Kings [A Medieval AU]

Chapter Nineteen - The Moment of Greatest Weakness

The guard nods and opens his cell, tying his wrists behind his back. Another guard appears behind him, completing the oh-so-common guard duo, and together the two of them drag Dan from his cell. He tries not to fight, he really does, but the moment the anxiety kicks in he starts struggling. With a bit of difficulty, they bring him down to the courtyard outside the castle, which has been cleared of all snow for this event. A wooden post sticks up from the ground in the centre, a guard standing beside it with a rope and a whip in hand. Already, curious village people and castle employees are gathered around, ready to watch the spectacle that is the king of Tenebris being publicly flogged. He can't really blame them. Entertainment is hard to come by, and a whipping is something that people will talk about for days and weeks to come.

Dan avoids the eyes of the spectators as he takes his shirt off and gets shoved to his knees. The one person he does look at, however, is Phil, who sits in a chair on a raised platform, appearing more pale than usual. Dan's hands are tied together around the pole, exposing his bare back to the guard with the whip in hand and the biting winter air.

"King Daniel of Tenebris has been convicted of breaking out of confinement and harming a member of the royal guard. The punishment is ten lashes with a single tail whip. Can his majesty King Philip confirm this?" the guard states.

"Confirmed," Phil replies. Dan glances at him and Phil meets his eyes for a split second before looking away, his bottom lip between his teeth.

The guard cracks the whip once in the air as a test and a shiver runs down Dan's spine. This is going to hurt, but he can't show any weakness. He has to be strong for his kingdom.

A second later, the whip lashes against his back for the first time. Dan grits his teeth, refusing to yell out or cry despite the fact that he can feel warm blood trickling down his back already. The whip snaps against his shoulder blade and he braces himself against the post, breathing heavily through his nose. By six, his entire back is on fire and black spots dance behind his eyes, but he still won't cry. Four more times the whip slices his skin, and Dan counts every single one. The tenth one seems especially hard and he nearly yells, but doesn't. No tears. No shouts. No signs of weakness. His vision swims and he almost blacks out, but the way he's tied up stops him from falling over.

The guard lowers the bloodied whip to his side and another guard steps forward, cutting the rope around his wrists. The moment he doesn't have his bound hands to keep him up he crumples, dancing on the brink of unconsciousness, and is caught by the guard that freed him.

"Bring him back to his room," a voice orders, but Dan can't distinguish a single familiar voice from the ringing in his ears. He barely remembers being hauled to his feet and half-carried to his room, and by the time he actually reaches his room he feels some of his consciousness returning. The guards who brought him up toss him inside and lock him in, leaving Dan curled up on the floor and shaking.

Despite the amount of pain it puts him in, Dan crawls to the corner of his bedroom and wraps his cloak around his shoulders, feeling safer in the smaller space. Then, finally, he lets himself break down. He sobs until he can't breathe, wanting the gashes in his back to stop aching and burning and bleeding.

"Help," he whimpers to his empty room. "Please..."

~

Dan is carried away, and when he's gone the crowds start to disperse. Phil pushes his way through to the centre of the courtyard and grabs Dan's shirt, guilt gnawing away at his heart. Dan probably doesn't want to see him right now, but Phil can't stay away. He needs to know if he's okay or not. He needs to explain himself and this entire situation.

He hurries through the castle and up the stairs that lead to Dan's room, heart pounding in his ears. He takes a deep breath, steels himself, and opens the door.

"Dan?"

Phil steps into his room and closes the door, gaze immediately landing on the broken king of Tenebris, who sits curled up in the corner of his room. His cloak is wrapped around his shaking form and tears soak his cheeks, eyes reminding Phil of a wounded puppy. The king of Divum nearly breaks down right then and there, unable to handle the guilt and pain in his chest.

"Dan, please let me help you," Phil whispers, moving towards him slowly. Dan recoils, unable to back away thanks to the wall behind him, and Phil nearly sobs out loud. "I am so, so sorry, Dan..."

"Did... did you w-want this?" Dan asks, his voice so soft and broken that Phil has to actually stop moving in order to hear him.

"No, no, of course I didn't. I swear I didn't. It was this or death, and I desperately wanted you alive."

Dan buries his face in the folds of his cloak and sobs, curling into a tighter and tighter ball. Phil gets a bit closer before sinking to his knees and crawling the rest of the way, approaching him like you would a scared animal. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he scared him or hurt him any more than he already has.

"Can I please heal you? Those cuts could get infected," Phil asks.

"I don't... um... I..." Dan stammers. He takes a deep breath and sobs. "Phil—"

His name, cried out so painfully and brokenly, causes Phil to crack. The king of Divum buries his face in his hands and cries, his back rising and falling sporadically with the sobs he's trying to keep quiet. He tries not to let Dan see him break down, but he knows it didn't work the moment he feels a hand rest gently on his arm. Dan is right there, clearly concerned despite how scared he is, and Phil has never wanted to wrap someone in his arms more.

"Dan, can I please try to heal you?" Phil manages to ask once he has himself under some sort of calm.

Dan nods and Phil moves closer, helping the king of Tenebris take his cloak off. He's bare-chested beneath, back enflamed and covered in bright red lashes and dried blood. Phil sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth and stands, retrieving a bowl of warm water and a cloth from Dan's desktop before returning. Dan presses his face to his knees and trembles as Phil gently cleans the dried blood away and cries silently when the king uses his magic to close his wounds. They don't speak, and the quiet is more calm and void of tension than Phil expected.

He finishes his work and helps Dan into a clean shirt due to his inability to move his back muscles too much. Before he can get up, however, Dan grabs his wrist and looks at him with big, pleading brown eyes.

"Please stay with me. I don't want to b-be alone..."

Phil can't say no to a request like that, especially after what happened to him. So, he wraps Dan's cloak around the younger king's shoulders and settles beside him, prepared to sit with him for as long as he needs. What he didn't expect is Dan's head on his shoulder, making his heart leap out of his chest. Dan's eyes flutter shut and slowly, carefully, Phil wraps his arms around his waist. When Dan doesn't back away, the king of Divum pulls him closer and smiles when Dan relaxes against him even more. Within moments, Dan is fast asleep with his head on Phil's shoulder, and the dark, horrible feelings Phil had earlier melt away like snow in the springtime. He doesn't even care that they're sitting on the floor in the corner of Dan's bedroom. He wanted this so badly, and now that he has Dan in his arms he never wants to let him go.

Dan starts to lean further and further into Phil, and before he falls over the king pulls him into his lap. He stirs, but doesn't wake up as he melts against Phil's chest. He really is as warm and lean and strong as Phil thought, and his heart flutters.

The rest of the day fades away, and Phil's focus remains on Dan and Dan alone.