forum The Captive Prince (o/o) closed

Started August 12, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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Fiori's kingdom had a thriving slave trade with several of its neighbors, it was strange to imagine a world without any at all. "You don't? How do you get things done then?"

“We use our criminals,” he replied, “And even then it’s only for a set number of years until they are released depending on their crime. Citizens are also paid to work as well, by their own will of course if they need money. Our people can also hire servants for agriculture. But they must be paid.”

Fiori nodded, still slightly confused. "Who tends to your gods- I mean… your god then? Do you have only priests? And who takes care of your home? Do you have to pay people for that also?"

“We don’t…tend to our god. But we do have priests and religious leaders who intercede for us,” he answered, looking up to see how far away they were, “And yes, we do pay lower class servants to tend to the castle and such.”

Fiori walked them up to a door and shoved it open, revealing a surprisingly simple bedroom. A bed covered in plush first sat in the middle of the wall with a large chest pushed up against the end. In the corner sat a simple but well made wooden desk, a chair tucked neatly underneath it. The walls were a dusty blue, bare except for a well-painted portrait of an older woman with Fi's eyes.

Fi strolled inside casually, turning to make sure Levi would follow. "We give our gods offerings and commune with them often. I assume you do not do the same."

Levi took in the atmosphere of Fiori’s bedroom, barely hearing his question. It registered only after a brief pause, “Oh, we gather to make animal sacrifices to our god,” he recalled, “And we offer incense and precious stones more often than animal sacrifices. Not to say I like the incense.”

"I thought your god was omnipotent. Why should he want your funny little rocks?" Fiori shut the door behind them and wandered over to the chest, rifling through it for some more comfortable clothing. His uncle had forced him into formal clothes to meet the slave, and he was not happy in them.

Levi made a face, “I don’t know what happens to the jewels, the priests just take them back to the temple and we never see them again.”

Fiori blinked, finding that incredibly suspicious. "How wealthy is your church?" he asked, tossing a comfortable pair of pants onto the bed and starting to strip off his shirt. "Do they make any money outside of your offerings?"

He paused again to think, “It is…very wealthy.” He pursed his lips at this realization, “And there is a profit coming from taxes to pay for the temple’s upkeep…” he scratched his upper lip, “Oh shit.”

Fiori snorted, tossing his shirt on top of the chest and peeling off his stupid formal pants. "It sounds like your priests have not been honoring the spirit of your god. Perhaps he is not to omniscient as you say."

Levi averted his eyes while Fiori undressed, “That doesn’t mean—“ He stammered, “He knows what’s going on, it’s just…we don’t.” He decided that when he got back to his kingdom, he would demand to know what happened behind the closed doors of the temple. He was the ruler. Of course they would have to let him in…right? He swallowed anxiously.

Fiori pulled on his new pair of pants, comfortable for the first time that day. "You don't what? Don't matter to him? Or perhaps you don't want to acknowledge that what I'm saying makes sense. Either way, you should probably evaluate your religion more carefully."

Levi shot a glare back as offense welled in his stomach once again, “I meant we don’t know what the priests do! I need to evaluate the priests more carefully, not the whole religion,” he snapped. “Ialdir’s not the one to question here, I stand in my beliefs.”

Fiori accepted the glare with a shrug. "Then why has he let this cycle continue for so long without giving your people a sign or putting an end to their greed? Does he not care about being taken advantage of and misrepresented?"

Levi took another breath to calm himself down, “I don’t know, can we change the subject?” Fiori was right: he didn’t want to admit that their view of Ialdir, or at least even the way the priests ran things, was flawed at best. To think about it, they had no access to the sacred writings other than what the priests read, and that began to leave a bad taste in his mouth.
“—Where will I sleep?”

Fiori wanted to press the issue but he dropped it as soon as he saw the look on Levi's face. He was obviously seeing the point of Fi's words, it would only cause trouble to keep talking about it. "The bed, Leviticus. I know it isn't fancy but my normal rooms are being redone."

“Is this your bed?” He blinked, “I’m sleeping in your bed?” He didn’t care how fancy it was or wasn’t; in fact he expected to sleep in less than desirable conditions. He would have assumed he would sleep on the floor as opposed to the prince’s bed. But of course he wasn’t complaining.

"You can always sleep on the floor if you're that upset by it." Fiori closed the chest with a little more force than he needed to. The slam echoed through the room. "I'm going to see the silversmith about a new collar, you can stay here."

Levi jumped, his expression falling at the sound of a new collar. He frowned; he thought he was done with that, “O-okay,” he swallowed and walked over to sit down on the edge of the bed. His feet hurt like hell.

Fiori grimaced when Levi frowned, regretful. Collars were used to show who was a slave and who wasn't, it was important that Levi wear something to show his status. "It will be small. Get some rest while I'm gone, and don't leave this room."

“Alright,” He relented, more than willing to obey Fiori’s first command at getting some rest. He desperately needed it after the very uncomfortable journey here.

Fiori left, shutting the door behind him without a second thought. This place was a maze and Levi was too tired to escape anyways.

Once Fiori disappeared behind the door, he laid down and rested his head against the pillow. He drifted off quicker than he anticipated, even more relaxed and less anxious than he was in the bath.

Fiori got back later than he thought he would, sidetracked by a visit to the tailor and the cobbler. Levi would need clothes that fit and good shoes, especially if the gods decided he would be staying for a while. He walked into the room carelessly, surprised to see that Levi was asleep. "Leviticus?"