Disclaimer: I don't own the G'boys, I just borrow them from time to time to play with and return them a whole lot happier, ne? Written for pleasure not profit.

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Sap, angst, bondage, slavery, Yaoi, Lemon, lime, het, violence, dark, fluff, AU, OOC.

Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 1xR, 2xR

Betaed by Karina *snugs*

Summary: Heero is the eldest son of the King of Colonia. His 21st birthday is approaching and as tradition dictates his betrothed is soon to arrive. However he is also bound by tradition to select his own personal slave. The events that unfold lead him down a path that not only tests his sanity but his humanity and love as well.

Author's Note: This fic was started back in 2004 and has languished on my hard drive ever since, only sporadically being added to when I have the time (and the muse the inclination) . Updates will be far between, but rest assured, it will be finished. Feed back is most welcome as are honest critiques. Flames will be dealt with as I deal with all flames – with sarcasm.

Commenced July 2004 – published January 2008


My sincere apologies for the length of time between updates. I'm currently going through a serious family crisis, something that will take some time to deal with and hence my stress levels are through the roof. The muse did a runner on me due to the stress and only recently returned - traitor. Updates will be a little slower as I deal with this situation, but I do promise you all this fic will be finished; in fact there aren't all that many more chapters left to write before we reach the inevitable end.
Thanks for all your patience and understanding. *snugs*


"Bound, Bonded and Betrayed"

Chapter 66

"Sire, you wished to speak with me?" Wufei stated as he bowed to the prince.

"Yes, Captain. I will require you to escort the Princess to the dungeons to speak with her maid," Heero replied. Noting the frown on the Captain's face, Heero's curiosity was piqued. "Why the frown?" he asked, "it is a simple enough order."

"My apologies, Your Highness. It is not the order, as you say, that is easy enough and I will be happy to escort the Princess..."

"But?" Heero questioned with a raise of his eyebrow.

"I'm afraid the Princess may not be at all pleased with what she finds."

"Ah." The proverbial light bulb went off in Heero's head. "I gather the punishment for attacking Duo has been carried out?"

"Yes, Sire, it has."

"I see." Heero thought for a moment before raising his eyes to meet Wufei's. "Actually, it might do the princess the world of good to see her maid, give her an incentive to take up my offer." The confused look on Wufei's face caused Heero to pause for a moment. "I have given the princess something to think about, an offer of sorts." He went on to quickly explain about Duo's idea.

"And she said she wanted to talk to her maid about this?" Wufei snorted, an incredulous look on his face.

"Yes," Heero replied, amused at the Captain's reaction.

Sitting at his master's feet, Duo was also surprised by the words. He'd thought the princess would have jumped at the chance to save her maid's life. But then again, knowing what he did of the mistress' fickle ways, it really shouldn't surprise him that she'd do something like this. At least now he had the answer to his question about how the princess had responded to his idea.

"I don't believe it," Wufei muttered, shaking his head.

"I told the princess I would send you to escort her to the dungeon to speak with the maid and I think the sooner she can do that, the better it will be for all of us."

"Of course, Sire. I will go immediately to the Princess' chambers and take her there right away." Wufei bowed.

"Thank you, Captain. Once she has finished, would you please escort her back to her chambers and stop by to let me know she has returned?"

"Yes, Sire."

"Then I won't hold you up any longer."

"Sire." Wufei bowed again and left the chambers.

"You know she will be livid when she sees her maid has already been flogged," Trowa said quietly.

"I know," Heero replied with a smirk.

"Brother, you can be evil yourself at times."

"Why, thank you, Trowa."

# # #

As reluctant as he was to escort the princess to the dungeons to see her maid, Wufei knew he couldn't put it off. Having spoken with Prince Heero and learning of the Prince's proposal, he still couldn't figure out the woman's thinking. Given how much she had protested, complained and all but begged for her maid to be spared he would have thought she would jump at the chance to save her maid's life. As he tossed the thoughts around in his head, the Captain left the Prince's chambers and made his way through the castle to the Princess' chambers. He knocked on the door and waited, moments later the door opened.

"I am here to escort the Princess to see her maid," he told the young girl on the other side.

"Captain Chang," she greeted. "If you would wait here in the sitting room the princess will only be a few moments."

