So the first chapter of my latest project, Medievalstuck. Not very long but hopefully it's enough to give you the gist of what's going to be happening. Mainly Nepkat but other pairings will be featured throughout it. Feel free to leave any comments in the reviews and constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome. There may be slight ooc at times and for that I apologize.

I don't own the characters, all that belongs to Andrew Hussie, aka God.

Karkat Vantas. Worthless. Slave. Mutant. Things he had been hearing his entire life, things that he knew were wholeheartedly true and undeniable. But as long as he could survive none of those words mattered the need to survive and his refusal to lay down and allow himself to die were the only things keeping him alive. Life meant keeping his head down, keeping his mouth shut, working until he collapsed, keeping the nightmares at bay. As pointless and as worthless as this life seemed there had to be some reason to keep on living. He forced himself to believe that. Karkat had seen countless others come and go, dying when they couldn't keep up with the work they had been given or for merely displeasing their masters, seeing them die only made him to want to keep on living even more. He couldn't let himself become like that. To die with tears streaming down his face as he pleaded for his life from a man who didn't even know what the word mercy meant, there would be nothing more shameful than that for him.

Working in the main home of the noble Makara family had little to no perks. They were strange in more than a few ways, with the Lord of the keep the leading figure in one of the few allowed religions under the Empress's reign. He could count the amount of times he had come into contact with The Grand Highblood on one hand and for that he was grateful. Dealing with the two young lords Gamzee and Kurloz was more than enough for him, even if Gamzee was the only reason he had been allowed to live in the first place. The fool had decided he had liked Karkat as he and his brother had gone though the slave market and since that fateful day Karkat had found himself here living under their rule. Gamzee was a helpless idiot but Karkat tried his best with him. A life for a life. That was the way the world worked, wasn't it?

Karkat found himself outside working in the near unbearable heat of the Alternian sun. Because of the sheer power of its rays many found it completely unbearable to work beneath its light, the higher on the bloodcaste the worse its effects on any particular Troll. For Karkat, as a mutant, the sun's affect wasn't pleasant but at least it didn't burn his skin black within the hour. Still, it was hell on his eyes as he squinted against the hellish light and into the distance. The Makara's were expecting guests at some point today, but than again when were they not? The two males were of marrying age and even though many women were fearful of them, the prospect of marrying into such an old and noble family was more than enough to get them to come flocking in. As it stood no one had succeeded in impressing the duo. Besides, their father would never allow them to become Matesprits with 'motherfucking lowblood scum'.

Rubbing at his tired eyes Karkat turned away from the harsh glare and receded back inside to the kitchens, hoping that he would be able to get something substantial to eat for once. The chances were slim to none. There were very few others who would talk to him, many unnerved by his mutant blood and the alien bright red of his eyes, some even feared that by showing him any form of kindness it would get them killed. At least he would get Gamzee's scraps. Blinking as his eyes adjusted to this new darkness Karkat made his way through the kitchen, weaving in and out of the throng of constantly moving chefs who were trying to keep up with the constant demand of food for all those who lived here. Even he didn't know the exact number that lived here with him. Winding halls, practically abandoned wings, an uncountable amount of rooms, serving quarters that seemed to stretch for miles with each room overflowing with people, then there were those who had no place to rest, who had to find corners in the kitchens, the stables or anywhere else habitable. Karkat himself favored the stables when he was able to get enough time to climb up into the rafters and find somewhere warm and dark to sleep. Not that he slept much. Only the rich who could afford Soper Slime held that luxury of sleeping with ease. No, Karkat and everyone like him worked until they dropped. Less chance of the horrid nightmares that haunted their species.

