Robin Many Feathers

Chapter 6

The Ball was in full swing by the time King Garth and Lord Wayne were able to slip away. Their earlier plans to go and find Dick immediately, had been stalled and derailed repeatedly. Unfortunately, a king's time is never his own. Neither is a Lord Marshall's. Garth was able to have Roy place his huntsmen in strategic areas around the town and castle. The huntsmen knew both Robin Many Feathers from the stables and Nightwing from the games of the previous two days. If Prince Richard tried to leave in either of these two guises, they would be able to detain him.

The captain of the guard had wanted to send a squad of guards with Garth when he found him about to leave the castle. He was dissuaded of this notion by the Lord Marshall. It was decided that the Lord Marshall would be all the protection that King Garth would need. The squad of guards would be better used keeping an eye on the Laughing King's men.

Garth's approach was much quieter than the previous night. Both men realized the need for stealth, considering how rapidly Nightwing had disappeared earlier that day. The door to the stable was partially open, allowing both men to slip undetected into the darkness of the building. What met there eyes was an astonishing sight.

Leaping, twisting, turning, Dick flew from the rafters of the stable to the crystal rope and back again. Moving gracefully, almost lazily between his points of earthbound contact, Dick performed complicated acrobatics that seemed to defy gravity and time. His twisting, gyrating movements seemed to slow the world so he could leisurely perform everything he wanted to before he had to grasp the rope or land atop a wooden beam. Each twist and flip caused the rope to gyrate and spin, sending Dick off in another direction of leaps and spins and causing the rope to flash and scintillate. Here was the magic creature that Garth had tried to investigate the night before.

Both men were spellbound by the acrobatic performance going on above them. The horses did not seem impressed, but they had seen it before. The thing that truly caught Garth was the unbridled laughter. It was a sound to make angles smile and men smoulder, wanting to possess the one who was so joyous for their own. Garth's heart was in his throat as he watched Nightwing - no, Prince Richard, move with such ease and grace. He truly could not let this beautiful young man leave to hide for the rest of the year.

Dick flew through the eaves of the stable, his heart as light as his movements. Dick felt his spirits soar with his body, happy and delighted to fly one more time. The air moving past his skin felt like a benediction from his family, lifting him up and giving him hope. The solid strength of the wood beams reminded him of his father and Lord Wayne. Solid. Reassuring. Every bit as dependable as the ground they walked on. The flashing, twinkling rope reminded him of his mother. Flashing smile, beautiful as a sunrise, and stronger than steel. How he missed their presence. Dick finished his flight with a quadruple twist that landed him flawlessly next to the crystal rope. He bowed to his audience of horses, laughing at their disinterest of him and all things not horse related.

Giving a gentle tug, the crystal rope detached itself from the roof of the stable and coiled up in Dick's hands. Settling it on his hip and patting it like an old friend, Dick started to reach for his cloak of feathers, ready to once more don his disguise.

"Prince Richard?"

Dick started and turned, crouching into a defensive position that made his body a very small target and hid his face in shadow. He did not know who had discovered him, but it would be a very short lived discovery. Much as he did not want to, Dick would flee this night and a stable boy's or guard's story of the missing heir would be seen as so much fairy dust. Dick began moving backward towards one of the horse's stalls that he knew had a half door to the courtyard. With all eyes at the castle turned inward towards the dancing and the court he would be able to slip away, returning later for his silver case. He hated to leave it, but it was hidden up in the loft behind who ever had called to him.

Dick stopped, dumbfounded, when King Garth stepped forth from the shadows, one hand held out to him as if to stop and reassure him all in one.

Garth had never seen a more handsome or wary creature than the young Adonis in front of him. He would have to be careful or his quarry would flee without knowing the danger that was around them. "Please Richard. Don't leave, don't run. There's no need, I promise you." Garth kept his eyes trained on Richard's face, hoping to catch any tell-tale signs of which way the younger man might jump. What Garth really wanted to do was close the distance between them and wrap his arms around the handsome prince. Hold him and gentle him until his fears had left him. Explore the strong lithe body that had haunted his dreams for the last two nights. Keep him by his side for many, many years to come. Before any of that could happen, Garth had to keep him here. Could Garth make this dream come true? Looking into deep blue eyes, Garth was determined to do so.

Dick was also looking his fill at the young king, even as he continued his retreat. These moments, these memories, would have to hold him for a lifetime. "I am sorry, your highness, but I cannot remain. To do so would be to jeopardize not only your realm, but mine as well. I would not bring calamity upon one who has shown me such courtesy. Tell no one that I was here or it will bring the Laughing King down upon you. He is a hideous man who would ruin everything than comes under his hand, warping it to his own sick and perverted desires." Dick's eyes hungrily drank in the beauty of Garth's features. "I envy the one who will stand by your side and share your days. I hope your consort will be worthy of you and bring you happiness." Dick turned and slipped further into the stall next to the body of the chestnut mare that was sleeping there.

