It had become a daily practice for the two
men to spend time swimming in the cool waves that crashed along the beach. The exercise itself was proving good for
Cailan’s leg, strengthening it without putting it through the strain of
extended walking or running; but it was equally an activity both men
enjoyed. In the shallows they splashed
and rough-housed, appreciating the freedom to act in ways their royal
upbringings had not always allowed. When
they swam into deeper water, they explored coral reefs and floated on the
waves. Both men kept an eye out for sharks
and barracuda, and Jarek was always very aware of shifting tides and
currents.
Cailan was learning the different tones
Jarek’s voice could take on and what they meant: the huskiness of the early
morning, the growl of arousal, the softness of affection, the chuckle of
amusement, and the firmness of authority.
There were others, but Cailan hadn’t labeled them in his head quite yet.
However, he heard one that was becoming
familiar in a rather annoying way lately: the command to swim back to shore.
The younger prince had developed a love
for swimming in the waves and floating atop them. When the waters were calm, it was like being
rocked and was incredibly soothing. He
had been enjoying that relaxing feeling when Jarek announced it was time to
leave the water, and he wasn’t ready for it to end.
“You go,” he replied, loud enough that he
believed his partner could hear him from the short distance that separated
them. “I’m staying for a few more
minutes.”
He didn’t hear a reply and didn’t bother
to open his eyes. His arms moved
languidly amidst the waves, making sure he didn’t let the currents carry him
further than he wished to go.
However, several minutes later he gasped
and took in an unpleasant mouthful of salt water when one arm was grabbed and
yanked, pulling him out of his floating position. Coughing and treading water with one hand
because his other was firmly in Jarek’s grasp, Cailan glowered at his husband.
“Are you trying to drown me?!” he gasped
out angrily when he could speak.
Jarek’s eyes on him looked just as
irritated. “No, I’m trying to get you
back to shore. Didn’t you hear me say it
was time to return?”
Cailan tried to yank his arm out of
Jarek’s grip, but had no luck. “I heard
you. I told you I was going to stay in
the water a bit longer.”
Jarek’s eyes narrowed and he pointed
toward the eastern sky. “Look! There are clouds coming in, bringing a storm,
and the currents are getting stronger by the minute. Look how far you’ve floated away from the
beach!”
Cailan looked from the sky and then to the
land, his heart fluttering a little as he realized he’d been letting the water
carry him out further than he knew.
“Come on,” Jarek said with a tug on his
arm. “We’re going back now, and we’ll
need to swim hard and hope the storm doesn’t catch us before we reach solid
ground.”
Cailan went with him this time, and they
swam side by side with strong strokes through the water. The sky above them was quickly darkening and
the first drops of rain began to fall just as they hit water shallow enough to
stand in. It was another fifteen minutes
before they reached the cottage, by which time the rain had become a downpour.
Being wet wasn’t a problem, but both men
were worn out and cold when they were finally able to close the door of the
chalet. They sat wearily down at the
cottage’s small table, just taking a few minutes to rest.
When they had caught their breath, Jarek
stood first. He moved to the wood stove
and began arranging kindling and small logs to be lit.
“Go prepare a bath,” he directed Cailan as
he worked. “I’ll join you once the stove
is lit.”
Cailan nodded tiredly and ambled toward
the bathing room. He stepped on the
hidden treadle and watched the water fill the porcelain tub, adding a handful
of scented soap flakes to enhance to the bath’s soothing qualities.
Jarek entered just as Cailan finished
filling the tub, and both men undressed and climbed into the deep water,
groaning unanimously at the soothing warmth.
They sat on opposite ends, facing each other while their legs
intertwined in the water.
“This feels like the bathing pool in your
suite at the palace,” Cailan murmured. “I
always liked that.”
“Mm,” Jarek breathed out in
agreement. “I’ve spent a lot of time
outside in all kinds of weather. That’s
why I had the bathing room done as I did, because it’s healing and soothing
after the effort of training and battles.”
“I wish all soldiers could experience it.”
Jarek nodded. “They can in Cylandrea.”
Cailan lifted his head from where he had
let if fall against the edge of the tub.
“They can?”
Jarek nodded. “It’s not private like ours, but in our three
main cities, we’ve erected a large, indoor bathing facility that has a heated
pool about twice the size of ours in the palace, and a cool room with a smaller
pool for those who prefer a more refreshing temperature. They were built almost exclusively for those
in military service, but on scheduled days the facilities are open to the
general public. Usually there’s a day
for the women, one for the men, and a third to bring children as long as they
are accompanied by a parent or guardian.”
“That’s wonderful,” Cailan praised.
