“Oh, cruel majesty…for your selfishness and evil ways, I place a curse upon you and your house…” (Sebastian who's secretly in alliance with princess pep against King Irving, if you're up for it???) - Just-a-butler
“Silence, heathen.” The king snapped, the tip of his scepter striking the ground with an authoritative boom. The princess, sitting next to his throne with her hands folded in her lap, flinched reflexively.
This wasn’t going to work. She never should have taken part in this. But the princess just wanted it to stop. The mistreatment. The war. The suffering of the people they were meant to protect.
Her own suffering.
“I will hear no more of your nonsense. Guards, get him out of my sight.” Armored hands reached for Sebastian, intent on dragging him to the deepest, darkest part of the dungeon.
previous reblogs: http://pepper-green.tumblr.com/post/158037251540/oh-cruel-majestyfor-your-selfishness-and-evil
“I deeply apologize, master.” Sebastian replied, bowing humbly. “I shall not make excuses for my poor behavior.” He supposed he could have tried harder not to scare her, but Adrian was right. It would probably have been impossible to bring her round in the time he had.
When the other asked for company, however, the demon was more than happy to oblige, if a little flustered since he knew what Adrian was bound to want from him. “Of course, master. You must be very busy with the running of the kingdom. I imagine it’s a thankless job.”
“Hardly, when you’re here darling.” The man purred, placing a lingering kiss on the crook of the demon’s neck.
“Though…” He began again, lips a mere inch from his servant’s throat, a hand cupping his cheek. “I suppose it is taxing, what with the constant war waged by that imbecile in the northern kingdom. Hopefully the little bird you picked up will fix that.”
Once Irving was dead and out of the way, his one and only heir would surely bring an end to this nonsensical violence. That was, after Sebastian taught her what she needed to know.
“It makes a man so… weary. That’s why I do so hate to be apart from you, sweetheart.”
“Ah…” The demon let go a small gasp as he kissed his neck, arching his head upward so Adrian could do as he willed. As the other spoke however, he smiled softly and placed a hand over that of the other’s as he cupped his cheek.
“I’m sure she will,” he replied smoothly. “I shall assure that they’re too busy looking for the ‘heathen’ who stole away their princess than to focus on the war…” If he distracted enough of the guards and soldiers, it would probably be easier on Adrian’s men who were fighting. Furthermore, when the king was dead, their princess would return… Maybe that would provide some sort of incentive.
“Master…” Sebastian frowned, gently stroking his cheek with a gentle hand. “You know I will always return to you soon. We must all do what we can for this war, but you deny yourself pleasures.”
“You’re going to be quite busy then, running around the northern kingdom while still teaching the little princess how to act her part… I hope I haven’t asked too much of you…” Adrian gently began trailing kisses up the servant’s throat, pulling him closely and stopping at his ear.
He sighed softly at Sebastian’s words, knowing he was quite right. Adrian hadn’t been resting, certainly not in the time the butler had been away.
“Then perhaps… I’ll indulge tonight…” He whispered, tugging Sebastian’s ear with his teeth before pulling back, leaning back in his seat and quickly finishing his drink.
“Come, Sebastian. Let’s retire…” Surely Sebastian would help the young king relax in his chamber.
A calm before the chaos they’d unleashed. The northern kingdom waking to the news that their princess had been abducted, a retreat of northern forces to aid the search, a frightened princess waking in an unfamiliar place after such an awful nightmare.
A nightmare which she quickly realized was far from over.
The demon butler smiled, shaking his head. “You can never ask too much of me. That’s why you hired me, remem- ah…!” he gasped again at feeling the man’s lips against his throat. He remained quiet until he heard him speak again, the offer of ‘retiring’ together. Though he knew he had to obey everything the man said, Sebastian never felt forced when it came to Adrian.
He merely replied with a simple, “Yes, Master,” before following him obediently up the palace steps.
The next morning, the butler had waited a while before going in to bring the princess breakfast. He felt that she’d need her rest after all. When he entered and saw her however, he smiled and tried to appear less threatening than the night before. He was wearing a clean jacket and formal servants’ attire, rather than the callous black cloak he had been donning the previous night.
“Good morning, princess,” he greeted her, bowing as low as he could while keeping the tray of tea and breakfast foods steady in his hands. “I trust you slept well.”
