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frogs_of_warTo try to get my mind off things I can do nothing about, here's a story.
Title: The King’s Dilemma
Series: A Balance of Harmonies (Three)
Status: Picture story
Genre: m/m/m romance, alternate universe, Medieval Asia
Rating: R
Content: a unwanted gift, comfort, pacing, questions, logic, pain, food, sleepiness, sounds, a gentle hand, words, a plan, action, translation, despair, a speech, introduction, a broken heart, more questions, begging, answers, an invitation, pleasre, happiness, a battle won
Length: about 3,300 words
Summary: When their enemy backs them into a corner, the king’s adviser has to break his own heart to save the day.
Notes: Based on the painting described in Breve at Pleasures.
Priam = Pry am
Eshan = Esh an
Konur = Kohn ur
Master list
Priam kept his face neutral in front of the Artatam ambassador. The man was up to something. Artatam and Madhyadeśi hadn’t been on friendly terms for three hundred years and their relations had grown even dicier since King Eshan’s grandfather had banned slavery, the so-called trade that brought Artatam most of its money.
“And as a gesture of good faith, my king wishes for you to have a gift.” The ambassador wore his plotting smile. “Will you accept it?”
This gift was going to be something they didn’t want, but diplomacy wouldn’t allow them to reject it.
King Eshan looked at Priam. Last night in bed, they talked about the danger of the ambassador’s visit, what he might be up to, and how to stop whatever catastrophe Artatam had planned. They came up with nothing solid. They needed more information. They were about to receive it, too late.
Priam nodded. What else could they do that wouldn’t start a war with those lying, thieving bastards?
King Eshan turned back to the ambassador. “I will accept it.”
The ambassador’s smile turned into an evil grin. “I and my king rejoice.”
He lifted his arm and several muscular men came in carrying a wooden pyramid that hung by ropes from two thick rods. The men lowered the rods and the pyramid sank into the carpet. The ambassador told his men to open it and they did so by prying the front off. Out rolled a dirty man tied hand and foot. The man was so big that he must not have had space to even wiggle in the small box. The ambassador’s face lit up. “Thank you, King Eshan, for accepting the gift of this slave.”
Priam’s heart sank. He was the king’s most trusted advisor and he’d let this happen. He hurried to the man to keep the damage to the king and country to a minimum. The ambassador’s men stepped back. Priam pulled out his knife to cut the ropes. They had dug into the man’s wrists and ankles leaving open wounds.
“You are safe now.”
The man’s eyes didn’t leave Priam’s knife as he scooted away. Priam tried a different language and a third and a fourth. Finally he tried his mother tongue. He didn’t know any others.
The ambassador laughed. “This isn’t just any slave. This is Prince Konur of Tregagås. He was well loved by his father’s people, and his brother worried he’d be made king instead of the older son. A prince like this is worth many gold coins.”
The man stopped moving away. Priam cut the rope between the man’s wrists and offered the knife to him. He yanked the gag off his mouth and took the knife in a shaky grip. Priam stood up. Servants surrounded him. One had a coat of gold cloth that had belong to the late king, but big as it was, it’d never fit over this man’s wide shoulders.
The man attempted to get to his feet. Priam called for a chair and helped the man into it. When was the last time he’d been out of the cramped box? When had he last eaten? Or bathed? He was covered in his own filth. “Take him to the baths and then feed him all he will eat.”
“As our guest,” said King Eshan, “Prince Konur is entitled to the best of everything.”
The ambassador laughed. “You treat your slaves too well.”
King Eshan sat up even straighter. “Nothing is too good for our guest.”
The ambassador laughed louder. “You’re in this too deep now.”
Priam stepped back onto the dais and took his place beside the king. He would give anything to keep his adopted land safe and at peace, including the man that he loved.
—
Eshan paced his private chamber. He had lost a round to the Artatam but he wasn’t ready to concede defeat. Or his lover. “What do you mean marry him?”
