Episode 193: A Painted Picture (Meldrick)

Meldrick stood in a jail cell, looking at the pale skinned and red headed form of Aadya’s grandson. Annatto’s knees were bent and he had sheltered himself from others seeing him. He was barefoot, in rags that needed replacing, and Meldrick could sense he was awake.

He waited in the room for a moment, curious to see if Annatto would say anything.

He didn’t; he was stubborn like his grandmother.

“I have stood in your shoes before,” Meldrick said, his voice echoing against the hollow walls of the cell. “I was the one who wanted to stay.”

It was part of a life he didn’t speak to much, but a life that was no less part of him than his current once, except in distance.

“Annatto,” he began, in apology. “We failed you. I am, truly, sorry. I do not know the details of what your life has been, outside of what I assume can be summarized as difficult. Here, we don’t believe in the necessity of slaves. We also believe in choices. You have a few choices in this life: to stay a prisoner, to attend a school, to learn new skills, or even to leave the realm and have a new life.”

Though he didn’t turn, Annatto shifted in the bed. “I won’t eat again until I am with my family.”

After almost a thousand years of the same games, he knew how it felt to leave. He understood the emptiness.

“I am your family. I love you, as I love all of my grandchildren. Not because of what you can do for me and my life, I have no idea who you are, but because you are family.”

Love was something he had always wanted, unconditional love. For a moment, he’d had it with Aadya. Now, he was exploring the possibility with Giana.

“You can’t love someone you don’t know,” Annatto argued.

“The power of a healthy family is the ability to love without condition. If I had to know you first, Your personality would be a condition to my love for you; irrelevant.”

“Then you don’t love me you love the idea of me. Love is knowing someone, all the good and all the bad, and still caring what happens to them.”

“Then I love the idea of you,” Mel conceded. He pulled the single chair in the room closer to the bed Annatto had found himself too stubborn to get up from.

“Tell me, Annatto, who are you? What do you believe in?”

“I’m someone who wants his own surrender terms.”

It was fair, regardless of his age, to at least hear him out. “You are entitled them. Go on.”

Annatto turned onto his back, but his eyes maintained a view of Meldrick as he spoke. “Someone else. Who isn’t family from either side. Who lives here and doesn’t know about my past and wouldn’t be always trying to fix me.”

Mel mulled it over in his mind. Given his recent experiences (beheading) with Tarragon, he could easily see separating them as the best choice. It would have to be with someone who wasn’t family, by Annatto’s standards, but trusted.

And, coincidentally, Talise’s ex-boyfriend had shown up. While he was a horrible, typical, boy for impregnating Talise a few years prior, he was Indigo and Zero’s son. He had a lot in common with Annatto as well: both weren’t thrilled with their family, both had rough youths, both were stubborn and determined.

He would do, especially if he spent most of his time in Sylem. Annatto would never worry about how family he was.

“I have someone in mind for you,” he replied, accepting the terms. “A young man from another realm, with wiccan magic.”

“Okay.”

Annatto was staying. As long as Rhyss agreed.

Mel had expected a harder battle to win him over, but there was time for him to rebel in other ways. At least that would be Rhyss’s problem; he hoped Rhyss was prepared for a battle.

“What would you like to learn?” Meldrick asked.

“I don’t know yet. Things. I like learning things. I’m very good at arguing.”

Meldrick tried not to laugh. “It’s genetic.” He sent a message out to Rhyss, to meet them so he could get to know Annatto and, with some luck, agree to being his guardian. Rhyss had taken care of his mom until recently, and Meldrick was almost certain Annatto would be easier overall.

“I’d like to introduce you to the person. He isn’t family, but he has children within the family and a girlfriend that is elsewhere. He’s expecting two new children as well. It will be a family environment, separate from our house in most ways.”

Annatto sat up, his legs hanging over the cell bed. “What’s he like?”

As it often went, Annatto was just a kid that wanted to get his way in something. Now that he was, he didn’t care about the details. He reminded Mel of his daughter, Eshne. She was a few years younger. His son, Logan, was about the same age. It would be good for Logan to have a like-aged Alandrial, since his twin had passed away.

“Stubborn and tall,” Mel summarized. “I believe he likes music.”

