Tears of the Neko (5 page)

Geoff had surveyed the exchange quietly, not
wanting to get in between of the brothers' argument. But he
couldn't make sense of what they were saying--Damien's gift was
alive?

"Someone what to tell me what's going on?" he
rumbled.

Harrison sighed, beginning to wonder if his
impetuous decision to purchase the neko for his brother was worth
all the trouble. Instead of trying to explain it, he waved the
guard down the hallway to the storeroom.

When he threw the latch and shoved open the
door, the guard took a moment to register what he was seeing--a
tiny, pale little neko was cowering in the corner.

"I bought a companion slave for Damien for
his birthday," the blond count breathed exasperatedly.

The guard's eyes shot wide in shock. "Are you
kidding me? Have you lost your mind?"

Harrison sighed. "Yeah, I'm beginning to
think so."

"That thing is nothing but skin and bones,"
Geoff scoffed. "What happens to him when Damien refuses to keep
him?"

Harrison shrugged. "I don't know. I was
hoping maybe Damien would at least get a laugh out of it for his
birthday. He's been so..."

Geoff's eyes softened in understanding,
knowing exactly what Harrison was thinking. "Yeah, I know. But you
know how Damien is. He doesn't like anybody around."

"True," Harrison admitted. Harrison sighed as
he turned to Ysmenia who was hovering at the end of the hallway.
"Can you make sure Kayden is fed and bathed, and something suitable
is found for him to be presented to my brother in?"

She nodded quickly. "Yes, sir."

Harrison was making his way back through the
kitchen as the captain rummaged in the cold storage locker for some
cheese, then sat down at the kitchen table, grabbing some bread and
pour water from the pitcher resting there.

"My lord," Garin started again. "You can't
expect me to allow him to stay in my kitchens. Nekos aren't allowed
to work in the kitchens for a reason. It's unsanitary, with the
tail and fur and all."

"Master Garin," Harrison began patiently, "I
understand your concern, but he's not actually
in
the
kitchen, is he? He's in a storeroom, and just for a couple
days."

"Yes, my lord," Garin grumbled, obviously
unhappy about it, and Harrison heard the captain chuckle behind
him.

"Drystan," the noble called another servant
over. The young man immediately bowed to his master. "You know the
small study that connects to the Duke's bedroom?"

"Yes, sir."

"Damien doesn't use it, correct?"

"No, sir. He uses the office next to the
parlor."

"Good," Harrison grinned. "I want you to
prepare that room without Damien knowing. Get it cleaned, set up a
bed if you can. It doesn't have to be very large, as you could
see." He waved his hand in the general direction of the storeroom
where Kayden was.

John Drystan nodded with a smile.

"Oh, and get a few clothes gathered in there
for him. Arnett can probably help you. He'll need something more
than that slip of fabric he's wrapped in right now."

"Yes, sir," the young man bowed and turned to
hurry off to begin his task.

Harrison took a deep breath now that the
excitement was over. "So, Garin, how goes the birthday
preparations?"

****@

Kayden startled when the door creaked open,
spilling light into the small room. The older woman with the long
brown braid stepped in, peering into the darkness looking for
him.

"Little one, where are you?" she called.

He uncurled himself and moved toward her, so
silently that he startled her when he was almost at her feet before
she noticed him.

"Oh, my, you are a quiet little thing, aren't
you?" She sighed as she met his liquid green eyes. "Okay, well,
stand up. Let's get you fed and cleaned. We'll go to the bath in
the servant quarters, and I'll feed you over there. Don't think
Garin would like it too much if you were in his kitchen long."

She took his leash and led him through the
kitchen. He kept his head down and ignored the eyes of the other
servants on him as he carefully kept his tail tucked down, and his
ears tucked back fearfully.

"Here," he heard a man's voice stop the woman
near the exit to the kitchen. It was the chef, Garin. He shoved a
bowl at the woman. "Feed him."

Ysmenia smiled at the gruff chef, carefully
accepting his gift on behalf of the little neko. Kayden's eyes
widened at all the food in the bowl, sure it couldn't be meant for
him. His eyes darted up to the man seeming to glare down at
him.

