The Prelude

“Lord Saran, the King has arrived.”

Nodding to his personal assistant, a tall, slim man with long hair the color of a starless night moved to take his customary seat. During his meetings with the King, Lord Saran always sat in one of two plush seats upholstered in black leather and sat at an angle equally facing one another and the obviously immoderate fireplace. The chairs themselves were rather uncomfortable, but they fit the theme of Lord Saran’s drawing room perfectly, power and opulence. Lord Saran was quite invested in showing off his wealth and, by extension, his influence. Family heirlooms, objects of antiquity, former possessions of formerly great people; the good Lord had spent an agonizing amount of time collecting such things, sometimes through very questionable means. Why shouldn’t he show them off to all those whom he considered worth entertaining?

Finally, he heard footsteps headed towards the partially cracked door to the drawing room. Arranging his handsome features appropriately, a look of anxious concern, the Lord grasped both arms of his chair in a suitably desperate fashion. He leaned forward ever so slightly and began chewing his bottom lip. He had already arranged his hair so that it would appear disheveled and he had applied just the right amount of face paint to give him the appearance of having lost many nights worth of sleep. All in all, he looked like a nervous wreck and that was his exact goal.

When a knock sounded on the solid, dark oak door, Lord Saran lifted his head and called out in a strained, worried voice,

“Enter, please!”

When a servant entered, the Lord whipped his head around in a manic manner. The servant bowed low and moved to the side so that the King, dressed in the clothes of a peasant and completely devoid of any sign of his actual station, could enter the room fully. At the sight of his lord and sovereign, Lord Saran shot up from his seated position and bowed just as low as his own servant while breathing out in a low, quivering voice,

“My King, you grace me with your presence!”

He heard more than saw the man move over the rich carpet of the room. When the King came to stand by Lord Saran’s head, his royal hands grasped the dark headed man’s shoulders and forced him into a standing position just before folding him into a strong, rib-crushing hug. Instantly returning the embrace, Lord Saran gave out a breathy laugh at the King’s show of affection. As the other released the Lord, he held him out at arm’s length to get a better look at him. Naturally, the King frowned at the appearance of his most trusted friend and greatest ally. The frown was a tragic disfigurement on the royal visage.

King Amery was a decidedly gorgeous man. His hair was a golden brown and its curls reached his shoulders, his eyes were a piercing green and his face was one of the most handsome things Lord Saran had ever seen, which is certainly saying quite a lot. He was strong and robust, but he wasn’t oversized as such men can sometimes be. Everything about him simply cried ‘Prince Charming’ and ‘White Knight’ and Lord Saran had once found that fact to be irresistible. King Amery was like a shining example of virtue, but he was flawed like any other and he accepted that, owned it even. Humble and kind, he was a fantastic King and someone whom Lord Saran had once believed in above all others…

The King didn’t release his grip until he had sat Lord Saran down in his customary seat and received a reassuring smile from the Lord. Once he had his friend sitting down, only then did His Majesty take his own seat opposite the dark haired noble. Giving the King a tired smile, Lord Saran spoke to him in a hoarse whisper, as though he could hardly speak at all.

“My King, you shouldn’t be here. You should be in your Northern Castle with your family…”

Shaking his head, King Amery gave an exhausted laugh and tired smile of his own. When he spoke, his voice was strained, but still possessed of its usual confidence and natural charisma. His voice had always been a strange thing, as much a weapon as any sword could be.

“Saran, you know I couldn’t flee from my own people. Not only would that paint me to be a coward, but it would also insinuate that I am wrong. It would be an admission of guilt and the best way for my enemies at court to win…”

Lord Saran looked at the King, usually so full of life and vibrancy, and saw just how draining certain recent events had been for him. It was almost sad… almost. As it was, the Lord poured all of his false sympathy into his ebony eyes and gave the King an understanding look and friendly pat on the shoulder. So his hand lingered a bit longer than was strictly necessary, it was simply a comforting gesture.

