Trigger warnings & Author's notes
May contain: Violence, extreme domination, degradation, sadism, non-consent/coercion, slavery.
This is a combination romance/smut.
I am not entirely sure where I am going with this, I haven't written anything in a very long time so apologies if it's messy. Really, it's basically a first draft without a plan that's barely pieced together in my brain.
I don't know much about much, I'm just a horny fool writing. Always open to feedback and suggestions.
I think I am going to try alternating between the past and present. I will try to keep things clear. We'll see how it goes.
Chapter Two: new beginnings
------------------------------------------
Eight years before the fall of the rebellion.
"Well I'll be damned."
Officer Symond Welles stared at the image of the young man on the screen before him, his interest piqued.
"That's Mile Domarc, clear as day," officer Tane stated in disbelief.
The room of officers fell quiet as the reality set in of what exactly this meant.
Mile Domarc was the second child of the royal family. He had spent the past four years enlisted in the Royal Army -- per his father's request -- but he had gone AWOL for the last three months or so. The entire kingdom seemed to be clamoring as to his whereabouts. There was talk of an assassination, likely via a soldier from the north, or perhaps even by the small rebellion group that was gaining traction in the kingdom in response to King Oppius Domarc's "tyrannical" rule, as they described it. Others spoke of the young nobleman going rogue. Abandoning the royal life for one of quiet anonymity-- perhaps meeting a beautiful woman and eloping.
Officer Symond had rolled his eyes at that one -- the common folk loved to romanticize noble life. The reality of it was usually always much less exciting. He had suspected that the young royal had met a quiet and unfortunate end in battle, as many young soldiers do. He had, after all, been deployed up north to join the ranks of soldiers fighting to acquire more territory prior to his disappearance.
And yet here he was, clear as day, as his fellow officer had said. Seemingly alive and well. In normal circumstances, this would be great news. The issue was that Mile Domarc was in rebel territory among rebel soldiers. He was not restrained, or being threatened, and he didn't appear to be in any state of distress. He was walking among them peacefully. The only reasonable explanation was that Mile Domarc was a rebel soldier.
Symond was intrigued. He reached up to rest his chin against the back of his knuckles, and found himself staring thoughtfully at the frozen frame on the screen. The young man had green eyes typical of the royal family and dark brown hair that hadn't been trimmed to meet the dress code expected of a lower ranking soldier in the Royal Army. He was wearing casual clothing unfit for royalty -- a plain gray T-shirt and jeans.
"He's with the rebels now?" Another officer inquired, incredulously, pulling Symond from his thoughts. He nodded and stood.
"That appears to be the case. I'll report to the general."
Officer Tane shook his head. "King Domarc is not going to handle this well."
The thought brought a smirk to Symond's lips. The impetuous ruler definitely would not handle this well. He was glad he was not the one who had to break the news to him.
------------------------------------------
As expected, King Oppius Domarc was furious when General Narder informed him and the royal council of what they had discovered. He had initially refused to believe the general's words, threatening to have his tongue cut out for speaking ill of the royal family. After a few more threats, and with insistence from the council, he eventually agreed to watch the video.
The soundless video flashed to life on a computer screen in front of the room full of tense noblemen. The general motioned toward the screen as a group of what was mostly young men were walking down a paved street.
"This is surveillance footage from the village of Wolfpine. Wolfpine is currently occupied by the rebellion. We managed to have a villager install a hidden security camera in the town square."
The rebels had swarmed the town seven months prior. At the time, King Domarc had refused to humor the rebellion. Up until that point, talk of an uprising had simply been a rumor. A quiet whisper of gossip spreading among the people. When it became clear that there was an actual movement taking place, and then the rebel soldiers had claimed the village of Wolfpine, the king insisted that it was a joke and an insult, and said he would not waste resources on "child's play." At the urging of his council and General Narder, he had ultimately allowed small groups of soldiers to be to sent to reclaim the village, but the rebel soldiers had managed to fight off the squads each time and maintained their hold on the town. Wolfpine was simply too small of a village and too far off for the King to give much thought to.
Until now, perhaps.
The king's irate green eyes were locked on the screen in front of him. The image wasn't all that crisp, but one could make out the features of the young men well enough.
General Narder continued. "Here we have some known members of the rebellion." He paused the video and indicated to three of the figures on the screen. "Dego Arcus. Bere Rancis. Elos Thiled. It is likely that these three men are the founders of the rebellion."
General Narder paused to look at the King to make sure he was still following. When he received no acknowledgment, he decided to continue. He unpaused the video. A few more people walked by, both men and women.
Narder spoke again. "Now we're going to see what appears to be your son walking with the rebel soldiers." He pointed to the right of the screen where a figure appeared, following those before him. After a moment, the king finally spoke.
"Go back."
General Narder rewound the video and they watched the figure walk by again.