“It’s deserved. Those in leadership are meant to take care of
those under them, especially the men who willingly risk their lives for the
freedom of their countrymen and their loyalty to their king. My grandfather had that first facility built
about ten years after he came to the throne.
My father erected the other two, and Alaric takes care to make sure the
facilities are kept in good condition.”
The two of them spoke for several more
minutes on the privileges granted to the soldiers and veterans of Cylandrea’s
military. Eventually, warm and with the
ache of their tired muscles having been soothed, they left the tub, dried, and
headed to the main room.
Cailan had his mind set on dressing and
then food for their evening meal, but when he turned toward the chest that
contained their clothes, his wrist was caught and Jarek brought him to one of the
room’s settees.
“We have something to discuss between us,
petling,” the man stated.
The tone was one that sent a shiver down
Cailan’s spine. “What?”
Jarek sat and brought the smaller man to
his lap, their nude bodies now pressed together, although it didn’t go without
notice by Cailan that his husband was showing no arousal. “What’s the matter?” he questioned.
“On our first day here, I told you there
would be no swimming alone, did I not?”
Cailan felt a flush cross his body, but it
was of irritation, not embarrassment.
“You did, and I did not
attempt to swim alone,” he declared.
Jarek’s brows rose at Cailan’s
attitude. “I told you it was time to
leave the water. You ignored and
disobeyed me.”
Cailan shook his head and tried to get off
Jarek’s lap, but the other man held him firm.
“I told you that I was going
to swim longer. You’re the one who left
me by myself.”
“I thought you were following me back to
shore,” Jarek told him. “I didn’t
realize until I reached the shallows that you hadn’t done so, and when I looked
back, you were far enough away that I could hardly see you.” He gripped Cailan’s chin and made their eyes
meet. “Do you understand that for a
moment my heart left my chest? I feared
you had gotten caught by a shark, or stung by a jellyfish, or drowned!”
Some of Cailan’s heated attitude dwindled
away at that confession, but some irritation still remained. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but I didn’t
know about the storm or the increased currents.
I was enjoying myself and wasn’t ready to come to shore yet.”
“Which I understand, but it does not justify
disobedience. Do you understand that?”
Cailan looked away, not quite ready to
admit to that. “I would have come if you
had warned me of the storm.”
The swat that landed on his hip stung and
made him swing his head back toward Jarek and stare at the man in shock. The older prince’s tone grew firmer.
“Whether I mentioned the storm or not does
not play into it, Cailan. We have
discussed our desired roles in this relationship, roles we both want and have
agreed to because they give us the freedom to be ourselves. As such, you do not get to base your
obedience on whether you agree with me or want to do as I say. If you don’t understand something, I will
explain it. If you don’t agree, you may
state your preference and I may agree to discuss it, but you do not get to disobey based on your own
whims.”
Cailan clenched his fists, knowing that
Jarek was right, but not liking it in that moment. “Does that mean I’ll never get my way?” he
asked snarkily.
“No, it does not,” Jarek assured, “but it
does mean that I will not permit blatant disobedience or doing something that puts your safety at risk, such as not
paying attention to your surroundings when amongst the elements or refusing to
abide by my directives, particularly when I do have your best in mind.” His hand patted firmly where it rested on
Cailan’s hip. “I know you understand
what I’m saying, even if you don’t like it, but whether you like what I’m
saying right now or not does play into my current decision on how to handle
your disobedience.”
Jarek’s strong hands lifted and rearranged
Cailan so quickly that the younger man didn’t have time to argue before he
found himself sprawled across Jarek’s knees.
He immediately pushed up as stung pride and residual anger at not
getting his way made him want to struggle against his discipline.
“No! I don’t want this. It’s not fair!”
“Would it have been fair if I hadn’t
caught on that you did not follow me to shore and lost you to a strong current
or shark attack? Is it fair to risk your
safety for a few extra minutes of a casual desire? Is it fair to debate my love for you by
maintaining a poor attitude when I’m merely sticking by the decisions we made
together as well as doing my best to keep you by my side for many years?”
The air felt hot around them as Jarek
asked his questions, and it took a couple minutes for the impact of them to be
felt by Cailan; but when it hit, his heart ached as he understood and accepted
his culpability.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
A hand slid up his back and squeezed his
shoulder. It was a comfort, a silent
acceptance of his apology, but not a willingness to not administer the deserved
punishment. The hand moved back to
Cailan’s hip and held firm just before the other hand came down vigorously on
his behind.
