Akuhetenan arrived at the dock having fulfilled his mission with conflicting emotions. His eyes drew on the capital, the dock captain who informed him they would ship out to the Carolingian Empire in a few weeks, and the campgrounds.
Between those three choices, he chose the campgrounds and Donte. The heavy weight of his armor, layered in chainmail, thickened leather, and the padding between, couldn't slow him down as his horse met the paved road.
Wuhayb shouted, "We have an audience appointment!"
"I'll see you there!" He waved back as his horse galloped out of the dock and towards the campgrounds. Ever since he departed the campgrounds, a viscerally cold feeling had sunk into his skin. His head had turned back, and he saw more than Donte's typical crestfallen expression—it was heartbreak. It was the look of someone who expected their lover to never love them again.
And that expression of his had sat in the back of his mind the entire trip. As soon as they landed, he left a few trusted soldiers behind but departed within two days to return. So much time had passed that a new season had arrived, dry and cooler. The sun no longer bared down so hotly.
Perhaps it had also been the shock of meeting his grandmother under the guise of political maneuvering. His omega father had sent him a message that on his trip, he should be especially careful of the Songs, especially Lakshmi.
He thought that if the Empress was unable to marry a childhood sweetheart, then what was he? The woman was full of bitterness towards the Empire of Sonhrai. And he felt, in part, that it was deserved.
Even then, she explained that her son-in-law had been roped into a dangerous situation but the legitimizing of his birth in two empires would be nothing but grand news and open up the Songs to trade, as was their specialty, to their Empire.
Something that he knew his own grandfather, Maximus, as aged and retired as he was now, would greatly appreciate.
The pros and cons fought as he decided to acquiesce to the parents of his parents. But then he began to wonder what he was willing to sacrifice for his family and lineage.
Gifts of rare oils and gems were left back at the ship, but he could feel that the time had passed and given him a new sense of clarity and perspective.
Amira's brown locks and soothing countenance were arranged for his benefit, but he was never meant to be a man like his father, stolid and settled. He was never going to be a man who felt comfort in his lack of ambition.
His horse galloped into the scene of the campgrounds, sitting quietly. There wasn't the sound of training or the shouts of orders. He slid off the horse and hooked it to the nearest post before weaving around the training grounds, the prisons to the relieving quarters.
He found the usual suspects and even a few that weren't ordinarily around, Nigel Lance and Santino, for one. Nigel had pretty bright amber eyes and naturally red lips that carried him far in the quarters. His naturally tan complexion offered him a bit of strategy during certain seasons of the year, when he could flutter his lashes without fear of punishment from nature. And Santino, well, in his youth was someone he dabbled with often. A greater part of it was in insecurity, as Akhutenan in his early recruit days was much smaller than the rest of the soldiers. His training did him well and offered him the shoulders and muscularity expected out of an alpha. But Santino was one of the smallest omegas in the quarters before Isaiah, and with blonde hair and green eyes, he definitely stood out.
Typically, on a day like today, he ignored their routines. Nigel and Santino were prone to dealing with the shady parts of the city, like the blackmarkets. But so did their Commander, and Akhutenan didn't want to deal with the consequences of disrupting the widespread politics of that.
It was odd seeing them in the daytime, lounging around.
"Have either of you seen Donte?" He said.
The two snapped around and then settled as if they were on edge.
Odd.
Santino sighed. "He's typically prowling around the Commander's residence, although I'm not sure for how long."
"He's going to be shipped back, for sure," Nigel added. "He's huge. It's definitely an alpha."
Santino and Nigel looked at each other before smiling and then returning to their lounging. One fanned his face with what looked like a peacock feather fan, and the other popped fruit in his mouth as if they hadn't said a word.
He didn't let his anger tip to the surface. Instead, he repeated, "Where did you see him last?"
"Oh, somewhere around the prisons, I heard he pissed off the Commander real bad," Santino smirked. He flipped his fan over before pretending to frown in worry and turns to Nigel. "He's lucky to be carrying the Commander's child. Or he'd already be dead."
