The One You Feed × Brandrew AU

XX

-Brandon's POV-

"Did you ever think I really loved you?" Andrew shouted at me, pushing me against the bedroom wall. I let out a cried of pain, then with tears in my eyes, pushed back. Andrew moved out of my way, and allowed me to dash across the room. "I did!" I shrieked, throwing a candle at him. He caught it without flinching.

"I loved you, Brandon, but you were too attached to your friends! They're criminals and liars, they had to be killed!" Andrew yelled at me. He threw the candle back at me, and this time, it struck me in the eye. I screamed in pain, and everything went back.

Quickly, my vision came back to me. Only now, Hayden and Brent were standing over me, staring. My eyes widened. "G-guys?" I whimpered. Hayden extended a hand, his expression not changing. He pulled me up, and Brent reached to grab my arm.

"I'm sorry," I told them, tears welling in my eyes. Brent said nothing as he began to pull my face into his chest. I let the tears spill out, but as soon as I did, I began seeing the wounds of my friends. I pulled away from Brent, watching as his head separated from his body and rolled to the floor. Hayden's shirt was now stained with blood, and I watched in horror as they both fell to the ground.

"The king is a tyrant," Brent said, his cold and lifeless head somehow speaking to me. I screamed as loud as I could, but suddenly, I couldn't move. My eyes were stuck on the dead bodies of my friends. I was panicking

I wanted to wake up.

"Why'd you even trust him? Why didn't you come with us while you had the chance?" Hayden spoke. I only screamed louder. This time, I felt tears coming. "This is because of you, Brandon," Brent told me. The tears started falling, but before they hit the ground, the scene turned to black.

•••

"Brandon?"

I wrenched my eyes open, and immediately spotted Andrew. I closed my eyes again. "Get up," he ordered me. I could have cared less what he told me to do. "Brandon," he said again, "wake up. Now."

"What are you gonna do, huh? Beat me?" I spat out, opening my eyes again. Andrew just stared at me intently. "I couldn't do that," he said, reaching out to touch my hair. I gave in, and allowed him to feel the curls in my hair.

"I didn't mean anything I said," Andrew offered. I rolled my eyes, not knowing whether or not that was the truth. "Neither did I," I said bitterly.

Unlike any previous events, the positions of power were now switched. The king was begging for my forgiveness, and I was being cold to him. I almost felt that he deserved this. After over two years of keeping me captive in this place, at least a few sparks of hatred had run through my veins.

"I've never hurt you before," I told Andrew, who was looking at me with emotional eyes. "So what did I do to deserve this?" I asked. Andrew's eyes drifted away from me, and to the window. I turned to see what he was looking at. It was the peach tree.

Andrew looked back to me. "Nothing at all." With those words, he slipped from the bed and climbed onto the wide window sill. "It's just," he began, clicking his tongue. "All this time, people have told me what a king does, yet I've never felt free to rule the way I wish. I know one thing, and that is order. I grew up as a servant, for eight or nine years I served King Leal, and I was beaten almost daily. It worked for the first few years, until all the violence worked it's way into me. I beat up a few other servants, and that only added to the violence in the castle."

His eyes once again wandered over to me. He stood back up, and made his way to the bed. "I only killed King Leal when he murdered a cook's daughter. She couldn't have been any older than ten years, and then I knew the tyranny had to end. I had to use violence. But, when I had become the king, I grew worried everyone would turn on me. I cut off one of my friend's hands, and killed a few physically superior workers. I grew hungry for power, and the greed drove me to sadistic intentions."

Andrew crawled onto the bed. "My heart knows you did not deserve all this, but the voice in the back of my head says that all my actions can be justified." He pushed me onto my back, and hovered over me. "But sometimes, mere feelings can outweigh knowledge."

I had no idea what any of that had meant. Perhaps it was poetry or philosophy, but either way, I still didn't understand. I just nodded and went along with it.

"I really am I sorry that I've upset you," Andrew spoke, grabbing my hand. I sighed loudly. "I forgive you," I lied. In reality, I know I could never forgive him for what he'd done. However, my love for him overpowered the hatred.

Andrew collapsed next to me, rolling onto the bed. He groaned so quietly that it was barely audible. "Would you mind having your own servant?" He asked me. I growled under my breath.  "Not at all," I answered, "as long as I can treat them the way I like." Andrew nodded in agreement.

Andrew said nothing else as he grabbed me and pulled me under the covers with him. I didn't resist, but rather embraced the affection he gave me. "I truly am sorry I've hurt you," the king spoke to me, breaking the silence. I tried to nod, but he held me so tight that I couldn't move.

I wanted to lie to him, and say I forgave him, but I didn't want to be lying to myself. I had done that far too much already.

(Yeah, I know I promised a face reveal, but the image wouldn't load on this chapter or the next. It'll be posted on Chapter 22, which will be listed as XXII, and that will take only a few days to upload. I apologize.)