Charles smiled at the people closest to them. They had payed a lot for those seats and he didn't want them to think that there money was wasted.
"There is nothing wrong with wanting to eat. But at an event like this, especially when you are technically the entrainment." he whispered at cass
He nodded to a servant as she plated two plates and handed one to each him and Cass.
"You wait to be served. Do not lower yourself to a point where you would do it yourself. At least when you are on display."
He picked up his fork and took a bite of a tiny potato, signaling to the rest of the table that they could then eat.
Cass makes a face. He lifts the fork, looking at the food in front of him. He then sets the fork down and lifts his glass again, taking another drink, “You. . . Think I’m -lowering myself by getting myself food? Pfft. . . It makes no sense to make someone serve me when I can do it myself.”
His gaze slides over to Charles, “But I guess and spoiled Prince like you wouldn’t know a thing about serving himself.” He brings the words from the wine room back. The image of Charles shattering the glass still fresh in his mind.
He looks at Charles, his eyes scann8ng the other man’s face for a reaction.
Charles swallowed hard and turned from his plate to face Cassius.
"Are you baiting me?" he asked, a slow smile forming.
He fiddled with his bandages under the table to stop/distract himself from reacting in a big way.
They had an audience after all. And why would he want to ruin this fantastic meal with an outburst. Even though he was well aware that that is why half of them were there. For an off chance to see a display of his infamous temper.
He took a deep breath and grabbed his glass, drained it, and signed to one of the slaves to come.
"Fill this with something stronger." he said.
Not caring that this could be considered rude or inappropriate to the occasion. And it might maybe be concreted to be verging on an outburst.
Cass rolls his eyes and stands, pushing his chair back away from the table. He bends slightly to whisper into Charles ear, “Not everything is about you. I have no reason to bait you, Charles.”
He straightens, forcing a smile to his face and then just walks from the room. The doors click closed quietly behind him and he wanders around for a moment before finding a door to the outside world and walks out. The small garden was elevated and facing the sea. His beloved ocean.
He stares at the glittering water, and then drops his head to the railing. He didn’t care if walking out like that was disrespectful. He didn’t care what the stuck up nobles thought about him. All he wanted was to go out to the sea.
“Not everything is about you. I have no reason to bait you, Charles.”
The smile slowly melted off of his face. without moving, he heard the doors shut with a tiny click. The room was almost silent, everyone was waiting for his reaction.
Charles took his now full glass back from the slave and drank it all in one gulp. He slammed the glass down on the table, cracking the bottom.
"No." he stated simply before standing up so fast that his chair was turned over and hit the floor with a crash. He clenched his fist so hard that his nails cut through the bandaging and his hand started to bleed again, the red soaking the linen. But that didn't matter, he was blinded by his rage and the pain only fueled it.
He slammed open the doors and marched down the hall, following the trail of open doors to a balcony. He opened the doors, they trembled on the hinges as they swung open.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Charles yelled. "WHAT RIGHT DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE TO JUST STAND UP AND WALK AWAY!?"
Cass stares at the water. He could feel the longing, to just run to the sea and never look back. But the slamming of the doors made him jump slightly and turn. In the face of Charles’ rage, Cass was calm, quiet. He lets the other man yell at him and then looks away silently.
He knew he probably looked as pitiful as he felt, but he didn’t care. “What right? What, am I just another slave to you?” Cass asks calmly.
“Some one to boss around and tell what to do? But really, I needed the space. It would have been much more embarrassing for you if I sat there and got drunk off my ass just so I didn’t have to feel the shit I don’t want to feel.” He closes his eyes.
Charles clenched his fits harder, the blood dripping down and pooling on the floor.
"no." he said simply.
"YOu are not a slave! But you are my fiancé, and that makes you an honorary member of my household until we are wed! Wether you like it or not!"
He watched as Cass closed his eyes and Charles took a deep breath. Silencing another outburst of yelling.
"Do not-" he stoped himself "Hold out you hands." he demanded, his voice cold and commanding. A slight threat hidden deep inside his tone if he was disobeyed.
Cass scowls, “Well, then I’ll do as I please, and if it means coming out here for a breath of fresh air so I don’t do something foolish, then that is what I’ll do.” His gaze drops to Charles’ hand and he frowns slightly, his features softening.
Instead of holding his hands out, he gently takes Charles’ hand and unwraps the linen. “You wrapped it wrong. And it’s not going to do anything like this. . .” He takes a clean corner of the bandage and careful whines the cuts. He pulls a clean bandage from his pocket and his hand swiftly wrap Charles’ hand.
“Being a sailor, it was useful to carry around bandages. You never know when you may need to grab onto a flying rope. The bandages prevented rope burn, so obviously I had to learn how to wrap them.” He doesn’t look up at Charles, and when he finishes, he turns away again, facing the sea once more. “You should be able to move your hand freely and it shouldn’t cut open unless you want it too.”
