Chapter Fourteen

Jasper wanted to talk to Duncan, but the one time that he had mentioned the name to Avalon, Avalon had just waved him off, dismissed Jaspers suggestion, saying the thickhead would apologize when he was ready.

He added, probably because he noticed Jasper’s quirked eyebrow – yes, Jasper thought that was a strange thing to say after the morning’s behavior - that Duncan and Merlin had been close friends of his for a long time, which was the only reason Duncan wasn’t facing charges for what hed done. “I hope you don’t see that stance as me not supporting you, because you know I do. What Duncan did was totally unsuitable behavior and he’d better not ever do it again. But I can assure you that once Duncan has processed what happened this morning, he will be sorry, and he’ll be man enough to say so,” Avalon explained.

Accepting that, because Jasper had no true idea of what a long-term friendship might look like, he nodded to show his agreement – Avalon’s smile letting him know that was the right response. But that didn’t stop him thinking, perched as he was on the pile of ropes, looking out to sea. At one point Jasper caught sight of a fin in the distance and remembered the affinity he felt with the creatures during his time in the water. Collective strength, he thought, and that concept hardened his resolve to do something about Duncan, but perhaps not in the way that Avalon expected.

There had been one small incident with a crew member, but nothing overly concerning to Jasper. It was about an hour after he’d been sitting on the ropes when one of the younger crew, a guard perhaps, as was suggested by his uniform, hovered near where Jasper was sitting. When Jasper looked his way, the man bowed deeply.

“Forgive me for intruding, Your Highness, but can I ask, did you communicate at all with the creatures that were around the ship last night? Only there are those who saw what happened who said it looked as though you did, and that those creatures prevented you from drowning.”

Jasper nodded. Hiding who he was and what he could do was no longer an option. Even the crew who’d been asleep would have heard about the creatures and his midnight swim before breakfast.

“Do you mind me asking then, only I have always wondered, how they feel about us as men who walk on land being on a ship in their waters? Did they say or did they give any indication?”

Jasper chuckled kindly. “The smaller creatures appeared to be highly amused at my efforts to swim seeing as its not something Id ever done before,” he said quite sincerely. “But from the bigger creatures, the whales, I got the impression of incredible sadness. I believe that a lot of times, they follow the boats because they worry about the men on board. To them, any form of death, particularly if something happens to the ship, it saddens them, that it happens in their waters.”

“Thats probably why Prince Avalon insists that we can all swim before we take a position on this ship then,” the man said as if everything Jasper said had made sense. Then someone called his name, and with another bow, he left. Jasper smiled to himself as he looked back out over the sea. Maybe it does take just talking to them all, slowly, one at a time to change opinions, although Jasper knew there would always be some that would consider him strange, even when he told the truth.

As the afternoon wore on, the desire to speak to Duncan increased. The more he thought about the events of the morning, the more Jasper understood why the man had acted the way he did. Yes, at the time, Duncan had terrified him and humiliated him, which was worse in Jasper’s opinion. But he could see, as he watched the sea waves move around the ship, that Duncan could be the key to a plan he hoped he was finally ready to set into motion. He got his chance after a couple of hours of being up on deck when he noticed that Avalon was up on the wheel deck talking to Merlin. There was no sign of Duncan.

He must be in his cabin. Probably still processing things as Avalon suggested. Making sure Merlin and Avalon didn’t notice him leaving, Jasper slipped off the ropes and went down the narrow hallway to the cabins, knocking on the door of Duncan and Merlins room. There was no reply. A crewman going past said, “Oh, Your Highness, if youre looking for the Duke, hes down in the brig.”

The question must have been evident on Jasper’s face, because the crewman explained, “The brig is what we call something like a dungeon in a castle. Apparently, hes done something to upset Crown Prince Avalon so he’s brooding in there.”

