Ch. 4 – You Put A Spell On Me

Chapter Four – You Put A Spell On Me

Milo wrapped his arms around him. The desire in his eyes was unmistakable. Sebastian was rightfully annoyed. His prisoners could take the initiative only if he allowed them to. It appeared as if Milo, a mere scholar, considered himself on the same level with a prince to take such liberties.

"Did I tell you that you could embrace me?" he asked.

Milo grinned. "No, but you kissed me already, so I don't see how a hug could be worse."

Yes, the kiss. Sebastian remembered it clearly. He looked at Milo's lips. They were full and soft and enticing him to give in to his weakness. But weren't they supposed to complete their quest of going on a date and eating hamburgers first?

Milo stopped smiling as Sebastian shifted against him. Their bodies were rubbing against each other, leaving enough room for pleasant sensations. Sebastian recognized the unmistakable signs of his arousal growing.

"Your mom is home. Your sister, too," Milo whispered. "Maybe we shouldn't --"

Sebastian kept his breath for a moment. No, the weakness was too much. He pressed Milo into the bed and kissed him hard. Milo responded by hugging him closer.

Well, the place appeared to have thin walls, and there was also the inconvenience of having delicate royal ears close by. Sebastian indulged in the other's mouth only for a few moments more.

"Let us handle the quest first," he said and stood up stiffly.

"Quest?"

"The date."

"Oh, right."

Sebastian walked over to the closet and looked inside. Thin short-sleeved shirts in dark colors and bottoms that matched were the only things in there. They hardly qualified as armor, but maybe the quest needed them to use their wits more than their strength. After all, Milo didn't wear any armor, either.

He picked two garments without hesitating too much, as they all appeared to be the same, and began shedding off the uniform.

"Wow, I know I've seen you naked before, but you really are comfortable in showing me everything," Milo said.

Sebastian turned toward the young man, who was now looking at him with hooded eyes. He looked down at his own body and grimaced. "This body hardly warrants such a reaction from you." He could taste Milo's arousal if he did as little as close his eyes.

"You look fine to me."

Well, he didn't miss any limbs, and while he appeared underfed, he was not overly thin. Aesthetics-wise, he would give this body a pass. "I suppose more food would serve."

Milo laughed and looked away. "Then it's good that I'm taking you to Mandy's."

He finished dressing and walked out of the room with Milo. Tani was waiting for him and barring the way. "Weren't you going to look at the dishwasher for half an hour?"

"An hour and a half. Please, do it in my stead."

Tani snorted and crossed her arms. "Yeah, right." She looked around and then opened her palm. "Pay me."

"I don't have any coins."

"Paper will do," Tani said brightly.

Milo dug into his pocket and took out a folded paper. "Is it okay if I bribe your sister?"

Sebastian shrugged. "It is your paper to do as you wish with it."

He couldn't understand how Tani could accept a simple paper sheet instead of gold or silver coins. Maybe she wasn't a very clever girl, and Milo knew that.

"Let's go," Milo said after giving Tani the folded paper. He grabbed Sebastian by the shoulders.

"Are you guys an item now or what?" Tani asked.

Milo stuck his tongue at her. "Not telling."

"OMG! You totally are! You're making kissy-kissy faces at each other!"

"Tani, leave the boys alone," the mother intervened. "Take care and don't stay up too late. You still have to study. Your graduation is not that far off," she warned.

Graduation? Was that another quest? He would have to ask his phone many questions.

"I'll make sure to return him in one piece and not too late, Mrs. Martin," Milo said cheerfully.

So the mother was Mrs. Martin. That was one thing he didn't have to ask his phone.

***

Kai grunted as he was made to meet the ground, butt first, by one of the skilled knights in his retinue. It was his fault for having his head in the clouds, and his body couldn't compensate entirely for his lack of awareness.

"Your Majesty," the knight said breathlessly as he jumped off his horse and hurried to him. "I apologize for throwing you off! Please forgive me!"

Kai pushed himself up. "No sweat, man. I wasn't paying attention. Let's do that again."

His current body had many wonderful perks, it seemed, among which the fact that he didn't feel as much pain as ordinary people.

"I will make sure not to throw all my strength behind it this time," the knight pleaded.

