forum 'cause you left me drowning (o/o)

Started June 07, 2022 by Deleted user

tune

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Elias was currently up in his room, allowing by just the slimmest of margins for his attendants to prepare him for the dinner he would be having with his future partner before the ceremony for the marriage and subsequent consummation. They all looked away in fear when they noticed he was being more attentive than he seemed, to anyone who didn't know Elias they would think he'd be staring off into space but he was trickier than that. Apparently, his parents approved of him being the man he was, so long as he married a man who could provide heirs. Not all kingdoms were so generous, he knew, but he also knew that he would take the apparent generosity for granted until they took it all away. As was tradition, he wore the dress magically preserved to perfection and worn by many generations of women before him, all firstborns and all marrying into wealth. He was no woman, but it was tradition, and matricide and patricide was generally frowned upon as a means of escaping unfortunate marriages. He knew it was the son of their "former" enemy he was supposed to marry, but he didn't know much else about him. So he simply went along with things, knowing that many generations of his bloodline had mysterious deaths of disposable spouses in their genes. In the Mage kingdoms, it was only natural. And as the strongest mage in six generations of this kingdom, Elias was the perfect fit for power. The neighboring kingdom had more territory anyways, so he would manage to make the situation bend to his benefit once the appropriate ceremonies of land ownership had been held. All these thoughts spun in his head, and those were just the simple ones.

Theo sat in the dining room, waiting and trying to calm his pounding heart. Emotions he couldn’t identify roared in their ears, paralyzing him in their seat. They had never understood his parents, not completely, but he knew that they liked to keep them close and put away, like a treasured jewel in a glass case. They liked him as their quiet, obedient child, who never got in the way of things and did as he was told, even when he reached adulthood. He had belonged to them, and it seemed like he always would.
But they were here now, about to be bonded to someone they barely knew. His parents had given them away, had basically transferred their ownership of him to someone else. They had always tried to please Mother and Father, to be the prince they wanted him to be. But now, it was as if the only way they could please them was if he never saw them again. It was this Theo did not understand. He must have displeased them if this was the case, but how? He had tried so hard. They had tried so hard to be what they wanted him to be, but neither Mother nor Father seemed to care. Theo did not understand.
But he was here now. This is what Mother and Father wanted, and there did not seem to be any other choice but to go along.
They felt something curl around their leg. He flinched, but soon calmed when he saw the snake’s head peek out from underneath the table, onto his lap.
The snake flickered her tongue. It’s cold in here.
Theo sighed, already knowing what she meant. “Alright, you can warm up on me. But you better get out of sight when the prince arrives,” he murmured.
Yay! The snake curled into his lap, coiling her long body across their legs. They gently stroked her scales, her presence helping their mood.

Elias slicked back the little blonde tufts of hair that stuck up from his short, choppy cut and straightened the outdated wedding dress far removed from the fashions of mere lords and ladies who wore much more modern garments in the districts of the Kaos kingdom, of which his family ruled in a way Elias thought was unjust, and far from the fear they used to rule with. Peasants deserved nothing more but to be kept in line. In any case, he was prepared if this prince he was supposed to marry tried anything, this dress had its uses as a garment meant to hide many weapons for the purpose of slaughtering anything he deemed unfit to live, unfit for his hand. His glittering blue eyes closed for a minute, normally slitted thin pupils blown up just slightly with intrigue. Elias summoned his staff from across the room, the snakelike part dragon, more demon familiar awakening and stretching its limbs, then curling around Elias's shoulders like a strange parody of a scarf. He allowed himself to settle down, and made his way to the dining hall where he could finally meet this mysterious prince. He hoped to torment him as much as he could as retribution for this heinous act. As he made his way down the stairs, his pale skin glittered in the dim light, all thanks to the layers of cakey makeup he'd had put on by his attendants by no fault of his own. He looked almost beautiful, if not for the sly look in his snakelike eyes. He entered the dining hall, and scanned the room for the prince.

