Chapt. 1
"Hey, you there! Stop!"
"Shit," the blonde cursed, trying harder to hide himself among the trees. It didn't work, though, and it certainly didn't help that the bag hanging off his waist jingled and clinked with every small movement. He would've have attempted to stealth away but it was really no use; a guard had already noticed him and was beginning to make his way through the dense forest to get to him.
Attempting escape, he got up and ran; faster than he had ever ran in his life and the guard, or guards, started giving chase. Great, he thought, as if being chased by one group of people wasn't enough.
Running out of breath, he could already hear the footsteps catching up, getting louder and louder behind him. Sports was never his thing; thievery and crime, yes. Running? No. So he wasn't even surprised when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder pulling him back, halting his runaway. He wasn't surprised at all when he fell to the muddy ground, surrounded by a group of stockingly built men towering above him, weapons all pointed at him.
"Gotcha..."
...
He made sure the man was out of sight before rolling off the bed gently , making sure to be as quiet as possible. Throwing on his clothes, he started digging through the drawers quickly, grabbing any thing that seemed to be worth even a bit of money. But as he stuffed them into his leather satchel, someone interrupted him.
"Hey, Mello. You gotta leave, my wife is-"
The blonde stopped short, his hands still clutched around the gem necklace that had been hanging off the jewellery stand. Had been.
"What-what are you doing?!" The man bellowed, putting two and two together on his own which the blonde thought was rather impressive seeing how dumb he was not to have expected it sooner. Really, you can't pick random blondes off the street throwing themselves at you and not even guess that they might have an ulterior motive.
At the thought, the blonde laughed, straightening up from his currently bent-over-the-bottom-drawer position and spared a glance at the man before him. He had a pot belly, rough stubble and a perpetual frown which only disappeared when he was drunk. He was handsome in his teens, the blonde guessed, but he had definitely seen better days.
"What are you laughing at, you whore?" The man barked.
The blonde narrowed his eyes, laugh fading. Without a single word, he slipped the necklace into his pocket before flipping the man the bird and hopping out the window. The man was stunned for a moment, judging by the lack of reaction as the blonde fell into the bushes below the window, but he got over it fast.
"Get back here, you fuckin' thief!" He yelled, following the younger boy out the window.
The blonde couldn't help the adrenaline that bubbled through him as he ran; no matter how many times he did this, it was always the same feeling and thrill.
He kept running, gaining speed and creating a considerably big distance between himself and the man and it wasn't until he heard a loud click that he turned around for a moment, eyes widening when he saw the sight. The man had a gun, and he just turned off the safety!
The blonde had not anticipated this.
As he looked forward again, a gunshot that, thankfully, missed him shattering the silence of the night, he realized where he was headed.
The royal grounds.
It got bigger and bigger as he got closer. It was out of bounds to ANYONE except the royal family, but the blonde was seriously running out of options. He was nearing a dead end and the only thing standing between his life and death was that damn castle.
When another gunshot sounded through the night, he made up his mind.
Not sparing any more thought, he scaled the brick wall that stood in front of him, having difficulty, and desperation filled him as he heard the man get closer and closer.
"Get down here you coward!"
He flinched as a bullet missed him by that much and he tried even harder to get himself up the damn wall. The man and his gun were getting closer and closer and he struggled, holding on to the top of the wall.
Almost there...
With a final push, probably driven by his own fear, he managed to pull himself up and over the wall.
He tumbled onto the soft muddy soil below and breathed a sigh of relief, praying that the man would not be able to get over the wall.
He thought he was finally out of harm's way and applauded himself proudly for getting out of that one, until the guards spotted him, that is, and all his glory faded. It seemed he had jumped out of the pan into the fire. And it certainly seemed as if he was getting fried alive into a crisp...
...
The young prince sat on his throne, gazing out boredly at the mass of people on the ballroom floor, dancing and having 'fun', from the looks of it.
He was eighteen today, celebrating his birthday though it didn't feel like a celebration at all to him. He was the only person not having fun, it seemed, and it was his birthday. He almost ordered to have all his guests killed for enjoying this more that he was, but stopped himself. Not because he thought better of it, but because he knew his parents would start a riot if they found out. They were already on his case about his 'maturity level' and social skills, giving him the entire west wing of the castle for his independence, so he had to refrain from making any bad decisions. Executing all his party guests would be in a list of "very, very, very bad decisions".
Sighing again for the upteempth time that night, he rested his head on his palms, shifting uncomfortably in the itchy suit he was forced to wear. If only his mother had allowed him to plan the party the way he wanted and make the invitation list, he would not be in this situation right now.
As he continued to wallow in self pity, he noticed a stir among the people in the ballroom. Sitting up, he sifted his gaze through the crowd until he landed on a very familiar looking someone. It was his father, the King's, messenger, Teru Mikami. He made his way through the crowd with an air of elegance and walked up the platform to where the throne, and the prince, were.
He cleared his throat to get the prince's attention even though the prince's, and the whole ballroom's, attention was already on the suited man.
"Yes, Mikami. Surprised to see you here," the prince commented. It was true; he only ever showed up when there was a very important issue at hand.
