Chapter Three

 

 

“Do I?” Maxsim challenged, arching one eyebrow. He pushed off the door frame and moved leisurely toward where the beautiful boy was sprawled out on the floor. He kept walking until he was standing between the Ruby’s legs, his booted foot only inches from his crotch. Unable to resist teasing him, he lifted his foot and let the sharp toe of his boot trace gently over the outline of the bulge in those strange, blue trousers. He was very satisfied when the boy flinched.

“Perhaps I should exact some payment for the damage you’ve done then? I assume you have treasure, don’t you?”

“T-treasure?”

“Yes. Every Dragon has his treasure hoard. Even halflings, like you.”

“I-I never…that is, no, Sire. No, I don’t have anything.”

Maxsim put his foot over the bulge again and pressed down slightly. “Are you sure? No. Stay still. I didn’t give you permission to move.”

The Ruby gulped and nodded his head. “Yes, Sire. I mean, no…I-I don’t know what you want me to do.”

“I want you to tell me the truth. What’s your name, little Ruby?”

“Pari. My name is Pari.”

“What kind of name is that?”

“It’s the one my mama gave me.”

Maxsim pressed the toe of his boot down a bit harder. “Are you being sarcastic, boy?”

“No! Oh great gods, no, Sire. I’m just…I’m sorry.”

“Hmm. Well, Pari, we have an interesting situation here. You’ve come to my kingdom without permission, you know, or even so much as a by your leave. You should be punished for that alone. And then to make matters far worse, you attacked one of my citizens. A harmless old woman who was minding her own business in our courtyard.”

Pari gasped aloud and his face turned an interesting shade of pink. “Harmless old woman?” he sputtered in what sounded like outrage. “She was trying to kill you!”

“Not according to what she’s told us. She said she was trying to give me her dead grandson’s most prized possession. His jewel-studded knife. She said he would have wanted me to have it, and she was attempting to give it to me when you attacked her out of the blue.”

He sputtered again. “But that’s the most ridiculous…surely you don’t believe her? What about the poison?”

“I wouldn’t call it poison, exactly. Although you fainted from it, she said the potion was quite harmless, and it must have been, as it turned out. You’ve recovered nicely. She informed me her grandson dabbled in the art of medicine. She was unaware of anything on the knife but admitted it was most likely one of his many experiments into curing diseases. So you see? No poison.”

The Ruby gazed up at him as if he had just grown a second head. “Don’t you know who she is?”

Maxsim pressed his foot a little harder against Pari’s crotch and smiled as the boy gave out a little squeak and his face got even pinker.

“The better question might be, do you know who I am? I’ve told you what the old woman said, and I believe her. Are you seriously going to question my judgment?” He glared down at the Ruby. He would teach him to be insolent. It was highly satisfying when Pari immediately dropped his gaze and began to stutter again.

“N-no, Your Highness. Not at all. Only, you see, there’s something about the old woman that you don’t know.”

Tiring of the game he was playing with the little dragon, Maxsim bent over, took him by the shirtfront and lifted him up bodily, holding him so he dangled only inches in front of his face. Maxsim took a moment to gaze directly into the boy’s wine-colored eyes, with those thick, lush eyelashes. He really was gorgeous. Maxsim’s cock gave an interested twitch.

The boy grabbed hold of Maxsim’s wrists, but wisely made no effort to free himself. His eyes were wide with surprise and maybe a little fear.

“Don’t presume to tell me what I know or don’t know. Are we clear, Ruby?”

Pari nodded his head, his eyes growing even larger.

The door opened suddenly behind the Prince and one of his officers came in, an apology already on his lips. “I’m so sorry to disturb you, Your Highness, but I heard raised voices outside your door and…” The soldier stopped abruptly as he saw Maxsim holding Pari up in front of him, and he quickly pulled his sword. “Your Highness!”

“Put away the sword, Renard. I have the situation under control.”

“But Sire—that’s the Ruby who overpowered his guard and escaped! He’s the one who set fire to the palace! We’ve been looking everywhere for him.”

“Well, as you can see, I’ve found him.” Maxsim lowered the boy enough that his toes touched the floor. “As I said, I have the situation in hand.” He gave the Ruby a little shake. “Don’t you agree, Pari? Or were you planning to ‘overpower’ me too?”

Still blushing furiously, Pari shook his head. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t do anything to that man you sent to babysit me. He’s lying! He went to a pub to get a drink of ale and left me sleeping. Well, pretending to sleep. But I never touched him, I swear it! And then, well yes, I did set the fire, but it was an accident! Really! You see, I…”

“Enough!” Maxsim said, giving him another shake that rocked Pari’s head back and made the riotous dark auburn curls on his head bounce madly around. “From now on, you speak only with permission, is that understood?”

