Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 15: Chapter 15

THE WORLD SHIFTED AND swayed beneath his feet, his heart thundering in the base of his belly. There was a lump in his throat big enough to choke him. Kit didn't know what he'd expected Herwerde to show him, but a son was most certainly not it.
He struggled to find anything to say. "Uh... hi... Lionel. I'm..." He looked up to Herwerde. "Am I 'dad?' Do I have to be 'dad?'"
Herwerde looked almost amused at this. "You can be whoever you want to be to him, he's your kid."
"Okay then." He swallowed, awkwardly jutting a hand out to the child. "You can call me Kit."
Lionel took his hand, and didn't let it go even after Kit shook it. "Hi, dad."
"No no, just Kit, Kit is fine."
"Okay. Hi, Kit," he said. He moved his big beady eyes up to Morgana next, but the Unseelie looked like he was looking straight into the face of a deadly beast. "Who are you?"
Morgana tried to regain his composure. "I'm your worst nightmare. You'd be wise to never talk to me, touch me, or even look at me. Understood?"
Lionel didn't look the slightest bit intimidated. After all, children has no concept of danger unless it was a big, howling monster.
"Who are you?" He was pointing to Selene now.
Selene looked just as shocked as Kit did. She was shaking her head like she didn't believe it. "I'm Aunt Selene," she said as politely as she could.
Before he could ask anyone else, Giselle knelt before him, catching his attention. "Hello, Lionel," she sang. "I'm Giselle."
He reached up to touch her iridescent wings, pulling a giggle from the faerie's lips.
"So, are you just leaving him with us?" Kit asked, staring at Herwerde with disbelief.
The Lord looked away. "Something happened to his mother, I don't know what. He came looking for you at the castle, and he's lucky it was me who found him. I didn't know what else to do with him, but I knew you two could protect him."
Kit laughed, but he wasn't amused. "I'm sorry, Herwerde, but I know nothing about children. I don't know how to deal with them, I don't want to accidentally send him into danger. See, we're on a very important quest and I--"
"I wouldn't underestimate this child, Kristofer," he interjected. "He found the castle on his own and I have no idea how."
He stared at Lionel. "How do you know he's not dangerous, then?"
"Your Highness, please, he's a child. What could be so dangerous about him?"
Kit had his fair share of books that didn't match their covers by now, but if Herwerde was sure about this, well, he trusted his judgment.
"And besides, that Seelie has already taken a liking to him."
Kit turned to see Giselle giggling and playing with the boy, delighted to be in the presence of a child. That was something about Seelies. They loved children. Adored them. They were the ones most likely to pluck them right up from the woods and take them home for entertainment, whereas Unseelies preferred to mess with them to get what they wanted.
"Are you sure about this?" Kit asked, looking to Herwerde again.
The Lord didn't break his gaze from the child. "I have no idea, Kristofer. But it's all we've got."
There were seven of them now, all sharing one room at an inn. Giselle hadn't left Lionel's side since she'd attached herself to it at the start, which at least kept Kit from having to deal with him. She'd assigned herself the role of babysitter and he was more than happy to let her keep it.
"Keep an eye on her," Morgana said quietly. "She might run off back to Faerie with him at this rate."
Morgana didn't laugh, but Kit knew he was joking. He glanced over to Giselle again. She was sitting against a wall with Lionel, listening intensely to a story he was telling her which involved a lot of sound effects and waving his arms about the air.
It was nice to have her help with occupying the child while Kit processed what was going on. How the hell could he have possibly had a son without knowing for six years?
His almost-fiance was a woman named Léona. Her hair was deep brown, skin a warm olive. She was one of the most beautiful women in the kingdom, and he almost married her.
But, as always, he drove her away. His obsession with making his father proud got ahead of his love after his mother died, and she left him the day after he got a ring. He couldn't blame her. He no longer loved her like that, but he couldn't look at her without feeling guilty.
It probably didn't help that he left her with a child to raise on her own.
"I have to find his mother," he told Morgana, because he was the one still listening.
"Do you even know who she is?"
Kit turned his head, giving him a look. "How many women do you think I've slept with?"
Morgana refused to look at him, and he thought he saw his cheeks flush red. "You're a prince, I'd assume several."
"Are you sure it's not because I'm ravishingly handsome?"
The faery didn't refute it, but he gave him an icy glare that sent a chill down his spine.
"Unimportant. I've only ever slept with Léona and this other maid from forever ago. But I was less careful with Léona. I just don't know why she didn't tell me."
"Maybe she didn't trust you to raise her kid," Morgana reasoned. "Why do you need to find his mother anyways?"
Kit shrugged. "I don't know, I just want to know. Why didn't she tell me and why did she send her little boy to the castle to search for his incompetent father?"
"Didn't Herwerde say something happened to her?"
Kit's stomach dropped. "Right. Well, maybe I'll find something there, at the very least. An answer, a clue."
