Chapter 13. Pretty Boy

elenus was amused by Morisedd’s cunning.  It never failed to amaze him how clever people could be in the name of revenge.  The surest betrayal was always that instigated by trusting friends or family who had no clue they were merely part of a bigger plot.  He joined the evening’s festivities, shadowing his foolish older brother while praising him for his kindness and forbearance, all the while watching his prey from afar.

“When will yeh be leavin’ then?” Mog asked as he started fitting his pipes together for the evening’s traditional round of song and dance in the torch lit courtyard.

“Wantin’ yer only brother t’ be leavin’ already?” Belenus asked, contriving to sound hurt.  His older sibling had become a little more difficult to manipulate since the last time they met.  It was a shame Mog had learned to hold a grudge.  Belenus missed his former pliancy. 

“Th’ only reason yer still here is yer me brother.  Three days an’ then yer out of here an’ away from me friends.”

“It pains me t’ hear yeh speak so.”

“An’ I don’ know what yeh wan’ wit’ Penny, but yeh bes’ not be eyin’ him like that.”

Belenus chuckled.

“I ain’t eyin’ him, Moggie dear, I like the look o’ his wife.  Pretty l’il thing.”

“I dare yeh to say tha’ ‘round Penny.  The two o’ them would kill yeh.”

Belenus chuckled.  He doubted old pretty boy had it in him and it would certainly be amusing to see how he reacted.  He grinned when a pair of fiddlers started tuning up their instruments and Mog rose quickly to his feet, cranking the bellows of his Ascalonian pipes with his elbow in preparation to play.  Belenus rose from their shared blanket as well, grinning like a fox as servants came through to gather up empty crockery in order to clear the place for dancing.  Within a few minutes, the first strains of the Ascalonian reel unfurled into the warm spring night and couples rose hurriedly, taking up their places and dancing quickly, soon matching step and weaving in and out amid the other laughing couples.  Pendaran and Teleri were bounding lightly side by side, turning one way and then they other, their faces bright with joy and their troubles forgotten for the nonce.

The song ended and a cheer went up.  Pendaran grabbed Teleri around the waist and swung her around amid a peal of laughter silenced when they kissed.  Chatter ensued as the dancers called out requests for the next dance.  Belenus grinned and moved toward the pair.

“I was wonderin’ if I could have th’ pleasure o’ th’ next dance w’ yer lovely lady wife.”

Belenus inwardly cackled to see the look of horrified anger in the man’s green eyes.  Teleri seemed bewildered but shrugged, straightening the shoulder straps of her simple turquoise cotton gown and squeezing Pendaran’s hands.

“I can humor Mog’s brother for one dance,” she reassured him. Belenus bowed to him, then clasped Teleri’s fine-boned hands.  In her youth she must have been quite stunning.  Pregnancy had dulled her figure and there were lines forming around her eyes.  As evening fell her flaws were no longer so obvious.  Pendaran folded his arms and watched them as the musicians struck up another lively tune and he went gallivanting with his stolen partner.  He let the hand upon her waist slide down from its chaste position until his palm hovered over her hip and then her rump.  Her blue eyes blazed with shock and anger but he muscled his way through the next few steps, forcing one arm down with his elbow while clutching her lead hand tightly.  He lifted her up off the ground on the downbeat and released her waist to twirl her at the right moment, enjoying the scowl that flashed past him. Now they were close again, side to side and his hand slid back in place, pinching her lightly and drawing a snarl of rage to which he laughed in response, grasping her tightly as she struggled to avoid his seeking lips.

An instant later he was lying sprawled on his back upon the cobbles, his world spangled with bright flashes of color and his head ringing.  The metallic taste of blood was in his mouth and Pendaran was standing over him with balled fists amid panicked shouts and an abrupt end to the music.  He tried to rise only to be sent spinning as the man pounded his jaw with a harsh right hook.

“Lay so much as a finger on my wife and I’ll kill you,” Pendaran snarled, “Now get out of my sight.”

His vision swimming and his body aching where it had slammed against the hard cobbles, he staggered to his feet and backed away.  So pretty boy was not just for show after all.  Good to know.  He glanced back at Pendaran as the man curled a protective arm around Teleri’s shoulder and drew her away.  Then he saw Mog’s towering figure lurching toward him.

“I ought t’ kill yeh meself, you lowdown pile o’ yak dung.  How dare yeh mess wit’ Pen’s wife.  Yeh better pack yer trash and be off o’ this island come dawn and don’ yeh be showin’ yer face ‘round here again.”

“Eh, I’m leavin’. I’ve worn out me welcome.”

“Good,” Mog spat as if he were cursing.  Belenus chucked to himself though he was aching all over.  Now he had exactly the excuse he needed to be away from the festivities.  All that was left to do was wait until it was time to strike.

“And then, pretty boy, I’ll give yeh a little taste of what I can do.”