The One You Feed × Brandrew AU

II

-Brandon's POV-

I spent all of that night trying to clean up Hayden and Brent. They both had bloody scars lining their backs, and Brent had some deep, circular cuts on his arms.

"He's going to kill you both one day," I muttered, splashing water onto Hayden's back. I used the nearest rag to wipe the blood off. "I know," Brent laughed. I looked up, watching him places bandages over his cuts. "But I'd honestly rather die than stay here."

I chuckled a bit at the dark comment. Brent tossed me the bandages, and I began placing them along Hayden's back. "You won't be saying that when the king has a knife to your throat," I said.

It must have taken me a hour to clean and patch everyone's cuts, and then it was my turn.

"I can't believe you didn't say anything about your back," Hayden groaned as he put a shirt on, covering all of his scars. I laid down, and felt him begin to pick pieces of ceramic from my back. "You didn't get all of it out," he said. He dug his nail into one of the cuts, causing me to scream in pain. I felt blood coming out of the cut.

"Should we get help?" Brent asked. I quickly shook my head. "No, I'm fine," I lied. I took a deep breath, trying to ease the pain I felt. The cold water hit my back, wiping away any of the blood that surfaced. I exhaled loudly, and began slowly drifting to sleep.

•••

"Wake up, Brandon, the king wants to see us," Brent said, shaking me. I mumbled, sitting up in my bed. "But it's so late," I whined. I tried closing my eyes, but Brent shook me again. "It's only just sunset, now, let's get up."

I groaned loudly, placing my feet on the floor and stretching. "Why do you care if we see the king? Don't you hate him?" I asked. I slipped my same shirt on, ignoring the pain as it brushed against my cuts. Brent sighed, putting his shoes on. "I do hate him. But nobody likes getting hurt, you know?" He said.

I nodded tiredly. "Of course," I said in response. I put my own shoes on, watching as Hayden did the same. I looked back at my own feet. "He wants us in the throne room?"

"I guess," Brent shrugged. As soon as Hayden finished dressing, Brent openned the door for us. He pushed it forcefully, making sure it was open long enough for us all to slip through.

The hallway was unusually dark. Often, there was a candle lit somewhere along the wall, which was to be extinguished only at midnight. Yet today, there were no candles at all. It wasn't even dinner time yet.

"This can't be good," I whispered.

Our footsteps were the only sound throughout the hall. I heard no talking, no clanking of swords, and no ringing of spoons against the porcelain bowls.

We turned the hall into the throne room, and saw it too was completely dark, lit only by a single candle. It was placed in the middle of the room, and we all began to walk towards it. King Andrew came into view, and he looked enraged.

His crown was crooked, and his foot kept banging on the solid material of the throne. One elbow was rested on the side of the throne, and he rested his head in his hand. His mouth was curved down, but when he saw us, his lips curled into a twisted smile.

"You called for us?" Brent said, his hands sliding into his pockets. The king straightened his crown, and looked down at us. "I just needed to tell you all about the party," King Andrew said, dragging out his words. He looked away.

I stepped forward a bit, and the king's eyes immediately snapped back to me. I stood directly in front of the candle. "In four days, I'm having a party with all the royalty in close land. It's going to be here," the king began. He sat up in his throne, his smile only growing bigger.

"I want the three of you to work during the party. It should be easy. You do what the rest of the royalty asks of you, and without complaining. But I swear, if any of you cause a scene..."

Suddenly, the two torches by the front entrance lit up, causing light to flood into the room. Hayden, Brandon and I turned around, seeing two guards standing by either flame.

I caught my breath, then turned around. King Andrew now had his legs propped up on the side of the throne. He held a large, silver knife in his hand, and was twirling it around.

"Well, I think you know what'll happen."

The king then resumed his original position, but kept his focus on the knife. He played around with it for another minute, while we waited in an awkwardly still position.

After what seemed like an eternity, King Andrew finally looked up again. "Do you all understand that?"

Hayden and Brent quickly took a step back. Before I knew what was happening, the king was already staring directly at me. "Y-yes, sir," I stuttered, standing still. I didn't dare to move.

"And do your friends understand? Both of them got in trouble today, I hope you know," the king said. He then plunged the knife into the side of the throne, the blade becoming buried almost completely. I jumped a bit. "They do understand," I said, knowing the exact opposite was true. "And, yes, I did know of their breaking of the rules."

"Good. Then I expect you all to act well at the party. I'll have some new clothes for you soon, and fresh bath water," the king said. I watched as he removed the knife from the throne. For a moment, I could sense he was getting distracted, but before he could, he placed the knife down. "Now, go to your room," he ordered, "I'll have someone bring you your food later."

I didn't even question it. I immediately turned back and headed to my room. Hayden and Brent followed right behind me. As soon as we entered the hallway, I turned back to face them.

"Never put me on the spot like that again," I said, trying my best to sound menacing. Brent only shrugged. "Sorry, Bran," he said, walking past me and down the hall. "It's just that out of us, you're the king's favorite."

Hayden gave me a pat on the shoulder, then caught up with Brent. I sighed, looking down at my shoes. The edges were caked in mud, and the fake leather was cracked beyond repair. I didn't want to think about it, though.

The only thing I had on my mind was sleep. I had gone to bed far too late last night, and had barely made the cut this morning.

I finally reached the door to our shared room, and saw that Hayden and Brent were already relaxed in bed. "You seem more stressed than usual," Hayden pointed out. "What's wrong?"

I threw myself onto my bed, clutching at the pillow that neither Hayden nor Brent had. "Nothing really, just missing home," I answered. Three candles were lit in the room, making it far too bright. "Now, someone please blow out a candle."

I then heard a clanking of glasses, somewhere in the castle. It was in the dining hall of course. The king was having dinner with nobody but himself, just like he did every night.

Brent blew out the candle closest to me, and someone knocked on the door. It was one of the chefs, bringing us nothing more than soup and a slice of garlic bread. Brent got the food, then shut the door forcefully.

"Dinner," he announced. I sat up, and Brent placed the bowl and plate in my lap. "Thanks," I mumbled. I threw my head back as I ate my first spoonful of soup.

"Do you think that someone will ever kill the king?" I asked suddenly, looking up. Hayden raised his brow. "That's dark," he said blankly, "but maybe within the next decade or so."

I groaned loudly, throwing my head back yet again. It wasn't the answer I wanted to hear. Yet, it was the answer I had received.

(Yo this election got me shook)