On cue, Rhyss came in. Meldrick had the sense that Rhyss was going to be a constant in his life, and it irritated him. Irritated from a father’s standpoint, but, if it was good for Annatto, he could get over it.

“Yeah?” Rhyss said, as an introduction.

“Rhyss, this is Annatto. Annatto, this is Rhyss. I was hoping the two of you could talk.”

“Okay.” Rhyss looked at Annatto and smoothed his hands down the front of his pants. It made Meldrick wonder if Rhyss was at all concerned about why Talise’s dad had called him to the dungeon.

“Hi,” Rhyss said.

“Hi,” Annatto replied.

Silence. It seemed as though Annatto wasn’t going to be forthcoming and Rhyss didn’t understand the circumstances. Meldrick looked at Rhyss. “Annatto needs a family that isn’t Alandrial. Someone to watch out for and care for him that would understand what it is like to be surrounded by family you may not feel a connection to, or a family you may have a reason to dislike based on your past experiences.”

Rhyss stood in silence, staring at the wall or Annatto or perhaps something Mel hadn’t noticed.

“Yeah?” He ran his hands down his pants again and focused on Annatto. ‘Okay.”

Rhyss turned to Mel. “What are the rules with him?”

“You make the rules,” Meldrick stated, so Rhyss understood the significance of the decision. It was impressive to Mel. There were very few people who would take a stranger in, as a son, without much information. Aadya, perhaps Talise if it involved Niels.

“Okay,” Rhyss said again. “Is that what you want?”

“Um…” Annatto looked between them, his stubbornness ebbing to a more shy and nervous look for once. “Yeah. Okay.”

They both seemed to love the word ‘okay.’ That was a start.

“Can you let Talise know I’m not around tonight?”

Mel sent Rhyss an image of a what he could see, the room, through Lucius. His dragon’s mind grazed his own with affection. He needed to go flying soon; since the divorce he hadn’t taken Lucius out much.

“Try sending one back,” Meldrick requested. If Rhyss mastered dragon communication, he could tell Talise himself and communicate efficiently with her.
Rhyss sent him an image of the room and a confirmation about Annatto. “That’s pretty cool.”

“It is, and I’ll make sure the message got to her. The images can be confusing, but it came from you, which will matter to her.”

Meldrick moved to the door.

“That’s it?” Annatto exclaimed. “You’re just leaving me with this guy I don’t even know?”

“Would you like me to stay with you for a bit?” Meldrick asked.

Annatto stared at Rhyss. “No, it’s fine.”

Meldrick studied the two of them. Two stubborn people, brought together by convenience not bond. Meldrick send a message to Giana, that he would be gone for the evening. He wanted to ensure Rhyss and Annatto got along well enough to stay together, and that Annatto didn’t try anything against Rhyss.

“Why don’t we go to dinner, in Sylem. The three of us?” Meldrick offered.

Giana sent back a message, a mirror view of her in something he couldn’t wait to feel. It looked silky and flowed along her curves in a tempting way.

“Can we just get pizza or something at my house?” Rhyss asked.

“Pizza sounds good” Meldrick replied absently. “I haven’t seen your house yet.” He sent a message to Giana, to let her know where he would be and to ensure she knew how much he wanted her.

Lucius huffed in his mind, but passed the message along and sent him one of Aadya.

He knew he should ensure she knew where he was as well. His accountability to her wouldn’t end until their reign did.

He sent her a quick message and she replied with the labor room she was set to deliver in. It was the first birth, since Nim and Terren, he would miss. He wished he could be there for her. The pizza distraction would be welcome.

“It’s really big,” Rhyss explained as they began walking to a space they could transport from. Annatto followed, thankfully. “I painted it.”

As they ascended the steps, Rhyss aligned himself with Annatto. “How old are you?”

“Twelve.”

The same age as Logan, then.

“My life kind of fell apart when I was about your age,” Rhyss told Annatto.

Mel fell in the back and let them talk for a few minutes, then once they had emerged onto the lawn outside of the dungeon entrance, Mel interjected. “Has anyone told you about the bond? It runs in your genetics, on your grandmother’s side.”

“No, what is it?”

How typical of Ionia, to endanger someone by omission.

“You can attach to someone,” Rhyss explained before Mel could. “And if they’re not careful it can kill you. I can have my dad show me how to make a medicine to keep you safe.”

