Enabling

By the time Albel was twenty-two Cordelia had given birth to a son and another child was coming. There had been a great argument between him and Vox about whose name the male child would inherit. Vox insisted that the child take on his name because there was no guarantee that another son was coming and the royal family line was more important to preserve than the Nox line. Albel did not take that well. He hissed and growled and screamed, but in the end he lost the battle. He prayed that the next child would also be a son so his own family line would be preserved.

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A new mission eventually came where the two of them were to work together in close company. Albel had scowled darkly when he had heard that he would be suffering from the presence of the duke. He greeted the man with an unpleasant snarl when the duke came to fetch him.

“So nice to see you as well” Vox grunted, shoving past the boy into Albel’s quarters in the royal city. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Is there a reason you and I have to go on this mission?”

“Desperate to get rid of me already?”

“Please,” Albel growled quietly as he went to get his bag, “I’ve been trying to get rid of you for years.”

Vox cast a glance at the boy. “What a pity; you haven’t succeeded yet.”

“I don’t need you to tag along.” Albel spat. “I’m going into the aqueducts to kill a monster; I don’t need your help.”

“This monster has the traits of a dragon. If it is indeed a dragon then it falls under my jurisdiction. Why don’t you stay behind?”

“Dragons wouldn’t be stupid enough to come anywhere near our city; its not a dragon down there. Why your fool of a nephew felt the need to send both of us and a troop of worms, I’ll never know.”

The duke lifted a hand to massage his temple as he waited for the younger man to get his things. Just the sound of Albel’s voice grated on his nerves and whatever words that came from the boy’s mouth annoyed him to no end.

“You know why we are both being sent along with that troop of worms, as you so kindly call them. An investigation team was already sent and only one survivor made it back and he died shortly after he returned, his wounds were so severe.”

“Bah, I’m a far superior swordsman than any of those fools. I could easily complete this mission alone. Whatever is down there I will kill it myself.”

At one point the youth’s pride had been alluring and attractive, but after years of enduring it, Vox was struggling to put up with it.

“Just hurry and get your things, brat!”

He left then, deciding to meet Albel at the castle, rather than wait. When Albel arrived, Vox and the three accompanying soldiers were waiting for him in the dungeons. He walked by them all and started down the dark and dank tunnel that would take them to the aqueducts. Vox eventually made his way to the boy’s side, but they did not exchange a word or insult. They were content to ignore one another for the time.

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After descending two stories, deep into the bowels of the aqueducts that lie beneath the castle, a problem became apparent: a good deal of the ice was melting now that the summer season was coming into full swing.

Albel growled a she lifted his torch. “How are we supposed to hear this thing if we can hear nothing but pouring water?”

“We stay quiet and keep our ears open, now shut your mouth and stop your complaining.”

The young captain spun around and pinned the man with a glower of pure hate. Vox looked back impassively, unmoved by a look he had seen thousands upon thousands of times from the boy. The three men stood by, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

They marched on through the winding passages for hours. By the time they stopped their rest had been well earned. Numerous beasts had made their home in the aqueducts and there was no spare of killing. Albel took delight in hacking through the monsters to carry on with the mission. One of the three accompanying men stood guard while the rest of the group slept. Albel found himself a spot apart from the group where he could find rest easily without the suffocating weight of Vox’s presence.

The duke eyed his spouse with a frown. Albel had never been one to join in a crowd and the boy certainly could not be called social, but he had thought the youth would have at least slept close to him. It would not have seemed odd. When he dwelled on it, and he dwelled on it for many hours into the night, Albel had been acting distracted and distant. More so than usual.

“A pity he can’t be as charming during the day as he is when he sleeps.” Vox mused with a grin, “He is peaceful and almost appears innocent.”

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The second day brought the traveling party to the heart of the aqueducts and they found the first traces of the monster. There were giant pools of brown blood smeared on the path and the walls and large chunks of masonry were lying about, as if they had been blasted from the wall by great force. There were no bodies, however to go with the mass amounts of blood, but if the medal they found was any indication, the first investigation team had been at that spot before them.

When they examined the blocks of rock they couldn’t identify the marks that were on the surface of the stone.

“It looks like its been chipped with a pick.” Albel said, running his fingers over the grooved ridges of the rock.

“It could be dragon talons” Vox suggested, but he frowned as he too ran his fingers over the scratched surface, “but I’ve yet to see a dragon make these kinds of marks.”