Garth's voice was laced with anxiety. "Richard! Please! The Laughing King is already here! You have to stay so we can help you!" Garth saw the prince start and turn back towards him, his face as pale as the moon.

"He's here?" Richard's voice was barely a rough whisper, edged with pain and fear. Blue eyes grew hard with determination. "Then all the more reason for me to lead him a merry chase away from your kingdom your highness. I am sorry I brought him down upon you." Richard opened the half door letting out on to the star washed court yard, preparing to leap into the welcoming shadows.

"Dick. Stop." The deep gravel stones of the barely remembered voice stopped Dick in his tracks and forced him to turn towards its owner, a man he had not truly seen in over ten years. Dick's eyes widened as a familiar form and face stepped out into the lantern light, hi-lighting the familiar symbol emblazoned on his tabard.

"Bruce?" The Lord Marshall did not seem as tall to Dick as he remembered, but he still had the aura of strength, that sense of bedrock stability around him. The world could rock and shudder on its foundations and this man would still be unmoved.

"The Laughing King has renounced your betrothal. It was witnessed by Royalty, Nobility and Gentry. He cannot renege on his word without giving up his crown. You do not need to hide for the rest of the year. His claims upon you and Haly are broken. You need to step into the light and reveal yourself. It is time for you to take up the throne of Haly, and lay charges against your brother King." The last statement was spoken in tones of sword and battle, so that Dick would know that the injustices done to him, to Haly, would not go unavenged. Bruce Wayne's voice turned coaxing once more as he stepped closer to the prince, his arms held out as a shelter to the man he had protected as a boy and who he would protect again. "Please Dick. Halyn needs you. You have been gone for far too long. I would have come sooner if I could have. Please, do not run from me."

Dick stumbled back into the stable proper, his mind flummoxed with this new information. The betrothal broken? When? How? Laying charges? But it was his own idiocy that had gotten him into this mess… Dick's thoughts shut down as two arms from his childhood wrapped around him and held him safe once more.

Prince Richard had lost this comfort when he was six. He had lost the safety of this pair of arms when he was five and the Lord Marshall had taken the Haly army and gone to war to defend the realm from reavers in the north. But soft memories were there. Hazy blurred images of three people who had loved him without question.

He remembered his mother as a soft lap with cuddling arms and the scent of jasmine in the air. His father was broad shoulders and ebon hair. Shoulders that Dick could ride on and would let him touch the sun.

The Lord Marshall had been a close friend of the royal couple. A strong right arm, advice and wisdom, and someone they could talk to at day's end whether it was important matters of state or the trivialities of everyday life.

When Dick was born to the royal couple, he had gained a favored place in the heart of Bruce Wayne. When blue eyes looked into blue eyes, a connection was made between their two souls. Bruce watched over the babe as protectively as his parents did. He was there when Dick took his first tentative steps. He defended the toddler when the family had been set upon by bandits during a Progression. He had caught the four year old who had slipped from the rafters when trying to imitate his parents and fly. He had held the sobbing child and soothed his fears the night before he went to defend the Realm of Haly. Those same arms that held Prince Richard now.

For an eternity of seconds, Dick relaxed into the safety of those arms. Until he remembered who also was guesting at the Atlantan castle. "The Laughing King is here? But I left no tracks, no trail." Dick tried to pull away from the Lord Marshall, feeling he had no right to comfort when he had brought this calamitous event upon his unknowing host. The Lord Marshall was having none of it. He only tightened his arms around the young man he cared for as a son. Relief coursed through Bruce Wayne knowing that 'his boy' was safe and no longer threatened by that laughing hyena of a king.

Garth hesitantly stepped towards the two Haly men. He did not wish to interrupt their reunion, but he felt he should allay the fears of Prince Richard.

"It did not appear that he was looking for you exactly, your highness, more like he is looking for a way out of the predicament you have put him in." Garth could have laughed at the baffled look that settled on Dick's face.

Dick was sorely confused now. "What predicament could I have put the Laughing King in? He has held all the cards. It's why I had to forsake honor and run."

Lord Wayne sighed and loosened his hold on his young charge. There would be time for family later. "There is no dishonor in running when there is no other recourse left to you." Bruce looked at the young prince with pride shinning in his eyes. "You had no allies and were surrounded by enemies. To stay would have been folly. By running, you saved Haly and yourself and gave others time to come to your aide."

Garth picked up the narrative next. "The predicament you've put the Laughing King in, is one of financial straits. Your betrothal gifts taxed his treasury to the limits. If he does not find an alternative source of revenue soon, he may lose his crown and country."

Dick looked shocked and pleased. "I had no idea. My thoughts at the time were only to make the gifts so difficult he would give up on the betrothal. Why did he renounce the betrothal when he was in such straits? He could have made demands upon Haly…"

Lord Wayne's laugh interrupted Dick's musings. "King Garth is responsible for that trick." Amusement laced the Lord Marshall's words. "After you fled so precipitously, that Laughing Hyena joined us on the reviewing stand. With a few pointed statements and innuendos, Garth had the Laughing King sputtering and renouncing all claims. It was a masterful move. I will always treasure the image of that madman's face when he realized what he had done."