(Apparently Cass can be nice or something-)
"Your coming out for a breath of fresh air was foolish. I-"
he stoped when Cass took his hand, he tried to pull it back, but found he could not escape, especially with how much pain it was in.
He watched as Cass unwrapped the soaked linen, the color draining from his face from the amount of blood lost. The cuts were deep and there were still tiny peaces of glass standing in the soft tissue.
“You wrapped it wrong. And it’s not going to do anything like this. . .” Charles heard cass say faintly. He reached out with his other hand and gripped Cass's shoulder to steady himself.
Cass sighs, “I can’t pull the glass, you’ll have to see a medic for that. But I can stanch the bleeding.” He tightens the bandage around Charles’ wrist, not too tight enough to stop the blood flow all together, but tight enough for the bleeding to slow.
He steps away, sighing, “I don’t care what they think of me, and you shouldn’t either. It I need a breath of fresh air so I don’t punch you or anyone else in the face. Though that’s normally outside my typical behavior of calm and collected, I don’t like people telling me when I can and can’t eat.” He gives the other man a look.
(Well, he’s just in a bad mood because he doesn’t want to get married. He’s usually a cheerful fellow)
(lol)
Charles sways, struggling not to show weakness in front of cass. And failing drastically.
HE took a deep breath and spoke slowly so as not to slur his words. "that's fine, but at an event like this one, people will serve you. they are quite literally payed to do it."
“Well. . .” He sighs, looking away, “That’s not the point. You could have just said, ‘Hey, Cassius, we have someone who will bring you food’ instead of slapping my hand away.”
He stares at the water, “And again, I’ll do whatever I please, because I don’t care what they think. It’s not like I made a big show about it. I just quietly left. They could have thought I needed to go to the bathroom or something. It’s you who decided to be dramatic.”
"For that i apologize. it was a gut reaction." Charles leaned on the wall to support himself and folded his arms.
"People have been killed for less. I don't care that you don't care, I am trying to keep you alive." he sighed.
"And no one just gets up to use the bathroom at things like this. It Just doesn't happen!"
Cass scowls, crossing his arms and resting them on the banister, “Aren’t you the one who decides who gets killed around here?” He shakes his head, the corner of his mouth curling up ruefully.
“And whatever. I’m a sailor, not a nobleman. And you can’t force me to be one either. It’s not who I was raised to be, and it’s not what I want to be. So get used to it. Get used to someone telling you ‘no’, because you’re going to be hearing it a lot from me.”
Cass doesn’t look at Charles, keeping his back to the other man and watching the moonlight reflect off the distant water.
"How about a deal?" Charles asks. "From now until a week after the wedding, you at least to pretend to enjoy yourself. And, at the end of it, I'll buy you a boat, stock it with a crew and supplies, and anything else you could need. Then you can go off and enjoy your 'sailor lifestyle' you want so much."
Charles tilted his head to clear the tiny black spots flooding his vison.
Cass scowls, “That does nothing for us. People would expect me to be here. Face it. You can’t get rid of me, and I’m stuck on land.” He swallows and shakes his head.
“Figure out how you’re going to deal with me around, because I’m not going to change just to make you happy. That’s not who I am.“ He keeps staring at the water.
He wondered what his life would be like, stuck on dry land all the time. He was used to being on land for a few days at a time, even a few weeks, but once it hit’s three or four weeks, Cass felt like he had to go back out. But having to wait longer intervals and be out for shorter times?
Cass wanted to yell at his parents all over again for this.
Charles rolled his eyes. "Talk would die out by then and you would be free to leave." He wasn't sure it would, but they would find a way. Charles didn't think he could live with Cass for longer than that anyways. And he knew that they wouldn't make it more than two months.
"You don't have to pretend for ever, just while we are in public." His voice softened and grew shaky. "Please?"
Cass faces him, “I can’t. This stupid thing is forever, and it’s never going to end. So drop it Charles. Get used to having me around and in your fucking life.” He straightens and brushes past Charles.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’m quite hungry, so I’m going to go eat.”
He walks away, back the way he had previously came and walking back into the formal dining room. He sits back down in his seat and picks his fork up, begging to eat. He could feel his mother’s stare and his father’s glare boring into him. He wanted them all to look away from him. He knew he was in trouble.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’m quite hungry, so I’m going to go eat.” Cass said as he left.
Charles swallowed and let Cass walk away until he was out of ear shot. Then he slid down the side of the wall, the jagged wall cutting through his shirt and flesh. There was something wrong within him, his eyes were almost completely dilated,
his heartbeat slow and his gut cramping and relaxing rapidly.
Charles let out a tiny moan. Clenching his bleeding hand with the other.