“Then we’re not after a dragon.” Albel said.

“Or we have a new species hiding out under our castle.” The duke returned with equal bite.

They continued on. When it came time to make camp Vox had a word with the guards and pulled Albel off into an annexing chamber on the pretense of bathing. There was certainly enough water about to seem a plausible excuse. Albel was not as stupid however. As soon as they had gotten out of sight and earshot, Vox hurried them into the room that was to serve as the bathing grotto. He was pressed against the wall and a mouth latched onto his neck, sucking and biting, determined to leave a mark. Albel slapped the duke away, growling out a warning not to let the idiots catch on to anything.

The duke returned with as much passion, this time lifting the boy’s shirt and attaching his mouth to a pert little nipple. Albel stifled a noise as teeth tugged at the sensitive nub and a knee pushed his legs apart. A moment later he found himself sprawled on the ground as Vox pushed his sarong aside and forced his legs further apart. Albel was pulled forward, onto the man’s lap, and the head of the man’s cock, already leaking a good deal, was pushed against his entrance.

After so long, the pain of being entered with no lubricant to slick the way became a sensation that Albel could ignore. He lied still on the pebbly ground, his back scraping against the rocks with each powerful thrust the man gave. His cock was partially erect in a half-hearted attempt to be aroused. When Vox came, slamming into the boy and growling low in his throat, Albel breathed a sigh. His erection quickly died.

Once he had gathered his breath, Vox took stock of his young spouse. He looked down at Albel and noted with some surprise that Albel was soft yet there was no cum coating his belly.

“Did you not find an end?”

“I wasn’t aroused.” The youth responded passionlessly, still lying in the position he had been in while Vox took his pleasure.

The man pulled out and stood, the peace he had taken shattered. “You haven’t been aroused for some time now. In fact, you’ve been less than exceptional in bed these past few months. May I inquire as to why?”

Albel sat up, reaching an arm behind him to rub at his scratched back. “Sex no longer holds much of an interest to me.”

“You never had a problem with sex before. You’ve been getting more and more reluctant to sleep with me.” A bit of anger had slipped into the man’s tone.

Taking note of the anger and feeling nothing, the young captain simply shrugged. “I’m not as attracted to you as I once was. I’ve grown stronger. Your power isn’t so appealing.”

Vox felt as though he had been punched in the gut.

“What?” Albel laughed haughtily. “It isn’t as though you and I love one another. This is a marriage of convenience. This isn’t even a marriage, it’s a fuck fest with benefits.”

The man let out a chuckle. “Of course. All I want is your ass. So keep in mind you’ll still be giving it to me.”

“I never doubted you’d take it when you wanted it.”

They splashed themselves with cold water before returning to the men accompanying them, making sure to keep up with their cover. Vox was angry and Albel seemed as dispassionate and indifferent as ever, so they assumed nothing had gone amiss. As he had done the previous night, Albel settled in a spot away from the other four men.

As he sat, wide awake and unable to find rest, Vox went over the encounter he had had with Albel. He scowled to himself; he felt the fool for having held a degree of affection for that miserable brat. Honestly, Albel was reaping all the benefits in their supposed relationship. All the boy had to do was submit to sex occasionally; he would get a son and a royal title for his children and would be pampered because of his royal affiliation.

A sudden chill fell on the man’s heart. What had ever made him think taking Albel as a spouse was a wise idea? He despised the boy just as much as the young captain despised him. He had let his libido think for him a bit too much in this instance. After all, Albel would not be so attractive all his life. Well, he had gotten the son he needed, he could cut the brat off at any point. Perhaps he would wait until the five year contact with the concubine was up and then he’d let Albel go. Then he wouldn’t have to deal with any of the child rearing either. Let Albel do all of the work. Maybe he could even bump the boy out of his captain position; with children to raise and no mother about, Albel really should be with his children. It would be a blow to the boy’s pride and manhood, to be demoted and relegated to the role of a mother figure.

Albel deserved such a fate for his duplicity. The brat was probably waiting for such an offer to come along. Vox was angered by his own stupidity at not having seen it. Well, he would make certain Albel got his just rewards. And then the boy would have no other option but to crawl back to him and beg to be taken in. Albel would never be given his post as captain back, but perhaps if he was moved enough, Vox would allow the boy back into his life.

