Kailin's Keeper

OooOooO The Promise Agreement OooOooO

“You called for me, Your High Excellency?”

Bright and early the next morning Lukin found himself called into the king’s private office. The two men met frequently, as the commander was in charge of all military matters, but usually not right at the crack of dawn, with the twin suns just breaching the sandy horizon in the violet coloured sky.

It had crossed Lukin’s mind, when he had woken to the call on his handheld transceiver, that the king might know Kailin had spent the night.

If the king did know, and Lukin still wasn’t sure he did, he didn’t appear to be troubled by the information. In fact, King Amuth K’Or had yet to address Lukin’s presence at all. Instead the royal continued concentrate on the work on his desk, fingers running over the papers spread over the surface.

Patiently, Lukin stood at attention in front of the desk, hands clasped behind his back waiting to be acknowledged.

While he waited, his sharp-eyed gaze studied the king and his office; his ability to read the monarch’s expressions and detect anything out of place honed by years of practice in the royal guard.

The king had a few more creased wrinkles on his brow and the corners of his eyes, and a little more white in his bead and head of blond hair, but aside from that, Amuth had hardly changed since Lukin had first met him all those years ago in his Arlon hometown. Shifting through papers, the king turned slightly in his seat to compare one of them to something on his viewing screen.

Lukin cleared his throat.

Amuth finally looked up from his desk. “Ah, yes, Paniz.”

“Your High Excellency.”

The older man set the papers back down and pushed his chair from the desk, leaning back to regard his highest ranked officer. “Are you aware Kailin has returned from his time in the west?”

He was well aware. When he had left for this meeting Kailin was still asleep, lying in Lukin’s own bed. Behind his back, Lukin’s fingers tightening their interlock. Did the king not know about Kailin’s sleeping agreements last night, or was he merely toying with Lukin? How much to tell him… Lukin finally answered the question with a gruff, clipped tone. “I am aware.”

“Ah, good.” Amuth folding his hands casually across his lower stomach. “This evening High Chancellor Cholin, from the eastern provinces, is coming for a three day stay. His visit will commence with a dinner tonight. The Easterners are fanatical about family, so custom requires all three of my sons will join us: Araz, Axial, and Kailin. I would like you to attend as well, as an added precaution.”

“Yes, Your High Excellency,” Lukin agreed promptly.

The king regarded Lukin thoughtfully, his fingers forming a steeple. “I would also like you to hear what the chancellor has to say about a new proposed trade route.”

The commander nodded, “Of course, Sir.”

“Good.” The king returned the nod. “Now, I should ask about our recruits. How are they doing, Paniz?”

“Adequately, Sir, considering their lack of experience.”

“How tactful, Paniz.” The king looked unimpressed. “I didn’t know you had it in you. Still, you know, I’d rather cut the shit.”

Amuth would, too. It’s something Lukin appreciated about the king. They were alike in that respect.

“They are pathetic.” Lukin spoke frankly, sharing a knowing look with the king, “But, I will have them up to your standards soon.”

The king let out a rumbled ‘ha’ and responded, “Much better, Paniz. Sugar-coating isn’t your forte. It’s one skill I’m glad you haven’t acquired from my firstborn, who is a natural at it and becomes more so every day.”

“Araz is a master of diplomacy,” Lukin agreed. “It’s a useful skill.”

“It’s a cloying skill,” the king disparaged.

Lukin’s eyebrow rose minutely. He pointed out, “It’s certainly avoided a few conflicts in the past, Your High Excellency.”

“Ah, but what is the point of being king if you can’t ruffle a few feathers now and again?”

Lukin said nothing to this.

The king veered back to the subject at hand, “There will be quite a few strangers in the tower over the next few days; I would request that you take some time off your training duties to keep a closer eye on Kailin.”

Lukin forced himself to keep his tone even and expression blank. “Yes, sir.”

Amuth went back to the papers on his desk, “Go, then. You are dismissed. Dinner is at nine.”

Lukin gave a nod of his head and exited the room.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

The commander did not look handsome in his formal wear.

The commander did not look handsome in his formal wear.

The commander did not look handsome in his formal wear.

Kailin was convinced if he thought it hard enough, it would become true.

