Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:27:57 -0800 (PST)
From: Shannon Bozarth <pon_farr07@yahoo.com>
Subject: Going for Bronze Part 3

Disclaimer: This work is fiction, featuring a same-sex relationship between
two consenting adult males.  If you are under the age of 18, or if it is
illegal to view/read this in the city/state/country in which you live,
please do not continue reading.  The characters, locations and plots
contained herein are strictly fictional, and no relationship to any actual
person, place or thing is implied or intended.  This work is from my
imagination, and no one may re-use/reproduce/re-post it without my consent.
Feedback is welcome at pon_farr07@yahoo.com.



	I stood, looking dumbly at the closed door that separated me from a
man that I had quickly developed feelings for.  It had all happened so
fast.  Maybe the feelings of gratitude for what he had been doing for me
and my family were overwhelming.  Maybe it was not anything at all, but
lust or infatuation.  No matter, my heart still felt the pain of his
leaving.  I had hurt him.  Even through his smile, I could see the pain my
rejection had caused him.  How could I explain that I had just saved his
life?

	As I bent over to pull up my breeches, a loud pop reverberated
through the cabin and a rush of displace air slammed into me.  Quickly I
jerked the breeches over my hips, ready to defend myself.  I knew the signs
of a teleportation spell.

	"Mervlyn!  What are you doing back so quickly?"  I rushed over to
the mage and helped him steady himself.

	He smiled his gratitude at me.  "Prince Zadron is hastening to your
sister's side.  He left as soon as I delivered the message regarding
Genev."  He paused, looking around the room.  "You are well?"

	Releasing my hold on his shoulders, I sighed and, turning, plopped
down on a wooden chair, grabbing the pitcher of ale and draining the last
drops into a cup.  "As well as can be expected.  Things almost got out of
control, Mervlyn.  I almost forgot to stop Kradyn before...well, you know."

	"Indeed, I do," he acknowledged.  "Your Majesty--Ruldaan--I know
that it is difficult for you, but we shall find a way to overcome this.  No
spell, no matter how powerful the caster, is without its flaws.  We shall
defeat it."

	I nodded, more out of habit than agreement.  How many times had we
had this conversation?  I had lost track.  I could just kill the bastard
who had put this curse on me.

	"What a family," I muttered, sullenly.  "My sister is bewitched by
some unknown malady, and if I have sex with anyone-- Well, you know."

	Mervlyn cleared his throat.  "Uh, there is something else."  He
hesitated, waiting for me to look up at him.  When I finally did, he said,
"There is something about Kradyn that is truly baffling to me.  I swear
that I have seen him before, years ago when--as I mentioned on deck a few
days ago--a young apprentice loosed a fireball spell that killed him.  If
it is the same person, he should be dead.  Please, guard yourself, my king.
Should Kradyn be more than he appears to be, you may be in grave danger."

	"Thank you, friend.  I appreciate your concern."  I drained the ale
from the cup.  Standing up, I went about my cabin gathering clothing and
pulling it on.  More presentable now than I had been when I met the bronze
dragon, Rofek, I moved toward the door.  "Come, let us find First Mate
Biddon and Kradyn and determine what we should do.  We should be mooring in
Nwansk harbor this evening.  We must have a plan"

* * *
	I sat at the edge of Genev's bed, holding her pale hand in mine.
Fever wracked her body, and she muttered continually.  On occasion she
would cry out, pain coursing through her body, sending her forward away
from the pillows backing her, only to collapse a few seconds later.

	"She is getting worse," my mother lamented, pulling back the
curtains surrounding the bed.  She stared down at her youngest child,
holding back tears that threatened to flow.  "Who could be so monstrous as
to inflict this on a mere child?"  She looked at me then, and I could see
the dark circles beneath her eyes.  "I'm going to lose her, aren't I,
Ruldaan?"

	Releasing my sister's hand, I made my way to the other side of the
bed and took my mother in my arms.  "Don't say things like that.  I will
take care of this.  I promise you."  I felt her body jerking as the tears
finally broke through and sobs controlled her.  I let her emotion run its
course before I held her back at arms length.  "Go; get food and rest,
Mother.  If you don't, you shall be the next one in need of medical aide."

	Mother nodded, giving me a weak smile.  She kissed me lightly on
the cheek and then left me alone with Genev.

	I strode to the window, staring down on the gardens that Genev
loved so much and where she spent much of her courting time with Prince
Zadron.  Already I knew that if she died I would have the whole lot slashed
down and turned over into the soil

	A throat cleared on the other side of the room, and I looked up as
a butler stated, "Your Majesty, your lady sister has a visitor."  At my
nod, the butler allowed Prince Zadron into the chamber.

