Ste woke up early few hours later and Skellan was gone. He got a little upset but assumed it must be some work so he had to go, he left the bed got dressed and started cleaning the room. His eyes moved to the half complete painting of him, he removed the cover and smiled thinking of how much his master appreciates him that he even wants a painting of him in his room. He put the cover back on and left.
Ashton was sewing his clothes in Ste's room when he noticed Ste returned he didn't look at his friend and kept doing what he was doing.
"Are you sewing my clothes" Ste asked him but Ashton ignored still bitter by that painting of him. Ste realised he was acting strange and this time he decided to ask him properly because he wants to know what is bothering his dear friend so much and he sat next to him and grabbed his hand stopping him and lifted his chin using his finger, making him look at him in the eyes and asked him "have I done something?"
"I am just not feeling well nowadays Ste" he said removing his hand from his chin
"Is this about my plan of catching Aquila?" he asked him because this was the first thing that came to his mind that could be the reason of his strange behaviour
"No Ste, you are right about her we need to go with the plan and I have found someone who can keep an eye on her for us. We can find out what that thing is before its too late" Ste smiled and hugged him "What did I do to deserve you?" he told him and Ashton patted his head but inside his head the thought of Ste being so special to his master was killing him he didn't know why but it was making him very upset.
" I have to go Ste, Aquila is waiting for me" he told him and left the room leaving Ste confused because Ste was more than sure there is something bothering him that is why he is ignoring him and he made his mind that no matter what he is going to find out.
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Aquila was in her room eating breakfast with her kids when Ashton appeared she showed him to start cleaning the room starting with the pile of clothes. The boy nodded and started doing his work, folding them carefully one by one as Aquila continued her breakfast with her kids. A few moments later Skellan entered the room, surprising both Aquila and Ashton.
"I just wanted to know if you are ok, I heard that you were sick last night" he asked her as he approached her
" I am ok Skellan you don't have to worry about me" she said
" I am not worried about you I am worried about the child" he replied and she raised her brow
"For a second I thought you were worried about my health" she looked away
"This is my brother's child you are carrying and I don't want to take any risks" he told her. Both of them were busy talking and Ashton only had one thing on his mind, how to get his master's attention. Last time when they met he didn't even bother looking at him but he wanted it, he wanted him to see him. he looked around and found a small table next to him with some of Aquila's jewellery and boxes and he kicked it so everything fell which made everyone in the room to move their attention to him and Skellan looked at him too as Ashton started picking things up like it was a mistake. But Aquila was the only one who realised why this just happened she smirked and told Skellan " you don't worry about me Skellan me and my child are fine" he nodded and left the room.
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Ste was waiting outside Skellan's room waiting for him to come back. Finally he came back "Steven" he called him and Ste ran to his arms but Skellan didn't let him jump into his arms this time he stopped him and the smile on Ste's face disappeared.
"Come with me inside I have something important to say" he said grabbing his hand and took him inside.
Aquila watched as Ashton cleaned after he made a mess, his face was explaining everything that he did to get Skellan's attention and for a clever woman like her it wasn't hard to guess.
"It wont happen again" he told her as he got up after cleaning and Aquila laughed and told him "next time you want his attention break something that's not mine Ashton" it surprised Ashton that she knew why he did this, he gulped when she walked to him "isn't this what you want Ashton"
Ashton bit his lip and nodded and she smirked "if you really want his attention then don't be a fool because all Skellan thinks about is Ste and his blue eyes" she came closer to him and whispered in his ear " but if you want to be like Ste then you need me"
"What?" he shivered at the tone of her voice, not believing his ears is she offering him help so he can bed Skellan.
"Is everything ok Skellan?" he asked him as he locked the door.
"Why do you think something's wrong?" he asked him
"I have a feeling, I don't know why but I can tell there is something bothering you" Ste said as he came closer and wrapped his arms around him.
Skellan stroked his cheek "how do you look inside me?" and Ste smiled "you were different today the way you touched me, is everything ok?"
He asked and Skellan softly pressed their lips together and Ste wrapped his hands around him and he parted his lips so Skellan can slip his tongue inside his mouth. Ste grabbed his hair moaning softly as he deepens the kiss but then he suddenly stopped as the letter came back to his mind and the thought of him being the son of the man he betrayed in the war who trusted him. Skellan broke the kiss and looked at his face his eyes were filled with desire and need like they usually did every time he was close to Skellan and begged him to take him. His eyes moved to his lips soft and red like blood he stroked his thumb on his lips but than when he was about to capture his lips again the face of the man who was Ste's father, appeared in his mind and he stepped back leaving Ste feeling confused and worried.
"Steven I don't want you to wander around without my permission" he told Ste
"Why?" he asked him worried that maybe he did something wrong that's why he is acting like this
"Forgive me if I did something wrong but tell me what I did to deserve the punishment" he said and Skellan cupped his face "its not punishment Steven just do as I say and be a good boy" he nodded and Skellan kissed his forehead "now go to your room" Skellan told him turned around but Ste grabbed his arm "will you see me tonight" he asked him and hoped he would say yes but the poor boy didn't know what Skellan was going through and Skellan wanted to hold him too he wanted to hold him so bad but Ste didn't know that there was a bitter memory attached to him that was coming between them.
"Not tonight Steven I am very busy tonight" he told him and he left his arm and ran out of the door with tears running down his cheeks. Because this was his worst nightmare this was the only thing he was afraid of his only fear that one day his master who told him that he will take care of him who told him that he wanted to capture his beauty in a painting who told him that he have never seen anyone as beautiful as him in his whole life before, was going to be tired of him.