"Good evening, young prince," he bowed before straightening his suit jacket and clearing his throat again. "Your father, the royal majesty, wanted me to inform you that there has been a trespasser on royal grounds." The prince's ears perked. "But please do not be alarmed, the situation is well taken care of. Sincere apologies for interrupting your party; I will take my leave now."
"Wait! Mikami!" As Teru stepped off the platform, he was stopped by the prince who called out to him.
"Yes, your highness?"
The prince smiled. He was excited now; this was the most interesting thing to have happened in months, how could he just let the opportunity slip away?
"I want to meet him. I want to meet the trespasser."
"But, your highness, it is dangerous," the messenger reasoned.
"I don't care. Take me to him."
"But, young prince-"
"Majesty's orders," the prince interjected firmly, getting off his throne. "Lead me to him."
With a deep sigh, Mikami finally nodded. "Very well. Your father is dealing with him in the south wing, your highness."
They started to make their way to the south wing, the party guests staring curiously as they exited the ballroom. The prince asked as much questions as he could about the matter but the bespectacled man dodged them all, explaining that he only knew very little about it and the prince would have to wait to see what it was all about.
They reached the south wing after what seemed like an eternity of anticipation on the prince's part and he entered it eagerly, changing his eager expression with a serious one. He was highly disappointed, though, when he saw that only his father and his guards stood in the room with no trespasser in sight.
"Matt, what are you doing here?" The king asked when he saw his son burst through the door.
"I tried to stop him, your majesty, but he insisted. I apologize regretfully," Mikami bowed lowly, only straightening again when the king spoke.
"It's ok, Mikami, it's not your fault. Matt, what are you doing here?"
"I want to watch, if I may," Matt answered.
"Absolutely not. It is dangerous."
The redheaded prince almost rolled his eyes in exasperation before stopping himself. "Father, I'm eighteen. And I just want to learn some new things about how to handle these kind of situations. I will be king one day; shouldn't I learn everything I can now?"
The king couldn't argue with that. So with a furrowed brow, he nodded.
Matt grinned from ear to ear, excited that his father had agreed so easily. But after the initial excitement wore off, he looked around the room. "So, where's the trespasser?"
"On his way."
As if on cue, the wooden double doors were pushed open with force and few guard marched in, grabbing the attention of everybody. In the middle of the circle of guards, the redhead could make out blonde hair.
"Ouch, bastards!" The blonde trespasser spat, struggling in the guards' iron grip. "Let go of me!" He was pushed onto the ground on his knees, bent over so his blonde strands hid his face.
Seeing the trespasser enter, the king rose to his feet and walked over to him, standing just a few feet away. "You've got guts, kid, trespassing on royal grounds."
The blonde looked up at the source of the voice and, realizing who he was speaking to, lowered his head again in a slight bow. "Uhm...y-your majesty."
Matt was surprised. He hadn't expected the trespasser, the criminal, to be so...sexy. His face was gorgeous, body smooth and pale, slim with just the right amount of muscle. The prince couldn't help but think of what a shame it would be if he was executed just for this measely crime. Hopefully, the king would be forgiving.
"I hope you know what punishment you will have to face."
"B-but your majesty! I didn't have a choice. I was caught between-"
"Silence!" One of the guard's barked.
"Shut up, you big baboon! I'm just trying to explain-"
"Take him to the execution hall," the king announced suddenly, stopping all further arguments.
"What? Oh, God..." The blonde stuttered as the realization of his fate hit him. What was the point of escaping from that mad man if he was just going to end up killed anyway?
The prince watched with wide eyes as the blonde got lifted off the floor by his arms and started getting dragged out by the guards, his face contorted with a mixture of disbelief and sorrow. Seeing that, he didn't think twice before shouting out, "wait, father!"
All actions were halted as all eyes turned to him.
"What is it, son?"
"Uhm...I want to make a proposition," he responded, puffing his chest out in determination. Without waiting for a reply, he continued. "Let the trespasser choose between getting executed," he looked at the blonde, smiling, "or becoming my personal servant."
"What?!" The king shouted.
"I'm just saying, father, very respectfully, that instead of just killing him, we should put him to good use."
"What about your current servant, Roger?"
"Roger is old, just let him retire already."
There was a brief moment of silence as the king contemplated the proposition his son had just put forth. Both the blonde and the redhead were staring at him with their heart in their mouths as they awaited his decision.
Finally, he spoke again. "Very well." He turned to the blonde who breathed out a large sigh of relief. "Well, then, what's your choice? Execution or being the prince's personal servant?" He asked, though the answer was obvious.
"I'll be the prince's servant!"
Matt smiled to himself, proud for thinking that one up.
"But don't think you're out of trouble just yet," the king warned, turning around as his guards followed behind. "We're going to keep a close eye on you."
"Of course, your majesty."
"Alright. Guards, release him."
The blonde was set free from the clutches of the guards as Matt made his way over to him, helping him onto his feet.
"Your highness," the blonde greeted once he saw the prince.
The other party smiled, enticed by his beauty. By the time he realized that he was staring, very obviously, the blonde was already giving him a weird look which made him snap out of his trance. "What's your name?"
"Mello," he replied.
The blonde hadn't expected the prince to be so young, but there he was. Now about to become his master. It was pretty unbelievable, but it was happening.
"Call me Matt."