Thanks to Stamina Overlook for helping me with the proper form of Nadir's name and title.
Erik is dead.
The thought sat heavily on the mind of Mirza Nadir Khan E'tezadi, Darugha Mazandarani, as he shuffled through the halls of the royal palace. A little while after he had buried his family, he buried his best friend as well.
This was the first time he had been summoned to the palace in months, more than enough time to complete his mourning period. He had yet to meet the Shah, and he was exhausted. Perhaps, it was time to consider an early retirement. The intrigues of the royal court and the strict punishments he was obliged to deal out as the Daroga, or police chief, of Mazandaran never appealed to him. He only kept his position because he needed his pension and estate to provide for his family. And now there were no wives, no son, and no Erik to look after.
He paused in his steps. Perhaps it was simply a trick of his fatigue, but he faintly heard a scratching, scurrying noise echoing behind him. When he looked around and found nothing, he continued on.
A royal cat passed by him. He gave it a wide berth. The Shadow of God was fond of these creatures and allowed them free reign over the entire palace, but Nadir was not good with cats. The haughty feline was a better courtier than he, with its dazzling collar, a sure sign of the Shah's favor, lending it an air of sophistication. Its well-groomed head was held high, its eyes alert, and its steps light and spry. Nadir could almost hear it scoffing at him, the old, friendless, foolish Daroga, as it turned a corner.
Just as he started walking again, loud shrieks pierced the air. He was tempted to move on, to let some later passerby deal with the matter, but the Shah would not be happy if he knew that he let one of the royal cats come to harm. Though he was unsure if he wanted to spend the rest of his life embroiled in politics, he had little desire to spend it rotting away in a prison or utterly destitute. Heaving a weary sigh, he dragged himself to the scene, and was greeted by the strangest sight he ever saw.
The cat was locked in a fierce fight with what can only be described as a moving ball of rags. A thousand scraps of cloth, some faded with age, some still brightly colored, streamed forth from its body in a thousand directions as it leapt to and fro, deftly dodging the cat's claws. The cat had transformed into a terrible beast; its starry silver-blue fur stood on end, its green eyes flashed eldritch fire, and its shining fangs and claws were unsheathed. Unlike its master, its martial instincts had yet to be dulled by a life of luxury. Though its multicolored foe was agile, it was outmatched by the cat's size and strategy and found itself gradually backed into a corner.
The cat pounced, capturing the rag-coated creature under its paw. Nadir could predict how this fight should end. The poor animal would spend the rest of its brief life dancing atop the cat's palm, until the royal mouser tired of its game and, with all the finesse of a well-trained executioner, delivered the death-blow. He was about to leave, when the cat lifted its paw and the creature suddenly jumped. It grabbed the cat's jeweled collar, swung itself upward, and landed atop the cat's head. In one smooth motion, it slid down the slope of the cat's back, and before its pursuer could turn around, crossed the smooth mosaic floor and scampered up Nadir's silken pants leg.
Shocked by such a turn of events, the Daroga cried out and shook his leg in a whirling, hopping Lezginka dance. The cat leapt and clawed at him all the while, and he was unsure if its prey was still the strange creature, or if it had decided to target him instead. Finally, after much effort spent fending off both the cat and the mysterious rag-coated thing, a mass of colors detached itself from his leg and flew off into the distance. The cat followed, rushing after its escaped prey.
Nadir took several deep breaths, relieved that his ordeal was over. It was a miracle that all the sound and fury had not attracted any attention. He was spared from humiliation for now. He smoothed down his now messy hair and beard and straightened his lopsided astrakhan cap. While adjusting his coat and belt, he felt a bump, and looked down to discover his unwelcome burden had not left him. Instead, the ball of rags remained clutching to his belt, as if it were an accessory. With a frustrated noise, he pulled it away.
He almost dropped it when it squirmed in his hand, tiny claws scratching at his skin. He almost dropped it again when he saw the long, twitching tail, and realized it was a rat. Still, it was the freakiest rat that he had ever seen. He brought it up to his face so he could have a closer look.