Priam sighed. “Only two kinds of people are offered up as gifts: slaves and brides. If we don’t want him to be a slave, he must be a bride.”
Eshan turned at the wall and paced back across the room. “But why should I have to marry him?”
“Who better than you?”
Eshan held his breath. He understood all that. He knew only marriage to the king would satisfy the populous. If Eshan gave Prince Konur to someone else, even to marry, he’d be saying people could be bought and sold. His country had lost too much, given too much, to ever let the slavers win again.
But when he did marry someone, he wanted that man to be Priam. He didn’t need an heir. His sister had three fine sons to choose from. And his people knew of his attraction to men before Priam had come as the nephew of a merchant and proved himself good enough and trustworthy enough to become Eshan’s advisor and later his lover. Eshan had laid all the groundwork to make Priam his husband. And now he had to take another. “I didn’t only have you in my bed to warm my nights.”
Priam touched Eshan’s arm. “I know, my love. If I could think of anything else…”
Eshan buried his face against Priam’s shoulder. “Hold me just once more.”
They had no time for that. But Priam tilted Eshan’s face up and stole his breath. Maybe, for just a moment or two, Eshan could pretend that yesterday’s certain future might actually come true.
—
Konur set the melon rind aside. A servant quickly cleaned it up and offered him more food. He shook his head. He’d eaten more in the last few hours than he had in the last week. And they’d dressed him in embroidered silk, which he’d only seen at a distance before. The bath had been huge with more scrub cloths and soaps and oils than he’d known existed. The servants had treated him well, despite not understanding him. His hair had been washed four times before the water ran clear and he’d been scrubbed down with such gentle care that soap hadn’t hurt his wounds.
He’d been dried and bandaged and clothed and feed and now he was exhausted, but he still wanted to find the one man who had spoken words that he’d been familiar with.
Servants carted off the table and adjusted the pillows around him. His eyes kept closing. He forced them open. “I need the man I can talk to.”
The servants bowed and repeated the same sounds they had every time he’d asked before.
His eye closed again. He woke to someone stroking his hair. He opened his eyes quickly and tried to sit up. His body exploded with pain. Hands touched his arm. “You are safe.”
“Safe?” Konur hadn’t spoken this language since that one ambassador left his father’s halls when he was fifteen. The word felt odd in his mouth.
“Yes. The men that had you are our enemies.” He eased Konur back down. “You are safe, my prince.”
Konur looked up. The man sitting by his head had brown hair and skin and eyes, but not nearly as dark as any of the other people he’d seen here. “Why am I here? And who are you?”
The man smiled. “I am your humble servant Priam, advisor to King Eshan of Madhyadeśi. The king of Artatam sent you here to weaken and humiliate King Eshan. We can’t let him win.”
The gentle hand on his brow was putting him back to sleep. “How do we beat him?”
In Konur’s country most disagreements were settle with swords. He would need time before he was up to a battle.
“If you marry the king, we will win.”
That made no sense. Could men marry men here? Did such a paradise exist? He must have died on the journey and been allowed into heaven. He let sleep take him under, but he hoped that Priam stayed close.
—
Priam straightened King Eshan’s already perfect clothing. He would miss touching him. Maybe he should find some other place to live, where the temptation wouldn’t be so great. No, he wasn’t strong enough to walk away. He needed King Eshan beside him, even if he was no longer beneath Priam’s hand.
King Eshan took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “Let’s get this over with.”
He took Priam’s arm as if he forgot that they were no longer lovers. Priam didn’t have the willpower to remind him. The walk to Prince Konur’s chambers was too short.
Prince Konur looked better this morning, handsome and alert and huge. King Eshan sucked in his breath. “He’s blond.”
Priam grinned. “He’s from Tregagås.”
Prince Konur nodded without standing up, which was probably for the best as he’d need his strength for later. Eshan sat on a pillow at the table. Priam took the last spot. “Prince Konur, this is King Eshan.”
“My betrothed?”