	The distraught prince barely spared me a glance and nod as he
rushed to his beloved's bed, taking her hand in his.  I gave them time
alone, choosing instead to look out the window and mull over the plan that
my compatriots and I had discussed while still at sea.

	Mervlyn, Kradyn and Biddon walking into the room interrupted my
thoughts.  I motioned for Zadron to join us, and after--he
thought--surreptitiously wiping tears from his eyes, he joined us at the
window.

	"Rofek sends word from the Great Library at Elemkur," Kradyn stated
without preamble.  "The High Wizard of the Moon has been able to scry the
past for what has occurred.  It seems that Genev has been cursed by a
sorcerer named Timon."

	"No," I whispered, shaking my head.  "No, not Genev, too.  That
bastard!"  I turned, punching my fist though a pane of the window.

	Kradyn immediately pulled me back, staring in shock at me as he
pulled my hand up to see.  Bits of glass dug into the flesh, and blood ran
quickly and freely over the stone floor.  Mervlyn wasted no time in calling
for a cleric-healer, and Biddon helped Kradyn pull me from the window.  I
am ashamed to admit that I had begun shouting and cursing loudly, all the
while thrashing about and attempting to put my other fist through another
windowpane.

	"Calm yourself, Ruldaan," Kradyn shouted at me repeatedly.

	As the cleric-healer came rushing into the room he stared in
bewilderment at my behavior.  Shocked gasps filled the room as Kradyn, who
had been unsuccessful in calming me with words, turned me to face him and
punched me in the jaw.  Biddon, appalled to see his king treated so,
immediately drew back his fist to defend me.

	"STOP!"  The shout, commanding and full of power, filled the room
and froze everyone in his tracks.  My mother came stomping into the room,
pushing Biddon back from Kradyn and looking at me as I rubbed my cheek with
my un-bloodied hand.  "What in the Name of the Mother has gotten into you
great louts?"

	"Forgive me, Your Highness," Kradyn said, giving a low bow.  "I
only meant to protect your son from causing himself further harm."

	"By beating him senseless?"  Mother glared at him for a few
seconds, not expecting an answer, before she turned to me.  "Why have you
begun behaving as a madman, my son?"

	"Timon."  As I uttered that one word, the color drained from her
face.  "Exactly."

	"Cleric, see to my son," Mother commanded.  She turned to Kradyn.
"You love my son, don't you, in your own...bizarre way?"

	Kradyn merely nodded his head.

	"Men," she muttered.  "Three days together, and you think you love
someone.  If you ever find out what true love is--and I guarantee you that
it's not something that you find at the end of your penis--I suspect that
you just might die."

	"Mother!"

	"Oh, shut up, Ruldaan.  And let the cleric see your hand.  Already
the servants are going to have a time getting your blood out of the stone.
Foolish child."  Mother ordered everyone out of the room, with the
exception of Kradyn and the cleric.  I could see that Zadron thought of
refusing, but a look from Mother sent him hastening after my first mate and
mage advisor.  "Once you have seen to my silly child, Cleric, you, too, may
leave."

	The man nodded his head, bowing it at the same time in a feat no
one could accomplish except in the presence of my mother.  His
ministrations quickly ended, and he made for the door and sanctuary beyond.

	Mother looked from me to Kradyn, her gaze boring into us.  Neither
of us could keep eye contact with her.  Finally giving one last "tsk,"
Mother walked over and took my wounded hand in hers.  She inspected it
closely, talking to herself about commending the cleric-healer for such
fast and fastidious work.

	"Better?" she asked, forcing me to look in her eyes.  I nodded.
"Good.  Now, I assume that you share this man's feelings?"  I nodded again.
"I see.  Ruldaan, you have long known that I do not care about who my
children love, so long as they truly love them.  That is why I
whole-heartedly support Genev marrying Zadron.  I can see that they love
one another.
	"Your father never wanted his children to be used as pawns for
alliances and treaties.  He wanted you to know love, as well as obligation.
I am by no means disparaging what you might feel for this man, but you must
be sure that it is not just lust or infatuation."  Mother stared up at
Kradyn, smiling.  "Though I can see how that would definitely turn your
head."  She chuckled as Kradyn blushed.  "Now then, if you truly love him,
I suggest that you give him all the information that he needs to make an
informed decision in regard to your little...problem."

	I looked at Mother, and Kradyn looked at me.  I did not want him to
know, and Mother knew it.  Nevertheless, she was right.  If I truly loved
him and wanted him to truly love me then I had to be honest.  I stepped
forward and kissed Mother on the top of her head.  "I love you."

	She patted my hand.  "I love you, too.  No matter how moronic you
behave sometimes."  She smiled up at me to take the sting from her words.
"Take Kradyn and have a long talk with him.  When you are finished, return
here and we will finalize your plan."