"Oh, you make sure you do, or I'll get mad," Kai said playfully. As the hero of the realm, he couldn't allow others to cut him any slack.

Once he began paying attention, he outsmarted all the knights on the jousting grounds, much to his delight. It was a good boost of confidence to overpower everyone like that.

"So, are you tired already?" he called.

"No, Your Majesty!" The knights shouted as one.

These guys needed to learn a bit about life-work balance.

"Well, I'm done here. You're free for the day. But don't forget about tomorrow. Dragons, caves, all that."

He turned on his heels, ignoring the flabbergasted knights he was leaving behind. All this time, Conrad had stayed there, judging him with his eyes. As soon as Kai began to move, he was on his heels again.

"I hope you're not getting any weird ideas," Kai said as he threw a look back at Conrad. "I'm hungry, and I don't know where Pepin is. I'm only supposed to eat his cooking."

He was surprised when Conrad grabbed the reins of his horse and guiding them both in the opposite direction of the castle.

"What are you doing? You know very well that I can kick your ass." Not that he wanted to do it, but Conrad was annoying.

Conrad said nothing until they were at a fair distance from the jousting ground and everyone's earshot. He dismounted and then offered Kai his hand.

For a moment, Kai closed his eyes. I could ignore him and leave. But I suppose that will make me a coward, and Prince Sebastian appears to be the complete opposite of a coward. What can he do to me? I can just send him flying, like before.

He accepted Conrad's hand and dismounted, too.

"Well?" he asked.

Conrad began to unbutton his coat, his eyes never leaving Kai.

Kai groaned. "What are you doing?"

Conrad threw his coat on the ground, offering Kai the unimpeded view of a strong perfect torso. "You were quite explicit in your requirements, Your Majesty," he said through his teeth.

"I changed my mind," Kai said with a forced grin.

Conrad seemed completely deaf as he continued to shed his clothes.

"Don't," Kai said and covered his eyes as Conrad pushed down his pants.

Maybe the guy was an exhibitionist. Kai didn't uncover his eyes and put his free hand in front to make sure that Conrad wasn't getting too close. "Stay away, I'm warning you. I can shoot ice from my eyes."

"Then you must be keeping them covered for a reason," Conrad said.

Kai walked back and grunted when his back hit a large tree. He uncovered his eyes only to find Conrad close. Really close.

"You said," Conrad said slowly, "that you require satisfaction at least three times every day."

Kai groaned. Prince Sebastian, you damned manwhore!

He was still debating how to deal with Conrad when the other glued himself to him and plastered his lips against his neck.

"Oh," Kai barely managed. His eyelids began getting heavier. That wasn't unpleasant at all. Conrad flicked his tongue around, making him shudder as pleasure shot through him head to toes. It was…

Kai pushed Conrad away. "All right. Okay. This isn't working. Down, boy," he ordered Conrad.

"I'm not a dog," Conrad protested and looked at him with the same hurt eyes from before.

There was no way to please this guy. He got pushed away, he got mad. He got told he could leave, he took offense.

"Then why are you licking things you shouldn't lick?"

"Do you want me to bite?"

Kai pinched the bridge of his nose. "No," he said quietly. "I want you to stop licking and biting. And kissing."

"Which means," Conrad said in a pensive tone, "that there is only one thing left. You should have said so."

Kai put his hands up to keep Conrad away. "Stay there. I'd hate to turn you into a popsicle, but you're pushing it, man."

"Pop… what?"

"You know." Kai began to gesticulate. "A block of ice or something."

Finally, Conrad stopped. "What did I do to displease you?"

"You just keep wanting to hump me," Kai shot back. "I'm not in the mood."

"Ah, you're not in the mood," Conrad said slowly like he was trying to understand what Kai meant by that.

"Don't you find it embarrassing? At least a little?" Kai asked. "I mean, everybody knows that we – whatever. Isn't this… thing something you don't want?"

Conrad frowned and blinked a few times. "If you're talking about your men, all I heard was how they would all like to share your bed. If only so that they don't have to fear you so much anymore. How little they know," he added with bitterness.

"Crazy BL plot," Kai murmured under his breath. "Yeah, okay, but you're… a knight, right?