Priam nodded and then informed King Eshan what had been asked. King Eshan picked up his tea cup. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Priam translated. Prince Konur had many question about why the marriage was necessary and whether it would be legal. Priam and King Eshan answered as many as they could, but Prince Konur’s came from somewhere entirely unlike any place Priam had lived, so he wasn’t sure if he was answering the questions Prince Konur thought he was asking.
A servant came in and offered King Eshan several pieces of parchment. King Eshan set them on the table. “I thought you might want news from home.”
Prince Konur’s eyes lit up, but the glow died as Priam read. His brother claimed he was dead, but also had a price on his head. The country was on the brink of chaos, but no one had enough details to see the whole picture. Prince Konur probably wouldn’t survive a trip home.
Prince Konur stared out the window. “And how real will the marriage be?”
Priam force himself to stay calm and keep his voice neutral as he watched his lover put his hand over Prince Konur’s and say, “As real as you want it to be.”
And then Prince Konur’s eyes lit again and he turned from Priam to King Eshan with a smile. “I think I could manage a consummation.”
Priam tasted bile. If Prince Konur had agreed to a simple, maybe temporary, marriage of convenience, Priam would have overcome his guilty feeling and warmed King Eshan’s bed. But he wouldn’t be needed after all.
—
Eshan waited until the crowd quieted before he stepped out onto the balcony. His people cheered. He acknowledged them with nods and waves. Then he raised his hand and the crowd fell silent. He waited another moment to make sure he had everyone’s attention. “By now many of you have heard that we have a guest. A very important guest. One I never even hoped to meet, but the gods have been good to me, good to us. They have blessed us with a wonderful man, Prince Konur of Tregagås.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd as he’d expected. No one was sure what to think. Eshan and Priam had been up half the night writing a speech to answer that question. “He came to us under unusual circumstance, but he came, and for that I rejoice.”
He held out his hand and Konur stepped out beside him. “This, my people, is Prince Konur. The tallest, strongest, most beautiful man any of you will ever see in your lives.”
This was written before Eshan had laid eyes on him clean, well fed, and with a good night’s rest. Priam had been right to include it.
“I was quite impressed.”
The crowd laughed. That was a good sign.
“So impressed that I have asked him to marry me.” He waited a beat. “And he said yes.”
The crowd roared. Only a few looked at each other in confusion. Eshan hadn’t exactly hidden his feeling for Priam. He beckoned under the level of the railing for Priam to join them. He stepped out. Eshan smiled at him. “Priam was the first to congratulate us.”
The crowd roared again. Eshan grinned. “This might be the first time Artatam has ever done us a favor.”
The cheers and whistles were deafening. Eshan nodded to his people and kept his arm around Konur as he stepped back into the near privacy of indoors. Eshan was exhausted. He just wanted to relax in the arms of the man he loved. But instead he watched Priam become a stranger. When Priam asked for permission to withdraw, Eshan let him go. He was too painful to watch.
Eshan turned his attention to the betrothed who he couldn’t talk to. Getting along with Konur was part of his duty. And he could do his duty, even with a broken heart.
—
Konur let his fingers linger on Eshan’s hand. He was going to spend his nights with a man. But when? Priam, the only guy he could talk to, had disappeared after the announcement on the balcony. When was the wedding? Would he have to wait? He wanted the pretty king under him right now. If Konur woke up and found this all a dream, he wanted at least the memory of a hard body beneath his hands to keep him warm on snowy nights. “Where is Priam?”
The king said something. He repeated it. Then he turned to the door and said something that might have included Priam’s name. Then he turned to Konur and put his hand on Konur’s thigh. He better not make Konur wait. Konur leaned forward. Eshan kissed him, but this wasn’t the kiss he longed for and dreamed of. If he was going to be with only Eshan for the rest of his life, he hoped for more.
Even so, Eshan pulled away much too soon.
Priam arrived. He glanced at them and then lowered his eyes. What was up with him?
