"For the last time," said Radulo as he stepped onto the cobblestone walkway in front of his house and approached the boy in front of him, "Leave my niece alone! She's not interested in you, Lemar." He stared down at the scrawny boy who was shaking in his baggy suit. Lemar was wearing a dark grey suit and tie with a bouquet of roses in his hand.
"Sir, you don't understand," said the boy, "She's just in denial." Radulo towered over the boy by at least a foot. That, combined with his intense gaze and strong build, made Lemar feel uncomfortable as he kept taking a few steps backwards.
"So you're telling me that you know my niece better than I do?" Radulo kept walking towards him, staring him down until he got off of the general's property.
"N-no, sir," Lemar stuttered, "It's just that women like to play hard to get."
"Who told you that, boy? Your father? If so, that would explain why your mother left him." Radulo chuckled.
Lemar clenched his fists, crushing the rose stems in his hand. *How dare he target my father like that! He's an honorable man and my mother was a fool for leaving him.* Once the boy stepped off of the walkway and onto the dirt road, Radulo stopped a few feet in front of him.
"Don't come back here ever again." Since his daughter had recently graduated from the secondary school, Radulo knew that she no longer had any contact with the boy. The man then turned around and began to walk back to his house.
"Halt!" Yelled Lemar. His face was full of rage, "I challenge you to a duel!"
Radulo stopped for a moment and turned to face the boy, "For what?" Seeming very confused.
"For disrespecting my father!" The boy stomped his feet, "And for Moria."
"For Moria? What's that supposed to mean?" Asked Radulo, raising an eyebrow.
"I challenge you to a duel for my father's honor and for Moria's hand in marriage."
"Hand in marriage? Boy, I'm not competing for her affections."
"No, you're not. However, you are preventing me from pursuing her which is enough reason for me to fight you." Said Lemar, still furious.
"Listen," Radulo began, "I'm not going to fight you."
"You're just scared!" Lemar smirked, "You're worried that I, a young boy, am going to end up defeating you."
Radulo shook his head, "No, That's not why-"
"Ha!" The boy interrupted him, "Just admit it; you're a coward!"
"No, that's not-"
"Accept my challenge if you want to prove that you're not a coward!"
Radulo sighed, "Fine! I accept your stupid challenge."
"Good! Meet me at the abandoned well by sundown next week." Lemar finally walked away.
Later that night, Radulo informed Jero about the event.
"You what?!" Jero was sitting on their bed, looking very shocked.
"I just accepted his challenge." Said Radulo, nonchalantly, as he unbuttoned his charcoal colored top in the mirror.
"Yes, I know what you did. But what I don't understand is *why* you did it. Why would you agree to something like that?" Jero was wearing a white, baggy shirt that reached all the way down to his knees and a baggy pair of white pants.
"Where's the harm in accepting a little duel?" Radulo said as he finally removed his shirt and threw it into the hamper, located in the corner of their bedroom. "Besides," he turned to face Jero. Radulo was wearing only his black slacks and his white undershirt, revealing his muscular arms, "I have years of sword fighting under my belt. If I can take down an eight foot tall goliath who's a couple centuries old, then I can definitely defeat an eighteen year old boy who's barely five foot six." He chuckled as he sat down on the bed next to his partner. Jero looked down and sighed, remembering the flashback he had during Radulo's retirement party.
"What's wrong, my love?" Radulo frowned.
"Well," Jero faced him, "During your party a few months ago, I had a vision and you were in it."
"Oh?" Radulo raised an eyebrow, "Do tell."
"You were dying during a fight."
"Sweetie," Radulo sighed as he caressed Jero's face, his espresso colored hand contrasting against Jero's sandy beige face, "You know I can take care of myself, right? I don't want you to worry. Besides," he leaned in close, "I thought you didn't believe in destiny."
Jero looked at his partner, their faces only a couple inches away from one another, and nodded, "You're right. I don't believe in destiny and I know you can take care of yourself. But," he looked down, "I'm just worried that something bad will happen."
"Like I said, I don't want you to worry, my love. I will be fine."
Jero looked at him, "Promise?"
Radulo nodded, "Promise."
Jero smiled before the two men leaned in as Jero wrapped his arms around Radulo's shoulders. They kissed each other passionately as Radulo wrapped his arms around Jero's waist and pulled him closer to his body. Feeling the warmth from Radulo's lips made Jero quickly forget about his alarming vision. Being with his partner made Jero feel safe and loved. His partner also gave him a strong sense of belonging, just one of the many things Jero couldn't achieve when he was growing up in an orphanage. Similarly, Radulo couldn't imagine his life without Jero. He was like the end piece in a loaf of bread. Everyone neglected Jero and left him behind, everyone except for Radulo. The two of them always had a hard time imagining what their lives were like before they met, even when they were younger and recently started dating.
Half an hour later, Radulo slept soundly while holding his partner close to him and Jero slowly drifted off to sleep, feeling very relaxed after their heartfelt conversation. While in deep sleep, Jero dreamt that he was in the kitchen, baking blueberry muffins. He opened the oven and froze when he saw a flame that was about the size of a beagle. For a moment, he felt that this was normal until the flame grew tiny legs and hoped out of the oven. Jero straightened his back and watched the sentient flame as it ran around the kitchen.
"How can something with very short, stubby legs be so fast?" Said Jero.