His former keeper was standing across the immense dining room, near the door, posture stiff, eyes constantly scanning the space for any hint of weakness in the security of the room and its occupants. Instead of his usual white and beige uniform, he was wearing a (definitely-not-handsome) dark suit that hugged his wide shoulders and made his already muscular frame look even larger. It matched his black hair and dark eyes to perfection; so different from every other light-haired, pale-eyed person in the room.

When the commander had arrived at Kailin’s room to personally escort him to the dinner, the prince had found his reaction to the sight of Lukin dressed up disconcerting. His stomach had fluttered, his pulse had raced, and his palms had become suddenly sweaty.

It wasn’t the reaction he was supposed to have to Lukin.

It didn’t help that he was feeling awkward after basically forcing Lukin to let him sleep over last night. True, it was something he had done many times when he was younger, but he was 22 now and should be past the stage where he couldn’t sleep alone. His only defence was he had been so tired he hadn’t been thinking sensibly.

And now he was being incredible anti-social; he was avoiding all the conversations in the room in order to stand near a wall, sip his drink, and not sneak looks at Paniz.

The royal dining room was an immense hall with high vaulted ceilings and ornate sun patterns carved in the walls and molding. All guests were dressed in fine formal attire and servants discreetly stood around the room, waiting to attend any of their needs.

The long, polished stone table, which occupied a third of the room, could seat 24 and every place would be filled that night.

At that moment, Kailin saw the guest of honor, an emissary from the eastern provinces, start to move in his direction through the crowd.

Finding the chancellor unpleasant, and not wanting to be drawn into a conversation with him, Kailin ducked behind a pillar to hide.

He wasn’t the only one with that idea. Several pillars down, two guards stood close together. The prince didn’t recognize either of them. The one had long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, and the other had his uniform wrinkled and boots scuffed.

The ponytailed guard had three or four pieces of paper in his hands. Photos maybe.

Their words, even more than their suspicious actions, caught Kailin’s attention.

“I tell you, it’s the commander!”

“Rek. That’s hot.”

“Mmmmm. He’s so dark. And the way he just used that submissive. His drive is primitive.”

“Well, what do you expect from a dirt-dig –”

“Dax!” The ponytailed guard cut him off with a scowl. Kailin was glad he had, because if he hadn’t, Kailin would have, and that would have meant revealing he was hiding and eavesdropping.

The guard with the unkempt uniform (Dax, apparently) held his hands up, placating. “Sorry, sorry. But really, I’ve heard all dirt…ur, Arlonites are animals in bed, the submissives and the dominants. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, if you know what I mean.”

Long-Hair laughed at this, lowering Kailin’s opinion of him.

“So, where did you get it?”

“I was working in the security booth at the barracks last night and I filched it off the live feed.”

They whispered back and forth, so low Kailin couldn’t make out their words any longer. As they whispered, they shuffled the papers back and forth.

“Kailin K’Or!”

The barked name startled Kailin. It also, he noticed, made the two guards jump. Turning around, Kailin came face-to-face with Lukin.

He looked pissed, glare piercing into Kailin. “What under the suns are you doing back here?” Kailin scrambled for an excuse. He didn’t need one; Lukin continued his mini-lecture undeterred, “Do you have any idea how…annoyed I was when you seemed to disappear? Your father has tasked me with ensuring your safety tonight.”

“Wouldn’t want to upset daddy,” Kailin mocked, annoyed Lukin was chastising him like a child in the midst of the party.

Lukin grit his teeth, jaw twitching. “Stay where you are visible.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Lukin continued to glare.

“Okay!” Kailin repeated with attitude.

With a harrumph, Lukin stomped away, turning his attention back to the crowd.

Kailin snuck a look back to where the guards had been. They had disappeared. Probably in a hurry to avoid being caught by Lukin shirking their duties. There was a sheet on the floor. They must have dropped one of their pictures in the rush.

Glancing at Lukin to make sure his back was still turned, Kailin slipped between the pillars, snatching the paper up for a look.

It was dark. It was blurry. It was Lukin.

The commander was slouched against a stone wall. His shirt was rucked up and his fly unfastened and pealed back to reveal several inches of rippling abdominal muscles and a defined V between his hips. The root of his thick and solid-looking prick was on display, surrounded by a dark thatch of public hair, but the rest of its length was hidden behind the head of whatever blond man was kneeling in front of him. Lukin’s head was tossed back, the shadows on his face highlighting his masculine features - the expression of lust distorting them slightly.