"A prince," Conrad said heatedly.

"A prince, of course. You don't want to be a concubine, right?"

"I don't." Conrad crossed his arms. He was still distractingly naked, and Kai had a hard time keeping his head up so that he didn't look down by accident. "No matter how coveted the position is."

"Yeah, I bet," Kai said to himself. "But, for you, it's like a disgrace, right?"

Conrad stared at him with hurt eyes. "Yes," he said quietly.

Right. Conrad must have been an enemy. Prince Sebastian was walking a thin line getting an enemy to serve as his bed partner. He probably thought that he was overpowered enough not to have to worry about anything.

"Is there really nowhere in the world you could go?" Kai asked.

"No," Conrad said directly. "And if you send me away, it is as good as a death sentence. There is no place left in the world for a vanquished prince."

Hmm, that was a difficult situation, indeed. "Then how about this? You play your role in front of everyone else, and I don't send you away. But we don't do any more…" Kai trailed off and just made a vague gesture with his hands.

Conrad watched him with incredulous eyes. "If that truly is your wish, release me from the bond."

"Hmm, what bond?"

"This." Conrad touched his chest, and thin lines the color of blue ice appeared and shone softly.

"What does that do?" Kai asked.

"Don't you know it better than me? The less I please you, the tighter these vines of ice will curl around my heart."

"Ah, so it's ice magic. Then it should be easy," Kai said.

He looked at the fine ice lines and focused. They began to shine brighter. Conrad gasped and grabbed his chest.

"Oh, shit, sorry," Kai hurried to say and looked away. All right, so that wasn't working. How was he supposed to undo that? He would have to ask Pepin later.

"Is it a slow or a quick death you have in store for me?" Conrad asked in a pained voice.

"Neither. Trust me," Kai said. "I'll figure out how to undo that bond. Then you'll be free."

"I don't see how I can believe you." The pain had forced Conrad on his knees, and Kai felt terribly guilty.

"Well, you should because, you see, I'm a nice guy, no matter how weird that might sound to you." Kai offered Conrad his arm to help him to his feet.

"Each time I fail to please you, you only make it worse. You're not nice, Prince Sebastian," Conrad said heatedly.

"Damn. So you have to, um, please me, so that your heart doesn't freeze or something?"

Being so overpowered had its downsides, for sure, Kai thought.

"All right. I'll let you kiss me once. Will that make it better?"

He was crazy for even suggesting a thing like that, but what was he to do? He couldn't watch Conrad getting a heart attack or something.

Now Conrad seemed reluctant to do what he was told. He was probably fearing that he was getting himself into another trap.

"Damn you, BL author," Kai said, grabbed Conrad's cheeks, and kissed him once.

Conrad lost his balance for a second and then stared at him with unhidden surprise.

"Any better?"

If he did it fast enough, it didn't count, right? And he could just think of something else. Kai pulled Conrad to him again. This time, when they kissed, Conrad grabbed him and pushed him to the ground.

Think of something else, think of something else…

Conrad pushed one thigh between his legs, forcing them open. Great, not he could practically feel… Why on earth was he humping himself against Conrad's leg? It was all great when his body had quick reactions while knights in heavy armor dashed toward him with all kinds of dangerous weapons, but not so much when it was reacting to this!

"All right, all right, just stop. Feeling any better?"

Conrad was breathing heavily, and his eyes were hazy. He was a handsome dude, but Kai wasn't going to play into that crazy BL plot. All he had to do was keep Conrad alive until he figured out how to get rid of that bond. And for now, he was sure he had done enough.

"You want me, too," Conrad said in a raspy voice. "I can feel you."

Kai had a very distinct idea of what Conrad meant by that, but it was all that body's fault and not his. "And, unfortunately, I can feel you, too." The dude's tool was lengthening against his leg. That was totally weird. "I'll handle the thing with the bond. Now, get off me."

Conrad stared at him for a moment with burning eyes. Little by little, the flame in them dimmed. He stood up abruptly and began dressing up with brusque moves.

"You know, you might have an anger problem," Kai suggested as he got to his feet. "Maybe you should take the day off, ride around, I don't know, do stuff you like."

