Series: Royal Romance||Title: Consort
Characters: Ken, Daisuke||Romance: Ken x Daisuke
Chapter: One||Words: 3,070
Genre: Drama, Romance||Rated: R
Challenge: Diversity Writing, I8, 4-8 chapters; One Ship Boot Camp, #24, receive; Chapter Set Boot Camp, #22, 6 chapters; DaiKen Week 2017, day #1, royalty/historical
Notes: This is an AU which involves royalty and magic to some extent. Ken is somewhat more Kaiser-ish but there will be explanations and perhaps reformation in the fullness of time.
Summary: To protect the people, Prince Daisuke will marry King Ken. His ultimate goal is to find out what changed Ken from the kind person rumor painted him as to the cruel monarch who he knows now. Will he succeed? Or is Ken too far gone for anyone to redeem, even Daisuke?
Word spread throughout the lands in a matter of days once the decision had been made. Messengers, heralds, and bards alike brought it to all the corners of the land and beyond.
King Ken would soon celebrate his nuptials.
Even with the announcement of his betrothal to a young man, the people rejoiced and relaxed just a fraction, if not a bit more. Their king needed a companion, the gossips declared, whether or not this young Prince Daisuke – heir to a small kingdom less than a fourth the size of their own kingdom – could bear a child or not. They could, it was said, always adopt a child of their own, or perhaps Prince Daisuke's elder sister, who had wed in a distant land, could provide an heir.
The point was that King Ken would no longer be alone and thus matters would hopefully improve. For them, at least.
No one was entirely certain of if matters would be any better for Prince Daisuke.
The carriage came to a halt in front of the royal palace's great double doors. Two lines of guards stood outside, some of them human, some of them not. King Ken did not care what bloodlines his warriors possessed, so long as they obeyed him without question. Rumor had it that his own father wasn't precisely human.
No one dared to say that to his face, however. At least not anymore. It had been done in the past, and the foolish questioner hadn't been seen again since.
But now, the coachman opened the carriage door, and the passenger stepped out, his lips firmly pressed together, his shoulders squared, his head held high. His clothes were well-made and of a fine weave for a prince, and he wore little jewelry, save for a slender golden chain mesh around his neck, set with a single amethyst.
The palace doors swung open and with a great fanfare, King Ken stepped outward, regally garbed in his customary blue, a slender circlet of gold around his sapphire hair, and his amethyst eyes as cold as cut gems.
The new arrival stepped toward him the necessary distance. The two of them stood facing one another, until the newcomer dropped down to one knee.
"Your Majesty," he said, his voice tight and cold. "I have arrived."
"So I see." King Ken stared down at him, a dark lust burning in his gaze before he lifted his head and gestured to the servants. "Have my betrothed's possessions taken to our chambers and arranged there. I wish to have a private talk with him. Come along, Daisuke."
Daisuke stood up, still as tight and angry as before, and followed Ken without another word. The King didn't seem to care for conversation, at least not until they entered the room he'd chosen.
Here there weren't any guards. Here a faint glimmer of pale blue magic shone from gemstones set in the walls, keeping them enclosed away from all others.
Here Ken casually threw himself down into the finely upholstered chair and turned to look at his consort to be as the door closed and locked behind them. Here they would have privacy until he chose otherwise.
"I don't remember telling you that you could stand up when we're alone," he said. Daisuke stared at him for a few silent, angry moments before he slid down onto both knees and stared at the carpeted floor. Ken chuckled, a satisfied sound. "I've told you how delicious you look like that, haven't I?"
The chair and where Daisuke knelt were both in a perfect position for him to reach out and pet Daisuke's hair, and so he did. He didn't expect an answer and he didn't get one.
"Tomorrow will be our wedding day," Ken said at last, his hand tilting Daisuke's face up so their eyes met. "Tomorrow morning, at dawn. We'll have our wedding breakfast, and then the rest of the month will be ours to consummate our marriage in."
With every word he said, he could see Daisuke's anger growing, and he rubbed his finger over his future consort's lips.
"Or we could consummate it right now. My word is law here, you now. If I declare us married now, then there's no one who could raise an objection." He smiled slowly. "Or if they did, I wouldn't care. Would you like that, my Daisuke? To not have to wait a tedious day and night before you and I are one again?"
Oh, he vividly remembered their first time together, Daisuke writhing in the grip of passion against him, the ever so sweet sounds that he made, especially when he couldn't hold back his desire and lust another moment, waking up for several days with Daisuke tucked against him in bed. He'd become very used to that last part. It was part of the reason he'd decided he would wed Daisuke instead of just getting rid of their family altogether, as he'd done with many other so-called kingdoms on his borders.
"I'll wait," Daisuke said, his voice little more than a grind of anger. Ken chuckled. He'd expected that.
"That doesn't mean you won't be in my bed tonight," he reminded Daisuke. "Just that we won't be married." If his desires overwhelmed his reason, then… well, he was King here. As he'd just reminded Daisuke, his word was law. He could do as he pleased, with whomsoever he pleased.
