The grass next to the path to the castle grounds was littered with the most stunning flowers. Cihan promised himself to pick some on his way back. They would bring some color to the small little room they lived in for the past four days.
The big city of Cahnarr was something he was having trouble getting used to. Especially now that Aspen stayed at the guard barracks during the week. Being alone wasn't something he liked. He liked being around people, peferably people he loved. He was having more night terrors he would ever tell Aspen about. He didn't want to make him feel more guilt.
Asper already felt horrible for dragging him all the way over here. Even though he did it happily because he knew what kind of a change this was. Becoming a royal guard meant more money and stability than being a soldier. Even if he was promoted to sergeant.
It also meant moving to the capital. And even though Cihan didn't like being around so many strangers. And that he was a little frightened to walk around alone. It was something he was willing to do for his big brother.
He owed him that. He owed him way more than that!
Cihan came upon the training ground were a lot of men and woman were busy training. Standing frozen and to afraid to move a muscle at the sound of clashing swords and grunts, he felt his hands beginning to shake.
Just breath.
Just breath!
Just find Aspen.
He clasped his hands tighter around the paper package he took with him and took a little step back. He didn't see the dirty blond wild locks of his Ashaj anywhere.
He was almost regretting coming here in the first place when he startled from a loud huffing noise right behind him.
He might or might not have jumped a little.
He spun around and the grey horse behind him shook his head wild at the movement.
There were three horses, with men on their backs. Cihan hurried himself out of the way. Hanging his head in fear. He didn't like royals. Or soldiers. They brought him nothing about bad memories.
"Well hello lovely, what are you doing around here? Don't think I ever saw you before." The man with the bright red hair leaned a bit foreword and grinned to him. His smile meant nothing but trouble. He looked to be in his twenty's and his green eyes sparkled with mischief. Freckles shattered over his skin made it hard to pick a point to look at.
Cihan felt his cheeks burn. Looking around a bit unsure on how he should answer the men. He didn't want to talk to them.
"Don't scare the poor boy, Isaac. Seeing your horrible face probably made him wanne run for the hills." An other one said. He was wearing the same leather clothes as the others, some kind of uniform, with a deep blue cape over his shoulders. The royal emblem on their chest.
"I am very sorry. I was just looking for someone..." Cihan mumbled. Taking a couple of steps back and preparing to take a run for it.
"Who, might I ask, are you looking for then?" The last one asked. His hair was dark blond and long, half of it tight together in a little bun. The rest of it fell to his shoulders.
He looked absolutely handsome!
Men from Duran, the place he had grown up in never did anything like that. If your hair was longer than your hand you needed to cut it or you would get cut down yourself. He wasn't wearing the same uniform like the guards. But his clothes looked just as fancy. He was sitting on his horse like he did so every day. Upright and looking like ... like a lord or king would. His eyes bright blue and absolutely captivating. He felt like he couldn't look away but he should.
"Aspen Hehrendael, my lord." Cihan wasn't sure who this people were but he wasn't gonna risk getting his hands cut of.
He really wanted to leave.
"Aspen? What do you want that bastard for." The redhead nagged. Cihan looked up with a furious glare. He immediately regretted it. One should never look at people who carry swords like that.
"Excuse me." He hissed. He made a short bow and strode away.
He shouldn't have come. He would just have to wait two more days then Asper would come home.
"Hey wait! I'm sorry! I didn't mean... dammit." He heard some noise and then a couple of heavy feet coming toward him. He turned around before the man could grap him, looking at him with very little kindness.
"I am sorry. That wasn't nice. I am Isaac. Want me to bring you to Aspen?"
Cihan didn't really want to trust this man, he looked untrustworthy. He didn't like the smirk on him.
"No thank you. I'll see him later..."
His eyebrows nearly shot of his face so high they went up his face.
"Uhmmm no let me make it up. Please. That guy is gonna make my day horrible if I let you go like this.... pleaseee." He pouted his lips.