The guard had said his took the images off the security feeds last night. Kailin squinted a little; it did look like Lukin was wearing the same clothes he had on at Axial’s dinner party. When though… Before Kailin had shown up at his rooms last night? Or had he snuck out again after Kailin had fallen asleep?

Had he left Kailin alone so he could get his rocks off with some…some loose submissive?

He was surprised that he felt angry about it. It wasn’t like he and Lukin were bondmates or anything. And it wasn’t like he harboured some illusion that his former keeper was chaste. He knew Lukin dallied with submissives frequently. And why not? The man was available, 34, and more than able to make his own decisions.

Then why did it feel like Lukin had betrayed him in some way?

Kailin crumpled the photo up in his hand.

A chime sounded.

Dinner was ready.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

As they were seated for dinner, Lukin found himself positioned on the king’s left, with Araz across from him on the king’s right. Axial sat beside his older brother. Between the brothers was a space for Wen. The Axial’s bondmate was looking lovely as always in a dove grey gown, her blond hair falling like silk over her shoulders and down her back. A charcoal velvet pillow was placed on the floor beside her dominant’s chair. As per tradition, Wen, and other submissives, were not given the option of a chair at the formal dinner.

Since Kailin was not bonded, a cushion was placed by the king, his guardian.

It was difficult of Lukin not to be distracted by the position, which put the youngest prince between the king and himself.

It was the same position that Kailin would hold if he was Lukin’s bondmate, a fact which was not lost on Lukin.

Also not lost on Lukin was Kailin’s slightly sour expression as he dropped down the cushion. Lukin wondered if he was sulking over his earlier rebuke.

As the table made polite pre-dinner conversation, Lukin kept his hands clenched on his lap to avoid reaching down to touch Kailin.

Axial had no such qualms and had one hand resting on his bonded’s shoulder, one hand on the table. The middle prince caressed Wen’s shoulder, fingers smoothing her hair. Every once in a while she would glance up at her bondmate, sharing a secret smile. The display made Lukin’s stomach tight with some emotion he refused to call envy.

Cholin and his group occupied the other end of the long table. The High Chancellor himself at the end of the table, a submissive kneeling on each side. His brother sat to his right and a political advisor to his left, several of cousins and other family members filled the rest of the table.

King Amuth gave a signal and royal servants began bringing out the food. Shared plates piled high with the first course were set along the table. Around the table, people reached for the appetizers, mostly savoury pastries and skewers of flakey fish and soft vegetables.

On his knees, Kailin eyed the food and then he looked to his father briefly. King Amuth piled his plate high with food and was tucking into it before he even noticed Kailin. Hands full, Amuth brushed his youngest off lightly, “Go to Paniz.”

Kailin hesitated and then sighed, shifting closer to Lukin’s chair.

Without being told, Lukin began picking food off the table and passing it to the prince: durpas smeared with a green, slimy root vegetable called paro, a tart filled with pieces of wild fowl, a violet coloured crustacean on a skewer. He knew exactly what foods the prince liked and which to avoid. When he had been Kailin’s keeper, it had often fallen to him to serve the young prince.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

There was no one else in the royal dining room when Lukin followed his 8-year-old charge into the room. A servant stood by the door which lead to the kitchen, when she saw them, she bowed deeply. “Prince Kailin. Your father and brothers ate early, so you will be alone dining tonight, shall I bring the food out?”

“Yes, please.” It wasn’t an unusual occurrence for the king and elder princes to take their meals early or late, so Kailin didn’t give it much thought. The boy rushed the long table and grabbed several cushions off the floor, piling them up to make a make-shift throne. With no one to hold ceremony, there was certainly no reason for him to sit on the cushions; it would have been perfectly acceptable for him to sit on the chairs. The boy was just amusing himself by tottering on the tower of the pillows.

The servant came back from the kitchen and placed a large tray of food out. There was a variety of foods on it. Evidently leftovers from the king’s earlier meal.

Lukin sat on a chair beside Kailin and searched through the fare on the table to pick out what he knew Kailin would want. One piece at a time, he handed the boy food.

He fed Kailin first. Always.

Growing up in Arlon there had often not been enough food to fill all the stomachs at a table. Because of that, he was always vigilant to make sure Kailin had enough to eat before he had anything himself.