Within the blink of an eye, the entire kitchen was on fire. Jero dropped the muffin tin and panicked. He was then teleported outside, where he could see his entire house on fire. "What the hell?!" He yelled. He then looked around and saw Moria standing a few feet away from him. "Moria, are you alright?" He asked as he hugged his daughter tightly.
Moria didn't say anything. Instead, she just pointed to a large piece of cloth hanging from one of the second story windows. The crest was a four-pointed star with a golden colored circle in the middle, which had a black sankofa bird in it. The sankofa's feet were pointed to the left while it's long neck was bent over it's back and head was facing the right. Jero gasped once he realized that was the DiMero family crest. He then looked around, still hugging his daughter, and faced Moria. "Honey, where's your father?" Asked Jero.
Moria just shrugged, keeping her eyes on the burning house.
When Jero looked at the house again, the building exploded with a loud bang, causing Jero to wake up abruptly. He looked around the dark room and took a deep breath once he realized that it was just a dream. He faced a sleeping Radulo and sighed in relief when he noticed that his partner was alright. *He must be in a really deep sleep.* Thought Jero as he wondered how he didn't wake Radulo up. He then carefully climbed out of bed, trying not to wake his partner, and threw on his robe over his pajamas before leaving the room.
He swiftly walked through the second story corridors with his lantern and entered the family library. He walked past all the shelves, filled with various different books and scrolls, before approaching a painting on the wall. It was a portrait of a middle-aged human man with pale ivory skin and bronze hair. His hair was short and his mustache was pointy while the rest of his face was cleanly shaven. His eyes were dark green and his eyebrows were barely visible. The man was wearing his bright red military uniform that had several ribbons on it. He was holding his rapier in one hand and his feathered hat in the other. The picture frame was made from walnut wood and had the name 'Saphrin Radilon Miltez' engraved into it on the bottom. Jero looked at the painting and sighed, "Looks like this day might be approaching sooner than I thought." He then grabbed the picture and removed it, revealing a small safe embedded into the wall. He carefully placed the painting on a chair near him. Jero held his lantern up to the safe and started turning the knob until he heard the final click. After he opened it, he found a bunch of scrolls tied together.
Afterwards, he went upstairs to Moria's room. As he slowly opened the door and carefully crept into her room, Moria immediately woke up.
"Dad?" Asked the lass as she sat up and turned on her lamp, "Why are you up so late?"
"Sorry for waking you, sweetie," said Jero as he sat down on her bed, "But I needed to give you something." He placed the scrolls in front of her on the bed.
She sighed while rubbing her eyes, "Couldn't this wait until later?" She asked in a groggy voice.
"I know I should've probably waited a few hours but I've been wanting to give you this for years now. I would usually get busy with something else and forget but I've decided to do it now before it's too late."
"Huh?" Moria raised an eyebrow, "Before what's too late?"
Jero sighed, "It's complicated. I'll tell you at breakfast." He hugged her tightly and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, Moria." He said in a low tone with his voice shaking.
The lass hugged him back, "I love you too, dad." Said the girl, sounding very concerned.
"Good night, sweetie." Said Jero as he got up from her bed.
"Good night." Said Moria as Jero left the room.
______________________________________________
Meanwhile at the Norswer household, Lemar was sitting in the almost empty dining room talking to Helmer.
"Sir Norswer," said the old, grey haired man, "As your father's legal advisor, I strongly suggest you call off this duel."
Lemar slammed his fist onto the table, "How dare you suggest such a thing! Why the hell would I call it off?"
The old man put his hand on his face and sighed, "He is a retired military general. There are stories of him taking down beasts twice his size. You will be defeated within a minute of dueling."
"Your lack of faith in my fighting abilities greatly disheartens me." Said the boy as he clenched his fists.
"Listen," the man faced him, "Your father cares so much for you. He would be greatly disheartened if you died."
The boy looked down and placed his elbows on the table. "He wouldn't care very much for me if he knew I cancelled the duel." He placed his hands on his face, covering his eyes. "Him and everyone else would think that I'm a coward."
Helmer sighed, "You are just like your father. Always concerned for your own ego and never worried about the bigger consequences."
"Isn't that how he became successful?" Asked Lemar, still looking down, "By carefully building up his reputation and taking risks."
Helmer shook his head. "Your father did more than just that," he walked over to the boy, "He has done some very unsavory things to expand his empire and get to where he is now. In other words," the man placed his hand on Lemar's shoulder, "He cheated to win. He always wants to be ahead of his competition and he is willing to do things that are not exactly legal."
Lemar put his hands down from his face and looked at Helmer, "I guess you have a point."
"Now please, Sir Norswer," the man begged, "Call off this duel. It's for your own good."
"Can I at least have some time to think about it?" Asked the boy.
The man nodded, "Of course!" He began to take a few steps back, "I'll leave you alone to your thoughts. Please tell me your final decision by day break tomorrow."
"Alright, I shall." said Lemar, "Good night, Helmer."
"Good night, Sir Norswer." Said the man right before he left the room. Once Helmer was out of the room, Lemar turned his head and noticed a few bottles of wine on the table. He leaned over the table and put his chin in his palm, staring at the bottles. He thought about what Helmer had just said about the duel and his father. Lemar then sat up in realization, his eyes widening at the bottles of wine.
Lemar spoke in a soft voice, "If father can win through cheating," a grin slowly crept across his face, "Then so can I."