Nigel nodded. "If it were one of us, we'd already be thrown in the ocean."
"True. Too true."
"Hello! Excuse me," a young foreigner woman from the eastern kingdom peered out from the corner path. "I'm looking for the Commander?"
Nigel and Santino laughed.
Akhutenan felt his temper pulse, but held back like he would the reins of an out-of-control horse. Calmly, he said, "The Commander isn't here. What can I do for you?"
"I was meant to go out to dock and ship out soon," the young alpha said. "But I didn't see anyone there. I didn't even see the merchants I usually see."
Santino prodded. "If you give us a name, sweetheart, maybe we can help."
The young alpha blushed and stuttered out, "I--well, if you could, here's the missive."
"Ah, let's see, Yusun Chen, daughter of the--" Santino paused and then waved the missive as if it were the peacock fan. "Why don't I find someone who can help you?"
Yusun merely nodded, hoisting her luggage over her shoulder. Akhutenan took it as his moment to run, aiming towards the prisons he had just sped past.
He should've known it was odd that there were no guards posted. As his fingers met the latch, he felt that it was locked from the other end. So, he knocked on the door and said, pushing out any trace of fear and trepidation, "Commander, there's an issue at the dock. It involves the ambassador of the eastern kingdoms."
Proud that none of the fear found its way into his voice.
He could hear shouting and stomping as the door unlatched. It squealed open, with the irate face of the Commander pushing through. He slammed the door shut behind him and then looked around. The Commander was dressed in his complete armor, with his gilded sword, a famed jagged silver-gold blade, blessed and anointed by the Emperor, at his side.
"Where are the guards, Captain?"
"Commander, sir," Akhutenan saluted. "I just arrived to give notice of the situation at the docks. I'm unaware of anything else at this moment."
"Hm," the Commander said as his eyes drew over the sand. "It looks like you ran over here. You can barely tell the difference between the wheels of the wagons and your sandals' footprints."
"Sir, the Ambassador is in a tricky situation," Akhutenan pressed. "And with how on edge our alliance with the Zhuong is, it wouldn't be in our best interests to ignore them in their time of need."
The Commander waved him off. "Then why didn't you handle it?"
"They asked for you specifically, sir."
"Convenient, isn't it?"
"Sir?"
Berman seethed before his hands shoved the Captain backward and pushed up in his space. He said lowly, "Do not think that I don't know that you've slept with my relieving slave for months now. And the only reason I know the child is mine is because I made sure anytime he met with you that your rut had already ended while mine had begun."
There was no ownership when it came to a relieving slave unless there was a contract, which hadn't been done in years. The Captain also didn't correct him that there was no promise of certainty that the baby would be the Commander's, but the chance was stacked against him. Akhutenan had been busy in the months leading up to his shipping out. Even before that, he had gone back to the empire to be with his wife, Commander Berman's daughter.
"I make no assumptions, sir."
"Or that my daughter will be giving birth to my grandson, your son, any moment now."
"Of course, sir."
The pressure of the Commander's words pressed down on his chest.
They were true.
"Sir!"
It was the voice of the missing guards and someone dressed in similar garb to Commander Berman, whom he could only guess was Puneet Rasoya.
The alpha woman said imperiously, with pointed fingers, "You are to be arrested under the order of Commander Rasoya and the Empire of Sonhrai for dealing in the black market and causing strife between our great empires."
"Excuse you," Commander Berman hissed and rounded on the guards. "Who are you--any of you to be taking orders from her?"
One of the guards coughed. He said, with his fists in the air, the Empire of Carolingian salute, "Commander, sir, we were given explicit orders that if the Prince still lived and such a case was sent forward, you would have to take part in the proceedings so that the Prince could protect the sovereignty of the state. Likewise, if the Prince were dead--"
"You traitors," Commander Berman clasped his sword at his side and glared at Commander Rasoya. "I will not be arrested on the dealings of vermin and trash!"
Before Akhutenan could unclasp his own sword, Commander Berman had slammed his shoulder into one of the guards and shoved his sword into the chest of Commander Rasoya. Blood spurted out from the wound before dribbling down the gilded sword. She had only moments of gurgling before her eyes rolled into white.
