forum The Queen and her Bear (Reboot) // OxO // Closed

Started February 02, 2020 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

Feeling her glare, the dark-haired man simply smirked at her before he made his way outside, where his horse was waiting, tethered up in the corner. He climbed aboard and rode the few minutes to the palace, where the reception would be held.

There were no words to describe how glad he was to leave the cathedral, with it's stifling aura and smell that he could never seem to get rid of, like dead bodies and old people. Plus, Aris looked like she wanted to tear his eyeballs out and squish them under her heeled feet, and Jacos was always hard to deal with.

Yes, doing dirty work for the high ups wasn't always bad, as long as he didn't have to deal with them personally.

After checking every corner to make sure there wasn't anyone around trying to attempt an assassination, and after making sure there were no traps set up, he sent a bird to Jacos to let the new king know that the gardens were free.

The wedding was, apparently, a success. It was talked about by nobles and even commoners far and wide, and those who weren't invited were all jealous. Personally, Kade didn't get the hype, but he supposed that with as little excitement as there was for them, the could over embellish all they wanted.

He was nowhere near the capital after the wedding. Tasked by his royal highness King Jacos to make sure the honeymoon destination was free of any criminals or people who would disrupt him - really, anyone who said no to Jacos - Kade was stuck doing that instead of enjoying the week long party before the honeymoon.

The only person who said no to Jacos who would be allowed at the honeymoon was, well, the bride. Arin hated everything about the man, including the clothing he made her wear. The corsets alone would have been bad enough but the cuts bared more of her to view than she would ever have wanted, and beyond that was the fact that, as her husband, he thought he could touch her whenever he liked. Thus far it hadn't gone beyond some groping when no one else was in the room, but she was terrified of what could happen on the honeymoon. He had already made it clear that he expected heirs from her, and she wondered how long it would take him to force her into that. Because she wasn't going to come to his bed willingly, and they both knew that. The only question was how much force he was willing to use to get his way with her.

"Please, no, please-" The man's voice was cut off as Kade's sword lopped off his head. He was a simple criminal, only trying to feed his family, but the hunter's task had been to eliminate everyone standing in the way of the new king.

He wipe the blood from his face - beheading was such a messy business - and knelt down, using the dead man's tunic as a cloth, cleaning the blood from his sword as well.

Kade didn't feel remorse. He only felt numb resignation and weariness. He had killed a lot of people for many different masters; there was no space in his business for weakness and regret. He had had to kill emotions like that, shove them so far back that they couldn't raise their head, and yet-

He knelt down once more and placed his hand on the dead man's forehead. "May the sun guide your travels from this world into the next," he murmured, the typical parting words to the dead. He stood again and pulled his hood over his face, melting into the night to find his next victim.

Currently, the king and his queen were seated in the council chambers with some of the nobles. Jacos had been commended for putting aside the happy enjoyment of his marriage to stabilize his country. Arin had been only mocked for "not being enough" for her husband. Jacos had of course given no instruction to her on what to do in council, beyond curtseying and being silent. She couldn't read the memos that were passed around, didn't understand many of the words that flew back and forth rapid-fire.

When Kade finally finished, his clothes seemed to be soaked in blood. He found an inn by the side of the road, a few miles from the castle where the honeymoon would be held, and checked in. The innkeeper trembled at the sight of him, dressed completely in black with a hood casting his face into shadow. Kade just rolled his eyes and ordered a room.

When he got into the room, he knocked his hood down and stripped off his gloves. They clung to his skin before popping off with a strange suction noise, and he winced at the dried red that had leaked through. He washed his hands and walked over to the window. He should message the king, tell him his honeymoon suite was ready.

And so he did.

When the message arrived, Jacos's mouth curled into a small smile, and he sent Arin to her quarters to prepare to leave. He himself stayed at the meeting until it was over, and then he came up as well, ordering the servants on what to pack into his bags.

The king will be arriving in one day. The message from one of Kade's spies was crumpled in his hand. He sat at a table in the corner, at the inn he was staying at. He knew that he was supposed to serve his majesty the king, the mighty Jacos, conqueror of whatever the fuck it was the man said he did. He shook his head with a groan and tossed the note into the fire, watching it crackle and burn as he waited.

(Timeskip again?? idk)

Arin didn't speak to her new husband unless she absolutely had to; interaction with this man was not somethign she desired or wanted, and so she mostly did her best to ignore him, answering questions with one or two words, and none of the deference he wanted from her.

(Sorry it took me so long lol. Motivation is severely lacking)

Blood stained the floor of Jacos' room, which Kade noted instantly when he entered the room. He knelt to one knee, expressionless, although the scent filled the air. "You called for me, my king?"

The older man smiled and tapped his fingers together, wearing nothing more than a robe. He sat on a chair next to his bed, and Kade couldn't help but notice that Arin was laying on the bed, still. He felt a wave of panic for a second - was she dead?! - before she moved slightly, and he let out a quiet breath he didn't know he was holding. "Sir Kade. Will you tell the maids not to come in here today? My wife and I are having some… quality time. You're intimidating, so they'll do what you ask."

The horror of the blood and the implications of Jacos's words made Kade's teeth clench in disgust, holding back bile. "Of course, Your Majesty. Is there anything else you require?"

"No. I'll call for you again when I need it." He waved his hand dismissively, and the hunter stood.

Just like a common servant, he seethed as he stepped out the door. But he deserved much, much worse. This was nothing.

Outside the room, he bumped into the only maid who seemed to care about the queen, the one who wanted to help her but couldn't, the powerless one. The one with the same eyes he had. She met his gaze, eyes filled with revulsion and confusion.

He deserved that look. "Nix, be careful in there. He's-" his voice cut off, and he shook his head. "Help her. Please."

"Get her out of the mess you made?" She asked scathingly, and he flinched.

(it's fine!)

Arin was curled on the bed, her back to the door. She didn't move when she heard Kade enter the room; there was no reason to. Her whole body ached, and there were bruises all over, along with some cuts. Jacos had not outright tortured her; it wouldn't be a good look, but he saw no issue with beating her until she could hardly move, or throwing her down on the bed and using her. She was lucky, she supposed, that her maid had been slipping her a contraceptive tea, to keep the king from actually getting her pregnant. She knew that, were she to bear a child to Jacos, and the child was male, she likely wouldn't live longer after that. All Jacos wanted from her was an heir to further legitimize his reign.

"Go. Just go. You've ruined it enough already. I thought you had a plan, Kaden." The maid's voice was venomous, and Kade winced at her use of his name. He didn't even try to deny anything.

"I do. I did." He ran a hand through his hair and turned to go. "I-I'm sorry, Nixie," he said as he left, tongue stumbling over words he wasn't used to saying.

The maid, Nixie, shook her head, evident fury in her eyes, before she stood by the door, waiting. After Jacos left, she stepped into the room, holding back a scream of horror at the sight of the room and the condition of the queen. She set her tray down and knelt next to Aris, shaking. "My lady. Aris. Are you okay? Can you sit up?" She helped the queen sit up and then started a bath and helped the queen in. She tore the sheets off the bed, cleaned the floors, and scrubbed at the bloodstains on the wood boards of the bed as best she could, seething all the while.

"I'm fine." she breathed, though she clearly was not, not when she winced with each small movement, not when she curled up again once she was in the bathtub, silent and pained. She was already a far cry from what she had been, when she was first brought here. She was breaking, or was already broken, from Jacos's treatment of her.