The kingdom never looked more beautiful than it did that morning. The skies were a perfect blue, clear as far as his eyes could see. The ground was a lush green layered with various farm animals. The smells of the town below filled his nostrils with scents of pies, fresh bread, and cut flowers. Yes the morning would have been wonderful if he wasn’t having to scrape dried blood out of his fingernails. Prince Ivan sighed. Why was it that none of his toys lasted past his night time fun? They always broke. For once Ivan would have loved to wake up with a breathing person instead of a corpse. Then he could continue to play until breakfast; he smiled at that thought. For the rest of the morning the prince continued to daydream of the perfect male who would be his human toy for the rest of his life. Who knows maybe even one who loved him in return. Someone who could be his prince. That would be the most perfect dream the young prince could think of.
Alfred hopped off the hay cart as it passed through the busy town center. He dusted off his dirty britches, and wiped the sweat from his brow. Hopefully he could find some work here. He had journeyed for so long looking for someplace to stay and get some money to send home. He had tried other towns, closer to his small village, but no one would hire him. He always ended up messing up the odd jobs he was assigned because of his strength. He was stronger than most, and he always ended up tearing a wall down accidentally when working. No one wanted to hire a liability. He hoped the capital city would bring better prospects. He needed the money desperately. His father had fallen ill on the farm. Alfred and his brother had done their best to care for him and the farm, but it was no use. Their father needed a doctor, and a doctor meant money. Money they didn’t have. So, Alfred decided to leave and find a job and send home money. He would do anything for his family, even if his chances were grim. He squinted his eyes at the people around him, his site not being the best, in search of a likely employer. He spotted a blacksmith and decided to wander over. Maybe he needed an apprentice who could help out with the heavy lifting...
Somehow, Alfred got lucky. After he lifted up one of the anvils in the shop to prove his strength, the blacksmith readily agreed to hire him on as an apprentice to help out the shop. Alfred was ecstatic. Finally, a job with good pay to send back home! Alfred was grinning happily, feeling like the world was finally looking up. He listened eagerly as the man gave him his first assignment, to deliver the broad sword to one of his clients in the other side of the village. And to hurry. Alfred nodded, grabbing the wrapped up sword carefully and bolting out of the place. He practically flew to the other side of town, delivering it succesfully and running back to the shop with the money in hand. He actually did it! He was almost at the shop. Unfortunately, he didn’t see the root sticking out of the ground. His foot hit the unseen obstacle, bringing him down. The money flew all over the ground and one of the beggars darted forward to pick up some of the coins. Alfred panicked, standing up with a start. He yelled at the beggar who ignored him and scurried off with half the coins, Alfred was about to chase after him when the blacksmith trudged toward him, having seen everything. He yelled at him angrily, telling him to pick up the rest and that it would be docked from his salary. Fearful that the job offer would be rescinded, Alfred quickly tried to grab all the coins scattered in front of the shop. In his haste, however, he knocked over one of the anvils which fell heavily on the poor blacksmith’s foot. The elder man cried out in pain, and Alfred flew up, spilling out apologies as he grabbed the anvil quickly and shoved it away. Unfortunately, he threw it at the wall, the cheap material creaking ominously. Alfred swallowed as he saw the supporting wall begin to tremble. Without a word he grabbed the oblivious blacksmith (who was clutching his foot) and shoved him to safety. He then tried to brace the falling wall, holding it up himself. However, he pushed too far, and the loose wall fell to the other side, knocking into a neighbor’s shop. There were shouts coming from next door and a crowd was amassing around the disaster area. Alfred started shouting more apologies helplessly as the other two walls began to cave in around him. He’d ruined everything again.
