Work Text:
Meet him.. in his room... tonight?
Mark was carefully polishing what was brought to him, sitting in a rather comfortable chair as he worked. The room had wood walls aside from the outer stone wall. The window set in stone was large, showing miles and miles of land. His hands worked and weren’t as sore as they had been at prior employers somehow. He’d been here less than a week, and he’d already been promoted.
He wasn’t quite sure why the king had taken a interest in him. His eyes flickered to the window, looking into the luscious green. The city ever growing, and the trees outside of it were the nicest colors... part of him was terrified of that forest. The other part wanted nothing more than to go there for a while. Nonetheless, that wasn’t an option at the moment.
He turned his attention back to his work, scrubbing a tough spot off of the silver plague, before carefully handing it over to another servant. He just as quickly got yet another piece.. but he didn’t mind. He was just doing the job he was due.
Mark stayed quiet throughout the other two servants chatter, considering he didn’t understand most of it. He still didn’t know most of the people’s names here, so he couldn’t exactly put names to faces.
Eventually their attention turned to Mark, “So the king has seemed to take an interest in you, Mark. Are you going to be his newest toy?”
Mark blinked a couple times, looking back up. His blush was prominent, but he was curious, “Newest toy?”
The other one spoke up, “The king gets bored easily.. Hes always getting new toys to entertain him for a while... of course it’s been a long while since it’s been a human. You must have caught his eye.”
Mark hurriedly looked down to his plate, “N-a-Nonsense!” He quickly shook his head.
After what felt like a painfully long while, they stopped pestering him. After a long time of listening to the two chat, the dinner bell rang. Both of the others put down their work, but Mark continued. As they went out the smaller one looked back at him, “You want the king to come carry you again?”
Mark blushed and quickly shook his head, “He shouldn’t notice if I’m gone. I would just like to finish this piece.”
“Whatever you saaaaay~” the other mocked in a sing-song voice, before both left.
Mark sighed as the door shut, leaning back against the chair. Getting used to the new palace was... tiring. He hadn’t gotten a good sleep since his first night. He finished up the piece for now, and started cleaning up around the room.
Soon enough he realized just how tired he was, falling back in the chair. He would just rest for a few minutes. No one would notice his absence. Unplanned, he was asleep within a few minutes, not realizing what was to come.
~
Anti grumbled as he saw the polishing servants come into eat without Mark. He waited a few minutes, eventually standing up and shoving a couple plates into the guard’s hands. With a quick bark, he told them to follow.
He easily roamed the palace to the polish room. The guards stood outside of it, while Anti went in. Mark had sorted everything...
Out of curiosity, Anti looked at some of the work. It was all pretty good, but he noticed a certain.. glint to some of them. Looking besides Mark’s table, Anti realized.. he had used a slightly green shine to finish the things off with. Anti smiled.. quite the attention to detail.
Mark was asleep as Anti looked around, before his gaze landed on the human. Mark was so very... different. Anti wasn’t quite sure what it was.. but he had his attention.
With a sigh, Anti carefully picked Mark up, and carried him to the new chamber.
~
When Mark awoke, he yawned, rubbing his eyes. That’s when he realized.. he was in bed... he sat straight up. He was alone in his room, and nothing was really astray besides a plate of food on his desk.
Mark had a desk.. and a bookshelf. He had a good bed. He took a breath of relief. He was okay. He was safe. Things were... good.
He went over, sitting down and started to eat. Things were still good.
He looked over at the clock, and choked at the time.. it was getting late.
King Anti had requested him tonight.
He rushed to get ready, thankful that he had taken a shower this morning. Shoving some of the food in his mouth between getting dressed, things went quickly.
His uniform was straightened out, and his hair looked decent. He took a quick breath and went out of the door. Finding a guard wasn’t very hard, and he was led to the king‘s chambers. The stone hallways loomed darkly, almost painting a sinister vibe for the castle... but at the same time, the soft torch light flickered, as if trying to calm the souls in the palace.
Mark very gently knocked, only for a guard to roll his eyes and pound on the door a few times. Mark squeaked, asking why he did that. He started shaking, his arms coming up to his chest. Hopefully Anti wouldn’t be mad...
Anti opened the door, and hummed, “About time you woke up.”
Mark bowed his head, squeaking an apology, only for Anti to pull him into the room and shut the door. Mark was placed on the couch, and Anti went over to a little bar in the room.
The king’s living quarters were.. darker than what Mark had expected. Dark greens and grays colored the room. Plush furniture sat in the middle, couches and pillows that would make you melt. To the side was a bar and small kitchen- it appeared to be fully stocked with whatever the king wished.. including some rather childish food.
“Do you drink?”
Mark was snapped out of his gaze, and quickly shook his head, “N-No. I’m allergic to alcohol.”
Anti poured himself a glass, and grabbed a juice box from his fridge. He handed Mark the juice, sitting down comfortably beside him, “That’s rather odd. How did you find out?”
Mark very carefully accepted the juice box, “Well-“ he swallowed, “-I had been drinking.. and I fell very ill. It wasn’t the easiest to diagnose, but they at the very least had one doctor who had heard of it. He told me I wouldn’t be allowed to drink any longer.”
“Shame you had to go through all that.”
Mark watched as Anti leaned on the couch comfortably, swallowing again and trying to get the lump in his throat to go away, “What can I do for you- uhm- my king?”
Anti raised his eyebrows, pulling Mark back to lay on him, “Firstly it would be good if you could relax a little. Not gonna smite ya.”
Mark was anything but relaxed. He stiffened as he was grabbed held of, his body already expecting the worst. Mark did his best to try and seem relaxed, not wanting to upset him. He was on guard though... what the other two polishers had said came to mind... “W-What am I- uhm- here for?”
Anti seemed to sigh, “Perhaps you’re here for my entertainment. What do you think you’re here for?” He took a sip of his drink.
Before Mark could stop himself, the words tumbled out of his mouth, “Am I here to be your toy?”
Anti coughed, choking on his drink for a second and making Mark wince. Soon enough he gained his composure, gently grabbing Mark’s face to look at him, “Do you want to be a... ‘toy?’”