The man huffed as his eyes raked over the
thin body of the boy. He'd never seen anyone, human or hybrid, who
was so skinny. He obviously hadn't been fed well by his previous
owner.

"He needs to eat," Garin grumped. "I don't
want him passing out in my kitchen."

"Yes, Garin, of course," Ysmenia smiled as
she continued to lead the neko out of the kitchen.

They made their way down a long hallway that
led to the servants' quarters. Some of the older, more senior
servants had their own tiny rooms, but most of them resided in the
large open barrack-like rooms, one for males and one for females.
There was an open room in between the two dorm rooms that held a
few old couches and tables for lounging, playing games, and general
socializing. Off to the side, Ysmenia led him into a bathing
room.

It was more modern than anything that Kayden
had ever seen before; of course, other than his childhood home in
the forests, he'd only lived with the hunters in the camp and at
the slave market. There were several small walled off areas with
pipes spouting from the wall and ropes hanging next to them. The
cubicle-looking areas appeared to be damp and a grate was in the
floor where water seemed to be draining into. Nearby there was what
appeared, and smelled, to be a chamber pot in another small
walled-off area, but it didn't look like any chamber pot he'd seen
before. On the other side of the damp washroom, there was a pipe
over the tub that, when the woman tugged on a long rope, let water
flow in. She tugged hooking the rope over a hook to keep the water
running, filling the tub with water.

"Do you need to relieve yourself first?" she
asked.

Kayden knew his face blushed bright pink as
he barely nodded. She smiled kindly and led him over to the weird
chamber pot. There was clear water already in it, and it appeared
to have a hole in the bottom. He didn't understand why the water
didn't just drain out.

She pointed, and he just stared at her, then
back at the odd chamber pot. Then she laughed. "I don't suppose
you've ever used a water closet before. You just go in there and
then pull this chain to flush."

Flush? What in the world did that mean? He
just stood there staring at her, before she finally turned around
and headed back to the bath. He eyed her over his shoulder before
he reached within his wrap to relieve himself into the oversized
bowl.

"All done?"

He jumped as she appeared next to him, his
tail swishing anxiously. She pulled the chain and water rushed into
the bowl, cleaning it out. He jumped at the sudden rush of water,
but then curiously moved back and watched it swirl in the bowl.

She laughed as she watched his ears twitch in
curiosity. Then she tugged him towards the bathtub. The water
looked so clean and clear. He'd only ever bathed in cold streams,
or in bath water that had already been used by other slaves
first.

"Okay, get in," she ordered.

He frowned down at the water, then at his
wrap.

"Oh, boy, you don't have nothin' I haven't
seen before. Get yourself in that water now. I don't have all
day."

Hesitantly, he took the scrap of fabric that
he had wrapped around his waist off and scurried into the water. It
was warmer than he'd expected it to be and wondered briefly how it
got to be so. She handed him some soap and a rag, and then scooped
up the linen he'd dropped.

"My lord, this is nothing but a rag," she
muttered as she whisked it away. She returned moments later with a
coarse towel and another pile of fabric.

When he hadn't done anything with the soap,
she quickly grabbed it and started scrubbing the dirt from his
hair. Using the rag, she quickly rubbed his thin body, clinically
removing the layers of dirt.

He felt her pause as she noticed his back,
but he was grateful when she didn't say anything about the scars.
The rag ran gently over his shoulders and arms. "Got a few
scratches here, huh?"

There was no way he was breaking the silence
that had been beaten into him, so he just sat there, gritting his
teeth against the sting of the soap on the abrasions from the tree
branches. Apparently, realizing he wasn't going to respond, she
just hummed and continued her scrubbing.

She seemed to be cautious around his tail,
and he slashed it through the water, splashing her slightly. She
cuffed him briefly on the back of the head, and he dropped his chin
submissively to his chest. He hissed when she rinsed his hair and
got water in his ear, earning him a baleful glare.

She reached in to the bottom of the tub and
pulled a little plug and the water started to drain out. Kayden
stared, mesmerized by the swirling water. A towel was dropped on
his head and she vigorously towel-dried his hair before rubbing
down his shoulders.

