Enabling

Glou had been the only family that Albel remembered having; there was no mention of any of his grandparents, aside from his father’s father who had been captain of the dragon brigade before Glou. To his knowledge, there were no aunts or uncles or distant cousins with whom he shared a similar blood bond. Over the years, especially after Glou’s death, he had learned to get along without any family, to be self-sufficient. Even after his marriage to the Duke, Albel did not feel that he had a family to which he belonged. Time spent with Vox was rare indeed, and as of late it was nothing short of an annoyance, given how cold the man was being. The sudden chill gave Albel pause, but he wasn’t overly concerned; it wasn’t like they got along very much before they were married either.

Vox himself came from a small family. All that was left of that family was the duke himself and Arzei—perhaps the dragons as well, since both of theirs seemed to be sentient, but that seemed a desperate declaration to Albel. Albel assumed that it was because of the small size of the royal family that Arzei took interest in him, that coupled with the fact that Arzei had no wife to bestow his attention upon. Then again, perhaps it was morbid curiosity on the monarch’s behalf; maybe Atrzei truly wondered how someone as young and attractive as Albel would settle for an insensitive old prick like Vox. Albel found himself asking the same question more and more often.

When an invite to a luncheon with the king came Albel was slightly surprised; Arzei was charitable to him, but aside from reports and war councils, they hardly even interacted. His curiosity was piqued just enough to accept. The day of the luncheon he took special care to look presentable, he even let the tangled mess of his hair down from the wraps they were confined in and brushed it thoroughly. After arriving at the castle gate he was ushered upstairs and into the king’s study. Arzei looked up as the door was opened and stood in greeting. Albel nodded from across the room then advanced when the king moved out from behind the desk, intent on shaking hands.

“I’m glad you’ve come.” Arzei said, shaking the youth’s hand enthusiastically.

Albel was slightly put off by the warm welcome and yanked his hand away as soon as he could. “I thought meeting with the king could only help me. And I was intrigued by the invite.”

“There was no secret intention behind the invitation, merely a desire to dine with a family member whom I have not had the pleasure of speaking to often.”

Honestly, Albel did not know who Arzei thought he was dealing with; many people told him that their dealings with him were anything but pleasant. Well, an afternoon together would cure the naïve man of those notions.
They took lunch in a private room, well warmed by a roaring fire. They sat close to the fireplace, comfortable in plush chairs. Normally Albel did not allow himself to partake in, much less enjoy, such luxuries—a notion of hypocrisy given how most of the country starved—but it was an especially chilly day and the fire was inviting. A small table was set between them and a servant brought each course. Wine, soup, rare wild hare with steamed vegetables, and cinnamon pie for dessert; it was a pity the country starved when there was such splendid food to be had. He would work himself into a state of guilt and anger at himself later then force himself to train for his indulgence, but at the time Albel enjoyed each bite of the meal.

“I hope you do feed yourself well; there are empty quarters here in the castle that you could gladly occupy and my cook is one of the best in the country; he would make sure you ate appropriately.”

The idea was tempting for just a moment. A split second. Then Albel remembered that Vox stayed in the castle a good deal and the notion became laughable; the further away from the duke he was, the happier he would be. And he did not need to be pampered; he rather preferred his modest living.

“As tempting an offer as that is,” Albel began, his tone clearly indicating how UN-tempting it truly was, “I prefer to stay in my own quarters. I take care of myself just fine; I’ve come this far, so I must be doing something right.”

Arzei smiled, not at all put off by the boy’s attitude. “Of course, I know you are independent.“

There was a lapse of conversation as they took tea. Albel’s eyes strayed to the fire, mesmerized by the dancing flames. His gaze was torn away only when Arzei cleared his throat considerably loud; the man had apparently been addressing him.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I asked how you and my uncle were fairing. With a union such as yours that depends on discreet interaction, I cannot judge myself. And Vox is not one to mention the private workings of his life.”

Even when he was not there, Vox could ruin a pleasant day. Albel took a moment to choose his words. “We fair fine enough for us, though others would surely question our…commitment to one another.”

“If you will forgive the frankness, I’ve often wondered myself if there was any commitment upon which you based your union. Both of you seem to garner some sort of benefit from one another.”