The Captain stepped into the chambers and walked across to the fire. Hands clasped behind his back he waited patiently for the Princess to come out of the bed chamber. He heard her before he saw her.

"It's about time you showed up," Relena snapped as she entered the sitting area. "I've been waiting quite a while to see Dorothy."

Wufei grit his teeth. "My apologies, Your Highness, I was speaking with the King and then the Prince which is why I was delayed."

"Never mind all that now," Relena sniffed with a flick of her wrist. "You're here now so can we go?"

"Of course, Princess." Wufei reminded himself to take deep breaths and keep his temper in check as he escorted the woman from the chambers and into the hallway.

They made their way along the halls in silence. Wufei wasn't about to inform the Princess of her maid's current state of health, she would find out soon enough. He only hoped the dungeon door and walls would be thick enough to tone down the screaming and abuse he knew would be forthcoming once the Princess saw her maid.

Relena was still thinking hard on her husband's words. Whilst she had no intentions of letting Dorothy face the sword, she wasn't happy with the sacrifice she would have to make either. She'd given some thought to the situation, trying to find a way in which she could save Dorothy's life and retain her current place as princess and mother to the heir – but so far she'd drawn a blank. She hoped that Dorothy might be able to offer some solution.

Her pride would take a very real beating should she return to Sanq a single woman once again – not to mention leaving her child behind too. The suggestion that she found her husband had been unfaithful to her did hold a lot of merit and in one way was true.

He had been unfaithful to her...

...with that gutter rat no less.

This was all the fault of that slave.

So locked in her hatred of Duo, she had completely convinced herself that all her problems were the fault of that piece of garbage.

Her mind wouldn't allow her to believe that her husband would actually carry out the punishment of death by sword to her maid, in fact, she was certain that the prince was bluffing. Well, she would call his bluff. Once she'd spoken with Dorothy and told her maid everything that had transpired since she was hauled away, she had no doubt that Dorothy would know what to do.

"Princess?"

Relena stopped abruptly and came back to the real world. They were in the dungeons. "Yes?"

"Your maid is in here," Wufei said.

"Then open the door," Relena snapped. "I do not wish to wait any longer to see Dorothy."

"As you wish," Wufei replied and nodded to the dungeon master to come forth and unlock the door.

"Why are these guards here?" Relena demanded to know, eyeing the two guards on either side of the door.

"Standard protocol," Wufei replied stiffly.

The door opened a touch, Wufei stepping to the side to allow the princess to enter. "I will wait out here to give you privacy to speak with your maid, Your Highness. Knock on the door when you are finished and ready to leave."

Relena gave the Captain a disdainful look, stepped past him and into the dungeon cell. Wufei quickly closed the door, the dungeon master locking it immediately. The two guards, Captain and dungeon master all looked from one to the other.

"And now the fun begins," Wufei muttered.

#

The cell door closed abruptly behind her and it took a moment for Relena's eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the cell. When they did, her hand flew to her mouth as a strangled cry left her throat. "Dorothy?"

The sudden opening and closing of the door roused Dorothy from the light slumber she'd managed to fall into. Immediately the pain was back and a soft moan of agony left her lips. Her ears picked up on another sound, a cry that wasn't hers which sounded suspiciously like her mistress calling her name. "Mistress?" she managed to whisper out and blinked open her eyes.

"D-D-Dorothy?" Relena repeated, the look of horror still on her face as her mind tried to process what her eyes were seeing.

"Mistress, it is... Ahhh-" Dorothy cried out in pain as she tried to push herself up from the small cot.

"Oh my god," Relena said in horror, crossing the space as quickly as she could to her maid's side. "No, stay where you are, Dorothy," she stated firmly.

"But-"

"No. You are injured, lie still," Relena ordered.

Dorothy slumped gratefully back to the cot, her back feeling like it was on fire.

"I don't believe he actually did this," Relena muttered. "It's barbaric, it shouldn't be allowed,' she continued to mutter to herself as her eyes perused what she could see of Dorothy's back.

"Mistress?"

"Oh, Dorothy, I'm so sorry this happened. I thought he was bluffing, I never believed for one moment he would actually go ahead and carry out the threat."

