“You sent for me, My Lord?” Aedan asked as he stood just inside the bedroom vestibule. He fought to keep his face impassive as the smell of stale perspiration struck him. The gauzy, white curtains obscured Lucio from view. The room was dimly lit and eerie as whisps of smoke crept through.
“Yes, Captain,” Lucio croaked as he sat up. No small effort in his weakened state. Aedan saw the silhouette of him as Lucio pushed himself up and rushed to his side. Aedan fought to keep his face impassive as his gaze fell on Lucio. This was a man at death’s door. But, even as vain as Aedan knew Lucio to be, he was pliant enough to allow Aedan to assist him.
After a few minutes of adjusting pillows to keep Lucio propped upright, Aedan sat at the bedside, allowing Lucio to catch his breath from the seemingly minimal exertion. Lucio’s shirt hung open, and Aedan could see how badly he had atrophied. Aedan saw a growing spot of red at his shoulder, where the prosthesis that he still insisted on wearing had torn the tissue paper-like flesh.
When Lucio got his bearings, he opened his bloodshot eyes to stare at Aedan, and managed a weak smile, and tilted his head toward the bottle on the bedside table. “Old times sake?”
Aedan followed his gaze and pulled a face immediately. He knew that alcohol – hideously bitter and wormwood infused – absinthe sans Green Fairy. It had always given Lucio great pleasure to watch his men wither and writhe around the campfire. Aedan swore under his breath and turned back to Lucio.
“Come on, don’t deny a dying man one of his last wishes,” Lucio said. His rasping tone was pitiable, but the smug, shit-eating grin was dazzling as ever.
“Lucio, that’s the thing that’s gonna put you in the grave once and for all.” Aedan countered with dark humor. Lucio barked a laugh.
“Alright, then let’s put me out of my misery.” Lucio teased in challenge. “Pour a round for both of us.”
Aedan sighed, shaking his head reluctantly as he picked up the bottle.
“Oh, swirl it a bit. This is…a special brew. Just for you.” Lucio interrupted as Aedan’s fingers struck the glass. Aedan looked back at him with an incredulous stare, eyebrow raised.
“Special, how?” he questioned, picking up the bottle and swirling the amber liquid as requested. Glittering, red sediment whirled up in a hurricane, then dispersed out unnaturally. Aedan’s brow pinched in concern.
“It’s going to suck a lot more than it usually does,” Lucio replied, though there was less mirth in it when he, too, saw the strange, sparkling cloud. He audibly swallowed, as if reconsidering, then steeled himself.
Aedan grudgingly poured the drinks and doled them out. Both men sat staring at the odd, strangely shimmering crimson fluid, then between one another. Lucio’s bravado seemed to have gone out of him.
“I think…the longer we think about it, the harder it’s going to be,” Aedan said finally, and Lucio nodded. “Count of three?”
They simultaneously ticked off the numbers, then knocked back the noxious concoction. The effect took a moment to settle in, sending both men spluttering and coughing viciously. It was intensely astringent and herbaceous in the cruelest of ways, with a burn that lingered on the tongue long after the liquid passed down the gullet.
When they were both recovered, Aedan stood and went to the small bar tray that sat, dusty and abandoned in the corner, pouring a snifter of brandy for both of them.
“That was fucking vile,” Aedan croaked before taking a swallow of the comparatively sweet liquid, letting it linger on his tongue before swallowing. “Hope it was worth it.”
Lucio gave a weak half-shrug before imbibing. “We’ll see, I suppose.”
Aedan didn’t give his words much thought, still caught up in the unpleasantness of the sensation. They sat in companionable silence, but after a while, he felt the weight of an almost expectant gaze. Silver eyes met silver.
“Did you just bring me here to torture me, or was there something else, Lu?” Aedan implored gently. This man who had been his friend. Their relationship had been strained – Lucio, locked away here, embroiled in death for so long, but never succumbing, while so many others fell in the city and palace below. As the Captain of the Guard, his heart had been with the people. It had been easy to dismiss Lucio – his mishandling and callousness, and then the absence of him. It was easier to forget him.
It was difficult seeing Lucio now. How small he was. How empty. And even now…he just wanted to play like a child. While the world burned around them, he wanted to do shots.
“Jules says that it’s close,” Lucio said with a somber nod. “Need to say my goodbyes.”
“Julian has been saying as much for months,” Aedan countered. “And you just keep kicking. So, forgive me if I’m reluctant to throw you on the funeral pyre just yet.”
Lucio gave a breathy snort of a laugh. “At least you have a blaze of glory planned for me,” he shrugged. “Not exactly pretty enough for a glass coffin, lying in state anymore.”
“Your narcissism is failing. Maybe it is the end.” Aedan teased, though there was no malice in it. He couldn’t manage to be cruel–it was all that he could do to maintain their playful banter.
Lucio drew a long breath, then nodded. “I really am just…tying up loose ends. I have one more big party, then I can go in peace.”