He pulled Daisuke closer to him for a deep, rich, passionate kiss. He'd waited almost six months between leaving Daisuke, thoroughly debauched, eternally marked as his with the unbreakable collar, and unsuitable for anyone else, and issuing the declaration of marriage between them. He could hardly wait for the ceremony itself, or the marriage moon to follow it. It would make the week they'd already spent together feel like the brief fling it was, compared to the lifetime ahead of them.
"Do I get any rooms for myself here?" Daisuke wanted to know. Ken chuckled, tapping him on the nose.
"Why would you want that? You're going to be my consort. I'll want you by me at all times. It will make everyone else so happy to see you with me." He smiled slowly. "They believe I'll be a better ruler with you at my side."
He saw Daisuke shudder. Such a lovely reminder of what their reality would be. He didn't want Daisuke to forget for a moment.
"We might not be married," Ken said at last, "but I've gone far too long without certain pleasures, and I think it's your task to deal with those." He pulled himself to his feet and Daisuke as well, guiding him to the inviting couch in the corner. "And it won't be a bad idea to practice for tomorrow, will it?"
He still didn't expect an answer, and he still didn't get one. At least not a verbal one.
Daisuke lay on the couch, wrapped up in his future husband's arms, exhausted to the bone, and on the verge of falling asleep after their exertions.
He wanted to hate King Ken. He brought up every memory and stared at it in vivid detail, reminding himself of just what this man had done.
He'd carefully, coldly, successfully eliminated all of the support Daisuke's kingdom had, absorbing the other lands into his kingdom, making certain there weren't any other survivors to help in any fashion.
Daisuke couldn't prove it, but he suspected the king had a spy – or had had a spy – in his own court, since no sooner had Daisuke begun to think about an alliance marriage, one that would give him some support, even if it were risky, he'd proclaimed a royal visit to Daisuke's kingdom.
That was probably the worst thing he'd done. Not just visiting, but entering Daisuke's personal quarters, acting as if he already ruled there, and thoroughly ruining him for anyone else.
It wasn't just the sex, though in fairness, it was amazing. Most of the royal families in the area understood the concept of experience in one fashion or another. Everyone took precautions against illegitimate children – or at least tried to. Other than that, most people didn't worry about it too much.
But after the days he'd spent with Ken, being very thoroughly screwed in every way, the thought of letting anyone who wasn't Ken touch him… he couldn't imagine it.
For that alone, he did manage to loathe King Ken. That touch ignited passion within him that he'd never thought possible before. In those days, after the king enjoyed himself for a full week, part of Daisuke feared that he would never come to him again or send for him, and Daisuke would live out his life aching for what he'd never have again.
Even the fact King Ken fastened the golden mesh collar around his neck didn't necessarily mean that he would return. It meant that he belonged to Ken and that no one else was allowed to court him or even suggest an alliance. Days after Ken's departure, an envoy from a distant land arrived. What they wished, Daisuke never learned: the moment they saw the collar, they'd made polite excuses and left without another word.
No one would argue with King Ken's claim.
Months afterward, the message arrived: Daisuke would be King Ken's consort and his kingdom would be absorbed into Ken's larger holdings. He wasn't really given an option on it. Ken would appoint someone to rule there while Daisuke moved into the palace.
Technically he did have options. They were to accept it and live out his life as the cruel King's consort, or to deny it, and the King would take him and his kingdom by force.
He wouldn't let that happen to his people. He could only imagine what their fate would be anyway, but at least if he obeyed the King's commands and wed him, it might be better for them.
He didn't think he could make the King a better person. But he would be more than willing to try.
I've heard that he wasn't like this once. Daisuke could feel the king's heartbeat as they pressed together, Ken already sound asleep. He knew he wouldn't be awake much longer, and the morning wouldn't offer many real chances to think this through. He used to actually be a good person.
But no one knew what had changed him or if he'd changed at all. What King Ken had been like as the prince in waiting remained a mystery. Daisuke had been too busy with his own kingdom to even think about it.
But I'm here now. I can ask. I can find out.
As much as he wanted to hate this guy, as much as his body resonated to Ken's touch, he wanted to find out the truth, too. If there were a reason, if there was something that could be changed, if he could be helped…
He'd do it for the good of the people. But nothing else.
Morning came far too soon and no one seemed at all surprised when Ken and Daisuke emerged from the private reception room instead of the King's bedroom. Daisuke suspected that nothing at all surprised most people about what their King did, unless he might actually do something nice for someone else.
"Have him bathed," Ken ordered three servants who stood waiting for their orders. "And dressed for the wedding."
Daisuke was sort of surprised that Ken didn't insist on bathing him himself. But he wasn't given time to question the matter as the servants hurried him to the bathing room.
Nor did they give him a chance to talk. They whispered among themselves, but no one addressed anything to him directly, just nudging him gently here and there when they needed him to move.
He missed bathing back home, with people who would actually talk to him.
