As a Kinney male, Brian was expected to associate with only the 'best' people, people with land, wealth, or noble blood, preferably possessing all three, as his family did. He was also expected to select the daughter of the best of these golden families, marry, and produce an heir. He was after all, a member of the first family.
Unfortunately, the 'best' people were generally insufferable. Brian wasn't yet old enough to accompany the men on any of their excursions, and the boys and girls his age were ignorant. They studied languages no one even spoke anymore, but didn't know any of the languages of the land in which they lived, the land they would one day rule. In fact, they'd never even been outside the walls. They lived in a perfectly ordered, artificial world that had little to do with reality. They studied what their parents told them they must and had absolutely no interest in learning anything else. They were never ill, hungry, sad, or afraid, and nothing exciting ever happened to them. They didn't fall in love with people, but with qualifications, and they sure as hell didn't feel desire so strong that it threatened to consume them, burn them from the inside out. Sex was a means to an end (put tab A into slot B, and tada, nine months later, they had someone to carry on the family name), and not a very pleasant one. The very thought of rutting like beasts offended their delicate sensibilities.
Brian wasn't sure why, but he had absolutely nothing in common with them. He wanted to learn from the world, not books. He wanted to eat strange foods in the open air surrounded by loud, boisterous people. He wanted to learn languages people spoke and skills people actually used. So whenever he could, he disguised himself as one of the 'rabble' and snuck out of the keep and over the high stone wall. Then he'd experience everything he could. He'd watch the various artisans work, the shopkeepers barter and haggle, and the soldiers practice their fighting skills, with and without weapons. He'd listen to the elders' stories of the before time and the young ones' gossip. All the while, he picked up their diverse languages and asked questions, absorbing everything. That was during the day. At night, he'd watch the seedier elements at work, prostitutes, purveyors of intoxicating herbs and powders, and thieves.
Brian had experienced lust before, on a great many occasions in fact. However, he'd had no one with whom to talk about sex or to experiment. He was attracted to boys, but this was strictly forbidden in the keep. Sex was for procreation only, or so they were taught, so sex between men was considered a waste of time, a meaningless indulgence. Sex between men was allowed in the quarters, but, then, everything was. The golden families cared little what happened to the 'rabble,' as long as the men fought or performed backbreaking manual labor when directed and paid tribute. The golden families cared more about the land's abundant resources than anything else. Some of the men from the keep owned plantations, others owned mines, and still others intrigued, writing letters, talking with strange visitors in hushed tones behind locked doors, and travelling to faraway places.
In spite of the fact that Brian could have taken his pleasure with any of the boys in the quarters, he was a little afraid. The men in the keep warned all the boys and girls against having relations with the 'rabble.' They claimed that after doing so they would contract a terrible disease, one that the 'rabble' carried but from which they did not suffer. According to the men in the keep, the golden families had no immunity to this disease, and there was no cure. He knew that most of what he was taught was bullshit, but what if they were right about this? He wasn't sure he was ready to risk his life to put it to the test.
That is, until one warm summer night. That night, as he had done countless times before, Brian had waited until everyone had started drinking heavily and then had snuck out of the keep. However, this night was different from every other that had come before, for, on this night, he saw an angel. With creamy white skin, eyes like glittering blue gems, long eyelashes, plump lips, silky hair the color of sunshine, and the warmest smile, he was a vision. Brian desired this boy with an urgency he'd never even imagined, let alone felt. He knew immediately that he would gladly give up his life if it meant he could kiss those sweet lips, caress that soft skin, feel the boy's hands or mouth around his manhood, and experience the tight wet heat of their joining.
Suddenly, as though the boy could feel the heat of Brian's gaze, the boy looked up, and their eyes met.
