Kailin's Keeper

Trigger warning: brief mention of underage sex, no description.

OooOooO The Prince is Back OooOooO

After spending the better part of the afternoon sparing with the eldest prince, Lukin skipped the communal showers in favour of going straight back to his own rooms. Burning Suns knew, he wasn’t good company at the best of times.

He lived in the main tower, where the royal family had their quarters. His private rooms were much smaller than the royals’, of course. The suite was a single main room with a bed and dresser and enough room for a small seating area. He also had his own bathroom, and was quite looking forward to standing under the scalding hot spray of his walk-in shower.

He was surprised to walk up on two uniformed guards standing at his door. The door to what should have been his empty room. The guards were not that incompetent; Lukin had trained them himself after all. This could only mean one thing. His room was not as empty as he had left it.

Kailin was back.

Burning Suns, it had been six months…Six months since he had last seen the youngest prince and the bane of his existence.

They hadn’t left on very good terms.

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He burst into Kailin’s rooms, sweating and dirt-covered from a training exercise in the outdoor arena. He was seething, and he wasn’t surprised when the guards at the door at jumped out of his way. He probably had blood-lust in his eyes.

The young prince startled as the door opened with a BANG. He had been bend over a large, tan, rectangular case but straightened when the door opened, spinning around, folded clothes in his hands.

If Kailin had been a stunningly pretty child it was nothing compared to how he turned out. He was easily 6’2, almost Lukin’s height, with the lithe, defined muscles common to Arathrians. His unruly, pale blond hair had developed natural golden highlights over the years. His bright turquois eyes had not dulled as he worked his way through his teens. His lightly tanned skin was flawless. He was...temptation in the flesh form.

Lukin gave the scene a once over, gaze halting on the luggage cases. “So, it’s true. Why wasn’t I told? Rek, Kailin, why did I only hear about it from some of the men gossiping?”

Wetting his lips with his tongue, Kailin set the clothes down in the case deliberately before answering. Full of that classic Arathrian composure, Kailin answer deliberately, “Father has suggested I take a trip now that my schooling is finished. I think it’s a good idea.”

Lukin’s eyes flashed, body tensing, “Well, I don’t.”

Immediately, Kailin got his back up. It was happening more and more lately when he and Lukin came to a head. The prince would act spitefully, just to piss his former keeper off. “I’m 21 years old! I can go anywhere I please.”

Lukin drew in a deep breath between clenched teeth, fighting hard to keep his temper under control. He silently counted to five in his head.

His relationship with Kailin walked a frustratingly thin line. He was dominant, and the prince submissive, Lukin’s natural inclination and instinct was to dominate and control the blond, by force if necessary. But he was just an Arlonite commoner, the Commander of the Guard granted, but still a lower social rank than Prince Kailin. And that meant he had no real power over him, a fact that ate away at him more and more over the last few years since Kailin had reached his majority at 18. A fact that had been driving a wedge in to their relationship for years.

The bottom line was he couldn’t stop Kailin if the king had in fact been the one to suggest this trip. “Fine, we’ll go. You want to see the western colonies? Arlon even? Give me a few days to make arrangements and I’ll take two weeks off to escort you.”

“I’m not going for a few weeks; I’m planning on six months out of the country.”

“Six months?” Lukin choked on the words, “Impossible. I could never take that much time off of training and the new recruits will be here by the end of the year.”

“You’re not going with me.” Kailin snapped.

“You’re not going without me. I forbid it!”

“You are in no position to forbid me anything!”

He knew that. Burning Suns, he knew that. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to assert his dominance. He wanted to thrash the prince over his lap, not stopping until his back and ass and thighs were red and the younger man was begging for forgiveness. Or maybe just shove him down onto those fine satin sheets of his and rek him until he was sated and compliant and all thoughts of leaving were rekked right out of his head.

Either option would satisfy his pulsing dominant drive. Unfortunately, neither option was available to him.