It was longer and larger than other rats. Except for its paws, its body was completely cloaked in strips of cloth, of any color and any pattern, woven together and knotted with cat hairs. It stood up on its hind legs, revealing a patch of rags on its belly had been torn off during the fight with the cat. The body underneath was bare of any hair. One of its front paws swiped down the length of its body, seemingly dusting itself off. Nadir almost laughed at that, until he saw its other front paw held one of the pink pearls of the cat's collar, a loss which would earn some unfortunate slave a scolding once it was discovered. Even more ominously, the rat's little head and face was covered over with a thin, tattered gray veil.
As Nadir stared at it, the rat stared back, two red points glowing through the holes in its covering. His first instinct was to hurl the creature down and stomp on it, but a rat garbed like this was more likely to be a trained animal than wild vermin. Besides, he had seen enough of death.
Would you kill it? Just for being ugly and frightening? It hasn't done anything to hurt you.
Erik's disapproving voice lurked in the back of Nadir's mind. He sighed and dropped to one knee, lowering the rat to the ground.
"This is no place for you. Go back to your owner." He murmured.
The rat disappeared as soon as it left his hand. He did not know if it would go someplace safer, or continue wandering the palace grounds until it was finally caught by a cat. Either way, its final fate was no longer his concern.
The Shah was in a merciful mood during their meeting. He offered the Daroga condolences over the unfortunate deaths of his family, assured him he would not be punished over the death of the court magician and architect, and finally assigned him to confiscate the properties of said late magician, for Erik had no next of kin. The cats attending upon the Shah, however, had been whipped into a frenzy by the Daroga's arrival. One by one they had pounced at him, and hissed and flailed when the Shah pulled them away. They grew to be so disruptive that the Shah was forced to call for their caretakers to take them away until after the meeting was finished.
Yet, the Shah's sympathy provided little comfort for Nadir. When he left the palace and mounted his carriage, he still carried with him the stark truth that his loved ones were gone. The only one left was his faithful manservant Darius, and he wondered if it was fair to keep him bound to a lonely, despairing old man who would never advance beyond his current position.
That afternoon, he responded eagerly to the Azan, the call to prayer, because ar-Ra'uf, the One who showed the utmost compassion, pity and tender mercy, was the only one who could give him guidance in this terrible time. He continued with du'a, or supplications, after the Salat al-Asr, the afternoon prayer, asking God to forgive whatever sins that his family might have committed and allow them to be happy in Jannah. And, though it might be forbidden, he also prayed for Erik to be allowed peace, for if the boy was a disbeliever, it was only man's cruelty that had made him so. The sun hung low in the sky as he lifted his head. He blanched as he saw, standing on his vibrantly colored prayer rug, the no less colorful rag-coated rat.
Erik smugly folded his arms-or rather, just his hands-in front his chest as he regarded the man. Surely the fool was only just realizing that Erik had, in fact, not escaped when he set him on the ground. Instead, he had clung to the man's sleeve, the billowing cloth concealing his presence. As the man walked, Erik climbed up his arm and hid himself in the collar of his coat. It was a brilliant display of stealth, and he had been rewarded with the sight of the cats' impotent rage and the humans' ensuing confusion. The man proved to be a satisfactory beast of burden, carrying Erik from the palace into the prayer room of his own house. Yes, the mix of horror and frustration on the man's face was the perfect expression for one realizing he had been bested.
"Are you really so surprised?" He crowed. "You humans wouldn't notice an entire horse on your backs."
As his shock cleared, Nadir groaned in frustration and buried his face in his hands. After the emotionally exhausting entreaties to God, he had not the energy to become angry. When he slid his hands away, the rat was still there, and still squeaking at him.
"Why are you here?" He hissed at the animal.
Erik had no answer, because he himself was unsure why he had followed the jade-eyed human, except for a vague sense of fascination. He had shown no anger nor disgust for Erik. Indeed, his attitude toward Erik could be called merciful. He wanted to know why the human behaved so strangely.
Once again, Nadir scooped up the rat. This time, he made sure that the rat landed on the ground when he deposited him outside the front door. "Go. And don't let Darius see you."
Now rid of the unclean creature, Nadir repeated his cleansing ritual, prayers, and supplications. He never noticed the tattered figure perched on his window sill.
