The Lead Crown, Chapter 2-6: Thaddius
Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 2-6, Thaddius
It was Thursday; Thaddius never particularly liked Thursdays. Not only were they the least eventful of all days, but the Church's schedule meant that Brother Maynard didn't often find time to visit him. "Not that it matters now." the black wolf reminded himself. The Labrador, in fact, hadn't spoken with him since Monday... and that talk had not gone well.
Thaddius had not purposefully disobeyed the Priest... well... he HAD... but it had been for good reason. Brother Maynard hadn't learned as much about the unease between Ilyse and Wyra as the wolf so he couldn't fault his mentor for being unfamiliar with the situation. It hurt to think that he had to go against the dog's wishes, but eventually the Priest would come around and understand that Thaddius had done what he did for the good of the people-- he certainly wasn't ready to listen when they had spoken.
Brother Maynard had accused him of being petty and infantile, saying that his humors were out of balance if he couldn't understand that anything happening in Newport would reflect poorly on his sister, and not him. Thaddius had responded that Ilyse and Wyra didn't care about which of the siblings was responsible for what city; whatever happened in Lehsunia would make Lehsunia look bad if not handled. The response had somewhat molified the Priest, and they finally sat down and began to discuss specifics.
As any good ruler should have done, Thaddius had dispatched envoys to Newport. The diplomats joined the separate fleets and would return to their homelands to present apologies from Lehsunia along with reparations for the loss of their respective sailors. As his father had always instructed, Thaddius appealed to the Ilyseans with Lehsunian wool and textiles while to the Wyrenese, the black wolf sent white iron from the northern hills. "To each his own." the prince announced to the Priest, reiterating his father's favorite saying when it came to diplomacy through trade matters.
The Priest had not bothered congratulating Thaddius for his keen insight, nor had he complimented him on a job well done. Rather, the Labrador explained that he was pleased that the action was not a total loss. The dog then spoke aloud as he wrote a note to himself, "Send envoys to Ilyse and Wyra reminding them that it was Thaddius' gesture of goodwill, and not the Princess'."
"They will know it was from me, Brother Maynard." the wolf had responded with an optimistic smile, "I am the true King, and only I--"
"Noriene is the Governess of Newport." the priest cut him off, "Whether we want to admit it or not, she has her paws in everything and we need them to know without having to guess." the dog leveled a strict gaze at him, "The fact that you do not understand these things makes me worry for you... your highness." The Priest set the paper and quill down then fully turned to regard Thaddius, "Honestly, Thaddius... to have spent your time focused on events in Newport when the Church required you for more important things..." the dog shook his head, "You disappoint me more than I could say."
"Malcom said--"
"And now the true issues finally arises." the Priest interrupted him, "Are we to the point that you are more inclined to take the advise of your Tribe-Raised brother than my own?" the Labrador shook his head sorrowfully, "You have hurt me, Thaddius... it may not show in my body, but my heart bleeds because of your choices." He stood up and turned his back to the black wolf, saying not another word for the duration of his stay.
Brother Maynard left shortly thereafter, taking his notes with him. The priest departed without saying anything more and he didn't stop and listen to the wolf's admission of regret. That had been on Monday, and Thaddius had not seen him since. He was unable to remember ever having been without the dog's guidance for so long, and it had been far too many days since their prayer session... so many it hurt... and not just emotionally; the Prince-Reagent felt as though he was going to burst because of his overabundance of-- sin.
Thursdays... Thaddius did not much care for Thursdays, and that day was certainly no exception. He didn't know how long it would be until the priest determined that the wolf was penitent, but he stalwartly hoped the wait would not be much longer. Having been confined to his room, the only time Thaddius had any interaction was when one of the young scullions brought him his meals and took away his chamber pot. It was the same boy each time... a white furred young marmot.
If the wolf hadn't known better he would have thought that the Brother Maynard had hand-picked the page; the Priest knew that Thaddius had a thing for white fur. The boy had been respectful... always respectful... and gracious, and compliant, and obedient... always obedient. When he came that morning to bring breakfast Thaddius was forced to send him away-- it had been so long since Brother Maynard had visited him he didn't want to grant his sinful thoughts any more fuel for the fire.
The wolf had very nearly given into his vices... not just once, but twice. After the page had brought dinner on Wednesday night he had almost ordered something from the young boy that would have ended only in tragedy. That very morning he found himself very nearly sticking his muzzle into the marmot's neck fur; Thaddius was so aghast he ordered the boy out immediately and, instead had gone without breakfast-- too easy a castigation for his near-crime. Remembering his own shortcomings was painful thing to do so he pointedly chose to think on other topics.
Information did not easily find its way to Thaddius. The marmot knew only what he was told, and that was little-to-nothing. Without Brother Maynard's visits the wolf was blind to the world, and not even Malcom had shown. It wasn't as though his brother hadn't tried-- Thaddius found out on Wednesday that the young prince was barred from the castle while Brother Maynard was seeing to the elder prince's isolation; Malcom was sent away without being given the chance to hold council with him.
Thankfully, however, his brother was nothing if not resourceful; one of the messenger pigeons he had trained jointly with Malcom had arrived on Wednesday night. As usual, the young prince was his best informant. The letter included the usual small talk and personal updates, but what Thaddius truly hungered for was any information about the kigdom, the people, and any news his brother thought suitable to share... and he had plenty.