“I don’t know what your father was thinking. You’ve never been out of the capital before! You don’t know what sort of dangers are out there!”

“Father has already arranged to have six guards travel with me.”

“Kailin – ”

“Don’t.” The prince’s hands tightened into fists and he looked at Lukin, eyes flashing with mutiny, “I have to do this. If I don’t, you know I’ll just spend the next year being paraded around for dominants. I’ll be expected to pick a bondmate. I don’t want that. Don’t try to talk my father out of this.”

Lukin grit his teeth. The idea of Kailin taking a bondmate made his drive flare up, hot and nearly suffocating, “I am going to talk to the king.” He relented, “Six guards are not nearly enough. I’ll hand-pick a dozen to go with you.”

He heard Kailin exhale the breath he had been holding. “Paniz…Luk?”

He looked back at the prince.

Kailin swallowed, his hands flexed, “I’ll…miss you.”

“Six months,” Lukin replied gruffly, “Not a day more.”

Their gazes caught and held, for a brief moment there was flicker understanding in Kailin’s eyes, as if he was on the verge of a deeper awareness, then he shook it off, nodding his head, “Six months.”

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He brushed back his blood and sweat streaked hair and jerked his chin at the two guards at the door, sending them off. They bowed their heads respectfully before leaving their posts at the silent direction of their commanding officer.

Lukin sighed and pushed open his door, knowing what he would find.

Prince Kailin was lying stomach down on the bed, a book propped on the pillows in front of him. When he heard the door open he looked back over his shoulder at Lukin. His eyes flew wide when he saw the state of the commander. “Burning Suns, what happened to you?”

“Your brother.” Lukin answered briefly, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth to smear some of the blood away.

Kailin frowned a little, rolling over to sit up on the bed. He pushed himself up and pointing to a chair by the door. “Sit.”

As Kailin walked back towards the washroom, Lukin sank down into one of the chairs. The commander’s eyes trailed Kailin, trying to gauge any change that might have occurred over the last six month’s absence, no matter how minuscule. Were his shoulders a touch broader? Was his jaw a little more square, or was that just a faint 5 o’clock shadow growing in? He looked healthy, well fed, uninjured, that was the important part.

Oblivious to the inspection taking place, Kailin came back from the washroom with a damp cloth. He walked back to Lukin, crotched in front of him, and started to gently dab the cuts with the washcloth. “Let him get some shots in, did you?”

Lukin recognized the prince’s actions for what they were – an unconscious effort to serve the dominant in the room. Kailin’s submissive drive was quite beautiful when he wasn’t fighting it.

Frustrated by the glimpse into something he could never have, Lukin took the cloth from Kailin, scrubbing his own wounds briskly, heedless of the discomfort it caused. “What are you doing here, Kailin?”

“I got back this morning.”

“I meant why are you here, in my room?”

Kailin gave a shrug and sat back on the foot of the bed. “Where else would I be?”

“In your own rooms. You have eight of them at last count. I know you’ve been away for a few months, but they are still there.” As he spoke, Lukin discarded the cloth and pulled off his gym shirt, using it to mop the sweat from his chest.

Kailin glanced at the powerfully built torso once before averting his eyes courteously. “I just…I thought you’d be waiting for me at the borderlands.”

The prince referred to the barren stretch of travel between the western states and Central Arathria. Often, guards would be sent to escort travellers to the capital.

“I’ve been busy with the recruits.” The truth was, he had intended to ride out and meet the party in the borderlands, but had decided not to at the last minute. A spiteful punishment for Kailin leaving, or perhaps punishing himself for caring so much by forcing himself wait out the last few days of the six-month sentence.

“Sure, I understand.” Kailin’s tone told a different story.

Lukin stood and walked across the room to toss his shirt and the washcloth in the laundry disposal. Walking over to his wardrobe, he unceremoniously pulled another shirt on before turning back to Kailin. “How was your trip?”

The now 22-year-old prince shrugged a shoulder. “It was…interesting. I got to spend a few weeks with my mother.”

