24Chapter 1-A Disappearance
A knock on his door like a dagger stabbing through his skull woke Firefox from his flaming dreams. He let out a growl or irritation and called hoarsely "Come in." He heard the door creak and he opened his eyes. Everything in his bedchamber slowly swam into view, but when he tried to sit up to see who his visitor was he fell back with a gasp as his forehead split open with a hangover. Groaning, he put a hand to his throbbing head as if he didn't know already that wouldn't help the pain at all.
"Been drinking, have you?" Firefox opened one eye to see the Piper standing beside his bed. "Tsk tsk. What would you poor mother say?"
"Fuck you." Firefox spat.
"It doesn't even look like you got laid for your trouble!" the Piper sneered. Firefox didn't reply. The minstrel stared down at him for a few seconds before relenting. "Treat the symptom with some more of the cause." He said, tossing his flask on to the bed beside him.
"Thank you." Firefox opened his mouth. And waited. The Piper waited a few more seconds before getting it.
"You really don't expect me to feed that to you?" he snorted incredulously.
"I'll give you that jeweled sword belt of mine you like!"
"Deal." the Piper said without hesitation. He screwed open the flask and poured the entire contents down Firefox's throat.
"Mmmm." Firefox smiled happily as the liquor took its effect.
"Can you stand without puking?" the Piper asked.
"If I puked I'd lose the wine I just drank, now wouldn't I?" Firefox replied as he gingerly lifted himself off the bed.
"Good. Capricorn captured that fire-eater he's always after." The Piper chuckled. "Again."
"Well, we'll have a good show when he escapes." Firefox pulled on his clothes. The Piper pocketed his flask and followed.
Out in the courtyard, Capricorn was making a dramatic speech while Basta shook the disheveled fire-eater by his collar. Firefox and the Piper stopped in the archway, leaning against either side, expressions of polite interest masking their faces.
"You have defied me for the last time, fire-eater!" Capricorn hissed, a triumphant smile on his face. "I am the master of this wood, and you shall bow to my will!" Firefox coughed loudly to hide the snort that had risen unbidden in his chest. Capricorn looked over at him for a second, then continued. "When I'm through with you, your little wifey Roxane won't even have anything to bury, for your corpse will be so..." the Piper lifted his hand to his mouth as if to cover an exaggerated yawn, silver rings glinting in the sun as his eyes flew to Firefox's, who smirked.
"Did that maid of yours keep you up last night again?" Firefox whispered, leaning over to him.
"You should get some peppermint leaves from Basta." the Piper said, avoiding the questions. "I didn't think anything smelled worse than wine until I smelled wine that's been rotting in your mouth all night." Firefox gave an overemphasized exhale right in his face and returned to his spot.
"And from this day on, no one will question my-" Capricorn stopped abruptly. The two men looked over to see what had happened. Capricorn, Basta, and Dustfinger had vanished. After a moment of stunned silence, the courtyard erupted into pandemonium around them. Maids shrieked, men futily drew their swords, and above all, Mortola was heard roaring "WHERE IS HE?! WHERE IS MY SON?!"
Firefox and the Piper both left their posts to join the crowd. The Piper wove through the people, eventually reaching his flavor of the month, a pretty maid named Minerva, and dragged her into a lonely corridor.
"I got your note. Can't be satisfied with just having me at night?" he pinned her in a doorway and whispered seductively into her ear.
"It's not that." she said angrily. Surprised by her tone, the Piper backed away.
"What's wrong with you? Is there another man?" he asked, feigning shock at the thought of the woman who was as of a few weeks ago the only virgin maid working for Mortola being unfaithful.
"No. I'm pregnant." she grimaced. "I'm five days late."
"Oh." his face (among other things) fell. "Damn." They looked at each other a few seconds.
"I have to go. This is no place for a child." she shivered, looking nervously down the corridor.
"I know." he said softly. Another pause, then: "If it's a boy-name it Ivo, all right?"Why?" she whispered.
"It's my name." he replied. She nodded, then pulled him to her and kissed him. He held her until they heard footsteps coming around the corner. The Piper thrust Minerva through the doorway into whatever room lay beyond and stepped out to meet Mortola, running blindly with eyes filled with furious tears.
"HAVE YOU FOUND HIM?!" she grabbed his shoulders and shook him, a mad gleam in her eye.
"No!" he quickly extracted himself and she took off along the corridor, going into, to his horror, the doorway in which he had hidden Minerva.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!" he heard her scream. A muffled reply and the sounds of blows, made fiercer than usual by rage and pain, came through the closed door, along with gasps and then screams as they hit their mark.
"Minerva." the Piper-Ivo-whispered. For a minute he started toward the door to defend her, but it would mean Minerva's death for sure. He resolved to find a way to get back at the old woman. No matter how long it took. Breathing heavily, he turned and strode back toward the courtyard. Firefox had gotten everyone's attention and was giving instructions for search parties to go out into the Wayless Wood searching for Capricorn. As each group was named, the crowd diminished until it was only Firefox, the Piper, and a few miscellaneous maids and their bastard children. Firefox walked over to the Piper, smiling cockily.
"I got them all to listen to me! I almost hope Capricorn doesn't come back, so I can enjoy this a little longer!" he was too smug to notice his friend's mood.
"And Basta. He's gone too." the Piper reminded him tonelessly.
"Psh. Who cares?" Firefox looked at him for agreement and noticed the look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." The Piper said tersely. Firefox looked at him, concerned.
"You look like you got one of the maids pregnant!" he laughed.
"Yeah..." he trailed off and walked away.
What's up his ass? Wondered Firefox. Knowing the Piper, he'd have to wait until he damn well felt like telling someone about it before he'd find out.