Conrad turned toward him with lightning speed and thunder in his eyes. Yeah, totally an anger problem. "How can you be so cold? Last night --" He stopped and turned toward his horse.

"Well, you know, ice magic, ice prince, cold. It's all natural," Kai justified himself. "And could you forget about last night? It was a…" – how did people say in movies? – "…mistake."

"A mistake?" Conrad stared at him again like he was saying unfathomable things. "You kept asking me to --"

"Hush, zip it, shut up," Kai said quickly and cut the air with one arm. "I don't want to hear about it."

Conrad cocked his head to one side and narrowed his eyes. "Are you ashamed of your weakness? People say you call it that."

"Weakness?" Ah, right. Pepin had said something about it. Prince Sebastian's – apparently notorious – weakness for handsome men. "No, I'm not ashamed. Because I have no weaknesses. Whatever you're talking about, it's gone. Poof. Like that."

"You're different from last night. How can you call it a mistake? Five times --"

"Five times?!" Kai covered his face. Prince Sebastian was a shameless bastard.

"Five times you told me that you would never let me go, that if I kept it like that, you would see no reason to get rid of me."

Oh, phew. Not that kind of five times. "Ah, well, people change."

"Overnight?"

"Yes. Hey, do you believe in ice magic? You know, the stuff that comes out of my eyes."

Conrad touched his chest and grimaced in pain. Kai made himself little. "Yes, I do believe in it."

"Then it should be easy to believe in people changing overnight." Pleased with his logic, Kai mounted his horse. "And stop following me. Go have some fun, whatever you think that is. And eat and drink as much as you want." What could people around there do to enjoy themselves? It wasn't like they had internet and video games. "It's on my tab, I suppose."

"Fine," Conrad said in a strained voice. "I'll see you tonight, then."

Well, that had been taken care of quite swiftly. Now, he needed to find Pepin.

"You don't have to hide whenever you feel like using Conrad, you know?" He heard a voice from behind.

Kai closed his eyes. "Do you master teleportation, Pepin?"

"What magic is that, Your Majesty?"

His servant appeared from behind the tree like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to eavesdrop on his master's trysts.

"Never mind. Now, I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

Pepin pursed his lips. "If you wanted horse, you should have let me know in advance. And because of you and your ideas, I had little time to cook properly."

"Eww, I don't want horse, what the hell?" Kai put his hands over the horse's ears and looked into his humid eyes. "Don't worry, in this house, we don't eat our horses."

"We do," Pepin contradicted him.

Kai scoffed. "Could you please stop saying stuff like that in front of him?" He gestured with his chin toward the horse.

Pepin shrugged and disappeared behind the tree, only to reappear with a basket.

"Are we having a picnic?"

Pepin said nothing as he lay a blanket on the ground and then the basket. He started taking out all kinds of little pots and plates and arranging them on the blanket in an orderly fashion.

"We totally are," Kai said and grinned. He could barely wait to see what Pepin had prepared.

He knelt on the blanket and watched Pepin displaying the tasty foods.

"I heard everything," Pepin said accusingly.

Kai took one plate with finger foods from the servant and began stuffing his face. It wasn't like him to be hungry, but ever since he had gotten here, he suddenly felt what hunger was. "It's not nice to eavesdrop," he said while munching loudly.

"You kissed him," Pepin continued, ignoring him.

"Well, I did," Kai admitted.

"Why?"

"Because he has an ice magic spell that squeezes his heart if I don't kiss him," Kai said matter-of-factly. He barely put down the empty plate that Pepin supplied him with another. Ah, right. He had to ask the servant about it. "How do I remove that bond?"

Pepin blinked and frowned. "You don't recall?"

"I don't. I'm only human. I forget things," Kai said defensively.

"But I cannot help you," Pepin said. "Your magic is your secret. You've never shared it with anyone."

"Not even you? We grew up together, right?"

Pepin nodded, all the while staring at him. "The Ice Goddess always took you with her to teach you. No one was allowed to witness your training."

"Ah, damn it," Kai moaned. "Where can I find the Ice Goddess?"

Pepin looked at him with wide eyes. "That's also a secret," he said as if Kai should have known that.