Eshan said something. Priam put his hands behind his back. “The king says you have questions.”
Why wasn’t Priam sitting down? Why wouldn’t he look at them? Konur looked down at Eshan. He was worrying his lip and staring at his hands. What was going on? “When is the wedding?”
Priam flinched.
Konur brushed his hand down Eshan’s side. Priam’s gaze fell to the floor. Konur was getting the picture. “Are you lovers?”
Priam looked up. Eshan asked something. Priam clinched his fists and said something to Eshan. Eshan turned and practically climbed into Konur’s lap. His eyes were wide as he begged Konur in his incomprehensible language. “He will never betray you. You are his husband.”
Konur looked Priam. “Are those your words or his?”
“His.”
Konur pressed his finger to Eshan’s lips to quiet him. He looked back at Priam. “And what is your answer?”
Priam squared his shoulders. “I will not betray you either.”
“But you love him. More than just his body, you love his soul.”
Priam looked down. “And I always will.”
Konur could understand that. In just their day together, he felt drawn to Eshan. “Does he feel the same?”
Priam spoke to Eshan and both men’s eyes filled with tears. This was gut wrenching, but not so much as some of the things he’d seen. He wasn’t asking a boy to kill his father or a girl her lover or a mother her child. Konur’s brother told him he was too soft hearted and perhaps he was.
Priam turned to Konur several times but before he could get more than a word or two out, Eshan would stop him with another spill of words. Konur pulled his pretty king onto his lap. “When are the servants going to do that thing that makes this into a bed?”
Priam wiped his eyes and turned to the door. At his word servants removed the table and rearranged the cushions. Konur didn’t think the resulting bed looked big enough. With a few gestures he got what he wanted. He turned back to Priam. “What does he say?”
Priam’s hands shook. “He repeats that he will never betray you. Only you, Prince Konur, will be in his bed.”
Konur ran his hands over Eshan to calm him. “But you will be in his heart.”
Priam turned away.
Question time was over, now time for the reward. “Come.”
He lay back so Eshan lay beside him. Priam took a step forward. “What?”
“Come.” Konur gestured for Priam to join them. Eshan said something. Konur unfastened Eshan’s coat and was disappointed to find a layer underneath. “How do I get him bare?”
Priam sat with his knees on the edge of the cushions. “You want me here for translations?”
Konur surveyed his king’s clothing. “And tips. I think I can manage one consummation, but I don’t want to be the bride every time.”
He’d had enough of that at home while growing up with men who hadn’t taken his wishes into consideration. When one was breaking the law, one had no one to complain to.
Priam almost smiled. “King Eshan prefers to be taken.”
Konur pulled off his shirt. “Good.”
Eshan said something. Priam cleared his throat. “Will I be expected to stay and watch you with the one I love?”
Konur smiled. “Of course.”
He took Priam’s soft hand and pressed it against his lips. “Join us?”
Priam looked from Konur to Eshan and back. “Tonight?”
Konur grinned. “Every night.”
He sucked in Priam’s fingers and Priam moaned. Eshan said something. Priam answered him and then Konur’s pretty little king turned and gave Konur the kiss he’d been longing for. Tonight was going to be spectacular.
—
Priam stood on the balcony with his king and his king’s new husband. The crowd cheered and waved banners. He smiled back at the happy people. King Eshan draped his hand on Priam’s hip and used the one he’d had around Prince Konur to wave at the crowd.
Priam’s one day of anguish had been followed two month of hot nights. His room had been moved to the right of the king’s while Prince Konur’s was on the left, but they never slept anywhere but the king’s bed. Several people had petitioned King Eshan to marry Priam as well as Prince Konur, so that they might marry the two they loved as well. Such a day seemed a long way away, but Priam didn’t mind as long as he shared his lovers’ hearts, minds, and bodies.
The Artatam ambassador grimaced from the edge of the crowd. He had come to watch his own defeat as King Eshan and Prince Konur took their vows. Madhyadeśi had beat Artatam yet again.
Title: The King’s Dilemma
Series: A Balance of Harmonies (Three)
Status: Picture story
Genre: m/m/m romance, alternate universe, Medieval Asia
Rating: R
Content: a unwanted gift, comfort, pacing, questions, logic, pain, food, sleepiness, sounds, a gentle hand, words, a plan, action, translation, despair, a speech, introduction, a broken heart, more questions, begging, answers, an invitation, pleasre, happiness, a battle won
Length: about 3,300 words
Summary: When their enemy backs them into a corner, the king’s adviser has to break his own heart to save the day.
Notes: Based on the painting described in Breve at Pleasures.
Priam = Pry am
Eshan = Esh an
Konur = Kohn ur
Master list
Priam kept his face neutral in front of the Artatam ambassador. The man was up to something. Artatam and Madhyadeśi hadn’t been on friendly terms for three hundred years and their relations had grown even dicier since King Eshan’s grandfather had banned slavery, the so-called trade that brought Artatam most of its money.
“And as a gesture of good faith, my king wishes for you to have a gift.” The ambassador wore his plotting smile. “Will you accept it?”
This gift was going to be something they didn’t want, but diplomacy wouldn’t allow them to reject it.
King Eshan looked at Priam. Last night in bed, they talked about the danger of the ambassador’s visit, what he might be up to, and how to stop whatever catastrophe Artatam had planned. They came up with nothing solid. They needed more information. They were about to receive it, too late.
Priam nodded. What else could they do that wouldn’t start a war with those lying, thieving bastards?
King Eshan turned back to the ambassador. “I will accept it.”
The ambassador’s smile turned into an evil grin. “I and my king rejoice.”
He lifted his arm and several muscular men came in carrying a wooden pyramid that hung by ropes from two thick rods. The men lowered the rods and the pyramid sank into the carpet. The ambassador told his men to open it and they did so by prying the front off. Out rolled a dirty man tied hand and foot. The man was so big that he must not have had space to even wiggle in the small box. The ambassador’s face lit up. “Thank you, King Eshan, for accepting the gift of this slave.”
Priam’s heart sank. He was the king’s most trusted advisor and he’d let this happen. He hurried to the man to keep the damage to the king and country to a minimum. The ambassador’s men stepped back. Priam pulled out his knife to cut the ropes. They had dug into the man’s wrists and ankles leaving open wounds.
“You are safe now.”
The man’s eyes didn’t leave Priam’s knife as he scooted away. Priam tried a different language and a third and a fourth. Finally he tried his mother tongue. He didn’t know any others.
The ambassador laughed. “This isn’t just any slave. This is Prince Konur of Tregagås. He was well loved by his father’s people, and his brother worried he’d be made king instead of the older son. A prince like this is worth many gold coins.”
The man stopped moving away. Priam cut the rope between the man’s wrists and offered the knife to him. He yanked the gag off his mouth and took the knife in a shaky grip. Priam stood up. Servants surrounded him. One had a coat of gold cloth that had belong to the late king, but big as it was, it’d never fit over this man’s wide shoulders.
The man attempted to get to his feet. Priam called for a chair and helped the man into it. When was the last time he’d been out of the cramped box? When had he last eaten? Or bathed? He was covered in his own filth. “Take him to the baths and then feed him all he will eat.”
“As our guest,” said King Eshan, “Prince Konur is entitled to the best of everything.”
The ambassador laughed. “You treat your slaves too well.”
King Eshan sat up even straighter. “Nothing is too good for our guest.”
The ambassador laughed louder. “You’re in this too deep now.”
Priam stepped back onto the dais and took his place beside the king. He would give anything to keep his adopted land safe and at peace, including the man that he loved.
—
Eshan paced his private chamber. He had lost a round to the Artatam but he wasn’t ready to concede defeat. Or his lover. “What do you mean marry him?”
Priam sighed. “Only two kinds of people are offered up as gifts: slaves and brides. If we don’t want him to be a slave, he must be a bride.”
Eshan turned at the wall and paced back across the room. “But why should I have to marry him?”
“Who better than you?”
Eshan held his breath. He understood all that. He knew only marriage to the king would satisfy the populous. If Eshan gave Prince Konur to someone else, even to marry, he’d be saying people could be bought and sold. His country had lost too much, given too much, to ever let the slavers win again.
But when he did marry someone, he wanted that man to be Priam. He didn’t need an heir. His sister had three fine sons to choose from. And his people knew of his attraction to men before Priam had come as the nephew of a merchant and proved himself good enough and trustworthy enough to become Eshan’s advisor and later his lover. Eshan had laid all the groundwork to make Priam his husband. And now he had to take another. “I didn’t only have you in my bed to warm my nights.”
Priam touched Eshan’s arm. “I know, my love. If I could think of anything else…”
Eshan buried his face against Priam’s shoulder. “Hold me just once more.”
They had no time for that. But Priam tilted Eshan’s face up and stole his breath. Maybe, for just a moment or two, Eshan could pretend that yesterday’s certain future might actually come true.
—
Konur set the melon rind aside. A servant quickly cleaned it up and offered him more food. He shook his head. He’d eaten more in the last few hours than he had in the last week. And they’d dressed him in embroidered silk, which he’d only seen at a distance before. The bath had been huge with more scrub cloths and soaps and oils than he’d known existed. The servants had treated him well, despite not understanding him. His hair had been washed four times before the water ran clear and he’d been scrubbed down with such gentle care that soap hadn’t hurt his wounds.
He’d been dried and bandaged and clothed and feed and now he was exhausted, but he still wanted to find the one man who had spoken words that he’d been familiar with.
Servants carted off the table and adjusted the pillows around him. His eyes kept closing. He forced them open. “I need the man I can talk to.”
The servants bowed and repeated the same sounds they had every time he’d asked before.
His eye closed again. He woke to someone stroking his hair. He opened his eyes quickly and tried to sit up. His body exploded with pain. Hands touched his arm. “You are safe.”
“Safe?” Konur hadn’t spoken this language since that one ambassador left his father’s halls when he was fifteen. The word felt odd in his mouth.
“Yes. The men that had you are our enemies.” He eased Konur back down. “You are safe, my prince.”
Konur looked up. The man sitting by his head had brown hair and skin and eyes, but not nearly as dark as any of the other people he’d seen here. “Why am I here? And who are you?”
The man smiled. “I am your humble servant Priam, advisor to King Eshan of Madhyadeśi. The king of Artatam sent you here to weaken and humiliate King Eshan. We can’t let him win.”
The gentle hand on his brow was putting him back to sleep. “How do we beat him?”
In Konur’s country most disagreements were settle with swords. He would need time before he was up to a battle.
“If you marry the king, we will win.”
That made no sense. Could men marry men here? Did such a paradise exist? He must have died on the journey and been allowed into heaven. He let sleep take him under, but he hoped that Priam stayed close.
—
Priam straightened King Eshan’s already perfect clothing. He would miss touching him. Maybe he should find some other place to live, where the temptation wouldn’t be so great. No, he wasn’t strong enough to walk away. He needed King Eshan beside him, even if he was no longer beneath Priam’s hand.
King Eshan took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “Let’s get this over with.”
He took Priam’s arm as if he forgot that they were no longer lovers. Priam didn’t have the willpower to remind him. The walk to Prince Konur’s chambers was too short.
Prince Konur looked better this morning, handsome and alert and huge. King Eshan sucked in his breath. “He’s blond.”
Priam grinned. “He’s from Tregagås.”
Prince Konur nodded without standing up, which was probably for the best as he’d need his strength for later. Eshan sat on a pillow at the table. Priam took the last spot. “Prince Konur, this is King Eshan.”
“My betrothed?”
Priam nodded and then informed King Eshan what had been asked. King Eshan picked up his tea cup. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Priam translated. Prince Konur had many question about why the marriage was necessary and whether it would be legal. Priam and King Eshan answered as many as they could, but Prince Konur’s came from somewhere entirely unlike any place Priam had lived, so he wasn’t sure if he was answering the questions Prince Konur thought he was asking.
A servant came in and offered King Eshan several pieces of parchment. King Eshan set them on the table. “I thought you might want news from home.”
Prince Konur’s eyes lit up, but the glow died as Priam read. His brother claimed he was dead, but also had a price on his head. The country was on the brink of chaos, but no one had enough details to see the whole picture. Prince Konur probably wouldn’t survive a trip home.
Prince Konur stared out the window. “And how real will the marriage be?”
Priam force himself to stay calm and keep his voice neutral as he watched his lover put his hand over Prince Konur’s and say, “As real as you want it to be.”
And then Prince Konur’s eyes lit again and he turned from Priam to King Eshan with a smile. “I think I could manage a consummation.”
Priam tasted bile. If Prince Konur had agreed to a simple, maybe temporary, marriage of convenience, Priam would have overcome his guilty feeling and warmed King Eshan’s bed. But he wouldn’t be needed after all.
—
Eshan waited until the crowd quieted before he stepped out onto the balcony. His people cheered. He acknowledged them with nods and waves. Then he raised his hand and the crowd fell silent. He waited another moment to make sure he had everyone’s attention. “By now many of you have heard that we have a guest. A very important guest. One I never even hoped to meet, but the gods have been good to me, good to us. They have blessed us with a wonderful man, Prince Konur of Tregagås.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd as he’d expected. No one was sure what to think. Eshan and Priam had been up half the night writing a speech to answer that question. “He came to us under unusual circumstance, but he came, and for that I rejoice.”
He held out his hand and Konur stepped out beside him. “This, my people, is Prince Konur. The tallest, strongest, most beautiful man any of you will ever see in your lives.”
This was written before Eshan had laid eyes on him clean, well fed, and with a good night’s rest. Priam had been right to include it.
“I was quite impressed.”
The crowd laughed. That was a good sign.
“So impressed that I have asked him to marry me.” He waited a beat. “And he said yes.”
The crowd roared. Only a few looked at each other in confusion. Eshan hadn’t exactly hidden his feeling for Priam. He beckoned under the level of the railing for Priam to join them. He stepped out. Eshan smiled at him. “Priam was the first to congratulate us.”
The crowd roared again. Eshan grinned. “This might be the first time Artatam has ever done us a favor.”
The cheers and whistles were deafening. Eshan nodded to his people and kept his arm around Konur as he stepped back into the near privacy of indoors. Eshan was exhausted. He just wanted to relax in the arms of the man he loved. But instead he watched Priam become a stranger. When Priam asked for permission to withdraw, Eshan let him go. He was too painful to watch.
Eshan turned his attention to the betrothed who he couldn’t talk to. Getting along with Konur was part of his duty. And he could do his duty, even with a broken heart.
—
Konur let his fingers linger on Eshan’s hand. He was going to spend his nights with a man. But when? Priam, the only guy he could talk to, had disappeared after the announcement on the balcony. When was the wedding? Would he have to wait? He wanted the pretty king under him right now. If Konur woke up and found this all a dream, he wanted at least the memory of a hard body beneath his hands to keep him warm on snowy nights. “Where is Priam?”
The king said something. He repeated it. Then he turned to the door and said something that might have included Priam’s name. Then he turned to Konur and put his hand on Konur’s thigh. He better not make Konur wait. Konur leaned forward. Eshan kissed him, but this wasn’t the kiss he longed for and dreamed of. If he was going to be with only Eshan for the rest of his life, he hoped for more.
Even so, Eshan pulled away much too soon.
Priam arrived. He glanced at them and then lowered his eyes. What was up with him?
Eshan said something. Priam put his hands behind his back. “The king says you have questions.”
