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Lunar Phase was one of the most capable rulers that the magical world had ever seen, or so the stories told. Born with the gift of future sight, his kingdom had flowered during his reign, and they had somehow even made a peace treaty with the humans. Though both sides knew that it was really just for show and that the human king was constantly trying to find a way to dethrone the seer and take over his world.
But that wasn’t all. If his sightseeing made him hard enough to kill, it was nearly impossible now, with the Hound by his side. Given the well-known fact that humans and magical folk had never been too fond of each other, it caused quite a commotion when Hound had made his public appearance as Lunar Phase’s bodyguard. A human guarding the magic king? It was unheard of!
But they soon realised that Hound was much more capable than most of the army, being one of the most well known and feared hitman before he took up the position by Lunar’s side. And now the two were unstoppable, much to the human king’s dismay.
Eli decided that he was quite amused today. Seated upon his throne of vines and flowers, he looked down coldly at the human kneeling at the bottom of the stairs, or at least as coldly as he could with the mask blocking out half of his expression.
“So you’re saying that Regan sent you to become my bodyguard?” He asked carefully as if the name of the human king left a sour taste on his tongue.
The human almost flinched at the velvety voice, nodding slightly.
“Yes… my lord. He says that there are countries overseas who may be declaring war on us soon.. and thought that it would be beneficial for you to have someone else shield you.” The man replied, daring to glance up at the being clothed in white. For someone who looked so pure and dainty, it was such a shame that the mortal king hated him so much.
It was exactly why he was here though… get close to the fairy king, replace Hound, and then betray him when he was at his weakest. Even with his foresight, Lunar couldn’t see his own future, so if there was a murderous intent aimed at him, he wouldn’t know. And to say the least, he was very glad that Hound was nowhere in sight. He wasn’t sure he would be able to talk properly and do his job underneath such a terrifying glare.
Lunar Phase hums absentmindedly as he thinks for a moment, tilting his head to the side. Such a carefully set expression… it was hard to tell what he was thinking behind that beautiful blindfold.
“Please stand, human.” He spoke up after a moment, shifting so that he’s lounging more comfortable on his throne. Adjusting his clothes so that it hid the tiny sliver of skin that sometimes showed up of his legs, Lunar gestures for the man to stand.
“I already have such a capable bodyguard, you see.” He mused, tapping his chin with his finger. “Though I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take another one in, especially if Regan offered so kindly…”
The next few words spoken quite literally sent a chill up the man’s spine, as Lunar clasped his hands together in delight.
“Oh! Why don’t you try and battle my Hound then? If you can so much as land a hit on him, I’ll allow you to join!”
The sentence had hardly finished when a dark aura appeared behind the throne, and a man clad in black and red stepped out from the shadows, glowering at the man with a wicked grin on his face. The Hound himself… was so much more terrifying than the rumours depicted him as.
Lunar straightens his back in obvious delight at the new presence, smiling over at the smaller man.
“My dear Hound… you were listening, I suppose?” The king chuckled quietly, before turning back to the human.
“I suppose I won’t have to explain myself then! Gentleman, the arena shall be this courtroom, please don’t step outside of it. If this lovely man here manages to land one hit on my Hound, then I will take him in as my new bodyguard.”
“Bodyguard… hm? Good luck then.” Hound mused in slight amusement, though his eyes said anything but. The man gulped, scrambling into a fighting position. Just one… one hit on the Hound, and the rest would be smooth sailing.
“Now then, remember, no weapons, and Hound, no fighting back, you hear?” Lunar chirped, to which Hound straightens up a little bit and turned to the king, offering him a wink. “Of course, my Lunar.”
Said man beams at the small action, before clapping his hands a single time. “You may start!”
It had been half an hour, and yet the man still hadn’t been able to land a single hit on the other yet. Half an hour of swinging his fists and trying to draw the bodyguard closer to him in vain, and his stamina was running out. If this kept up, he wouldn’t be able to fight any longer and all of this would be in vain.
“Getting tired, pumpkin?” Hound crooned in mock concern, easily sidestepping another thrown fist. He was getting quite bored of drawing this out to be honest, and from the looks of it, so was Lunar. The king was beginning to tap his fingers against his thigh, a signal that Hound knew meant that he needed to hurry this up so that he could go back to whatever he was doing before. Such a pity really, he would have liked to just beat up this arrogant human guard and send him back to his own king. But alas, he wasn’t allowed to fight back, and here they were.
“Shut up-” The man panted, trying to catch his breath. He couldn’t give up now, because he had a job to finish, and he couldn’t go running back with his tail between his legs.
