A blue Spouse (Ninjago Royalty AU)

Chapter 28: A tyrant or a broken soul?

Kai bounced softly on his heels like the bored kid he was, although he had to keep it unnoticeable to avoid getting reprimanded by his father —which wasn't that hard considering he pretty much became invisible to the man when he was talking 'adult stuff' with someone else.

The prince knew he should be paying attention but he couldn't for the life of him find a way to be interested in his father's political affairs. His mind was far away from there. Well, maybe not so much.

He didn't understand why but he couldn't stop thinking about that servant. His brain would keep conjuring the boy in his mind's eye, trying to remember his shaggy hair, his strong body stretching out with a whine... His face... He'd been too shocked to take in his facial features when the boy dropped the bucket on him days ago, but Kai thought he wasn't all that ugly. What what happening to him?!

Movement got caught in his peripheral vision and he turned his head around at the other side of the hall where a young, bulky servant walked away holding two baskets full of wrinkled bed sheets. Kai's heart skipped a beat. He looked up at his father again and the men surrounding him then took a tentative step away from them. No one noticed. He took another, and another until he rushed to the corner where the boy had disappeared seconds ago. Looking behind him as he ran he forgot human eyes were at the front of the face for a reason; to not bump into stuff.

The collision was minimal but enough to send his ass down to the carpeted floor as well as the other person and the baskets they were holding. Kai stared ahead at the fallen boy in front of him, his strong jaw clenched with annoyance at the mess around them.

"Oops." Kai tittered nervously, rubbing the nape of his neck, which seemed to only make the other boy's blood boil even more. The servant suppressed a groan and rushed to collect the sheets that had fallen out of the baskets. "Let me help you." Kai reached out.

"No!" He yelled, and his face twisted in horror, probably after realizing he'd just spoken loud to a member of the royal family, which was something no servant had the right to do. His head ducked and rushed to gather the sheets, but Kai grabbed his wrist, halting him.

"What happened to your face?" The prince looked at him, astonished, horrified. The side of the boy's face was slightly swollen and had a purple stain on it, a subtle dark circle encased his eye. He froze, remembering their last encounter when the other worker had slapped him. But simple slaps like that one weren't supposed to leave such marks, were they?

Kai panted, his breath coming out in erratic puffs and he shyly reached up to the boy's maltreated cheek. The kid shoved him away, pushed the remainder of the bed sheets hastily into the basket and ran away. The prince was left alone, sitting on the floor, eyes locked onto the end of the corridor, his mind still wrapping around what had just happened.

"Kai? Kai, where- What are you doing lying there, young man?" The prince looked up behind himself, meeting his father's usual cold stare. "Get up, it's not playtime yet. Lord Chumsworth is waiting." The monarch grabbed his arm and pulled him up to his feet, shoving Kai back to the group of men that reacted in a very diverse way at his return. Some laughed at his careless youth, others narrowed his eyes at him, tired of the kid's childishness that made them lose valuable time of their businesses. But Kai could only see the boy's face before him —his clearly bruised face.

Had that been his fault?

♦♦♦

Cole felt himself falling in and out of consciousness. The long and dreary night he had spent with his husband had left him exhausted, more than he'd been in a while. His head was light, fighting to stay awake while his eyelids fluttered close as if pulled down by an invisible weight, urging him some much needed rest. The boy lying in his arms jerked weakly with a low moan. Cole jumped in the bed, startled by the sudden move and looked down. Kai was wrapped in his strong limbs, sleeping, yet his eyebrows were slightly pressed together as his eyelashes trembled, tiny murmurs coming out of his chapped lips. The boy was clearly not having the time of his life. Cole sighed. It was actually a miracle that Kai was sleeping at all.