Chapter 5: A test of courage for a new henchmen
By the time that Sam arrived back to the room Cass thought he was going to lose his mind. Thankfully, whatever was in that weird, bottom of the dumpster drink healed him from his awful, painful headache that prevented him from doing anything else.
That didn't mean he could get up from the bed, or move around that much. He wanted to curse the "gods" who sent him here.
A shrine to a demonic god kept looking better and better by the minute.
Thankfully, he didn't have to resort to that as Sam came back with several papers. Not just several, but enough that it warranted having another person enter into his chambers. They were also a man, but they had bright blue hair. It should have shocked him, but Cass grew up with a sister who had changed her hair colour every other week in university.
Not too much shocked him in that regard. Hell, if someone popped out and declared themselves a vampire, he probably wouldn't even bat an eyelash. A werewolf transformation? Nothing. Fae? Please, try harder. Devils, demons and dark lords? Yawn.
Outside of Cass' internal monologue, it was clear that the servants who worked for Lord Blackburn were not expecting Cass' lack of a reaction. Even Sam, who had overheard that he had very little of his memories, was stuttering over his words as soon as the boy crossed into the room.
"F-Forgive me, Lord Blackburn! I wanted to f-fulfil your request and needed assistance. Do not take it out on Byron!" Cass was almost amused with how pissed off he was at Lord Blackburn's treatment of people who were supposed to take care of him. Byron, the blue haired boy was quivering, clearly afraid of the consequences of helping his friend out.
Cass' sigh filled the room, and both men collapsed to the ground. They put the newspapers to the side, making sure not to wrinkle them as they pressed their foreheads against the carpets on the floor.
"Please Lord Blackburn! I'm the one at fault! Don't punish Sam!" Cass was impressed with Byron's booming and deep voice, especially out of such a small, underdeveloped body. There was a reason he was calling him a boy. He looked like one.
"I have no plans to punish either of you. Now, get up off the floor, both of you. Once you put the newspapers down on the bed, could one of you open the drapes?" Cass asked and watched as both boys trembled.
"B-But you said you would flog us if we let someone else step into your room?" Sam said, his voice barely above a whisper. Cass felt his mouth turn down in a frown as he stared at the heads of the two boys who hadn't raised them. Fuck everything.
"And you let him help you knowing this?" Cass asked, and watched as Sam trembled.
"Y-Yes."
"Alright. Prepare the drink. In front of me, and we'll have...Byron taste it. If he passes, then I won't punish either of you. If he does not, however..." Cass trailed off, unsure what would be a suitable punishment for such a ridiculous crime. Letting someone else into his bedchamber? What the fuck was he? A tyrant? A phony?
Cass hadn't checked, but maybe he was hiding that he was a girl or something? That was the only thing that could make sense if Lord Blackburn was policing his room so aggressively. With so many people living in one house, and so many that disliked him, no one else would be attempting to kill him.
At least, that was his hope. He still had no idea who he was.
Sam scrambled to his feet, and when Cass caught sight of his eyes he noticed that they were watering. He hoped that it wasn't because he was worried his friend wasn't going to pass the test.
Fuck. He really hoped that he did. He didn't want to come up with a punishment for a kid who was just helping his friend.
Byron didn't move from his position on the floor, his forehead pressed against the carpet. Cass wasn't sure what to do in this circumstance. Did he...ask the kid to raise his head? Or did he just leave it? What if he said he didn't want to? He wasn't prepared for this situation at all.
Fuck. He just liked to read books in his free time. He'd happened to be going to school to be a fund manager of some kind. He hadn't really cared. He'd gone to university because his sister had insisted, and with his credits and mismatched courses he'd ended up taking, that was what suited him the most.
Not quite an accountant, not quite an assistant. Some weird thing in the middle. It suited Cass just fine.