It took only a few hard swats for Cailan
to grab desperately at Jarek’s ankle. It
was already clear that this chastisement was going to be worse than what he’d
previously experienced. The stick Jarek
had used on him had left a wicked sting, but it was four stripes and done. The time his master had put him over his knee
after the meal with the Berring group had been embarrassing and painful enough
to be memorable, but also short-lived.
This punishment was already lasting longer
than the other two, and each swat on his bare skin built on the previous. It didn’t feel like Jarek was holding much
back either. The swats covered his whole
backside repeatedly, and even traveled down to the tops of his thighs. He managed to remain silent for quite a
while, but eventually involuntary gasps and brief whimpers escaped his
mouth. His ankles crossed in an attempt
to manage the growing pain, but eventually the burn surpassed his ability to
cope and the tears that had stung the back of his eyes spilled over, down his
cheeks and onto the floor.
Whimpers turned to steady cries as his
distress increased. His body squirmed to
try and get away from the repeated smacks on now incredibly tender skin, but it
went on until he buried his face in his arm, whimpered out a sincere “I’m
sorry”, and sobbed in both pain and remorse for his behavior.
It was hard to tell when the swats stopped
because the pain did not ease, but there was now a hand rubbing gentle circles
on the small of his back, and then he was being maneuvered upright and his face
was buried in the curve of Jarek’s neck.
A few more sobs spilled out of him before his cries started to abate and
gradually slowed to the occasional hitched breath. The tension in his body eased as his cries
did, and he started to feel soft kisses placed wherever Jarek’s lips could
reach. He lifted his head and wiped at
his cheeks before looking into Jarek’s blue eyes.
“That hurt so much. Am I forgiven?”
Jarek palmed one cheek and wiped his thumb
across the tear streaks. “Yes, my
petling. All his forgiven. I hope you hold no resentment toward me.”
Cailan took another shaky breath. “I don’t think so.”
Jarek’s head tilted. “You don’t think so?”
Cailan let his head fall back to Jarek’s
shoulder. “I don’t feel…happy…with you
right now. I hurt,” he whimpered. “Even more than I thought I would, but I
don’t resent you. I know why you
disciplined me and my own fault in it.”
Jarek sighed a bit sadly. “I’m glad you understand, petling, even if
you aren’t happy with me.” He brushed a
kiss on Cailan’s still damp cheek. “I
love you.”
Cailan slid his arms around Jarek’s
waist. “I love you too.”
*****
On their last evening at Amity Cove, the
two men sat outside on the grass, watching the sun set over the distant
horizon.
“It feels too soon to go back,” Cailan
said softly. The setting to was too
peaceful to disturb with loud voices.
“I was just thinking the same thing,”
Jarek agreed. “It’s a hard place to
leave.”
“I love it. It’s been lovely and I’ve felt so free.”
Jarek lightly bumped their shoulders
together. “You haven’t felt free
before?”
Cailan shrugged languidly. “When I was young, maybe three or four, I
found a tree that had fallen and the trunk was hollowed out. I was able to crawl inside and hide.”
“What were you hiding from?” Jarek asked.
“I don’t really remember,” Cailan
admitted. “But I remember feeling
pleasantly cut off from the outside world, like everything was safe and no one
could bother me if I just stayed in that little space.” He chuckled.
“I crawled out as soon as I got hungry though.”
Jarek snorted in amusement and shifted
behind Cailan so the younger man could lean back against his chest. Cailan continued talking in a wistful tone.
“There are always duties to attend to as a
prince, you know? Royalty is equivalent
to responsibility. I know there are
people who wish to be royal because of the power and wealth that coincides with
it, but no one really understands that you’re a slave to the position.”
Jarek rested his chin on the top of
Cailan’s head. “Yes, it can feel like
that sometimes.”
“I don’t resent my birth status,” Cailan
assured. “But it’s been nice, like
breathing fresh air, to be me without a title; not a prince, not a concubine,
not a silver-born. Just me. Me and you.”
“Little love, you’ve always just been
‘you’ to me.”
Cailan shook his head. “No, I haven’t,” he debated. “I was…am…the one of the prophecies to you.”
“No,” Jarek corrected. “I wondered if you could be that person when I first saw you, but from the moment you
opened your mouth to defend your little brother, you became a man I respected
simply for who he was showing me he was.”
He kissed the top of Cailan’s silver head. “I love you for you, and I want you to always
feel free in our relationship and in my arms.”
The younger man relaxed fully against
Jarek’s body, loving the strength and solidity he felt in his husband’s
embrace. He didn’t reply to his lover’s
statement or think any longer about the responsibilities that would reappear in
their world when they returned to the palace the next morning. He enjoyed the moment.
And later that night, they promised each
other to return to Amity Cove whenever they were free.
THE END
