"Arabian Nights"
Part 35
by Mel
Dominic could not believe he had been tricked. He was not
a novice to liars and swindlers, he knew every time someone was leading him
on. He knew when to be led on and when not to be.
Perhaps it had been the loss of Orlando that had clouded his judgement. Orlando
was by far his best and closest friend, on the streets they had often worked
as a team, getting each other in and out of trouble. For all his thievery,
Orlando was the most honest person Dominic knew. Orlando had never lied to
him, nor buttered up anything. In all his life, Orlando had been the one thing
that had meant anything.
And then he had disappeared. Dominic had been frantic for weeks, all he had
had to go on was rumors and lies of the European Prince taking his Orlando
to the palace and making him his own. The very thought of this... man using
Orlando made his blood boil. He had thought the man in black had been telling
him the truth when he said Orlando had been killed by the Prince. He had wanted
the Prince dead, and Dominic in his fury offered to do it for free.
Now that he thought about it, it was quiet clever really. Playing on Dominic’s
pain and anger, offering him the revenge he wanted. And then scoring the one
part of the deal that insured Dominic would never have to see him again. Brilliant.
Dominic almost wished he’d thought of it.
Except now his head lay on the line and Dominic quiet liked his head where
it was.
He kicked himself for not noticing Orlando sooner, he’d seen the boy
sleep often enough, he had thought he would have recognised his form. Then
he could have woken him up and spirited him away with out waking the hell
cat on the other side of the prince. What was this place coming to if concubines
were becoming bodyguards?
He hadn’t been chained to a wall in solitary confinement for a while.
Dominic was quiet miffed, he was certainly beyond this sort of treatment.
But it was what he got for getting caught. Note to self: do not take foolhardy
assignments in the heat of the moment.
Dominic could not wait to get out of here and slit the man’s throat
for setting him up. With the speed the moon was moving, which he could see
creeping through the window, the sun would be up in a few hours. It should
be long enough. Dominic grinned to himself, twisting his body so that one
of his hands could reach his head, carefully extracting the clip hidden in
his hair. You could certainly tell the guards that had yet to be trained personally
by the Captain of the Guard. They were always remarkable lax in such matters.
Karl’s guards would have noticed it in one moment.
All in all, Dominic thought as he moved his wrists to attack the locks, it
promised to be a very eventful day.
*****
Viggo woke with two kittens curled around his body. In their sleep, both Elijah
and Orlando had wrapped themselves around him, clinging to his body in a way
Viggo found most endearing. Elijah’s head rested underneath his chin,
Orlando on his chest. One of Elijah’s hands was beneath his neck, fingers
curled around his pulse. Orlando was treating both he and Elijah as human
pillows, his whole body strewn over the two of them. The other of Elijah’s
hands was dangerously close to Viggo’s growing erection.
Though he hated to, Viggo knew he would have to move, and quickly, lest he
wake either of them up in a way that would certainly not go down well. Besides,
Viggo’s face grew cold, he wished to deal with this assassin without
either of the Kitten’s input. Whether they wanted to admit it or not,
the boy was in need of punishment. He could have been tricked into attacking
his adopted Brother and Sister. And they could not look out for themselves
as Viggo could.
Moving carefully, he managed to slip out from beneath the two, watching in
amusement as both boys rolled to each other, seeking his warmth unconsciously.
They settled for wrapping around each other. Light and dark they made the
tempting image, and Viggo almost succumb to crawling back into bed. Instead
he busied himself with getting dressed as quietly as possible, resolutely
not looking at his two kittens in the bed.
Leaving quickly he knew there would be hell to pay when they woke and found
him gone, with no extra chance to try and ease the punishment for the other
boy. It was something that he needed time to think about what to do that he
simply did not have. When Hugo awoke and would hear of the assassination attempt,
if Viggo had not done something, Hugo would do it for him. The boy would be
dead by the end of the evening.
He paused in his courtyard, taking a moment think. Sighing he found a quill
and some parchment. This decision required another head, and if Orlando knew
this boy, perhaps Karl did too. Viggo finished the short letter and greeted
the guards at the entrance to his rooms.
"Will one of you see that the Captain receives this and reads it right
away?" One man bowed, taking the letter and moving silently down the
hall. The other man led Viggo to the dungeons.
