D sighed in frustration as a fat bow was tied around his pale neck. He looked down at the gaudy orange-red silks he was wearing. Not anything he would have chosen, but he didn't really have a choice in the matter. A slave wore what was given to him.
As he was led down a hall, he began to hear the sounds of a party going on. Ah, yes. It was the prince's birthday today, wasn't it? Of course there'd be a party going on at the palace.
D had his hands clasped in front of him like a good little slave, but refused to bow his head. He would not be that easily broken. He and the guards escorting him finally came to a large door. D listened carefully. They were almost done opening the presents. One of the guards pushed the doors open, and D was shoved inside. The kami tripped over his overly long skirt and fell to the floor, his manacles making a loud clattering sound on the marble tiles.
A shadow fell over him, and he looked up. A tall blonde man was standing there, smiling at him kindly. He crouched down and held out a hand to help him up. D gratefully took it.
"Hey," the man said softly as he pulled D to his feet, "a bit clumsy, ain't ya?"
"I assure you, sir," D answered in the most polite voice he could muster, "it is the dress. Thank you for helping me up, by the way."
-change POV-
Prince Leon frowned. This slave was not acting servile in the least. She (he? Leon decided that the slave was probably a he. This one was dressed like a sex slave, and the female ones were usually very busty, while this slave was flat-chested) did not bow his head, rather opting to look him in the eye, and did not speak in the subservient tone of voice that the prince was accustomed to hearing from slaves.
"What's your name?" Leon finally asked.
"D," the slave answered, warily noticing the crown upon the prince's head. "And you are Prince Leon, are you not?"
The prince smiled. "Yeah. That's me."
The king walked over. "So, Leon, m'boy! What do you think of your present?"
Leon looked confused and glanced over his shoulder at the pile of boxes and wrapping paper that lie in the corner. "Which one?"
The king chortled. "Why, the one standing in front of you, of course! I decided to get you a new slave since your old one got sick and died. I'm afraid that we didn't have time to break him first, because of the short notice, but you can do that yourself."
"Uh... right...." Leon stared at D. That explained why the shorter man did not act like a normal slave. He noticed the slightly frightened look in D's eyes, and had a sudden urge to comfort the kami.
The king chortled again and clapped Leon on the back. "Well, since the party's over now, why don't you go get your new slave, ah, 'settled in?'" He handed Leon a key for D's manacles.
"Sure..." Leon said slowly, then began walking, motioning for D to follow. The slave followed reluctantly, fearful of what would happen next.
When they reached Leon's sleeping quarters, the prince shut the door and turned to face D, who was currently looking around the messy room in unmistakable horror. He took a moment to take in the kami's appearance.
The orange-red silk hung about his shoulders and hips, leaving his flat stomach bare and trailing along the floor in back. An easily-untied sash held up the lower part of the outfit, and the upper part could be unwrapped with as much ease, without having to unlock the manacles.
"Take off that ridiculous outfit," he said tactlessly, reaching out and pulling the ribbon out of its bow, letting it fall to the floor. "You can't clean if you keep on tripping over your clothes," he hastily added at D's expression, heading over to a small closet, but then remembering that it was empty. His old slave's clothes had been burned after she died to prevent anyone else from catching the disease. He walked over to his own closet and dug out an old outfit from when he was a teenager. It was ragged and full of holes, but it would probably fit D. He'd have to remember to forgive his old slave for never throwing anything away. He tossed the clothes at D.
D visibly relaxed when he realized that the prince did not intend to rape him. He caught the outfit and began to change clothes, until he ran into the obstacle of trying to get the shirt on while his wrists were chained together.
Leon smiled wryly to himself and walked over, pulling the key out of his pocket. He gently took D's hand in his own and lifted it up to shoulder level to give himself better access to the keyhole.
Click.
Click.
CLATTER!
The chain and hand-locks fell to the ground noisily. Leon held D's hand for a moment longer, before letting go. "Now, once you're dressed, you can start cleaning up. The dirty clothes go down the laundry chute, the clean ones in the closet or dresser, any food scraps go in the garbage, the books go on the shelves in alphabetical order, and the maids can take care of the rest. I'm going to go get some clothes that you can wear, because you can't wear my old clothes all the time."