An accusing glance was cast at the young captain’s sleeping form. How could he have been deceived by such a lowly creature, the man wondered. It didn’t matter, he knew of the plot and he would put an end to it and bring the brat down a few pegs while he was at it. Albel needed a lesson, far beyond any discipline lesson he could give in the bedchamber, about the error of crossing Duke Vox.
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Wading through calf-high ice cold water was not a pleasant experience. For starters, Albel despised the cold with a passion. Secondly, being cold and WET was worse than just being cold. Luckily, they had brought spare sets of clothing so that they could sleep in drier garments and dry out the wet ones over night by the fire. However, having three bumbling idiots and a husband who continually cast suspicious and dark looks at him made the young captain twitch in nervous, angry anxiety.

He turned to the duke at one point and snarled, “What the hell is your problem?!”

Vox looked at the youth and smiled coldly. “Nothing, lovely.” He pat Albel’s cheek and the boy flinched and pulled away.

The passageway they were sloshing through would lead them to a chamber where they believed the monster to be. Albel tromped ahead of the group, eager to find the beast and slay it so he could get out of this freezing, dripping, hell hole. The duke was a few paces behind him. No matter that he had resolved to freeze his heart to the boy, Vox watched with great interest as the young captain’s hips swayed when he walked and a small bit of flesh would show from beneath the sarong as he moved.

A short competition ensued where the two captains attempted to out pace the other and reach the chamber first. As soon as Vox got next to him Albel would speed up. The duke would then quicken his pace to be ahead of the boy. Their childish game ended in disaster. They had gotten so far ahead of the accompanying soldiers that as soon as they had crossed the threshold into the chamber a barred gate fell and cut them off.

“Now look what you did!” Albel hissed.

“Shut your mouth, brat!”

They struggled for several minutes to bend the bars or lift the gate, but to no avail. The men on the opposite side were desperate to reach their captains and received no few insults about their inability to protect and guard their leaders. When it became clear that there was no way to get past the bars Albel slammed his fist into the wall.

“Stop!” He shouted, slapping Vox’s hands way from the bars. “You three imbeciles go back and get help to blow these bars out of place. And make haste!”

“And you two, sir?!”

Vox glared at the boy. “I’m interested to hear what we will do as well.”

“We’re going to go on and kill the damn monster.” Albel glared back. “By the time these maggots come back we will have killed it.”

The men protested the idea of leaving their captains behind, but Albel turned and walked away from them. Vox let out a soft curse before following. The chamber lead them down to another story but in order to carry on they would need to cross a frozen part of the river that ran beneath the castle.

“There’s running water beneath it.” Vox noted aloud.

“So we tread lightly and go across one at a time.”

The ice shifted beneath heir feet, but it did not crack, which seemed a good sign to Albel. As they progressed further the signs of the monster became plenty. There were blood smears and scattered bones all through the tunnels. The two captains shared a glance, warning one another to be on their toes.

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What they found was no dragon, as Albel had expected, but he had no name for what they encountered. It was scaly like a dragon, had talons and what appeared to be stumps of what might have been deformed wings like a dragon, but the extra legs and the tail with ivory spikes were no dragon traits.

The young captain took a hard hit from that tail. His artificial arm was punctured, rendering it useless, and he was thrown back into the stone wall. Much to his chagrin, Vox did most of the battling and delivered the killing blow. Without the use of his one arm Albel was deprived of a weapon and each time he swung his sword an agonizing jolt of pain would radiate through the remains of his mangled gauntlet, into his shoulder and all throughout his body. Regardless of pain, he attacked with was much force as he could muster. He landed several harsh blows and drew a good deal of blood, but it was still Vox and that damn ridiculously huge sword of his that ran the beast through and killed it.

“You’re bleeding” The man observed, sheathing his sword.

Albel lifted a hand to feel at the wound on his head. He felt warm blood dripping down his forehead and it stained his gloves when he went to dab it up. A flick of his fingers threw some droplets away from him, accidentally hitting the duke’s glove. The man turned his nose up in disgust and brushed the blood off.

“We should get back, those fools should have returned to the castle by now and be on their way back.”

“I don’t think so.” Albel said, putting his katana away with great effort. “It took us two days to get here. It will take them one to get back and another to get down here. We would be better off finding our own way back I think.”

“No,” Vox said sternly, “you told them to get help and they will be back. Wandering off may only land us in more danger and with you now incapacitated we can’t afford to risk such a thing. We can survive a days wait.”

