GENRE: Gay Fantasy Spicy Romance
LENGTH: 48,095 words
RATING:

When his father the king dies, Prince Rouland's uncle Sewal accuses him of using magic to murder him. He has the palace wizard bind Rouland's magic then orders his execution, planning on taking over the throne as the heir apparent. However, Rouland manages to flee the city, only to be arrested for stealing bread from a baker's shop. With no magic, he must rely on his thieving skills and the aid of his familiar, Ebony, to escape the jail.

On the run, he finds a safe haven at Bernard's farm. He leaves when Bernard learns who he truly is, but only after Bernard suggests he find a powerful wizard to break the binding of his magic.

Soon after, Rouland meets Jarvis, a farmer's son who asks if he may join him in his travels. Rouland agrees and the pair begins to bond. He lets Jarvis know about his thieving skills, but not the truth of who he is -- until forced to in order to explain why he's searching for a wizard. Jarvis accepts it with no reservations as by then they have become more than merely friends.

The question becomes, can Rouland find a wizard willing to help him? If so, will Rouland be able to stop his uncle Sewal's coronation as the new king and take his rightful place as heir to the throne?

EXCERPT:
Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.

Footsteps moved to the barn door, it opened and closed, and then there was silence. Rouland gave it a few moments then started to stand, freezing when he heard the ladder creak. ::Why didn't you warn me, Ebon?:: he asked tightly.

::Because I'm up here, too, in the corner.::

::Yeah, well ...::

"I know someone's up here," the (farmer's) son said from the top of the ladder. "You might as well show yourself."

Biting his lip, Rouland complied. "I'm harmless," he said, holding his arms away from his sides.

The son, who was around Rouland's twenty-and-four years he thought, nodded. "As long as you don't draw your dagger I'll believe you."

Keeping his hand away from it, Rouland studied him. He had shaggy blond hair, most of it tied back although a few strands framed his face. A decent face, with bright hazel eyes and a straight nose, had been tanned by the sun -- or so he supposed.

"Do you have a name?" the son asked.

"Do you?" Rouland retorted.

The son smiled. "I'm known as Jarvis, son of Perrin."

Rouland gave a brief bow. "I am Rond, son of; well it matters not as my father is dead."

"And who is that?" Jarvis asked, gesturing to Ebony who had put in an appearance next to Rouland.

"She's Ebony, my constant companion on my ... journey."

Rouland stepped back to allow Jarvis to finish climbing the ladder and sit on the edge of the loft with his legs dangling.

"Join me? I don't bite, I promise," Jarvis said, patting the space beside him.

"You're being quite friendly for finding a stranger in your barn," Rouland commented as he settled a few feet away from him.

Jarvis gave a small shrug. "It's not often I meet someone new. I'd like to learn more about you before deciding if my friendship, as you put it, is warranted. If not, I'll send you packing."

"Without telling your father I was here?"

Jarvis gave him a long look. "You seem harmless enough and you're pleasing to the eye which is rare in these parts."

Rouland wondered if he meant more by that than a mere compliment, but wasn't about to ask. "What would you like to know?"

"Oh, many things but mostly to begin with, why are you hiding in our barn?"

"It was raining, we saw the barn and took a chance we could use it for shelter until the storm passed."

"Are you a tramp or some such?"

Rouland spread his hands. "Not a tramp but for the moment homeless."

"Why?" Jarvis asked, appearing quite interested in what Rouland might reply.

"As I said, my father is dead. My mother as well. She died of the grippe a year or so ago. I decided it was time for me to make my way in the world as best I could."

Rouland sighed. "Not that I've been too successful."

"I wish ..." Jarvis started to say, and then stopped.

"You wish what?"

"I suppose that I had your gumption. I would dearly love to take off and leave the farm and all the work my father expects me to do behind. He knows I hate this life but he's unwilling to give me my freedom."

"Perhaps because he needs you to keep it running?"

Jarvis shook his head. "I have two brothers, both older than me, and we all work the land with him."

"When I first arrived there was a woman and a child. Are they family, too?"

"My sister. She was visiting Mother. She and her husband live on the next farm over from ours. My brothers would be here, but father sent them off to help an elderly neighbor with their harvest, leaving me to do the work of three."

"I'm certain the neighbor appreciates their help."

Jarvis snorted. "More that father appreciates the coin they will be paid for their work, which they will turn over to him."

"Hardly fair," Rouland commented.

"Our life isn't fair," Jarvis spat out. "If I had it in me, I'd leave this instant."

"With only the clothes on your back?" Rouland asked with a quick grin.

"Well ... I do have more, and a knapsack like yours. If I had what it took, I'd pack my clothes and ..."

Jarvis leaned back on his hands, looking at Rouland in question, and then asked, "I don't suppose you'd like a traveling companion. One who can answer back when you talk to them?"

::Little does he know,:: Ebony said, laughter in her words.

"You might be asking for trouble. We both might if your father sends your brothers out looking for you," Rouland pointed out.

"What if ..." Jarvis gnawed his lip. "If I were to pack a few things this evening while you waited here. I could sneak out after everyone's abed and we would have the whole night to get as far from here as possible." He gazed hopefully at Rouland.

"You're serious? I mean really, truly serious? It would be a big step which you might regret too soon."

"I have prayed every day for a chance to escape my life, even if I didn't have the backbone to do anything about it because it was only me. If I had you by my side, then yes, I would gladly leave and damn the consequences. Well, as long as they didn't find me."

::What to you think, Ebon? Is it worth the risk?::

::We have nothing to lose, other than adding one more mouth to feed, and he would be a good cover for us. Your uncle is looking for you, not a pair of young men who would, to all appearances, be traveling companions of a like mind.::

::You think he…?::

Ebony chortled in his head. ::I think he has as much in common with you on that level as Giles did.::

::Oh. Oooh.::

::Close your mouth before you drool.::

::Ebony!::

"You're awfully quiet," Jarvis said morosely. "Does that mean you're trying to figure out how to tell me politely you're not interested in having me join you on your journey?"