D nodded and pulled the shirt on, then went to work picking up the room.
CHAPTER 2
That night, D dressed in a silken nightgown the color of the ocean on a cloudy day. He wasn't sure where his master would expect him to sleep, and was a little nervous when the prince motioned for him to lie down in his bed. D supposed that he should have expected this, being technically a sex slave.
Leon smiled kindly. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you," he soothed, putting an arm around D and half-leading/half-pulling him over to the bed. "We just have to keep up appearances, or else Pops will think I'm ungrateful."
D nodded in understanding and lie down, snuggling under the covers. Leon crawled into bed next to him and held him close in an attempt to comfort him.
Later, long after Leon had fallen asleep, D was still awake, wondering what would be in store for him when morning came. But soon, sleep overtook him, and he drifted off into a fitful slumber.
Leon awoke to find D sobbing quietly to himself. The prince frowned.
"What's wrong, D?" he asked. "Did you have a nightmare?" D nodded, sniffling. Leon propped himself up on one elbow and gazed down at his slave, deciding that he didn't like it when D cried. "Tell me about it."
D nodded again numbly. "H-he just l-left.... He didn't even look back. He just... left...." Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he wasn't sounding coherent, but right now he didn't particularly care.
"Who left?" Leon asked, a tiny bit of unexplainable jealousy stirring inside him.
D sniffled. "The Syrian elephants... they're all gone now...."
Leon felt the jealousy leave him instantly. Syrian elephants? "I've never heard of Syrian elephants before."
D glared. "That is because they are all dead," he said bitterly.
Leon looked at D sympathetically. "So you're one of them nature-lovin' types, huh?" he asked.
"I guess you could say that...." D whispered as Leon lie back down. The prince held D a little bit more tightly, and the kami snuggled closer to him for warmth out of instinct, slowly drifting back to sleep.
The next morning, D wore an outfit identical in every way to the one he had worn when he first met Leon, except that it was blue, and short enough that he wasn't constantly tripping over it. The prince reluctantly put the shackles on his slave's wrists, and led him downstairs to the breakfast table.
The king laughed when he saw D. "Leon," he chortled, "I'd forgotten that you like to bring your slaves with you at mealtimes."
D bowed his head, if only because he didn't want the King Tactless to see the anger in his eyes. Leon led him to the table, and motioned for him to kneel on the floor next to one of the chairs. The kami obeyed, and the prince sat down in the chair.
D was, to say the least, not used to the idea of being fed table scraps like the family dog. However, he could adapt if he had to.
He just had to convince Leon to stop trying to give him bacon and eggs.
"Why aren't you eating?" Leon asked.
"I don't eat meat. Or eggs," D answered.
Leon rolled his eyes. A young blonde boy picked a syrup-covered strawberry off of his pancakes and gave it to the kami, who ate it happily.
"Thank you, kind sir," D said softly, daintily licking syrup off of his fingernails. "May I ask your name, sir?"
The boy smiled. "I'm Chris! You're my bro's new slave, right?" D nodded. "What's your name?"
Leon grinned. "His name's D."
Chris's smile widened and he waved. "Hi, D!"
D waved back with much less enthusiasm. "Hello."
Leon gave D some free time in the morning which the slave spent playing Hide-and-Seek and other childish games with Chris. Everything seemed to be going well, until D collapsed while playing tag. Leon and Chris were at his side in an instant.
"D? Are you alright?" Chris asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You look pale."
"I-I'll be alright..." D panted. "I j-just need to... catch my br-breath..."
Leon gathered his slave up into his arms. "Let's get you to the doctor and see if he has anything to say about it."
CHAPTER 3
"Well, his heartbeat and breathing are slightly irregular, but other than that, I can't find anything wrong with him," the doctor said. "I can only suggest that you have your slave keep away from any kind of rigorous exercise, and that you be as gentle as you can with him. Make sure that he has a healthy diet, too."
Leon nodded. He picked D up again and carried him out to the waiting room. Chris jumped up out of his chair and the three of them left.
"Chris, why don't you go play games with one of the kids your age?" Leon suggested. "I think one of the kitchen slaves is just a few months older than you. I'm going to take D back to my room so that he can take a nap."
Indeed, D seemed to be in much need of rest. He was currently dozing off in Leon's arms.
CHAPTER 4
-change POV-
When D awoke, he found himself snuggled up into Leon. He didn't get up; he just lay there and purred, a bit like a cat, as he waited for Leon to rise. When the prince finally did wake up, D suggested they go for a walk in the park. Leon agreed, and the two of them spent the day enjoying nature. Leon taught D how to swim, and D introduced Leon to the pleasures of bird-watching. A few peasant males shot envious eye-daggers at Leon, a few whistled, and one tried to grab D's behind. D did not take kindly to this. He dispatched the first guy who tried it with a roundhouse kick. The peasant men pretty much left D alone after this.
When they returned to the palace, Leon entertained himself with a proletariat magazine called Playboy. To avoid the risk of showing his disgust, D hypnotized himself into sleep.
A touch on D's shoulder woke him.
"How dare you fall asleep while His Majesty is awake!" Leon had evidently decided to try and show D who, um, wore the pants in that relationship. Wait a minute….Ah. D saw the cause of Leon's annoyance: Chris had scribbled mustaches, devil horns, monocles, and other weird things onto the pictures of naked women, and censored their, ahem, goods with cute little animal stickers.
"I was tired," said D coldly. He may hold the title of slave, but he had no intention of being treated like one. Besides, Leon could easily replace him. It was no secret that the prince was a total tool. He considered his sex slaves as something like stuffed pets, to be used and thrown away. Realizing that he was naked, he reached towards the stool at the foot of the bed to grab his gown.
Leon kicked the stool and D's gown fell to the floor. "Wouldn't you like to be out of your costume for a while?"
D remained silent, unsure whether or not Leon was trying to seduce him.
"I would." The prince answered his own question. "I might even be happy for a moment."
D didn't know what to think. "Your Majesty, may I have your permission to ask a question?" D asked this half-mockingly and half-sincerely, but mostly as a shuck.
"Yes, you may ask for anything except my seeds."
This reply left D even more confused. What good were Leon's seeds to him? Was Leon forgetting that D was a man? D was stunned into silence.
"Go ahead, slave. I have given you my permission." When D still didn't speak, Leon scowled. "You know I could send for someone to replace you at a moment's notice. I am in the mood to be entertained."
At this, D had the impulse to just up and leave. He had forgotten his question, anyhow. "Have an excellent night, Your Majesty," said D cheekily, lunging for the door. He pulled on his gown as he spoke. Understanding that he could be executed for his impudence, D's youthful stubbornness insisted his life end on his own terms.
"Halt!" called Leon from behind. "You have just offended the Prince of Wherever-the-Hell-I-Am-From!"
D stopped short, but not without an exasperated sigh and a tossing of his hair. "If you are to order my punishment," he said, standing as elegantly as though he himself were royalty, "my only wish is that you have the mercy to make it quick."
Leon sat stunned. D wondered mildly whether he had shocked the prince into paralysis, then realized he didn't really give a fig. He wanted out. Until…
Leon came off the bed to stand behind his stubborn concubine. He put his hands gently on the kami's shoulders and eased the sleeves of the gown down D's arms. D was once again at a loss. He was aroused, certainly, but he didn't want to admit it, for fear that admitting arousal would be to admit defeat.
Leon put his head on D's shoulder. "You interest me," he murmured, gently nipping the kami's ear.
This seemed to be the Imperial method of torture.
"Tell me that you feel remorse for what you have done," continued the human prince. "It is too late even if there is regret. Begging is of no use. I am in no mood to grant mercy. Not one ounce. I have no mercy to give."
D was definitely aroused now. His very veins crackled with sexual excitement. Some of his crackling energy must have physically shocked Leon, for he let go of the slave with a start.
"Did I hurt you?" asked D, passively and with little interest.
Leon leered. "Not as much as I'll hurt you," he replied. D was puzzled until Leon indicated the display case of Imperial knives and swords. "Now…will you be a good little slave or will I have to tie you up?"