In the corridors maids were rushing too and fro trying to finish preparing everything for tonight. A feast was being organized to honor their latest guests and when there was a feast there was always the uninvited who assumed they would naturally be getting somewhere to sleep off their drunkess, so naturally beds were made available to keep a good name up for the family. Not only was there the uninvited guests that they would have to worry about but there was the invited guests of course. It was the Leijon family coming this time, wasn't it? A family of mostly women from what he had heard from the whispers of maids. What were they like? Stuck up highbloods? Ambitious midbloods? Desperate lowbloods? He knew he would be forced to interact with them to a certain degree, being Gamzee's assumed Moirail. Karkat had taken it upon himself to make sure Gamzee wasn't constantly making a fool of himself by not remembering names and titles, so he would remain in the background and whisper tidbits to him when needed. Perhaps it was that usefulness that kept him alive since Karkat was one of the few who Gamzee would let near him. The fickle personality of a Juggalo was not something that Karkat was going to spend his life questioning, no he had work to do.

Worked consisted of cleaning rooms from top to bottom, bringing food up to those Highbloods who requested it, dressing and preparing Gamzee for the day, cleaning the main hall along with numerous others and any other job that someone ordered him to do. It was more than tempting to throw his hands in the air and give them a piece of his mind at times but that would be the stupid thing to do, the thing that would get him locked in the dungeons with no food or water until they decided to kill him or Gamzee figured out that he was gone. Again. How many times had Karkat found himself in the dungeons in the past? Starving, cold, alone, dying of thirst and counting down the seconds until his body finally chose to give up the fight only to be pulled out by the hair and dragged up the stone steps to his saviors feet. Gamzee would give him that unnerving sharp toothed grin and ask him where he had been as he smoked on the long pipe, green smoke clouding the air around them as Karkat struggled to speak through his destroyed throat and give him a pathetic excuse for being gone for so long.

He snapped out from his own thoughts as the sound of approaching horses and carriages reached his ears, along with the other curious workers he peeked out from the nearest window watching as the black lion head on the forest green banner grew closer and closer with a parade of horses, knights, servants and carriages with the family's belongings. The main gate was opened as the servants were ordered out of the main hall to make room for these new guests. Karkat barely caught a glimpse of the mother. Her long hair braided down her back, with thin streaks of gray discoloring it. Her long green dress was cut so that was able to ride her large black steed with ease, swishing around her legs as one of her knights helped her off. To his slight disappointment he was unable to see the two daughters. Against his better judgment he couldn't help but wonder what they looked like, he had overheard several others complimenting the women on their rumored beauty. It was the eldest, Muelin, who was suppose to be the main attraction for this visit, her mother hoping that she would make a good match for Kurloz. The younger girl was suppose to be around Gamzee's age and if that match worked then everything would be going perfectly to plan for them. Karkat strongly doubted that it would work out that easily.

Strange new accents echoed down the stone corridors, seeming to echo endlessly around him as continued with the preparations for that night. The rumor mill among the servants had started turning already, gossiping about these strangers clothes, hair, accents, how the Lady Muelin had already dared to try and introduce herself to the young Lord Kurloz, how her sister was still keeping to herself with the family's Lusus and a million other trivial pieces of supposed information. Why Karkat found it so fascinating to listen in was beyond even him, but listen in he did. By the time everything was ready and the guests were sitting down to dine Karkat found himself already being tired of their presence, even though he had yet to truly interact with any of them. It was going to be a long night. An even longer week.

As he carried dishes from the kitchen he looked around, a little overwhelmed by all of these new faces, each new face just another person to judge him at one look at his mutant red eyes. He had been through this a thousand times yet each one was still somehow worse than the last. Keeping his gaze downcast Karkat weaved in and out of the throng of Trolls, trying to keep himself as small as possible while also trying to not be gauged by a moving head topped with sharp horns much larger than his own. A hand suddenly grabbing at his sleeve caused him to freeze.

Slowly Karkat turned, daring to raise his eyes to whomever it was that had dug their nails into his arm. Short black hair cut in closely around her face, wide olive tinted eyes with a cat like slit down their center instead of a normal pupil, a heart shaped face, medium toned gray skin, pursed black lips and a quizzical expression on her face. He had never seen her before in his life, she must be one of the strangers, perhaps a favored one of their servant girls whom they kept close to them? The younger Troll gasped in seemingly sudden realization, her mouth forming a tiny o as her eyes took their time looking him up and down, stopping as she met his own.

"So you're the mutant."