He looked at the package in his hands. It would be a waste if he walked all the way here just to let himself get bullied back. Aspen told him to be confident. Even though he wasn't from this country he spoke its tong fluently and had lived her for a couple years already. It all would just be a little more easy if he didn't look so different.
So he gave a little nod and Isaac smirked wide.
"Follow me then." He turned around rather dramatic and Cihan rolled his eyes a little.
He followed Isaac back to his horse, he grabbed the holster and let the grey huge war horse along. The other men had already spurred their horses ahead towards the castle ground.
Isaac didn't try and talk them him as he stayed a couple of steps behind him. Just outside of hands reach.
They walked straight thru the training warriors. Not something Cihan was very happy about. Isaac waved and greeted a bunch of them.
All of them sent him funny looks. Cihan was used to it by now. People in the high north rarely saw anyone with a dark caramel skin color like he had.
The only color they had was from the shirtless training in the summer sun.
And Cihan found this summer sun about as cold as a good winter back in Duran.
"There he is!" Isaac pointed at a couple of men sparring. Shirtless with huge swords.
Aspen was fighting a man two heads bigger than him, and he already was pretty big.
They were fighting like snakes. Attacking so fast Cihan knew he could never keep up with. But the moment Asper saw him, he grinned. Knocked the sword out of the man's hands and tossed his own out of the way.
"Lets take a little break Curran." He practally skipped over to Cihan. Drawing a lot of looks. But that's what Aspen always did wherever he went.
"Miss me that much huh?" He ran a hand thru his dark brown sweaty hair.
"You wish... I just thought you might be starving without me."
"Oh yes definitely!" Asper tried to grap him to hug him with his stinking sweating self.
"Unhand me You Garesh. If you don't behave imma give this all to other people."
"Give what?" Isaac asked.
Cihan pushed Asper of him and opened the cloth he wrapped around the bunch of little pastries he made in the morning. That did draw a lot of other warriors out.
"I love you so much you know that!"
"Obviously." Cihan rolled his eyes handing him one. Aspen grinned wide trying to stuff it in his mount in one piece.
"Oi, you should be training." A giant of a man grumbled while stomping over.
Cihan took a careful step so he was behind his brother. He was not scared, but Aspen was bigger and he didn't know how to fight.
"Ah commander! Let me indroduce you to Cihan."
The men was huge and had gruffly blond hair and a big wild beard. No men in his home country ever had facial hair. It looked weird.
The commander looked over the young boy and raised an eyebrow.
He had never seen the young new guard around anybody. But he seemed very fond of this kid. He had the most remarkable deep brown skin and beautiful dark eyes and pitch black locks around his face. He was rather beautiful and the commander wasn't the only one to notice.
The shy kid nodded once and lifted the pies he was carrying to the commander.
"Would you like one, sir commander." He accent was noticeable with a rolling R and a long soft pronouce of the words.
The commander grumbled something and grabbed one.
He took a bite and couldn't stop the moan coming from coming out.
"Good huh?" Aspen grinned with a devious grin.
Cihan proceeded to give the curious looking soldiers around them as well.
"Don't give them all away Cihan. I might die from hunger!" Aspen begged.
"Like your not getting any food from the royal cooks." The commander tried to hit him against the head but Aspen ducked out of his way and hit behind the young boy. Causing him to let out a joyful laugh.
Making some of the guard look at him with some more interest.
Aspen glared at them and put a protective arm around him.
"Your not trying to bribe my guards over, are you?"
Cihan blushed a deep scarlet, looking a little worried at the blond haired man now standing behind him. He was very tall and intimidating. And handsome..
Especially when all the other proceeded to make a short bow for him.
And the commander ordered them to go back to work. They scattered before the commander even finished speaking.
Aspen put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and grinned.
"He sure is Luca. No chef in the world can top his skills." Aspen bragged.