The youth scowled. For once the man had a reasonable argument. Without his gauntlet in proper working order he would not be able to face an enemy with ease. “Fine. Lets start back then.”

The duke nodded and turned on his heel to start back. As they retraced their steps Albel wondered briefly about the cold shoulder he had been receiving all day. Normally Vox would delight in teasing him and groping him when no one was looking. It surprised Albel no small bit that as they walked Vox did not suggest they stop and take advantage of the fact that they were alone. Perhaps the battle had left the man in a foul mood. Or perhaps his husband was not as interested in sex as he had formerly suspected.
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When they returned to the frozen river of water that they would need to cross, the two captains stopped to catch their breath. They had abandoned the monster’s lair as soon as the battle had ended. They wanted to put as much distance between themselves and the chamber as possible. As Albel looked across the expanse of ice they would need to walk over he noted that the water beneath the surface seemed to have a stronger current than before. He voiced his observation to the duke.

The man did not even blink in interest. “We’ll throw our packs over first and then cross quickly.”

Albel shook his head and mumbled an insult under his breath.

After they had thrown their packs to the opposite shore, the duke began to cross first and when he was half way to the other side Albel stepped onto the sheet of ice. Vox was only a few feet from the shore when a deafening crack rent the air. He stopped immediately and looked behind him; Albel had paused as well. There were no visible cracks on the surface, but they had felt the large sheet shift beneath them.

“Move faster!” Albel yelled as he began to move again, quickening his pace.

With a firm nod of the head, the man turned and began forward again. He had hardly taken two steps when the ice cracked at last. A chasm opened up beneath his feet and before Vox could find solid footing he crashed into the icy water. The cold hit his body like a physical blow and his armor and clothes were weighing him down. As he sank to the bottom he heard another crash and looked up to see his young spouse thrashing about in the water. He struggled valiantly to reach the boy, but the weight was too much. After managing to shrug off his cloak, Vox hurried to undo the belts that attached his armor to his body.

It had happened so quickly that Albel did not have time to register that Vox had gone through the ice when he himself went tumbling into the water below. For several panicked seconds he flailed about in the water, his one arm a limp weight that was trying to drag him to the bottom. He managed to catch the lip of the solid part of the ice and haul himself up enough to catch a breath. The current was trying to pull him back under, but his grip was firm.

He looked around for Vox and saw nothing. There was no sign of the man, as if he had never been there. Vox was no coward and would not have left him, so that meant the man was still in the water. Hopefully, the man had not have been swept away by the current. With his lifeless limb, his chances of swimming well were low, but something had to be done and there was no time to think of plans. Albel sucked in a breath and then ducked his head back under the water. First he would find where the duke was. A glimmer of metal towards the murky bottom caught his eye and sure enough he found his husband. Raising his head and taking in another breath, the young captain released the ice and dove down to the bottom of the water. Without two hands the task of undoing buckles was frustratingly difficult, but they managed to get the man’s heavy breastplate off.

With his air supply running low, Vox pushed off from the bottom and swam, breaking through to the surface and gulping in air. He leaned onto the ice, panting and listening to the steady sound of the running water. Something bothered him. He had not heard the sound of another body breaking through to the surface.

“Albel?”

A quick glance about told him that he was alone. The man cursed loudly and let go of the ice; there was more than ten feet from the bottom of the aqueduct to the icy surface and with luck Albel was not floating about towards the bottom.

With great effort the boy had managed to paddle away from the bottom, but battling the current with one arm was no simple feat. He could see the light coming from the hole in the ice, but it seemed impossible to reach. That did by no means mean he was giving up. Yet even with such determination the light got further and further away. Albel kicked his feet and arced his arm out in a motion to propel himself forward, but the rushing water was too strong. The realization had just dawned on him that he may have to surrender his life to the deadly grip of the water when a hand grabbed his wrist firmly and an arm circled his waist.

Vox leaned forward and placed his lips over Albel’s, sharing his air. They struggled together, but eventually they made it to the surface. Their limbs were so sluggish from the desperate swim for their lives that it took several minutes to haul themselves onto the solid part of the ice and crawl over to the safety of the shore.

As he lay panting for breath a small pain went through Albel’s artificial arm. He flinched, but thought nothing of it. When another shock went through him the youth let out a startle yell.

