Page 13 of The Dragon and the Exiled
"As I said, I do not enjoy killing.I was raised a hunter, and then I was a scout in the military, and then I was a private courier to the late king.Until I killed him."He hesitated, staring at his tea, then added, "He was also my lover."
"You murdered your own lover?"Euclid asked."Why would you do that?"
"To save lives," Dipak said, the words coming out harsh and ragged."It doesn't matter anymore.The deed is done, and I was exiled here, even though I should have been executed.It was the only 'kindness' anyone granted me."
Euclid said nothing, but Dipak hadn't expected him to.Frankly, he'd thought Euclid would get up and leave, dislike him more than ever.It had been the most difficult decision of Dipak's life, and he would hate himself for it until his dying day, but he didn't regret it, only that it had been necessary.
He'd beenright, and no one had listened to him until after the deed was done, and so out of guilt, Lochan's son had sentenced him to exile here.
The silence stretched on and on, and suddenly, he just couldn't fucking take it anymore.He'd told himself he wouldn't dwell, wouldn't let it all get the better of him, but he wasdone."You should go.I'll be fine now, and I apologize for keeping you when you have more important things to do."
Euclid frowned."But—"
"Justgo," Dipak said.
"As you wish," Euclid said quietly.
The door had barely closed behind him when Dipak finally lost it, months and months of anger, fear, pain, and grief finally getting ahold of him in rough, broken sobbing that he'd told himself he wouldn't succumb to.
Because despite what everyone now said about him, he had loved Lochan deeply.Many had looked askance at their relationship, some of his friends had worried about the power imbalance, but Lochan had been loving and kind, strong and smart.Until cynicism and bitterness ate too much of him away, and resentment built up, turned into madness, and his lover became more of a stranger with every passing day.
No one had listened, not even Lochan's son, Madhav.Not his bodyguards, not his friends.Not Dipak's own so-called friends.He'd triedeverythingto warn them that a tragedy would happen, that Lochan was going to kill people.He'd seen it happen before.Back home, when a man decided the whole village was to blame for his personal failures and went on a killing spree.When it happened again in his unit.He hadn't known the signs the first time, everyone had brushed off his concerns the second.
He wasn't going to let it happen a third time, not when it was a king with plenty of killers at his command.
Then of course had been six months of hell.Starvation.Beatings.Being left too close to a burning fire, his burns still healing when they'd switched to locking him in cold boxes instead.Abuse from other prisoners.Not a single visit from the people he'd called friends, despite the years they'd known each other.
No one to ask if he was all right, which was fair, he had murdered his lover and king, but someone could have cared, just a little bit.Someone could have remembered the warnings he'd given them, why he had been driven to his own desperate act, and asked if he was all right.Instead all he'd gotten was silence when he'd most needed a friend.
Now here he was crying alone in a cabin in the woods, precisely as he had the night his parents and so many others had been murdered by a man who hadn't been able to handle his wife leaving him.
Eventually, he exhausted himself and drank down the long-cold tea before stumbling over to his bed and falling back asleep.
Chapter Five
Euclid had piled up all the contraband from the dead soldiers.Looking through it all, Dipak found mercenary licenses, confirming his suspicions.Unfortunately, none of them appeared to have carried a convenient letter from their employer precisely explaining what he wanted them to do.
On the positive side of things, he had an absolute surfeit of metal-tipped arrows.He would need to strip many of them of the added enchantments, but that was an easy task to spread over several evenings as he sat by the fire drinking tea.
Other than a few knives, because in this job there was no such thing as too many knives, he had no use for their weapons or armor.Maybe Euclid could sell it all somewhere.
He did take some of their clothes, especially some winter gear he found, and a couple of satchels and other odds and ends.The rest he left for Euclid to do as he pleased.
After that was done, he finally went and found the requested pheasants, which were less wily and elusive today, thankfully.Following a quick lunch, he turned his attention to fish.Preparing and smoking fish was a relatively easy affair, and it would break up the monotony of wild game come winter.
While the fish smoked, and so he could remain nearby to see nothing went wrong, he set to work washing all of his newly-acquired clothes.Once everything was clean and dry, he could see about what tailoring would be needed.Clothes for hunters needed to fit and move well; otherwise a snagged shirt could catch, loose pants could impede movement, and so forth.
He'd just finished setting everything out to dry when a familiar voice called out."Having a good day, hunter?"
"Quite productive, yes," he replied, arranging the last shirt over the clotheslines he'd strung up before turning to Euclid."How about you?"
"Very well indeed.I convey gratitude for the pheasants on behalf of Parvin.They were quite happy to get them.Everyone is enjoying having a true hunter in the forest."
"Do all these people you mention ever meet up?Is there some tiny village in this forest?A gathering point?Or are we all faceless names to each other?"
"There is a meeting point.We gather on the solstices, weather permitting.There are about fifty people in these woods, mostly human, but not all.The next solstice is in a few weeks.People sing, eat, dance, trade smaller things, trinkets, jewelry, that sort of thing.Many are hopeful you will attend.They would like to meet you."
"Not sure they'd feel the same if they knew I was a king killer."
