The soft red carpeting felt good on Ken's feet as he stood there in Takeru's large walk-in closet, waiting for the blonde to decide what he was going to wear. He had never in his life seen so many clothes in one place before. He never believed it possible for one single person to have so many choices in what they were going to wear. As he stood there by the door, waiting for Takeru, his hands both contained a shirt. One was bloody red, and the other was amythest blue.
Ken liked the amythest one better then the red. It suited him better. But it was not for him to decide which one he preferred.
Takeru harumphed as he put his hands on his hips, tapping his bare foot on the floor. To Ken's embarrassment, the blonde was wearing nothing but bauge silk pants, and nothing over his smooth chest. The indigo had to force himself not to blush, or smile, let alone look at him like that. It wouldn't be right.
"Ken, I can't decide. It's down to those two you're holding. Go ahead and pick one" Takeru's voice broke through Ken's thoughts. It took Ken a moment to comprehend what Takeru was asking of him, blinking.
"Y-You want me to...choice...which one you are going to wear?" asked Ken through dry lips. Takeru nodded, his back still facing the indigo.
Ken sighed, looking down at the shirts in his clammy hands. He liked the amythest one, but Takeru looked better in red. "Here." Ken reached out his right arm, where the red one lay, and waited for Takeru to take it. The blonde did, quickly sliding it over his head.
Takeru turned to him, a broad smile on his lips. "See? Now that wasn't so bad."
Ken watched as Takeru started blowing out the candles which provided the light in the closet. This only made the slave frown, for it was tasks like that, that Ken was meant to do, not Takeru.
Ken followed him in hot pursuit, and once they were both out of the closet, Ken shut the door behind him. When he turned back to see what Takeru was doing, he found that the blonde was lighting more candles. Ken couldn't take it anymore.
"T-Takeru?" Saying his name sounded so strange to him. "I-I can do that...I mean, it is my job. We slaves are meant to do that. Not you..." Ken looked down guiltily as Takeru turned to look at him. "I'm sorry..."
Takeru shook his head. "It's alright. I know it's your job, but I am perfectly capable of doing it myself, so why have someone else do it for me?" replied the prince. This caught Ken off guard.
"But...isn't that the point of slaves? To do things so that others such as yourself do not?" inquired Ken.
Takeru sighed. "Just let it go Ken, I can do it just fine." After several moments of silence, Takeru finally asked, "Why do you always act that way?"
Ken looked up, for having been looking at the floor. "What?"
"Why do you always act like a slave?" repeated Takeru.
Ken furrowed his brow, confused. "Because I am a slave..."
Takeru shook his head. "No..Perhpas I should rephrase my question...Why are you always demanding that you do things for me?"
Ken sighed. "Because I am a slave, and that is what I am meant to do. Serve you."
Takeru shook his head, laying down sideways on the bed, still looking at Ken.
Then Takeru did something that took Ken completely off gaurd. "Come here. I'm tired and lonely. Just come over and sit on the bed next to me. I hate being alone."
Ken stood frozen in his spot, not beleiving his ears. "Y-You want me to...sit next to you...on the bed?" Ken gulped, not sure if his nerves could handle such a task. Takeru nodded as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Yes, now come on" urged the blonde, hitting the bed cushions beside him. Gulping once more Ken forced his legs to move and walk over to the bed, where he slowly sat down.
Takeru smiled, pulling his arms behind his head and crashing in the large pillows as he laid down. Although Takeru looked peaceful, his mind was not, for a frown scarred his features
Ken wondered why the blonde was frowning, yet decided not to ask. It was none of his business. Ken yelped in surprise when a hand creeped up his back and pulled him back. The indigo looked up to see that Takeru had pulled him back, a sly look on his face.
"You always look so sad. Tell me why" spoke the prince. Ken, who was already cherry red, turned even more red as Takeru ran fingers through the other boy's hair.
"I...I just never have any reason to be...happy..." shivered Ken in reply. Takeru frowned at that answer.