This casually dropped statement garnered all of Lukin’s attention. The exiled Arathrian queen was a taboo subject. She had been out of the picture before Lukin had arrived in Arathrian, so he had never met the woman, nor did anyone talk about her except in hushed whispers.

The woman reportedly had been an unparalleled beauty but incredibly vain. It was alleged that she had not even been a submissive, instead had played at it to entrap the king. Once they bonded and she had the wealth and power, she had ceased pretending. Their relationship imploded and, according to gossip, a mutual hatred grew between them. The king refused to let her leave until the boys were born. After giving birth to her third son, King Amuth had offered her an out; letting her leave the capital city and set up her own household on the outer edge of the country near the western border. She disappeared without a fight, leaving her bondmate and three young boys behind.

Because the formal attachment was for life, she and the king were still bonded, though Lukin knew they hadn’t seen each other for 22 years now.

“How was that?” Lukin inquired.

“Strange,” the prince admitted. “Not at all how I imagined it. She…” Kailin shock his head, trailing off.

Lukin didn’t push him, allowing Kailin time to choose his words and straighten out his thoughts.

Finally Kailin’s head came up; he looked at Lukin head on. “She is dominant. Did you know that?”

Lukin said nothing.

Kailin made a face, “I had heard…things growing up. But I didn’t believe it could be true. How could my father have bonded with a dominant? Surely he must have sensed…”

“It can be hard to tell with someone people, especially if they try to disguise their natural drive.” Lukin tried to keep his voice impassive; it wasn’t his place to judge.

“She has lovers.”

This didn’t surprise Lukin, 22 years would be alone time to go without companionship. He knew the king also brought submissives to his bed upon occasion.

“They were dominant, too. I could tell. Who does that?” There was a thread of disgust in Kailin’s voice. He looked to Lukin for validation. “Could you ever do that? Claim another dominant?”

He had done it. When he had arrived in Arathria, barely at teenager, it was a struggle to survive amongst the ranks of Arathrian. He had let submissives and dominants alike use him in order to stay alive and claw his way up the ranks. He knew firsthand the wrongness (even revulsion) of being intimate with someone of the wrong drive. Thankfully, Kailin didn’t wait for an answer to his damning question.

“It just seemed so offensive,” Kailin continued. “I don’t know what my father saw in her. She was so cold.”

“I’m sorry.” Lukin responded inadequately.

Kailin heaved a sigh. “I guess it’s a good thing I finally met her. I don’t have to wonder any longer at least.”

Lukin smirked, “Burning Suns, was that a mature thought? Coming from your head?” He easily caught the pillow that came sailing towards his head and lobbed it back.

Kailin laughed and leaned back on the bed, tucking the pillow behind his head.

Lukin felt a stabbing his gut. Kailin looked so at home there, in his rooms, on his bed. All the inappropriate hungers that had been festering before the trip came back with a vengeance.

Oblivious, young prince started regaling Lukin with tales about the rest of his trip, the people he met and places he had stayed.

It was like Kailin had never left. Nothing had changed. Lukin was both relieved and gutted by this discovery.

“You’ll never guess what happened on the way to Medlos.” The capital of the western states. “A huge wind storm came up and we had to – ”

“– Take cover in the sand cliff caves for two nights.” Lukin finished for the prince, uncaring his tone was abrupt and rude.

Kailin gave him a look, and continued, “Yes. But in the caves were – ”

“– flocks of nightwing birds.”

“How did you know that?” Kailin asked, put out that his anecdote was spoiled.

Per his orders, Lukin had received exhaustive reports from his men at the end of each day of the trip. One from every man, every day, so Lukin could be certain nothing was left out. 2196 of them in all. Detailing everything from the weather they encountered to what Kailin had eaten for breakfast.

Lukin arched an eyebrow, inscrutably, not giving anything away. The depth of his surveillance was not something he was prepared to share with the prince.

“Burning Suns, you’re scary sometimes, you know that? Nothing gets by you.”

