A Royal Mess (MxM)

17 - Revealed

The one thing Rodier hadn't expected to see during this meeting was him. When his roaming eyes spotted the servant he had grown great affections for standing at the wall, they immediately went wide with shock. Quickly moving away, his eyes settled on the table as he let his mind bounce around. The more he thought about his being here, the greater fear he felt.

One of the things he enjoyed most around the servant was how relaxed and open he was with him, unlike anyone else he'd ever talked to. He was comfortable enough to even order him around when they went to the library. It was such a welcome change that Rodier immediately got attached. Of course, all of this was due to the fact that the man didn't know who he really was. He thought he was some lord, which would still make his behavior inappropriate, but to a much lesser degree. Rodier was a prince, not only that, but the Crown Prince. If he were to find out his identity... everything would change. He would act distant and cold to him, he'd pull away. This made Rodier terrified. He couldn't lose him. Every time they were together, it was if the whole world fell away, and it felt beyond magical to have him inside the prince. Losing that would hurt Rodier beyond belief.

Unfortunately, it was inevitable that he would find out his identity while in this room. There was no way Rodier'd get through this meeting without speaking, and the servant recognized his voice, even if his tone changed drastically from stiff to relaxed around him. He couldn't try to change his voice when he spoke because the table contained people who knew what he sounded like already. This means he'd have to suck it up and beg for the servant to still spend his time with him afterwards. He just needed to find out which family member he served. He was just about to look up again when he heard his name.

"Rodier, you're going to be the next King, please tell me you aren't going to be so cruel with taxes as your father will be." King Maurin said. Rodier immediately sat straighter and more proper and adjusted his face to normal, forgetting his train of thought for the moment. Even if he didn't act like it, this man was a King. Rodier found himself oddly fascinated by the man. He was large and dressed in fancy clothes, but he really cared about his kingdom. He was casual in his speech, yet had a powerful voice and strong ideals.

Even though the question would no doubt make his brothers freeze, Rodier had trained for this kind of question. "We need the money to protect Tana. I will tax what I need to to get that done." King Maurin nodded, probably unsatisfied with the answer but not feeling like pushing it, thankfully turning back to talk with the other king.

Rodier's attention had turned away from them at that point though, instead his eyes were meeting wide brown ones across the room. His expression showed nothing but shock, his cheeks turning brighter and brighter pink. Rodier stared right into his eyes, flashing a nervous smile as what he hoped came across as reassurance. The servant's face didn't change though, his eyes jerking away seconds later to stare at the ground, still impossibly wide. Rodier felt terrible, his gut eating away at itself. He somehow kept his head though and held himself proper as he scanned the servants at the wall. Byranna stood next to the object of his affections, the servant of his mother. Even though the woman was wearing the traditional servant clothing, she held herself prouder than the rest of them. Beside her stood Trevid, his father's servant. There was an unknown servant standing beside him, but due to the colors he wore, he must've been King Maurin's servant. Standing on the other side of his love was Calores, his own servant, and beside him was Bradlan's, who's name Rodier didn't know. This meant that his love belonged to Joelin. He disliked the other servant that Joelin would tug around, perhaps he had fired him and replaced him. Rodier disliked that thought even more. This meant the person who he cared for deeply would spend almost every waking hour tied to his brother's hip and would do intimate things with him, such as wash and change him. Rodier didn't like that, he wanted the servant to see and touch only him.

The rest of the meeting droned on, Rodier getting pulled into the conversation a few times, but most of his time was spent thinking. Thinking about how he would get the servant to feel comfortable with him again. To make him safe enough to be the most intimate with him again. Both Joelin and Bradlan had to bring topics to their attention a few times, but other than that they just zoned out.

By the time everything was over, Rodier knew what he was going to do. Both Kings and the Queen had stood and left first, nobody else moving until they went out the door. As soon as the door closed behind them, Bradlan shot up and rushed out, clearly having better things to do, the lords following at slower paces. Joelin was slower, clearly being half asleep throughout the whole thing and was still recovering from that. Perfect. Rodier had made his way around the table to him at that point. "Are you alright? You looked bored out of your mind."

Joelin nodded, starting to slowly stand. "It was a boring meeting."

"That it was." Rodier said as he grabbed his brother's arm, helping him up, a glass of wine conveniently right near the edge of the table, Rodier swinging their arms to intentionally knock it onto himself. He made a noise of displeasure as his clothing was stained with the red while Joelin gasped and quickly apologized. "This won't come out unless taken care of quickly." Rodier said after giving enough time to assumingely gather his head. "Calores had so many things to do though."

Joelin shook his head. "No, it was my fault completely." He said, still with a very apologetic voice. "You may borrow mine for however long you need today."

Rodier nodded, plastering a grateful look on his face. "Are you certain?" He would lose his mind if Joelin changed his, which he didn't when he gave a short nod of his head. "Thank you, brother." Joelin nodded, leaving the room awkwardly after a few seconds of silence of Rodier critically examining his shirt.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Calores spoke up. "Sire, I have little to do today. I could've fixed your clothing no proble-"

"Leave." Rodier said bluntly, forcefully. Calores bowed his head respectively and turned to leave, leaving Rodier and the servant along in the empty room.