The boy bit his plump bottom lip and his eyes blazed, but he nodded, his dark red eyes still flashing their fire at him. Maxsim allowed himself a smirk. It had been far too long since he’d had a chance to take his pleasure with another Dragon. Even a half-Ruby like this little one. He intended to enjoy taking his time interrogating him.

He turned and tossed the boy over to his captain, who caught him expertly and twisted Pari’s arms behind his back. “Take him to an interrogation room, and then wait for me. I want to question him myself.”

The Ruby glanced wildly back at Maxsim, his face pale with fear. “But what have I done? I told you about the fire, and the old woman. I was only trying to save you from her!”

The captain snarled in his ear. “You snatched the knife away from her, didn’t you?”

Pari appeared bewildered for a moment before he shook his head. “No! I didn’t! I tried to, but—but I was only trying to stop her from stabbing me. Though she stabbed me anyway.”

Maxsim shrugged, and the captain growled again in his ear. “It’s an act of treason to draw a weapon in the presence of the Prince. You can be hanged for such an outrageous act!”

“H-hanged? You mean me?” Pari shrieked. “But I’m not the one who…” The Ruby blanched and his legs seemed to collapse beneath him so that Captain Renard had to grab him tightly around the waist to hold him up. Maxsim found he didn’t like Renard touching the boy so much. In fact, this whole game had gone too far. He had meant to only tease the beautiful Ruby, not scare him half to death. He felt so guilty his voice came out a bit rougher than he intended.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Captain Renard.” He stepped closer to put a finger under Pari’s chin, and gently lifted it so their gaze met. “I just need a few questions answered, Ruby. That’s all. I know you believe you were trying to help me and that’s how you got stabbed. It was an unfortunate accident, though, and the old woman in question has apologized over and over. I’ll even take you to see her if you like. Now go with Captain Renard and I’ll be in to speak to you as soon as I get changed.”

He nodded to the captain, who appeared a bit bewildered, perhaps at the Prince’s tender tone. The captain led Pari away, still gripping his arms tightly, but at least that expression of terror had mostly disappeared from Pari’s face.

Maxsim strode over to a large pitcher of water standing on a nearby dresser, poured some in the bowl and begin to clean some of the dust and soot from his face and hands. He’d been informed of the fire damage almost as soon as he’d arrived back at the palace from his morning ride, and had gone to inspect it directly. He needed to bathe, but didn’t have time at the moment to call for his servants. For now, a quick wash and a change of clothing would have to do so he could meet with his minister of finance before interrogating the young Ruby. He wouldn’t have bothered with it, but the finance meeting had been planned far in advance. And matters of the kingdom did need to take precedence over pleasure… He shook his head. Pleasure? No, no, no. Pursuing truth! That’s what he meant.

After changing into a more appropriate outfit, he stopped by his mirror to make sure his clothing was straight and glanced beside it at a large, bronze shield he and his men had happened upon in the forest earlier. He’d had his men bring it to his room, wanting to study it before placing it in his hoard. It had a highly polished surface, which was what attracted him, and had obviously been cared for over the years, though it was quite old and well used. Maxsim didn’t recognize the period of history it must have come from—he’d have to research that in his library. It was so shiny, in fact, that he could see his reflection in its surface. Indeed, it was a fine old shield and would make a nice addition to his hoard. He patted its surface, admiring its beauty, and then hurried from the room to meet with the minister. He wanted the meeting over with as soon as possible so he could go down to the interrogation room for a nice little chat with his prisoner.

 

****

 

Slumping miserably in the chair the captain had tied him to, Pari sighed, shifted his ass, and pulled at the ropes, trying to find a way to ease the tension in his tightly bound wrists. He was exhausted, his head was aching miserably and the wound on his chest gave an occasional sympathetic, but painful, throb. This was no way to treat an injured man! Particularly one who had been injured in service to the king. Or the prince. Whatever. He’d heard it said that no good deed went unpunished and he thought that was pretty much the story of his life lately. Even in his own time, he had freed the king’s prisoners and his fellow rebels, only to have to go on the run himself, never suspecting he would wind up here in the past, trying to save the life of a gorgeous, but ungrateful prince! There simply seemed to be no justice.

Except the reflection of his time in the shield had not changed. How could that be? He had saved the Pearl Prince. What else was there? Could it be the prince was still going to die at the hands of the Obsidian Queen since she seemed to have gotten away with lying about that damn knife? How was he going to be able to convince the prince otherwise?

