I know my place. I am my Master’s first and only apprentice. You’re hardly the first servant he has ever had.”
The look Javier gave him was pitying.
Eridan flushed, deeply uncomfortable. Don’t say that, he pleaded mentally. If they didn’t talk about it, it wasn’t real.
“You’re lucky I like you, Eridan,” Javier said after a moment. “You should be more careful. Others wouldn’t be as understanding.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Eridan said.
Javier shook his head with a sad smile. “Have I told you about Kyran?”
“No,” Eridan said, confused and relieved by the change of subject.
“He got transferred to the servicing department just a few months before you started your apprenticeship under your Master,” Javier said. “He was an apprentice before.”
“What?”
“The scandal was hushed up, so I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of it.” Javier winced. “Kyran was discovered in an intimate situation with his Master. The fallout wasn’t pretty. Although Kyran said it was consensual, Master Blaine was demoted to Master Acolyte and forbidden from any contact with him.”
Eridan wrinkled his forehead. He had obviously known that any fraternization between a Master and their apprentice was very frowned upon, but he hadn’t realized the consequences would be that bad. “That seems a little harsh if it was consensual. Just because of their age difference? Why is it such a big deal when Calluvians can live up to two hundred years?”
“The age difference in itself isn’t the problem,” Javier said. “Master Blaine practically raised Kyran, so he basically groomed a child. That’s the disgusting part, no matter what Kyran says.”
“All right, that’s a little icky,” Eridan said, making a face. He glared at Javier when he realized why he was telling him this story. “But what does that have to do with anything? My Master sure as hell didn’t raise me. I properly met him only when I was eighteen.”
“I know,” Javier said with a placating gesture. “But Master Idhron’s case is rather unique. He’s the youngest Master in history, and even if he weren’t, most Masters don’t claim an apprentice that soon after graduating. Most Masters are a lot older than their apprentices. The age difference between Kyran and Master Blaine is actually much smaller than it could have been—I think there were some medical reasons that allowed Master Blaine to take on an apprentice when he was still a Master Acolyte. Most Masters are fifty or sixty years older than their apprentices, and most Masters usually do raise their apprentices. The power imbalance alone makes any intimate relationship rather unhealthy—”
Eridan laughed. “I’m sorry, but that’s rich, coming from…”
Javier flushed. “What, a servant? I might be selling my body, but my mind is my own. I don’t belong to any Master the way an apprentice does. I don’t have to give anything but my body, and if my employer wants to do something I’m uncomfortable with, I can tell them to fuck off. An apprentice has no power over the Master; that’s why any fraternization between them is forbidden.”
Eridan scoffed. “Please. Don’t be naive. You’re speaking as someone who has no idea how the Chapter operates. I’ll have you know that most Masters in the Chapter couldn’t care less about arbitrary rules. Grandmaster Tethru would be the first to attest to that. Want to bet Master Blaine just pissed off some member of the Chapter and they used his relationship with Kyran as an excuse to demote him?”
Javier frowned. “I don’t believe you.”
Eridan sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I wish I had as much faith in the Chapter as you do, but trust me, they don’t give a fuck about the right thing. And by the way, you’re wrong about apprentices not having any power over their Masters.”
Javier shot him a skeptical look.
“I’ll prove it to you,” Eridan said with a grin. “You’ll see.”
“And how are you going to do it?” Javier said, still exuding skepticism.
“Watch.” Eridan plopped down on the couch next to Javier and looked expectantly at the door. “Master’s coming home.”
They didn’t have to wait long.
Castien looked tense as he entered the house. He came to an abrupt halt upon seeing them. His gaze flickered between them before settling on Eridan. “I told you not to wait up for me, Eridan.”
Eridan nearly scowled. Yes, because apparently you wanted to use Javier’s services.
Suppressing his annoyance, he gave his Master a smile. “I wanted to meditate with you.”
Castien stared at him. “Meditate? You?”
Eridan nodded solemnly, giving him his best innocent look.