Well, surely, Sebastian had to know, but, unfortunately, Kai didn't get his memories along with his body, so that was a bummer.

"I'll have to find her so that I can remove the bond on Conrad," he said.

"Does that mean that you will have to sleep with him again?" Pepin asked anxiously.

"Hopefully, some kisses will do," Kai let his intentions known.

Pepin crossed his arms and pouted.

"Come on, Pepin, I can't just let the guy die or something," Kai said.

"Then will you kiss me just the same as you kiss him?" Pepin asked.

"Do you have a bond on your heart that could kill you?"

"No."

"Well, then, you just got your answer. Ah, stop pouting. I won't fall for the same trick a second time. I know you're not going to cry."

Pepin was scrunching his nose, but then his features relaxed, and he grinned. "It was worth a try. You won't last long without kissing me, I'm sure."

Well, as long as it was only kissing… what was he thinking? Kai shook his head. He wanted to be in character, but only as long as he didn't end up torturing people or doing naughty things with dudes.

***

Sebastian observed Milo and began to imitate his gestures. He took place across from him at a square table and looked around. The tavern was clean, and it smelled of food.

A woman in an apron came to them. "What will you boys have?"

"Hi, we're going to have two hamburgers, fries on the side, and extra ketchup. And two large sodas," Milo said and smiled.

As the woman walked away, Sebastian continued to take in his surroundings. No one was wearing armor, and most travelers wore the same thin fabric as they did.

"Are there other people on a date here?" he asked, curious of how quests were handled in this realm.

Milo looked around. "Could be. I don't know. So, you didn't read my texts, huh?"

"No, I didn't get the chance. I should inform you that I don't find cheese an interesting topic."

Milo blinked and grinned. "You're particularly funny today. I don't think cheese is interesting, either."

"Good, then maybe you should think of writing about other things."

"Look," Milo said and reached for his hand across the table. Sebastian allowed the touch. By what he could tell, other people held hands, too. It was probably a custom. "I know I was the one to spring the question on you, and you should be the more surprised of us two, but, damn, I'm so… ah, I don't have words. My heart is full."

"Full," Sebastian repeated slowly.

Milo linked their fingers together. "Yeah." He looked down sheepishly and laughed. "I mean, we've been here before, and we did so many things together, but tonight is different, right?"

That wasn't far from the truth, but Sebastian could tell that Milo was thinking of something else. He seemed to be very emotional. That was always an annoyance. But he had a good-looking body and a handsome face, and, for now, Sebastian could see Milo's uses.

The woman interrupted them by placing plates in front of them. Sebastian looked at Milo, waiting for him to eat first so that he could imitate him. The wench hadn't brought them any utensils, although she had bothered to offer them some paper tissues that had to serve as napkins.

He proceeded as Milo and bit from the bun filled with meat. Sebastian stopped for a moment. It was meat, but even Pepin would be hard-pressed to make it so intensely flavorful. It was almost on the point of being too much, but Sebastian decided to give it a try and began chewing slowly.

"If you can't finish it, it's okay," Milo said.

Prince Kai might not have had an appetite, but Sebastian needed to keep his strength up. "I will finish it," he said sternly.

He took the high glass placed by the server on his side of the table. There was a bent stick in it. For what purpose, he was unsure. He observed the bubbles; was it champagne? Since they were going on a quest, they were probably having a feast, although, again, the presence of a single course was disappointing.

He stole a glance at Milo and noticed how he sipped from his glass through that stick. He did the same.

"Oh," he said and put back the glass. It was definitely more bubbly than champagne. And much sweeter. "This champagne has an odd flavor," he commented.

Milo laughed. "Is that a hint that I should have made things a bit more special?"

"No, no, that is completely fine," Sebastian said politely. "When will we kiss?"

That was the purpose of their quest, according to Milo.

The young man blushed to the tip of his ears. "As soon as you finish that." He pointed at Sebastian's food.

"Of course." If it was a rite he had to complete, he didn't mind it. The food was tolerable, although extremely flavorful. Sebastian took a delicate bite from his bun.

"You know, it's like I see you in a different light today," Milo said softly.

Sebastian had been with enough men to know that Milo was showing signs of being infatuated. That meant that the kissing part would go flawlessly.

TBC