Theo had taken great care in smuggling the snake inside. Though her body was long and thick, it was also gray with perfect camouflage, which helped quite a bit. Her name was Ko, and Theo liked to think she was one of his best friends. They didn’t have any human friends, so a snake had to count, right?
Their shoulders tensed at the sound of footsteps. When he looked up, his eyes caught the figure entering the hall, and they quickly motioned for Ko to get off of his lap. They faced the prince again, taking in his appearance while also dreading to be gazed upon in return.
As for Theo, the only reason he knew they were pretty was because everyone, especially Mother, told him so. He didn’t like makeup, but only needed the faintest brush of color to accentuate his cheeks and lips anyway. Their raven-colored hair was twisted into a small topknot, with some of it left to hang over his forehead and frame his narrow face. Securing the topknot was a silver pin, with a small emerald imbedded in one end. Silver ear cuffs also framed their ears, curling in detailed patterns over the olive skin. For now, the other prince could only see that they were wearing a frilly white dress shirt with the large sleeves Theo adored so much, overlaid with a green silk sash.
He stayed very still. They knew that they should probably say something, greet him at the very least, but he found that his tongue would not move and form words. Their eyes immediately locked on the creature curled around the prince’s shoulders, already fascinated. As a compromise, they stood up from his seat and gave the other a simple bow.

Elias didn't acknowledge Theo, simply choosing to sit down longways across the table from him, the near infinite space between the two seeming incredibly close and far all at the same time as Elias stared at Theo. The creature unwound itself from Elias's neck and skittered away for now, apparently disinterested in this encounter for now. That was when Elias chose to speak. "You're handsome. I don't particularly care for that, but I suppose that you already know that." he said, leaning forward with his arms folded over each other and eyes narrowing. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly the table was filled with a banquet fit for the gods themselves. "Eat, before it all disappears."

Theo found himself a little saddened when the creature left. They were already more interested in it than the prince it belonged to. Sitting down, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. If he was being honest, they would have preferred being given the prince’s name than another meaningless compliment.
They jerked a little when the food appeared. Finding his voice could work again, he opened his mouth to speak before noticing Ko peek her head out from underneath the table. What he had been about to say died and turned into a sigh instead. He looked up to the other prince, piles of the choicest foods between them.
“With all due respect, I’m not very hungry,” he said. Then they glanced underneath the table. “Didn’t you already eat three days ago?” They kept their voice as quiet as he could manage.
You don’t have to get me anything big, Ko hissed, flickering her tongue. Something small is fine. I just need something to bite. She hissed some more, in a pattern he had come to recognize as laughter. They shook his head faintly.

Elias had a keen eye, he knew some sort of creature was speaking to the prince but he had no idea what. He signaled to his demon with a small hand gesture, barely noticeable from this distance. The demon snaked around the room in a relatively inconspicuous manner and made its way from behind over to Theo. With its small, scaley claws, it slithered around Theo and grew in size as it moved, eventually pinning him to the chair. Elias stood up, and moved over to Theo. The thing pinning Theo down snickered and tightened its body around Theo, not to harm, but to ensure Theo would have no avenues of escape.

(I’ll miss you Orion! I’m gonna reply anyway)

He looked up when he did not hear an answer from the other man, and nervously glanced around, unsure of what to say. Theo then focused on the table, searching for something he could give to Ko. Something meaty would be best, most likely. Before they could settle on anything, however, they felt a scaly body constricting itself around him. Alarmed, he looked down at the thing, but it did not have the same patterning as Ko’s body did.
“Um, hello?” He said tentatively. “Gh- oh, you’re strong. Hi. Those are some nice constriction muscles you have there. And what does your diet consist of, friend? I can get you something too. If you’re hungry, of course. If I am your chosen prey then I would advise you choose something else, as I don’t think I would be very nutritious.” They glanced up, seeing Prince Elias approach. “Oh. Hello.” Strange how he could suddenly speak better when they had a large creature pinning him to the chair.
They heard Ko hiss and wrap around their leg. Theo winced. She may feel threatened by the creature, and worried for his safety as well. This was bad, mostly because her biting tendency tended to increase when she was threatened.

"Claudia, don't pay any attention to the brat. He's only looking to cause you trouble, now." Elias said to the demon familiar. He looked to Theo with murder in his eyes. "Now, Theo, if that is truly your name, I don't like games. And I hold with the traditional way of thinking in that husbands are disposable. Now, the wedding is in two hours, and we have five minutes to get our issues out of the way. I say you state your case quickly before my familiar rips your eyes out. A man does not have to see to be a good king, his consort may rule for him if incapacitated and trust me, I'm being very gracious in not taking your ability to produce heirs away."