"That's a shame. I bet you look cute when you smile..." whispered Takeru. Ken could hardly understand Takeru. The two had just met, and he was already being so forward, as if they'd known each other for years. Only Daisuke spoke to him like that. But Ken knew that Daisuke's attention wasn't on him, but on a milkmaid named Hikari. It had saddened Ken at first when he discovered Daisuke wasn't like that, but then, once he thought about he was glad. Their friendship meant so much more than any type of relationship they could ever have.
Now...Here was Prince Takeru, acting this way when they had just met. How odd...Ken didn't understand it. He wondered...if maybe Takeru...was like him. And if he was, was Takeru thinking about doing anything about it?
Ken sighed. This made Takeru all the more curious. He took his hand and rubbed down Ken's arm, making the other boy shiver. Takeru did this for several minutes, then finding a bandage on Ken's upper arm. He pulled up the sleeve of Ken's shirt a bit to look at it.
"What's this?" asked Takeru, inspecting the wound. Ken flinched as Takeru tried to take the bandage off, covering it with his hand.
"Master gave that to me...Well, my old Master. Master Claudius. Before he sent me here to you, I got into trouble for being clumsy with my work and being late. This was my punishment" explained the indigo, referring to the wound. "I've had a lot worse. As you can see, I used to have a black eye, but luckily it's healing fairly fast."
Takeru looked closely at Ken's eyes, being able to see the remains of a black eye. He shook his head, disgusted. "That's terrible."
Takeru continued to stroke Ken's forearm, and this made Ken feel relaxed. His eyes slowly dropped, being heavy all of sudden. Takeru saw this, and gently pulled Ken down so that they were laying next to each other. The blonde watched as the other boy slowly began drifting to sleep.
Takeru smiled, and leaned close to Ken's face, their noses almost touching.
"Say Ken" he whispered. "As anyone ever told you, you're adorbale?"Ken, who was now half asleep, and not fully understanding what was being asked, shook his head. Takeru smiled at the answer. "Well I believe I just did..." Ken smiled as he fell asleep, not knowing as Takeru gently kissed Ken on the forehead.
This peaceful moment was ruined by a knock on the door. Takeru jumped up, scowling at the disturbance as he glared at the door. Ken woke with a start, startled at the closeness between he and Takeru, who was now holding him to his chest. Just as Ken was about to say something, Takeru pushed Ken out of his arms and jumped off the bed to answer the door.
When he opened it, Takeru was looking into his brother's face. "Yamato..."
"Takeru. Hello." greeted Yamato, pushing himself into the room. He found Ken on the bed and gave a coy smile. "You're not torturing the poor slave I sent you, are you?"
Takeru scowled at his older brother. "What is it you want Yamato?"
Yamato looked appauled. "My, can't a brother come by and say 'hello' anymore?" Takeru went silent, to Yamato's pleasure. The King wore a simple royal garb, a navy blue robe with gold trimming, a white shirt underneath,with navy blue pants to match. "I came here to ask for your assistance. I have been going through mother and father's stuff-"
"You were going through they're stuff without me? Yamato! You promised we'd do that together!" demanded Takeru. Yamato gave a sly smile.
"Whoops. I forgot. Sorry little brother. But anyway, if you come with me you can still go through all their stuff. I just need some help is all" replied Yamato, teasing him a bit.
Takeru shook his head, then looked back over at Ken, who still sat on the bed, shocked and confused as to what was going on. "Ken, stay here. I'll be with my brother."
With that, the two blonde boys left the room, but yet a second later, Takeru opened the door again. "Actually Ken, go take a look around in the castle. Go down where you're friends are for a bit. The Slave House or whatever. Go on, have fun." Then they shut the door and left.
Still not understanding what had just happened, Ken stood. Then he remembered what had just happened before Yamato showed up. He had Takeru were so close...and...Takeru actually liked it...and wanted it...Just like he did. This made Ken smile. Made him feel warm inside. Cared for.