Much to his surprise, Albel felt a frown tugging at his lips. He cursed himself on the inside for letting emotion crack through the hardened exterior he had spent so much time crafting. “I couldn’t tell you myself, what our marriage is or isn’t or was or wasn’t. At the moment, however, I know that we have stretched the commitment to the breaking point. Your uncle is being quite an arrogant ass as of lately.” He paused and glanced at Arzei, who looked back at him intently. “Has he perhaps mentioned anything to you that would explain his irrational behavior?”

“I’m afraid not, Albel. In fact, he has acted the same as he always has when around me. But such a relationship as you have is unique and I cannot say that I understand such things. I wouldn’t take any behavior of his to heart. Vox is a cold man. You know this more intimately than anyone I presume, since you have been in close quarters with him quite often. As I said, Vox is a cold man and the war has made him worse.”

Albel decided to try another route. “Has he spoken of me, at any time with you?”

The king shook his head. “As I told you, Vox keep his private life to himself.”

The young captain nodded. His interrogation had not gone as he had hoped. That something was amiss with the duke was certain, but there were no clues as to what was wrong. Albel could not gauge whether the man’s anger was directed solely at him, Vox being a stoic man, but it seemed, to him at least, that the duke had a vendetta against him. His hope in coming to the luncheon was to gain information from Arzei; if Vox was up to something he wanted to know about it so he could at least be slightly prepared if a situation arose that would be misfortunate for him. Alas, the youth had come up empty handed.


~After lunch had yielded no new insights, Albel took a brief walk about the city. His thoughts were scattered and he needed to organize them and analyze them. Perhaps he had missed a small detail that would end up explaining all. Normally he would have settled for the conclusion that Vox was simply a jerk, but Albel knew better. Vox might have been cold to him often, but he never ENJOYED being cold to him. The fact that Vox WAS enjoying being so harsh gave the young captain pause and a strange feeling of dread. He needed to find a cause and a solution as quickly as possible.

Eventually his feet took him back to his quarters. As he approached, Albel noted that his door was ajar. No criminal would be dumb enough to sneak into his rooms; he would have gutted the perpetrator where he stood and not been put on trial. Perhaps a maid then…

The door was slammed against the wall, a clear warning for whoever was in his room to be prepared to offer explanation or be killed. To his surprise, the boy found his husband was the one who had entered and left his door ajar. Vox was in Albel’s study, shuffling through the papers on the young captain’s desk.

“Excuse me!” Albel yelled, stepping into the room and snatching the papers from the man’s hands.

The duke looked at his spouse, unamused. “I need those.”

“These are my reports; they go to the king. What do you need them for?”

“To plan, what else?”

An indignant red colored the boy’s cheeks. He slammed his fists on the desk and glared hotly at Vox. “You listen to me, prick! My reports are only to be seen by myself and his majesty! You, nor Woltar, nor anyone else has any right or need to see them! If you need to hear something that is in my reports then the king will bring it up in our council meetings! You have no right to come barging into my quarters and rummage through my reports! There’s a reason that no one but the king sees these reports; so that information can’t leak!”

Until that moment Vox had simply stood where he was, allowing Albel to rant as he pleased. The boy’s last remark stirred him though. “And what, pray tell, are you implying with that statement?”

“I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure it out.”

“Surely you do not mean to make such a ludicrous implication as to accuse me of treason.”

Albel snorted, gathering more papers from his desk. “I said no such thing.”

Vox reached across the desk and took the boy’s chin firmly in his grasp. “I would watch my tongue, if I were you, Albel. Such deceits as the one that just slid from your mouth could rouse people to act harshly.”

Albel broke away. “Is that a threat?” he snarled.

“Of course not.” Vox straightened, a pleased grin on his face. “You misconstrued my words, just as I apparently did yours.”

A dark scowl formed on the young captain’s fair features. Vox put down the papers he had been holding. He nodded at Albel, smirking, and excused himself. Albel waited until he heard the door close before he slammed his artificial limb into the stone wall. A bit of grout fell from the area he hit.

Now he was certain Vox had an agenda. Albel had been married to the man long enough to know when Vox was purposely trying to anger him. Vox would answer insults, but he never made barely disguised threats such as the one he had just received. Jest or not, it was no minor threat. The difficulty came in the task of discovering WHY the man was trying to rouse him to anger. Just to be an ass, most likely. But WHY was the duke being so aggravating. Honestly, Albel felt like he was in grade school once more.

Perhaps Vox was giving him a warning with these trivial games. Warning or message or simple bastard-ness on the duke’s behalf, Albel was uncertain. It was driving him mad trying to uncover the reasons behind his husband’s actions. For the time being, the young captain decided as he locked his door, he would simply watch and keep his guard up. If Vox was indeed giving him a warning then he would heed it.

~~There was no contact between the two captains for two days afterwards. It was close to midnight and Albel was just beginning to feel the day wearing on him. He carefully put his documents in order and was just about to extinguish the flames of the candles on his desk when there was a soft rap at the door. It had been the young captain’s intention to simply ignore the knock, knowing full well who was at the door, but he remembered that he had not locked it when he had returned from training. Vox walked in.

“What do you want?” Albel grumbled, obviously displeased at having such a late visitor. Or perhaps it was the visitor, not the lateness.

The duke grinned lecherously, leaning forward and fingering a lock of the boy’s soft, golden hair. “You know what I want. In our union contract I am awarded use of your body.”

“And why should I give that to you? You’ve been nothing but an ass to me lately.”

“It’s your duty,” the man replied, as though he had anticipated the query. “Your end of the contract is small in comparison to what you gain. Disobedience could possibly harm you.”

“Is that another threat?” The young captain hissed angrily.

Vox narrowed his eyes, growing agitated. “I’m tiring of this game. I make no threats, I am merely reminding you of your duty in our union.”

Despite his better judgment screaming that he should push the duke out of the apartment and shut the door in the man’s face, Albel moved aside to let his husband pass. Vox took him by the wrist, not harshly but not without any care either, and pulled him along.

~~Though the bed sheets were warm and soft there was no such comfort from the embrace Albel found himself in. Albel never duped himself into thinking that he and Vox actually made love, but they were lovers with a connection that elevated them above people who were just fucking for fun. He could not feel much of that connection any longer. There was a thin thread of the connection, or he thought there was, for why else would the man return to him? But there was little of that feeling left; they were having sex. Plain, noncommittal, boring sex. That concerned Albel.

Vox, he was certain, felt nothing between them either. The duke was thrusting into him, harsh and rough, growling and groaning, but it felt empty. Albel tried wrapping his arms and legs around his husband and pulling him close, but still there was a persistent feeling of emptiness. Having given up attempting to find that connection once more, Albel unwound his arms and legs and lied back placidly, allowing whatever molestation the duke could think of. It was a short and unsatisfying stint for them both.

~~Having spilled his seed and found a somewhat relaxing end, Vox pulled out and pulled his clothes on. He cast a look back at Albel and found the boy staring at him with guarded eyes. Offering no words, the man shook his head, as if disappointed, and left.

As was his own habit, Albel stayed abed. There were many thoughts plaguing him. That Vox was angry was obvious, but WHY? He ran his flesh hand through his bangs and let out a breath. The sudden chill on the duke’s heart had started on the mission they had taken into the aqueducts. Vox wasn’t petty enough to hold a grudge over the fact that he didn’t always enjoy sex. It would injure the man’s pride and chafe for a time, but Vox would have gotten over it. Perhaps one of the soldiers had whispered lies about him. But such slander had never bothered Vox before, the man seemed to rather enjoy it when he heard rumors about the young captain he was joined with.

Albel continued to puzzle over the issue for many hours. He needed to find the cause and find a cure. He trusted that for the time being Vox would not make a move against him, but with how quickly their relationship had begun to decline he was uncertain of the future. The sooner he found the cause of the man’s ire the better chance he had at escaping trouble. If things continued to progress as they were, Albel worried that he might find ill fortune awaiting him.

~END

Again, not a lot of porn, but a good chunk of plot. I hate school…it is too much work. Thanks for hanging on. Well, I did the outlines and the way I figure it, there will be 4 more chapters. Stay tuned because the ending will hit you hard. Go review!