It was all Nahmet could think about. The betrayal. It was the first thought that entered his mind in the morning, and it was the last to sooth him in the night. If indeed he could sleep. Most nights Nahmet lay awake, twisting and turning on the cold stone prison floor, thinking of how he would murder the royal family.
Killing just Prince Aveen wouldn't suffice. It would be too swift. Too merciful. No. He would have to kill his wife and that unborn seed of his too. He would kill his father and his new queen. And any and all who would prevent him from doing so. Nahmet would end the dynasty and every promise of legacy Aveen could possibly have, before he'd end the Princes life too. As payment for the hurt he caused Nahmet. That's what kept Nahmet going all those days deep under the ground where no sunlight reached him.
On a rare enough occasion Nahmet contemplated not carrying out his mission. The prospected murders of the family that took him in, raised him, protected him when his own father couldn't anymore, saddened him a great deal. Ultimately though, the rage always won. The great love of his life, with his bright brown eyes that twinkled when they saw him, with his broad muscular pecs and arms that radiated warmth and intimacy, had betrayed him. After that man had just penetrated him, seeded him with love and friendship, and shared the most beautiful, intimate bond two men could in this world, he betrayed him. As much as Nahmet wanted to deny it, he had allowed himself to admit his love for Aveen that fateful night. And there was no suffering imaginable that would heal wounds Prince Aveen had ripped open in Nahmet's heart when he had lied to the guards and caused his imprisonment.
"Sinner", a low voice hissed through the room. Nahmet immediately jumped up, ready for a fight, remembering the royal battle training he received alongside the Prince. A guard opened the gate of his cell, with a look of disgust and disdain, and three more entered, spears at the ready.
For a second Nahmet feared his time on earth had come to an end. The gods judged him mercilessly for taking a man like he himself was a woman and so did the judges of the court. His sentence was hanging, in accordance to the Gods Law. But Nahmet had counted he would at least have another week to plan his escape and coinciding revenge killings before he would face the noose. Yet here four men were already to turn his body cold, Nahmet was sure. Instead, the guards retracted their spears and made way for a bright light.
Princess Raia's golden locks glowed in the flickering orange shimmer of the candle in her hand. She radiated warmth and light in a place that never knew neither. Nahmet couldn't muster any words. Her dress slid over the dirty floor as if she floated.
"Hello, old friend," her soft voice said soothingly.
Nahmet had long pondered his first meeting with Aveen's new wife, a person he resented if only because she got what he had always gotten and would never have again; Aveen's unlimited love and devotion.
"I am not your friend," Nahmet grunted out of the depths of his soul.
"You are my husband's most trusted friend. That makes you a friend of mine whether either of us wants to or not," Gaia says while smiling pleasantly. "Of course it would be best to leave you to the judgement of the Gods," she continued.
Nahmet looked at the shiny spears that gleamed in the candle light. Even with his training he wouldn't be swift enough to evade them all.
"Having your new husband lay with another man on your wedding night... it's a great insult to a princess. And to the gift I gave him," she said, faking shock and surprise, while gently placing her hand on her stomach.
A jolt of excruciating pain stabbed Nahmet in the stomach, thinking of how she would give Aveen a son and he could never.
"If the rumors are true, of course. Which I'm sure they're not. A man as strong and potent as Aveen, seeking the company of other men when he could have any woman in the world. When he has the most beautiful woman in the world... A joke, I'm sure. A lie told by our enemies. The commoners must indulge in their envy somehow," Raia smiled, seemingly believing the compliments she just paid herself as she strutted around the room. "And still... Men think they can hide their affections. Princes most of all. But love doesn't waver when one decides to, I'm afraid. My husband adores you even when he speaks ill of you," she continues, continuing to stab Nahmet in his already bleeding heart with her kind words.
Nahmet whimpered. However easy the hate had come during his stay in this dungeon, hearing Aveen might carry some affection for him still filled his soul with joy and sorrow. If he loved him, if what they had shared was real, how could he have forsaken him like this?
"Killing you would do no good for my marriage, I'm afraid. Aveen hasn't been himself for weeks. And so I have arranged another destiny for you..." Raia continued, rather pleased with the undevoted attention she received by Nahmet. "The King would very much like to speak with you," she quipped as if it were an anecdote and not the very reason why she came to see him. And just as mysterious as she entered, she left too.
The gate remained open and thus Nahmet, with very little other choice but this or the hangman's noose, followed her into the dark.
In silence they climbed the steps into the castle, past the halls which Nahmet had come to know so well. It was already night, Nahmet gathered by the darkness that consumed the halls and stairways.
It wasn't nostalgia Nahmet felt when he saw the nooks and crannies, he spent his puberty in. Instead a liberation overcame him. He always knew his time among Kings and Princes was borrowed. A blessing doomed to end. Now that it was over, or at the very least tainted by his own doing, Nahmet felt finally like himself again. A poor worker's child whose future was anywhere but here.
As they climbed up higher and higher, Nahmet saw how the world out of the open holes in the walls grew smaller and smaller. They must have entered the residence of the royal family, he gathered. At the very least the guards were aplenty now. If he had any dreams of ending Gaia's life they'd surely mean he wouldn't be able to get to the other members alive. Entertaining his revenge fantasies once more, he didn't notice Gaia had stopped in front of a large oak door. She turned to him.
"You must know that whatever transpired between you and the Prince will never happen again," her words and voice ringed understanding but her eyes commanded obedience.
Nahmet's heart ached at the truth of her sentence. And without so much as a goodbye, Gaia strutted away. Nahmet stared at the door in front of him, uncertain of what to do. For a couple of breaths, nothing happened. Then, without warning, the massive door opened, moaning under its own weight. Two guards on the other side returned to position, signaling Nahmet could enter. Nahmet couldn't help but notice how their naked muscles bulged under their shining armor. For too long the only arousing thing he had seen were the memories of Aveen's ripped body plowing into him, and they were tainted by the pain and sorrow that followed after. Seeing beautiful male bodies shining in the candle light, awakened something in Nahmet he had declared gone.
