Wrongful Destiny
Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time, because if I did there would be at least one gay character.
For Mature Readers, contains corporal punish of an adult and some language
Summary: James doesn't want to accept his new role as prince, but King George has ways of persuading his reluctant foster son. Contains spanking
Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Family
A/N: Just for fun, a Once Upon a Time one shot featuring James being taught a lesson by his father. I'm a crappy proofreader so please forgive me for my mistakes, and I hope you enjoy it. I might make more Once Upon a Time stories if this one does well and I feel the inspiration.
-O-N-C-E- -U-P-O-N- -A- -T-I-M-E-
UNDERSTANDING
"You will marry this girl, or I will kill you. I will kill your mother. I will turn your farm to ash... do you understand me?"
Even when he had nothing he still had the choice of whom he married, and now this bastard of a king was taking even that away from him. James didn't know what to do. He knew to disobey the king would mean his untimely death and the death of his mother. He couldn't afford to disobey his king as much as he'd like to. Still, it perturbed him.
It agitated him that King George would do that after he helped the greedy king with his agreement to slay the dragon for King Midas. He hated the king for not letting him go. All James wanted to do was go home to his mother and return to his life as a simple farmer again.
There was a knock at the prince's chambers that roused him from his deep thoughts. He looked up as the door opened and a servant poked his head in the room, smiling sheepishly.
"My prince? Forgive the intrusion, but your father the King wishes to speak with you."
No one ever spoke to him with such respect. If he was dressed in his regular attire, that of a farmer, this servant would have looked down on him. James scoffed at the servant. "Well, you may inform my father that I won't be going to see him."
The servant looked appalled. "M – my prince," he stammered, "His majesty will not appreciate that answer."
"I don't care," James said, turning towards his window. "Leave."
The servant backed out of the doorway without another word. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to upset the king, but James wanted nothing more than to bother the king. Upset the king as much as the king upset him. Yes, that would be nice. Even better would be to escape. But the king would kill his mother if he did that.
It wasn't much longer until his bedroom door was forced opened. The king and two knights came into the room. James turned away from the window with a little jolt. One of the knights closed the door behind him.
"King George," James said.
"That's father to you," George hissed. "You're not playing the part, you foolish boy."
"I can't play the part with someone who will not honor his agreements," James said.
George sighed. "You fool. You damned fool! You think pretending to be my son would be a part time job? He is dead and gone forever. You are his replacement, and although defective, I still need you. I always will."
"I could never be my brother," James said.
"No, you can't," George snapped, glaring at James. It was the slight tremble in the king's lower lip that gave him away. "You could never be my son, the true prince. You could never be the man, the hero he was. You're just a farmer's boy that happens to share my son's face."
James felt the burn of the king's words, but he also could tell the king truly cared for his twin brother. It was oddly touching to see the bastard king actually cared for his son. So far James has only seen the hostility of the king. Now, although the king was trying to be hostel, James saw the side that cared for his fallen son.
"I just want to go home, your majesty," James said.
"Father," George insisted.
"Please, just let me go," said James.
The king rolled his eyes. "Are you deaf, boy? You're not leaving; you are going to marry that woman. And you already know what will happen if you don't."
"We should be able to come to an agreement, your highness," James said. "Be fair."
George turned to one of his knights and whispered in the man's ear. The knight went to the door and opened it, calling out to a servant. James got a chilling feeling when the knight whispered something to the servant and sent him off.
"What's going on?" James asked.
George sneered at James. "What happens when you continue to disobey me, boy."
That did not sound good. The knight closed the door and walked over to the king, flanking him with the other knight. James's heart was racing. Something bad would happen, he knew it.
"What did you say?" James demanded.
"I sent my servant to go inform the assassins to kill your mother," George smirked. "There's no problem if she's dead, right? You'll just disobey me anyway."
"No, no, no, NO!" James screamed, charging at George. "Don't you dare! You bastard!" The knights made a wall in front of the king, and as James reached out for the king the knights wouldn't budge. "Stop it, don't do this!"
"You'll leave anyway," George said.
"N – no, no I won't!" James cried. "No, no I won't, I swear!" He continued to struggle against the knights, although he knew it was futile. "I swear it, please just call them off, please!"
He went down to his knees, ending all struggle. The knights, once they were sure he wouldn't hurt the king parted. James looked up at the king, hating this man more than he ever hated anyone before in his entire life. He felt the tears brimming his eyes.
"Please," he breathed. "I'll obey you, I swear it."
George considered this a moment. Then he turned to one of the knights. "You can tell them to call it off." The knight nodded and left the room. George looked at the other knight. "You may leave too."
