sweet as cherry wine...
Zayn knocked softly on Louis' chamber door, a tray of food held lightly in one hand. He shifted from foot to foot until he was granted permission to enter, pushing the door open and walking in to find the king crouched on the floor curled protectively over a small lad that he soon realized to be Harry. Zayn frowned, setting the tray down before moving forward under Louis' calculating gaze, gasping when he saw droplets of dark blood dripping off of the servant boy and onto the concrete floor.
"What happened?" He breathed as he rushed forward to check over the lad hidden in his king's arms, wincing at the sight of the long whip lashings visible through the torn fabric of his tunic. Harry shifted slightly at the sound of his voice and turned wide, terrified green eyes to him, reaching with bloodied fingers to grip his wrist and squeeze. "The guards caught hold of him, claimed that he was stealing. Don't believe a single fucking word that comes out of their dirty mouths, I know they're just jealous." Louis snarled, tightening his hold on the lad when he choked and smoothing his fingers through his sweaty curls.
Zayn's jaw set with anger before he was standing and wetting a cloth with water, carefully crouching back down next to the two of them. Harry startled forward at the first touch of the rag and tried to hide in Louis' chest, harsh breaths growing even heavier until he was practically hyperventilating against the king's throat, bloodied fingers slipping over his shoulders. Louis began cooing softly in efforts to soothe him as Zayn continued cleaning him up, throwing the reddened cloth away once he was finished and moving to grab a new tunic for the trembling lad.
He stepped away to allow Louis help him change, watching him murmur until Harry was calm and pliant in his protective hold. "You're dismissed, Zayn." Louis looked up from where he'd been pushing the lad's curls back and he nodded once, folding his hands together while leaving the room.