And these questions the prince had. What would those be? How would he be able to answer them in a way that kept him alive long enough to figure all of this out? He’d been waiting for what seemed like hours for Prince Maxsim to arrive. All the while he had to not only endure his own chaotic thoughts but the dirty looks given him by the soldiers, who made biting remarks about him loud enough for him to hear, speculating how old he might be and why he was so small for a Dragon and why he was dressed so strangely.

Finally, he heard the door open, and he lifted his head to stare at the Pearl Prince in all his glory. Maxsim had changed out of his black leather clothing into something Pari figured he must wear when he held court. It was an entire outfit of dark sapphire velvet, trimmed in some material that must have been silk. It was all rich looking and regal. His snow-white hair cascaded to his shoulders and contrasted beautifully with the rich, dark color of his suit. There was a silver circlet around his fine brow and his pale blue eyes glinted at Pari as he walked to a seat across from him at the interrogation table. Still feeling aggrieved, Pari straightened up as much as he could in his chair.

Silently, the Prince studied Pari, as if deciding his fate. Could he be deciding his fate? Pari couldn’t help trembling at the idea. In the room he’d been taken from, the Prince had told him he only needed a few questions answered. He’d said he understood that Pari rushed to defend him, but could he have been lying? Although why would he? He was the ruler of this country and his word was law, while Pari was only a penniless rebel and a half-dragon.

Great gods, he was worthless, wasn’t he, compared to the powerful Dragon prince.

The Pearl Prince regarded him for another moment and then sat, leaning forward. “Are you comfortable, little Ruby?”

“No,” Pari said, glaring at the captain standing behind the Prince. “I can’t say as I am, tied to a chair like this. I was recently stabbed in the chest, you know, by that horrible old woman who tried to kill you.”

The prince shook his head. “Pari, Pari, Pari…you don’t mind if I call you that, do you?”

Pari shrugged. “Why should I? It’s my name, after all. And it’s better than ‘Little Ruby.’”

The prince smiled, showing gleaming white teeth. Perfect teeth. Just like everything else about him.

“But you are part Ruby, yes? And you must admit that you’re not an overly large person.”

Pari lowered his gaze so the prince wouldn’t see how upset he was over his words. Yes, he was small. He knew that. But he tried hard to make up for it in other ways. “I take after my mother.”

The other men in the room started snickering at that remark and Pari gave them a sharp, evil glare. “Are you laughing at my mother?” he roared, his face flushing as he strained against the ropes.

“Settle down, Little Ruby,” the prince said. “They were laughing at you, not your mother.”

“How is that any better?” Pari growled, not mollified in the least.

“Nevertheless, you’re not in any position at the moment to fight for your honor or that of your mother, so calm down. Tell me why you’re visiting my kingdom.”

“I-I was just passing through. I meant no harm.”

“I see. So, you were traveling? Where to?”

“Oh…nowhere in particular. Just traveling.” Crap. Where was this questioning going? What should he tell him? What could he tell him? Nothing! Not until he could figure this all out.

“Aimlessly wandering the countryside, were you? I see. Still, it’s interesting, as none of the main roads through the kingdom come anywhere near the palace.”

“Um, well, I like to get off the beaten track. You know. Just to explore a bit.”

“Dangerous to explore another Dragon’s territory, though, don’t you find?” The prince’s voice had become low and rumbly as he leaned toward Pari, his wonderful fragrance wafting out and swirling around him. “That Dragon might think you were up to no good.”

“I meant no harm. I swear it,” Pari breathed, noticing how plump the prince’s lips were and how much he wanted to touch them.

“And yet,” The prince brought his chair around the table to sit closer to Pari. “you attacked an old woman and tried to burn down my palace.”

Pari closed his eyes and sighed. “I already explained all of that.” He was so tired. Hungry. And his head hurt. And he was thirsty. He stuck out his dry tongue to run over his parched lips.

“Do you need some water, Pari?”

Pari opened his eyes again and nodded gratefully. “Oh yes, please. Something ice cold and clear would be amazing.” He wanted to add ‘not like that cloudy crap you called broth.’

The Prince exchanged puzzled looks with his captain. “I don’t think I will be running out to gather you up some freshly fallen snow to melt, but I can give you a dipperful.” He nodded at one of the guards, who dipped a large metal spoon-like object with a long handle into a bucket of water and brought it over to the Prince. Maxsim took it from him and held it to Pari’s lips. Pari was so astonished, he parted them and the Prince tipped a little into his mouth. To avoid choking, Pari quickly began to swallow, and the Prince smiled as he drank down the entire dipperful.

“There,” he said with obvious approval. “You must have been very thirsty.” He shocked Pari again by pressing the back of his hand to Pari’s forehead. “Hmm, you’re still a bit feverish. You need to be back in bed.”

Pari blinked at him in confusion, and the Prince smiled. “Where are you from, Pari?”

