QT Prompt #4: "Okay, kitty. i think what i really want is these three things. 1, hurt costis. 2, stark, genuine, sincere, positive emotion from gen (maybe with a tinge of regret for not always being so kind to costis) and 3, attolia's support of costis. maybe a side dish of costis and sophos interaction, because really, the poor kid's tortured enough; he needs to know these people really care." - by lady-feste-pendragon.

"Does that hurt?"

He sucked in air through his teeth, because opening his mouth took too long and he needed air immediately, and didn't answer. He could feel every piece of his body too much. His back. His face. His shoulder – (Gods, the shoulder –)

"Does that hurt?"

His father used to ask that when he'd fallen and hurt himself when he was little. He wasn't little (he wished he was) and this voice was not the same. This voice wanted him to give something up, to not be able to stand back up again after he fell.

"Does this hurt?" snarled the voice, and he felt something moving, turning in –

His shoulder. In his shoulder. It was in his shoulder and it was getting worse and he couldn't do this, he couldn't do it –

"Yes!" Costis cried at last. "Gods, gods, yes, it hurts, it hurts…"

He suspected he was crying.

The pain didn't stop, but it didn't get any worse, either.

/

"What are you thinking?" Attolia asked Attolis when the chambers were mostly empty. Eddis wasn't gone, and if she wouldn't go, neither would Sophos who was Sounis.

Attolis looked at the inkpot like he'd like to throw it, but something held him back.

"I am thinking," the king said in a restrained voice, "that there are plenty of competent soldiers I wouldn't mind seeing dead, And yet I brought Costis."

"He's probably not dead," Eddis ventured.

The king of Attolia threw the inkpot. It splattered across the wall, and no one in the room jumped. He was lucky, probably, that he was among three of the perhaps six or seven people living who weren't put off by his rages. Costis didn't like them.

Costis would be dead soon.

Sounis rocked forward on his feet. "Is it a stupid question to ask why you can't get him back if you know who has him?"

"Yes," the king said.

"My king," said Attolia blandly and calmly.

"He asked.'

"Gen," Eddis rebuked gently, but without looking at him.

The king looked at Sounis, who was unaffected by his ire. He was far too used to being called stupid. Which was a strange thing, because before he'd been enslaved and collected enough scars to scare small children and learned to kill, Sounis had been quite the scholar. There were many types of stupidity, apparently.

And Attolis possessed more of them than Sounis ever did.

When his heart was less heavy, the king would regret his comment. He never meant to offend. Now, though, he only shook his head. "Getting him back would start a civil war, and he's just a guard. Dying to protect his monarch – that's in his job description, isn't it?"

It was true. The country of Attolia could not afford a civil war, especially not one that the monarchs started. And definitely not over a man named Costis who apparently once punched the king in the face. Sounis had never met the man, anyway, he thought to himself. Why did the thought of not getting the guard back make Sophos feel so sick?

He looked into the other king's eyes for a moment before Eugenides turned away, and he realized. Because that's how Gen felt. If Costis died, it might just break the heart of Attolis.

Sounis took a step back. "You think you have to give him up."

Eugenides turned and walked out without explaining himself. Both queens watched him go, sighing to themselves. But Sounis turned to Attolia, and he asked, "Should I go after him?"

Attolia sat, folding her arms. It took her a long time to answer. "Perhaps," she said at last.

He bowed twice and then he was running after his annux. If this Costis was anything like Sophos, then he wouldn't mind dying for Gen. But…

"He's not dead," Gen said as Sophos caught up with him – the benefit of longer legs.

"Well," said Sophos.

"If he were, that would be that. You don't start wars over dead thieves and soldiers. He's not, though."

Sophos nodded in understanding. Gen didn't want to think that Costis was out there hoping for help, and he was here not planning to send any.

"You know I would never presume to give you advice on how to be king," Sounis said. "Gods know you've done it longer and better than me."

Eugenides's smile was thin and humorless.

"But you don't need to lose everything," Sounis said.

"Lose?" snorted the king. "Don't you know I never lose? I took over three countries."

"You didn't want them," Sounis said. "The only thing you wanted that you got was your wife, and that cost you your home."

"You're getting invasive," warned Gen. "I won't talk to you if you do that."

Attolis was always so sneaky. Sophos didn't understand why he himself was never the one who seemed to benefit from his terribly dangerous plans. "I thought you could do whatever you wanted," he said at last as they reached the king's chambers.

"The Thief of Eddis could do whatever he wanted," Eugenides said. "The king of Attolia has responsibilities." He walked into his room, and since he had not forbidden it, Sophos followed. And then Gen turned and looked at him, and his coat settled around him, and for a moment the whole world stood still for the king of Attolia.