"But what about you, your majesty?" said the knight, glancing down at James.
"He won't hurt me," George said with such confidence he made James cringe. "He knows what will happen if he does."
"Of course," the knight muttered, turning and walking out of the room after giving the king a quick bow. The door shut and James was alone in the room with the king. He did want to kill the king, but he knew what would happen if he did. He stayed down on his knees as the king looked down at him with cold eyes.
"You now know to listen to me?" George said.
"Yes," spat James, looking away, hating when the tears spilled down his cheeks. He took a deep breath in, trembling before his king. "I understand, your highness."
George scoffed. "No, you still don't understand."
"Yes I do!" James cried, grabbing the king's robes. "I do! Please, I do!" So don't do anything else just to prove a point. Whether the king would bluff about killing his mother he wouldn't take that chance. "I swear it."
"No you don't," George said. He grabbed James by the arm. "I guess I'll just have to punish you until you understand it, James."
"What?" cried James. What was he missing? What did the king want him to do, kiss his shoes? He cringed as the king pulled him towards the bed. What kind of punishment did the king have in mind? "Please, your highness!"
George just scoffed.
He turned and sat down on the bed, pulling James down over his lap. James knew exactly what was going to happen. He hadn't had a spanking since his father was still alive! There was no way George was planning on spanking him right now. He was far too old for this.
"Please, your highness," James began.
George's hand came down in a hard swat that made James cry out in pain. This might be even worse than James remembered. George smacked him over and over again, not holding back, James jolting and cry out each time the king's hand made contact with his rear end. No, this was far worse than any spanking he'd ever received from his father.
James squirmed and cried out from over George's knee as the pain increased. Tears ran down his cheeks as he struggled to get out of the king's reach. The king grabbed a handful of James's hair and James cried out, holding onto George's leg.
"Please, your highness!" James cried out.
"You still don't understand, you damned fool!" George yelled. He paused, releasing James's hair to grab the back of James's pants, forcing them and his underwear down his thighs, to his knees. James quickly covered his reddened ass with both of his hands.
"N – no," James cried. "Stop."
"Move your hands," George hissed, "Or it'll hurt all the worse."
"Please," James moaned, though he moved his hands. George put his hand on James's back to hold him down. He raised his hand and James shuddered before George's hand even came down.
The next slap made James scream. The spanking mercilessly continued, making James squirm and protest and cry even more. What did the king want, James wondered as the king's hand continued to fall painfully on his rear end. What could the king want from him? James searched for a hint, any clue to end this pain, but it was hard to think when his ass felt like it was on fire.
"Please stop, father!" James cried out suddenly.
George couldn't stop his hand from making the next smack, but he softened the blow considerably. James jumped as George smacked his ass for the last time. Then the king chuckled as he tenderly rubbed James's burning backside with his other hand.
"That's all I wanted, you foolish boy," the king said softly.
"T – thank you," James sighed. And quickly added, "Father."
George took a deep breath in, still rubbing James's bare ass. "My son didn't make as much as a fuss. In fact he graciously and quietly took his punishment."
Is this before or after you threatened to kill his mother, thought James, but he didn't dare voice his thoughts. George pulled James's pants and underwear back up and let James stand before standing up himself.
"I'm your father now," George said, taking James's face into his hands, wiping James's tears away with his thumbs. "This is something you're going to have to accept, James."
"I understand father," James said. "Please, just allow me to do one thing."
"What is that?" George asked.
"Please allow me to properly say good bye to my mother," James said. "Please let me say good bye for the last time, and let her know that I'm never coming home to her."
George actually smiled at the suggestion. "Yes, you may go. I give you permission to ride out first thing in the morning."
"Thank you," James said.
George patted his cheek before pulling away. "Good night, my son." He walked out of the room, closing the door firmly behind himself. He didn't lock the door but he might as well have. James was trapped in here, trapped in a life, and had no choice in who he married.
James sat down on the bed. He would see his mother in the morning. It would be goodbye for the last time, but just the thought of seeing his mother in the morning was comforting enough. He lied down on his bed and closed his eyes. Maybe he'd dream a way out of this mess. But that was doubtful.
This wasn't his destiny, but he had no choice but to follow it now.
(END)
-O-N-C-E- -U-P-O-N- -A- -T-I-M-E-
A/N: What did you think? Let me know. I currently have this rated T but if it should be higher just let me know. I think I might do another Once Upon a Time story featuring my favorite character (Prince Charming, if you couldn't tell! Haha)