Hound sighs in obvious annoyance before he stops altogether, stuffing his hands into his pockets and slouching a little bit. “Just give up, ya won’t make the cut anyways.”
A bad move, obviously, because a moment later, a fist went whizzing past him, and he frowned. Not a direct hit he wanted to say, but when he felt something dripping down his cheek a moment later, it was clear that he was bleeding. And that counted.
The man hadn’t expected this to happen really. It was such a lucky fluke, that Hound had dropped his guard, but still! He landed a hit! That meant that he could become Lunar’s bodyguard, and he would be able to finish his job, and-
“Stop.”
The single, booming command had him freezing up slightly, glancing over at where the king sat. Or rather, stood. Because walking down the stairs was Lunar Phase himself, his robes and veil trailing behind him.
Lunar Phase… walking down to congratulate him? How strange, to have a king come towards you instead of you having to go up to him yourself.
But his dreams were shattered a moment later though, when the figure clad in white hurried past him without a second glance, instantly by Hound’s side and cradling his cheeks within his hands.
“Naib…” Lunar whispered, in such a gently and worried tone that had the man blinking slightly. Was that Hound’s name? How close did the two have to be, for something like this to happen in front of him.
“Are you okay?” He continued in that affectionate tone, studying his face and the newly formed mark. It really was such a strange sight, to see a king coddle over their guard so much.
“Don’t worry about me, Eli. I’m fine.” Hound grinned reassuringly, much to the man’s surprise. Eli… the king’s name, he assumed. A human, addressing such a being so intimately? Really, what was going on between these two?
His question seemed to be answered within a moment though, as he watches with slight horror as Lunar moves in to carefully kiss the scar, lapping away any traces of blood like a kitten. Oh… oh. So that’s what it was… everything fell into place now. Why such a powerful human would want to serve a being like Lunar, and why the magical king doted on such a rogue human so much.
Once he’s satisfied with his work, Lunar pulled away, though he still held the hitman close to him as he tugged the other up to his throne. And once more, he sits down, though Hound is now draped over his lap like he belongs there, cuddled up close to the seer with a content smirk on his face.
“You…” Lunar started off, glaring down at the human. Flinching, he meekly looks up in response, doing his absolute best to ignore Hound. He passed the test, didn’t he? Lunar was known to be merciful and kind, surely he would still get this job.
“You hurt my Hound. And for that, you’ll be living out the rest of your life in prison.” The man blinks in surprise at that, taking a moment for it to sink in before he tenses up angrily, about to protest. What the hell? He had struggled that much for that entire time period, only to find that if he succeeded, he would be thrown out? No way was this fair!
He can’t really protest though, as a rag was stuffed into his mouth and two guards hauled him up by the arms, marching him out.
“Such a pity..” He heard one of them say, a dark-haired lady dressed in black and purples with two horns curling out of her head.
“Indeed!” The other one snorted quietly, from behind his red, spiked mask. “They’re insufferable, really. If they wanted to be so lovey, they should stop stringing along with other people as well.”
So they knew about the plan? And had played a long as well… The man gritted his teeth, or rather, gritted the cloth. To be played like a doll… what had he done to deserve this?
As Fiona and Aesop march the human away, Eli watches carefully as the door closes, leaving just the two of them in the room once more.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Naib?” He fretted, turning his gaze back towards the smaller man in his lap. He absolutely adored the scars on his lover of course, but it still hurt to see new ones appearing all the time. They made him look so dashing, but it must have hurt to earn them.
“I’m fine darling, I’m not made of glass, y’know?” Naib laughs quietly, moving to plant an affectionate kiss onto the seer, effectively shutting him up. It was so cute how much the other cared for him, but really, he wasn’t fragile. The feeling of being taken care of like this was so very nice though, and he revelled in the attention that his lover gave him.
Eli pouts a little bit, though he responds to the kiss with a soft sigh, snaking his arms around Hound’s waist.
“Still… go check up with Emily later. It might get infected.”
Naib shakes his head in slight amusement, moving a bit to straddle Eli to his throne, placing his hands on the taller man’s shoulders.
“Darling, if I went to Emily every time I get a scratch, I’d be there every day.” He huffs. Eli blinks slightly in confusion before his expression morphed into one of worry and slight anger.
“Every day? Who have you been fighting, to be injured so much?” The seer frowned, checking over his lover to see if he could find these new injuries. If he ever found out the culprit… let’s just say that they wouldn’t see the living daylight anymore. Seriously, humans were so fragile, and their self-healing abilities were so very slow. And to have his lover be beaten up every day? Not on his watch.
Hound lets out another laugh, cupping his love’s face within his scarred hands and pressing a kiss onto his nose. “Hm... you?”