Dick realized what a profound service King Garth had done for him. Turning to the handsome king, Dick bowed deeply. "I am in your debt your majesty. Whatever you would ask of me, I would gladly give if it is within my power." Dick looked expectantly at the king.

Garth straightened under that gaze, realizing he could ask anything of the younger man and not be refused. But if this was what he hoped, he wanted it freely given with no strings of obligation attached. Garth stepped closer to the prince. "I would seek an alliance between our two countries. One of mutual aid and defense as well as trade and open cooperation. Would Haly be open to such an alliance?"

Blue eyes sparked into purple ones Attraction and desire deepening between the two men with each breath taken.

"Haly would be very receptive to such an alliance." Dick stepped closer to Garth and bowed over his hand. "Your Majesty. I am the heir to the Kingdom of Haly. I have not been confirmed in my kingship, but do have limited powers of state. If you would be willing to grant me a private audience, I believe we could create the foundations for a very long lasting treaty." A grin flitted across Dick's features, as a matching one touched Garth's.

"That audience is yours as soon as we can arrange it." The electricity sparking between the two young men was almost tangible. A force binding them together in a haze of fascination and a desire of wanting to know the other in every way possible.

A cough behind them made the two jump and pull apart, breaking the moment. The Lord Protector of Haly looked on in amusement. "I am sorry gentlemen, but we still have business to attend to this night. King Garth has a ballroom full of guests to attend to and who are probably beginning to wonder where their host has gone. Dick, you and I have plans we need to make regarding Haly and the Laughing King." The chagrined looks on both of their faces told the Lord Marshall that they had forgotten everything but each other. A deep sense of satisfaction settled on Lord Wayne. The two young men would be a good match.

King Garth strode rapidly back to the castle. He would have to make excuses for the absence of the Lord Marshall, but there was no way they were going to leave Dick alone. Until he was recognized and his titles conferred upon him, the heir to Haly was much too vulnerable.

Entering the castle through a side door, Garth started upon the most direct route to the Grand Ball room. Deep in his own thoughts, Garth almost missed the young page calling to him softly from an open door. "Your majesty? Please, your majesty." Garth walked over to the youngster who retreated through the open door. "What is it? You are not suppose to about without another page. It's too dangerous…." Garth's words trailed off as he saw the boy scamper through a door opposite and heard the one behind him close. Looking behind him, Garth saw two of the Laughing King's men behind him, leaning against the door he had just come through. Turning back, Garth watched the Laughing King come through and close the door the page had just escaped through. The Laughing King looked up at Garth from the door. "Sorry about the ruse, your highness, but I just didn't think you would grant me some of your precious time, alone."

Garth stood his ground against the lazy, menacing advance of the madman. "What do you want? I have guests to attend to." Garth waited expectantly. This King needed to be dealt with, but now was not the time, he had more pressing duties.

"Oh yes, yes. I know. All those nobility and rabble, waiting upon your every word to see who you are going to play 'eenie, meenie, mindy, moe with." The Laughing King leaned into Garth's personal space. "I'm sure they'd all love to play 'patty-cake' with you." Pulling back, the madman began to pace around the room. "However, I believe I can assist you with this monumental decision before you. Being older, wiser and having more experience in the ways of the heart I can steer you towards a prosperous 'happily ever after'."

Garth felt the menace in the room building. He had to get out of there. Now. "Thank you for your concern, but I do believe my decision has already been made. Now, if you will excuse me…" Garth started to leave through the door the Laughing King had entered through. He was not surprised, but was angered when he felt hands on him, restraining his movements. "What is the meaning of this? Have your men unhand me or I'll have my guards…" a hand came over Garth's mouth, silencing his words.

The Laughing King came up in front of Garth and looked him over like a prize acquisition. "Oh no, I can't have that. You leaving would be so detrimental to my own needs and wants. You see, in a moment of startling clarity and genius it came to me. The perfect match for you would be me." Garth's eyes widened at the temerity of this madman, who laughed with an unholy glee. "I see you too are amazed at my brilliance. I know, I know, who would have thought? Just recently freed from a horrid betrothal to an ungrateful brat and still willing to be vulnerable to love. My heart knows no bounds; my feelings are as deep as your treasury." A cruel smile played upon the Laughing King's face. "You cost me the jewel that is Haly and its luscious young prince to boot. I do believe you and your kingdom will be adequate repayment." The Laughing King's henchman started to hustle Garth off at a motion from their king. Garth's heart took on a chill with the parting shot from the Laughing King. "Who knows, maybe we can join all three kingdoms under my brilliance as an emperor. The throne of Haly can't go empty forever you know, and then young prince Richard and I can become… reacquainted."

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