Aedan hadn’t thought of a masquerade. It seemed like such an impossibility, given the current state of things. “You’re joking,” he said flatly, disbelieving.
“No,” Lucio countered, then tilted his head back and forth, relenting. “I mean, Nadia won’t let me go to the big party. Even though it is my birthday…she won’t give in to my begging. But, I’ve got something else planned. Just a…family dinner, of sorts.”
“Well, I suppose that’s an exercise in restraint, knowing you.” He said. “Was anyone planning on telling me we were having a full-blown masquerade this year?”
Lucio waved his hand dismissively. “You have enough on your plate. Vulgora will handle the security–”
Aedan hissed his disappointment, “Yeah, that’s even more worrying. I hate playing clean up for the Pontifex,”
Lucio lifted his hand to stop him. “Let’s not talk business,” he said. “I’m just about drunk, and I’m fading fast. I just…I wanted to see my friend. Just the two of us.”
His tone struck Aedan’s heart, and he softened, falling quiet for a moment. He finished his drink and set the glass down. He rested his hands in his lap, watching Lucio.
“Does it scare you?” Aedan asked quietly, not quite able to meet his gaze.
Lucio inhaled sharply, taking a moment to consider. “Not anymore,” he said earnestly. “It did…but you get tired of being scared all the time. Get bored of waiting for it. And everyone else gets bored, too.” Lucio shook his head. “I hate being bored. And I hate being boring.”
“I don’t think you’re boring,” Aedan said. “You’re the furthest thing from it. When you’re around, I know…the day is going to be interesting, if nothing else.”
Lucio narrowed his eyes at him. “I had to make an appointment with you for you to make time for me,” he countered, then shrugged. “It’s fine. I get it. I wouldn’t wanna hang out here long, either.”
Aedan looked stricken, though he could hardly argue. “Maybe I should have come more often, and I’m sorry about that. But…I’m taking up the office you gave me. And I’m doing the best I can. Things are…difficult, now.”
“I know,” Lucio said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better Captain. You are…” He stopped himself, considering his words. “You’re kind of perfect. In an obnoxious way.”
Aedan laughed loudly, caught off guard by the underhanded compliment. One of the very few Lucio had afforded him in their time. “I’ll take the praise,” he said with a grin when he recovered from the shock. “And you were like…a peculiar, egotistic older brother. And I love you for it.”
Lucio smiled in return. “Exactly that. Brothers. We don’t always see eye to eye, but…we’re family. And family looks out for one another.”
Aedan knew Lucio’s track record with family, but the sentiment still struck him as sincere. “And what can I do to look out for you?” He asked.
Lucio’s face fell just a bit, and he shook his head in the negative. “No…you’ve done more for me than you know,” he said with finality. “I can’t ask for anything more.”
Aedan reached out across the bed and touched the cold, metal arm affectionately. “I’m still going to be here, you know? Until the end.”
Lucio couldn’t quite meet his gaze and swallowed hard. Aedan saw an uncharacteristic glitter of tears forming in his already glassy stare. “Yeah, I know. I know. You’re the best brother a guy could ask for.”
They remained like that for a while—a simple, familial touch of comfort and peaceful quiet. Lucio broke the silence, reaching over his cold, bony fingers to pat Aedan’s much warmer, firmer hand. “I think I need to rest,”
Aedan helped Lucio back into a prone state and sorted his pillows and blankets to Lucio’s exacting specifications. He waited patiently until Lucio was settled. It hurt him to go, and from the door, he turned back.
“Hey,” he said, “I’m going to miss you.”
Lucio scoffed. “Well, you know what they say. The ones we love live on inside us, or some shit.”
Aedan lifted an eyebrow and smirked. “You believe that?”
“It’s the only hope I’m clinging to at this point,” Lucio said soberly, then sighed. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
Aedan sighed, looking over his shoulder. “Lucio, miracles happen every day. Fuck, you might outlive us all.”
“Your lips to the Devil’s ears,” Lucio said with finality.
When Aedan left, and his footfalls had faded, Lucio searched the candle-lit gloom.
“He took the bait,” he said into the darkness, his voice strained with emotion.
“Marvelous,” The darkness hissed back—smoke coalescing into a humanoid form. Slight and severe and otherworldly, the Quaestor stepped into the dim candlelight. “You did well, Count.”
“Just…tell me that it’s going to work,” Lucio snapped. “I did everything you asked. The beetle dust…he drank it.”
“It will do,” Valdemar reassured. “He’ll look like every other victim of the plague. He’ll feel like every other victim. How delightfully tragic. The young, vibrant Captain of the Guard…”
“Please, stop.” Lucio choked. “I know you said it has to be him. I did what you told me I had to do. I just want to know that I didn’t kill my best friend for no reason.”
Valdemar circled the bed. Long, elegant fingers tented. Amused at his display of emotion. “He is your perfect match. An easy transition…” They crooned spitefully, tilting their head back and forth mockingly. “Such a lovely specimen, the Captain. I do so hate to see him wasted on you.”
This was beautifully written and I felt completely immersed holy moly O_o💔