As Brother Maynard had suspected so it was that Malcom reported: Noriene had ignored the issue of the foreign nations. Thaddius had suspected that Brother Maynard would have considered that a win, but, for all the Priest's insight into life he knew little about ruling or politics... it only reinforced the wolf's understanding that he had done what was right. It was only a matter of figuring out a way to help convince his mentor of that. That wasn't the end to Malcom's message, however, and Thaddius had read on.
His brother also told of the issues arising in Newport due to the unforseen failure of a University experiment. Thaddius would have spent hours debating fault and resposibility with his brother were he there in person, but it wasn't an option. Instead, he merely sat and read Malcom's report of what was happpening with the people; that had to be enough. Unfortunately, it wasn't.
Thaddius spent most of Thursday going over what information his brother included. Many University scholars were being acosted in the streets; numerous people were homless, injured, and dead; the city guard of Newport was pressed to the limit controlling the chaos; over three city blocks were destroyed or condemned. It was not a pleasant prospect to deal with for him but, in a bitter-sweet twist, his sister was seeing to the people of Newport-- Thaddius was both relieved and enraged at the same time.
As the future King of Lehsunia, it was Thaddius' task to look after his subjects. Try as he might, the black wolf was never able to subscribe to his father's ideals of delegating responsibility and trusting in others to do for him... it always felt as though he was taking the easy way out and depending on someone else to look after what was his responsibility. The thought that his sister was handling the situation came very close to sickening him and, the longer he spent re-reading the missive from his brother the more infuriated he became-- the fact that he hadn't had a 'prayer session' in the better part of a week certainly didn't help.
He remained seated in his room alone reading the letter and re-reading the letter and then reading it again, letting his mind soar in whichever direction it chose to go. He contemplated all of the things his brother had written, and then reconsidered everything that WASN'T written; Malcom was an intelligent young wolf and the Prince-Reagent knew that many of his messages often included hidden bits of information... if only he could manage to piece them together.
The young prince always laughed the thought away casually, of course. If ever Thaddius brought up the hidden messages his younger brother would insist that there was nothing but what he wrote... which, of course, was his way of convincing Thaddius to try harder. Ever since deciphering Malcom's report on the dead rising in the eastern woods, the Prince-Reagent knew that his brother's interest in carefully hiding these special reports was insightful-- who knew what would happen if such information got into the wrong hands.
Thaddius' intense focus on the unwritten content of the missive had JUST started to overcome his intense frustrations of the day when a gentle knock came from his door, "Your highness?" it was the white-furred bundle of sin himself, "I have brought dinner."
* * * * * *
The young page's name had been Ecquert, and he obediently took off his clothing at the wolf's demand. The marmot had been loyal in joining Thaddius on his bed. The scullion did not object when the Prince-Reagent set the food aside and chose instead to harvest his drink from the lad himself. Ecquert showed no hesitance in fact until the wolf rolled over and moved his tail aside, telling the marmot that he desired to be filled by something other than dinner.
Thaddius was crying when Brother Maynard finally came to him very late Thursday night. The Prince-Reagent had not bothered donning any of his clothes save for his undergarments, which were so red that all of the blood didn't show. Ecquert was still on the bed... mostly... although a few pieces of him graced the wardrobe, the carpet, the drapes, and the Prince-Reagent's desk. The scene was horrible, and he knew it.
Sobbing, the wolf looked up at the blank expression on the Labrador's muzzle, "Brother..." the wolf croaked, voice full of shame and self-disgust, "It... happened again..."
"Of course it did, Thaddius..." the dog's comforting tone was an antidote to everything that ailed him, and he fell to the ground, crawling on his paws and knees until he could throw his arms around Brother Maynard's legs, sobbing. The patient Priest knelt down and softly stroked the wolf's blood-caked head, "...you are a strong man... but you are still only just a man, and the Dark One has touched you deeply."
Thaddius slowly sat back and looked up into the compassionate gaze of the Labrador, "I'm sorry I did not listen to you, Brother Maynard... I'm sorry I was disrespectful and prideful." he lowered his nose to the ground, "I... I need to attone."
The Priest's paws gently descended on the Price-Reagent's shoulders and slowly brought him up to a standing position, "You will." the Labrador's patient smile reassured Thaddius that everything ultimately would be alright. "I will contact some men who know discretion and we will handle this... just like always."
"Just like always." Thaddius nodded vigorously, and paused when the Priest pulled him in for a comforting embrace. The wolf felt immediate self-loathing when he realized that he was already hardening within his sheath due to Brother Maynard's proximity. He was aghast a moment later when he realized that the Labrador felt it against his abdomen, and the Prince-Reagent drew back and away quickly, "I am sick, Brother... I am ill, and there is no curing me." he kept his voice low... low and full of self-reproachful; even after Ecquert his lust was nowhere close to satiated.
"Yes, your highness... you are indeed ill." the old dog acknowledged, taking Thaddius' evening coat down from its peg before handing it to him, "But I am here to help you get better, my boy... and with God's aid it WILL happen. Now come... when we return the room will be clean, and you will be on your way to healthier thoughts." The announcement could mean only two things: it was past midnight, thus it was no longer Thursday. Second, it meant--
Thaddius' smile shone so brightly it chased away the dark clouds troubling his mind, "We will pray."
"Yes, your Highness..." the Labrador confirmed, the acknowledgement making the wolf's groin so firm it hurt, "We will pray."