So D was going to be raped after all. Good to know.
He decided to bolt like a scared rabbit.
Unfortunately, he had forgotten that his gown was too long for him. He tripped, and Leon took advantage of the concubine's momentary weakness. He lifted D up and more or less threw him onto the bed, facedown. D continued to struggle, so Leon straddled his backside firmly while he pulled a set of dangling chains from the ceiling with a near-Herculean tug. Despite D's protests, which were reminiscent of Leon's temper tantrums at age five, Leon managed to chain D up with speed and dexterity, much as Dracula's brides must have overpowered Jonathan Harker.
Once fully chained, D realized his struggles were completely futile. His mind almost completely disoriented from the ordeals of the day, D decided that the best way to preserve what little dignity he had left was to relax and let this sadistic bastard of a prince have his way with him.
"I pity you, you know," murmured D. Might as well make as much of the situation as possible. No matter what he said, Leon would torture him, and if D was going to be tortured, he wanted to fully deserve it.
"Shut the fuck up," snarled Leon, gritting his teeth and tightening the grip on his lancet.
"My dear Prince Leon," said D with serenity, "I do believe you disgrace yourself, for you speak with the foul tongue of a commoner."
"I said shut up!" snarled Leon, slicing violently just above D's tailbone.
D didn't dislike the sensation. All told, he found it quite pleasurable. He knew, however, that if he begged for more, Leon would stop. So, D continued to provoke the spoiled brat.
"I really do pity you. You are your own captive. I don't find it impressive that you use intimidation to get your way. Don't you see that the more people you sentence to execution, the fewer people you can count as supporters?"
"I am not interested," growled Leon, "in supporters." He made another, deeper cut, this one just below his victim's shoulder. "I am interested in obedience." Another cut, lengthwise on the back of D's neck.
D cried out in pain but kept lecturing. He wanted Leon to bleed him dry, to exhaust the both of them, to keep him just on the threshold between life and death, even.
"You are a coward. Why don't you pick on somebody your own rank, instead of a defenseless slave?"
"A coward, am I? And what," demanded His Immature Sadisticness, making a Tic-Tac-Toe board on D's back, "would that make you?"
"I have just told you, you dolt," snapped D, trying his utmost not to climax, "I am a defenseless concubine." Something occurred to D. "If you are a Prince, the throne's male heir, and I, also a male, am your concubine, what does that make you?
"Are you calling me a faggot?" asked Leon incredulously, looking up from where he had carved the letters LE on D's left buttock.
"Yes, and a sadistic, controlling faggot at that," said D, pleased that Leon had picked up on it.
"That's it," said Leon. He finished carving the second set of letters, ON, into D's right buttock, rather unceremoniously. He loosened D's chains and pulled his body into the "all fours" position before re-chaining him. The prince licked blood from his name--and then he spread D's buttocks and forced his huge member brutally between them.
D cried out in pleasure and pain. He could feel Leon inside him, forcefully ripping in and out, in and out. With his heightened senses, he felt it ever the more. He felt as well a different kind of sensation, more on his frontal end. This sensation was completely strange to him; he had never had an erection before.
And he had certainly never had any part of his body rubbed or squeezed the way Leon was doing to him now.
Leon rode D till the break of dawn, when they both collapsed, drowning in a pool of blood, sweat, and semen.
CHAPTER 5
Leon woke with a start the next morning. The memories of last night came rushing back to Leon with the force of a freight train. The two had truly bonded; there was no denying that.
Since D was still asleep, Leon used the extra time to marvel at D's delicate--one might even go so far as to say feminine--features. His skin looked to be of the finest marbleized ivory, and when he wasn't tripping over his clothes, his movements were so graceful as to rival those of the Empress of China. The prince slid his arm under the small of D's back. D stirred but didn't quite wake. Instead, he cuddled up to Leon. The prince responded by pressing his lips to the top of D's head.
Ah, what sublime hair the kami had! It was blacker and shinier than petroleum, and had a texture smoother and softer than even Leon's silken sheets. It was also quite fragrant for a man--one might recall carnations in the spring breeze.
