Chapter 9
Arthur woke the next morning in his bed. He stood and stretched, getting dressed while wondering if they'd replace his cabin mates or if he'd be alone now. He was surprised when he came out and found Piotr finishing dressing for the day. "Master?"
"Ah, I already said I'd be here for the classes, so I'm sticking around." He smiled. "It's still Piotr, alright?" He smiled, watching with worry.
"Alright." Arthur nodded, surprised, but a little elated.
"Part of the reason for this, I had planned to see if I could seduce you away from Ivan in the last week of school." He spoke.
"But... you ARE Ivan." Arthur pointed out the obvious.
"Yes, but then I would know where I stand. If you escaped with me, I knew you would actually like me for me, but if you stayed with Ivan, I would know your dedication." He spoke and Arthur stared.
"You didn't think of one thing of this. What if I got upset when I found out, thinking you were just playing with me?" He asked and Piotr stared before face-palming.
"I don't always think things through. I hadn't intended you to think like that." He sighed before turning and smiling softly. "You're not in any pain today, right?"
"Nope. Lukas is a miracle worker. I'm convinced that man is an angel." Arthur laughed, trying to remember how he behaved around the other before. "It seems I've accidentally put myself into a corner." He looked up at Piotr with a worried smile.
"How's that?" Piotr asked, watching as Arthur frowned.
"I kind of... really started to stay away from you on purpose about three days in." Arthur admitted. "Now I'm not really sure how to act around you." He frowned as Piotr slid an arm over his shoulder.
"Why would you do that?" He asked, his tone a little deeper than Arthur was used to.
"I'd just been left behind by my master. My whole world had changed, everything was different. Everyone else was cruel, and you were... kind. You reminded me of the master who'd left me here. You really tested my loyalty, you know." Arthur pouted and Piotr stared.
"So you actually had started to like me then?" He smiled brightly, watching as Arthur sputtered, turning bright red at the wording, wondering which way to take it.
The people in the tables around the one they always sat at noticed the two this morning. Normally the two boys with them were loud and rambunctious, like boys normally were, but today these two were happily chatting, excited to an extent people normally didn't see them. They spoke over the exercises and the day's plans, chatting about things to be done and quite a few people in the tables noticed the renewed vigor.
"Good to see you guys are in a better mood." Sasha smiled as he walked up. "I would also like to remind you that you're on a timed schedule, and you still need to drink two cups of tea and take a pill." Arthur grumbled as he looked down at his table and swallowed the pill from Sasha's hand before sipping the tea to calm his muscles.
"I need to just drink this stuff all the time. It tastes so good..." Arthur mumbled, listening as Piotr chuckled, rubbing his hair.
"I'm just glad you're finally doing better." Piotr smiled and Arthur grinned, nodding.
"Eat. If you collapse on the grounds, you know you'll never be let to live it down." Arthur smirked, leaving Piotr laughing even louder.
By lunch, Arthur was exhausted. He sucked down his tea, ate his lunch and went through the rest of his lessons with a smile.
Two weeks went past, only two more weeks remaining. Arthur's mood was improving drastically. Piotr and Arthur were nearly inseparable. Sasha and Nikolai laughed, seeing them chatter between classes, and oddly, even though it was just the two of them, they were outclassing the other groups. Sasha made a comment about how some people should remember their strength, while Piotr made a comment about how he's fighting as hard as he can, considering he was down by a quarter of his strength due to the potions he was given to alter his appearance. Sasha stared, surprised, realizing either these two were more powerful than anyone had imagined, or the rest of the classes really needed to step up their game.
After breakfast the next day Sasha held everyone in the mess hall before Nikolai stood. "Everyone, I have a little piece of information to spread! I've been given authority- Stop laughing, Piotr!- to give the top group this year a minimum rank of Captain! Everyone in your group will attain at least that rank if you're the top group this class! As of right now, based off of points, the top class is Piotr and Mister Fairy, at 523. They have two members in their group, and have for the last two weeks." Nikolai looked over the groups, seeing some look at the two in astonishment, while the rest looked away with guilt.
"Is this really alright?" Arthur looked up, seeing Piotr with a smile.
"You're already going to have a higher rank than Captain due to your proximity to me. I'm obviously already well beyond that." Dark brown eyes met his and Arthur frowned.
"What if anyone else wins?"
"They won't. I'm just using potions and tonics to cover my eyes and hair now, so I have my full strength to fight with." Arthur stared, realizing for the first time how much taller than him the other man sat. His face slapped hard across his face, almost echoing in the room, drawing attention from everyone. Piotr turned away, hiding his laughter as Sasha meandered over, his surprised smile as he bent down.
"And who is that, Mister Fairy?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear the question." Arthur mumbled and Piotr nearly died laughing.
"I asked if anyone had any bets as to who the top team would be."
"It's been us the whole time, why would that change now?" Arthur asked, crossing his legs daintily beneath the table, taking a sip of his tea.
