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Arel
He was walking down one of the nearly endless corridors of the Imperial palace when a voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Windriver."
Hearing his father's surname was jarring when he'd been Arel Lutoria for more than a year now and he spun on the spot to see a man he vaguely recognised. An older son, he thought, of the ruling family of Barrward. Not the heir, he'd met Tomaz Rostak before but a brother perhaps. It came to him quickly - Korez Rostak, the next in line by age.
"I gave up that name," he said calmly "I share my husband's name now."
Korez flicked a dissmissive hand.
"Your name was taken from you," he said "Clever move, I suppose, throwing yourself at the Emperor like that. It only really works if you don't mind sucking Imperial cock but that doesn't seem to have been a problem for you."
Arel ignored the flash of anger and turned to walk away. There had been plenty of people lining up to insult the former prince of Hakrium, especially when it seemed he'd come out well from the sacrifice he'd made. He hadn't the heart to tell Mal the worst of it and most were sensible enough to do so out of his husband's sight or hearing.
"My family have kept more to the old ways than most," Korez said and he paused in case the man had a useful point to make.
"I know," he carried on "What it means that they gave you back your sword. Your surrender wasn't wanted. The Emperor can have you paraded around on his brother's arm as much as he likes but they refused you their protection when they let you carry your own weapon."
He'd thought that too, once, for the briefest of moments before Mal could reassure him. He hadn't forgotten the feel of the carpet beneath his forehead as he'd begged and he was less than pleased to be reminded.
"Lutoria hasn't kept to the old ways," he said, keeping his tone even with no little effort. There was something dark in Korez's voice that felt more dangerous than the usual sniping from court members.
"I think that they knew," he said "They say there's nothing the Emperor doesn't know and if that's true and he gave you back that sword then you're undefended. Nothing done to you will be punished by Lutoria. I'm sure I'm not the first to have realised that. Tell me, Windriver, how many people have had you on your knees once they figured it out?"
The anger was joined by no small amount of outrage. He'd been made more than welcome by the family he'd married into and had come to love them deeply. To hear insult against them was something he couldn't ignore as he ignored insult to himself.
"Mind yourself," he said sharply, turning back fully to face Korez "You're a guest here, and a guest from a country long since annexed by the Empire. The power here isn't yours, Rostak."
"How will you stop me?" Korez asked him "I've seen you take insult and do nothing about it, not even run to tell your husband. You know as well as I that you're vulnerable."
He'd miscalculated, it seemed, by keeping the insults of the court from Mal, especially if Korez had taken it as implied permission to say what he would. He resigned himself to it, he'd have to confess to Mal and put up with him hovering over protectively.
"The vulnerability here is not mine," he warned the other man, keeping his response short as he turned to walk away.
The quick rush of steps was all the warning he had as Korez hit him full body and forced him against the wall with his face slammed into the wood of an ornamental frame hard enough to briefly stun him. He tasted blood and the wrench of pain through his hip was nearly as unwelcome as the grope of Korez's hands.
The man was using his hips to pin Arel to the wall and his hands were full; one with a painful grip in his hair and the other pulling his shirt from his trousers. Buttons pinged and rolled across the floor before he could gather himself and the cruel squeeze of Korez's hand at his chest and the scrape of nails gave him the clarifying rush of fear he needed to spur him into action. With both hands full and his balance leaning him entirely on Arel his attacker had no defense at all and he drove his elbow back sharply.
The rush of air leaving Korez's body was satisfying indeed and he used the space as the man staggered to duck away from the wall. He'd taken to carrying his sword as an ornament at his back and he swore grimly to himself, as he fumbled it from the sheath, that it would never leave his hip again.
If striking the man had been satisfying then it was doubly so to set the point of the sword at his throat and watch him still. The only sound in the corridor was his hoarse breathing. Barrward might have kept to some of the old ways but Korez had the soft hands of a man who'd never held a sword for more than a few ceremonial moments.
It was at that moment that a group of nobles rounded the corner and Arel sighed to himself. His husband was going to be unbearable.
Mal
Mal was beside himself. Why in the hells had Ellyan chosen to build such a big damned palace? It took a quarter hour to walk across the gods-forsaken building alone and he'd been hosting a small gathering in the southern garden when a harried member of staff had crossed the lawn to murmer quietly in his ear.
He'd abandoned Imperial dignity and ducked straight into the straight narrow passages the staff used rather than navigate the great curving hallways of the palace proper which had carved five minutes off of the time and after that he ran.
Perhaps he should have seen it coming but Ellyan was waiting at the discreet entrance to the staff corridors that was nearest to the family rooms. He came the closest he ever had to hitting his brother when he blocked his way.
"Gather yourself," Ellyan snapped at him and the swear word Mal answered him with was one he'd learnt on the front lines of the war. It got him a raised eyebrow and a vulgar gesture from the Emperor of more than half the known world. It was enough to calm him a little. Ellyan wouldn't have stopped him if Arel was truly injured.
"He's not badly hurt," he said "But he is shaken. And, I think, a little worried to see you."
That left him cold.
