Pride - 2. Chapter 2: Little Brother

Pride

Chapter Two: Little Brother

Something cold woke him up. But he forgot that for a moment. He was lying in something soft. It reminded him of the time he fell into the goose down bin. But he forgot that too. Something hurt. His backside hurt. His head hurt. His heart hurt. No don’t think of it. It didn’t happen. It’s not true. It can’t be true.

“Don’t you ever wash?” Actually, accept for the bare feet, the boy was unusually clean. My little brother. Of course he had seen the pissboy before, almost every day. He used to want to play with him and would even watch for him. But nurse would never let him. But as he grew older his time was always planned. His responsibilities grew. No time to daydream about the beautiful boy, Cat. And tonight his father told him the secret as a borning day surprise. He would have the whole story my tomorrow night. He had already put out a silent promise of reward for the one who could tell all. Making it a competition got the best result. Every informant would get a small gratuity, but the one who gave the truest and most accurate account would receive the Prince’s reward. This is going to be a complex problem. Did father do this to hurt him? Maybe partly. To teach him? Yes, father was big on teaching, if it was always the hard way. The cruel and unexpected way. It is a test of course. I wonder how many tests and plans hinged on last night’s display. His father was not drunk. He was drinking watered wine. And when his father ordered him to throw a fit and follow his lead, he gladly put his whole heart into it. It was hard not to laugh at his father as he yelled. “You bastard.” But the calling and naming of Cat as Prince and brother, that was a true shock. And the lashing. His father had never allowed such treatment before. Why was Cat kept a secret? Why was he the pissboy?

Someone was washing his back and the lower parts. It was the lower parts that hurt. He started to move. “Don’t move.” It was a command. Cat knew to be still. Why was he being attended too? He was not used to being touched like this. It was hard to stay still. It was embarrassing and way to intimate.

“I wash every night and every morning.” Well that was mostly true. He carried piss every day, but he kept himself clean.

“Well, in the morning you are going to really wash. I’m not going to share my bed with dirty smelly feet. I’m going to spread some of this goose ointment on the lash marks. Then you are going to put on a night shirt and we are going to sleep.”

“What! Here? Together? And I mean what! What has happened? Who? Where am I?”

“The King named you. Now you are a prince of the land. Worst, he named you my avatar. You stand in my stead for all punishments my father feels I have earned, real or imagined. And each time you stand in my place, I become more and more in your debt. And if the way I am feeling now is any indicator of future events, by next fortnight I will be your personal servant. So I better get used to the idea of caring for you. It is my royal duty.”

The whole time the Prince talked he rubbed the ointment. He had never rubbed a naked butt before. And this butt belonged to his half brother.

“I’m going to put the night shirt over your head. Then I want you to roll on your side so I can pull it down. The sleeves are loose, see if you can work your arms thru the holes.”

“You are not going to be able to sit tomorrow. But Hark was cautious with the lash. He was kind to you. Remember that when you see him.”

Cat rolled to the side and for the first time saw the Prince who had been attending him. It really was the Prince himself. Why? This is so confusing. The Prince was pulling the night shirt down his body. “Roll over the other way now.” One more tug and it was done. The Prince stepped away from the bed. He was half undressed already, and he didn’t hesitate in stripping down to a pair of fancy drawers. Cat had never seen anything like them before. They were are shiny like and on one side in back on his cheek was the royal crest. It was red and black, some kind of cat with wings. The Prince turned around and looked down on Cat. This was the first eye contact Cat had ever made with anyone above his station on purpose. To look the Prince in the eye. It stopped Cat’s thoughts. How long did he stare into those blue eyes? What did he see? What did he feel? It was a strange moment. It was an unending look. It would haunt him the rest of his life he knew.

The Prince grabbed a night shirt that matched his drawers and pulled it over his head. Cat watched each and every move. They were so beautiful. How did he never see this before. Well he never was allowed to look before. And now he could and it was like a overwhelming of the heart. Cat began to tremble.

The Prince walked around the spacious room blowing out candles. There must be a dozen lit. Finally, only one was left beside the bed. The Prince pulled back the covers and slipped in turning to blow out the last candle. Cat lay in the silence trying to control himself. There were tears now too.

“Damnation!”

The oath startled Cat so much he caught the hic-coughs. Now hic-coughing, crying and all out shaking. “Come here little brother.’’ Nothing could have made Cat move. He was so paralyzed in emotion. But “little brother” had Cat attached to the Prince in seconds. And the dam broke. How long he cried he didn’t know.