1 The Prince And His Prisoner

The guards opened the main prison gate to let the prince in. The prince thanked them and stepped in after nodding his head at the warnings they gave him not to interact too much with the prisoners.

The prince walked through the path that divided the jail cells from left and right. The prison smelt of rotting flesh leading him to cover his nose with his floral-scented handkerchief masking the smell, he was also incidentally covering his face so that the prisoners couldn't see him.

A guard followed behind him as he instructed earlier on with the cell keys in hand. Aldrich frowned when he didn't see anyone fitting of his taste. They reached the end of the prison and all the prisoners looked dead while others looked crazy.

Aldrich turned on his heels and looked at the guard behind him, "Is this all the prisoners?"

The man bowed and shook his head, "No my lord. There is a separated place where we hold the murderers and offenders in the lower east wing."

Aldrich hummed, "Take me there," he orders.

"My lord?" the guarded asked confused.

Prince Aldrich folded his arms, "Take me there now!" He demanded. The guard had a conflicted gaze in his eyes. His Prince was being unreasonable and he couldn't understand what this prince wanted with the prisoners.

He nodded his head and told Prince Aldrich to follow him. Prince Aldrich did just that. They walked further into the prison, down three flights of stairs. When they reached the end of the staircase, the guard took a torch that was lit and lead Prince Aldrich further down the pathway.

After walking for what seemed like an hour, they came to a stop at a door. There was a guard stationed there and after finding out that the prince came to view the prisoners, he was reluctant but opened the door for them anyway.

When Prince Aldrich entered, he felt an ominous presence within the cold stone walls of the dungeon. The guard showed him to the first cell but still, he was not satisfied. The second cell, the third, and all the way up to the sixth cell he wasn't happy.

Prince Aldrich felt frustrated but held his own and composed himself. They reached the seventh cell where a prisoner was sitting on the floor in the middle of the cell with his legs crossed. His arms were bound behind his back and an iron collar around his neck with five chains chained to it were attached to the wall.

The man in the cell's head was bowed with his long hair hanging all over. When he heard footsteps stop in front of his cell, he raised his head and looked up. He saw a young man dressed in the finest clothes, groomed and enchanting, gazing at him. The young man hid most of his face behind his handkerchief showing only his enchanting cerulean eyes. His long black hair draped over his shoulders completing his frame.

Prince Aldrich turned to the guard and asked, "What is his crime?"

"This man killed a group of bandits who were stealing young girls from their families and demanding money in return for their safety. He not only killed them but butchered them because one of the girls who were kidnapped was his sister and she was found dead amongst the group of girls of whom did not pay the ransom. He chopped their bodies into pieces in front of everyone and was thus apprehended and sentenced to life imprisonment. The King granted him immunity from being executed because he did a great deed by saving the girls lives. He is in the lower dungeon because he is classified as dangerous, he was also a knight before all the kidnappings," the guard stated.

Prince Aldrich nodded his head, "Open the cell and leave us."

"My lord we can't…" the guard started but stopped when he saw Prince Aldrich's glare.

He unlocked the cell and handed Prince Aldrich the torch and walked away to mind his business. Prince Aldrich stepped in and walked towards the prisoner. He stopped in front of him and looked down at the man seated on the floor.

The prisoner raised his head to look up at Aldrich. He saw that Aldrich had this odd look in his eyes but didn't say anything. Aldrich turned and walked to the perch and stuck the torch in it. He turned back and stopped in front of the man once again.

Aldrich let his hand holding the handkerchief fall to his side and stared down at the prisoner. The man looked up at Aldrich and looked at him closely. He saw that the young man in front of him wasn't looking directly at him but his eyes were trailing over his body searching for something.

Aldrich licked his lips then asked, "What is your name?"

Aldrich's voice sounded like birds chirping in his ears. It sounded sweet and pleasant like the wind gliding through the air, it's been years since he last heard a pleasant voice. He did not hear his voice before when he spoke to the guard but he heard the guard tell him his life story, "My name his Shawn Seghatchian." He answered with a rusty voice that had not been used in years.

Aldrich bent his legs at the knee dropping to eye level. He stared into Shawn's eyes, "I'm Aldrich Camionare, how long have you been in here?"

"It's been ten years," he answered feeling enchanted by the look in Aldrich's eyes that drew him in. The fresh smell of mint breezed into his nose coming from Aldrich's delicate and moist mouth.

"Would you like to leave here?" Aldrich asked him.

Shawn shook his head, "There's nothing for me out there."

Aldrich nodded his head and stood up. He traced his steps back and called the guard back as he took the torch from the perch. After the guard locked the cell, they walked back out to where the sunlight was.

Aldrich bid the guards farewell and headed to the magistrates' office by carriage. When he arrived there, the magistrate, Harry Winstein greeted him with a big smile and bowed.

"Prince Aldrich, did you find what you were looking for in the prison?" he asked as he helped Aldrich get comfortable and handed him a glass of orange juice.

"Yes, a fellow named Shawn Seghatchian. Please make sure that you have him ready before I leave town in three days, understand?" Aldrich ordered while slipping a savoury tartlet into his mouth.

"Yes of cause, my lord" the magistrate agreed.

Harry immediately got the necessary documents together and let Aldrich sign them before he left. Aldrich left the magistrates office and headed back to the Garden inn where he stayed for his visit to Lerriona.

*

Three guards stopped in front of Shawn's cell and opened it. They unchained him and took him up to the magistrate's office. Shawn looked at them all confused but didn't say anything. When he stood in front of the magistrate he saw the man from in his direction.

"Congratulations Mr Seghatchian, by order of the King of the holy land, you are free. You'll be escorted to a room and cleaned and you will accompany Prince Aldrich home," he said and waved him away.