She was dead.
Commander Berman yanked his sword out with a loud crack as the dead body's rib cage must've broken in the impact. The older man was breathing heavily but his eyes didn' t leave the form of the remaining guards, who slowly inched back. Berman laughed at their weakness. He swished his sword, flinging blood off his sword's tip, staining the sand.
"You thought to stand between me and my desires! My aspirations! Perhaps in the next life!"
Few people could hold their own against the Commander except for his own grandfather. Even then, it would need to be in his grandfather's prime. Akhutenan knew that fighting him wouldn't be a losing battle, but it would be hard fought, for what? To gather his parents' disappointment. His wife's crushed eyes. And for his son or daughter to know that their father had murdered their grandfather before their birth.
He shook his head and took a step back.
It couldn't be done.
Only to feel the heavy-handed pulling of someone's hands on his shoulder as he tried to move.
"Akhutenan, let me handle this," said his fellow Captain, Roy Casas, a weathered veteran in his own right. "You should go finish what you were on route to doing."
Luciano Boucher and Neal Orellano stood at his helm, each glaring at the Commander's widening grin.
The Commander shook with laughter before his eyes tightened, and he pointed his blade at the Captain. He tsked in warning, "Roy. Roy Roy. How long have we known each other? I wonder if Marina knows that she's going to lose her husband? Or if your sweet little omega son knows he's going to lose his father?"
"You should open up the prison, so we can properly put one away," Roy added, refusing to acknowledge the Commander's gripes. He handed his pair of prison keys to him. "Get the one in there out and far from here. I don't think he'll be able to return in the meantime."
"You dare to take my son away!" Berman growled as he whipped his sword. "I'll make sure you three live to regret this. Die with my name carved in your throat."
Akhutenan twisted around and could hear the sharp steel squeal in the air as sword met sword. His hands snapped open the latched door and he flew down the stairs reaching the barely lit prison dirt flooring. Half of it had been redone in his absence but he followed the walls of the familiar prison walls, brick and stone, to find lighting lit at the end of the hall.
"Donte!" He shouted as it echoed along the walls.
Hands flung out from between bars, and he ran ahead, sliding in the sand where his hands met between the bars. Even among the flickering lights, Donte's eyes show bright and crystalline, clear with his wavy, curly locks reaching to his hips in the time gone past.
As his shaky but determined fingers twisted around the key, he made a choice then. Even as Donte's rounded belly prevented him from holding him as tightly as he wished, he knew he would have to find a way out his marriage and away from the Berman family.
His lips kissed and grazed every part of his cheeks, his chin, and his eyes until Donte pulled away. The wired fear that had spun in his veins escaped him. He was alive!
"We need to leave," he said.
Berman had been too cruel, leaving Donte wearing little but some pearl filigree clothing, with his distended belly stretching the jewelry. There were not even sandals for his feet.
"I know," Akhutenan answered, pulling off the thick cloak hitched on his leather chainmail to wrap around Donte tucking it neatly and warmly. His fingers fell against his belly and he rolled his hands around thinking, even in the small chance that it was his, what a great feeling it would be. To watch his love waddle around, grinning with troublemaking grin of his as he blew him a kiss. "How are you?"
Donte paused and clutched the cloak close, breaking eye contact. "Fine. Are you--are you angry with me? I'm--" He broke off into a brittle laugh that Akhutenan hadn't heard before. "I'm fat."
Akhutenan drew the omega in, wrapped his arms around him, and whispered in his ear, "If I could have you this way year by year, what a great living that would be? You would never leave our bed except to caudle and feed our children."
The brittle laugh broke into tears but Donte had nothing else to say besides, "Where will we go?"
Kinya of the Sarakh clan told him when he made his decisions that a safe house would be made nearby on his property. It appeared he would have to take the man on his word.
"There's already a place."
The bravery that he lacked earlier wouldn't have a chance to poke its ugly head out again. Donte was alive and safe. There was nothing for him to fear but the loss of it.
He would kill before missing this again.