So much for processing. Stubborn man. Jasper nodded his thanks before hurrying down the corridor the crewman had indicated. That led to a steep set of steps. As he went down them, he realized he had to be in the part of the ship underwater. There were stacked boxes along one part of a wall, and some large wooden barrels clearly holding supplies. But the largest thing in the space was a cage big enough to comfortably hold a human. Although the size was the only thing that appeared comfortable about it.

Duncan was sitting brooding, just as the crewman had suggested, on the only piece of furniture in the cage – a narrow wooden bench that was barely big enough to hold his bulk. The only other items in the cage were a tray with food scraps and an unpleasant smelling bucket which Jasper ignored.

As soon as Duncan saw him, he glared. “If youve come for an apology, you wont get it. I know what I saw, and I stand by what I did.”

Jasper shook his head. “Thats not why Im here.” He went a little closer to the bars. “The only reason you acted so badly out of character this morning is because you genuinely care for Prince Avalon, am I right?”

“Weve been friends for more than half your lifespan,” Duncan said grumpily.

Just as Jasper had thought. “I understand that, and I can respect a man that holds fast to his principles and protects the people he cares about. But I’m concerned about something else,” Jasper said, “At one point this morning you asked me what I was.”

“Yes, well, its clear youre no ordinary human, isnt it? Even if Prince Avalon didnt like me saying so. I didnt imagine those demons in your eyes.”

“One eye,” Jasper corrected, “and that was my magic simply reflecting back to you the horrors that you believe lives inside of me. As you surely noted, your husband and mine didn’t see anything like the demons you did, which suggests more about your personality than it does about mine.” Jasper left the comment where it lay.

“You mean you really don’t know who or what you are?” Duncan asked after a long moment. Jasper could tell hed confused the older man.

“I am human, I know that much. Aside from my magic, under my clothes, I am just a skinnier version of you.” Jasper pondered on how much he should say, but then he realized he had to take a chance if he had any possibility of a future going forward.

“I have ideas, snatches of ideas of something else though. I’m sure you’ve already heard that after I was delivered back to the castle - after I was abducted - the reason I gave for never sending anyone after the people responsible was because they would threaten my mother. Not even the World Council could get it out of me, but my fear for the Queen’s safety was and is very real.”

Duncan nodded. “Thats a standard technique used by abusers. To keep people quiet, they will repeat threats against the one person their victim genuinely cares about.”

“They did do that. But the thing is the way the message was conveyed has had me wondering…” Jasper moved a little closer to the bars and lowered his voice. “The people never referred to the woman as my mother. They referred to her as the Queen.”

Duncan’s frown deepened. “That’s not overly unusual. You told Avalon that your parents were the King and Queen of Lowenthorp. That’s been recorded with the World Council. It’s likely your abusers were simply reinforcing the severity of the stakes if you exposed them – not just in that the woman was your mother, but that she was the ruler of a country, too.”

“Originally I thought the same thing.” Jasper nodded. Now they were getting somewhere. Tell him. “I’ve never doubted I was the child of the late King and Queen, and I know for a fact that is what is listed under my birth record at the World Council. The man from the Magical University had a copy when he came to test me. The thing is, the more I think about it, the more I’ve been remembering about my time in captivity.”

Leaning as close as he dared, Jasper whispered, “The people who took me made a clear distinction between the person who birthed me, and the Queen I was living with. I’m sure of it. If you recall, I wasn’t abducted until after my father’s death. I can’t help wondering now if it’s possible…”

“Please wait a moment,” Duncan said, putting up his hand. “I am in enough trouble with your husband and my own, and I don’t want to make that any worse. Are you implying there was a possibility, and I am only saying this hypothetically because I genuinely do not want to get into any more trouble, but are you suggesting that your father strayed and while youre your fathers son, you are not your mothers?”

“I dont know for sure,” Jasper said. “The Queen, the person I believe is my mother - she has never suggested in word or deed that I was anything more than her treasured third child. I always knew how much she loved and cared for me. Always. When I was found in such a distressed state after my abduction, it was she who called in the healers. She sat by my bedside and personally cared for me until I could walk again. That took over a week in itself.”