Now Theo was just confused. “Games? My case?” He muttered. Looking back down at the creature, they tried to explain, “Um, I was just trying to make conversation with your… familiar. But it seems I cannot, seeing at it has demonic traits. Ah, is it alright if I use ‘it’ to refer to the creature?”
Theo sighed. “Just a moment.” They tried to lean forward a little, looking down beneath the table. “Ko, get off of my leg. I’m fine. You’re are just going to have to find something else to bite.”
Hisssss…. What is that… thing doing here…. He felt her uncoil herself and slither away, farther beneath the table.
Looking back to Elias, he said, “To be honest, I thought you would be king, and I would be prince consort. And by the way, taking my ability to produce heirs would be the much more gracious than taking away my eyes, in my opinion.” Then their face fell. “I’m sorry. If I made you feel threatened… I’m sorry. I just… wanted to have a friend with me. While I’m here.” The words sounded childish, and he hated it. Gods above, how could Mother and Father just leave them here?

Elias laughed. "That's not how that works. You know it. I'm being married off to you, and you will own me. Truly, a spectacular arrangement. But I digress. Ultimately it is up to you what happens in our marriage bed, so long as one attempt to produce heirs is made a night my parents and yours will be perfectly satisfied." he said, smoothing down folds of silk that had ruffled in his movements. "The only thing different is that I will have your territory, as is the tradition for the dowry. I will control your kingdom's military, and its people and property." he explained, feeling a tad exhausted at having to do so. "As well as, once our parents are properly disposed of we will no longer have to create more heirs for the now joined Kaos-Theia kingdoms." Elias said, Theia was Theo's home and unfortunately it was barely a home at all, weak as it was to Elias.

The longer Elias talked, the more Theo felt his soul slipping away. They waited a full five seconds after the other prince stopped speaking, then said shakily, “Oh… I must have… gotten confused, then…”
Despite not having eaten anything, they could feel nausea blurring his vision and numbing his limbs. It was, quite frankly, a lot. They stayed silent, just trying to process Elias’s words. Somehow, his demon became the only thing keeping them from vomiting or making a fool of himself, and for that, Theo was rather grateful to it.
It was mostly the ‘making heirs’ bit. Theo had done a great deal of things in order to please his parents, but this may just be where they drew the line. Of course, with marriage came the expectation of producing heirs, but he had never gave much thought to it until now. Never gave much thought to marrying anybody in the first place, come to think of it.
Then there was the line about disposing their parents. It did not quite register in Theo’s brain. For as long as they could remember, Mother and Father had dominated his world. They were like indestructible pillars, both towering over him and/or looming in the distance. What did Elias mean by “dispose”?

Elias released Theo, and returned his familiar to its form as a staff. "The wedding is in one hour. Your caretakers will ensure you have no issue finding your way to the venue, I presume?" Elias asked, raising an eyebrow. To use the term "caretakers" for servants was deliberately insulting, insinuating childishness and unfitness to lead or control their partners in marriage. Ultimately, Elias was trying to test Theo and especially their patience. "I'll see you when it is time for the ceremony, and thanks to you, I will be quite famished. Unfortunately, I am rather unfortunate to deal with in that state. Ensure it doesn't happen again." with that, Elias stepped out.

Theo, dazed, watched the creature morph into the staff, fascinated by its abilities. Or, perhaps, Elias’s ability to make it do those things. He stayed silent. Perhaps Mother and Father hadn’t really left. No, they had just possessed the body of this prince, for surely Elias’s last words were the same ones their parents had used in the past. He could almost hear Mother chiding them in the same way. They stared at the floor.
The wedding was in one hour. Theo’s heart began thumping. They glanced up, but the thriving feast that had once filled the table was gone. A shaky sigh tumbled its way out of his lips.
“Ko,” he croaked. “I’m okay.” No. No, they were not.
Extending his hand below the table, he heard Ko hiss, and cold scales alight on their fingers. He brought her up to see her curling around his hand. Why does a human have that thing in his possession?
“No idea,” they replied, voice monotone. He let her hitch a ride around his shoulders. “Sorry I couldn’t get you anything.”
Ko flickered her tongue in indifference. Slowly, dazedly, Theo left the room.