Page 56 of Gilded Crown

Jari knew shit like that never simply went away, and if that had happened, it made him want to go find the fuckers who did it and kill them.

Aurelius must have grown comfortable enough with his body and sex to some point to have his needs satisfied with trips to the whorehouse. He probably hadn’t trusted a single person in the Palace, and that was safer. Getting affectionate with potential snakes wasn’t a good idea. Never mind that Jari stuck his tongue in the mouth of one.

For Aurelius, it must have been far different to be with anyone who was closer in some form. Considering he hadn’t been close to his own family, the experience was likely foreign in some way to him.

He decided to keep quiet about those few minutes, play along with Aurelius, and see what happened. The Prince kept his word about training every afternoon, and he was a damn taskmaster about it. Jari didn’t get to simply wear his clothes. Oh no.

He had to borrow someone’s heavy armor that didn’t quite fit right. His measurements were taken so a proper set could be made for him, but it wouldn’t be ready right away. Aurelius said he needed to get used to moving in something heavier. Overall, it would help him grow in strength, stamina, and speed.

“It’s not just brawny soldiers you have to worry about,” Aurelius snapped at him one afternoon. “A swift one could end you quite quickly.”

His borrowed armor looked a bit big for him, and he still threatened to make Jari grow hard at the sight of his lithe, swift movement. It was like being forced to watch a dangerous, alluring wolf move and chase its prey. Except Jari didn’t want to run away.

He was sure he was a little faster and better after a week. When he left off the armor on the seventh day, he noticed a difference. Aurelius finally seemed rather pleased.

Unfortunately, Jari was sure there wouldn’t be any passionate making out against the wall or frantic fucking on the floor as a reward for improvement. Jari itched to pin him again and let things ease into something sweeter, but he was sure he’d be shoved back through the gate again. Or Aurelius wouldn’t even give him a glimpse this time. Besides, he shouldn’t try to physically force things in that direction. Aurelius had kissed back, and he initiated the first one, but he clearly didn’t want things to go further. Or at least not like that.

They were about to stop one afternoon when Aurelius reached into his cloak pocket. “I have something for you.”

Jari paused with the door partially open. Aurelius held his hand out with the gift, and Jari froze as he gazed at it. What the fuck? Why would he ever want something like that? He glanced at the Prince’s blue eye that focused on him without blinking.

“Is this a joke?”

“Why would I joke about it?” Aurelius asked. “It’s yours.”

Jari took the gold rose by its short stem. Every inch of its petals had been gilded, and the layers, smaller and tighter in the middle, and growing larger as they spread out, were perfect. Aurelius must have searched the garden for the best rose and used his Golden Touch where no one would see.

“Why would you do that?” asked Jari.

“It’s a small thing.” Aurelius’s mouth twitched as if remembering it. Gilding something and answering that desire in the back of his head must have been satisfying for a few moments, like an alcoholic who succumbs and enjoys that first taste and feeling after so long.

The gold streak in Aurelius’s eye didn’t look any bigger, and no new ones had appeared. It still didn’t matter. Every time he succumbed to the urge, it would tighten its hold and drag him down the path Eurig had skipped down. And when he tried to turn around like his Father, it would be too late. The urge would grow, consume him, and in the long run, he wouldn’t be able to fight anymore.

It’d be so much faster if he wasted it on things like this, things that Jari didn’t even want when the Prince was right before him.

“It’s a little something I preserved for you so you can keep it forever, and you can look at it and think back. I’m sure you’ll survive everything, and in a way, you’ll be a hero. If you want something from the Palace, you can have that too.”

Jari dropped the rose on the ground and brought his boot down on it. Gold crunched under his boot, and pure hurt flashed on Aurelius’s face as Jari kicked the bits out the door and into the dirt the best he could. Let someone find the cracked bits and the red fragments that were deep like blood. They wouldn’t know where it came from.

That hurt pierced Jari’s chest, and he realized he shouldn’t have shown his feelings in such a raw way, but he couldn’tstop the words. “I don’t want your fucking gold or some stupid trinket.”

“Then what do you want?” hissed Aurelius. “If you just want money or something like a title, you could have fucking tol-”

“I don’t want any of that!” yelled Jari. “For Elira’s sake, are you actually that dense under all of your scheming and plotting?”

He’d already fucked up. What he wanted seemed too big to try to stuff into words, and he’d look like a fool since he’d crushed the rose like an idiot instead of trying to explain shit in a more calm way. Anger at Aurelius potentially ruining himself had gotten the best of him, and trying to bumble his way through the shit in his head now would make it all worse.

His face grew hot as he stormed through the doorway.

***

He was in the downstairs privy when he heard Aurelius come in. He must have gone straight to his bedroom since it wasn’t long before the floor creaked overhead as Jari steamed in the copper tub and stared at the wall in the narrow privy room. His eye flicked to the floor where he’d kicked off his boots. A little piece of gold had dug itself into the sole, and the gleam accused him.

Oaf.

All he wanted was Aurelius even though he’d been denying it for months and telling himself it was just his cock being a nuisance at the sight of a pretty man with long hair.

It wouldn’t be the first time a handsome man made him ache and crave. Before, if he didn’t get that man, it didn’t matter in the long run. There were others out there in the realm who were also looking for a fuck, or even a few. Jari had never truly settled anywhere, so new faces had always come along in his life.

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