Current...Past...Sin...Alexander...Forum...Notes...Survey...D-land

A New Look
2003-06-01 - 9:13 p.m.

The next evening, I awoke to the sound of Alexander's soft, gentle voice in my mind, telling me that he would see me later. I wondered sleepily where he was going, but I did not make any attempt to stop him and ask. I was too tired; the night before had been very exciting and exhausting. However, I was overjoyed that I was living with my brother again.

I tried to fall back asleep, but I couldn't. 'Once I am awake, I am awake,' or so some philosopher once said. I slowly climbed out of my coffin. I heard voices downstairs, so I decided to investigate.

Downstairs, in the classroom, I found Alexander talking with Adhemar. I was glad that they were trying to be friendly to each other.

I was surprised to find Sebrine in the classroom as well, curled up on the floor at Alexander's feet. I was not used to her being out of one of her respective rooms, but the thought of her roaming about did not strike me as illogical at all; she should get to roam about the house like we do, just so long as she was not seen by any humans, of course.

Alexander said, "Look, Adhemar, I have to leave�"

"So soon?" I asked him. He did not say where he was going, but he still insisted that he go alone. He left quickly, saying that he would be back later.

"I wonder where he is going�" I mused out loud.

Adhemar walked over to me and slung an arm around my shoulders. "I guess that means you have to spend all evening with me, eh, Arnon?"

I stiffened a bit. This was the first time that he had touched me since the Soterius incident, and I would have to get used to his frequent shows of affection again. "And why would I want to do that?" I asked with mock arrogance, pushing his arm off.

He feigned a look of sorrow. "Arnon� how cruel�"

I knelt down and patted Sebrine on the head, and she purred in acknowledgement, then stood up and walked lethargically up the staircase, probably to look for Ella, I decided. I then smiled up at Adhemar, and he returned the gesture.

"So, where we headed?" asked Adhemar cheerfully.

"Really, you wouldn't want to come along," I replied truthfully. "I have to go through paperwork with Christian at the tavern. It will be boring enough for me, and I certainly do not want to drag you along. Besides, what about Henmi?"

"He is still sleeping," Adhemar answered. "He slept all throughout the day. I am glad, though. He really needs it. Besides, I plan on going out with Henmi later in the evening. �and we haven�t talked a lot lately, kid."

I looked to the ground. "I do not mean for that to happen� But you have been preoccupied with Henmi and Ella."

"And that is why I shall now spend time with you," he said with a smile, pulling me to my feet. "Come on, let's go."

I sighed, but was somewhat grateful for his persistence. "You'll have no fun� You'll be bored�"

"No I won't, I promise," he insisted. "Let's go." He took my arm and pulled me towards the door.

Before we went to the tavern, we stopped to feed together, which again was odd for me, for I was not used to being so intimate with Adhemar.

When we arrived at the tavern, Christian greeted us furiously. "Where have you been? You just left last night with no word, no instructions, no anything! You are the tavern's owner, are you not?"

"I am sorry about last night, Christian," I said truthfully. "But� there is something I need to talk to you about." I gestured for him to sit down with Adhemar and me at a table away from the majority of the people in the tavern. I began, "Look, Christian, Henmi and I have been thinking about this for quite some time, but we have finally decided that we no longer wish to be the owners of the tavern."

"So you are closing the tavern, just like that?" Christian replied angrily. "This is the only income I have, Arnon, so what am I supposed to--"

"--I was actually hoping you'd take over for me, if that is your desire," I interrupted.

Christian's mouth dropped open slightly, and his angry demeanor dropped.

I continued, "It's a maximum promotion. You really do deserve it, for you are the hardest worker I have and you have been more than willing to deal with my lack of organization here, despite your short temper."

"But� now?" he asked, still amazed.

"If you'd like. You salary will increase, naturally, though I do not know exactly how much as of now, for it seems as if the city will be adopting Spanish currency soon," I answered. "If you are absolutely sure you want to do this, then we can get all the paperwork prepared tonight."

"Is it� very difficult?" he asked uncertainly.

"Not particularly, though it would be better if you had an assistant to help you," I replied.

"I am engaged to Isabelle," he said.

"Thank heavens," I replied before I could stop myself. I knew she would prevent Christian from being overly greedy with his salary when he was owner.

"What?"

"I mean, congratulations; I am sure you will be very happy together, and she will most assuredly help you out with the managing of the tavern," I rushed. "So� what do you think?"

"Well�" Christian sat in though for a moment.

I glanced at Adhemar. His arms were crossed over his chest casually and he looked on our conversation with slight interest, to my surprise.

"Well, I suppose I can take on the responsibility," Christian replied confidently. "So what do I have to do?"

"I'll go get the papers now," I replied. "I have to sign the tavern over to you, and then I will explain various tasks that you must do as owner." I left the both of them there while I went behind the counter and dug through cabinets until I found all of the paperwork that we needed, as well as some ink and a quill. I then sat back down with them.

I set the papers before Christian. "Alright, here is the ownership form for the building itself." I looked down at it, where my uncle's name was scratched out and mine replaced it. A slight bout of rage festered inside me for a moment just thinking about my uncle. I crossed my name out and handed Christian the quill. "Here, sign." He did so, and we moved on to the next bit of paperwork.

"This next one," I continued, "is the form which states that you have the qualifications necessary to be the manager of the tavern. You do, of course, I am certain of it, so you can sign." He did so.

"Let�s see�" I rummaged through the papers. "These are inventory forms. If you run out, you can always copy more by hand relatively quickly. Every week, you go through all of the drinks, food, and other items, and write down how much of everything the tavern has to sell. Then you determine what you need more of, and then place an order for that. The order forms are here," I said, placing them in front of Christian. "After you finish filling it out, have one of the employees run down to the market down the street to purchase whatever else you need." He nodded, trying to soak all of it in.

"You are already familiar with employee duties and what qualities are required for hiring persons to work here, so I will not go into that," I said. "The employees will clean, serve, and talk with the customers, but you should still do those things as well. You should always be available in case one of the employees has a question or needs help with something." He nodded, so I continued. "You need to lock up and open up the tavern every day. A typical day is from eleven AM to two AM, but they do fluctuate, depending on the number of customers in the tavern at a given time. You may adjust these hours as you see fit."

"Here is a list of all current employees," I said, handing it to him. "You are responsible for giving them their bi-monthly salary. Hiring, firing, promoting and demoting rest with you as well. Do this wisely and fairly."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my key to the tavern and handed it to him. "Do not lose that. I think Henmi may have one, but I do not know where he has put it. It is probably at our new house. I will see if I can find it there later, and if I do, I will send it over. Which reminds me, I will give you my new address in case you have any problems, for I will be happy to help you with them." I scrawled the address for the school on a scrap piece of paper.

"I think that is all for now," I said, hoping that I had not forgotten anything important. "Please, if you ever need anything, come see me. Actually, I will come back in a few days to see how you are doing. If you absolutely hate it, then I will find someone else for the job. Deal?"

He nodded and shook me hand. "Thanks, Arnon. You won't regret it."

I smiled and nodded.

At that, I redeposited the papers in their respective places before gesturing for Adhemar to follow me back outside so we could go back to the school.

"Adhemar," I said to him as we walked towards the school, "you were totally bored! I am sorry you had to come."

"I'm not," he answered.

"Why? I don't understand," I replied. "�Is there some reason you came with me?"

He shifted his eyes away from me. "Not particularly�"

I grabbed onto his arm and stopped walking, causing him to halt in his tracks as well. "Please, Adhemar, tell me�" I said quietly to him as we stood in the middle of the darkened street.

"I just� don't want to leave you alone out here, kid," he said, regret filling his voice. "If I had walked you home that night, then none of this would have happened�"

"Adhemar, all of that is over now!" I said fiercely, hugging him tightly. "Don't think on it any longer! I can't bear for people to talk about it; it hurts me too much�"

"I'm sorry, Arnon!" Adhemar said, embracing me tightly as well. "I cannot help it� forgive me, forgive me and then maybe I will stop thinking about it�"

"It is not your fault�" I replied wearily. "But if that is what I must say to put you at ease, then I will: I forgive you, Adhemar, I do."

He sighed and nodded against me.

"Besides�" I said, releasing him. "If it had not been me, and if you had been with me to protect me, then Henmi would have been hurt instead, and that would have been much worse. My body can heal itself. Henmi's can't� And you would have been even more devastated if Henmi would have been hurt�"

He paused and then nodded half-heartedly.

I took his hand in mine and pulled him in the direction of the house again. I thought for a moment on how to cheer Adhemar up, but I was not very good at comforting people, I decided. "How does Henmi like the house?" I asked him.

"Well, we haven't had much time to talk about it, so I don't know," Adhemar replied, his face brightening.

"What do you mean, 'no time to talk about it?' Ella left you both last night well before dawn," I stated. "Didn't you talk then?"

Adhemar smirked. "Talk then, Arnon? What are you saying? When people move into a new house, the first thing they have to do is break in the new bed, of course."

I blushed and wrinkled my nose. "D-don't tell me about it�"

We both were silent for a moment before breaking out in to a fit of laughter.

"You are ridiculously shameless!" I exclaimed with a laugh.

"I am not! I am sure you've broken in your bed--many times!" he replied with amusement.

"That is none of your business, sir," I replied, smiling, then changed the subject. "Where are you going to take Henmi, tonight?"

"To groom, of course," Adhemar replied.

"Groom?" I asked.

"You know, to the bath, to buy new clothes, to style his hair�" Adhemar replied. "You know, so many men are using oil in their hair now, have you noticed? I was thinking maybe we can do that with Henmi's hair, but just on the sides. That might look interesting, don't you think?"

"Yes, but Henmi will not want you to buy him all of this," I answered. "He hates it when people buy things for him. He thinks that it is out of pity, and he hates it when people pity him� I think it is also probably left-over pride from when father was alive. Truly, Henmi got everything he wanted then, and he got those things because he asked for them, or someone asked him if he wanted a particular thing and he answered 'yes,' but not because he was given them."

"Well, my gifts are not out of pity, but out of love," Adhemar replied. "Only love, no matter who I give them to. Even you, Arnon."

I felt my face redden. "B-but still, Henmi will not like it."

"It's alright," Adhemar said. "He will like it after we are finished, I am sure of it."

When we arrived back at the house, Adhemar and I walked upstairs to see if Henmi had awoken yet, and sure enough he had, but he was not the only one in his room.

Henmi sat up against the headboard of the bed, looking fearfully at the curled up tiger that lay at the foot of the bed. "A-Adhemar�" he stuttered.

"Oh, Henmi, I am sorry, I left the door open�" Adhemar apologized, walking over to Henmi.

Henmi scooted off the bed quickly and held onto Adhemar tightly. "I told her to leave, but she wouldn't! She just looks at me and lays back down. She is only doing this to frighten me, I am sure of it!" Henmi accused.

I couldn't help but smile.

Adhemar said soothingly, "She will not hurt you, Henmi, don't worry." Adhemar scratched gently behind Sebrine's ears, and Sebrine purred in response. "See? She just wants attention. She probably could not find Ella, so she came in here to see you. Isn't Ella here?"

"No; I heard her leave a while ago�" Henmi replied.

"See?" Adhemar said. "Then that was the reason. So don't worry." He ruffled Henmi's hair gently. "But Henmi, I want to take you out tonight, alright?"

"What? Why?" Henmi asked curiously.

"Well, I want to make you look more like an aristocrat, my dear, than a barkeep," Adhemar said cheerfully.

"Ah--but--Adhemar, you can't," Henmi said quickly.

"It is really too late, my love, for I have already set up appointments with several different shops because, of course, most would not usually stay open this late," Adhemar stated with a smile. "So really, my darling, you would be inconveniencing myself and all of the shop owners by not coming with me tonight."

Henmi looked to the ground guiltily. Adhemar smiled over at me.

I said to him, Adhemar, how� how evil! I smiled back at him.

Henmi said, "A-alright, then� I'll go� But you can't buy too much. Promise me."

Adhemar said to me, But it worked, didn't it? No harm done! "I promise, Henmi, I will not spend more than what is necessary to pretty you up a bit. But come now, or we'll be late."

Henmi slipped on his shoes and coat to get ready for the outing.

"Do you want to come along, Arnon?" Adhemar asked me.

"It's alright�" I replied. "I want to wait for Alexander to get back. You have fun, though."

"We will indeed," Adhemar replied. "Come along, Henmi." He took Henmi's hand and led him downstairs.

I sighed and sat down on their bed next to Sebrine. I asked her, "Oh, are you hungry Sebrine? Or did Ella already find something for you? Oh� can you even understand what I am saying, or can you only understand what Alexander says?"

Sebrine did not make any attempt to get up, so I assumed that the lack of any gestures meant that Ella has already fed her. I hoped so; I did not want her to go hungry. I stroked her back for a moment and then stood up and walked downstairs to wait for Alexander to come back home from wherever he had run off to. I walked to the kitchen to sit down in a chair. Sebrine walked in behind me, then laid back down by my feet.

"My, you must be afraid to be alone!" I said with amusement. "But I do not blame you. I would want to be around as many people as I could after staying in that dark basement for such a long time."

After a few minutes, I rose to look out a window in the front of the house, to see if anyone was coming, but I could see no one. When I turned to walk back into the kitchen, I came to a quick halt as to not run into Sebrine, who had followed me out of the kitchen. "My, I wish Alexander was this clingy!" I said with a smile.

I sat down at the bottom of the stairs instead, and Sebrine followed again. "I really do wonder where he went�" I said to her.

I waited longer still, but Alexander did not return. After a little over two hours, Adhemar and Henmi arrived back at home.

Adhemar pushed Henmi gently in front of me and said, "Well, Arnon, what do you think?"

Henmi donned a long, high-colored royal blue coat with gold trim, and matching pants. His shirt was a shade of off-white and had sleeves that ruffled slightly at the wrists, and was just long enough that the ends stuck out from under the sleeves of the coat. An off-white silk cravat was tied snugly around his neck and his shoes had been replaced with slick, black boots. His hair was styled how Adhemar has planned it to be--the hair on the sides of Henmi's head had been smoothed back with a golden oil that made his hair shimmer when light reflected from it. The hair on the top of his head was spiked up slightly and tipped with oil. His face and hands had been powdered pale and he smelled of roses. He looked childlike, innocent, like a doll.

"Wow," I said simply.

"I know, my thoughts exactly," Adhemar replied gleefully.

"I look ridiculous�" Henmi said quietly, embarrassed. I knew he did not mean what he said; he was only overwhelmed with Adhemar's kindness and was trying to remain modest.

"Nonsense, absolute nonsense," Adhemar said, still beaming. He turned Henmi around and kissed him, before saying, "You are absolutely beautiful. I must show you off. Where shall we go? I want everyone in town to see you."

Henmi's eyes widened slightly, then shifted to the ground. "A-Adhemar�"

"Let's go see the symphony. I am certain that I remember hearing about them coming to town. Let's go see, shall we?" Adhemar asked. "And if not, I shall parade you throughout the Place d'Armes, agreed?"

Henmi opened his mouth to protest, but Adhemar continued, "It's settled then. I'm afraid we have to leave you again, Arnon, but we'll be back soon, alright?"

"Have fun," I replied with a smile.

Adhemar took Henmi's hand and pulled him back out the door. I shut the door behind them, then sat back down next to Sebrine and sighed. "My, Adhemar sure is energetic, isn't he?" I said to Sebrine.

Around 2:30 in the morning, they returned, both of them beaming from their outing. I was glad that Adhemar had relaxed Henmi, for Henmi had seemed reluctant and quiet all evening.

"It was amazing, Sin!" Henmi said excitedly.

"So you were able to see the symphony, then?" I asked.

"Yes, and it was wonderful!" Henmi said. "Even better than the musicians we used to have at our house! It was great!" Henmi kissed Adhemar quickly in excitement.

Adhemar smiled and said, "You know, Arnon, I would love to chat, but�"

More breaking in the bed? I asked.

You know it, Adhemar replied with a smirk. "We�ll see you later, then."

"Alright," I replied, watching the two of them walk up the stairs.

I sighed again and turned back to Sebrine. "I wonder where Alexander is� It has been so long� I am worried�" Sebrine growled slightly in reply.

I continued to sit there, waiting for Alexander to return.

*All the rights to Sindor (the graphics and text included) belong to Leah Jenner. No reproduction or republication without written permission.