The maid gave her mistress a disbelieving look. "Trust me, he went ahead and carried out the punishment. I can feel it every time I move or breathe."

"I really thought he was bluffing, that he'd only said he would do this to try and scare us."

"He wasn't bluffing, mistress, and if he has had this part of the punishment carried out then you can be certain he will have the rest done too. I don't want to die, mistress, please, help me," Dorothy began to cry.

"I will most certainly be having some very strong words with him over this," Relena fumed.

"Somehow I don't think words will do much at all," Dorothy hitched out between sobs.

"Oh, Dorothy. "

"Mistress, is there anything we can do? Anything at all to stop this from happening?" Dorothy pleaded.

Relena sat herself carefully on the edge of the cot, mindful of Dorothy's back and did her best to get as comfortable as possible given her very pregnant state. "As I said before, I honestly thought Heero was bluffing and it was my intention to sit with you and figure out a way to call his bluff and still get rid of that snipe of a slave." Relena gave a sigh and her shoulders slumped. "I can see now he wasn't bluffing at all and I do believe he will try to have the rest of your punishment carried out."

"I don't want to die," Dorothy whispered out.

"I won't let that happen," Relena assured.

"I wish we'd never come here," Dorothy added under her breath.

Relena heard the softly spoken words but declined to make any comment; after all, it would be hypocritical of her as she also wished the same thing.

"What can we do, mistress? Tomorrow at dusk I am to face the sword."

"No, Dorothy, I won't let that happen."

"But you won't be able to stop it."

"There is a way to stop it," Relena said, her voice trembling slightly in defeat.

"There is?" A touch of hope sprang to Dorothy's eyes.

"Yes."

"How?"

The princess raised her hands to her face and scrubbed at the tears that threatened to fall, knowing she had no choice but to accept Heero's proposal.

"Mistress?" Dorothy said in concern.

"It's alright, Dorothy." She took a deep breath and began to talk, telling Dorothy of her husband's proposal.

The maid lay quietly on the bed and listened carefully. When her mistress had finished speaking, tears were running freely down both women's faces. Carefully, Dorothy reached out a hand and placed it gently on Relena's arm. "You would do that for me?" she murmured.

"Yes, Dorothy. I will give my husband the annulment he has asked for and I will leave the child here and return to Sanq."

"But... What of your reputation, Mistress? What about the child?"

"As my husband pointed out, I can blame him for the annulment, tell the people that he was unfaithful to me and that it was I that requested the marriage be dissolved." Relena took a breath. "In one way, that is the truth. He has been unfaithful to me, but he was unfaithful with a slave, and a male slave at that. I do not intend for anyone to find out whom or rather what he was unfaithful with though," she spat.

"What of the child, Mistress? This is your child too."

"I know that and it does pain me to have to leave the baby behind, but..." Relena paused for a moment, "But in all honesty I really don't want to be tied down with a child, I have better things to do than spend my time looking after an infant. Heero did say he would come up with some plausible excuse to explain why the child has been relinquished."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Mistress?" Although Dorothy was relieved that her mistress was willing to sacrifice so much to save her life, she felt she owed it to Relena to be sure she was willing to go through with it all.

"I'm sure, Dorothy. Oh, the gossip mongers will have a field day, no doubt about that, but I will be sure to make it known that I left Heero, not the other way around. It will be his name that is sullied, not mine. As for the child... Well, I'll see what brilliant idea he can come up with to explain that." The edge of sarcasm was clearly evident.

"Thank you, Mistress."

# # #

"Captain Chang has returned, Master," Duo said softly, dropping to his knees beside Prince Heero's chair after letting the Captain into the chambers.

"Ah, Wufei," Heero greeted. "What news do you have for us?"

The Captain bowed low. "Your Highness'. I have escorted the Princess back to her chambers after her visit with her maid. She has requested an audience with you at your earliest convenience, Sire."

Heero looked across to his brother, Trowa raising an eyebrow in return.

"Captain, please sit and tell us what happened in the dungeons," Heero said. "Duo, fetch the Captain something to drink."

"Yes, master." Duo rose and turned to the Captain, keeping his head bowed. "What would you care to drink, Captain?"

"A goblet of wine would be ideal, Duo. Thank you." While Duo went to fetch the requested wine, Wufei took a seat.

