The Arcana: Fragments

XXVII: Jealous

Lucio x Valerius Side Tale

Valerius POV

Wine, there's hardly ever enough of it. I stand across the ballroom, nestled in a corner of couches and women in an attempt to seem preoccupied. He stands on the other side, taking several toasts and cheering on the eel fight in the pools beneath him, the waters turning redder and redder as more begin dying off from their wounds and fatigue. The occasional glances he takes to look at me prove my assumptions right; he's avoiding me on purpose and increasing his arrogant, indifferent facade to theatrical heights because he knows - to my fault - I damn well like it.

The ways he always commands a room without hardly saying a word has always been my attraction to him. Power, raw and present, belongs all to him in this strange country. The blonde maid to my right rubs beneath my robe with a delicate powdered hand, her catlike eyes questioning my reactions. Jaded, I turn to look at her, at which point she takes her chance to place a sickeningly sweet kiss to my lips. How dull and common women are; always soft and sweet smelling. How little she knows her very presence makes me want to gag. I let her continue to rub the swell beneath my silk robe, figuring I could handle the labor it would take to imagine her hand was larger, rougher, and entirely made of gold metal.

Lucio looks back at me again, noticing the maid at work. He smiles and raises his glass towards me, I cannot bring myself to break contact with his gaze. The maid begins a slur of arousal talk, the nicknames of 'my lord' and 'sir' doing nothing to further my sex. "Shut up", I say, downing the rest of my glass before holding it out to be filled once again. Removing his cloak, Lucio plunges his armored arm into the red pool beneath him. "The winner!", he shouts, revealing the writhing eel who won against all the others. Cheers follow the reveal, most onlookers curious what else to do despite being already uncomfortable. "Such a worthy creature deserves quite a reward", Lucio begins, his eyes glinting with a familiar spark only I could recognize. "Leave", I tell the maid, adjusting myself to sit upright in intrigue of what Lucio would do next. "How impressive", Lucio muses, twirling the sea serpent under the light to observe its sheen and texture, "A royal feast, then, in the hope that this creature's strength shall be passed unto all of you from the banquet of its flesh".

In a flash of red, Lucio removes the eel's head, it's blood spraying the nearby courting ladies dresses in scarlet. Their shrieks only encourage the Count's laughter, who hands the creature's body off to a servant who ushers it away. "How noble of you, beloved Count, to share its victory with all of us", a voice says. Coming into view, a youthful male with striking green eyes steps forth, kneeling just in front of Lucio as though he were to pleasure him then and there. "And who might you be?", Lucio entertains, a quick glance shot my way. "No one, my Count. That is, until I found myself under your palaces service". The boy's body was slim, his legs long and his skin fair. I quickly found myself to be standing suddenly, my lips around my glass angrily as my teeth bite the rim with growing strength. "Well? Whatdya want?", Lucio asks, "Only to perhaps be of more service to you, my Count, in whatever way you see fit. I desire more responsibility, sir, to be of more use".

A smirk grows across his lips, he knows I am watching. The wine is doing nothing to dull my senses, the swell beneath my robe aching with rage and jealousy. "Well, what kind of Count would I be to deny such an obedient character. Stand, let me see you".

The boy rises, his thighs swollen and toned similar to a swordsmans. The ladies of the court upturn their lips and lift their chests when he catches their eyes; a charmer to both the sexes. I even catch myself admiring the green hue to his eyes. I outstretch my hand for a refill. A single golden digit traces the boy's jawline, descended down the flesh of his neck, a quick tug at the fabric of his neck to expose more of his chest. "A fine one you are", Lucio grins. He looks in my direction, the sea of whores around me awaiting attention, " Wouldn't you agree, ladies?"