Robin Many Feathers

Chapter 4

As Garth made his way out of the castle and down to the stables, he heard the clank and jingle of his escort. Garth gritted his teeth. It had taken him much longer than he had wanted to slip away from the castle. Wally wanted to know where he was going and why; Roy wanted him to take half the palace guard. Garth used his charm and eloquence to get Wally to fill in for him for a short while and placated Roy by taking two guards with him rather than going alone. As it was, with all the noise, Garth felt that his mystery had probably disappeared before he even left the castle.

Making his way hastily down to the stables, Garth tried to quietly approach the half door. His entrance was ruined by the rattling and talk of the two men at arms behind him. Garth leashed his irritation.

"Please remain out here. If I need your assistance, I will call for you."

The two guards looked at each other uncertainly.

"But, your majesty, what if there's something in there."

Garth grinned, his sense of humor getting the best of him.

"Of course there's something in there." The guards stiffened. "They're called horses and carriages. Stay here."

With a final grin and hand gesture, Garth slipped into the stable. The two guards looked at each other, shook their heads, and took up positions on either side of the door.

Garth walked into the darkened stable. A single lantern weakly illuminated the stable. To his disappointment, he heard no laughter nor saw the flashing light that had been apparent from the balcony. He did see movement in one of the deepest shadows.

"Hello? Who is there? Please come out."

The shadows slowly coalesced into a young form covered in feathers, his dark hair blending with the night while his eyes flashed blue lighting from the glint of the lantern light. The young figure went down on one knee.

Garth remembered the young boy they had rescued from the woods. He had thought of young Robin off and on, wanting to know how the boy was doing. Time, however, had worked against him.

"Please rise, Robin. This is not state occasion." Garth came and raised Robin to his feet. The hands beneath his were strong, callused and of a size with his. 'He's going to be a strapping lad when he grows' Garth mused to himself, thinking of puppies with large feet growing into mastiffs. He saw the flash of hero-worship in the young boy's eyes. Garth blushed in spite of himself.

"Y-your majesty." Robin looked down, afraid the naked longing in his eyes had given him away. He peeked up through his lashes to see Garth looking at him bemusedly. Robin ducked his head. "If your majesty does not mind…" Robin bent and picked up the items nears his feet. Brush and curry comb in hand, he bowed once to Garth and walked over to a horse in its stall and began brushing him down.

"Was there something you needed your majesty?" Dick kept his eyes on the flank of the horse. To have Garth standing so near, to have him speak directly to him! He was afraid he would give himself away if Garth saw more of the naked longing in his eyes.

Garth took a sideways seat on a saddle slung over a low barrel. From his perch, he could watch young Robin as he spoke to him.

"Have you been on duty all evening?" The hands of the young boy were confident and gentle as they rubbed down the large stallion. Garth knew the horse. It was one of the more aggressive of the stallions, but valuable as a stud. The fact that a youngster was handling him easily….

"Yes, your majesty. I traded duties so I could watch the games this day." Dick mumbled soothingly to the stallion, he wanted to get the ticklish spots done with a minimum of fuss. The horse sighed and leaned into Dick's brushing.

Garth cocked his head. "Did you see anything unusual down here this evening? Not a half hour past?" He hoped the young boy had seen something.

Robin started. "I-I'm sorry your majesty. I stepped back into the tack room to get the combs and picks for the horses. The lantern was out, so it took longer than I had anticipated." Dick hung his head. "I hope you will not see it as a dereliction of duty…" Dick held his breath. He did not want to lose his position now.

Garth waved his fears away. "Of course not, Robin. Such things happen." Garth was curious as to why to boy was jumpy though. "Nothing has bothered you here, has there? I would not want you to come to any harm. I thought I saw lights flashing from the top of this building and my curiosity prompted me out. It was accompanied by the most joyful laughter I have ever heard. I wanted to see who has having such a better time than I was." Garth shook his head. "Alas, I find only darkened stables and a young boy staying at his duty."

Dick leaned in close to the stallion, hiding his face in its mane. Garth had seen him! Heard him! "I'm sorry your majesty. If I could give you flashing lights I would." Robin looked over at Garth from the screen of the horses' mane. "But aren't you enjoying the fete? It's being given in your honor and there are so many that have come just to see you!" Dick had been amazed at the numbers of people as his heart had plummeted to his shoes. Even if he had been able to press a suit with Garth, there were so many others able to offer more, be more, show Garth more than one young prince from Grayson.