Erik listened through jade-eyed man's prayers. He found himself nodding along as the man prayed for "Erik." He could almost imagine those prayers were for him. Poor, unhappy, hairless Erik, hated even by his fellow rats. If he were a horrible creature, then it was only because the world's cruelty made him so. Yes, let Erik be at peace! However, he knew such a prayer would never be granted, for Erik was too wretched a being. God had no love for Erik, whose own mother would not kiss him. Nothing could save Erik. Erik was meant to suffer. Erik was already dead and he only lacked the silence of the grave. The old man had wasted his time with tearful prayers. With a snarl, he turned away and clambered down to the ground.
Dinner was a sullen affair, as it had been for all these long months. After finishing the meal, master and servant wandered into the library to sort through the various reports that had accumulated over the day. It was not a task Nadir looked forward to.
Darius lit the lanterns, flooding the room with a warm glow. The first thing Nadir saw was the rag-coated rat, standing on his lacquered wood table and sifting through his papers. Darius made a disgusted noise and took a step forward, but his master held out an arm and stopped him.
"I'll deal with this."
Darius stared at him as if he had gone mad, and Nadir wondered if his servant's suspicions were correct.
"I'm afraid I've made it rather attached to me." He did not care to explain any further, and Darius, not wanting to pry, backed away.
As soon as Nadir approached the writing desk, the rat chattered and waved a paper at him. He snatched it out of the animal's paws and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was a page of an important report, about sabotage on some Russian trade ships, that he had misplaced yesterday morning.
"How did you find this?" Perhaps, he was overthinking things. He had only met the rat this morning; it had no way of knowing he was searching for this document. Even if it did know, rats could not read. It must have been a simple coincidence.
Yet, the rat looked very proud of itself. It turned its head this way and that, scanning the paper piles. Then, it picked up another paper and slapped its little front paw on a certain line. Nadir looked closer, and the moment he read that line, he began making connections in his mind. The hint provided by the rat was the key to the case. He grabbed a qalam, a bamboo pen, and quickly scrawled a note on the paper's margins.
"Looks like I have just done your job for you, old man."
Setting down the pen and paper, Nadir pinched the bridge of his nose. He must be overly tired, since he interpreted the rat's squeaks as mocking words, spoken by a familiar voice. In addition to that, he was starting to believe the rat could read, and that it could read very quickly.
"Sir?" Darius asked, concerned for his master.
Nadir looked up and smiled, trying to reassure him. "Will you go to the kitchen and bring some noughl?"
Darius looked from his master to the rat, and then back again. When he spoke, his voice was tinged with alarm. "Sir, are you going to…"
"Don't worry about me. Just go."
With one last worried look at the Daroga and the rat, Darius reluctantly left the room. Nadir pulled out his chair and sat down, focusing on his paperwork.
Shortly after, Darius returned with the candied almonds. He scowled at the rat as he set down the dish. The rat hissed at him. Darius' hand twitched.
"That will be all, Darius. You can rest for the night."
Darius opened his mouth to object, but Nadir hovered protectively over the rat. He nodded and left, not understanding his master's fixation with the vermin, but not wanting to trouble him for an explanation either.
Having thus dismissed his servant, Nadir picked up a snow-white almond and bit down on it. He slid the plate, with the rest of the almonds piled on it, toward his little guest. "Were you looking for food? Here's something to eat."
The rat must have gotten lost searching for the kitchen. Now that it had food, it might just leave him alone.
He almost hoped that this attempt would fail.
Erik sneered at the offering. Did the old fool think that if he wanted food, he could not have made his way to the kitchen? He had surveyed the house from the outside, leisurely strolling along its walls, and taken note of any and all possible entrances. He knew the structure of this house better than even the inhabitants. He came to this room because he was interested in the books, and then the documents. Now he just wanted to watch the human work, as he obviously needed help on his cases.
After a while, Nadir looked up from his paperwork to find the rat gazing at him, the plate untouched. It was rare that a rat could resist an enticing snack. He reached for the shroud over the rat's head, deciding to do it a favor by untangling its mouth.