Hugo was a fair ruler but by no means a weak one. There were times when examples
had to made, when people had to be imprisoned for their crimes. Still, dungeons
caused shivers to run the length of Viggo’s spine. These small rooms
beneath the sand, where one earth tremor could collapse many levels, prisoner
and guard buried alive.
Thoughts of Sean came unbidden to his mind. His friend had often teased him
unmercifully for his fear of enclosed spaces. It was a joke between them,
even though Sean had been by his side every time the elements had driven them
to seek shelter in a cave. Often the younger man had slept wrapped around
him, as if his own body would have protected him should the roof have caved
in.
He missed him and wished nothing more for his guidance right now.
The guard stopped by a door on the second level down, two other guards standing
to attention at the door. He spoke quickly to them, gesturing to the Prince.
They nodded and one unlocked the door.
If Viggo hadn’t already been so high strung about being beneath so much
sand and stone, he did not think he would have reacted quickly enough.
The door slammed open suddenly, the heavy wood sending a resounding crack
through the hallway as it collected the guard who was opening it. Viggo caught
sight of the small body dancing around the stunned guards, even as they attempted
to draw their swords to give chase. The boy went to dodge around Viggo, but
Viggo was already turning, his hand snaking out, snagging a wrist.
The boy snarled, twisting, heel coming up. Viggo back peddled, the base of
the foot clipping his nose, but he did not relinquish his hold on the wrist.
Elijah must have caught him off guard last night, because, even with his small
frame, the little assassin was a force to be reckoned with.
Viggo was a stronger force entirely.
He could see the calculating, the deep intellect of the assassin in his stormy
grey eyes. This boy knew he didn’t have long to waste before all chances
of escape were impossible. The other hand came up, the boy throwing his weight
behind the punch. Viggo caught the hand, forcing himself not to rock backwards
at the strength behind it. Instead, he pushed forward, shoving his body into
the boy’s personal space, giving him no room to manoeuvre around him.
The move surprised the boy, caught of guard he stumbled, then fell, backwards.
Viggo let his body fall with him, landing on top of the boy. He smiled wolfishly
when he grunted in pain, this Dominic would learn quickly not to cross him
again. While the boy was still surprised, Viggo sat up, pinning both hands
above the boy’s head, straddling the boy’s thighs. His other hand
bore down on the prisoner’s throat, cutting off the air supply.
"Have you quiet finished resisting?" Viggo asked quietly as the
boy tensed beneath him.
In the dim light Viggo got his first proper look at the boy. He was surprise
that instead of the dark hair he was use to seeing, this boy’s hair
was sandy. It was short and scruffy against his head, in dire need of a wash.
Unlike Orlando and Elijah, this boy was a fighter, he had made the most of
his slight form, scars prickled his flesh. There was a small tattoo that peaked
out from beneath the low riding waistband of his pants. It was a symbol of
some sort, and it bore questing later.
The boy nodded, fight leaving his body. Viggo relinquished the hold on his
neck, but remained a top of the boy.
"Prince Viggo!" The guards were by his side, swords drawn, the one
who had delivered the message to Karl joining them. "Are you alright?"
Viggo waved his hand, holding the boy firmly beneath him. "I am fine,
I was under the impression the prisoner was restrained."
The guards seemed unable to come up with a response. The boy was grinning.
"Very well," Viggo was frustrated, this was not exactly what he
had been expecting. "Where is the Captain?"
"He sends his apologies, Sire. His slave is sick and he is unable to
leave his side. He said you would know why."
Though nothing changed in Viggo’s demeanour, his emotions raged. Karl
was alone with Sean, and he could not drag himself away. What was happening?
Was Sean all right? Or was Karl taking advantage of his friend?
The boy’s wrists were, unfortunately, beneath Viggo’s hand and
he flinched as Viggo squeezed on them unconsciously. Viggo took a mental breath,
he had more faith in Karl then that. It was not unlike he and Karl had not
already slept together. He even knew that Karl would never do anything Sean
did not already want to do. Still, the thought stung, and Viggo wanted nothing
more then to be beside both of them right now.
"Yes," Viggo’s words were dry, "I will question our guest
now." He stood suddenly, lifting the assassin bodily by the wrists. Thankfully,
the boy was smart enough not to complain about the treatment. "Stand
watch at the door, but do not interfere. Should someone come looking for me,
tell them I will not be too long."
Viggo all but threw the boy into the room, shutting the door behind him.