After a wonderful breakfast, served to him grape by grape, Ivan went to get dressed. He himself did nothing for why must a prince expend energy when he had others? Plenty were desperate enough to do simple tasks for a few coins after all. Sure they weren’t as happy when they were pelted with the small metal objects, but it beat begging on the streets, right? Once all the preparation and butt kissing was over, the prince gathered his finest steed, named Francis, and rode down to the village to pick out a new toy. He needed to find one that could last longer, one that was much more sturdy. Ivan had seen most of the boys in town and none were up to that standard. He let out a growl of frustration. Why must his life be so hard??? Just as Ivan was about to have a mental pity party, a loud crash startled Francis and caused the horse to panic. The horse bucked and knocked the prince off onto his royal buttocks. He let out a stream of curses; who ever caused that crash would be put to death immediately. It didn’t matter if he was a lord or just some stupid frog. They. Would. Die. Ivan played out all the scenes in his mind as he walked towards the sound. First they would be strung up by their toes and forced to eat their own appendages. Then they would wear a corset of needles while sitting on judas cradle with weights tied to their ankles. Then finally, Ivan would chop off their head himself down at castle steps. Blood would rain down; it would be glorious. Or at least that was the plan. The perfect plan that got ruined when Ivan saw who caused all the damage. The perfect toy. Strong, beautiful, and so poor he could only afford rags to wear. He was perfect. “You, boy, come here!” the prince called, pointing at Alfred.
Alfred’s eyes widened, trying to look innocent among the rubble around him. He was waiting to be scolded by the blacksmith but only saw him bowing along with most of the other villagers. Everyone was either bowing or cowering, except him. He gulped, looking over at the teenager who had beckoned for him. He stood regally beside a horse, dressed in the finest silks. Great. He’d upset the lord presiding over the town. This was just his luck. Hesitantly, he took a few steps forward, until he stood before the other. They looked to be around the same age, but the other teen towered over him. “Er...Yes?” He stuttered out.
Ivan looked the younger boy up and down. He was a bit thin but nothing a few palace meals couldn’t fix. Well if he lasted that long. He circled around, touching occasionally. Strong arms, broad shoulders, a fabulous rump, this man was made to serve Ivan. At least that was what the prince thought. “You sir. I will take this young man,” he declared, pulling out a bag of gold coins. He tossed it to the blacksmith and continued, “That should be enough to cover the damage of your forge and the price of your son. You can either accept my gift and we can part as friends or I can charge you with obstructing the will of the prince. Your choice.” Ivan knew that either way he would have his prize. Most people did not like to be killed he had come to find out. It made it much easier to get what he wanted with a few death threats thrown into a request. “Now boy. Who are you?” Ivan questioned, turning his attention back to the blonde.
Alfred was getting creeped out as the Lord started poking at him and examining him. It felt as if some sort of predator was sizing up his prey. And Alfred was the soon to be devoured tasty morsel. He heard the conversation the--wait a minute, Prince?!? He gaped in shock, oh god he had upset the prince of the whole kingdom! How was he going to get out of this one? He stiffened when he heard the prince address him, “Uh, I’m Alfred Kirkland from far away from here. And I..Well he isn’t my father...” He stumbled with his words, vomiting out his sentences in a rambling mess, “I c-came here to get money for my dad you see! He’s sick and uhh yeah..also i’m pretty sure buying people is illegal...N-not that I’m questioning you Prince er...just Prince.” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, trailing off and deciding he should just never open his mouth again. He was going to die.
Ivan raised an eyebrow as this Alfred Kirkland spoke. He hadn’t heard of this “land far away for here.” It must have been a land across the seas or something. The prince would have to put a team together to go and take it over. That way if his new toy broke he would have another post haste. The more Alfred spoke however the less he wanted another. He rambled faster than a drunkard on his sixth pint of ale, something Ivan could not stand. “Silence. I am not aware of the laws of your land, but it is not illegal here to take a man to work for the crown. It is just easier to have a bit of coin flowing in order to strike up a better trade. The blacksmith can keep the money as payment for your...accident. That way you owe me instead of him, understand?” Ivan decreed. He was not going to take no for an answer, especially from a peasant. “You are going to be my servant, and I am going to teach you how to control your destructive tendencies. Is this clear, peasant?”
Alfred swallowed thickly, staring at the prince in confusion. “What? I owe you now?” He just did not like the sound of that. All of his dad’s lessons were warning him to get out of this situation and to get out of it fast. “W-wait. Servant? So...So I’ll get p-paid right? I need the money really badly. You’ll pay me right? I’ll do whatever odd job you want! I’m a good worker, I really am!” He pleaded after thinking it over. Sacrifices had to be made. A job in the palace would be able to pay for whatever a doctor charged! Maybe this was all a good thing? Also, he was trying to convince himself that the prince had offered the job, even though he made it sound like it wasn’t a choice for him. He probably just misheard. Yeah. He looked up warily at the noble, waiting to see what he would say or do next.