Vox turned his attention to him. “Is something wrong?” Perhaps the boy had injured himself somehow.

“I don’t know.” Albel laid his hand on his artificial limb, it felt like it was vibrating.

“Where did you get your gauntlet?” The duke asked, eyeing the glinting metal.

“Greeton. Do you know something?”

“You had a surgery there as well in order for you to be able to attach the limb and move it?”

“Yes, do you know something or not?!”

The man leaned over and took hold of the twisted metal arm and snapped it off. An indignant protest left the youth’s mouth, but Vox held up his hand to silence him.

“It’s likely the technology in your arm is malfunctioning, either due to the breakage from the battle or from immersion in the water. It could be waterlogged. No matter the reason, it’s broken and you’ll need to replace it.”

Such news did not please the young captain. Still, he was glad the periodical shocks had stopped. As they rested Vox watched his spouse carefully. He wanted nothing more than to lean over and clasp the boy’s face in his hands and kiss him passionately, but he had not forgotten his epiphany from the previous night. Certainly he would never harm Albel himself or let harm come to the boy, but there was no forgiving the deception that the youth had been employing. He expected nothing from Albel, not even affection. To have had Albel in his bed, pretending to be loving was inexcusable. The boy was a traitor to him.

Albel would regret his deception, but no harm would come to the boy from his own hand. Not yet at any rate.

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The two made their way to the barred chamber and set up a camp for the night. As they shed their soaking clothes they both let out a sigh of great thanks that their packs had remained dry and they would have clothes to change into. If they did not there was a good chance they might have died of hypothermia.

After spending the evening shivering side by side and huddling close to the warmth of a torch, the ‘rescue‘ team came the next day and they returned to the castle. Arzei excepted one of the beast’s tail spikes as proof that the monster was indeed dead and then sent the two home to warm themselves. Albel was also instructed to hand over his artificial limb so a messenger could travel to Greeton and get him a new one.

“They will need to see the attachment joints in my arm in order to make a new one that will properly fit.”

Arzei smiled and waved his hand. “Woltar should have a blueprint of both your arm and the limb. I’ll have the messenger retrieve those first. That way you will not need to worry about traveling in such a condition.”

“Condition?” Albel snarled. “What do you think, that I’m pregnant?”

The king laughed and after the boy had made several demands about this new limb, one of them being that it must be water proof, the man dismissed him. When he turned to look, Albel was surprised to find that the duke was not there. Vox must have left while he had been talking with Arzei. A smile twitched at the youth’s lips; he would get rest at last!

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When the currier returned with Albel’s new limb Vox intercepted it and brought it to the boy himself. Albel had been laid up in his quarters in the city for a week, waiting for his artificial limb. He eagerly awaited to see what new monstrosity they would bring and have the audacity to call an arm. When a maid showed the duke in to his room he was mildly surprised. He made to rise in a greeting, but Vox waved a hand at him and handed the package over. After getting a good look at the limb Albel brought his hand up and pressed his palm against his forehead and shook his head.

“Still claws, hmm? They must be trying to make me look like a monster. These ones are longer than on my last gauntlet.”

The man eyed the metal creation and grunted. “The talons suit you.”

“I’ll ignore that comment.”

Once the limb was snapped into place Albel lifted the metal hand and wiggled the claws. He gave the arm a few experimental swings and did several exercises; it would do. The new tool lifted his spirits so that when he turned to his husband he had a playful smirk on his face. He thrummed the razor sharp blades against his lips.

“Will you be staying long?”

“No.” Vox looked at him with cold eyes. The smirk fell off of the youth’s face. “I just came to deliver that to you.”

“I see. Thank you.” He bit out through clenched teeth.

A bit of light danced in the man’s eyes. He seemed pleased that he had gotten underneath the boy’s skin and irritated him.

When the duke had left Albel went to sit by the fire and think. He knew the look that had been on the man’s face. Vox was up to something and that something had to do with him. What twisted plot his husband was cooking up now, Albel did not want to know. But he had a sinking feeling he would find out shortly. And it would not be a pleasant surprise. There had been danger in those eyes and for the first time in a very long while there was a small thrill of fear in his heart over what the man might do.

~END

I felt bad about making you wait 2 weeks for the last chapter, so I got to work early…and I finished really early. Consider this a gift. I start school again next week and with seven classes I might be scrambling for time. A bit less porn in this chapter, but a lot of plot. Go and review!