Why wasn’t Priam sitting down? Why wouldn’t he look at them? Konur looked down at Eshan. He was worrying his lip and staring at his hands. What was going on? “When is the wedding?”
Priam flinched.
Konur brushed his hand down Eshan’s side. Priam’s gaze fell to the floor. Konur was getting the picture. “Are you lovers?”
Priam looked up. Eshan asked something. Priam clinched his fists and said something to Eshan. Eshan turned and practically climbed into Konur’s lap. His eyes were wide as he begged Konur in his incomprehensible language. “He will never betray you. You are his husband.”
Konur looked Priam. “Are those your words or his?”
“His.”
Konur pressed his finger to Eshan’s lips to quiet him. He looked back at Priam. “And what is your answer?”
Priam squared his shoulders. “I will not betray you either.”
“But you love him. More than just his body, you love his soul.”
Priam looked down. “And I always will.”
Konur could understand that. In just their day together, he felt drawn to Eshan. “Does he feel the same?”
Priam spoke to Eshan and both men’s eyes filled with tears. This was gut wrenching, but not so much as some of the things he’d seen. He wasn’t asking a boy to kill his father or a girl her lover or a mother her child. Konur’s brother told him he was too soft hearted and perhaps he was.
Priam turned to Konur several times but before he could get more than a word or two out, Eshan would stop him with another spill of words. Konur pulled his pretty king onto his lap. “When are the servants going to do that thing that makes this into a bed?”
Priam wiped his eyes and turned to the door. At his word servants removed the table and rearranged the cushions. Konur didn’t think the resulting bed looked big enough. With a few gestures he got what he wanted. He turned back to Priam. “What does he say?”
Priam’s hands shook. “He repeats that he will never betray you. Only you, Prince Konur, will be in his bed.”
Konur ran his hands over Eshan to calm him. “But you will be in his heart.”
Priam turned away.
Question time was over, now time for the reward. “Come.”
He lay back so Eshan lay beside him. Priam took a step forward. “What?”
“Come.” Konur gestured for Priam to join them. Eshan said something. Konur unfastened Eshan’s coat and was disappointed to find a layer underneath. “How do I get him bare?”
Priam sat with his knees on the edge of the cushions. “You want me here for translations?”
Konur surveyed his king’s clothing. “And tips. I think I can manage one consummation, but I don’t want to be the bride every time.”
He’d had enough of that at home while growing up with men who hadn’t taken his wishes into consideration. When one was breaking the law, one had no one to complain to.
Priam almost smiled. “King Eshan prefers to be taken.”
Konur pulled off his shirt. “Good.”
Eshan said something. Priam cleared his throat. “Will I be expected to stay and watch you with the one I love?”
Konur smiled. “Of course.”
He took Priam’s soft hand and pressed it against his lips. “Join us?”
Priam looked from Konur to Eshan and back. “Tonight?”
Konur grinned. “Every night.”
He sucked in Priam’s fingers and Priam moaned. Eshan said something. Priam answered him and then Konur’s pretty little king turned and gave Konur the kiss he’d been longing for. Tonight was going to be spectacular.
—
Priam stood on the balcony with his king and his king’s new husband. The crowd cheered and waved banners. He smiled back at the happy people. King Eshan draped his hand on Priam’s hip and used the one he’d had around Prince Konur to wave at the crowd.
Priam’s one day of anguish had been followed two month of hot nights. His room had been moved to the right of the king’s while Prince Konur’s was on the left, but they never slept anywhere but the king’s bed. Several people had petitioned King Eshan to marry Priam as well as Prince Konur, so that they might marry the two they loved as well. Such a day seemed a long way away, but Priam didn’t mind as long as he shared his lovers’ hearts, minds, and bodies.
The Artatam ambassador grimaced from the edge of the crowd. He had come to watch his own defeat as King Eshan and Prince Konur took their vows. Madhyadeśi had beat Artatam yet again.