He was shoved into a room where seven woman were. He was stripped naked of the rags he had on and thrown with water. They scrubbed him down removing all the dirt collected over the years making sure that even his ears and asshole was clean of the dirt. They drenched him in bathing perfumes and dunked him into a bubble bath with herbs and all sorts of fragrances that made the smell on him disappear but did not clash.

The grime was scrubbed out of his hair and the hair's on his body was shaved off from his legs, armpits, face and pubic area by request of the prince. Shawn was given another bath that he soaked in and his feet was rubbed with salt.

His untamed hair was cut to shoulder length and his mouth was cleaned with a brush and mint paste. After his second bath, they gave him towels to wipe himself off and gave him clothes to wear. Shawn sat on the bed dressing himself wondering what this was all about especially since all of this happened right after he was visited by that young man.

Dinner was prepared and he was given the best to eat. He rested in the finest bed and slept peacefully that night. The next morning he was woken up early and given a bath yet again. He received breakfast then brushed his teeth.

Shawn had muscles so he wasn't skinny. The clothes they gave him this time was made of the finest cloth and the boots were made of the finest leather. He was told by the innkeeper that he had to meet with someone and a carriage was waiting for him outside. He got in after thanking them and sat there while he was taken somewhere.

The carriage stopped after a short drive but the door didn't open. A moment later a familiar voice entered his ears that were very sweet to the ear but wasn't speaking to him, "Is he in there?"

"Yes, my lord," the driver answered.

The door of the carriage opened and in climbed the young man from yesterday. He sat down opposite Shawn and gave him a once over, "I see you're out."

"Thanks to you… my lord," he said stiffly. Aldrich chuckled, "Please, don't call me that, I'm tired of being respected, please call me Aldrich or if you'd like, you can call me whatever you like?" he said as he knocked on the wooden frame of the carriage and it rode off.

"Why did you get me released?" Shawn asked. Aldrich looked at him as though he could read what he was thinking. After a moment he answered, "No reason in particular."

The carriage ride was silent after that. Aldrich looked out the window at the passing view until the carriage came to a stop. During their ride, Shawn stared holes into Aldrich's figure trying to figure out why this young man was kind to him and why he released him. He was imprisoned and forgotten for so many years and now, he was released. The carriage came to a stop and they got out. Shawn followed Aldrich into a tailor. They were shown to the private room and Shawn's body was measured.

Aldrich ordered the tailor to make a set of clothes with shoes to match and for it to be sent to his private home. He paid the tailor half telling him that he'll receive the rest of the money when they deliver the clothes.

When they got back into the carriage Aldrich turned to Shawn who was already looking at him and said, "Tomorrow, we'll be heading to my private home where you will stay with me. The ride will be long so prepare yourself."

Shawn nodded his head and remained quiet. They stopped at a restaurant to have brunch. Brunch was delicious and filling. They went shopping afterwards and returned to the Garden inn where Aldrich was staying.

Shawn put all the boxes down and looked around the room. He found that it had only one bed. Aldrich came over to him and said, "You'll be sleeping on the bed." Soon a knock was heard.

Aldrich yelled for them to come in and a bath was brought in along with the bathwater. It was placed on the side of the room and after the men and women left, he undressed in front of Shawn and got into the bath.

"Come tie my hair up," he asked Shawn. Shawn hesitantly walked over to the dresser and grabbed the ribbon that was laying on it. He walked over to the bath and tied up Aldrich's hair in a loose bun. He was thanked and walked away. He sat down by the window and looked out.

His body was buzzing slightly after seeing Aldrich naked. He knew Aldrich was a man but he didn't see him from the front, he saw him from behind and Aldrich had a curvy figure with a round butt. It's been years since he'd seen someone naked and it never crossed his mind once in his ten years of being imprisoned and now, the first one he saw naked was a petite and curvy man.

Aldrich started humming and his tune entered Shawn's ears. He turned to look at Aldrich and saw that he didn't move an inch from when he left him. He was facing the other way and he couldn't see his face.

He saw Aldrich move and quickly looked away. Aldrich washed and got out. He dried himself with the towel and walked towards the bed. He threw himself down while saying, "Get rid of the water and get them to fill it up so you can take a bath."

"Okay," Shawn said simply and got up. He called the workers and they quickly emptied the bath and brought up water for him.

Shawn looked over at Aldrich and saw that he was lying face down on the bed. He turned around and started taking off his clothes not knowing that Aldrich was watching his each and every move. He stripped out of the last of his clothes and climbed into the warm bath.

He didn't want to be in the water for too long and started washing. Aldrich slid his hand down his side and took the ribbon off his hair. Climbing off the bed, he threw the towel one side and put on a silk robe.

He returned to the place where he dropped the towel and picked it up. He walked over to the bath and sat the towel on a stool for Shawn who stared as he walked past. The silk robe was slightly translucent and Aldrich was shameless dressing like that.

Shawn got out completely surprising Aldrich. He took the towel and dried himself then took the robe Aldrich held towards him and draped it over his shoulders. Closing it he saw that Aldrich had turned a shade of pink and was looking away while swaying his feet.

The water was taken away and the room was silent. They had tartlets and tea while they waited for supper. After supper, the lights were blown out and Shawn got into bed. After he closed his eyes trying to sleep, he felt Aldrich climb into bed. He wanted to ask why Aldrich was climbing into bed but remembered that there was only one bed in this room.

Aldrich caressed Shawn's legs with his making the other grow goosebumps. Shawn held himself in not saying a word. Aldrich was fully aware that he was making the other uncomfortable but why else was he here?

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