"The table who just slapped themselves in the face loud enough to get the attention of the room and the only other boy on his team just said the smartest notice to who would win so far. If you don't want to be totally creamed this graduation, I'd start working a lot harder!" Sasha cheered and the rest of the room joined in. Piotr just watched with a smile as Arthur started laughing joyously, finally getting excited about something.
In the two weeks since Arthur realized who he was, he may have calmed and started laughing more, but he never got excited. Piotr felt his heart race at the realization that Arthur hadn't decided to hold back. He wanted to win this, and Piotr stood, holding out his hand to assist the other to his feet.
He would make sure they won this.
Arthur had started to train harder, work faster and have himself nearly completely exhausted by the end of each day. More than once Piotr would have to drag him to the room and let him rest to get up the strength for a shower. Piotr had been worried to come in with him for a few days, til one day he snuck in, thinking to brush his teeth after hours, (He'd been sneaking chocolates) and found Arthur curled up on the floor with a panic attack. After that, they started showering earlier, always together. Piotr after that was worried what else he hadn't been saying and started trying to get Arthur to trust him more, and to share more of what he was thinking with him.
Now, after two weeks they barely had to explain themselves at all. Arthur would wake up and open his bedroom door to find Piotr standing, both still in their pajamas. They walked into the bathroom together, Arthur preferred the left toilet, but for some reason the right sink. Piotr didn't like the left toilet, as the sunlight would shine directly in his eyes, and the right sink's hot water didn't work as quickly.
They always seemed to be in synch, already knowing what the other needed without words.
That's what surprised Arthur so much, when twelve days left, on their way out to breakfast, he noticed a very soft look on Piotr's face.
"Why were you looking at me like that?" Arthur asked and Piotr looked up, acting as if he thought about it.
"I decided something." He smiled before looking back down. "If we win this, the first night back, I'll get a gift for you." Piotr smiled. "A good bottle of Spanish rum, and a box of the cherry cordials."
"Cherry... cordials?" Arthur asked, unsure what he was thinking about.
"The cherries in rum covered in chocolate." He smiled and Arthur paled.
"Bloody hell! Not those again! Wasn't it enough trouble the first time?!" Arthur gasped out, horrified and Piotr thought.
"Now that we know each other much better, I'd be interested in finding out what I'd think about you being that way now. I was terrified at the time, as you were injured, but to have my little kitten be so... expressive and protective of me would make me happy, I think." Piotr smiled and Arthur stilled.
"You told me I was the ugliest woman you'd ever met. Why would it make you happy to see me like that?" Arthur looked away, his eyes glaring down towards his boots.
"You must remember not to take so seriously words I spoke when I thought I was going to have to kill you." Piotr smiled softly, though Arthur's eyes stayed on his boots. "You're not the most masculine, but I don't think I'd think of you quite the same way if you were. You're elegant, and careful, a good contrast from me, I think." Piotr watched as Arthur nodded, but he didn't look back up through breakfast.
Arthur was more exhausted than normal by dinner. He seemed half asleep while he walked and Sasha came down, flipping the glasses down. "Arthur, we're going to give you another cup of tea, alright?"
"Ah, that sounds good, actually." He sighed, knowing he was more tense than usual. He reached up, trying to rub away the tension in his shoulder.
"Let me." Piotr spoke softly, scooting his chair over and started rubbing Arthur's shoulders to break up the tension.
"Are you sure? Isn't it supposed to be my job to do stuff like this for you?" Arthur chuckled nervously, glancing over his shoulder as the other looked up and smiled.
"It's worth it to see you looking at me again. I'm sorry if I made you panic this morning. I had meant to be playful, not to cause you trouble."
"It's fine. I didn't even realize I wasn't looking at you today. I'm sorry if you worried." Arthur mumbled, feeling a little stiffness break up as Sasha came out and slid the cup into his hand.
"You guys go ahead and relax. It's an hour til lights out. I'll check up on you again then, alright?"
"Ah, yes, thank you." Arthur took in the scent of the tea, letting it calm him before worrying about taking a sip. He took a sip, sighing, letting a bit of the strain melt away before looking down into his tea. "If we win, I'll do something for you. Anything, without complaint." Arthur mumbled.
"You already to that." Piotr mumbled, looking confused at the man who seemed to shrink down a little bit before saying his next words.
"I said without complaint. If you want me to eat more of those chocolates, I will, and I won't complain first. If you want me to do something else, spend a while in those god awful outfits Sasha has, I... I won't complain about it." He nearly whispered and Piotr stared, surprised before he turned red as could be.
"Maybe both for a day?" Piotr grinned and Arthur stilled, going rigid under the other's gaze. He slowly turned, looking up and seeing the his own blush returned. Arthur nodded softly.
"If that's what master wants." He whispered softly.
Ivan's views on Arthur had changed drastically since they'd started working together here. He'd always heard the saying that beauty was in the eye of the beholder, but the words never really made sense to him til Arthur. Originally the wiry little boy with insubordinate orange hair and intense eyebrows and owlishly large eyes was almost painfully awkward to look at.