Lukin changed the subject, “Have you been to see your father or brothers yet?”

“No, I came right here. I thought –”

“Why don’t I take you to see them now?”

With a sigh, Kailin wheedled, “Can’t we just relax for a while?”

“Your father would expect me to bring you to him.” And the less time Kailin spent in his private rooms the better.

“Come on, Lukin. Just a little longer. Please.” Trusting aqua eyes stared up from the bed.

Rek. 18 years later and that still worked.

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The next day at training, Lukin rode his men hard. The two suns, one high in the sky and the other lower in west, beat down on the baked ground and sweating recruits.

He had spent the better part of the last evening listening to Kailin talk about how wonderful his trip (his trip away from Lukin) had been. By the time Kailin had finished, it had been too late to disturb the king and Lukin had escorted Kailin back to his own rooms.

…Then he had stood outside the door all night, acting as a guard, something he hadn’t been for years. He hadn’t been able bring himself to leave and assign another man to the job so soon after the prince’s return.

Pathetic.

Now he was working off the frustration from the evening by forcing his men through uninterrupted exercises in the immense open-air practice arena. Alternating hand-to-hand combat with endurance drills.

He was a very exacting trainer and he didn’t apologize for it. By the end of their training, they would take their places in the highly skilled Arathrian militia. No other military force in this world or the next could match them.

The men were finishing up a drill that involved carrying a heavy weight from one end of the arena to the other. Each man knew if he didn’t finish fast enough, everyone would be forced to repeat the exercise.

Araz had joined them. It wasn’t out of the ordinary; the crown prince made it a rule to inspect his men frequently. Lukin and the oldest prince walked side by side between the lanes of runners.

“You exaggerated.” Araz spoke up, “They are hardly useless.”

Just as he spoke, one man tripped over his own feet, sending his weighted bag flying, the heavy lead balls inside rolled out in all directions over the sand.

“You were saying?” Lukin walked over and picked the man up by the back of his shirt, giving him a shake. “Pick those up and then run five laps, maybe then you’ll learn to pick up your feet.”

There was a mutter behind them. One of the man’s friends obviously dissatisfied with the punishment. Lukin turned on him in a split second, “Do you want the same, H’Ol?”

The man straightened to attention, tone insolent, “No, Sir.”

Lukin dismissed him as if he was a roach beneath his interest, turning away until he heard the mumbled, “Dirt-digger.”

Dirt-digger was an offensive slur against the agriculture and mining dependant Arlonites. Before the final syllable left the man’s lips, Lukin threw him to the sand. Fluidly, with incredible speed, Lukin had his dagger at the man’s throat, the blade grazing his Adam’s apple. The man fought, but Lukin restrained him effortlessly with his one free arm. The other recruits froze in awe.

“This dirt-digger is your superior officer.” Lukin snarled. He tested his blade, nicking the exposed skin at the base of H’Ol’s throat. “Do we have an understanding?”

The man made a hoarse, hacking noise.

“Do we have an understanding?” Lukin repeated, slamming the man back against the ground.

“Y…yes! Yes, Sir,” the man finally wheezed.

Lukin stood, holstering his dagger. He looked around at the other recruits. “I don’t remember telling anyone to stop. Restart the drill, now!”

There wasn’t a single murmur of complaint.

Lukin watched them get back to work and then walked back over to Araz, sweeping a hand over his pants to knock off the worst of the dirt.

“I’m surprised you didn’t discharge him from the service completely.” Araz spoke when Lukin returned to his side.

Lukin let out a scoff, “If I threw out every recruit who took offense to my background, we wouldn’t be able to collect enough men to patrol the front gate, let alone defend your kingdom, Your Excellency. Besides, they learn quickly enough to watch their mouths.”

“Ah, just a brut show of strength then?” Araz drawled, “A little crude, but it did the job, I suppose. Impressive in any respect.”

Lukin rolled his eyes.

“I imagine Kailin thought it was impressive, as well.”

