Royal pet's gift

      Riko thinks he might be cursed, seeing that it’s the third day his dinner is being interrupted. Can’t he just enjoy his food in peace?       “The twins have been captured.” Nathaniel saunters into the room like he owns the place, which isn’t anything unusual.       “Mind your manners,” Riko tries to sound stern, but he knows it's fruitless when it comes to the man before him. Some fights aren’t worth fighting – it’s the lesson Riko learned quite fast.       “Oh sorry,” Nathaniel doesn’t sound apologetic at all. He bows dramatically and Riko nearly rolls his eyes at the theatrics. “The twins have been captured, Your Highness. Is that better?”       “One day I’ll strangle you.” Riko sends a glare towards Nathaniel, but the man only smirks, which irritates Riko further.       “Is that a promise?”       Riko can practically see Jean rolling his eyes, even though the man’s standing behind him.       And yes, now Riko’s really considering going for Nathaniel’s throat, but currently he has more pressing matters to attend to than his insubordinate servant. He sighs deeply and abandons his dinner regretfully.       “Jean,” says Riko without looking in the servant's direction.       Jean appears before his king, abandoning his usual post in the corner. After a curt bow, he starts dressing Riko up in formal attire, no instructions from the king needed. He works quietly and efficiently, just like it’s expected of him. Though Riko knows Jean’s got quite a mouth, just like Nathaniel – their banter is a never-ending string of insults. Riko has heard it on quite a few occasions when the men thought the king wasn’t listening.       After making sure that Riko looks presentable, the three of them go to the throne room, with Neil taking the lead and Jean walking behind the king. Riko sits down on the throne, and Neil takes a spot on the armrest, which makes Riko roll his eyes. He allows the behavior, for now. Somewhere behind Rikko stands Jean, observing the spacious room. Riko doesn’t bother to check on him – Jean will be there if he’s needed.       “Bring them in,” Riko says, and a group of guards come through the door, led by Kevin – the commander.       Among the guards are twins, with their hands tied by a sturdy rope. They’re quite tiny, Riko notes amused. Having heard so many stories about them, he really expected someone else, not some raggedy vermin.       The men clearly didn’t go without a fight – scratches and bruises litter their skin. Dirt covers their clothes, and the material’s torn in some places. Riko can’t help it but grimace at the sight. Don’t the rebels have some standards at least?       The guards force the captives to their knees, then bow to Riko.       “Your Majesty,” Kevin says, “we’ve found them scouting our border, probably in preparation for an attack.”       Well, that’s nothing surprising. These pesky rebels haven’t learned their lesson yet, and are still trying to overthrow him. Which is laughable, really.       “Good job, commander” Riko says, at which Kevin basically glows.       “Thank you, Your Majesty.”       One of the captives chooses this moment to struggle, and manages to rise from his knees, but one of the guards presses down on his shoulders and kicks his knees, forcing him back down.       “Fuck you,” says the man at the rough handling, but in the end he doesn’t have the strenght left to fight and stills. Seething, he shifts his weight, the hard floor being clearly uncomfortable for his knees.       “Gag him,” Kevin’s sharp order spurs the guards into action, and in no time the man’s protests are cut off by some cloth.       “You should kill him for fun, my liege,” says Nathaniel, his mouth close to Riko’s ear. Riko bats him away like an annoying fly, not wanting for Nathaniel to see the reaction his presence had on Riko. But judging by the man’s smirk, he’s already noticed the shiver that went down Riko’s spine and his king’s reddened ears.       “No killing for now,” says Riko, making Nathaniel pout. “Down,” he orders next because Nathaniel overstayed his welcome on the throne. With an exaggerated sigh Nathaniel goes down on a pillow next to the throne, his side touching Riko’s leg. But of course, the man does so with his usual dramatics, acting like he’s deeply wounded by Riko’s order, but disappointed nonetheless that he didn’t get his way. Honestly, sometimes it feels like dealing with an overeager dog – which, Riko has to admit, is not a far fetched comparison.       Riko takes a deep breath to clear his thoughts. Now his attention is needed elsewhere – with the captives, to be specific.       The other twin, the one kneeling closer to Kevin, is much more docile, but Riko doesn’t let it fool him. He rests his cheek on his hand and decides to observe the man for now. While the silence stretches, the man doesn’t even twitch, unlike his brother who’s clearly uncomfortable with the atmosphere.       Riko could question them now, but why not have some fun earlier? Besides, he’s not in a mood for interrogations after the week he’s had so far. Most importantly – it’ll be good if Nathaniel gets some enrichment.       He touches Nathaniel’s curls, twirling them around his finger. “Would you like a present?”       The man beside him perks up and nods eagerly. That just won’t do, so Riko tugs at his hair sharply, making Nathaniel hiss. “Words.”       “I’d love a present, Your Grace,” Nathanel says rather emotionlessly, trying to hide his discomfort.       “Alright.” Riko lets go of the hair. “You can take one," he says, and Nathaniel wastes no time in standing up and going towards the quiet twin.. Despite his obvious excitement, every step he takes is clearly measured and Riko can’t help comparing him to a cat – if Nathaniel had a tail, it would be swishing from side to side, Riko’s sure.       “Not this one,” says Riko sharply, stopping Nathaniel in his tracks. The man looks back at the king, his gaze questioning. Riko doesn’t have any answer for now, besides his curiosity about the aloof man.       With a wave of his hand Riko points towards the other twin, and the captive man gives muffled protests, but everyone ignores him. Well, everyone besides his brother, Riko notices. The man tries to get up, but in a blink there’s a blade held against his brother’s throat, which makes the man freeze.       Nathaniel’s crouching beside the gagged captive, so close that their arms are touching, and Riko can see the man nearly recoiling at the proximity. He stays still though, probably afraid of the knife so close to his neck.       The other brother looks furious, and Nathaniel smiles at him, but the expression holds no warmth. In moments like these Riko’s grateful that Nathaniel’s loyal to him because otherwise he’d be a real pain to deal with. Not that he isn’t a nuisance now on a good day, but at least he’s not openly hostile towards Riko.       “Shhh.” Nathaniel pets the man’s head. “Just stay still.” He presses the knife harder, nearly breaking the skin, looking at the other brother the whole time.       The captive trembles under the blade, his eyes wide in fear, which seems to encourage Nathaniel even more. Maybe Riko should intervene before Nathaniel’s desires paint the marble floors in crimson red. He really doesn’t need a repeat of the last time.       “Just take him,” Riko says to Nathaniel, then to Kevin, “and bring the other one to our special guest room.” Despite himself, he smiles at the thought of the upcoming events.       “Everyone dismissed.” Riko rises from his throne as everyone clears from the room. Jean appears on his side, so quiet that if Riko wasn’t used to it, he’d startle for sure.       “Prepare the equipment,” he orders, and Jean disappears again after a quick ‘Yes, Your Majesty.’       Yes, it’ll be a fun evening – Riko’s sure of it.