Surprising again. Perhaps, birth control aside, Rhyss was someone Meldrick could not only respect but like. He was doing right by his twins with Talise, as from as Meldrick could tell.

“Are you actually an adult?” Annatto asked, taking a shot at Rhyss. He must have been feeling too comfortable.

“I thought you’d relate to a six-foot child, actually,” Mel joked.

Rhyss laughed under his breath. “Flip your age and that’s how old I am. I’m kind of new to the adult thing.”

“Okay,” Annatto stated. It wasn’t backing down or conceding, just accepting.

Meldrick wished Rhyss luck.

The three transported to Rhyss’s house he had inherited, a large house in Sylem that had colorful walls of various paintings

Most were trees and mountains, with a cityscape along one hallway.

Mel didn’t want Annatto to be afraid of himself, so he added, “The bond is a good thing, when it comes to a committed marriage. It isn’t all bad.”

Mel continued to look around the living space and adjoining dining room. He wasn’t that into art, but Aadya liked painting walls. Their bedroom walls were constantly changing over the years, from hanging blueprints to flowers to memories and dreams she was trying to sort. The biggest job as her husband was being there at night, her mind racing and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, paint spreading across a wall. He often had to lead her back to bed where he had a notebook for her and pencils to draw with.

Her body was restless. He didn’t miss sleeping with her. Giana slept. It was a relief in many ways.

“So, if I got my aunt to bond to me, I could kill her, right?” Annatto asked.

Alarming desires made Mel even more relieved that Annatto would be out of realm often.

“Or, you could take a moment and assess the family without Ionia’s influence and decide if you think she is terrible or not. You can have your own kingdom, regardless,” Mel told him.

“I don’t want a kingdom someone just gives me.”

That would be too easy, wouldn’t it?

“What about a bedroom someone just gives you? You can take your pick of any upstairs.”

Annatto glared at Mel, then Rhyss a little, then left.

Mel was relieved he didn’t do more; he looked primed to verbally attack again.

After a moment, after Annatto climbed the white carpet lined stairs, he heard Rhyss exhale loudly.

Meldrick turned to Rhyss.

Rhyss leaned closer, his eyes focused on the staircase Annatto had disappeared up. “Who is this kid?”

“He is my grandson. Talise’s older brother, Tarragon, is his father. They recently escaped an unfortunate situation.”

“Did he just threaten Talise?”

Meldrick watched the stairs for a moment. If he had tried harder, perhaps Annatto would not have had to suffer. Meldrick tried not to look back, at what more they could have done.

“He did,” Meldrick sighed.

“He is against our reign,” Meldrick explained. “I don’t think forcing him to see our way is useful,” Meldrick continued. “But you have experience with understanding new ideas and perspectives.”

“Is he going to hurt my kids?” Rhyss asked.

After a lifetime of making judgements of people, Meldrick hoped the Dragon strength of Rhyss’s children would be enough to get them through the trials of the next few months until Annatto settled down. If an incident happened, he would find a way to deal with Annatto. Until then… he needed Annatto pacified.

“Weston, with agreement of Bentley, Shea, and Aadya, all believe he belongs with you, and someday Emily,” Meldrick lied. “We’ve all, including Nell and his mind-reading abilities, ensured your children are safe.”

Rhyss stood up, his shoulders dropped. “So he’s just trying to piss us off.”

“I think he’ll fit in well here.”

“Emily’s going to be surprised. You just found him?”

“Spence happened to be going to protect Olida and Orris, Tarragon fled. There are others we have – “

Annatto pounded down the stairs, his hands clenched in fists at his sides. “Talking about me?”

“Yep. We couldn’t decide what you like on your pizza,” Rhyss fabricated. “Did you pick a room?”

“The one with the spaceships on the walls.”

Meldrick tried to imagine Sam picking out spaceships. It had to have been recently painted, by Rhyss.

“And the pizza?” Meldrick asked.

Annatto’s hands fell from their clenched form. His body looked smaller, more twelve as is should. “I don’t know what that is.”

“We’ll get some different kinds and you can try a bunch of them,” Rhyss offered. He looked at Meldrick. “What do you like?”

