Forgotten Embers

Chapter 34: Love and Loyalty

"Gentlemen," he said gruffly as he pushed through the door.

"Lord Blackridge!" the men called out as they parted, surprised by his stormy demeanor.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

"Right in there, sir," one of the soldiers indicated, pointing to a door on his right.

He burst through the door without another word to any of them, his frustration at its peak. The room was damp and poorly lit with minimal accommodations. To the left, there was a large cell with black iron bars reinforced by maurium and fused with magic. Ahead there was a group of soldiers, some sitting at a table and the others standing around them. Their heads shot up as the door slammed open, the weight of the metal crashing against the wall.

"Get out," he ordered them.

The men froze in stunned silence.

"I said get out!" he roared, advancing towards them with anger.

"But Lord Blackridge," their commander protested, "we have been ordered to-"

"Benson, you'll leave if you know what's good for you," he snarled. "Now, get out!"

The other men fled, leaving their captain to his convictions. "But, sir," he said as he rose trembling from his chair.

"Benson!" he shouted, and the man dashed out the door.

Blackridge closed the door behind him and pressed himself against it. He bolted the door shut and, letting out an emphatic sigh, he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cold metal.

'How could this happen?'

He remained still, isolated in silent lament and trembling with fear and anger as old memories whirled around in his head.

'How could I have let this happen?'

Suddenly, a voice came, breaking through his solitude with the soft words of an old friend. "Hello, Adrien."

He leveraged himself from the door, spinning around and stumbling back towards the cell. He shook his head, despondent, and at last he said, "They've asked me to preform the execution." He shook his head again.

"Will you?" the prisoner asked him, his voice a soothing calm.

He shook his head. "How could I?" He tearfully choked out the words, unable to face him.

"What will you do, then?" he asked again, propelling his thoughts.

He shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted, and he sighed, exasperated.

He hung his head and closed his eyes. 'How is it that it has come back to this? And what have I done? After all this time, what have I done to make amends for all that was broken? What have I allowed that now we are here?'

He opened his eyes and turned to face his friend. The sight of him was both a balm and a heartache as he looked at him behind the bars of the prison. He appeared lightly battered, a matter which could doubtless be traced back to the guards' poor treatment of him. "Eliezer, what are you doing here?" he asked him.

"If you don't know it, how could I?" he asked with a joking smile, his voice softly fluctuating. "I was arrested, if they haven't told you."

He smiled, amused. 'Ah, that same old gentle humor.'

"Yes," he conceded, "but you allowed that. Did Dorcus tell you or did you know already?"

He smiled with a nod. "You know us too well. She came by my room last night and told me, but I did have an inkling of it, myself."

"I thought so," he replied, considering. "It was you who told Benjamin, then."

"Yes... we did," he replied hesitantly. "We sent him to help Avera escape. He isn't here, is he?"

"No, he isn't," he said, reassuring him. "You know," he told him with a look of amusement, "he couldn't get her out of there, so he played it as a kidnapping."

Eliezer's eyes widened. "Oh my!" He chuckled, shaking his head. "That is exceptional."

"No," Blackridge corrected, laughing and pointing a finger at him, "the boy is crazy like his father was."

He laughed again. "Perhaps a bit more avant-garde," he suggested.

"Whatever it is, it works for him," Blackridge confessed with gladsome admiration. "He escaped without incident, and, thanks to his fanciful performance, Avera is free, as well."

"It worked for Casper, also," Eliezer reminded him.

"True. Ah, true. We did have some remarkable adventures then," he reminisced.

"Many of which I was quite pleased to hear after the fact as riveting tales of valor and heroism."

"Ha! But you had your own share of exploits," Blackridge reminded him, pointing a finger at his friend, "and those were much more remarkable in many ways." He paused, looking the man in the eyes until at last he whispered, "Lazarus." His lips parted into a grin.

Eliezer smirked, turning his gaze to the ground beside him, and he gave a gentle nod of consideration. "I suppose," he muttered.

"I don't know how you're getting out of this," Blackridge sighed, "but I know you will, and when you do..." he said, reaching into his side pouch.

Eliezer watched him, curious. "Adrien..." he addressed softly.

"...you'll need this!" the mage declared triumphantly, pulling a gold ring from the interior of the bag's purple velvet. He presented it to his friend, extending his hand between the bars. "Here," he told him with a look of satisfaction, "I thought you should have this."

Eliezer bowed himself. His eyes began to well with tears, and a look of deep appreciation spread over his kindly countenance. "Thank you," he said, taking the ring from Adrien's outstretched palm.

Adrien shook his head, on his face an unrelenting smile. "What are you still doing with that, anyway?"

"It was..." he lifted his eyes in thought, trying to hold back the tears, "bad timing, as you suggested." A smile briefly crossed his face, and he let out a sigh of lament.

'I did say that, didn't I?' Blackridge considered.

"It wouldn't have been if it weren't for me."

Eliezer shook his head. "This isn't your fault."

There was a brief silence between them. "Did you know that Benjamin plans to attend the trial tomorrow?" he asked him, changing the subject.

"Yes. He told me. He wants to see Ramus."

"I see," he said, considering things. "I told Avera I would look for them. Hopefully, he won't get into too much trouble. The trial is public, so..."

Eliezer bowed his head. "I am grateful to you."

Adrien nodded with a small sound of acknowledgement. 'Yes, but...' He bowed his head, considering the ground on which he now stood.

"I should go," he at last replied.

"Adrien," Eliezer said, calling him back, "how do you know I'm getting out?"

He was surprised by the question. 'How do I know it? Wait, doesn't he know?'

He shot a puzzled glance at his friend. "Didn't Dorcus tell you?"

Eliezer smiled, shaking his head. "No such thing, but I believe it."

'Well... I know, because, Lazarus... it simply cannot end like this, behind these bars, within these walls... there must be a more glorious end... for all of us.'

"Then take it on my word and my conviction that neither you nor I will die tomorrow!" Blackridge declared. "And know that I could never kill you, either," he added with a determined smile.

"Adrien," he said, stopping him as he went to leave.

He turned again, curious.

"Thank you for this," he told him, shaking the ring as he held it between his thumb and his forefinger.

Adrien smiled with a nod. 'Any time, old friend. Any time at all.'

He moved the deadbolt and left him. The guardsmen were still gathered in the hall outside the door, and their eyes watched him with looks of nervous dread.

'Right...'

"Well, gentlemen," he addressed with all of the enthusiasm he could muster, "thank you for your cooperation. It has been a long night, but a glorious one."

They all seemed to relax a little. 'That's good. I wouldn't have them too upset with me.'

"Gentlemen, to the future!" he declared, snatching a small glass of bubbling clear liquid from the round. "May all the enemies of the King be cast down, and may their schemes be brought to nothing!"

The response of the men to his words was one of relieved jubilation. "Here, here!" they echoed the reply, raising their glasses one to another in celebration.

"To Pyre!" he proclaimed, holding the glass high.

"To Pyre!" they cheered the enthusiastic reply.

He smiled, his heart finally at peace. 'To you, oh prince, and to you, oh my King.'

And with that, he set the drink down on the table and left them.