His eyes were dark and there was no trace of his usual lie when he said, "Sophos," (and here Sounis's ears pricked up; Gen never used his birth name anymore), "I have three of my trademark plans – as you think of them – in motion right now. And I would give them up and lose the reward of every one of them if it would bring my guard back safe."

Sophos stared at him, terribly afraid because Eugenides was not lying.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"What for this time?" asked Eugenides with a smirk, and Sophos was relieved that the truth was hidden again.

"About your guard."

"As am I. He was doing his job. And I shall do mine."

Sophos hung his head, feeling his (always so tender, damn it all) heart sink lower still.

"So where are my boots?" Eugenides continued. When Sophos looked up in confusion, the king was already at his closet, kneeling.

"What?" asked Sophos eloquently.

"My boots," said Eugenides again. "They aren't the same ones I wore to steal the Gift – I grew out of those. But they look similar."

"Oh, gods," said Sophos. "You're not."

"I don't know what action you're referring to," said Eugenides, "but chances are, I will." He grabbed the books with his good hand, threw them to the side and whipped off his finely made coat.

"You getting involved personally wasn't at all what I was suggesting, you know," said Sounis, trying to act like a king and not a boy barely into manhood.

"Yes," said Eugenides. "But I think you were right. The time has come do… whatever I want."

"Isn't this foolhardy?"

The Thief grinned like he was a young boy again, and Sophos would be lying if he said it didn't light his own heart on fire.

/

Costis was trying to think, but it was very cold and that made it difficult.

There was a mat here, but he was on the ground next to it, leaning against the wall. He didn't want to touch the mat – it had blood on it. Wrapping his arms around his legs, Costis breathed. He couldn't breathe too deeply because it made him hurt. His shoulder was the worst – the wound there didn't close, and when the skin pulled it felt like fire.

Was the blood on the mat his?

His ears pricked when he heard footsteps, and his heart began to hammer. He'd been focusing on breathing but now it was hard to keep it under control; he was gasping like he was drowning and he was still cold.

He didn't want to be here.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted to go home.

The door opened. Costis turned his face away, into the wall, kept his eyes wide open and breathed too hard. They wanted something from him. What did they want?

"I don't know," he muttered to himself. The words slipped past his lips like water in a sieve, like he was a broken dam. "I don't know." But he did, didn't he? That's why he was here, wasn't it? "I don't know, I don't know…"

A hand closed harshly around his arm, and he shut his eyes tightly.

"Please," he rasped. "Don't hurt me anymore."

/

The good thing, Gen had told Sophos, about this situation: if the king couldn't raise a fuss, neither could his enemy. If Costis was to just disappear from captivity, there was no one to complain to.

And then, of course, Attolis would probably have to destroy this house that had taken Costis, because you can't have people in power who are trying to start civil wars, naturally.

Sounis nodded agreeably enough until Eugenides told him that he could not come along.

"Your Majesty," protested Sounis.

"My wife will object to me going at all," said Attolis. "But she will have my head if I get another sovereign killed."

"Will you go alone?"

The thief did not answer, and so Sounis thought perhaps he was considering it.

"I put you in charge of not letting people know I've gone," said the thief. "The court will probably suspect I am sulking, and I'll be back in perhaps a day. Thankfully your face is less easy to read now."

"Is it?" asked Sounis, touching his face. He could forget about the scars sometimes. No one ever said anything, of course, but he suspected he was one ugly bastard.

"Still blushes, though," said Eugenides, and to his eternal embarrassment, Sounis blushed.

Attolis went off in search of Aris, whom Sounis had never met face to face but who apparently had some interest in what was happening. Sounis hoped that the king would take Aris with him, but he had the utmost faith that Eugenides knew what he was doing.

He did as he was told, and everything went well until a little over an hour later, when Sounis was called into Attolia's presence.

She turned around and looked at him, and then she sighed. Sounis made an attempt at smiling.

"Well," she said with no emotion. "At least he had the sense to not take you with him."

/

Attolia sat by herself on the edge of her bed, and ran her fingers up and down her arms. It was chilly in here, she noted, but she did not move to pick up a shawl or to ask someone to stoke the fire.

Her attendants weren't in here now. She'd told them to come back later when it was time for her bath.

Attolia was not a warm woman. She was stone, though she knew her countenance had begun to thaw since her marriage – which, she had to admit, was a relief, since she'd thought she was stuck that way. She could be harsh. And people did not touch her, which was as it should be. Her husband touched her. The Mede had patted her several times, but she suspected he regretted that. She would occasionally extend her touch, to Relius, for example.