“I enjoy most pizzas,” he guessed. He hadn’t had one either, though he’d seen them at least. “Peppers are a favorite,” he added. He’d seen pizzas adorned with red and green peppers often. That, at least, would be a familiar flavor.

Rhyss pulled a phone out of his pocket and a wallet out of the other. He stepped toward the kitchen and ordered the pizza.

Annatto didn’t speak to Meldrick, and he didn’t try to bridge the silence. Silence was good for character, it allowed one to think before they spoke and to contemplate if what they wanted to say was of value or of emotion, or both. Instead, Meldrick moved watched Annatto, curious to see what he would do. Annatto stared back.

“They’ll deliver.” Rhyss’s voice cut through the silence, and as he re-entered the living room he looked between them. Perhaps he would understand now why he was needed in the situation. His steps slowed and he looked more to Annatto. “We can have pizza for breakfast too. Do you like to swim?”

“I’m a fire fairy.”

“Well I’m not, so you’re going to have to tell me what that means.”

Annatto scowled. “We don’t like water.”

“Have you ever been in the ocean?” Meldrick asked. “There are underwater volcanoes and steam vents.”

Not that he would ever try to see them: He hated water as much as the average fire fairy.

“I’ve never seen the ocean,” Annatto said.

Rhyss’s hands motioned toward the wall of windows that opened up toward the back of the house. “Pick a window.”

For a single family residence, the house was impressive. Sam must have suffered from the confinement more than anything else. Meldrick examined some of the paintings as he made his way toward the windows, to give Annatto some space to enjoy the view himself and draw his own conclusions.

After a moment, just as Meldrick was making his way beside Annatto, the door rang. Rhyss left to get the pizzas.

Out the windows, there was a cliffside that had a trail along the rocks. Below that, Meldrick suspected there was a small beach where the waves crashed up on.

“Someday,” Meldrick said to Annatto, “if you want to see them, I can give you water magic. They’re impressive; they changed my life.”

More so, a woman who loved them had changed his life.

“What I don’t get is why you’re being so nice,” Annatto balked.

“Because, outside of Ionia’s care, decency exists. I’m treating you the way I would prefer to be treated. I’ve been in your shoes.”

“That bond… I think I need that medicine probably soon. There was this girl my aunt kidnapped.”

“I can get you some within ten minutes,” Meldrick promised. With that, he dropped a travel pack. If Ionia suspected Annatto had bonded, she would use that against him at the earliest opportunity. If she was working with Thelos, that could be any moment. He made his way through the hall to Zero’s office and took several days worth of the tea.

On his way back down the hall, he paused outside of the room he knew Aadya to be inside. He could hear her voice travelling beneath the door. She must have just been settling in for her labor.

Many years before, Aadya had delivered her two daughters, Konrad’s daughters, early in a similar way. It wasn’t the only birth, but it was the most recent one.

Her voice was irritating in this moment.

She wouldn’t be there if she hadn’t chosen it, if she hadn’t again and again made choices he didn’t agree with. Whoever she had become, it wasn’t the woman he had fallen in love with.

He continued walking down the hall, back to the conference room.

At Rhyss’s house, the pizza boxes (four of them) were open on a large counter space. Annatto had cheese between his mouth and a slice in his hand.

It wasn’t his typical cuisine, but Mel was interested. Typical, what he was used to, didn’t exist anymore. He set the tea beside Annatto and picked up a slice of a pizza covered in various vegetables. “This tea should be taken daily, around the same time. Losing the bond will be uncomfortable,” he warned.

“Thanks.”

While they ate, Rhyss boiled water. Meldrick glanced at Annatto and let out a soft laugh Rhyss didn’t notice. Annatto smiled back. It was too bad Rhyss didn’t think about the fire fairies standing behind him, but it gave him something to bond with Annatto over.

“If you need anything, Rhyss or I will help you get it. Within reason,” Meldrick said.

“And after we eat, we can go shopping and buy you some stuff. Clothes, stuff for your bathroom, maybe some books or video games or whatever you like,” Rhyss offered.

“What about knives?” Annatto asked. “Can I get knives?”

Rhyss laughed. “We’ll see.”

Rhyss would do. Meldrick liked him, even. With gratitude Meldrick would never be able to fully convey, Rhyss had given Annatto a home.

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