Curse - Septiplier

19: Teasing

Jack's POV

I couldn't clear my head. Everywhere I looked, every time I breathed in, everything that I heard and saw was Mark. One of the maids laughing in the hallway? It suddenly sounded like Mark's heavy chuckling. I barely saw the flash of a castle guard out of the corner of my eye? His dark hair and face transformed into Mark's, sharp jawline jutting out and his smile beaming brighter than the morning sun. I could only see him, only smell his natural scent wherever I turned. This man was literally consuming all of my thoughts.

I made my way into the main corridor of the castle, finding my father sitting atop his throne and speaking in a low voice to the General, who made eye contact with me and suddenly grimaced. I watched his expression go from somewhat enlightened, speaking to my father probably about their plans for today and how soldier training was go, to dropping into a scowl that he couldn't hide. His upper lip curled, and he went from bending over and whispering to standing straight up, back erect and his hands cupped out of sight. His face had softened into a blank expression, but the menace and anger was still in his eyes. My father saw it too, and he frowned before turning to find me standing behind them. His face held many differing emotions, and they changed too quickly for me to tell, but his expression finally rested on discomfort and surprise, an uneasy mix of confusion and desperation for reassurance of the situation, and I would provide him none. Instead, despite my own mixed feelings about the situation, I strode forward to meet the General where he stood by my father.

"I'll be taking Mark for training again today." I told him, and I saw his jaw set. My father watched, unsure of what to do. He looked from me to the General and back again, simply trying to read the situation by our facial expressions but finding that he couldn't. Even the General was hiding his anger rather well, his jaw locked up but an uneasy and almost scary looking smile resting on his lips. He dipped his head, as if agreeing reluctantly with whatever I had to say, and then he lifted his head and stood a little taller as if to assert dominance. My lips pressed together as he looked over me.

"As you wish, your Highness." I felt my upper lip twitch, tempting me to snarl at him, tempting me to get angry and start a fight against his sarcasm and obvious disrespect, but I contained myself. With my father sitting directly to my left, he would see this as the General letting me do what I want, not finding the sarcasm dripping from the man's words. He would get angry at my anger, and I knew that the General would only bathe in my discomfort and embarrassment. He was tempting me, and he knew it; but I was better than that. I bowed down to him only to shuffle disrespectfully backwards and turn away from him, practically telling him to kiss my ass before standing and walking away. I heard my father chuckle and the General's glare bore into the back of my head as I walked out the doors, leaving him and my frustrations behind. I couldn't afford to fight him over this, not yet.

I made my way over to the stables, planning on riding Agro to wherever Mark was and taking him with me, but I was pleasantly surprised to find him already in the stables, running a brush through Peach's unruly hair. My heart skipped a beat, and I felt a warmness fill my chest alongside adrenaline, and it only coursed through me even faster as Mark looked up at met my gaze with a smile. He waved me over and I swore my feet forgot how to function. I stumbled over to him, and I cleared my throat as he glanced at me again, sending my heart racing and my mouth twisting into a grin.

"Hey." I barely whispered, and Mark paused to shoot me a concerned glance.

"Jack, are you alright?" he asked me, and I nodded. Slowly, hesitantly, I reached my hand out and rested it on Mark's shoulder. It was a seemingly innocent action to gain his attention, but between the two of us it meant so much more. It was contact, it was a forbidden level of love and appreciation, a strong level of attraction that if anyone else knew about would cause havoc; it was the definition of a hidden and forbidden love. He smiled at my touch, and then he let out a small sigh knowing he couldn't return it, not here in front of the palace and the stable boys. "Well, I have the day off today, and I was kind of wondering how much you like rock climbing." I felt myself grin, and almost wanted to laugh. It was a simple invitation that sounded like training, but I had a feeling I knew how this rock climbing trip would end, and it would be nothing like when the General took me rock climbing.