Liam Berlyn

"Do you think it will always be like this?" Liam asked, rolling over from his back to his side, looking to his love. Hector was studying his painting closely, the paint had made its way from his hands to face again, the brown he was working with didn't compliment his pale complexion. "I don't know" he answered truthfully. Liam looked down solemnly at the grass where they had laid, and began to pick at it. Hector was suddenly there,Tumbling in the tall stalks and grass with Liam, laughing in Liam's ear, "But i know that wherever we are, i'll always be here, with you."   His eyes shot open. A cold sweat had reached his back and it took him a moment to realize where he was. His room at the Abbey, yes of course. Where else would he be? he swung his legs from his bead to the cold stone floor, and put his head in his hands and let out a sob. The days had started like this, ended like this for what felt like a small lifetime, in reality, it had only been 7 months. He went to the basin and cleaned his face, the bags under his eyes had grown to darkened states, and his face, gaunt from under eating. He kept thinking back to that day specifically. The same dream, the promise unfulfilled still haunted him.   But it wasn't the failed promise that scorned him each and everyday.   He dressed in his Abbey wear, his undershirt was black cotton, a high collar that wrapped around his neck, buttoning at the neck, with a robe of purple and small hints of white, tied at the waste. It identified him as a high acolyte, close to full priesthood, and trusted with important tasks. Leaving his room, he followed into the dining hall where all the acolytes ate. He chose to take his food infront of books at his table, so the other acolytes would leave him be, their questions and glances burned him. Let them think he just threw himself to study. A shadow loomed over him and his work, he looked up to see Brother Jache. "What can i do for you, brother?" Liam asked. Jache sat down across from him, And leaned in with a smile,   "What can you do indeed, Can you do anything?" he gave himself a chuckle. Yes, there it was. His true scorn, it could be summed up, and pointed almost specifically to this man, who embodied everything he had come to detest about this priesthood.   "How come your studies?" he asked after a icey stare from Liam, "Decide who you will devote yourself to, for your coming absolution ceremony?" The question, seemed earnest. A change from Jache's usual brand of assery. Liam was almost lured into answering, until the silence dragged just too long for Jache. He leaned in again, "Well i certainly hope you pick someone to pick you out of this self imposed gloom," his face, said he was genuine, but those beady little eyes were laughing at him. Liam had to swallow the bile in the back of his throat. his fist, white knuckled gripping his knife, all it would take is just a thrust into his eye right into the front cortex of..   "Liam!" The voice boomed, Jache stifled a chcukle well. he almost didnt see it, it made his blood boil. He turned lazily to Headmaster Fron, "Yes, headmaster," he asked. He said nothing, gestured for him to follow. He stood up before shooting Jache a deathly cold gaze.   The headmaster's room was rather onate for a priest, liam decided. Posh furnitture, silver ornate accessories, rugs of high quality threads. It wasn't so much a priesthood, he thought, so much as a abuse of station. he sat in the ordinary chair, reserved for who he spoke to, and sat in his cloth lined chair, reserved for him. A wonderfully cheeky example of how their roles were. He would have wrote a play around it, but he just couldn't care enough to pose it. The head master started, his hands bridged in front of his face,   "Liam i will be forward with you, i find your behavior over these last months to not only be worrying, but appalling." he rubbed a few slender fingers against his temples. "You are by far, the most talented young priest i have known in some time. And i would wager in some arts, you are the best that i have had the pleasure of knowing. Yet you have recently stifled yourself do to young Hectors untimely.."   Liam spoke, but it was quiet, the headmaster craned his head, "I'm sorry, i cannot hear you my child speak up."   Liam's eyes locked with the priest. "His death was not untimely, it was a murder commited by the abbey." he said coldly.   The headmaster sat back, his eyes still locked with Liam's and took a moment to breath through his nose, "Liam, you are destined for great things, what Hector did would have been death as well anywhere else. He stole knowledge, sacred, dangerous knowledge to use against an actively peaceful nation. This isn't a petty thing, this isn't some kind of robbery of bread for a hungry man. This is a attack against a nation using what is arguably, the abbey's greatest weapon." he paused, choosing his words. "At any other point during his robbery, i would have stayed my hand. But he had learned the forbidden knowledge, somehow managed to learn, practice and arguably master..."   Liam interrupted "That's because he is more skilled than any of you here!" he was surprised how angry he was after so many days of feeling nothing.   "There is no debating that child!" his response was the stern kind that demanded silence. "But that does not excuse that what he was doing was a known high crime." his eyes became soft. and he stood, "I.." he started, standing, tracing the wood on the corner of his desk, "I had a son once, to say Hector reminded me of him, would be very true. He was an ambitious youth, but human at heart. The kind of charm that won crowds, and the genuine concern for peoples feelings that make us all better." he finished tracing with his fingers, and looked around the room. "You must think us all terribly hypocritical. Just look at this room, " he looked around gesturing to the room as a whole. "But with all of the politics and rubbish that bashes our foundation to and fro, some of us forget that ultimately we are men and women of the gods, and here to spread their will in a polished form." he smiled as he turned to the window behind his seat, placing his hands behind his waist. "I would.." he thought for a moment, "I would give this all away for us to just be able to travel and preach to the good people of Aragondos that there is something more." he turned. "Liam, i asked you here to talk about your reservations about Hector, but also to ask that we move up your absolution ceremony, because i would like to ask you to be a Absolver." he said plainly.   The words took him, quite frankly by surprise. "An...Absolver?" he asked quietly.   "Yes" he took his seat again, "You have seen what it is for the church to safe guard secrets like the one Hector attempted to learn. And how closely we guard them and the consequences. I have wanted to ask you about this for sometime, but felt it would not be right considering what transpired. However you are the strongest candidate i have ever seen for this position, and frankly, your experiences that have left you raw, seem to only confirm this." he looked into Liam's eyes for what seemed a small eternity. "Please, consider my offer. I can explain more after your absolution, make this all the more clear. There are things i cant talk about to acolytes, but once you're pledged, we could talk at length. Please consider my offer, Brother" he smiled after that. It was hard for Liam to hold onto his anger, his rage. The Headmaster was the only one who talked about Hector in a not blasphemous light. The first to acknowledged that he wasn't some peasant robber. That he was a person. It hurt his heart, but he found a small bit of solace in The headmaster, tears threatened his eyes.   He nodded and curtly said "I will think on this, headmaster." he said quietly, and left quickly for his room.   He took a few minutes to compose himself inside of his room. His days were always full of study, and he wouldn't have long until he was due for them. It was a large relief, to know someone else also cared about Hector, didn't hate him, didn't disdain the young man. He cried quietly, but tears of relief more than grief. he had felt better than he had in months. Leaving his room, he bore a smile for the first time. It didn't go unnoticed, people started to talk, to joke with him again. Most noticed it, He was a well known acolyte in the Abbey's academy. Even the snide Jache took a moment to acknowledge it.   "My my, smiling already? Is 7 months all your love is worth?" he asked. He was surrounded by his usual crowd of friends.   The venom built up, and Liam finally starting to heal, it was time to put Jache in his place. He may have done his ceremony sooner, but only because of Liam's distress. He was tired of the oaf. it was time to show him that he was not a rival for Liam, they were not even on the same level.   He was a bug. And Liam, detested insects.   "Jache!" he turned with his arms wide, and smile smugly on his face, "My dear friend, " he started, striding up to Jache, "I heard your absolution ceremony was 3 months ago, i hadnt even thought to ask!" he said   Jache smiled, looking around at his audience. "Well it went rather we.."   Liam interrupted him curtly, "No you oaf, i didn't forget to ask, i thought not to, because no one gives a shit." his eyes leveled at Jache's. The mood of the room changed from a jovial reunion, to a tense, cold atmosphere. Liam pointed a finger at Jache "For years you have rode on the coat tails of your betters, the reason you dested Hector and I wasn't because we were lovers, or that he was technically a criminal, it was because we were simply better than you." the audience murmured and began to talk, Jaches round face flushed red with rage   "Watch how you speak to me, i am an ordained priest you.." Again Liam interrupted by stepping into Jache's personal space. he stopped, catching his breath with surprise.   "Never forget that you went first because Hector and I had to hand it to you, one of us had to die, and the other had to mourn the other deeply for you to even be thought of. You were not a first thought, not even a second, you were a thought on the same basis of "What will i eat for dinner tonight?" to the headmaster and the council. Remember something very, very, important Jache, You are nothing. You are a bug, festering in the underbrush, feeding of what is dropped. Remember, your, place." he kept the gaze, the steely, cold gaze. Jache said nothing. his face said most of it, he was wounded, and his pride hurt. but he was angry. Jache could be dangerous when angry, more than one accident had happened around the circle of him and his group. He stormed away, giving Liam one final glance back. They spoke with their eyes,   Jache's said "Watch where you go alone,"   Liam's said, "You should too." with a coy smile, and a wink.