“It was the Queen who sent an urgent letter to the King of Cijan, asking if it was possible the prince would marry you – effectively saving you from the fate you’d apparently condemned yourself to, by agreeing to marry someone who only had ill designs on your person.”

“I guessed that had to be the case. I couldn’t think of any other reason why I ended up marrying Avalon that day.” Gods, this is so hard, but Jasper’s magic gave every indication he was on the right path. “It has been plaguing me for a long time as to why there appeared to be such a clear distinction between a biological parent and the person who held the rank of Queen in the minds of my captors. I’ve always believed they were one and the same person, but from the snatches of conversation that I heard during my captivity, it was clear the people who took me did not see things the same way.”

Jasper met the eyes of the man who was studying him closely. “Duncan, dont you understand? I never expected Prince Avalon to want me to stay in his life the way he has indicated he wants to. I genuinely believed that as soon as the ceremony was done, he’d transport me somewhere I could live quietly, and I’d be expected to make my own way in life. But he doesn’t see things that way, does he?”

“The man is far more attached to you than I imagined him capable of,” Duncan admitted grudgingly. “I can’t be the one who would come between him and the first person he’s cared for since his late fiancé.”

“If it helps, I believe I can feel the same way about him. I mean, I have reservations, but that’s only because the people who took me are still out there. I never understood why they didn’t just kill me and be done with it. There were many times I thought I would die. But for some reason they wanted me to live. We need to go after these people and find out why, don’t you think?”

Duncan nodded. “Does that mean Im going to have to apologize to you for my behavior this morning?”

“I dont actually see the point, do you?” Jasper said. “You’re not sorry. You’ve already said that.”

“The point,” Duncan said as he stood up, “is because I promised my damn fool husband that I wasnt going to leave this brig until Id apologized to you. I also told him that hell would freeze over before I did it.”

For some reason that made Jasper chuckle. “I’m not sure even my magic could make that happen. But you could blame my magic or tell your husband that I’m a persuasive person. Regardless, if were going after the people that took me, dont you think its you that Avalon would want by his side while he protects me? Because I know he trusts you to have his back.”

Duncan let out a long breath. “The things I do for that man you married and the one I committed my life to.” He bowed stiffly from the waist, almost bent over at a ninety-degree angle, and then stood back up again. “I offer to you my sincere apologies for damaging your person, humiliating you, and for causing you such distress,” he said, unable to meet Jasper’s eye, but Jasper’s magic quietly applauded.

“Apology accepted, Duncan. Are you ready to get out of here, now? I havent said anything about this to Avalon yet, and I believe it would be easier if the four of us discussed this and made plans over dinner, dont you?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Duncan said, while Jasper undid the key and let him out of the brig. The bars were wide enough, and the key had been left in the lock, so clearly, Duncan had been capable of freeing himself any time. A concept that made Jasper feel good inside because it meant his husband’s best friend had principles. Jasper had a gut feeling that they were going to need those characteristics on their side, going forward. Or at least, his magic believed that, and that was enough for Jasper. Now to talk to Avalon.

Jasper was nervous. He’d kept his silence for what he’d believed were good reasons. His mother, the Queen, was the only person who had ever shown him any caring until his marriage. He’d also gone into his marriage believing that he truly didn’t have anything in life to look forward to. When he didn’t have a chance for a future, what did it matter if the people who took him were alive or dead, or ever brought to justice?

But Avalon had tied his future with Jasper’s and indeed, it would appear he truly wanted him around. That meant Jasper had to protect him as well as his mother, and maybe, just maybe, Avalon with his friends, and the troops on the ship would be enough to banish the threat that lurked in Jasper’s sleep.

It would have to be enough. Jasper’s magic was sure of it, and Jasper’s heart was feeling it, too. If nothing else, being with Avalon infused Jasper with a confidence he’d never had. His husband’s acceptance of his magic in the sea… You’re doing the right thing, he reminded himself firmly as he led the way back up on deck.