Garth looked at the boy in bemusement. "I suppose. I am being allowed to marry as I choose. My nephew will succeed me on the throne and we have the alliances we need." The lantern light softened Garth's features as his eyes looked around the stable. "I was hoping that one would come this night, but he did not." Garth turned his attention back to Robin. "You said you attended the games today. Did you enjoy them?"

Dick grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Very much your majesty! The contestants were superb and the events allowed each to highlight their strengths. The variety of skills and abilities needed to compete covered all levels and did not just focus on strength alone." Garth grinned as the young man waxed eloquent over the contestants and events of the day. He seemed to have good things to say about all of the contestants, both in ability and personality.

"And what of the young masked man dressed in black? What do you think of his skills?" Garth waited for an answer with a smile. He expected to hear hero worship from this young boy.

"N-nightwing? Um, he seemed pretty good. The other contestants seemed to like him." Robin was concentrating on the brushing of the stallion as if his life depended on it. "I heard he helped one of the other contestants."

Garth raised his eyebrows. "He did not just help her Robin, he saved her life." Garth was surprised at such a lukewarm response on the subject of Nightwing. He had thought him magnificent!

Robin looked at the stable. "I suppose so your majesty. But anyone would have done the same. The rope was fraying on the right side. But the Lady Donna was wonderful! She had such strength and balance! She was able to continue the course without a faltering moment." Dick gave a shy grin and a sideways look to Garth. "She also seems to have caught her huntsman."

Garth laughed. "That she has! The two seemed to have become inseparable since the awards ceremony. If only I could have kept Nightwing at my side as Roy has kept Donna."

Dick was stunned. The sound of Garth's laughter went straight to his heart and nestled there. A warm and loving feeling of joy and happiness. Dick could not think of a more beautiful sound in all the world. He had also lost the thread of the conversation.

"M-my lord?"

Garth decided to unburden himself to his young confessor of lantern light. He had never heard of the youngster carrying tales or currying favors with rumor or gossip.

"I had hoped that Nightwing would come to the evening's festivities. That I might find him and speak with him. Find out about the man behind the mask and why he hides himself. Who he truly is and why he wears a mask." Garth looks down at the floor briefly then up at the silent young boy. "To help him if he is in trouble or give him shelter if he is running."

With those words, at that moment, Dick almost revealed himself. But there was neither help nor shelter from the Laughing King save anonymity. He would not let anyone else be endangered by who he was. He could, however, redeem Nightwing in the king's eyes. "Maybe - maybe, your majesty, he could not attend. He may have had to choose between the two and chose to compete. He may have had other duties restricting him from coming." Robin was glad that he was mostly in shadows. "He may have felt he had nothing appropriate as clothing for the evening activities."

Garth looked at the young boy hiding in the shadows of the stallion. He had a point. Not all could attend easily. But how would such a young boy know? A thought struck Garth. Just how old was Robin? He looked to be young, between the ages of ten and twelve. But he had gauged contestants accurately, been knowledgeable about the courses and the strength and abilities needed to compete in them. He could take care of horses with ease and surety that were much, much larger than him. Just as Garth turned to ask Robin how old he really was a messenger appeared.

"Your majesty. Your presence is requested in the ballroom." The messenger bowed and waited patiently for Garth.

Garth sighed. His life had caught up with him once again. He turned to his young companion of the evening.

"I must go Robin. If you attend the games tomorrow, please come find me. I would like to talk with you again."

Robin bowed as Garth left the stables, and then exhaled a nervous sigh as he rested against the flank of the stallion. His dreams and fears all wrapped up in one delightful, nerve wracked evening by lantern light.

Dick shook his head. It may be time to run. He could not afford to have the King of Atlantan interested in him, no matter how much he wished it. But, after the games. He enjoyed the games and maybe, just maybe, he could meet Garth once more as Nightwing rather than the young boy Robin. Dick gave a deep sigh. How he truly wished he could meet him as the prince of Grayson.

Late that night, or early the next morning, Garth sat up in bed. A thought had been forming in the back of his mind ever since he had left young Robin for the ballroom. It finally coalesced in the wee hours of the morning as such thought do. How did Robin know Nightwing's name? As far as Garth knew, Nightwing had given no name until Garth had asked for it at the awards ceremony. Robin had also known details of the courses that were unknown to any save the officials and the competitors themselves. How had he come by such information? There was more to Robin than met the eye. Garth was determined to find the answers to the mysteries that seemed to have cropped up around him over night. But first, the day's games. He hoped that young Robin would come find him.