Sam came back rather quickly and nudged Byron with his foot. He was carrying a tray. On the tray was what appeared to be a glass of water, a spoon, and a tiny, metal box with a lid. Cass assumed that whatever made the water into a funky sewer water was in that metal box.
"S-Stand up, Byron. So the Lord can see you." Sam ordered, his lips trembling. Cass was a little disappointed that he had so little faith in his friend, but then again, who was he to say?
Getting a feeling for the man whose body he'd stolen, maybe he'd done this a ton, and not many passed? Was this a weird form of torture or something? What did it even mean? And if Cass could taste it, and Sam couldn't, why did that matter?
Byron tried to get to his feet several times, but it appeared that the fear of the situation had shaken him too much. He kept falling to his knees. Each time that he did, more sweat would begin to form on poor Sam's face until it was pouring down his neck and face. Byron wasn't much better. They looked like they had just come in from outside while it was raining.
Cass finally took pity on the boys and raised his hand. Both of them froze.
"It's alright, Sam. If he can't stand, he can drink it from the ground. I can see him from here." Sam jerked his head in a nod, glancing at his friend before he bit his lip and moved to a table nearby.
Interested, Cass watched him intently as he opened the metal tin and picked up the spoon. Expecting a black powder of some kind, Cass was surprised when the spoon came out of the tin with a bright red powder instead.
As soon as it touched the water, however, it turned as dark as night. Sam stirred it nervously, glancing up at Cass as he watched him.
"I-I didn't do anything to help Byron, my Lord." Cass stared blankly at him, before he realised what his stare could look like to these two. Oh shit. They thought that he was watching them because they were trying to rig this test.
In all truth, Cass just wanted to see how Sam made the fucked up drink. He hadn't actually meant it as a test, but at the same time, if the previous Lord Blackburn didn't let anyone near him who didn't pass the test, it wasn't a bad thing, was it? And, if the kid did pass, that was one more person who he could try to convert to his side.
He'd need allies. You never changed the plot of a story without them.
"I believe you, Sam. Now, give it to Byron." Cass tried to sound gentle, but it only made the glass in Sam's hand shake as he lifted it up. What on earth had this Lord Blackburn been like for him to react this way? What did he sound like to his ears?
Byron reached out for the glass, and Cass swore that the two of them were filming a movie scene. It looked like two best friends sealing each other's fates. Cass would commend them if it wasn't obvious that they were scared shitless.
Sam nodded to Byron when he hesitated to take a sip of the deep, black liquid, and Cass winced internally. He got it. He'd hesitated too. Sam hadn't let him though, and he wondered if he was going to do the same to his friend. It was clear that Sam was fighting with himself internally.
Fuck. He'd hate to admit it, but it was turning out that Sam was actually quite the good henchmen.
Byron raised the glass to his lips, before closing his eyes and taking a sip. Everyone held their breath as they waited. Byron, who had expected something awful to happen right away, lowered the glass. He didn't even make a face.
"Uh, i-is something supposed to happen?" Byron asked, and Sam exhaled. He didn't sound relieved yet, though.
"How was the taste?" He asked, and Byron glanced down at the glass. Temporarily forgetting that his Lord was in the room due to his own shock. Cass couldn't blame him. He was stunned too. He'd tasted nothing? When it was literally sewer water?
"Uh, nothing to write home about? It's...just water and that powder stuff, right? It's a little...sweet I guess? But maybe that's just because I don't drink fancy water?" Byron offered, and Sam spun, his gaze distraught.
"It tasted sweet, my Lord!" He repeated, as if Cass couldn't hear Byron with his own ears. Cass stared at him, as Byron stared at his friend, confused.
"Was I supposed to say nothing? Or was I supposed to say sour?" Byron asked, and Cass sighed.
"No. You were supposed to answer truthfully. He only said a little bit sweet, and he's not reacting the way I drink it. Sam, take a sip too." Sam yanked the glass out of Byron's hand and took a sip. After he did, he stared blankly at the glass.