Then Ken remembered what Takeru had just said. He said he could go to the Slave House and see his friends. Daisuke.
With sudden excitement running through him, Ken hopped off the bed and went through the door.
The Slave House was very large. There were many sections of it. There was the Slave House Nursery, where baby slaves are taken to and taken care of. Then there was the Main Section, where they all slept. The Main Section was similar to a hotel for slaves, where each slave was assigned to rooms based on who their Masters are. Then, there are the Work Fields, which was were the slaves tended to the animals. Milked cows, raised chickens, fed horses. It was like a miniature farm.
Daisuke was currently feeding the chickens. Master Claudius had ordered him to do so, but Daisuke new better than that. It was simply an excuse for Claudius to get rid of him. Plenty of other slaves did it, and it wasn't a necessary task. Ever since Ken left Master Claudius acted as though Daisuke wasn't even his slave. Though he never did anyway. But the red-head was not beothered by this, for it gave him the chance to be around Hiakri, the cute milkmaid he had his eyes set on.
She was currently milking the cows. She was carrying out some pails of milk from the cow barn when she saw Daisuke walk up to her. He grabbed a pail from one of her arms.
"Here, I'll help you" offered Daisuke. Hikari blinked at him. "Oh, why thank you Daisuke." She looked around. "Where's Ken? Usually the two of you are hip and hip."
Daisuke smirked. "Is that a hint of jealousy I sense my dear Hikari?"
Hikari closed her eyes with a smile. "Hmmm...You wish Daisuke. You wish. I was simply wondering. Ken's always had a hard time making friends, so he sticks with you." Her eyes widened. "Is he with your Master Claudius again?"
Hikari knew fully well how badly thier master treated Ken, having seen Daisuke help his friend with her own eyes. Even she has helped him in times of need.
Daisuke shook his head. "Oh...no...Master Claudius isn't his master anymore. Prince Taleru is."
This made Hikari nearly drop her milk pail. "Really?"
Daisuke nodded, and was about to say more, when he heard the cry of a familiar voice. "Daisuke!"
Before Daisuke could react, he was tackled into a hug. Hikari giggled as she watched Ken latch onto the red-head's back in a large hug.
Daisuke managed to flip himself around so that he was facing Ken, returning the hug. "Ken!I've missed you. As Hiakri was just saying...You were always glued to my hip, and now you no longer are, and that's not right." Ken buried his face into Davis' neck, holding on for dear life. This made Daisuke alarmed. "Ken? Are you okay? That spoiled prince isn't hurting you is he?"
Daisuke pulled Ken back in order to see the indigo's face, only to have his heart broken. Tears were rushing down Ken's cheeks as he tried to make words come out of his mouth.
"I-I...I'm so confused Daisuke...I don't understand what's going on with me..." shudderd Ken through his tears.
Daisuke shook his head, not understanding as Hikari left to give them some space. "Ken, I don't understand what you're saying. Are you sick?"
Ken sobbed. "No...I'm not...sick. I...Everytime I see his face...his smile...I..."
It suddenly dawned on Daisuke. He understood what Ken was trying to say.
"Ken...You're in love" whispered Daisuke with a smile. Ken froze at these words, slowly looking up at his friend's face.
"Wha-?" croaked the crying indigo.
"Ken, you're in love with the prince. It's so obvious. Just look at the way your acting, the way you're talking. It's crystal clear that you love him." explained Daisuke.
"But...Daisuke-san...I...can't love him...He's a Prince!" cried Ken.
Daisuke gave him a sad smile, giving him another hug. "Don't worry Ken. You'll make it through this..."
Takeru opened up the door to his room several hours later, scowling at the way Yamato had kicked him out of his room after disagreeing with him about being ready to be King. Slamming the door behind him, Takeru was shocked to hear someone crying. He looked about the room several times, until his eyes landed on the corner, where Ken's belongings lay. Ken was curled up into a ball...crying into his knees...
Author's Note: Hope you enjoy! I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP!