The Lost Prince and The Demon King [BL]

Both Perry and the Queen turned to stare at the other man.

"Clan Leader," the Queen chided.

"Bullshit," Perry said at the same time.

Long Beard inclined his head to the side. "You have my word," he said to Perry. 

"Is this the part where you tell me you have an offer I can't refuse?" Sarcasm dripped from Perry's words, but Long Beard seemed oblivious to it. 

"If you prefer, we will strike a bargain." His expression was impassive and didn't give anything away. "That is what you wish for, no? To go back to your meaningless existence in a world devoid of magic."

"Boy, you sure do know how to sell someone on his own dream." Perry crossed his arms and tried to force his brain to think through his options. 

His initial reaction was outright rejection. There was no way he could accept this absurd 'bargain'. But if he didn't, how would he go back home? 

Maybe he could venture out into this strange world - provided he managed to make it out of the room and the Palace alive - and find someone kind enough to help him. Based on the few interactions he'd had with the inhabitants of this kingdom, there was a slim chance that would happen.

He could try and find Myran - again, provided he escaped this place - and ask the boy to help him. But then he would have to explain why he needed his help in the first place and what his beloved Master Rennin had done to him. Myran seemed like a good kid, but if he had to choose between believing his Master, a man who was teaching him how to be a functioning human being, and a complete stranger, would he really believe Perry?

"Hang on." Perry raised one finger. "Where is the prince's body?" The Royal Guards carrying the body bag into his cell flashed through his mind. "You don't just want me to take his place, you're putting him in mine."

The Queen looked away, but the shame and guilt were evident on her face. 

"It was a painful but necessary decision," Long Beard said.

"Necessary?" Anger flared inside of Perry. "How the hell is any of this necessary?"

"If we were to announce the prince's death without a contingency plan, the kingdom would plunge into chaos. We will announce your death and that Captain Orryn has been detained for questioning," the Queen rasped out.

"Fuck the kingdom! He was your son! I am-" Perry cut himself off and shook his head. "Granted, he was an asshole, but even I wouldn't-"

"How could you be so coldhearted to offend a grieving mother?" Long Beard had the audacity to ask.

"Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Perry sneered. The Queen shifted as if she'd been physically struck.

"Time is running out and this pointless discussion will not get us anywhere. Name your terms," Long Beard said. 

The gloom of the predawn hours started to fade and Perry found himself trapped. Again. 

He wanted to go home, to go back to his mediocre life and mind-numbingly boring job at Lucky Fries. But would he even be allowed to?

"If I make this bargain with you, what's stopping the woman from the temple from finding me and bringing me back?" Perry asked. 

"Some bargains are unbreakable vows. The Queen in all her wisdom attempted to circumvent the terms of her bargain, that is why it was able to find you. The bargain we make will negate the one the Queen made." Long Beard side-eyed the Queen but she chose to stay quiet. "After you have fulfilled your end, I will send you home."

"Not home." Perry wasn't going to fall for that one again. "Back to the world or reality I was in before that… person brought me here, to this kingdom and this world."

Long Beard flared his nostrils in annoyance and Perry raised a challenging brow. "Very well. You will stay here and play the part of the dutiful heir for 5 summers-"

"No." If Perry and the prince were the same age, that meant one summer translated to one year. There was no way he could stay there for 5 years. "Half a summer."

"4 summers," Long Beard countered. 

"Half," Perry answered. 

Long Beard turned to the Queen, but she clutched her handkerchief and remained silent. "3 summers."

"A quarter of a summer."

"I do not believe you understand how negotiations work. And I believe you do not understand to what extent I am able to control you."

True, but Perry thought that maybe he did understand some things. Not a lot of things, but it was a start. "Don't I? Can you really stay glued to my side, every day and every night? How does your control magic work over short distances? What about long distances?"

Long Beard pressed his lips into a thin line and Perry smirked. "2 summers. Before returning you to the world you came from, we must first stabilize the kingdom."

There was no way Perry was going to accept living here for 2 years, but maybe he could compromise too. 

"One summer. Final offer." His palms were sweating and his heart raced in his chest. Was he actually considering going through with this? Did he have another choice?

For the first time since that conversation had started, Long Beard smiled. "We have a bargain."

Before Perry could think, he found his body locked in place again, unable to speak. Long Beard sighed and took his time crossing the room and stopping right in front of him. 

"This will hurt a moment." The glimmer of joy and satisfaction in the other man's eyes was unmistakable. 

Panic coiled itself around Perry's stomach and made him want to scream when Long Beard cut open the front of his tunic, exposing his torso. He pulled a long, glass needle from somewhere and pressed it to the left side of his chest. 

"Bargains such as these need to be carved in blood and into bone." Pain flared from his chest to the rest of his body when Long Beard pressed hard on the needle and moved it over his chest. Something wet and sticky dripped down his body. 

Blood. It was his own blood. 

Perry turned desperate eyes to the Queen, but she turned away, clutching her silver handkerchief to her mouth. 

"Do not worry, I will heal the wound immediately after." Long Beard continued to move the needle in certain and precise movements. "And you shall have some time to recover and learn the ways of your people. After that, we will have much to accomplish if we are to shield the kingdom from the fires of war in a single summer." To Perry's absolute horror, the other man's smile grew as he continued to carve his chest. "And the first order of business will be for you to charm your bride-to-be."

The anger that had been simmering under his skin exploded in his chest, strong enough to make his entire body shake with its intensity. 

He was trapped, with no one to hear him scream even if he did have a voice.