Costis had touched her once, when she fainted and her husband had pulled his stitches trying to get to her. The quiet, humorless guard had seen her buckle and actually knocked more than one person to the ground on his way to catch her.

That's what she thought of as she tried to rub warmth into her arms and looked at the wall in front of her. She could see the faint stain of ink that someone had cleaned up. Was that the one she threw on her wedding night?

She hadn't been there when her husband's favorite guard was taken, but she hadn't been far. The queen and king were on their way to meet Sounis and Eddis by the sea, in something close to no-man's land. The other monarchs were to make their way to Attolia, but first the Attolian royalty thought they should be seen by the people. It was sort of like a parade.

And honestly, Costis was there at least partly because if Eugenides was going to be tortured, he wanted someone he could torture in turn.

They'd been almost there, staying overnight in a villa, when the attackers came, and somehow they made it to her room.

Attolia had three daggers in her hair, one at her side, one under her pillow, and two guns in her drawer. Still, she suspected she would dead if Costis hadn't come in then, sword in hand, breathing heavily and telling her she needed to head for the backway.

"Where's my husband?" she'd asked.

"Climbing out the window, last I saw him," Costis said. "He'll be looking for you, Your Majesty – you need to…"

She grabbed one of the guns, the dagger from the pillow, and then she nodded in Costis's direction, and followed his warning. She'd barely closed the door when she heard the door open, and shouting voices.

Someone said, "Where's the queen?" and it was not a friendly voice.

She reached the stairs when she heard the more commotion, and she heard the voice a second time before she was out of earshot: "Wait, I recognize him."

She stopped once to look back, and when she did, her husband's voice floated to her, "My dear?"

She turned back around to face him, breathing heavily, gun halfway up in the air. "Eugenides." She said his name like a prayer. She looked him up and down; he was not harmed.

He did the same, and then enveloped her in an embrace.

"Do you know who…?"

"Yes," he said. "I know. Let's get out of here."

And she was safe now, which would make her husband happy. She was sitting in her room, safe and cold, and her husband had left like he was a child thief again who could come and go as he liked.

Provided he came back, she didn't blame him for going. All the same, she wanted him back.

/

When Eugenides opened the door, the man inside noticed. Eugenides could tell – the slouched figure did not move, but every muscle tensed.

It was definitely Costis. He was the right height (taller than the king) and the right build. But half his face was swollen and discolored, and his clothes were streaked red. There was a bandage wrapped around his shoulder that looked relatively fresh, and yet blood had still seeped through. Costis had his raw, red fingers pulled close to his middle, like he could possibly protect himself here.

Eugenides was no stranger to fury, but he couldn't afford to throw something here.

"Costis," he said quietly, silently moving forward. It was proving difficult to be quiet – well, he'd probably annoyed the gods this time. He resolved not to go up on any roofs for a few weeks. When Costis didn't respond to his voice, the king put out a hand and rested it on the injured guard's leg.

Costis started badly, and Eugenides pulled back a step.

Costis was practically vibrating, but his eyes were still closed. "Please," he whispered, and Eugenides didn't think he was talking to any person in particular. "Come on, come on, please."

"Costis!" the king snapped, but still quietly.

Fever-bright eyes flew open, and Eugenides realized belatedly that Costis must have been crying earlier – there were streaks down his face.

"Your Majesty," Costis choked out. "Why are you… h-here?"

Eugenides smiled at him like they were co-conspirators. "I'm here to break you out," he said. "But we've got to hurry. Aris is outside with the cart, because they actually use those for wounded people in Attolia."

If he had to bet, he'd say that Costis understood very little of what he just said, but all the same, the guard began to struggle to his feet. After a second, he collapsed back against the wall and sighed heavily and shakily.

"It's okay," Eugenides said, touching the top of his head. "I'll help you." He was still smiling.

Costis tried to emulate the smile. "You've always been so kind," he managed.

The king's smile faltered. "I really haven't, Costis. I really haven't." Eugenides pressed a kingly kiss into the taller's man hair, and together they pulled him to his feet.

They were two steps from the door when Costis's breath caught and he seemed to start panicking. He caught the king's arm, and turned large, frightened eyes towards his savior.

"I don't know," he said.

"Later," said Eugenides.

"I don't know what I told them, if I… I don't know what I said, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It doesn't matter," said Eugenides. Of course it mattered. But he would fix it. He would make it so it didn't matter.

They stepped out the door, and that was the last thing Costis remembered.

/

When he woke up the first time, Aris was there.

