King Tomlinson {L.S.}

8. Newcomer

Every story has two sides to it.

L I A M stepped out of the carriage, running a hand through his hair. He wrapped his coat around himself tightly, not too fond of the cold weather within Andromeda. He wasn't too fond of the government here, either, nonetheless, he had business to take care of and an omega to see.

The alpha doctor walked up the cobblestone steps that led to a wooden front door of a large home. He knocked twice and smiled fondly as a voice from inside yelled a quick, "Be right there!" He smirked as the front door flew open and a blond omega stood there with shining blue eyes.

"Hello, pup," he said, inhaling the scent of the omega.

The blonde lad giggled. "Hello, Sir," he replied in greeting with flushed cheeks. He stepped back to give the alpha room to enter his home. He opened around the alpha and frowned as no one else was with the man. "No Zayn today, Sir?" He asked with a small pout.

"Not today, Niall. We have business to take care of. Can you tell me the conditions of the Duchess Styles?" Liam asked with a stern look at the omega.

Niall's eyes unfocused and glazed over. The pout slipped from his face and he seemed emotionless. "The Duchess has yet to leave her room, Master. I've been unable to get her to let me in this far. I have yet to devise a plan to kill her."

Liam nodded. "Okay. Now, have a sweet, Niall," he said, pulling a handful of strange looking candies from his pocket. They were Niall's treats of sorts. He got one every time Liam believed he deserved one, and every time he received one, he fell deeper under Liam's power.

"Thank you, Master," Niall said monotonously, before reaching out and unwrapping one of the candies. He popped it into his mouth and it quickly dissolved on top his tongue. His eyes fluttered for a moment before he turned his full attention back to his alpha.

Liam smirked. "On your knees. Report the death of Duke Styles in full detail."

Niall sank to his knees. "Yes, Master," he replied. "The Duke invited Harry's friends over for dinner to discuss wedding plans. Unbeknownst to him, I paid one of the servant's to spike his drink with arsenic. He died three days after, constantly in excruciating pain as the arsenic tore him up from the inside out. The doctors here are not advanced, so they've no idea it was poison. They believe it was an extreme case of appendicitis."

"And the servant?"

"Disposed of, Master," Niall said with a nod.

Liam grinned. "Such a good boy, Niall. Now, let's see what we can do about Duchess Anne, yes?" He hummed. "We should go for a more gruesome way with her. We need something that will break the Styles boy, something that allowed him to succumb to the King's magic," he said. "Any ideas, my love?"

"Murder made to look like a suicide?" Niall suggested, looking up at his alpha with a proud smile.

Liam ran his fingers through Niall's hair. "I quite like that idea, pup. Such a smart boy, aren't you?" He praised.

Niall beamed brightly. He loved the feeling he got with Liam, ever since the day they met.

••

When they met, it certainly wasn't by chance.

"Bye, Hazza! I'll see you tomorrow!" Niall, the sweet, sweet blonde called out to his friend, the son of the Duke. He frowned slightly after Harry waved and turned his back to the lad. He didn't like it when Harry had to go home. He knew what they did to him, how horribly they treated him.

He sighed and continued on his own walk home, four miles, which turned into two once he got over the large hill. It usually took him almost an hour and a half if he walked at a good pace. He was always home by supper time, and before it got dark. As he kept walking, he hummed a little song to himself and smiled at all the flowers surrounding him, as though they were giving him a path home. Too focused on the cute, barely blooming plants, he got lost in their colors, before he bumped into someone.

He stumbled and nearly fell on to his bum, until whoever he ran into caught him by his elbows. He gasped softly and sucked in a breath as he met the sweetest honey eyes he had ever seen. His gaze ran down the man's face, over the prominent birthmark on his neck, and down to his strong arms. When the man, clearly an alpha, cleared his throat, Niall's eyes darted back up to meet the man's.

"M-my deepest apologies, Sir. I w-wasn't paying attention," he said, stumbling over his words.

Liam smirked down at the little pup with the pouty face and large blue eyes. "It's quite alright, little one. What's your name?" He asked, raising an eyebrow when the lad shifted nervously, afraid to answer.

Liam tried again. "I said. . . 'What's your name?'"

Niall flushed a bright red and clenched his thighs. "N-Niall, sir," he whispered softly.

"Well, little Niall. Fancy a sweet?" He asked, holding a small bag of delicious, striped sweets.

Niall salivated slightly. "As much as I'd like to, Sir. I really ought to be getting home," he said, stepping back as Liam stepped towards him, covering him in his large alpha shadow.

Niall got home late that day, and the rest was put to bed deep into Niall's subconscious mind.

He can't remember the last time he was really Niall.

Since that fateful day when Liam caught Niall and turned him into his own plaything, then an experiment, and finally, the perfect, obedient omega, Niall has done anything Liam asked of him.

Every alpha that dared to approach Harry and ask for his hand, was eliminated.

Every servant that gave Harry a sideways look, eliminated.

Even family members who pressured Harry to behave better, also eliminated.

••

Night had fallen over the kingdom of Andromeda, and a tragedy was about to as well. Niall had received a letter shortly after Liam's arrival, stating that Duchess Anne requested a counsel with him. Of course, he couldn't deny the Duchess.

He stood behind her now, watching over her shoulder as she wrote a letter to her son. "Wouldn't you think it better to tell him in person? By the time the letter reaches him, it will be the time he will expect his father's return and your arrival," he said in a voice laced with false concern.

Anne shook her head. "No, no. I couldn't bear to see the boy -my boy's- face. It would kill me," she said.

Little do you know, Niall thought. "I would've thought it would be better, for both of you. A bit of a soul cleanser," he suggested with a shrug. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "But of course, we'll do whatever you wish," he said.

Anne hummed in agreement. "It would be better, but I'm sure he'd rather see a friendly face than mine," she thought aloud. "Perhaps you ought to visit him," she suggested.

Niall nodded. "Perhaps I might," he said, slowly moving his hands away from her body. "Say, Duchess Styles, are these drapes new?" He asked, walking over to the window and playing with the blood red, silky fabric.

Anne didn't turn toward him but nodded as she continued to write. "Yes, dear. Do be careful whilst being near them. I would hate for them to be stained."

"As would I," Niall growled, suddenly standing behind her and wrapping the drape around her neck.

Anne's eyes widened as he pulled tightly, choking noises emitting from her mouth. "Ni- Ug- Ah-" She couldn't form any words as her face turned pink, then a scarlet red, and it continued to change.

Niall grinned wickedly as he pulled the drapes tighter and tighter, wrapping the fabric around her neck again. He giggled maniacally at the shade of purple on her face, the noises she made before it all went quiet.

Liam entered, dressed in a guard's outfit, as he had been the lookout. "Ready to go? We have to leave before someone comes to collect her for supper."

Niall nodded. "I'm ready, Sir."

••

It flooded through the county, and eventually, the country, that evening. Anne Styles, Duchess of Andromeda, found dead, hanging out of her window from her drapes. It appeared as though she made a noise out the drapes, and jumped.

No one knew any different.