Prince Araz, with whom he had (surprisingly because of stations) become friends with, often teased him about this, reminding him there was more than enough food to go around in Arathria.

“Don’t you want some?” Kailin asked. He stopped eating and knelt up to reach the table top. He turned towards Lukin, moving the tray of food closer to his keeper. His large turquois eyes watched expectantly, waiting for Lukin to take something. It may not seem like it, but the gesture was telling. A nod to his maturing submissive nature; an attempt to please one of the dominant figures in his life.

Because it would be hurtful to the boy’s pride to refuse, Lukin answered with a, “Thank you.”

The keeper reached for a piece of hite meat.

Kailin scrunched his small nose at the choice, “Eww, I don’t know why you like that.”

He didn’t. Hite, a rodent-like mammal, was a common staple on the Arathrian table. It was a tender meat, also very bland. To Lukin, it tastes like oily pulp. Truly disgusting. But Kailin didn’t like it, the boy wouldn’t eat it. That made it safe, because by eating it he knew he wouldn’t be taking food from Kailin’s mouth.

Kailin just shook his head and accepted the succulent piece of sweet fruit Lukin handed to him next.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

“You can eat, too, you know.”

Lukin glanced across the table. Araz was watching him with a knowing grin.

He had fallen back on old habits, his own plate bare as he handed the choicest morsels to Kailin.

He deliberately reached across the table and picked up a hite leg, biting into the greasy meat without taking his eyes from Araz, challenging him to say something.

Fortunately, Axial spoke, distracting Araz and drawing him into a conversation as he too alternated between feeding himself and Wen.

Lukin wiped his hands clean before reaching for a small piece of toasted durpas and holding it down for the prince. It may not be the first time Lukin had served dinner to Kailin, but rek if it wasn’t different now that the prince was grown. His dominant psyche revealed in the control of picking and choosing what Kailin ate. The actions which had been completely innocent before now seemed intimate and suggestive: the way Kailin rested a hand on his knee, the way their fingers grazed when Lukin handed him food, the way Kailin would take it right from Lukin’s hands and take it into his mouth with complete trust.

Lukin shifted in his seat and willed his member to stay limp in his pants, there would be no hiding it if it engorged in the positions they were in. Lukin stifled a groan when he saw the long procession of food to come. Traditional Arathrian feasts could take hours to work through. This would be a rekking long night.

OooOooOooOooO

Sometime between the eighth and ninth course, he felt Kailin slump against his leg, asleep. The exhaustion from his recent travelling must have been catching up with him. Lukin did nothing to rectify the situation; letting Kailin doze against him as the dinner died down the bureaucratic dialogue began.

It was High Chancellor Cholin himself who broached the subject over dessert. “Esteemed hosts, respected advisors, dearest family members… as you are all aware, the reason for my visit is twofold. First, to increase the goodwill between our two great lands and, second, to enlighten you about my plans for a vital, new transportation link. Once completed, the roads will allow your magnificent Arathrian goods to reach our markets and vice versa. I am confident it will bring us great prosperity in the future.”

Physically the chancellor was…forgettable: slight of stature with oily, tan hair and a body which clearly didn’t see much hard labour. His facial features were weak and the thin moustache hanging under his nose didn’t help the long look of his face. Below the surface he seemed no less unattractive. His manner was outwardly sycophantic; bowing and fawning over any person who might be perceived as holding a position of power. However, under that mask of pretentious charm and flattery, there was something calculating and condescending.

“…Surely, the advantages are clear to all…”

The longer Lukin listened to the High Chancellor, the more he was convinced the man was full of shit.

The proposed trade routes would not access any of the main areas of Arathrian natural resources. In fact, the majority of the proposed route went through the barren regions! Basically coming from nowhere and going to nowhere. Tellingly, a fair chunk of the proposed route was close to the Arlonite border to the north. The only possible advantage here would be for Cholin alone - allowing the western states easier access to Arlon by cutting through Arathria. If High Chancellor Cholin’s real plan was to forge a stronger foothold there, he wasn’t doing a great job of disguising his ulterior motive.

There was a smattering of applause from the other end of the table, signalling the end of Cholin’s speech. Kailin stirred at the noise, face rubbing into Lukin’s thigh, but he didn’t wake.

The attention at the table shifted from Cholin to King Amuth, looking for the verdict.