Once the goblet was in his hand and Wufei had taken a good drink from it, he relaxed into the chair and told the Prince what had transpired. "I do not know what they talked about once I'd closed the door behind the Princess, but she was not at all happy when she came out."

"I'll bet she wasn't," Trowa muttered.

"If I may speak freely, Sire?"

"Of course, Wufei," Heero said with a nod.

"I think it would be safe to say that the Princess was looking pretty much pissed off. She was insistent that the healer be brought immediately to treat her maid and gave everyone within earshot a verbal dressing down on how barbaric the punishment was along with how cruel and vindictive we all were to leave the maid by herself with such terrible injuries."

As the Captain spoke, Heero's eyes began to open wider and wider, even Prince Trowa's eyebrows disappeared into his hair line. The two slaves shot disbelieving glances at each other.

"Hasn't the healer already attended the maid?" Trowa asked.

At the same time Heero snorted, "She should talk. Look at how Duo was treated and he suffered five more lashes than her snotty maid did. She didn't think it was barbaric, cruel or vindictive when it was Duo on the receiving end of the punishment – a punishment he did not deserve I might add."

"Snotty maid?" Trowa blinked in amusement at his brother.

"Okay, I concede that's probably not the best choice of words..."

"I would have thought conniving, evil, sneaky, underhanded-"

"Trowa, I think we get the idea."

"Actually, I thought snotty was a good way to describe her," Wufei mused. "There were quite a few bodily fluids on her face after the flogging."

"Captain!"

"My apologies, Sire."

"Accepted. Now, as my brother asked; hasn't the healer already attended the traitor?" Heero couldn't help the smirk.

"Yes, she did. The, ah, guilty party was examined and treated by the healer once she was returned to her cell. The healer gave her something to drink to help with any pain and assist her to sleep," Wufei replied.

"I'm surprised there were any wounds to treat given how thick that maid's hide is," Trowa muttered.

Quatre and Duo both had a hard time not letting their smiles show at the exchanges going on between the Princes and the Captain.

"I have requested that the healer attend the maid again to satisfy the Princess."

"Did the princess speak of my proposal at all?"

"She did not speak to me about it or mention anything in regards to your proposal, Sire. I would assume she spoke with her maid though."

"Thank you, Wufei." Heero sat back in his chair and pondered the situation before giving a deep sigh. "I suppose I should go and see my wife."

"It would be better to get this over with as soon as possible, brother," Trowa said.

"Yes, you're right." He straightened himself up and stood. "Duo, please fetch my cloak."

The long haired slave got up and disappeared into the bed chamber.

"I will take my leave, Sire, unless there is anything else?" The Captain also stood.

"No, that is all, Wufei."

With a bow to the two princes, the Captain followed Quatre to the door and left, Quatre returning to his position beside his master. Duo reappeared with his master's cloak and quickly draped it across his master's shoulders, doing up the clasp at the front before dropping to his knees to await further instructions.

"Will you wait here for my return, brother?"

"If that is what you wish, I will wait."

"Thank you. If I have not returned in two candle-marks, come looking for me," Heero said with a rueful grin.

"I hardly think the princess would be able to overpower you, brother," Trowa chuckled.

"Physically, she wouldn't, but given the way that woman can screech, whine and demand, it's my sanity I'm worried about. I'll probably be deaf by the time I return."

"Possibly severely traumatized too," Trowa added with a smirk.

"Yes, there is a distinct possibility of that too," Heero sighed. "I will speak with you upon my return."

"I will be waiting."

Duo followed his master to the door and opened it for him, unsure if he were to accompany his master or not. A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around him and when his head involuntarily rose, his lips were taken in a deep kiss. He closed his eyes and moaned softly.

"Wait here with my brother and Quatre whilst I speak with my wife, Duo. You may prepare the bed chamber for our retirement when I return."

"Yes, master."

"Thank you, Duo." Heero let go of his slave but cupped his chin, pressing one last soft, chaste kiss to those tempting lips, then with a whirl of his cloak, the prince was striding down the hall.

Duo retreated back inside the sitting area and made his way through to the bed chamber to do as his master had requested.

# # #

"Your Highness," Cathy greeted with a curtsy, opening the door to the prince.