Caught by surprise, Pari tried to cast his mind back to his old history lessons, trying to come up with a name that would fit this time, but he drew a blank. Telling him he was from basically right down the road only two hundred or so years into the future certainly wasn’t going to work.

“Uh…nowhere really. I travel a great deal.”

“Surely you can tell me where you were born.”

“I-I was born…in Gladdish. Near the sea.” It was the only name he could remember from his studies of the old kingdoms, and why that name stuck in his memory, he had no idea. It was a small country, comprised mostly of fishermen, as he recalled, but it was far enough away that the prince might not be all that familiar with it. “But my family moved around a lot. We, uh, we left there when I was pretty young.”

“The queen of Gladdish is my cousin, Queen Erika. Is she well?”

There was a queen in Gladdish? “Uh, sure. Yes. Last time I heard.”

“And her five children?”

Damn it. Children? And five of them? Next thing Pari was going to be expected to do was to recite their names! “They’re all great too. You know, so far as I know.”

The prince smiled. “Gratifying to hear. And the clothes you’re wearing. Are they the latest style in Gladdish nowadays? Or did you find them elsewhere?”

“Oh, I…traded for them? On the road?”

“Are you asking me, or telling me?”

“No, I-I traded for them. On the road. A passing trader in a-a caravan.” In reality, they had been made and given to him by a peasant woman who was the chief seamstress for Malbourne. She had been so thankful for the food Pari provided her and her family, she had insisted he take on the image of a lord. The clothes had certainly done that. He felt the fool now, of course. Horrified and embarrassed. The food had been stolen from the king’s storehouses and the aftermath of that… oh! The price that was paid!

Still, in that moment of turning for her as she clapped her hands in joy at how wonderful the fit was—Pari, for a few hours, minutes, was a hero. Welcome. Loved.

Fitting they were tattered and torn now.

“Hmm. I see. The fasteners on your trousers are odd. I’ve never seen anything quite like them. But you have holes in the knees.”

Pari looked down at himself and his now ruined trousers. The fasteners he supposed would be odd given the time he came from. So would the fabric.

“I didn’t have time to patch them. I was traveling.” Actually running like an idiot but that was a detail best left unsaid.

“Yes, so you said.” The Prince stood up and nodded at his captain. “I’ve found out all I need for now. Take Pari back to his room and put him to bed. I’d like one of your men to stay in the room with him until morning, and send in a physician to check on him to make sure he hasn’t done himself any more damage.”

Turning back to Pari, the Prince looked him up and down. “Bring him to me tomorrow when he’s had some rest and we’ll continue our talk. I’d like to find out if he can tell me why he thought the old woman was attacking me and exactly what he was doing in my bedchamber.” His gaze returned to his head guard. “Oh, and Renard? Don’t lose him this time.”

Renard blanched but bowed his head, mumbling his assertion he would not.

The Prince then gave Pari a long, cool gaze. “Until tomorrow then, Pari. I’ll take you to see the old woman so you can apologize to her in person. I assure you, she’s really quite harmless, and I believe you frightened her badly.”

Harmless? How could the Prince be so clueless as to the queen’s real nature? Had she put some kind of spell on him? Might she do the same to Pari so he could no longer remember what she truly was? He had no desire to get anywhere close to the wicked creature. He’d survived one encounter with her—who knew if he’d manage another?

He was exhausted after all that had happened, though, so Pari simply nodded, just wanting to lie down somewhere for a few minutes. The Prince had said he’d see him tomorrow, and that had sent a little thrill all through him. He didn’t like to think about why he wanted to see Maxsim again so much. Since his mother had died, he tried hard to not have any feelings or emotions for anybody or anything. It hurt less when he inevitably lost them. But this was the Pearl Prince! A man who had occupied every fantasy Pari had ever had about a lover. Big, forceful, commanding, and a few years older than Pari. He was gorgeous and perfect and well-loved by his people.

He supposed it was also a safe obsession. There was no chance the man could ever be in his life so having his heart ripped out could not happen. Except fate changed all that. And since actually meeting Maxsim for real, Pari even loved the sound of his voice—it sent shivers through him. Not to mention the man truly was beautiful. Being around the prince was so dangerous and he had no idea what the prince thought of Pari’s answers to his questions. He’d pretty much been making it all up as he went along, but since Maxsim believed the gibberish that evil queen had spewed out, Pari probably had nothing to worry about. Still, the prince was smart. All the stories said so even though the man was being incredibly stupid about the old woman. What was it he said? She was making the knife a gift to him? And the Prince believed her!

Whatever. He couldn’t do anything about any of it right now. Sleep. That was what he needed. Sleep and hopefully, at some point, some real food.