Robin had completely forgotten the king's request in the hectic morning. Mic was trying to renege on their agreement, and horses and equipment were being moved and settled all over the stables and the yards.

"I want to see the man in black! He's supposed to be fantastic! Trade me back. Go to the dinner and ball tonight. The food was great and the women were awesome!" Mic looked at Robin expectantly. The younger boy had always caved in the past.

"Mic. You agreed to the swap. You wanted the food and to watch the women. You said you had a great time…" Robin was afraid he was never going to get away and the competitions were to start soon!

"You're right I did. But I want to see the competitions now. Trade me back. It's not like your actually competing." He loomed threateningly over Robin. "I might. So switch back and go help with the horses." Mic prepared to leave the stables and Robin felt powerless to change this.

"Hold up there young man." Roy, the Master of the Hunt, had caught the tail end of the conversation. Donna had stepped away to ready her horse and equipment and Roy was waiting for her. He had seen young Robin being bullied by some of the other stable hands in the past, but he seemed to always hold his own or gain comeuppance later. But here was a situation where he might be able to help.

Mic stopped in his tracks. No one disobeyed the Master of the Hunt.

"Sir?"

Roy looked between the two boys. Robin's shoulder slumped in dejection, Mic acting as if nothing had happened.

"From what I understand, the two of you had an agreement. Is this correct Robin?" Roy looked at the young boy.

Robin looked up. He had not wanted to draw attention to himself.

"Yes sir, but it doesn't matter."

Roy looked at Robin with exasperation. The youngster needed to grow some spine!

"Yes - it does matter. Agreements should be honored and not taken advantage of. What was the agreement Mic?" Roy looked at the older boy expectantly

Mic hung his head. "Robin agreed to take my evening shift in return for my working his day shift sir." Mic felt lower than a worm's belly. He never wanted to look bad in front of the Master of Hunt. He wanted to become one of his huntsmen eventually.

"Then I would say you need to get to work. The horses need looking after with the equestrian events this day." Roy turned his gaze to Robin. "And you need to run along and go enjoy yourself. The king would not ask anyone to work a day and a night concurrently. Off with you."

Robin could not believe his good fortune. "Thank you sir!" Robin also turned to Mic. "Thank you for honoring your word Mic." Mic flushed and felt even lower at the younger boy's words. Robin didn't see this, he was already flying out the door.

Roy chuckled as the younger boy was gone in a heart beat. Donna came up to Roy with a quizzical look on her face. "Who was that in the cape of feathers Roy?" She moved up close to the hunter. She had no intentions of letting poachers get close to her captured prey. Roy put an arm around her. "That was Robin. We found him in the woods believe it or not." He looked down at the beauty against his side, marveling at his own luck. "Just defending those who cannot defend themselves."

Donna looked at him with disbelief in her eyes. "You're saying that man can't defend himself? She handed Roy a metal hoof pick that she had picked up off the floor. It was bent almost in two. "You're 'helpless Robin' dropped this as he went out the door." She turned back towards the exit that Robin had taken. "He moves like Nightwing." The masked man's name had moved through the court like gossip. "I wonder if they are related?" Donna looked up at Roy, surprised to see the look of astonishment on his face. Astonishment passed to her when Roy picked her up and kissed her. "You are an angel!"

Donna was left in the stable with a puzzled look on her face as Roy went running out of the stables. Maybe her hunter had gotten whacked one too many times on the head?

Dick hurried to his hidden spot and changed as rapidly as possible. Throwing on the suit of Undermountain, and putting on the Mask of Twilight, Dick ran for the competition grounds barely making it to the end of the line of competitors for the days opening festivities. He was determined to compete today, his last day before he left. He wanted to see the king's purple eyes once more.

Garth was restless in his pavilion. He had hoped to spot Nightwing as he entered the competition grounds and see where he came from. But so far, there had been no sighting of the masked youth. Garth was losing hope that he would ever see the young man again. Garth sighed and leaned back in his seat. With a guilty start, he realized that he had been ignoring his guest in favor of searching the fields. Garth turned to the man at his side.

"My apologies, Lord Marshall. I did not mean to disregard your presence. Thank you for traveling from Haly. I understand that things have only just calmed down recently with your return."

Lord Wayne smiled indulgently at the young king. Even now, he could see that he did not have Garth's full attention. "No need to apologize, your highness. I understand. A question for you though." Garth looked inquiringly at the Lord Marshall. "Is that who you were looking for?" Bruce Wayne was pointing to a figure who seemed cloaked in the shadows of mountains while standing in broad daylight. Or, rather, leaping and twisting over heights that others could only gawk at.