He ran to his room and jumped on the bed, hiding his face in the pillow and started crying loudly and Ashton was sitting there, sewing clothes ran to him and rubbed his back " what happened Ste did someone say something to you?" but Ste continued crying.
"Come on tell me what happened are you hurt Ste" he asked him and Ste nodded
"Where does it hurt?" he asked
"In the heart" Ste replied which made Ashton realised the reason Ste was crying like this he stroked his hair and kissed his head "I told you to not expect so much from the master but you never listen to me Ste I knew this was going to happen one day Ste and you should've listened to me" he told him and his words broke his heart even more "come here" he said and hugged his friend who was crying "Calm down Ste" he told him trying to comfort him but inside he was feeling very different about it, inside he was happy that Ste is finally out of Skellan's bed.
Skellan was outside his friend's door who sent him the letter about Ste he knocked twice, but he didn't open so he knocked more this time so he opened the door the man knew why he came.
"We need to talk" he said as he came inside the man looked around and locked the door
"I want to know who else knows about Ste" he asked him as the man poured some wine for him " only you and me" he said and Skellan sighed in relief
"No one can know about this do you hear me" he said as the man handed him the glass "I am not sure he cannot think that his nephew is your slave now but we are still in danger Skellan" he said as he sat next to him
"I do understand how you are feeling right now Skellan you have been sleeping with the son of a man who got killed because of you" he said
"It doesn't matter what he was, he is my slave now he is mine" he said and the man rolled his eyes
"The only thing I am worried about is his safety" he said before taking a sip
"Don't you worry about that Skellan, this will only be between you and me" he said and Skellan left the bottle and ready to leave but before he could go the man told him one last thing
"You stabbed his father's back, his family was butchered because of you and here you are worried about his safety this is all more than a coincidence, don't you think?". This made him even more upset that this all cannot be just a one small coincidence and he left.
Aquila's eyes widened in shock as she heard the news of Steven kicked out of Skellan's bed. She could not believe her ears "this can't be true" she told him but Ashton was too excited to believe " no this is true he was crying and telling me that Skellan doesn't want to see him again and he refused to see him tonight " he told her and she rolled her eyes " I know him more than you and he grabbed my neck for that boy it's not possible that he is done with him there is something else" She told Ashton who was massaging her feet "what do you mean? " he asked
"That means you are going to find out what is going on between them"
" how?" he replied
"You have to find a way if you want to bed him then you are going to do this for me" Ashton nodded "good boy" she said
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Ste was in his room at night lying on his bed as the tears rolled down his cheeks with the pendant in his hand. He never felt this empty in his whole life before, the memories of him were killing him and the hopes too. The thought of Skellan not wanting to see him was eating him. 'Am I not enough for him' he asked himself he spent the whole day thinking that maybe he is done with him. He wiped his tears and decided that he was going to go back to Skellan next day and beg him to take him back. He closed his eyes, trying to sleep again but he knew that this pain is not going to let him sleep. But he was not the only one restless.
Skellan was in his room drinking and thinking of Ste and what the man told him, thinking maybe this is karma, maybe he is being punished for his sins. He can't take Steven out of his mind he wants to but he can't. His face is stuck in his mind. His face his smile, his eyes, his laugh and the way he blush. He wants to touch him, he wants to hold him, he wants to kiss him but he is also scared, because after years his past is haunting him. The past is attached to Ste, one time in his life he is regretting something, he is regretting going to that market, he is regretting looking at Ste and he is regretting buying him. Because when he looked at him he first time he felt the way he never felt before. Now Ste is the only one in his mind and it scares him.
That's it" he thought. He wants to see him now, he doesn't care who he is, he wants him and he wants him now before he could do something about it his door opened and someone walked in, he rubbed his eyes trying to see clearly who it is and noticed that the person who just entered is wearing Ste robe and he thought maybe it is Ste, hewalked to him and Skellan pulled him closer as the memories of Ste appeared in his mind, the first time he wore it the first time he entered his room when he was so shy and nervous, his vision cleared and what he saw was unbelievable it was his Steven, Ste wrapped his arms around his neck . Stroking his hair he captured his lips into a very passionate and hungry kiss, but it felt strange, it felt very different. Strangely it did not feel like Ste this time so he broke the kiss and noticed it was someone else. It was Ashton.
Skellan was shocked and confused and too drunk but suddenly when he closed his eyes and opened again it was Ste again in front of him, capturing his lip in a very hungry kiss. Skellan carried him in his arms and took him to the bed, gently putting him down but then suddenly the face changed again to someone else which made him realise this time that it was not Ste but before he could do something Ashton was already on top of him taking off his robe and Skellan's clothes and crushing their lips together but as he tried to push him again his face changed into Ste and the thought of Ste didn't let him push him away maybe it is Steven. He closed his eyes as Ashton started betraying his friend, licking and sucking his chest down to his stomach till he reached his throbbing manhood a moan escaped his lips as Ashton took him in his mouth.
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Ste was trying to sleep when he heard someone knocking his door " come in" he said and a young girl entered the room.
She was the girl Ste paid to watch Ashton for him because he was acting strange but wasn't telling him but he forgot to tell her that he don't need that anymore.
"Why are you here?" he asked her
"I did what you told me" she bit her lip" and I know what's wrong with him now"
Ste walked to her "tell me"
He said and she gulped "he... he..." she was trying to find words to explain him which was making Ste even more worried
"TELL ME" he yelled at her
"He went to Skellan's room" she closed her eyes and told him everything
"This cannot be true" he said in disbelief
"I an sorry Ste but he is with him right now" she said and left as quick as possible and Ste just stood there in shock, a tear rolled down from his eye as the pendant fell from his hand.