Of High Lords and Heirs

15

Little Gavriel was scared. He was absolutely terrified of this strange house and the people in it. It was all so... so quiet here. Maybe it was just because he was so used to the noise of Velaris, the hustle and bustle that came with living in such a large city, but Gavriel now found the quiet of this country manor house to be so horribly, terribly silent. The house was far too big, not enough people living in it.

Gavriel was just as scared of the grown-ups in the manor as he was of the house itself. They were just plain scary. Creepy.

The one that scared Gavriel the most was the one that had kidnapped him and his baby sister. Tamlin, the male's name was. The way the male was always appearing out the blue, appearing to follow him around the manor, scared him. First he kidnaped him and his sister, held them hostage, and then he wanted to stalk him around the manor that already scared him? He could almost feel his heart stop dead whenever he felt Tamlin's eyes on him or whenever he saw him staring at Sophie. He didn't understand the the male wanted with him or Sophie.

At least Gavriel was fairly sure that he wasn't the only one there who was scared of Tamlin. He thought that the servant woman that looked after him and Sophie was too. Alis, she had told him to call her. Alis, at least, had been kind to him – was good with Sophie. The only grown-up in the manor who seemed to enjoy spending time with him and his sister. The only thing that confused Gavriel about Alis was that she had once told him that she had once been his mother's maid while she was in residence in the Spring Court.

Tamlin seemed to be more interested in Alis than in him or Sophie though. Alis, however, didn't seem to be as interested in Tamlin. Gavriel saw her flinching whenever Tamlin so much as looked in her direction. Gavriel listened when Alis complained very loudly about Tamlin and what she called his shit-assed behaviour. Shit-assed behaviour that she said had only gotten worse over the years. Worse since the war. Listened when Alis repeatedly called Tamlin a rapist and sexual predator. That Tamlin had turned into a male version of Ianthe.

Not that Gavriel quite knew what that meant, now. But even he could tell that it wasn't any good. Could tell that being a rapid and sexual predator made Tamlin not a very nice person. Alis had often cried about Tamlin's treatment of her over the last few weeks. Had cried like Sophie cried with a full nappy. All Gavriel could do in that moment was sit with Alis as she cried. Had told her repeatedly that he and Sophie still liked her, even if Tamlin didn't. That he and his sister didn't care what Tamlin thought.

While Gavriel didn't know what a rapist or sexual predator was, he knew that he had heard those words before. Had overheard his parents discussing Ianthe more than once. Had heard them call Ianthe Lucien's rapist. Gavriel loved his Uncle Lucien, and didn't like the idea of some snobbish, uppity priestess lady hurting him.

If Gavriel was being honest, Ianthe scared him as much as Tamlin did. Maybe more so. It was the small, casual comments that the priestess lady came out with that made him nervous. Ianthe was always saying how Tamlin had made a good choice in using Alis as a prized breeding mare and what a good stud Gavriel would make if only he were a few years older. When Ianthe said things like that, it always made Gavriel freeze in place, even as instincts made him want to run away in fear and utter terror.

Out of Tamlin and Ianthe, Gavriel was more scared of Ianthe. Hated Ianthe more. Hated the priestess lady for whatever it was that she had done to his Uncle Lucien. Hated her for her snide little comments. Hated her for the way that she didn't seem to care for anyone but himself. Hated her simpering, breathy little girl voice. Hated the cunning, scary, frightening mind. Just plain out right hated the woman.

However, if there was one thing that Gavriel absolutely hated about the Spring Court, other than the people that is, it was all the rules. Tamlin had created all kinds of rules for him and Sophie. Rules about where they were allowed to go, what they were allowed to do, when they were allowed to do it, what they had to eat was monitered – both the amount and type of food. If they ventured off the estate grounds, Tamlin had multiple sentries surrounding them, following behind them. The constant surveillance was becoming extremely annoying.