"Did I oversleep?" he slurred.

Aris smiled at him widely. "All hail the conscious hero," he said. "Wait, it'll come back to you."

Costis stared at him blankly – and then. "Oh, gods," he said. "Aris, I'm going to – " He gestured desperately towards his throat, gasping and going completely pale.

"I figured," said Aris, handing over the bucket he had at his side. He waited until his friend was done vomiting, then handed over a towel, remembered that Costis's hands were wrapped, and wiped the man's mouth himself. "Want to talk about it?" He handed over a cup of water.

"Like hell I do," said Costis. He drained the cup, which was probably drugged, but who gave a damn. Not him.

Aris grinned, and Costis relaxed right into oblivion.

/

"It's the middle of the night," was the thing Costis said the next time he was awake.

The king took his face out of his hand and looked towards the window. "Yes, it is."

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

The king laughed.

Costis smiled at the ceiling. That was a good sound. "What happened with… everything? The attack?"

"My wife and I, as well as the queen of Eddis and the king of Sounis, are all currently at the palace. Alive and well. A couple of guards were killed in the attack – no one you know, I don't think. The attack was a failure overall."

"Did you… come and get me?" Costis asked blearily, remembering everything in bits and pieces.

"Officially," said Eugenides, "Of course not."

It hurt to chuckle. He must still be drugged – he got the feeling that usually he'd be staring at the king with Disapproval.

"Thank you," he said when the pain was gone again. "Thank you."

The king shook his head. "It is I who should be thanking you for what you've done. But we haven't got all night. Go to sleep, Costis."

Costis went to sleep.

/

He woke up in a panic the next time. The mat had blood on it, he thought. There was blood on the mat, and he didn't want to touch it. He leapt to his feet, but the mat wasn't on the floor where it was supposed to be, and he fell. He staggered to his feet, only to be stopped by a hand, gently placed his chest to stop him. No pressure was applied, and still he stopped short, breathing hard and feeling his hair stick to his forehead with sweat.

He raised his eyes to see who was in the cell with him.

"Lay back down," said the queen of Attolia.

And he did. He closed his eyes and remembered how to breathe normally again. The queen did not offer him any comfort, but she watched him carefully but without alarm – confident that Costis would figure it out himself soon enough.

"I'm sorry," he said at last. He hadn't meant to touch her. But then, had she technically touched him?

She ignored the apology. "You acted admirably," she said, studying the embroidery on her skirt. He didn't ask when she was referring to – that little scene had hardly been admirable. Embarrassing was a better term.

"My husband is not going to ask you," said the queen after a moment, "but it is important. Are you permanently damaged?"

Costis looked down at his body in alarm.

"That's not what I mean," snapped the queen. "Your body should recover, barring complications."

"Oh," said Costis.

"There is no shame in it," said the queen. "But I need to know how you feel."

Costis thought of Relius, and he took a moment to honestly evaluate the question. "I think I'm going to be fine," he said at last. "Your Majesty," he added after a minute.

"I'm glad to hear it." She smiled at him, and Costis wondered if she could see him blush when he realized that she actually was glad.

/

He was finally not drugged, though still mostly bed-ridden, when he woke up and the king of Sounis was next to him.

"Your Majesty," he said, a little confused.

"Hello," said the king, with the bashful air of a person who wasn't quite used being grown yet. It should almost have been a cute greeting, but it most decidedly was not. "Do you know me?"

"Yes," said Costis. "You knocked the king flat on his back in the middle of the courtyard and it made him laugh."

"Were you there for that?"

"No," said Costis, "but I heard." He considered for a moment. "When I did that, I nearly got executed."

Sounis snorted and smiled, and Costis got the feeling once more that this man didn't know how dangerous he looked when he did that.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," said the king, leaning back in his chair. "Gen would have been… sorry to lose you."

Costis didn't know this man, and he was pretty sure that he'd just called the king 'Gen', which was strange. But he was a king, and they were allowed to be odd. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The silence after that was awkward.

"Well," said Sounis, standing up, and Costis eyed him with poorly hidden relief. "It was good to meet you."

Costis nodded deeply. "Forgive me for not bowing, Your Majesty."

Sounis waved his hand, a curiously youthful gesture, and walked out of the room, and at last Costis was alone.

He relaxed back into his pillow and stared at the ceiling. The king would be sorry to lose him? That's what Sounis had said. Costis pondered it for a minute and decided that yes, he would be, and Costis smiled in contentment.

"Ow," he said, his cheek twinging.

Distantly, he wished Attolis were here now, but he didn't let it worry him. His king would come soon enough.