Cihan looked at him with a small glare. The guy did seem to be important then. Although Aspen never really cared about things like that. He could make friends with anyone and treated them all the same. He could treat a king like he was an old friend and no one ever minded.
Cihan was happy he had bowed earlier to. He really didn't like important persons. He smiled carefully at the guy.
He grabbed the last pie.
"I am not that good." He mumbled and he gave it to him. This seemed to shut him up completely and he looked at it with wide eyes.
Cihan turned around to his older brother who was smirking like he was enjoying this all a little to much.
"I'll be going back now. Rather not walk around in the dark. See you end of the week."
Aspen hummed and wrapped his arms around him in a sweaty smelly hug.
Cihan huffed and pushed him away.
"You'll never get married if you smell like that!" He told him in his birth tong Medinean. He might have mostly grown up in Duran. But his family came from the islands... and he would never call himself a Duran. Never.
Aspen laughed.
"To bad. Guess your stuck with me for life then." Aspen waved and ran to his friends who all pretended not to be looking at them.
Cihan shook his head. His brother was an idiot. But he really missed him.
Northern people didn't like people like him. Being alone was anything but nice.
Cihan nodded at the guy and his guards, who was holding his pastry like it was gonna blow up in flames any moment now, and began the long road back to the city.
"You can visit your brother whenever you like!" The men with the brown hair said with a smile. He wasn't as tall as the others and he had a big scar over his face.
Yet he looked really kind. His bright golden brown eyes sparkled like he was enjoying himself.
Cihan smiled at him and mumbled a thank you before he went on.
Aspen had managed to rent them a little room above a bar near the harbors. When he opened the only window he always smelled the salty air, he loved it.
The cold wind and the smell of the sea all reminded him that he was free.
He didn't have much. A couple of books were the only luxury items they possessed.
But Cihan didn't care much for stuff anyway.
He had a job as a cleaner in the local bakery. He got to watch the northern bakers work all day long and tried to use the time to learn from them as well.
The head baker, Samuel promised him if he worked hard, he could work as an apprentice soon enough. He was a nice older guy who was married and had four kids. Just a blond and giggly as their father was. Sam liked to sing loud fishermen songs while making the dough.
The others bakers didn't really talk to him he didn't even know their names. It didn't matter. As long as one day he could bake.
Now Samuel let him use the oven to make some pastries for himself or his brother from time to time. He loved the little meat buns Ciahans mother had thought him to bake the most. Aspen loved everything he made.
It was hard work and he made long hours for little money. But it didn't matter, because Aspen made enough to help him pay for the little room and they had food enough. Cihan really didn't need more money anyways.
And it was hard to get a job. People did like people that looked so very different from them...
it was odd that non of the guards had made any jokes about it.
Maybe that's why Aspen wanted to work for the king.
He said the king was different. That he was openminded and kind.
That everyone was to be accepted. No matter who they loved or how they looked.
That wasn't the case in most kingdoms. Especially in Duran.
Ofcourse not everybody agreed with the king.
Cihan wouldn't mind going to visit his brother. He was happy he didn't let that Isaac scare him away. Although most looked quite scary they had been very nice.
He would have to make a little more pastries next time!
Yellow lovely!
Thanks for reading!
I hope you'll like their story as much as I do! Very excited to finally share this!
Its not very deep or heavy. Just a lovely little wholesome love story!
/The world building therefor is also very basic !/
Updates will be quit quickly since I really want people to read the whole story as fast as possible!
Thanks for reading! Please vote, comment and let me know what you think of this story!
Oh and if you hadn't noticed. This is also a very gay little story! So... enjoy!ð
Also please consider reading my other series the one shall die series. Starting with 'the first one'. About gay werewolf's, pan warlocks, dangerous deals, prophecies we don't want to be apart off and many other magical things! The first book is about Alec. Who finds out his life long bully is his mate. And instead of dealing with it or forgiving him or stupid silly things like that, he makes a deal with a dangerous warlock! ð
Book two of the series is also up!