Chapter 16
Beowulf’s trip out of town with the royals had been an interesting experience for him. Beowulf had actually barely left the castle town most of his life, only ever to visit nearby farmsteads with one or the other of his parents to speak to their suppliers. Beowulf’s mother had kept him mostly hidden away in the latter part of his childhood, to try and avoid him being recruited into the army. She had known he would be too soft for it, but she couldn’t protect him forever, and eventually he was discovered.
Of course they picked Beowulf to come along on the trip to serve as the royals bodyguard, he was the most intimidating after all, as long as he kept his helmet on. They brought a number of other royal guards as well, but the king liked Beowulf to stand silently close behind him and look scary while negotiating with other noble families. If they only could have seen his soft face smiling away cheerily under the helmet they might have not been as intimidated of course.
For the trip, the guards rode on horseback while there was a carriage for the royals, though sometimes the king would want to ride his horse as well, leaving the queen and her handmaiden in the carriage. For Beowulf they had to get a draft horse, the type that would normally be found pulling a plough through a field, as it was the only breed large enough to comfortably carry his weight. When Beowulf had first been introduced to the steed in the stables he had been delighted, gently stroking the beast's huge face to introduce himself.
Thedrick had come with him to the stables to meet the horse, and had looked up at it with huge, anxious eyes. Probably because one small kick from the massive creature would have left the jester as a red smear against the wall. But the horse seemed to be as gentle and docile as Beowulf himself, pressing its head against the soldier as it sniffed him and snorted.
Beowulf had picked up Thedrick and placed him on the back of the horse, so he could have a laugh at how comically small it made the jester look. Thedrick had squeaked in surprise and his body went stiff, looking rather uncomfortable and anxious sitting up there. The animal seemed to barely notice, and Beowulf wheezed with laughter as Thedrick begged him to help him down, too scared of spooking the horse if he tried to jump off.
During the journey Beowulf had brought up the rear of their small convoy, his horse slowly plodding along at its own pace behind the carriage. Sometimes the king would race off ahead on his horse with a few of the guards, as if they were trying to show off. The queen gestured Beowulf over to the carriage to have a chat with him a couple of times when they did this, smiling at him warmly.
But while the time away had been fairly enjoyable, getting to see new and different places, Beowulf did find himself missing Thedrick quite a lot. He wished the jester could have come along as well, then they would have had the chance to enjoy the excitement of new places together. He yearned to hold his tiny lover again, though his bite covered shoulders were enjoying a bit of a break. Keeping up with Thedrick’s appetite was an almost impossible task, and when he would bite into already bruised flesh it really hurt like a bitch.
However, the soldier was still looking forward to seeing the little vampire again when he got back, and was prepared for cuddle time to quickly turn into a feeding session. As the riders approached the castle stables, Beowulf spotted the jester bouncing up and down on his heels nearby. The group dismounted and the stable boys came to grab the horses and lead them inside while the guards moved away. Beowulf walked towards Thedrick while smiling to himself behind his visor, and then suddenly Thedrick was running full speed at him and literally jumped into his arms, Beowulf catching him midair.
“Woah!” Beowulf exclaimed, bringing the jester close to his chest, Thedrick grabbing onto his clothing desperately. “Missed me much?” he smirked to himself.
“Wulfy!” Thedrick wailed, clinging to him tightly. “While you were gone I was almost murdered again!”
“Huh?” Beowulf said in confusion, cradling the jester against his chest. “Who tried to kill you?” The soldier felt a bit of anger curling inside him, thinking about who the most likely suspects were.
“Cass!” Thedrick whimpered, turning around to glare at the training officer who was talking to the other returning soldiers a short distance away.
Cassian must have heard Thedrick, because he looked over at the pair of them and frowned. “I said I was sorry, Thedrick!” he called over to them.
Beowulf was looking between the two of them, blinking in bewilderment. “Cass? But… wh-why? What happened?” he asked in complete confusion.
“Another wooden stake,” Thedrick mumbled unhappily, pressing his face into Beowulf’s chest.
Beowulf’s eyes widened, and he looked over at Cassian again with apprehension. He saw the officer dismiss the other guards quickly, and then start walking over towards them, looking concerned.
“You can save your breath Beowulf, Balthasar already gave me a right wringing out over it,” Cassian said in a forcefully humorous tone. “And Thedrick, stop acting like a baby about it to get pity.”
Thedrick turned his head and stuck out his tongue at Cassian, the jester now sitting on Beowulf’s forearm while leaning against his chest.
“Hey, I can’t judge, I had the same reaction when I found out,” Beowulf said with a shrug, which caused Thedrick to scowl up at him and pout.