“My sons and I will certainly give your proposal more thought.” Lukin could tell the king was as unimpressed as he was with the proposition.

“But Your High Excellency…” Cholin stroked his disgusting, thin moustache.

Araz, ever the tactician, added, “Close ties with the Western colonies are very important to us.”

The king waved his son back, “Yes, yes, of course.”

“Mmm, I’m glad to hear you say this, Your Excellencies…” The High Chancellor shifted slightly, looking around Lukin to leer down at the young, sleeping prince. He practically licked his lips. “It would be fitting to have some sort of… token of good faith between our people.”

The man’s lecherous meaning was clear enough. Lukin gritted his teeth, and carefully held his hands steady on the tabletop to avoid lunging across the table at Cholin. He waited impatiently for King Amuth to tell the deluded chancellor where he could shove his ‘token’.

Instead, King Amuth tented his fingers, thoughtfully. “Hmm… Araz?”

The crown prince turned towards the king. “Yes, Father?”

“Take your brother back to his room, please. It’s been a long night.”

Araz nodded curtly and got up to walk around to Lukin’s place at the table. He nudged Kailin awake and then pulled him up by his arm.

“Axial, you and Wen are free to go as well.” It was a command disguised as a pleasantry

At Axial’s nod, Wen rose from her cushion, bowing respectfully to the king and chancellor. With politely muttered farewells, the brothers and Wen left the dinning room.

Lukin watched them go and then turned back to the table only to find Cholin’s beady eyes still staring at the door they had just gone out of.

Only after the door slid closed again did Cholin look back to the king. “He is well over mating age.”

Amuth chose not to take offense by the foreigners’ tone. He calmly reminded, “My youngest is 22. That is hardly ‘well over’.”

“I would be willing to take him off your hands. I have recently decided it is time to pursue a bonding.” Cholin salivated with the words. “It would do well for the alliance between our people.”

“It is an interesting proposition.” Amuth said finally.

It took every ounce of Lukin hard fought control to keep his mouth closed. The low-life’s proposal was many things, interesting was not one of them.

“Paniz.” The king’s tone was reprimanding. “Is there something the matter?”

Lukin didn’t know how he had garnered the king’s attention until he realized he had his dinner knife fisted in his hand, held like he would his dagger. Slowly, he put the knife down. “No, Sir.”

Amuth turned back to Cholin. “It is an interesting offer,” he repeated, “but untenable, I am afraid.”

Lukin relaxed immediately.

“Oh,” Cholin spoke with deceptive calm, “May I ask why?”

King Amuth didn’t answer right away, then simply said, “Kailin has been promised to another.”

A bonding promise was a legal agreement, usually between a submissive and dominant who intended to bond. Less commonly, bonding promises were drawn up by a dominant and a submissive’s guardian. They were no less binding despite the fact that (in those rare cases) the submissive had no say in matter.

At first, Lukin thought the king was making up an excuse a reason to dissuade Cholin. Trying to turn down the chancellor’s offer without refusing him and causing hostility between them.

Cholin clearly had thoughts along a similar line. Boldly, he pressed the king, “Prince Kailin has been promised?”

“Yes,” Amuth confirmed, manner cool and self-assured. He continued, “I’d be happy to show you the paperwork.”

Lukin knew the king. Lukin could read the king’s bluffs. And right now, he was most certainly not bluffing. He had promised Kailin away. The king had promised his submissive away.

“Who?!” Lukin demanded. He turned towards the king abruptly, knocking over his glass. A servant came to clean it up at once.

The king turned to him. “Paniz, now is not the time.”

“Who is he promised to?!” Lukin challenged again.

By now, the whole table had shifted its attention to Lukin and the king. Amuth regarded him with disapproval for the interruption. “You are excused, Paniz.”

“Your High Excellency...”

“That’s enough.”

If it had been anyone but the king, Lukin would have pressed on. But, because this was the king, and his word was law, Lukin got up and walked out.

OooOooOooOooOooOooOooOooO

This chapter is lacking in dialogue. I don’t know what happened, and didn’t realize it until I went to edit it. So, yeah, pretty exposition heavy. All the same, I hope you liked it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and rated. Each one is appreciated greatly. Lovelovelove. Amy

Next up…confrontations, Lukin gets his answers, Kailin blows up (rightfully so)