Prisoner of Love

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Smoke hung lazily in the air around him. A human prince, about age 19, sat in a dimly lit, sunken sofa. The prince was tall and muscular, his dark, tanned skin made his bright blue-green eyes stand out, complimenting his blond hair. Surrounded by brightly colored pillows and hanging glass lanterns he sat alone, observing those around him quietly. The laughing of men could be heard from the other rooms, as they were pampered and served by the assorted members of the slave house. This particular den offered a wide assortment of feline hybrids, a humanoid race, developed long ago when the gods still roamed the earth. The prince had been there for hours, observing yet not partaking, his presence was starting to make the owner nervous. This prince had been offered all, if not more, than the usual offerings of the house; massages, various drugs, and other, more sensual, favors. He had accepted only tea and had informed the den's manager that he intended to purchase a pet, though which and what kind was yet to be seen. The manager had cycled through all the females, ages ranging from ten to twenty-seven, with no luck, even the males had held little interest. The prince was becoming bored and the manager rushed in another order of tea for the high end buyer.

The prince sat quite still as he heard the murmurs swirling around him. They all wanted to know why he was there and why he hadn't chosen anyone. No one had been right, no one had been... perfect and that was exactly what he needed, nothing less. A snow leopard boy hurriedly carried a tray of a new pot of tea towards the prince's sunken room, the special den. He had been working in the kitchen all day, despite his viable age of fourteen and attractive features. He had been secluded to the kitchen due to his poor temper with customers. In the meantime, the feline had always been particularly sensitive to heat, and the kitchen had been downright boiling all day. Weaving in and out of fellow slaves and customers alike, the boy was relieved to finally make it to the prince's den without incident. Just as he was about to set down the tray, he could feel a hand wrap around and grab his tail, shocking the boy and causing him to drop the steaming tray of tea, barely missing the prince's lap.

"YOU CREEP! LOOK AT WHAT THE FUCK YOU DID!" The boy screeched, all the hairs on his feline body alert.

The whole den froze, everyone holding their breath in shock of the slave's outrageous behavior towards a man of such stature. The prince looked amused as the young boy seethed at him, flexing his claws and clenching his hands in a desperate attempt at controlling himself. The floor manager quickly swooped in to save the situation, obsessively apologizing and promising swift and severe punishment for the "stupid beast's" mistake. Just as the manager was about to swing his hand across the boy's face, a smooth, confident voice broke the heavy silence.

"That is far from necessary, my good man. As a matter of fact," the prince hoisted himself up from his couch for the first time in five hours, using the opportunity to give the boy an incredibly close, uncomfortable look-over.
"I'll take this little firecracker off your hands," the prince had a huge grin on his face, especially because of all the shocked looks around him. Sliding his arm around the boys shoulders, he could feel the boy attempt to recoil under his touch.

"A-are you sure?! There hasn't been any other slave to take your interest?" The man asked, clearly bewildered that anyone would choose such a rebellious child.

The prince merely chuckled as he walked the two of them towards the office.

"Would you rather have him here?" The prince laughed again, seeing the owner's face.

After paying for the boy, at a reduced price as apology for the feline's heinous outburst, they load up their caravan and make way for the prince's home.

Peering over at his new treasure, the prince reached out and touched one of the boy's soft, feline ears.

"Stop it, that feels weird," the boy sneered and swatted the prince's hand away.

"As my slave, I can do as I please with you," the prince's words were delivered with a bitter, controlling tone, far from what the boy expected.

The shocked look on the boy's face caused the prince to once again burst out into laughter, setting the boy's already sullen mood to downright hateful.

"Now to name you!" The prince said with glee, looking thoughtful.

"I have a name!" The feline said with a scowl.

"Well, of course, but you're going to be living in a palace now, and you have a new owner, so you get a new name! No matter, a name will be chosen... when I think of one," lapsing into an almost meditative state, the prince thought for a long time, saying nothing.      

"I don't even know your name and yet you want to choose mine?" The boy asked, tactically changing the subject, hopefully in favor of his way.

