A/N: So, when I hit 500 followers on tumblr, I threw a #500FollowerBash and asked people for prompts to fill. They are all filled on tumblr (my URL is kittyorleans), but I thought I should put them in a place that's easier to find. So here they are again. These are all of the QT prompts.

QT Prompt #1: Costis helping a seriously injured Gen to safety - by Anonymous.

Costis was excessively well-behaved, generally. Or at least he thought so. Sure, he occasionally attacked his king during sparring to prove a point, and admittedly that revealed the king's true nature to his enemies and nearly got him killed… And yes, he had once punched the king in the face. But overall, he was a good soldier who didn't cause trouble and did as he was told, and he was so silent that he could be forgotten about.

But Eugenides always noticed him.

Eugenides saw everything, after all, and Costis was no exception. That wasn't necessarily a good thing – there were many days that Costis wished the king had never even heard his name. But the king saw him, noticed him, and decided that this was the person he wanted to ruin for his own gain. And Costis loved him.

This was how Costis knew that the king saw him in the dirty, small, poorly-lit inn. Costis didn't know which of them walked in first, though Eugenides probably did. Costis was sitting at a table, and when he looked up he spotted the king – a shorter man with a scar on his cheek and a fake hand. He wasn't wearing the hook. Nor was he wearing his usual brightly colored clothes. Costis immediately hunkered down, even though he knew it was too late. The king wasn't looking at him, but what did that prove?

Costis tried to swallow his drink as Eugenides finished his conversation with the bartender, then swooped off the stool with his drink and walked straight towards his misplaced guard.

"I didn't think you were supposed to be here," the king said calmly, sitting down at the mostly empty table.

"My mission took me here," Costis said politely.

"Mine too," said Eugenides. "It's a relief. I was worried my wife had been having me followed and it had taken me this long to notice. My wife, of course, is too smart to send you."

Costis was pretty sure he'd been insulted, but then – he was always pretty sure of that when the king spoke.

Eugenides took a sip. "I meant because I'd always notice you, not because you aren't competent."

Costis nodded and looked towards the doorway. "I believe it's turning out to be more complicated than you originally led me to believe."

Eugenides snorted. "I told you the truth. I am surprised as well by the complications."

And then the gun went off, and the king doubled over.

Naturally Costis was armed, but the space was enclosed, and he instantly decided he'd rather be out than face his enemies. He was on his feet before the king finished gasping in surprise, and then both he and the king were both hunched over the table. The inn's seats were overturning as people jumped to their feet, yelling and causing a chaos. Costis eyed the room for the shooter.

"Did you know that was about to happen?" he asked.

"I find it truly flattering that you seem to think I know everything," said Eugenides.

"I don't see the shooter."

"He's still in here, waiting to see if he's killed me," said the king. He had his arm with the fake hand pressed firmly across his middle. "This hurts quite a bit, but no, I don't think I'm going to die, since you didn't ask."

Costis nodded a bit distractedly. "Did you see the shooter? Was it the man I was here for, or the one you were?"

"He shot me."

"Could be a poor shot."

"Oh, gods, Costis, don't do that thing where you get a sense of humor."

Costis caught the king under the shoulder and leaned in to support him. "Door," he said.

"That's the laconic guard I know," said the king almost thoughtlessly as they straightened. Costis was hoping that the chaos would give them some cover. He was also hoping that the king wasn't too badly hurt. He'd said he wasn't going to die, but that meant nothing. This was the man who hollered over scratches and remained stoic over loss of limb. The king could not be trusted; not ever, but mainly not with his own health. Costis could see some blood on the fake hand. His Majesty was flinching and hunched.

They made it to the door before the bullets started again. One lodged itself into the doorframe – and thank gods (Eugenides, he supposed, but really any deity would do) that handguns were so unreliable. If the attacker had a sword, they might be dead by now. Because the king never wore the stupid hook when it could actually be useful, apparently.

"Did you come on horse?" asked Costis, looking back as the slipped out the door. Once it was open, the people flooded out, which would slow the shooter down. They had perhaps thirty seconds.

"I take back what I said about not dying. I actually suspect I might be."

"Your Majesty!"

"No, no, I walked. You really shouldn't worry, I suppose – the queen can hardly blame you for this. I'm not supposed to be here."

Costis made his way towards the horse that he had ridden in. "Your Majesty, can you ride?"

"No, but that's not because I've been shot."

Costis really didn't think it was so surprising that someone wanted to shoot the king. "Your Majesty," he said in his most patented not-long-suffering voice. "I have come to the conclusion that you can do anything, except perhaps stop laughing at me. So I need you to ride."

Eugenides nearly balked when Costis tried to put him on the horse. "I see no reason to hasten my demise," he said.

"I will throw you onto the saddle," said his loyal and most awed guard, who was really just at the end of his rope.

Eugenides cried out when he moved his side, but he got on the horse.

"You know what you're going to do?" he asked Costis.

"I do," Costis said, which was a blatant lie. And perhaps it was a good thing that the king had just been shot, because if he'd been at full strength and completely aware, he probably wouldn't have believed that.

But then, maybe he knew it was a lie anyway. "I will see you back at the castle?" He looked suspicious, and also in pain. The red was now covering his hand.

"Of course," said Costis, who figured that if it was a lie, the king wouldn't be able to hang him for it.

Eugenides, still bent double, rode off away from the inn, towards his home. Costis watched him go, comforted, but only a little. Still, if anyone could get out of this victorious, it would be the king.

"I'm not promising any more gold cups," he whispered out loud.

He ran for the stables as the next bullet whistled its way into the trees.