The sun hadn't fully cleared the horizon as the servants brought Daisuke to the grand chapel in the palace. He'd been dressed in sleek garments of the finest quality materials: his little kingdom hadn't had much to do with making clothing, so he didn't know a lot about them. He could tell this was the good stuff, though.
Despite the early hour, people crowded into the chapel, all of them in their best, all of them silent and watching, some with hints of sympathy, most of them as neutral as they could work their faces. At the front of the room stood King Ken, resplendent in rich blues and violets that matched his coloring, and before him stood the High Priestess Hikari, ready to perform the ceremony.
Daisuke couldn't get a good look at her from back where he was, but he kind of thought she didn't look very happy about this. Or she didn't look happy about something, anyway.
There wasn't any music as he approached the front of the room. Ken turned to look at him as he drew close enough and the most amazing thing happened when he did: he smiled.
It wasn't a cruel smile. Daisuke had experience enough with the king to recognize those. It wasn't even a lustful smile – he had even more experience with those.
This was a small, sweet, genuine smile, that unfortunately didn't last more than a handful of heartbeats before they stood side by side before the High Priestess and the ceremony began.
But it stuck in Daisuke's head regardless. He didn't think the king could fake a look like that. It felt too genuine to him.
He couldn't dwell on it as much as he wanted to. Not paying attention at his own wedding would be disastrous, for a multitude of reasons.
Ken took Daisuke's hands in his, staring directly into his eyes as he made his vows.
"In the sight of the gods and all these witnesses, I pledge myself to you," Ken said. "We shall be one for now and forever. What I have is yours and what you have is mine."
Daisuke wasn't surprised at the small quirk of his lips when he said that.
"Not even death shall part us. We are one for all time. So it is, so it was, and so shall it ever be."
Daisuke repeated the pledge, though he couldn't have said that his heart was in it at all. The memory of that smile floated in the back of his head, but the stronger memory of Ken's actions didn't vanish.
High Priestess Hikari offered the traditional golden chalice, full to the brim of the finest of wines, to Ken after she blessed it.
"To seal the bond, share this, as you shall share all things from this day forward," she intoned. Ken accepted it and took the ceremonial sip before he turned to Daisuke, chalice still between his hands, and lifted it to him.
Daisuke took his own sip, and while he knew a little about wine this remained head and shoulders above what he was used to. Probably holy wine. But it made his head spin in a delicious way, much like Ken's own kisses did.
"And now, in the name of the gods, I declare you joined," High Priestess Hikari stated. "A bond that shall last from this moment until the end of time."
Ken wrapped one hand around the back of Daisuke's head, pulled him closer, and kissed him thoroughly. The pressure on the back of his head was just enough to send a message and Daisuke understood it: he kissed back.
"Time for breakfast," Ken murmured when he finally puled himself away from Daisuke's lips. "Let's go."
Hikari tried not to seethe visibly as King Ken and his new consort departed for the dining hall. Instead, she gathered up the ritual items and put each one back where it belonged, saving the cup of wine to be set on the altar. Blessed wine couldn't simply be dumped down into the sewers. It would be shared among the priests and priestesses, with many good wishes for the future happiness of the new couple.
They'll need all the help that they can get.
If she weren't High Priestess and therefore required to perform rites like this, she never would have. The perversion of sacred bonds…
She'd prayed for months for a way to heal Ken's mind but with no answer. And now he did this.
Something had gone wrong somewhere and she didn't know how to fix it.
Ken took great pleasure in feeding Daisuke by hand, even when his dear new consort protested that he could feed himself.
"This is our wedding breakfast," Ken reminded him, lifting a cup of wine to Daisuke's lips. "And your first meal in our new home. Why shouldn't I?"
Daisuke grumbled even more. "Because like I said, I don't need it."
Ken only smiled and took the time to eat his own share. He let his fingers trail down Daisuke's neck, sharp to see his consort's shiver at the contact. He'd put a great deal of effort into learning Daisuke's weak points during their first intimate days with one another. All information that he could use to his advantage now.
Throughout the city there would be feasts and parties to celebrate the wedding. Those who could afford to do so would celebrate for days on end. Some might even take this as a good sign and take their own wedding vows.
For the next cycle of the moon, from full moon rising tonight to the next one, he would take care only of what business he absolutely needed to, that required the royal signature or attention. In the rest of his time, he would enjoy himself with Daisuke, in every way that he desired.
There would be sex, of course, and quite a lot of it. He'd given thought to many different ways he could debauch Daisuke even further, to arouse him and ensure that he enjoyed every moment he spent in his new lord's embrace.
Not that Daisuke hadn't enjoyed their first time together. From the moment Ken entered his rooms that night, Daisuke had been irrevocably attracted to him. The way his breath caught, the way his hands moved, the noises that he made as Ken took him for the first time, all of that told Ken that Daisuke wanted him.
And what kind of a king would Ken be if he didn't grant such wishes?
To Be Continued
Notes: Chapter 2 will involve the first meeting between Ken and Daisuke in more detail. Also, there will be at least three stories in my DaiKen Week fics that are not Kaiser-y.
