Kings of War

Shaun was glad once the council meeting was over-- it had brought dark, troubling news, news he had hoped wouldn't come. At the same time though, it made him angry. They had to go and fuck shit up, and he wouldn't take it lying down. Somebody was going to get hurt, and he'd make sure that it was he and Xander that came out on top.

Pushing open the door to his chambers, he paused to lean on the doorway and look in at Eli. "Xander's had to go out to the outlands. You need to go see Liz, she's just out here, she'll take you to get cleaned up," he said gruffly. She peered at him, but for once she seemed not to want to argue, and just...walked through the door. It was surprisingly easy, caught him off guard a little. He watched her move, and of course the fact that something wasn't quite right hit him. She was limping a little, hand laid against her ribs as if they pained her. Odd. He didn't know how she could have hurt herself while she was in his room. His mind was preoccupied with other things though, and he watched her until she was out of sight before he went inside, shutting the door.

Shaun peered around the room for his son, finally laying across the bed to peek behind it. Sure enough, there was Jason, in his little hiding place between the bed and the wall. Reaching behind to ruffle the boy's hair, he got comfortable. "Sup little man? What did you do while I was gone?" He questioned, letting his eyes fall half-closed. The little boy peered up at him, leaning against the bed.

"A man came," He nodded, rolling a tiny toy truck back and forth on the ground.

Shaun's eyes open and he turned to look at the boy. "A man? What man? What did he say?" Propping himself up on his elbow, he watched Jason. Why would there be a man in here? There was no reason for it, the guards and all knew his room was off limits unless they were specifically directed there.

Jason's gaze fell down to the toy he was methodically rolling back and forth on the ground. "He was big. And loud. And he called mommy not nice words," he said softly, refusing to meet Shaun's gaze.

Shaun could feel the anger boiling away in his gut already. Nobody should be in here, especially not abusing Eli. Reaching in between the bed and the wall, he wrapped an arm around Jason's waist and lifted him up, settling him onto his lap instead. "Jason. You need to tell Daddy everything that happened." He said seriously, turning the boy's face so he could see his eyes. He was sure the boy was telling the truth-- he was too young to know how to lie, and certainly too young to make stuff like this up. He saw a flicker of fear in Jason's face and his eyes softened. "I'm not mad, you're not going to get in trouble. You just have to tell me, Okay?" he tried, rubbing his hand over the boy's back.

Jason averted his gaze, squirming on his father's lap. "He hit her. And kicked her. He was mean, and scary." His frown deepened and he finally looked up into Shaun's face. "He said, 'I'll be kind to you this time and leave you with the warning.' '

Shaun's blood was beginning to boil. He only knew one person who spoke like that, and Jason's imitation had been almost perfect. The way he spoke-- just like his lead guard. Shaun had never been one to logically think things over and talk, and this time was no different. He struggled to keep his voice even, not wanting to frighten the child. "I'm glad you told me. Stay here, okay? Play for a bit, and I'll be right back. I got...business to attend to." He set the child down on the bed and ruffled his hair, waiting until he had shut the door behind him to let the full wave of his anger hit him. Spinning, he slammed his fists against the wall. That fucker was going to pay. He wasn't an idiot, he could put two and two together. Somebody was going to die for this.

Fury pulsed through his veins, hot and fast. His fists balled and he yanked the chain that held his brass knuckles from around his neck. Sliding his fingers into them, he did a few test punches into his hand. He knew exactly where the fucker would be, and he would make him sorry. He didn't have any reservations with violence, as everybody knew. He would make him pay, and he'd do it in the most painful way he possibly could.

It didn't take him long to find the right door, and he didn't bother with the handle. He just kicked the flimsy wood in with a bang. It was like the room stood still for a moment, everybody turning to see what had caused the sound. He was seething, and his eyes zeroed in on the other man immediately, standing in the middle of the floor in front of ELi. Elizabeth was frozen with surprise in the corner, wide eyes fixed on Shaun, her hand on Eli's shoulder. He took no notice of the women, except to wave them away. They shouldn't have to see this shit. He noticed that they didn't move, but he didn't bother to order them out. He was on a path of vengeance, and he didn't give a fuck about anything else.

He strode across the floor, fury threatening to explode out of him. Gripping the man's shirt in his fists, he slammed him against the stone wall. "You fucking thought I wouldn't find out? You thought you'd just do whatever the fuck you wanted to and nobody would ever know?" He was yelling in his face, punctuating every sentence with another slam against the wall. "I'm going to fucking kill you, you bastard. There are no second chances. You fucked with my woman and my boy, and you're going to burn for it in hell." He didn't wait for explanations. Just pulled his fist back and slammed it into his face with a sickening crunch, blood spraying across the wall. Over and over again he slammed his fist into his face, fueled by a frenzy of rage and revenge. he didn't even notice the eyes of the others on his back. There was no way he could make any excuses. He had always had a suspicion something wasn't totally the way he had been told it was, and the revelation had spun him into a fit of violence. he had trusted his knight with a lot, let him lead the army and shared victories and losses. It meant nothing now. He only cared that the fucker suffered as much as possible for what he had done.