Chapter 18

The valiant steed galloped through the empty streets as quick as it could without breaking the laws of the capital. Unlike the impoverished areas whose citizen's could not afford to take a few days off lest they wish to starve to death, those in the suburbs and metropolitan had complied with confinement, making the way back seem destitute and forlorn.

When they reached the mansion, the General dismounted and handed the reigns to a servant. He hadn't bathed or changed in two or three days, and his beard had wildly grown like weeds after a spring rain. Typically, after returning to the mansion he would be sure to freshen up, even if its just a little.

Although he rarely outwardly complained, his lover was as particular about hygiene as he was about food.

But the matters at hand were much more urgent, thus, he marched to Soleil's courtyard.

The information given was vague and almost made the General question the message completely. If it hadn't had Randell's seal on it, he might have even thought that this was another trick from one of his enemies.

As he traveled deeper and deeper into the mansion, he noticed the lack of servants moving about. It was mid morning, a time when the residence would be at its busiest. Even if there were very few masters, the marquis estate was expansive, holding dozens of other courtyards and small buildings needed for the estate's upkeep.

The gates to the child's yard were closed but not locked, and an eerie quiet haunted the area, bringing about more anxiousness.

On the porch of the building, three of the four maid servants worked diligently outside, awaiting for the General while shooing away any people that may have not received the orders to stay away.

"The master has returned!" The first to spot him was the youngest, Kana. Pipa had been secretive since the morning, telling her and the twins to keep guard outside. The twins had concerns that the young master had taken a turn for the worst overnight, especially Rina who had gone with him to the marketplace. Under her care, the young master encountered such a precarious situation. If she had tried harder in insisting he stayed in the carriage, maybe, things would have been different.

This was why out of all of them, Rina had been the one tending to the young master the most. If it weren't for the fact that she did so much during the day, Pipa wouldn't have rejected her request to watch the night.

All three girls were worried, but with Pipa's orders coming directly from Sir Randell, there wasn't anything they could do.

The General nodded to them and made his way to the main room. Before he could even reach for the handle, the door swung open to his distressed lover holding his son like an infant and not a boy of ten years. The General was pleased to see the boy awake and seemingly well. On his trek home, many unfavorable scenarios passed through his mind.

Now, it felt as if part of a heavy weight lifted off his shoulders.

Randell pulled Jedrick inside and locked the door behind him. His erraticism calmed significantly, - Jamie thought the beautiful uncle was going to have a panic attack - but there was still a sense of undisguised tension in his eyes. "We have a situation... The uhyre... It turns out that it wasn't an uhyre at all!"

"What do you mean?"

In a sweeping motion, Randell then gestured across the room where a child with matching ebony hair and eyes watched the family of three. He sat politely in the sitting area beside the fire. If it weren't for the several guards adept in the elements standing beside him, it might have been an ordinary scene.

Overlooking the big men, innocent and a little skinny, the boy's harmless appearance pulled the General's secret heartstrings dedicated to all things cute.

"Are you listening?" Randell lightly smacked his lover in exasperation. "Although this kid doesn't have the features or magic of an uhyre, there's certainly something different about him. This child appeared in the middle of the night while we were on full lock-down. Either we have a gap in our security, or this was the work of an inside job."

~

While the 'adults' talked, Jamie was dedicated to playing dumb.

He didn't think it was a good idea for him to interject when his explanation from earlier didn't go very well. His uncle held him under his arms like an American football and nearly turned into a NFL running-back with an open field to the end-zone. If it hadn't been for the man's willingness to hear him out, Cieran might be not just sitting pretty by the fire, but sitting pretty in the fire.

He should have known that things would turn out this way. Despite lying thus far while pretending to be Soleil, he's never been the best liar. His grandpa used to tell him that many of his words would be full of unintentional plot holes - even half-lies smelled funny coming from his mouth.

Still being held tightly, he telepathically sent his regrets to the boy, hoping they might disarm any unease.

It seemed he hadn't picked up the intrepid curiosity filling the child's eyes.

The adults surrounding Cieran studied him in vigilance but abstained from any poking or prodding like the others used to do when examining the monster. At present, this should be the best outcome. As long as the young master was safely in his line sight, he's sure he could pass whatever tests they put him through.

After listening to Randell's full explanation, the General went over to the child to give his own scrutiny. When he was close enough, his eyes emitted an internal glow of soft gold and scanned the boy from head to toe.

And just as Randell said, their indeed was something off; the elements neither attracted or repelled from the boy... 

In his gruff and robust voice that was more suitable for barking orders on a battlefield, he questioned, "What is your name, child?"

"Cieran."

The General continued to unknowingly lumber over him. "How did you enter the mansion undetected?"

Simply, Cieran answered. "I walked in."

Everyone in the room, "..."

"The gates have been closed since you left that afternoon. No one should have come in or out," Randell retorted.

Jamie knew he was forgetting something. He was too focused on giving Cieran a name last night that he had forgotten to ask again how he even found his room, let alone broke into a mansion defended by real soldiers, many of whom fought on the border.

Everyone awaited for the child's answer...

Pupils the color of the night sky stared into the pair whose golden light resembled two small suns.

"..."

One moment passed.

Two moments passed.

Nearly five minutes passed when the one to break the silence was Jamie. More correctly, the one to break the silence was his stomach. 

Growl...

Sheepishly, he laughed while climbing down from Randell's overprotective arms. "Father... I'm hungry; can we eat breakfast first? You've been away for so long, you probably hadn't eaten properly." Before anyone could stop him, he bounded over to the General and swung their arms coaxingly. "I promise that Cieran is a good boy. He can stay with me. I'm used to live with many kids around my age... It would be nice if he could keep me company..."

As if to help advertise his harmlessness, Cieran hopped of his seat and hugged Jamie who was pleading for him. His posture almost looked like a timid rabbit who had just been bullied and was seeking protection from it's owner.

The General's eyes collided with Randell's, both still held their suspicions, neither believed the kid was as innocent as he seemed. Nevertheless, it might be for the best that they kept this anomaly under supervision for now. 

~~~

A few days later, the General's mansion had long returned to normal whilst the capital slowly became restless. Without modern technology such as preservatives and refrigeration, the meager food reserves in the people's homes started to dwindle. Even the nobles who have mountains of grain stored away became antsy.

Of course, their behavior stemmed more from the scent of an opportunity. If the city gates didn't open, either the government would have to start distributing rations or they would 'have to' sell at a higher price.

The General, Randell, and a team of trusted subordinates discussed the next steps. They've confirmed that Cieran was indeed the uhyre from the market and that the boy had undergone a spell to trick the public.

However, despite knowing everything was a hoax, coming forward with the truth would be unfavorable in more ways than one...

Naturally, none of this was of Jamie's concern at the moment. After his speedy recovery, he kept himself busy as a new 'guardian' to Cieran and a squadron of plants worth dozens of silver.

Under the crying eyes of the servant girls, the young master dug dirt and plowed the land.

The four of them - and Cieran - tried to steal away the boy's work by taking hold of all the tools and doing it themselves. Unfortunately, all of them were clumsy in Jamie's expert opinion. He tried to politely insist that they could all do it together, yet no one listened...

So, as a farmer's grandson and a student majoring in horticulture, he started scooping soil with his hands. Without a shovel, hoe, or plow, he didn't let anything stop him!

He may be a young master now, but Jamie wasn't afraid of a little dirt. 

Pipa nearly fainted from seeing black crescents embedded under the beautifully trimmed nails.

After this small event, no one dared to steal his tools away any longer. 

Little did these servants know that this was just the beginning. In the future, there will be many, many times the young master will play in mud.