"Does he think I'll be angry?" he asked, bewildered.
"Apparently he's been enduring some taunting from the court for months now." Ellyan said quietly "No one has touched him but words can be cruel enough and he joined our family under unusual circumstances. There are plenty who would have liked to see the former Hakrium heir humiliated rather than raised up by his surrender."
Mal closed his eyes and let out his breath on a long sigh.
"And he didn't want me to know," he said heavily "He'd think it a burden for me, and you as well I'd wager."
"Indeed," Ellyan said heavily "Have you gathered yourself?"
"I'll not rush in and be an overbearing fool," he promised and followed his brother to the family sitting room.
He nearly broke the promise straight away when he saw Arel sitting bolt upright on one of the padded armchairs looking very pale with a bruise darkening his cheek and jaw. As it was he all but sprinted across the room and threw himself on to his knees in front of his husband. He did manage to keep his furious demand for information behind his teeth as he took Arel's hands carefully in his own.
"I apologise." Perhaps he should have expected that would be the very first thing Arel would say.
"I'm certain you've nothing to be sorry for," he said gently. Arel's hands were cold and he rubbed them between his own. There was a blanket on the back of the chair and he reached up to draw it over the other man's shoulders.
"I miscalculated," Arel said quietly "I let people insult me and thought it wouldn't matter as long as they didn't take aim at you. I didn't want you to know. I was wrong, though. Rostak thought that if I'd let them insult me then it was fine for him to do so as well. But he knew that, by the old traditions, you giving me back my sword after we were married meant I wasn't under your protection. He thought he could do more than insult me without repercussion."
"He was wrong," Mal nearly growled the words. "He'll find plenty of repercussions to be had from this."
"Arel," Ellyan said quietly "You're family. I would ask you to remember that any insult to you is an insult to us. Would you stand by and allow Xxalia to be so treated? Or Ram?"
"Anyone who tried to touch them like he did me would feel my blade," Arel swore quietly "I'd never let them be hurt like that." And that was a worrying turn of phrase. Mal had assumed some shoving and perhaps a punch thrown but it almost sounded as if Rostak had an even more sinister intent.
"We value and love you no less than we do one another," Ellyan said gently "I'll leave you with Mal to take some comfort. Take your time to tell him what happened, Rostak is going nowhere for now." Ellyan had his suspicions too it seemed.
Mal rose as Ellyan left the room and offered his arm to his husband.
"Your hip is paining you," he said "I can tell from the way you sit. Come back to our rooms and we'll find a pain powder?"
Arel nodded and accepted the hand up. He leant more heavily than he had in months and Mal couldn't deny his fear.
"Do you need the doctor?" he asked and had to bite his tongue when Arel shook his head. The impulse to gather his husband up and drag him to the doctor warred with the impulse to tuck him into bed for a week and not let him leave and Mal set both to one side. The sanctuary of their rooms was sorely needed but he'd be no support to Arel if he smothered him in concern without listening to what he wanted.
He set the usual sweet tea to brewing as soon as they were in the door and Arel chose to half recline on the lounging chair with a stack of cushions around his hip and thigh. Mal added the powder to the tea and offered it to his husband.
"May I join you?" he asked and slipped in to the space Arel had left him when he nodded. He slid his arm around his shoulder encouraged him to lean in as he drank his pain reliever laced tea.
"Will you tell me what happened?" he asked once the pinched look around Arel's eyes had eased a little. His husband nodded and drained the last mouthfuls of tea before tucking his head under Mal's chin.
"I'm not hurt," he said quietly "Not really, anyway."
Mal would keep his own council on that. Arel had a habit of diminishing his own suffering.
"He stopped me. Called me Windriver which was odd to hear after so much time. Said I was happy to suck cock to get where I was. Said that Ellyan had left me unprotected deliberately when he gave me back my sword. I warned him not to insult the Lutorian Imperial family," Arel said. He sounded tired and unhappy. He'd also clearly intended to let the Barrward prick insult him and only stood up to him when he started in on the rest of the family. Mal had expected as much.
"Insulting you is insulting the Lutorian Imperial family, love," Mal reminded him. He rubbed a soothing hand up and down Arel's shoulder.
"He attacked you after that?" he asked.
"I was turning to leave," Arel said quietly "I didn't see him as dangerous, gave him my back like a fool."
"He attacked you when you were walking away?" Mal couldn't deny he was outraged by the temerity of it.
"I was planning to find you," Arel said "I'd realised that I'd been wrong. If a noble from a relatively powerless vassal state would insult me so and even insult the Emperor then it had to be stopped. He had me pinned to the wall before I'd even thought to stop him. Pushed my face, hard, into a wooden frame. It's bruising, I can tell, and I caught the inside of my lip against my teeth. I could taste blood." He trembled a little against Mal and he shifted to get more of his arms around his husband. Arel resisted a little and he let go immediately, only keeping a hand hovering in case he fell from the lounging chair. He didn't go far however and Mal was confused when he started to undo the buttons of the jacket he was wearing. He shrugged it off and Mal was horrified to see the ruin of his shirt underneath.