“So you would have had a nice lecture from Balthasar too?” Cassian asked casually with a smirk.
“Yeah… gods he’s terrifying…” Beowulf muttered, while Thedrick was sniffing up around his neck. Beowulf reached up and gently smacked Thedrick on the back of the head. “Be patient!” he growled at the jester in annoyance. Thedrick gave him a hurt look, then ducked his head guiltily.
“I’m still trying to get my head around it all… but you seem fine with it,” Cassian pointed out, nodding towards Beowulf.
“I feel like a bit of an idiot for ever thinking he could actually be dangerous,” Beowulf admitted.
“Yeah, I feel a bit silly about the same thing,” Cassian responded in kind, eyes resting on the small vampire.
“Hey, I’m right here you know!” Thedrick protested, looking sulky.
“Don’t pretend you don’t like to play the ‘I’m small and weak and innocent’ card when it suits you,” Beowulf pointed out, grinning.
“Sure, when it helps stop people from trying to kill me!” Thedrick huffed indignantly. Beowulf and Cassian quickly exchanged guilty looks.
The two soldiers proceeded to briefly discuss how the trip went while Thedrick complained about being hungry. Beowulf eventually excused them, carrying the jester off into the castle and then towards Thedrick’s room so they could avoid the barracks. Cassian watched them go with a look of slight concern.
Beowulf set Thedrick down once inside the room, and the jester bounced on his toes while impatiently waiting for Beowulf to remove his cloak and body armour. When Beowulf sat down on the bed Thedrick leapt at him, quickly pulling down his shirt collar and biting into his neck. Beowulf flinched and tensed up, which only made the fangs digging into his flesh hurt more.
“Goodness, not even a cuddle first?” Beowulf said with slight disappointment, pulling the vampire in close to his body while he knelt in his lap feeding. Thedrick mumbled into his neck, unable to speak with his mouth full, but snuggled in close against Beowulf’s chest. Beowulf smiled wearily.
They sat there for a long time, chests rising and falling against each other as they breathed slowly together while Thedrick fed. And continued to feed, for a lot longer than usual. He drank Beowulf’s blood for so long that the soldier started to feel light-headed.
“C-Come on now Thedrick, you’ve had enough,” Beowulf said softly, trying to gently pry the vampire off him. But the jester was truly latched onto him, and pulling on him only made his fangs tug against his flesh which hurt.
After a few more moments Beowulf found himself feeling dizzy, and couldn’t sit upright any longer. He fell backwards onto the mattress, Thedrick coming down on top of him. He tried to fight to maintain consciousness, but soon lost it, the world falling away and everything going black.
When Beowulf eventually came to, he blinked his eyes open to see Thedrick’s pale face looking down at him in concern. The jester’s mouth was covered in blood, and his large red eyes were filled with worry. Beowulf’s vision was going in and out of focus as his head swam. He let out a groan.
“Wulfy! Are you okay?” Thedrick asked anxiously, leaning down over him from where he sat on Beowulf’s chest.
“I… dunno… my head feels strange…” Beowulf muttered, reaching up a hand to press against his forehead.
“I’m so sorry!” Thedrick apologised, looking upset. “I got rather carried away there…”
“You’re telling me,” Beowulf retorted lightly as the dizzy feeling slowly started to subside. “Nearly drank me dry there!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Thedrick repeated in distress. “You should have hit me to make me stop!”
“I wouldn’t want to hurt you,” Beowulf replied sadly, frowning up at the jester.
“So you just let me hurt you instead?” Thedrick sounded very guilty.
Beowulf shrugged and nodded, wincing at how it hurt the wound on his shoulder. “I can take it.”
“You shouldn’t have to… I shouldn’t let myself get out of control…” Thedrick muttered, sighing as he lay down on Beowulf’s chest, resting his head on his folded arms.
Beowulf reached up and started rubbing Thedrick’s shoulder with his large hand, trying to reassure him.
“I missed you…” Thedrick mumbled, tracing a finger over Beowulf’s chest.
“Me or my blood?” Beowulf asked as a half joke.
Thedrick lowered his pale eyebrows into a scowl. “I don’t just like you for feeding me and protecting me… I’m sorry if it seems that way,” he tried to explain unhappily.
“Why do you like me then?” Beowulf prompted with a smirk.
“Because… you are the nicest guy I have ever met, and I feel so safe with you…” Thedrick mumbled, glancing away in embarrassment.
“Awww!” Beowulf cooed, smiling widely.
Thedrick made a hrmph sound of indignance. “The better question is why do you like me?” he looked up at Beowulf’s face with confusion.