"Get up," she ordered, continuing the drying,
rubbing the towel down his sleek black tail. He suddenly shook his
head to remove the water from his ears, sending a light spray of
water from his hair.

"Hey!" she snapped, but then she started
laughing at the pitiful look on the boy's face.

She handed him a pile of fabric. "Here's some
pants..." She looked briefly behind him at his tail. "You think you
can wear these?"

He nodded at the black trousers. He could
wear human pants, he'd done so before. The men who had captured him
had given him pants in the winter, but in warmer months they didn't
bother giving him pants since they cost more than the scrap of
fabric he was just expected to wind around his body. Master Farth
at the market had been the same way. He'd always chosen, of course,
to wrap his waist in modesty, but if the scrap was long enough,
he'd loop it up over his shoulders and chest too. He pulled on the
dark pants to the base of his tail over his buttocks, then he
pulled the drawstring in front and tied it. They were huge and
pooled around his feet. The pants hung low on his hips because of
his tail, lower probably than most human males would wear them, but
they were better than the scrap of fabric.

"Hmm, looks like I'll need some scissors,"
Ysmenia stated as she eyed the hem gathered on the floor. She
tossed him a shirt. It was too big too, but he didn't care. It was
more clothes than he'd had in years. "I'll have to figure out
something better for the master's birthday, but that will do for
now."

She gestured toward the lounge area, and he
pulled up the pant legs as he stumbled after her to the table where
she had placed the bowl of food when they'd come in.

A loud bang from down the hall suddenly had
him skittering toward the door, looking for escape.

"No!" he heard the woman yell behind him.

But in his panic, he ran blindly for the
door--tripping right into a hard body. The man grunted when the
small body barreled into him.

"Ellis! Stop him!"

He felt arms wrap around him, restraining
him. He was breathing hard when he was picked up and carried into
the room.

"Shit!" the man grumbled. "He scratched
me!"

Kayden felt himself dropped unceremoniously
to the floor, his leash grabbed as he huddled into the corner.
Kayden peeked up, expecting to be hit for scratching the man, but
realized the man was just wiping at the scratches on his ribs
absently.

"Thank you, Ellis," Ysmenia breathed as she
clutched at his leash. "He just got scared by the pots dropped in
the kitchen and freaked out. Guess I need to trim his nails,
huh."

"Who is this anyway?" Ellis asked, eyeing the
cowering little neko.

"New slave that Master Harrison bought."

"Fuck, he doesn't hardly weigh anything,"
Ellis grunted. "What good can he possibly be? Probably can't hardly
carry a full bucket of water."

Ysmenia shrugged. "He's supposed to be a gift
for Master Damien's birthday."

It was then that Kayden noticed the tail. A
large brown and white tail swished idly around from behind the
large man, and Kayden realized he wasn't a human but another
hybrid. When his eyes rose to the man's face he saw the brown
pointy ears amid the finely cropped mud-colored hair.

So far he hadn't seen any other hybrids at
the manor, other than the few that were bought with him. And based
on the complaints that the chef had, he had not expected to see any
other nekos in the house. Maybe they were just banned from the
kitchen.

"A gift for the master, huh?" Ellis eyed the
tiny creature huddled on the wall. He shrugged and walked toward
the male dorm room.

"What are you up to?" Ysmenia asked Ellis as
she pulled on the leash to get Kayden to move back to the table. He
slowly perched in the chair as she shoved the bowl closer.

Ellis smiled as he watched the young neko
reach into the bowl for some of the chicken. "Cat nap."

****

Kayden jerked from sleep at the sound of the
door creaking open. He scented the air as a lamp preceded the man
into the storeroom--lemon and tobacco. He could tell it was the
sandy-haired one called Roman even before his eyes adjusted to the
change in light.

He'd been locked back in the small storeroom
again after eating, Ysmenia rushing off to help with dinner
preparations. Even with the new shirt and pants, he still shivered
slightly. He never seemed to be warm, you'd think he be used to it.
He guessed it to be late in the night based on the hours that had
passed, and with nothing else to do, he'd tried to sleep.