In all reality, the King was right. Fleeing from the southern half of his kingdom would most likely cement his estrangement from his once loyal citizens, but it was, regrettably, the only way for him to survive the coming reckoning. Lord Saran never should have even suggested the King's flight, but he figured that he would rather risk his true sovereign’s momentary temper rather than condemn his oldest friend to death and postmortem vilification without having had some kind of chance at escape. Sadly, his friend obviously had no idea of what kind of enemy he was truly facing… He believed he himself was at least safe from bodily harm, but he was so very wrong.

As tired green eyes looked up to meet sad obsidian orbs, there was a small spark between them. It had always existed and it had a way of showing up at the most inopportune of times, like now. Withdrawing his hand and focusing his gaze upon the flames in the opulent fireplace, Lord Saran spoke once more, still in that hoarse whisper.

“Well, an admission of guilt it might be, but at least it would keep you safe… What about your family? Have you at least spirited them away to safety?”

The King kept his gaze trained on the Lord’s face, Lord Saran could tell from the simple feeling of heat flushing his cheeks. The velvety voice that issued from those perfectly handsome lips was stronger than his earlier utterances.

“Yes Saran, I have sent the Queen and my son to foster with Lady Aeron in the north, just as you suggested. Thank you for caring enough for me to spare a thought for them. I can never thank you enough…”

Lord Saran rolled his eyes only slightly as he looked back to King Amery. Their eyes met and there was that damnable spark again! This time though, the dark orbs held the green ones as one corner of the Lord’s lip curled into a devious smirk. Even with the paint and unkempt hair, the appearance of that familiar smirk made Lord Saran even more beautiful than he already had been. It was a sometimes disconcerting fact that the good Lord was always the most entrancing one in a room due to his physical beauty and grace. It was almost unnatural…

The Lord’s voice was stronger and far more seductive than even the most sultry pleasure worker could have managed. It sounded like the darkest shadows on the hottest night in a far off paradise. It was pure sin and then some, at least to King Amery.

“Oh Amery, I think we both know at least several different ways you might thank me…”

Almost without thinking and certainly without conscious effort, the King’s body moved. He sunk down to the floor on his knees before the dark Lord and took one of the other man’s hands into his own. Placing a single hot kiss to the palm, he let his tongue slip past his lips and lick all the way to the tip of the longest finger. Swirling the muscle around that finger’s tip, hazy green eyes looked up to meet half lidded black ones before the King sucked the entire digit into his mouth.

Licking his own lips before peaking in a low, rough tone, the Lord whispered out,

“Now, that’s more like it… I think another room could do with our attention, yes?”

Without further argument, Amery stood to his full height and towered over the shorter Saran as he stood at the same time. Scooping the shorter man up into his strong arms and cradling him in a warm embrace, the King carried his Lord out of the drawing room and down the hall to a stair case. As he maneuvered their bodies towards a place he knew quite well, the pair kissed. The kiss was hot and searing, but still controlled. The servants were still about and King Amery was nothing if not the picture of good behavior… most of the time.

Amery woke when the sunlight poured through the still open windows. Under different circumstances, he might have thought of it as a stranger’s window, but he knew Saran’s bedroom fixtures intimately. Turning onto his side, the King realized that he was alone on the large, sumptuous bed. He was naked save for the heavy, dark coverlet that had been tossed across his lower half, probably by Saran in order to protect Amery’s own sense of modesty. Amery revealed a slightly rueful smile as he realized that the pair hadn’t even made it under the bed’s own covers during the night.

Finally giving a huge, king-sized yawn, Amery rolled to the bed’s edge and stood in a single fluid motion. With the coverlet wrapped around his waist, he began searching for his clothes from the night before, but he stopped suddenly as he felt a strange pang in his chest. It was very near his heart and it somehow made him short of breath.