	I nodded, and then, taking Kradyn by the hand, I led him outside to
the gardens whose demise I had been planning only minutes earlier.  Finding
Genev's secret hiding spot, I gently forced Kradyn onto the little bench
that she used while Zadron read his love notes and poetry to her.  I smiled
as Kradyn's massive frame dwarfed the tiny piece of furniture.  My smile
faltered though as I remembered what I had to tell him.

	I cleared my throat and paced back and forth in front of the man I
told Mother I was coming to love, deciding best how to tell him this.
Finally, as a plan failed me, I simply stopped in front of Kradyn and
looked him in the eye.

	"When I was 20, I met a young apprentice sorcerer named Timon.  He
was so beautiful, I thought, with his long brown hair and grey eyes that
melted my heart even from a distance.  I could tell that his shyness kept
him from being able to approach me, especially since I happened to be the
Crown Prince.  Therefore, I decided to approach him.
	"I had been so sure of myself, until I stopped in front of him, and
he looked into my eyes.  Then words failed me.  I could not speak.  After a
few minutes, we both started laughing because we felt the same thing, and
neither of us knew how to express it.  From that day forward, we began a
very steamy, hot affair.
	"Before long, however, I discovered that I didn't love Timon.  I
just loved the sex.  Without thinking of his feelings for me, I sent a
message to him that I would no longer be seeing him.  I ended our affair
without the courtesy of doing so in person.  It crushed Timon."  I stopped,
wiping tears from my eyes.  "Poor Timon," I whispered.

	"Ruldaan, you don't--"

	"Please, Kradyn, this is hard enough."  He nodded at me, so I
continued.  "I failed to realize that Timon had fallen in love with me.
For him, it was not just about the sex.  It was about his heart, and he
gave it to me completely.  When he read the message I had sent him, his
heart broke within him.  He made haste to the castle, but I refused to see
him, ordering the guards to remove him if he would not remove himself.
	"When Timon realized that his pleas were falling on deaf ears, he
took to magically sending me messages.  However, I burned all of them,
unopened.
	"Eventually, Timon gave up on his attempts to contact me.
Eventually--and by eventually, I mean within a week of his last message
appearing--I forgot about Timon and moved on.  Soon, I met another man, a
knight, named Sir Jullain of Fallnagard.  One night, while we were in my
chambers, the room filled with a thick, black mist, and Timon stepped from
nowhere to stand in the center of the room.  He stared down at us.  Jullain
had me on my back, and he had just pushed himself into me.  We had frozen
in place when we saw Timon appear from nothingness.
	"For the first time, I saw how truly I had hurt and devastated
Timon.  Just as quickly, I saw that pain turn to anger and bile.  At a word
from him, the mist engulfed Jullain, entering him through his ears, mouth,
nose and eyes.  Within seconds, he screamed, spasmodically jerking himself
out of me, falling on the floor.  He was dead before his head split open on
the stone.
	"I was in such a state of shock that I couldn't even call for the
guards.  I could only stare in disbelief at the poor man who I had so
thoroughly crushed.  And at the man who I had killed.
	"'That is the last man that shall ever be inside you,' he told me.
He started casting a spell, and the stygian mist that that penetrated
Jullain began pouring from his dead mouth.  It coalesced into the form of a
man that bore a resemblance to Timon, and I knew that it intended to kill
me.  However, to my great shock it simply disappeared.
	"Timon looked at me with great disgust and loathing and said, `Know
this: From this day forward, any man who is foolish enough to allow himself
to become infatuated with you will suffer the same fate I have.  This
invisible assassin is my last gift to you, Ruldaan.  I loved you, but you
simply used me and cast me aside, all because you are the son of a king.
So, until the day you die, no man may consummate his love with you, or he
will die in the same gruesome manner you just witnessed with Jullain."

	Great sobs wracked my body as the full story came out.  I still
felt the pain I had caused Timon, and I still regretted it.  "After his
proclamation, he simply disappeared so I couldn't apologize.  Not that it
would have done any good.  The damage was done."  I stared down at Kradyn,
seeing him through my tears.  "Now you know.  That is why I had to put a
stop to you on the ship.  If I hadn't, you would be dead."

	Kradyn sat, staring up at me in quiet contemplation.  He finally
stood, and I feared that he would leave me standing alone in the midst of
Genev's garden.  Slowly, he took me in his arms, pulling me close to him
and allowing me to cry into his shoulder.  His hand stroked through my hair
and patted me on the back.

	"You must leave me, Kradyn," I said when my tears finally stopped
flowing.  "I can never allow you to truly love me, neither physically nor
spiritually.  Either way will mean your death."

	"Frankly, Ruldaan," he said, pulling me tighter to him, "that's not
your decision to make.  Let the damn sorcerer and his assassin come.  They
shall find me more than ample to the task of kicking both their asses."