once there, she'd given both of them a happy hug before dragging Michel away. She'd had the good sense to wait several hours before returning with ointments and a light but filling meal for them both.
Since then, she'd been invaluable at distracting Michel. Ray smiles, bringing his thoughts back to the present. He picks up a jeweled hairclip that Florian has just logged and studies it. "Do you think Laila would like this?"
"More importantly, I think Michel would like her to wear it." Florian makes a note in the ledger beside the hairclip, similar to the entry for his blue gem, showing it given as a gift. Ray makes a face and leans down to nip at Florian's neck.
"So, are you going to answer my first question: are you sure about this?" He shifts a pile of gold coins aside, much to Florian's annoyance, and perches on the edge of the desk. "It's your decision."
Florian can't meet Ray's eyes. He tries, but he just can't. Instead, he
focuses on Ray's left ear. "I don't love him, and I'm not a whore, despite everything that's happened. But I...."
"You don't owe him your body." Ray tries his best to keep his voice calm. He already promised Florian that there would be no repercussions if Florian chooses to sleep with Solomon this one time. But keeping that promise doesn't mean he has to like it.
"We owe him our lives. He risked everything to save us. And I..." Florian looks down at his hands, gripping the edge of the desk with white-knuckled intensity. "I have nothing else to offer." He shakes his head sadly. "And it's not like I'm a virgin."
"If you do this out of obligation, it will be no different than being forced. Solomon doesn't want that, and he won't accept your offer. He wouldn't consider it anyway, but he doesn't want your only memory of him to be what happened in Azura's mansion." Ray gently touches Florian's face. "I will be with you. We'll show you that there doesn't have to be pain and fear."
"You've already shown me that, Ray. But, I would like, just once, to know what it's like for someone else to touch me without hurting me." Florian offers a brave smile, but there is a hint of desperation in his eyes. He needs this, or he'll never put aside his fear.
"Just once," Ray agrees, a traitorous part of him wondering if he doesn't need the same reassurance.
::end::