Ivan almost felt sorry for Alfred. He was so uneducated that he didn’t even understand being hired meant that he got paid. The poor lad... This land of “far away from here” was a very poor country if its people couldn’t even understand common words. There was much to do to get the commoner up to speed with the real world. It would be a good challenge for Prince Ivan, one that he hoped would turn out in his favor. The prince smiled back at him. “Of course. And you can send it to your father in far away from here. As long as I am pleased with your work you will be paid.” Without another word, Ivan scooped up Alfred and got back onto the horse. “Now commoner this is a horse. Those who can afford them ride them. It eases the pain of walking. Do you have a creature like this in your land?” he asked as they began to ride back to the palace.
Alfred let out a surprised squawk as he was lifted up by the other teen and helped onto the horse. He could have done that himself! His face reddened in embarrassment as he was forced to hug the other boy around his middle to keep himself from falling off. “O-Of course i know what a horse is! We have a bunch on the farm!..or...we did.” He faltered, looking away sadly. Being broke sucked. Having to sell your horses, especially when they were basically your best friends, because you were that desperate for money was one of the worst experiences he had. Such depressing thoughts only brought more memories of the farm, which accompanied the worrying over his father and brother. He hadn’t gotten a letter in a while, he hoped they were alright. He shook the thoughts away, he needed to stay positive! He had a new job now! And this time he wouldn’t screw it all up! And he would be a hero to his brother and his father. He was sure of it!
Ivan could tell that Alfred didn’t want to talk about it anymore. What did his sister call that feeling? Sadness? It wasn’t like any sadness he had experienced before. It must have been another foreigner thing. At least he knew what a horse and a farm were. That was two whole lessons that could be skipped now, so long as the definition of farm was the same. But Ivan had come to the conclusion that Alfred had some money, or at least at one time did. That must have meant that he did have some type of mannerism of some kind. “So on this ‘farm’ did you grow food? That’s what the farms in Russianzel do. Most farmers, the people who grow the food, own a few horses I’ve been told. Do you like horses? If so you will love the stables,” Ivan droned on. It didn’t matter what the conversation was. So long as he was talking he was happy. Many of the other servants had found that out first hand.
Alfred was surprised the noble even wanted to talk to him. At least it was sort of distracting, though. “Uh..Yeah we grew food. Mostly wheat, we used to have an apple orchard but that long winter a few years ago ruined that...” That was when everything started going downhill, when their father started coughing. At first he’d assured him and his brother it was nothing. And it really did seem like nothing for a while. But the cough just wouldn’t go away. And now their father couldn’t leave his bed. What was he doing, thinking about this again? He needed to stay positive! Stay focused and determined. Their father would get better in no time now that he had a job.
Ivan remembered that winter all too well. It was so cold. So many repressed memories that hurt way too much to think about for even a few seconds. It was like the whole world was attacking everyone at the same time through that winter. Many people died with many more to follow. Most of the crops had been wiped out so a famine swept through. He could recall the king, his uncle, talking about how if things didn’t get better, the kingdom wouldn’t survive. Though while he had all the food and warmth he wanted, he felt as miserable as everyone else. The prince didn’t feel like talking anymore after that. Only when they reached the castle gates did he mutter a few words to the soldiers. He told them to get Alfred washed and ready for their midday meal while he retired to his room. It had only been a few hours but with that last topic, it felt like days had gone by. Only that winter could make Prince Ivan feel like he was 100 years old.
Alfred was confused by the sudden silence. Had he said something wrong? Maybe...But he really didn’t care. He was lost in his own depressive thoughts over his past mistakes. He kept trying to dig himself out of this sad slump but it just wasn’t working. Luckily another distraction provided itself. They reached the castle gates and he was whisked off by the servants. It was weird, being bathed. Usually he and his brother would just take a swim in the nearby river if they had gotten especially dirty, he’d never really had a real bath before. At first he had protested, wanting to just do it himself but they refused him. It was embarrassing to say the least. Afterwards, he was dressed in servants clothing, but they were still the best clothes he’d ever worn in his young life. He never knew fabric could be so soft! He wondered if he could try to send some of the clothes back to his family...They could probably sell it for a lot of money. His thoughts were interrupted, however, as the servants nudged him down the hall. He stumbled into a room, larger than his entire house, and gazed around in awe. It was a lavishly decorated dining room, with Ivan sitting at the head of the table. Alfred gulped, giving a shy wave, “Uh. Hi...Again...”