*****
Well, Dominic thought, rubbing the back of his head, that didn’t go
quiet to plan. Not that there had been much of a plan to begin with. In all
honesty, he’d just been winging it, hoping to make it back to the Prince’s
rooms, get Orlando out, and high tail it out of there. Some of his best plans
had worked like that before, when he seriously hadn’t had the time to
think of anything better. Of course, he had never had to deal with a European
Prince whose fighting skills matched the Captain’s, but were so alien
to him that he would require much more study before Dominic could ever hope
to best him.
Of course, that rested on whether he actually got to see the next day.
Dominic mentally sighed, his father was going to be far from impressed.
All of Dominic’s hopes now rested on this one Prince. The Prince whose
noes he had just kicked. This didn’t bode well for him.
The Prince Viggo was not what Dominic expected. Firstly, he had not chained
him back up, which would have been the first thing Dominic would have done.
Instead he lent against the door, blue eyes following his every move. The
unconscious confidence that Dominic had no hope of besting him was most unnerving
and it took all of Dominic’s skill not to twitch under his gaze.
"Tell me of the man who hired you."
The words booked no argument and Dominic decided the best way to keep his
neck was to comply completely.
"He was as tall as you, Sire, and dressed in black that hid his face
from me. But he spoke as a nobleman, not some savage."
The Prince said nothing for a moment and Dominic actually fidgeted. Fidgeted!
He hadn’t done that since he was a child.
"Will you see him again?"
Dominic winced, "no Sire, I offered to do this job for free. He had no
reason to see me again."
Something flashed in the Prince’s eyes and Dominic was not quiet sure
what to make of it. "Why?"
Dominic thought for a moment but decided this man would see through any lie
he could make up. The truth, however, sounded more absurd then any lie he
could have come up with. Dominic let loose a silent prayer that the Prince
was truly noble. "The man convinced me you had killed Orlando."
"If he had told you to kill my siblings, would you?"
Dominic’s shudder was real. "No sire, I do not murder children."
There was silence, the Prince’s eyes watching Dominic. Damn it all,
this man had to be the most unreadable person Dominic had ever met. It was
most infuriating. Dominic had always prided him self in being one of the best
‘crooks’ in the business. Almost everything he touched seemed
to favour him. He could read everyone and every situation like he could the
back of his own hand. Except this man!
"You have left me with the most interesting conundrum, little assassin."
Dominic couldn’t quiet tell if it was a good conundrum, or a bad one.
He was certainly hoping for a good one. And why couldn’t he say ‘puzzle’
like everybody else? Dominic guessed he probably did it just to irritate him.
Still, Dominic kept quiet, guessing talking certainly wouldn’t help
his case.
"For your attempt to assassinate a nobleman rightly you should be beheaded."
Dominic flinched, there was that ‘B’ word he hated. "But
you are, if nothing else, honest in what you say. Even though you may have
meant me harm, there is no malice in you towards my father or siblings, nor
do you know the man that would have us killed." Viggo sighed. "In
attacking me you have put me in a difficult position to do anything other
then have you killed. Being an assassin, you must know a little about politics,
so you would know the loss of choices you have left me with."
Dominic knew it only to well, and though he longed to play his last card,
he knew it would ruin everything he had worked for.
"However, Elijah has spoken out in your favour, and has given me an alternative."
Dominic wondered who this Elijah was. It couldn’t be the harem boy!
No noble man took advice from a slave. This Viggo was certainly an interesting
addition to the court.
"You will agree, willing and right now, to be come part of my harem.
For pretences, everyone will believe I do so to make your life a misery, that
death is to good for you. You will stay with Orlando and Elijah, but you will
loose any freedom you had and I will brand you as my own. Should cause any
mischief in this position I am offering you, I will not hesitate to have you
killed."
The harshness of the words made Dominic blink. Die via beheading or live a
life of servitude. He mentally shrugged, he could do a lot worse and his work
had required prostitution at one point or another, he was quiet good at what
he did, or at least that’s what his customers had said. Besides, it
gave him the chance to figure out an escape plan for Orlando and himself.
Dominic fell to his knees, his head bowed. "I will serve you, my Prince,
as best as I am able."
He saw the Prince’s soft boots come into view. A gentle hand reached
out and lifted his chin. "Do not make me regret my leniency, young Dominic.
I have no wish to kill you, I know you were only attempting to protect Orlando,
as I have done as well."
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to: Mel
go to PART 36