“Because you are so adorable,” Beowulf said with a grin, reaching up under Thedrick’s hat to touch his little pointed ear. This instantly made the jester’s eyes fall closed and his throat erupt into a fit of purrs. He seemed to be trying to fight the response but was unable to, leaving him at the mercy of Beowulf’s touch.
****
Beowulf went off to visit his mother at the next available opportunity. She wanted him to come see her once he got back so that she could confirm he was safe and well. She tended to get a little paranoid about his well being, always being rather overbearing and protective of him. She had certainly been worried when he had told her he would be away with the king, and had to reassure her that there was barely any danger, all would be well and he would be back before she knew it.
The soldier could see the instant relief wash over Oriana’s face as she opened the door and saw him standing there dressed in plain clothes for a change, smiling down at her. She thanked the gods for his safe return as he crouched down in front of her so she could throw her arms around his neck in a hug. But her arms pressed against his bruised, sensitive shoulders, which made him gasp out a sound of pain.
Oriana quickly pulled away from him and stared at his face in concern. “Are you hurt?” she asked, and he winced.
“No ma I’m fine,” he tried to excuse it, but then suddenly she was pulling the collar of his shirt down, exposing his bite covered shoulders. Beowulf felt fear run through him, his muscles seizing up.
“Are these… bite marks?” she asked in confusion, staring down at the wounds. “Oh my goodness, they are, aren’t they?”
Before Beowulf had a chance to open his mouth to try and make an excuse, Oriana continued, her voice rising in distress. “They are from the jester, aren’t they? You told me you were sure he wasn’t a vampire, that I had been wrong! But… but… now you’re… you’re feeding him?!”
“Please ma, can you give me a chance to explain? Inside?” Beowulf said while looking around anxiously to see if anyone was around to hear what she had said, but thankfully he saw no one.
“Oh, you better start explaining young man!” she exclaimed, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him into the house, which he allowed her to do.
Once inside Oriana led him over to the table and gestured him into a seat, while she stood in front of him and glared into his face while her hands planted on her hips. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked curtly, taking one hand off her hip to point at Beowulf’s shoulder.
Beowulf rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, struggling to meet her steely gaze. “Okay, you were right, he is a vampire, well, half vampire actually. But I swear, he is harmless! And I’m just letting him drink my blood because he gets so hungry all the time…” he tried to explain.
“I knew it! He must have charmed you to fall in love with him so he could turn you into his food supply!” she exclaimed, fury overtaking her features.
“No, ma, it’s not like that. We really are in love, and I’m feeding him out of my own free will, he’s not forcing me,” Beowulf tried to argue, giving his mother a pleading look.
“How can you know for sure? You’ve been tricked into believing that, I tell you. You were so sure about killing him, what happened? How did you so quickly change your mind?” she asked firmly, scowling.
“Well, I talked to him, and then we-”
“Exactly, and he took that opportunity to pull you back under his spell! It’s so obvious, it hurts me you cannot see it, but I know it’s just because your mind is muddled by his dark magic!” she said with conviction. “Oh my poor sweet boy, what has he done to you? How can I make you see he is taking advantage of you?”
“Ma! He is not taking advantage of me! You don’t understand, and really, it’s none of your business!” Beowulf finally snapped back in frustration, feeling the rare sensation of anger flowing through him.
“Of course it’s my business, you’re my son, and I am supposed to protect you!” Oriana retorted fiercely. “I will find a way to break you out of his spell, I swear to the gods.”
“I don’t need your help ma, I can take care of myself,” Beowulf grunted in defiance, now glaring at her.
“Obviously you can’t, seeing as you got yourself into this mess when you didn’t listen to me and just kill him like I told you to,” Oriana said haughtily.
“If you are going to keep carrying on like this then I will take my leave!” Beowulf growled, getting to his feet. He towered over his mother, but she didn’t seem the slightest bit intimidated, frowning up at him.
“Fine! But as soon as I find a way to snap you out of this, you’ll feel like a fool for acting this way!” she snapped in response as he walked over towards the door. He didn’t even feel like responding to her anymore, just pulled open the door and stepped out onto the street, pulling it closed behind him. Then he quickly started walking, in case she tried to chase after him.
It seemed that nothing he said would sway his mother from what she thought was the truth. He had considered mentioning Balthasar, but didn’t want to drag him into it and end up with Oriana arrested by the guards by trying to storm into the castle to speak with the chirurgeon.
Then again, his mother might try to break into the castle anyway to kill Thedrick. Beowulf would have to try and stick close to the jester to keep him safe, while trying to figure out a way to make his mother understand and back down. Perhaps he should go and talk to Balthasar about it himself, the chirurgeon was very smart after all and might be able to help him with some ideas.