After the time they'd spent together, his views had certainly changed. He didn't seem thin, but dainty. He didn't seem awkward anymore at all, and those large eyes that had creeped him out now captivated him. Piotr only smiled, realizing he wanted terribly to see Arthur in one of the outfits Sasha gave, curled up on his lap with that blush...
Piotr nodded. His determination was set.
They would win this.
They immediately set out a strategy. Ivan was to work out more and assist with more of the heavy work, while Arthur was to practice more with magic. He'd been coming along amazingly, but at the same time, he still wasn't the best. Arthur would practice small magic, like changing the color of a stone, while sitting on Piotr's back, while he did push ups. Since he they were both adept at strategy, and honestly, he knew Piotr had more experience in it now that he was taking this seriously instead of trying not to make a bunch of grown men cry, Arthur also took up the Doctor's position. It meant backtracking on four weeks of work, trying to catch up with what others already knew.
Piotr made an official command to Arthur that he was to stop all other reading other than that for recreation or classes. This gave more time for learning about being the doctor while honestly lifting some of the other stresses from him. Arthur hadn't realized how much he'd been doing until he realized he'd caught up on four weeks of work in a week. He handed in the projects to Sasha, who, after hearing what they had decided, could only laugh and grade him appropriately, while Piotr ran through the Strategist tests with Nikolai.
In one week they nearly doubled their scores.
The rest of the groups, figuring they were down to two had thought that they might have a chance, but when they came in after both sets of tests had been completed with top marks, they just stared at the board in shock.
"There's no way!" One of the boys ran forward, snarling. "You mean to tell me you became the doctor and the magician?! You aced all of the doctor's tests after only a week?!"
"You have doubts?" Arthur asked, taking a sip from his tea.
"It's probably that tea he's always drinking. No one else gets any. How much you want to bet it's for his mind? Like some sort of brain enhancer?" Their own strategist mentioned and Piotr frowned.
"He works too hard, and won't rest. His body keeps breaking due to the stress he puts it under. He's under four medications. A mood enhancer, an anti-inflammatory and two sleeping medications." Piotr stared the boy in the eyes. "He's taking these medications to try and keep from breaking apart because he's working harder than anyone else here. Please don't take your aggressions out on him."
"You're probably the one slipping him the extra medications. He's the doctor and the magician, you're the strategist and the soldier. You're just as suspicious as he is." The boy crossed his arms and Piotr stared, curious. He turned to Arthur, who shrugged and sighed.
"He's just jealous. I have you and the amazing name Mister Fairy, and he's just boring." Arthur sipped his tea, finding it quickly flying from his face, splattering across the floor. "My tea!" Arthur jumped up and stared, surprised at the puddle on the floor.
"Why in the hell would I be jealous?! A slave and a farm boy? This is what someone like me would be jealous of?" He laughed. "My father's on the council! I'll be higher in the military than you two can dream of! As soon as I outrank you hacks, I'll have you kicked from the military for cheating! I know the human limitations, and neither of you can possibly do what you're claiming without working around the rules!" He snarled and Piotr, having heard enough, stood and slammed his hand hard on the table before them.
"Let's see how this plays off then. Today during classes, we're each to perform for the classes we're in. You'll see then the extent of our learning. It's a duel, right?"
"Yes, and what?" The boy leaned back, shifting from angry to interested.
"We'll request the judges to pit our two groups against one another. If we're lacking as any of the above, it'll show, Da?"
"Da. But what about if we win? What about when you lose?" He asked, hoping to make the defeat worse.
"If we win, we get that tea you've been drinking." He grinned, honestly believing Arthur was taking some sort of brain enhancement. He looked over at Piotr, seeing him nod. After all, the tea would be easy to get more of.
"If we win-" Piotr was cut off by Arthur mumbling into his ear, a dark grin coming over his face. The raven haired man's eyes widened in horror as he turned, wondering for a moment if he'd gone mad, or had hallucinated the words. The grin on Arthur's face told him he was serious. "Is that too much?"
"It'll teach the high and mighty 'My daddy got me where I am' boy some manners. He doesn't even know who I'm the slave of, and he's willing to go against my master like this..." Arthur wagged his finger in a 'tsk-tsk' manner. The boy's eyes widened in shock and anger hearing the words.
"I'll have you beheaded for that comment, you bastard."
"A bastard?" Arthur looked over to Piotr with amusement. "My mother must have been popular. I'm fairly sure she was supposed to be married." Arthur stared, the sass in his voice nearly making Piotr laugh.
"I'll take you up on that, Kitty." His eyes shifted over to the four young men standing before them, now staring in confusion. "If we win, Sasha gets to choose your clothes for tomorrow."
"You're on!" The leader grinned, holding out his hand to shake.
Unknown to them, Sasha had heard the whole thing and was already thinking of what he had in their sizes.