Garth's eyes followed the length of Wayne's arm and saw the figure in black. It was the same man, but rather than the presence of pine and mountain breezes, there seemed to be a sense of twilight about him. That slice of time that was neither night nor day seemed to hover around the young man, enfolding him in its dusky arms, giving him the air of magic and the possibility of all things that that time of day engendered. He was as handsome as Garth had remembered.

The smile on Bruce Wayne's face deepened as he saw the eye's of the king rivet upon the figure competing. He had lost his own young ward, sought him still, but that did not mean he could not help another young man.

Bruce Wayne, Lord Marshall of Haly, Leader of Clan Bat and protector to the crown, had not intended to come to Atlantan. As the young king had stated, Bruce had only recently returned to his own home and kingdom. He came home to find his ward missing, the lands in chaos, and the conniving, cowardly seneschal huddled upon the Haly throne. The seneschal had tried to have him thrown out. Tried to tell Lord Wayne that his presence was no longer needed and his position abolished. The Batman merely smiled and set about cleaning house.

The Kingdom of Haly was once again back on the road to prosperity. The machinations of the seneschal had been undone and his cohorts dealt with. The Kingdom was ready for its young ruler. Ready to be led into the future by the young hand that would guide them, with the stalwart presence of Bruce Wayne behind him for support and advice and the strong arm of the Bat in times of war, Haly was ready to welcome their young heir home. The only problem was that the young ruler was missing. That the young heir had been taken in pledge to the Laughing Kingdom. That even now, the Laughing King was making demands upon the Realm of Haly. Demands that no sane man would make.

Batman had traveled to the Laughing Kingdom, demanding to see his ward. The young boy that he thought of as son and deserving of protection. His rage was vast when told that the boy had vanished. It grew in stature when he learned of the nature of the betrothal. The Laughing King would have lost his life and two kingdoms at war if he had been present when Batman had discovered the 'payment' that the Laughing King had extracted from his young guest.

For now, Bruce Wayne has set aside thoughts of vengeance in favor of finding the lost prince. He knew why the young man was in hiding, he hoped to save Haly from the Laughing Kingdom's fate by breaking the betrothal that had been thrust upon him. Bruce wanted to find the young man and help him, protect him. Bruce Wayne knew more of strategy than just the battlefield. Between the two of them, they could keep the Realm of Haly safe.

In the meantime, Bruce Wayne would continue hunting for the lost prince throughout the surrounding countryside, and help another young king possibly find happiness.

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The competitions had a much higher attendance. People now had favorites, bets, and heroes whose exploits they followed. Young women cheered mightily for Donna as she was leading in many events and kept many a male humble. Men and women cheered and watched the archery as Roy participated, earning honors with his ability, and envious gazes of other men as Donna gave him a prize of her own for his triumph. Even Wally earned accolades, distinguishing himself in the running events.

But the name most spoken, the abilities most discussed, were those of Nightwing. The handsome youth seemed to excel at anything he put his hand to. In individual events, he was amazing; in group events he created teams that were unbeatable. In anything involving acrobatics, contortion or the defiance of gravity, he could not be touched. Such was his ability, the joy he felt when in flight, that when his turn came up, all other activity ceased to watch him fly. There was no wonder when at the end of the day, Nightwing was declared field champion.

Nightwing was anxious as he waited to one side with the other champions of the day. He graciously accepted their praise and returned it in good nature, but was quite distracted by his own thoughts. He would get to see King Garth once more. He had given his all this day so that he might see the king's amethyst eyes, to be in his close presence again. He had succeeded beyond his dreams. And that was the crux of it. Had he gone too far? Had someone recognized him and would reveal who he was? He had almost left. He had almost slipped away in the confusion of the start of the awards ceremony. But the thought of purple eyes had stopped him. 'Just one last time' he had promised himself.

When his name was called, Nightwing moved swiftly, eagerly up the stairs towards King Garth. He saw the handsome face that haunted his dreams and the smile that made his stomach fill with nervousness. He felt his heart race harder now than it ever did on the courses on being near the king again.

His step faltered and stumbled when he saw who stood next to the king. Bruce Wayne. Lord Marshall of Grayson. He had not seen that visage in ten long years. He could not go forward. He couldn't see this man yet, although his heart ached to. If he were discovered now, the last six months of pain and trial would be for naught. Nightwing turned to take one last look at Garth before he retreated and fled.

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