"I am here to see my wife," Prince Heero stated.

"Of course, Sire. The Princess is expecting you and is waiting in the sitting area."

"Thank you." Heero paused for a moment so the maid could take his cloak and close the door, then he followed her into the sitting area where the princess was reclining in a chair by the fire.

"Would you care for some refreshment, Sire?"

"No, thank you," Heero replied and took a seat across from his wife.

"If you have no further need of me for the moment I will leave you," the maid stated.

"Thank you, Cathy. The princess will call for you when she requires your assistance," Heero replied seeing as how his wife appeared to have lost her tongue for the moment.

"As you wish." Cathy gave another curtsy and departed to the bed chamber.

Heero turned his attention to his wife. "The Captain informs me that you have visited your maid. I assume you have spoken with her in regards to my proposal?" he thought it would be best to get directly to the point.

The princess slowly turned her eyes from studying the fire to gaze at her husband. "Yes, I have visited Dorothy," she ground out. "And I am not at all happy with her condition."

"She was punished for attacking my slave; five lashes as in accordance with the law. I do not make the laws, Relena, they were made a long time ago by the then King and his council. I am bound to abide by them as is any person that resides in Colonia."

"Then the laws need to be changed. Flogging of a woman is inhumane and barbaric. Poor Dorothy can hardly move, her back is so cut up by that horrible whip."

"May I remind you that my slave also suffered a flogging, only his were ten lashes and he wasn't even guilty of the crime he was accused of," Heero shot back, a touch of venom in his tone.

Relena didn't have anything to say to that, knowing her husband spoke the truth. "She shouldn't be left alone in that state, she should have the healer tend her injuries and someone with her. In fact, she shouldn't even be in the dungeons, that's no place for a woman."

"I agree," Heero replied calmly, "And if you want your maid to return to you all you have to do is agree to my proposal. If you would rather continue with this farce of a marriage and remain here in Colonia, then that is acceptable, only there will be a lot more duties for you to take on regardless of whether or not you want them and your maid will face the sword at dusk tomorrow."

Relena scowled,

"The choice is yours."

Silence fell in the room, the candles flickering with a light movement of air from time to time. The fire crackled in the grate as the silence continued.

Heero relaxed into his chair, giving the outward appearance of complete calm; he could wait his wife out, he had nothing to lose. He could see the conflict going on inside his wife, the soft biting of her lower lip from time to time, the restless movement of her hands in her lap and the darting of her eyes from the fire to her hands and back to the fire again.

After a short while, Relena seemed to shake herself and come out of her thoughts. She raised her watering eyes towards Heero, her shoulders slumped. "Okay, Heero. You win."

"Pardon? I didn't quite hear that," Heero said. Oh, he'd heard alright, even though the words were almost a whisper, but he wanted to hear Relena say it again, only louder.

"I said, you win. I'll agree to have the marriage annulled and return to Sanq once the child is born. Do I have your word that Dorothy's life will be spared and that you will take the blame for the marriage breakdown and my leaving the child here?"

The relief washed over Heero in waves and he quickly buried all the emotions that wanted to surface. Keeping his face neutral and his tone cool, he replied, "You have my word that the maid will be spared. However, she will be moved from the dungeons to the tower to recuperate and not released until after the child is born and you are ready to return to Sanq. I will make it known that I cheated on you and that I am totally to blame for the annulment. As for the child and it remaining here, I will come up with a solution to that soon."

Tears began to track down Relena's face, but her expression was one of acceptance.

Heero stood. "I will leave you to your rest. I shall speak with my father first thing in the morn and have the execution dismissed." Approaching his still sitting wife, Heero leaned in close, picked up her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. "I am truly sorry it has come to this."

"Please leave," Relena replied, turning her head away from her husband so he couldn't see the tears running down her cheeks.

"As you wish." Heero released her hand and walked towards the door. He picked up his cloak, placed it around his shoulders and exited the chamber.

With her husband's departure, Relena gave into the tears, resting her head in her hands and sobbing out all the pent up anger, frustration, grief and sorrow.

Out in the castle hall, Heero resisted the urge to dance his way back to his chambers, opting to punch the air instead. "Yes!" he hissed.

tbc...