I should do something nice for my slave, decided Leon. He's such a tender young thing, and his insubordination and refusal to be broken is just so damn cute! With these thoughts, Leon gently lay D aside and hastened to the dining chambers to tell the cooks his idea.
-change POV-
D smiled in his sleep. He was dreaming of the nights he had spent with lions in Egypt: after their hunts, they would retire to caves, where D would tell them tales and sing to them. When it came time to sleep, he was permitted to share a space with the leader of the pride, who would often protect him as though D were the cat's own son. D was prized for his adroitness in deterring human hunters from the lions' dwelling. Cuddling with this human prince was a bit like cuddling with the lion king.
D sensed rather than felt a change in pressure next to him, and he knew Leon had arisen. D decided he had better get dressed and wait for Leon to get back. He put on a jade-green dress that had been hemmed specially for him. As soon as he had got the sash fastened in back, Leon came in.
-change POV-
"Time to eat, D," said Leon cheerfully. "Oh good, you're already dressed. Well, come along now, I've got a surprise for you!"
D perked up at the word 'surprise.' Then came D's surprise to Leon: D actually bowed! In obeisance!
Leon smiled and shook his head. "There's no need to bow in this room," he said. "In this room only can you and I be informal. We just need to keep up appearances in the rest of the palace and in public generally." Leon reached over and stroked D's cheek fondly. The kami flinched from surprise but didn't shy away.
-change POV-
"Well, let's eat," said Leon, embarrassed. D didn't understand why the prince was embarrassed. He hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, wasn't this sort of thing encouraged?
Anyway…they went to the dining chambers, where D got the treat of his life.
"German chocolate cake with strawberry ice cream inside and strawberries all round the top," announced the chef.
Leon grinned. "This is my surprise to you, D," he said.
"Oh, Prince Leon, thank you!" D's eyes brimmed with sentimental tears and he flung his arms around the prince's neck.
"Careful," said Leon, hugging D back. "You don't want to strangle me."
"No," said D. He broke the embrace gently, looking deeply into Leon's eyes. "Thank you," he said, smiling sincerely at the prince.
-change POV-
And Leon knew he had not only won, but truly earned, the love of the kami.
CHAPTER 6
D lay snuggled into Leon, his hand just under Leon's abs, caressing, massaging. His head was supported on Leon's upper arm, and Leon was stroking the slave's silken hair. Suddenly, Leon sat up.
"Let's do something different tonight," he said.
"What?" asked D, half-eagerly, half-apprehensively.
"You'll see," said Leon, his eyes glinting with what could have been mere mischief--but what also could have been the hint of something darker, something sadistic.
"You haven't decided yet, have you?" asked D suspiciously.
"My dearest concubine, you know me all too well."
"Surprising, as it's been only half a week," said D. "But then, humans are nothing if not predictable in a painstaking way."
Leon's eyes narrowed at the insult, but he instantly thought of a way to get back at the kami. "I know! Let's have an orgy!"
"Whom with?" asked D. "I thought I was your only sex slave."
"I--uh--Remember when we were at the park? Those guys that tried to grab your ass?"
"Which is, by the way, absolutely not public property," added D.
"Yeah, um…you're not gonna like what I have to say next."
"Oh no," said D. "You're not planning to invite them over, are you? I mean, they're peasants! If you want to invite a bunch of degenerates over to grope me, can't you at least invite somebody with noble blood?"
"Like Count Adhemar? He jousts, so I know he's of noble birth."
"Yes, and the word 'Count' in his title is a pretty obvious hint as well," muttered D.
"Yes, his herold announced him as Count Adhemar, Protector of his Enormous Manhood."
"Oh joy," said D sarcastically. "Just what I need. My not-public-property being invaded by an enormous manhood."
"Yeah, uh, be prepared for pain."
Ooh, if looks could kill! "You will have to chain me in my sleep to get me to go along with this," said D venomously.
"Yeah, I was wondering about that…Thanks for the idea, D!"
"Oh no. What have I got myself into now?" murmured D, hitting his head on the wall.