"Is it really worth interrupting our search?" Morgana tapped his cane against the floor between his feet.  "I know you're curious but maybe we should focus on saving the kingdom before asking questions about your bastard. One thing is more pressing than the other."
"I suppose you're right," Kit said. "But maybe we can stop on the way, whenever we figure out where the next shard is. I can't help the feeling that Lionel is tied to this somehow. The timing is too strange."
The faery considered for a moment, studying the child who still rattled on to Giselle.
"That's a fair point," he said. "But the sword should be the priority. We'll only visit Léona if it's convenient."
Kit nodded in agreement. He was right, the sword was the most important. "Do we know where our next shard is?" he asked, loud enough for the others to hear.
Chalice pulled out a book from their satchel, the children's book. "Here on the mainland, in the Valley of the Moon. But I don't see it on the map."
"I know where it is," Selene announced, face as hard as stone. "In fact, I know that place a little too well. It's not a valley anymore, it's a brothel. It was built there and it's the only thing that kept the name."
They all exchanged glances.
"So there's a shard in a brothel," Eurion clarified. "That's a horrible hiding place."
Selene laughed. "Yeah, well a shard wouldn't be the first thing that brothel has failed to hide."
The bitterness of her tone only reflected one thing. This was the brothel she'd caught her husband in years ago when they were first married. She was livid, not because she was jealous, but because he'd lied to her about his whereabouts and left every night, leaving Selene alone to do housework and fetch her own food and do everything a woman shouldn't have to do on her own.
And, of course, he'd spent half their money there. Selene loathed the place, and rightfully so.
No one else knew why she hated the place, but no one bothered to ask either. They were more focused on how to get the shard.
"A brothel will be easy to rob," Eurion said confidently. "I just need to know where the shard is and I can figure something out."
"We'll come up with a solid plan when we get there," said Selene. "For now, we need to rest."
They all moved to their places. It was much less crowded this time, but most still slept on the floor. Eurion and Chalice took the bed again, Selene hugged the wall, and Kit found himself next to Morgana like last time. But this time, Lionel lay on his other side.
The boy fell asleep the moment he was comfortable, his young face calm as he slept. Kit studied his features for what felt like forever, trying to see which features were his own. The warm tanned skin was definitely his, as with his long, sloped lashes. He slept the same too, curled up in a ball with his hands clutched at his chest.
The more he studied him, the more he was sure this was his son. His heart was already making room for him despite the shock of it all and the confusion it left him with, like there'd been a spot for him there from the start. He had no idea what to do with a child or if he even wanted one to begin with, but he supposed he was responsible for him now.
For once, though, Kit didn't feel alone in this. Even if just for awhile, he'd have his companions to help him figure out what it means to be a father. Chalice was raised by a village, maybe it wouldn't be so bad for Lionel.
He didn't know when he'd fallen asleep, but he carried his thoughts with him until he did. He slept soundly and was once again the last to wake up, eyes opening to light chatter and the sound of rustling bags.
"Morning, sleeping beauty," Selene greeted when he sat up. "I was about to ask a volunteer to kiss you awake."
"Well I'm glad you didn't, they'd probably be fighting over me if you did," he teased.
"If I ever fought with someone over you, it would be so I can be the one to kill you," Morgana mumbled.
Kit grinned at him. "And I'd hope it's you who wins."
As their journey went on, the prince learned just how fun it was to poke fun at Morgana. He got angry over anything, but flirting worked the best. The faery was so determined to show Kit how much he hated him, it drove him crazy when he so much as implied that maybe, deep down, he liked him just a little bit.
Their banter was cut short by Selene tossing his shoes at him. "We don't have time to torture the faery, let's go."
He grumbled but did as he was told, readying himself up to take on the day. They ate a good meal, Eurion stole more for the trip, and they took their horses back from the stables.
"There's seven of us now," Kit said. "Someone has to walk."
Morgana, ever so eager to get away from Kit, volunteered in a second.
"If any of us needs to not walk, it's you," Selene insisted. "I'll walk, Giselle can hold the kid and I'll guide the horse."
The walk would be slower like this, but it was probably the soundest decision.
Morgana made sure to grunt extra loud as Kit lifted him onto his steed, then climbed up after him, sitting in the front of the saddle.
"I don't want to hug you," he grumbled.
"Your other options are falling off the horse or sitting in front and I hug you instead."
"I would rather fall off and die."
"Suit yourself."
Despite his words, Morgana clutched onto him as he sent the horse on. It was still faster than if everyone would've been walking, but they wouldn't reach the Valley until long past nightfall. At least then they couldn't be spotted as easily under the dark sky.
They pressed on through the woods, stopping only to give the horses a break. When darkness claimed the light of day, they found themselves at the edge of a village, one Selene claimed to know well. She led them through the quiet streets, weaving through buildings until they stopped before one at the edge of town, one of the only buildings that would have lights on at this time of night.
Selene clenched her jaw. Kit couldn't read her face, but he could guess what she was feeling.
"We're here," she murmured. "Unfortunately."