Erik snarled, his large teeth visible behind the thin sheet of cloth. "Don't touch my mask!"
He lashed out and tried to bite Nadir, but the human withdrew his hand. He held his veil secure and ran to the other end of the table, out of the man's long reach.
Nadir froze upon witnessing the rat's reaction. His eyes grew blurry with tears as he was reminded of his departed friend. It was like Erik had come back to him for only an instant. He rubbed his eyes, then raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry. This old man's curiosity gets the better of him at times."
Grief had addled his mind. The rat would likely not understand him, but he felt compelled to apologize, just as he would if he was speaking to Erik.
It was Erik's turn to be paralyzed with shock. Never before had anyone treated him this way. Usually, either they would try to overpower him, or he would turn the tables and overpower them. Kindness and courtesy were things he heard of, but would never receive. After all, Erik was a cursed creature. He wondered what the old man wanted. Was he trying to trick Erik? Lull him into letting down his guard and coming closer, and then spring a trap? But Erik would not be easily tricked!
The old man reached forward. Erik winced. However, he only took an almond, popped it into his mouth, and went back to his work. After several minutes, Erik slowly, carefully, crawled toward him again. His teeth were bared, ready to rip into any errant fingers. However, the old man ignored him completely. This irked Erik, because while he hated when people gawked at him, he hated when people cast him aside and pretended he did not exist even more.
To avenge this slight, Erik leapt down to the ground, scurried over to a chair leg, and climbed up to the human's lap, where he drew his silver watch from his pocket. It required little work from his nimble hands to unclasp the watch chain from the coat buttons, and the human never noticed any of Erik's movements. The watch was large and heavy, but Erik was stronger than other rats. He bit down on the watch chain, dragging it after him as he retraced his steps and climbed back up to the table.
A minute later, Nadir, remembering that his watch needed to be wound, reached into his pocket and found it empty. Confused, he looked in his other pocket, to find it similarly empty. He stood up and examined both the chair and the ground, and still found no trace of his watch. Then, he looked up and saw, on the table, the rat sitting on the silver pocket watch inscribed with floral designs.
"Erik, why do you keep on doing this?" He blurted the exasperated words out from reflex. Then he remembered he was talking to a rat; a rat that had stolen his watch. He was unsure whether to be embarrassed or impressed.
Erik felt happy tears come to his eyes. Oh, to be called by a real name! Not demon or monster or vermin, but his name! He was glad that his mask hid his weakness from the old man.
He watched as the man scooped up a handful of almonds and offered them to him in exchange for the watch. He took an almond and slid off the watch. Turning his back to the man, he slid the edges of his veil up. He bit into his snack with his wrinkled mouth. It was the sweetest thing he ever tasted. He almost spat it out because he disliked sweet things, but underneath the sugar, the almond was very fragrant. He ate it up, every last crumb.
Nadir smiled and offered the rat another almond. Even though he knew the creature was unclean, it was quickly endearing itself to him.
"You really do remind me of a friend, little fellow." He remarked, his jade eyes both sad and kind.
At this, Erik could no longer control himself. His body shook with sobs as large tears slid down his malformed face. For anyone, even an old, foolish human to think of him as something akin to a friend! It was too much happiness for Erik! He did not know how to respond, but quickly realized that not even his mask could hide his emotions anymore. To preserve the little scraps of dignity he had remaining, he leapt off the desk and rushed out of the room, squealing all the while. Only when he was hidden away in a dark, secluded corner did he let himself dissolve into a wailing mess.
Nadir sighed in disappointment when the rat left. It was not Erik, just a lost animal in search of food. Yet, the rat had been company for him, at least. Now, he once again felt the crushing weight of loneliness.
Meanwhile, outside of the house, Erik whipped off his mask, which was covered in tears and phlegm, and wrung the water out of it. He draped the slightly less moist cloth over his face again and set out toward the palace. He was a rat with a mission. He could never keep the old man company-after all, he was an ugly, cursed monster-but he could give him something to reward his kindness. That old man deserved the beautiful things in the palace far more than the cats did.
Tonight, the palace and all its inhabitants would tremble in fear of its true master.