King Erik Lehnsherr knew he conquered the land of Westchester, not for its pretty king, but to ensure the wellbeing of countless mutants under King Charles Xavier's reign.
However, it was hard to remind himself of that when watching his new slave from across a chess board.
Erik abhors the act of enslaving fellow mutants; they have humans for that. However, tradition had dictated that someone needed to take Charles, and he hadn't been able to stomach the thought of another being Charles's master.
Former King Charles Xavier was the son of the late King Brian Xavier and his late Queen Sharon Xavier. They'd been fair, but human, rulers. When their son and heir presented as a mutant, it was apparent that Charles's life would be anything but easy. It was a surprise when they didn't disown Charles- other human monarchs had. When King Brian died, Charles remained Heir Apparent even when his mother remarried to one of the old King's advisors, and he gained an older stepbrother.
It was another surprise when no one tried to claim the telepath as their slave. Then again, hadn't there been rumors surrounding Charles's stepbrother's disappearance? Erik decided not to dwell on that. Telepaths were often forced into being a sex slave due to their abilities to project their pleasure, doubling their partner's pleasure tenfold.
When Erik, a general then, killed his King and took the throne of Genosha, he'd been content. That is, until he discovered the state of living in the other kingdoms. Westchester may have been better off than all the others, but its King had been a champion for human rights. It was only a matter of time before the whole land would be ruined.
He'd waged war against the other kingdoms, absorbing some more peacefully than others. He dueled Westchester's King personally, the telepath King's strategic mind not being matched by his own swordsman skills. Shaw's training had been good for his sword training, Erik must admit. Shaw had also developed a helmet to block out telepaths, which had come in handy when facing head-on.
When he'd defeated Charles, one of Erik's men had appeared with one of those telepathic inhibitors- which severely inhibited telepaths- and put it on the defeated King. The men had waited with baited breathe, anxious to see if they would get to reap the benefits of Erik's conquest. He'd seen it in their eyes- the lust, the depravity.
He couldn't stomach the thought of the men near his Charles.
None of it mattered now, though. Charles was his, and no one could take him away.
"Sir?" Erik looked over, seeing his unsightly servant who called himself Toad in the doorway.
"Yes?" He asked expectantly, agitated by the interruption.
"Lady Raven is here to visit her brother."
Charles stilled his fidgeting hands across from Erik, eyes going wide at the name. Erik mentally cursed.
Lady Raven- formerly Princess Raven of House Xavier- was Charles's adopted sister. Abandoned by a servant of House Xavier, Charles had taken the girl under his wing and King Brian had indulged him by adopting the blue-skinned, red-haired, yellow-eyed little girl. Her mutation wasn't just the odd skin tone and abnormal eyes. She was a shapeshifter.
"Escort her here," Erik ordered, body tensing.
He'd worried about how Charles's sister would react to the enslavement of her brother. The two had been abnormally close for royal siblings, and he knew Raven wasn't any more docile than the boy who raised her. He'd hoped gifting her with Emma Frost, Shaw's old telepathic slave, would satisfy her and dissuade her from revolting or throwing a fit, but he doubted it would.
However, it still got Frost out of his hair.
Soon, Raven stepped into the room with all the confidence of a girl raised among royalty, followed closely by the familiar form of Emma. Seeing Emma now, he knew why she'd once been called the White Queen. Shaw had never formed a relationship with anyone who wasn't a slave, but he'd kept Emma fairly long. She'd always been dressed in white, and she didn't disappoint now. However, the last month must have been good to her. Her skin had returned to its porcelain complexion, she gained some weight in order to make her look healthy, the bags under her eyes were gone, and she was finally allowed to brush her hair, it appeared. She also wore a beautiful, white leather pants and shirt that showed her bosom very well and exposed a small amount of her midriff.
She looked healthy again.
Erik stood to meet them near the door, sending a stern glance Charles's way to convey that Charles was to stay in his seat.
"Ah, Raven. How nice of you to visit me. Where are those little children of yours?" Erik asked, a smile that didn't reach his eyes tugging on his lips.
"Stop, Erik. Just stop. We both know I'm not here to see you. I left my children at home because I didn't want them to see this. I'm here to see my brother." Her eyes narrowed on the conqueror King, her eyes dancing with a fire that matched the color of her hair. Emma was glaring too, standing right behind Raven with a delicate hand on the other woman's back.
Erik's smile became genuine at the familiarity Raven was showing. The two had become friends during the many times Raven visited Genosha for diplomatic reasons. Raven had definitely been valued by her kingly brother for her finesse in flattery and manipulation. She'd even been fairly affective on Shaw. After Erik had overthrown Shaw, Charles had been quick to send Raven and form a peace treaty. Erik and Raven had strung out the peace negotiations, the secret reason being that they wanted to spend more time together.
"Raven," a quiet voice sounded from behind Erik, and Raven's sharp eyes traveled to the owner of it. Erik spun around, his eyes narrowing and his brows furrowing, finding Charles standing there. Charles's spine was straighter than it had been for the whole month he'd been here, his head finally wasn't angled to the floor, and his eyes gleamed with affection.
This was the Charles Erik wanted.
Raven pushed passed Erik, her arms encircling Charles, and Erik was shaken out of his fantasy of Charles ever looking at him with such affection.