Lukin looked at Araz sharply, inquiring. Araz pointed up into the near-empty stands that rose up around the arena field. Kailin stood on the top level, two guards standing behind him at attention.

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Kailin rested his forearms on the stone railing looking down into the arena. 60 or so recruits were running around in the hot sun, carrying heavy looking sacks from one end of the dusty field to the other.

He could see his oldest brother and Lukin walking together between the lanes of runners.

There was some sort of commotion, and then Kailin could see Lukin yell at a recruit, he was too far away to see in any detail. Then Lukin wrestled a second recruit to the ground. In the suns, Kailin could see the glint of a knife blade. Kailin leaned farther forward to get a better look.

It was over a matter of seconds – the man bleeding on the ground, Lukin walking away, unscathed.

Kailin felt a flutter of excitement in his stomach. Something about that exchange definitely appealed to his submissive drive. He flushed, hoping the guards behind him wouldn’t notice. How embarrassing. Kailin wasn’t one to get weak-kneed over dominants, but there had been something innately appealing about that show of power and dominance that could make anyone think of claiming.

And he wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Two tower servants were huddled by the stairs, heads craned to look down into the arena. There were from the west, like most servants. Their silken, light brown hair and clear, olive hued skin confirmed that. Both clad in the shapeless, tan shift-dresses female servants wore. One looked a little older, in her thirties perhaps, while the other was plainly just leaving her teens. They were currently pointing and whispering. The dry desert wind carried their words to Kailin.

“Did you see that?” The young woman spoke with something akin to reverence in her voice.

“Paniz is impressive. I once saw him take down five men without breaking a sweat. One of them was Prince Axial.” The other woman hummed, “I’d sure take a turn with him.”

The younger servant tittered, “Even though he’s Arlonite?”

“That might make it more exciting.” The servant swept her long hair back over her shoulders, practically licking her lips. “Can you imagine? I bet he’s a brute in bed. So commanding and dominant…”

“But can you imagine if he decided to try and claim you?”

Both women pulled faces and then broke into giggles. “A man like that is for rekking, not for bonding.”

Kailin cleared his throat loudly.

Both women looked over, recognized him, and bowed their heads quickly, chagrined to be caught by their prince gossiping instead of working.

Kailin just gave them a look.

They went running.

Fuming because of the women’s words, Kailin shifted back to the railing, looking back down.

Those women were idiots, Kailin thought. Lukin would be a good bondmate.

Not for Kailin, naturally; the prince had no desire to take a dominant bondmate. And he certainly had no desire to be permanently committed to obeying Lukin, who was as familiar to Kailin as his own brothers were and with whom he butted heads with at every turn. But still, his former keeper would make someone a good bondmate. A strong, reliable bondmate, Kailin predicted, though no doubt Lukin would also be demanding, strict, and dictatorial with his mate. After all, that’s how he was with Kailin.

Kailin unexpectedly found the idea of Lukin bonding with another submissive unsettling. His stomach tightened as if he had eaten something soured.

Frowning, Kailin looked down into the pit, trying to make that strange feeling dissipate.

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“My brother is staring at you.”

Refusing to take the bait, Lukin never took his eyes off his men. He snapped at Araz, “You do not know that. He’s too far away for you to tell anything.”

“He is. Just look.”

“Can you not keep your mouth shut, Your Excellency?” Lukin growled.

Araz continued on, undeterred, “If not you, then he’s staring at one of the men. You don’t think he’s developed an infatuation with one of them, do you? Perhaps one of the ones who escorted him on his trip?”

Now, Lukin looked over to the stands, eyes flashing suspiciously. Kailin was looking down into the pit. But as Lukin had surmised, there was no way one could tell exactly what or who he was staring at. “Araz?”

“Yes, Paniz?”

“If you don’t shut up now, I’m going use you to demonstrate the next hand-to-hand technique for the men. And it’s going to be ‘how to break you opponents jaw’.”

Araz let out an amused snort, but wisely stopped talking.

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