As he moved to prop himself up on the closest surface, a large, ornate chester drawer, he grasped at his left breast. Another pang, this one stronger and decidedly more painful than the last elicited a sudden gasp from his full lips. Deciding to make it for the door and hopefully find help, another pang, this time searing, ripped through his chest and caused him to stumble forward with a loud cry. His landing was cushioned by the plush carpeting, but it still caused a loud thump. Opening his mouth to scream for help, another pang tore through him and stole his voice with its violent pain.

Amery kicked out with his legs and made contact with the dark wood drawers from earlier. This caused a few small objects to fall from the drawer’s edge and hit the floor. One of them was metal and caused yet another thump. Between the crash of his feet hitting the wood and the falling of multiple objects, enough noise was generated to draw the attention of last night’s lover.

When he saw Saran enter, Amery’s panicked mind calmed somewhat. Saran was an amazing man capable of many mystical things. Amery had always known the magical nature of the other and he had always envied him and loved him for it in equal measure. If anyone could diagnose what was ailing the King and then fix it, it would certainly be loyal Lord Saran.

Black eyes flowed over the scene before them. They glittered with bitter malice and they shined with a cold light. The look in those eyes was enough to freeze the blood of the pained King instantly. When another, more painful pang ripped through Amery’s chest, his face contorted in a silent scream and his entire body went rigid, his vision overtaken by white, and he saw nothing. He didn’t see the sudden look of pain and sadness that flashed across Saran’s face just as he had never seen the true depths of the man’s love for him.

By the time Amery’s vision returned, the look was gone from the Lord’s face and he had knelt down by his King’s head. His voice was quiet and it contained an undertone of a snake’s hiss when he spoke.

“You were always so kind and trusting. Such a good king, but certainly not the brightest; now you pay for errors that are unknown to you. Your family will pay with you, have no doubt, but at least your pretty little wife will know exactly what her crimes are…”

As he spoke, Amery’s face twisted with first fear then rage. The pain in his eyes was sharpened by the betrayal he felt as surely as he would a knife in his ribs. He brought his fist up in a movement as close to lightning as a human could manage, but it connected with only air. Lord Saran had not only moved out of range, but he had somehow moved all the way to the other side of the room and taken a seat in one of two chairs facing his bedroom balcony. As he focused his gaze on the blood red sunrise, he heard the sounds of Amery’s final chest pang. He knew that the King’s heart had just finished imploding and he almost couldn’t bear the thought… almost.

Author's Note

Please let me know if this seems too rambling or confusing. Also, general thoughts on the chapter overall would be very helpful.

Reviews

[K.D. Wagner]

Interesting characters. I wouldn't say it is rambling or confusing. There are a few parts that have unneeded words in them, but for the most part it flows naturally and even the added bits to the sentences work with the almost internal narration you've got going.

I haven't decided if this is your villain yet, but he is very intriguing. Keep up the good work!

[Slithering Angel]

Thank you for your review; insightful and uplifting at the same time. I was going for that personal, internal feel so to know that I achieved it is beyond helpful.

And villain? Probably. Main villain? Almost certainly not. ;-)

[Kiro]

I found that the start f the chapter was slightly off, almost like you've had troubles to start. It is fixed in few paragraphs, however, and starts to flow like your usual text does.
There are few parts in the chapter that I had trouble concentrating on, mostly due the plentiful wording, but it was nothing that would put me off from reading the text itself.
I am most impressed again how well you layer your character's personalities into their actions and dialogue, without much need to explain them to the reader, as well as the way you portray emotion; I can feel those emotions running along the text, a fact that I am used with your text, but that is still quite rare in amateur writings. I will be keeping an eye to this story to see how it unfolds, and to see how you unravel both your characters and your writing of them.

[Slithering Angel]

As always, your thoughts and impressions are most appreciated. ;-) Honestly, yes, the beginning was kind of a tough nut to crack , so to speak. The rest of the writing took on a natural flow for me after the second paragraph or so. As for the wording, I was afraid I might have been too generous with that; you know how I describe EVERYTHING in detail. xD Although, you should be warned that the words used to describe Saran are very important despite their verbosity. ^_^

[Kiro]

Always a pleasure ;-)