The princess recoiled in her bed as the man entered, looking very similar to a frightened animal. She was extremely defensive, though she was more than justified in her actions. He’d kidnapped and threatened her, after all.
“Wh-where am I?!” She demanded, her voice quivering despite her best efforts. “Why did you bring me here?!” Why was he serving her breakfast as though he’d done nothing wrong?!
She was no longer home, that was for certain, though she couldn’t figure out where she’d been taken. Surely they couldn’t have gotten out of the northern kingdom in a single night.
Or… had they?
“Your highness, please do not fear,” the demon replied in a soothing voice. “We’ve made sure that you are safe, just like you requested of me.You are in the southern king’s palace, where he will take care of you until it is safe for you to return.” He tried to explain it as calmly as he could, so as not to cause her to stir up any further in an attempt to abide by his master’s orders. “You need not worry about your father any longer.”
After a moment, he carefully came forward and placed the tea tray on a table beside her bed, pouring a cup of tea. “Please try and eat something princess. I know it must be a shock for you, so I brought something for you to enjoy in bed. There is more being served in the main hall if you feel this is not enough.”
“….” He glanced at her briefly. “Are you feeling quite alright, princess? You’re looking rather peaky… Not sleep well?”
“Th-the… s-southern king…?” Pepper stammered, her mind racing. There was no way the could have made it to the southern kingdom, let alone the palace of the southern king, in a single night. They wouldn’t even make it across the boarder with the war going on! And what did the southern king want with her? To ransom her? To use her to end the conflict? To kill her in order to make a statement? The young princess had completely lost all color in her cheeks.
“I… I don’t understand… There simply… it can’t be…” Surely he must have been lying then, or else this really was some strange sorcery.
“Wh-what do you mean safe? Wh-why am I here?!” She was shaking, clearly confused and frightened. She couldn’t comprehend any of what was going on.
Right when she thought she might just try to run past the man and seek out answers, a knock came out the door.
“Excuse me, sir.” A rather timid maid said, speaking to Sebastian. “His majesty wanted me to suggest bringing her highness to breakfast in the hall instead? Pardon my saying so, sir, but her told me to tell you this should her highness seem upset. His exact words were ‘It may just be best if I speak with her’… s-sir.”
“……” Sebastian paused as he heard the maid talking, his eyes narrowing as he heard what Adrian had said. He would have preferred to have dealt with everything himself, but he supposed that Adrian didn’t want him scaring her again. He did have a way of accidentally doing that…
“If that is what the master suggests,” he sighed softly and picked up the tray of food once more, leaving the tea in case the Princess wanted some. “Thank you,” he continued to the maid, “Please see to it that the her highness is comfortable and arrives for breakfast promptly. You know where I am if you need a hand.”
Surely the Princess knew what that meant. Sebastian wanted this to go smoothly for his master’s sake, as much as hers.
The servant turned to bow to Pepper once more, before quickly leaving the room. He had hoped his master would have more faith in him. Then again, the Princess really didn’t seem to like him…
Pepper didn’t like Sebastian in the slightest. Adrian, however, wasn’t nearly so frightening. Once the pleasantries were out of the way he explained his entire plan to her.
She would be taught the skills needed to rule and would be cared for as if she were Adrian’s own heir, with the highest respect and greatest kindness. He had no intention of harming her, unlike her beast of a father. It was very strange to hear someone be so sympathetic to her situation. Strange in a wonderful, relieving way. Pepper already almost trusted the man, odd as it was.
Sebastian was, of course, called for, as Adrian had never once intended on excluding him. It was clear he just wanted to make Pepper as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances.
“And you that is why we have brought you here, my dear.” Adrian concluded as Sebastian entered the room. “Simply to help you grow and flourish so we may end this dreadful war. I’m sure you were very frightened coming here, a very regrettable thing that I do apologize for, but I assure you that Sebastian meant no harm. Is that not right?”
He looked over at the butler expectantly, Pepper looking rather defensive.
The butler hesitated at the expectant look his master was giving him, before nodding his head obediently with a hand over his chest. "Of course not. I would never dream of such a thing."
He merely wanted to scare everyone else APART from her.
"I would never have intended to frighten the Princess, I cannot apologise enough for my behaviour." Surely any normal servant would have been fired, or imprisoned at worst if they'd worked for that evil king... but even Sebastian knew that Adrian was a better person than that. Plus, it seemed the demon held special privileges in the household, due to his position, close to the master.