"He tried to get your clothes off?"
"Had me pinned to the wall with his hips," Arel said quietly "one hand holding my head still and the other doing this," he gestured at the torn cloth and Mal realised he could see bruising underneath. He took a very firm control of his rage as Arel stripped off the shirt. "He was groping me like he thought I wouldn't fight him," Arel said, his eyes downcast. "He was wrong. He hadn't even bothered to pin my hands, it only took an elbow to get him off then I went for my sword. Remind me never wear it on my back again would you. I know better."
The bruise was already darkening and Mal could see the imprints of fingers on his husband's chest. Rostak had gripped the pectoral brutally hard then clearly raked his nails down from Arel's chest to his belly. There were four raised red weals running down his body with blood scabbing in a couple of places. It was an injury unmistakable in its intent - the gods only knew what he'd have done if Arel hadn't been able to fight back. For a second he couldn't breath for the anger - didn't know how to think around it - but then he saw how Arel's shoulders were curving away from him and the heat of rage was extinguished in an instant.
"Love?" he asked quietly and could have sworn he felt his heart crack in his chest when he saw tears in those deep blue eyes.
"I had thought," Arel said very quietly "That I was done being frightened of unwanted hands on me." And he started to cry.
Mal dithered for only a moment before he reached out, desperate to comfort.
"Please, can I-" was as far as he got before Arel twisted on the lounging chair and all but threw himself into his arms.
"It'll be alright," he soothed "I have you, love. You've done nothing wrong, nothing at all. I have you."
He held his husband as he wept and kept murmering reassurances until the emotion and the muscle relaxing pain reliever overwhelmed him and he cried himself to sleep.
Arel
He woke feeling stiff and uncomfortable but not in too much pain and realised that he couldn't have been asleep long. Mal's shirt hadn't yet dried from his tears. He was too well rested these days to sleep long in the middle of the day no matter the emotional upheaval.
"You can go back to sleep if you like," Mal's voice was very quiet.
"I don't think I can," Arel whispered back.
"Do you want to get up?"
"We had better," he sighed regretfully and pushed himself up from the lounging chair in favour of the refreshment room. The mirror showed him the bruise on his face had darkened and swollen and, on his chest, the finger marks curved around his nipple were unmistakable. Rostak would be soundly punished, he knew that, but it wouldn't make the bruises heal any faster.
He left the refreshment room and crossed to find a shirt but before he'd put it on the door chimed. Mal went to answer it and turned towards him.
"It's Ellyan," he said "Shall I let him in?"
Arel nodded. He wanted the whole business done with now and Ellyan was the quickest way to make that happen.
His brother in law strode in to the room and stopped dead when he saw that Arel was half dressed.
"I could have waited a moment," he started to say and Arel saw the moment he caught sight of the marks on his chest and belly.
It was a heady feeling to have the Emperor of Lutoria draw himself up in rage on your behalf, he decided.
"Korez Rostak is currently being held in his rooms until his family's airship can reach us," he said crisply "He will be returned to Barrward, stripped of his rank and title and enter into a life of service. They have a faith there that will take on individuals who seek out penance and put them to work."
Arel blinked. He didn't pretend to understand the intricacies of court but that seemed like a disproportionate response to some name calling and one short physical altercation that hadn't left anything other than light scrapes and bruises.
"Good," Mal said. He sounded deeply satisfied and Arel couldn't help his confusion. Surely the punishment was too much for the crime?
"That is a severe punishment," he said finally "I don't mean to doubt you but you'll make enemies very readily if you keep up with such policies."
"I will make an example of anyone who thinks they can treat a member of my family so poorly," Ellyan said steadily "If you will not think of yourself then imagine that Xxalia had come to us with such marks on her body and with his poisonous words in her ears. Would you think the punishment appropriate then?"
He surprised himself at the flare of fury he felt when he imagined it. The thought of someone cornering his sister-by-marriage and tearing her clothes to leave bruises on her body was enraging.
"Precisely," Ellyan said at whatever expression he was making just then and he pulled a top over his head as a brief chance to find some composure.
"My husband," Mal said with something like fondness, although he seemed a little sad too. "I wish you'd think of yourself even half so well as you think of us."
"I agree," Ellyan said "Now," he carried on "I'm here to invite you out into the family rooms for some dinner if you'd like? There is no requirement at all, just an offer of diverting company. The children have acquired a board game of Hakrium origin and wish for you to see it." He smiled softly "They are well able to wait if you do not feel like company."
Arel found he only had to think about it for a moment; he wanted the distraction of time spent with his family.
"I'd like to," he said "Just give us a moment?"
Ellyan nodded and left the room, closing the door behind himself.
Arel crossed over to where his husband was standing and leant up to kiss him as sweetly as he could. Mal was stiff for only a moment before he relaxed and tucked his arms around Arel to hold him gently.
"Are you sure you want to go out there?" he asked with mock seriousness "our family can be a lot to deal with."
"It's just what I need," Arel promised him "Along with this."
And, to go with his words, he leant up for another long, sweet kiss.