"O-Oh. The water...I might have grabbed the wrong kind." He muttered. "You normally only drink water from the fourth well. You were very specific about it and lectured me about why. You said the other waters were too sweet. In my haste, I grabbed water from the second well." He muttered, more to himself than to either of the others in the room.
"So, we can conclude for the night that he is clear, correct? We can test it in the morning once we have the usual water, but I am too tired to worry about another test of loyalty tonight. Byron is clear for now, so neither of you shall be receiving a punishment." Sam broke down, sobbing.
Byron, thinking on his toes, grabbed the glass from him so that he didn't spill it.
"Thank the gods. I was so worried!" Sam sobbed, while Byron seemed to be growing whiter and whiter by the second.
"You cannot be sobbing like this in front of the Lord, Sam! Pull it together!" He whispered aggressively, and Cass felt his lips twitch. It was clear that the duo cared for each other. It was sweet.
And the way that Byron looked at Sam...hmm, maybe they were more than just friends?
"Byron." Cass called, and Byron jerked. "Be a good boy and open the drapes, would you? Sam needs a moment to compose himself." Byron jerked his head in a nod, about to head for the window to open them when he realised his hands were still full. "You can put the drink down on the tray over here." Cass told him. "Oh! And bring over a stack of newspapers on your way too." He said, and Byron rushed to do so.
"R-Right away, my Lord!" He rushed, doing as he was told without spilling a drop of the thick, black liquid. It was impressive, especially with his height and body mass. Either he was going to be this size forever, or he was going to bulk out in a few more years.
Cass wasn't sure if he was going to be around long enough to witness all of it, but he was glad that he would be able to see what little he could. Byron and Sam. They were beginning to grow on him. He didn't think, given their fear of him, that they could become friends in the traditional sense, but he was hoping that they could begin to rely on each other.
Once Cass proved to them that he wasn't an awful piece of shit.
It took Sam a few more moments to compose himself, and by the time he did, Byron had figured out how to open the drapes. They were apparently heavy, thick, and blocked out any ounce of sunlight. Cass hadn't been aware of it before, since it had been so subtle, but the room was lit by lamps.
Lamps that flickered like candles, but clearly weren't. It was quite interesting, but he'd worry about that aspect of the world later. For now, he needed to figure out what was going on in the world.
The first thing he discovered was that it was either early morning, or late afternoon. It wasn't bright out, and it didn't look like there was a cloud in sight. When staring out the window, he couldn't see a city, or town, or building in sight.
It was...strange for him. Especially since he was born and raised city boy not seeing an ounce of cement around was making his skin crawl a little bit.
"Are those all...trees?" He asked wearily, and both men turned to stare at him.
"How hard did you fall, my Lord? Was it more serious than I previously thought? The Doctor who originally checked on you said everything was going to be fine once you woke up." Sam furrowed his brows, concern coating his features. Even Byron seemed worried.
"We are in the enchanted forest, my Lord. Where you live with your wife and her other husbands. You...you helped select the location. And helped build the castle." Byron added. "In fact, you negotiated with the fairies to be able to build it in this location. Everyone, even now, wonders what you did to do that." Byron sounded a bit wistful, and Sam laughed.
"Everyone knows that the Lord's Mother is from the fairy tribe, Byron." Sam said, and Byron swallowed.
"Well, yes, everyone does know that." Byron gave his friend a look, as if to say but we don't say that in front of the Lord! Cass didn't mind. He loved chatterboxes for a reason.
"Ah, yes. Thank you for jogging my memory. Some things are a little...jumbled. Hence, the newspapers." Both men's jaws dropped but Cass didn't notice it, his attention turned towards the newspapers now that he'd had his question answered. That, and he had a new piece of information.
Whoever this 'Lord Blackburn' was, his mother was from the fairy tribe. Whatever the fuck that meant. That, and it wasn't brought up around Lord Blackburn. A touchy subject, one would think. He'd have to look into it.