"My name is Prince Xavier, I expect you to call me that when we are in social settings. Alone or with the princess, you may call me "Xavier" or "Brother".

"Princess?" The boy's curiosity was clearly piqued.

"I expect her to be very fond of you. She's always highly favored your kind. If you ever hurt her," the prince leaned forward and his eyes narrowed, staring deep into the felines slitted blue pupils. "I will destroy you," quickly relaxing, the prince returned to his thoughts, looking out the window.

Silence held heavy in the air, each in their respective thoughts. The snow leopard was desperate to belly his concerns, but came up with nothing but questions. Was his new master kind or not? Was the larger man joking, or did he really plan to hurt him? For that matter, what were his intentions? Did the prince plan to "take him"? He was distant and deep in thought, the prince didn't seem lustful like the usual new owners the boy was used to seeing. The feline had no idea what to expect from this man.

"Aiden!" The prince exclaimed, scaring the boy out of his own endless questions. "I'll name you Aiden, I think she'd like that." The prince seemed to be smiling to himself, whoever this girl was, was far more important than the prince's new pet.

One last thought settled on Aiden's mind. "If Xavier is willing to hurt me, what will this princess be like?"

Making their way to the countryside, they stayed in separate rooms at an inn, barely speaking more than necessary. The next morning they proceeded on through the valley, to the palace. The long, bumpy ride lulled Aiden to sleep, curling his tail around himself. Xavier, on the other hand, cared very little for what the boy was doing, his mind in a world of its own. Finally arriving to the gates of the castle, Xavier reached over, giving the feline a shove.

"Wake up."

As the boy sat up, dazed from his rude awakening, he felt something roughly wrapped around his throat, and found that Xavier was putting a collar on him. Aiden hardly wanted one, but he knew that was a part of his role as a slave. He found himself suddenly nervous; new place, new people, new home. He would never see his family again, although that wasn't much of a heart breaker, as his family had never been very kind towards him. That didn't change the fact that he was nervous- scared, even.

Xavier yanked on the chain of the collar as they made their way through a passage, leading Aiden to a garden in front of the castle. The prince suddenly seemed jittery and excited. Aiden considered asking why, but it wasn't long before he found out.

"Melodia!" The prince shouted as he dropped the chain. He ran towards the princess, scooping her up off the ground, causing her to squeal in delight.

"Xavier, you fool, put me down this instant!" She giggled and kicked her feet in the air until he put her down.

In contrast to the tall, dark, tan prince, the 16-year-old princess wasn't much taller than Aiden, and she was pale with long, black hair. In her bangs was a streak of perfectly silver hair, looking more like a silver chain accessory than real hair. Her most unique feature was her eyes. One was the palest shade of blue, while the other was a rich, chocolate brown. As her gaze finally fell on the young snow leopard, her pink lips fell from a smile into a gentle pucker of surprise, her eyes widening from the sight in front of her.

"Oh Brother, he's amazing!" Hardly containing her excitement, she rushed over the young boy, burrowing her fingers up into his hair to gently scratch at the back base of his ears. Cooing sweet compliments and shooting the occasional praise over her shoulder to her brother, Aiden was lost in her touch. He had tried to resist her embrace, but she knew just how to touch him. His shoulders went completely lax, he ignored everything around him. He could feel the annoying rumble in his throat growing, as he was struggling to suppress such an embarrassing and uncontrollable display of pleasure. He peeked open an eye, and saw that her face was practically glowing with joy. His concerns vanish in her smile and he let himself go.

"Is that little shit growling at you?" The prince's bitter voice could be heard.

"No, you idiot." Melodia leaned forward, nuzzling her nose into the feline's temple. "He's purring."

Finally, after a few more minutes of ear scratching, introductions were made. The three teens wandered around the garden for a bit, the prince and princess talking idly about the trip. Off in the distance a bell rang, causing them to freeze in their tracks.

"We should get you settled in." The princess said, cupping a hand gently around Aiden's face. "We'll be having dinner soon."