Four years ago, I was dragged to Rennes, a sex slave, and no longer in control of my mind, my heart and everything I knew was stripped from me. By chance or insidious design, I was elevated to the position of Prince. Not the royal kind of prince but the noble kind, like a duke or earl but called a prince, running a principality. It's all dull and unimpressive so I shall avoid the deep explanation. For what it's worth, I intended to stay as prince for no more than two years. I am a year beyond that with no hope of freedom in sight.
I'm not even certain I want that freedom anymore.
I looked up as one of my pages cleared his throat and waited for me to acknowledge his presence. He was lanky, blond and rather dull in appearance with a mind to match. It often took him a few moments to understand what I wanted but I am a patient man.
"Your Grace, your brother has arrived and he is demanding to see you. He has a rather large elf with him and I was not inclined to argue that you are..." Thalizar chose precisely that moment to come barging in, his face red and his long, black hair strangely disheveled for my usually vain sibling. Clearly, he was unhappy and unhappy with me in particular.
With a bland expression, I sat back in the chair of my audience room and waited for him to speak. This room, which resembled an office like any of my other official meeting places, contained my desk, a book shelf, a wooden puzzle on the desk to occupy me when I became bored and one chair. The idea was for the visitor to speak his mind and get out while I made my decision. I dare say it worked out well. "Open your mouth and let the words fall, Brother Mine," said I.
He stormed over to my desk and planted his gloved hands flat upon the surface then leaned forward, his face so close to mine that I was breathing in his breath as he exhaled. There was a curious scent to my half-brother, which was a combination of sandalwood and pine with a hint of mint that was unique to his person and always had been. I rather liked it. "You took over the thieves' and assassin guilds here in the city?" he yelled in my face, his spittle landing on my skin.
I shrugged and leaned back. I had wondered when he would find out that I was now running both the underground guilds here in the city. It clashed with my duties as prince but it also improved my information gathering by a thousand percent. Though the business I began with Ambrose was far away in time and space, I could never break out of it entirely and so I still hired people with the appropriate skills to do various jobs for me. The assassins' and thieves' guilds were a fine source of both information and hirelings as well as a steady influx of coin from those paying the guilds to do the jobs. Some money went to the city, some went to me. It was a very lucrative association and I was fond of it, something Thalizar clearly was not. I tried explaining this to him but he threw up his hands before slamming them down, in fists, upon the desk, rattling it and its contents.
Through my magic, my empathy, I could feel his rage and it touched something deep inside me. I enjoyed the emotions of others in small amounts but I shielded myself from them for the most part. Thal, who was usually controlled and cool, could lose his temper at times, the anger leeching through my shields and filling me with it due to our closeness, both personal and physical. I could never inspire him to love me as I wished he would but these moments of hatred were just as powerful. And just as erotic.
"Random, please ensure that we have privacy, as my brother and I have much to discuss," I said to the muscular young elf behind Thalizar.
My brother bristled and said, "He is not yours! You cannot order him around like he is a dog."
"Yes, Brother-Mine, he wears your collar but I am the prince of this city and that demands a level of respect, of which I am certain he appreciates." With a nod of my head, my eyes on the red-haired elf, I said, "Random? Please?"
The boy looked askance at Thal, who waved his hand dismissively and did not watch the boy's retreating back as he headed for the door. I loved Random like I loved living and watching him leave twisted me from within. We were soul-bound, he and I. Two hearts, two minds, one connection to bind us both through empathy and love. Thalizar's restrictions on his sexual activities meant that we could not make love as I desired but we would sometimes visit one another's dreams and make up for it.
It was enough for now.
Looking back to my brother, I said, "Now. Speak to me. What on earth is your problem with the way I am running things?"
"Because I need to visit the Guild Master for a specific job I am doing and..."
"...he is me?" I finished, a sly grin on my face.
Silence was his reply but the emotional barrage continued and I was pounded by it. "I understand that you had no intention of working for me as a hireling and for the most part, you are not. However, I do own the guild now and it answers to me and if you are doing work for the guild, well... You are doing work... for me. Of course, your compensation will be equivalent to the work your do, as long as it satisfies the goals. You have an opportunity to be paid twice.... you know." Coin was my brother's mistress and he hesitated, considered my words, before bristling once again, his cheeks flushed.
"How dare you!" he roared in my face. "The guilds are independent of their host cities for various reasons..."
"Yes, including the necessity of killing the leaders of the cities should they be offered enough coin to do so. What I did was in the name of self-preservation, Thalizar. And information, of course," I said with a gleam in my eyes. The spark of rage that gleam ignited was too much for him. I knew he was coming for me before he came. I braced myself wearing a teasing smile.
He swept the few items on the desk to the floor with his arm and reached across it to grab my shirt, popping the three top buttons. They fell to the floor and rolled away, forgotten, to be stolen later by one of the servants."You had no right!" he yelled in my face, his breath hot against my skin. "That guild had invited me to take on a leadership position when Random and I were here three years ago as a reward for our work! I had other duties then but now I return and get a job only to find out what you've done and I-I..."
"Do you truly hate me now? It was my suggestion to them that you become Guild Master back then but when you declined, I had to take other precautions. As you can understand, I am somewhat paranoid these days," I said coolly. He was holding my shirt tightly, the fabric twisted in his hands before shoving me backwards into my seat. My teeth rattled as I landed but eyes burned with need as he focused his seething gaze on my face. Unraveling my brother's mood was becoming quite fun for me and the emotional emanations were like the finest cognac; heady and powerful, leaving me dizzy with the need for more.
Braver than I imagined I could be, I smiled up his panting torso.
Thalizar came around the desk to my chair, his eyes wide. "You put forth that offer?" he demanded with arched brows.
"It was merely a suggestion but yes, mine. I thought that having you as Guild Master would be beneficial to myself and the city in general because I know you won't allow anyone to touch me in a violent manner, yourself aside, of course. The city keeps its prince and I keep my head while you make a fortune as Guild Master. Overall, a win for us all."
