~~~
"Young prince, the king has demanded your presence in the throne room," Toshinori walks into the young boy's study, bowing slightly in front of the prince.
"Is it necessary? I'm rather busy," the prince looks up at his attendant, putting down his quill and rubs his temples. He had been sitting inside his study the whole morning, barely seeing the sunlight since he stepped out of his chamber, leading to a light headache that had been built up and he craved a cup of water at the moment.
"Young prince," the attendant says strictly a slight frown on his scrawny face, he hated being strict with the young prince as the said prince already had been through a lot of 'strictness', the scars over his body being more than enough proof of that.
"Alright, I'll get ready in a second," the prince starts quickly organizing his papers, laying them in a neat pile at the corner of his table, as well as putting away his ink and quill.
Slowly standing up, rubbing his temples in the process he starts walking out of his study towards the throne room, his attendant right behind him, handing him a cup of water in once they had walked out the wooden door.
"Thank you Toshinori-san," he takes the cup of water and brings it to his lips, luckily no guards or servants were in sight as it was seen to be extremely rude to eat or drink while walking inside the castle, even in some towns as well.
Quickly finishing the water he hands back the cup to his attendant and continues walking, wary of his surrounding the whole walk.
~~~
"Izuku, the courting will be held in one moon, the invitations has already been sent out," the prince looks up at the king in confusion, what he just said could easily be sent through Toshinori or any of the servants.
"My king, I don't understand why you demanded my presence," he swallows the lump in his throat, talking to the king always made him nervous it didn't matter if it was one word or a hundred.
"Quiet, I will be appointing Nemuri Kayama as your new dance instructor, you were never good at dancing," the king scoffs and makes a hand gesture, a tall lady walking in at the motion.
Seeming to be in her late twenties, early thirties, having long dark purple hair together with some sky blue eyes, wearing rather inappropriate attire showing off her attractive curves, not very fitting to wear inside a castle.
"I will be leaving for a royal meeting just after sun rise tomorrow and wont be back for two weeks, behave while I'm gone," the king looks down at his son and then with another hand gesture the meeting between prince and king was over.
"It's a pleasure to meet you my prince," the tall woman bows as she speaks straightening her back right after. "Likewise, Nemuri-san," Izuku smiles at the woman who returns the gesture.
"Young prince, your mid-day meal is soon ready, it would be appropriate to head towards the dining hall," Toshinori gives Kayama a smile, and looks at the young prince.
"I'll be having it in my study, if that is alright," he looks at his attendant who replies with a simple nod, waving over a nearby servant.
The short servant stumbles over, her hands rubbing together in a nervous matter. "Please bring the young prince's meal to his study," the servant quickly nods, bowing towards the prince and then hurries away towards the kitchen, her heart slamming against her chest.
Izuku and Toshinori starts walking towards the study, passing a few guards and servants who all bowed respectfully towards the young prince.
"Toshinori-san, have you any ideas of which maidens might come to the courting?" the attendant was opening the study door for the prince as he suddenly asked the question. "No idea, young prince, why are you wondering if I may ask?" he closes the door, walking towards his own chair that Izuku had gotten for him so he wouldn't be uncomfortable standing all day.
"I was simply wondering who I should look out for," he sits down in his own chair, pulling out the drawer he previously laid his ink and quill in.
"Young prince, you don't need to pretend to be interested in the young maidens around me," Toshinori chuckles slightly at the prince's shocked face, as mentioned before, he had taken care of the prince since he was an infant, knowing almost everything about the young boy.
"O-Of course I'm interested in the young maidens," the prince stutters, the topic of sexuality had never been brought up between the two of them before, while it wasn't exactly punishable in the Midoriya kingdom anymore as his grandfather had thought that it was stupid to punish someone for being with the one they loved, no matter the gender.
While he didn't know why the king hadn't set the rule in place again, he was certain that he wasn't very fond of same sex marriage, as he had kindly expressed before.
"Say, young prince, don't let the king control who you shall marry, marry the one you are truly in love with," the attendant knew that the words he just spoke was extremely punishable, to disobey the king was forbidden, getting caught doing it could end with your head. Thankfully he said it in a hushed voice, wary of the guards that could be outside.
"Thank you Toshinori-san, but I simply have to accept the path that have been laid out for me," he prince breathes out as he looks through the papers he had previously been writing on, he had an assignment from his English tutor to write multiple letters, even though his tutor might be quite, energized, he was excellent at English, having studied it his entire life.
A small knock on the door interrupts him, gesturing for his attendant to open he puts away his papers once again, assuming it was the servant with his mid-day meal.
The short servant walks in, her cheeks were covered in a light dust of pink, her hands lightly shaking, she had only gotten the job as a servant three days ago, wanting to earn money herself for her family. Having to serve the prince after only three days of work was nerve wracking.
"Here is your mid-day meal, my prince," the short girl says, a timid smile on her face, her brown hair almost bounces as she walks, her work attire seeming a little tighter than other maids.
She places the tray on top of the prince's desk, hoping she hadn't made any mistakes.
"You don't need to be so nervous," the prince says with a light laugh his features lighting up, her cheeks begins feel heated as she looks at the young prince that was around her age, maybe just a few years older. "What's your name?" his question seems to bring her back out of her daze, a gentle smile was sitting on his face as he looks at the young servant.
There were many young servants through out the castle, though everyone seemed to try to swoon the young prince, this new servant was a nice change of pace, feeling a nice friendly feeling when he looks at her.
"U-Uraraka Ochako, my prince," she bows her head slightly looking up at the young prince right after.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Uraraka-san," her name seemed to roll of his tongue perfectly, for once he wasn't nervous talking to a stranger, compared to everyone else he usually met during the parties the king had held, she had a welcoming feeling.
"Likewise," she backs away from his desk, realizing she was way to close to be appropriate. "W-Well, I should probably take my leave, your meal will get cold, my prince," she bows and backs away slowly, turning around after two steps and hurrying out.
"You are making good process, young prince," the attendant smiles towards the door as he watches it close, coughing a bit right after, small drops of blood escaping his lips with his coughs.
"Toshinori-san, are you taking your medicine?" the prince looks at his attendant worriedly, the man had been a guard in his younger days, being the head guard to the previous king, though once taking a life threatening blow to the side of his abdomen, he had to retire early. Only being in his twenties, it was devastating, though he soon got offered the job as the young prince's attendant, now, seventeen years later he was still having to deal with the pain from the big scar covering most of his chest's left side.
"Yes, young prince, though Chiyo-san said that I'm not taking them very well, the new medicine should be done in a few days," the prince looks at his attendant suspiciously though soon drops the subjects, digging into his meal.
"Is it to your liking?" he looks at the young prince who responds with a quiet nod, seeing as it would be rude to talk while eating.
~~~
The moon was high up in the dark sky, midnight minutes away, the castle was quiet the only sounds coming from the king who was snoring loudly and the guards armor that clinked against the stone floor.
Though inside one of the chamber's was a young boy shuffling in his sleep, he had forgotten to take his sleep medication that Chiyo had given him without the king's knowledge.
Quietly sitting up he looks around the dark room, the only light coming from the small cracks in the curtains where the moon light was shining through.
He swiftly stands up, making sure to avoid making any sound as the guards outside wouldn't hesitate to break in, they would probably assume he was trying to sneak out and report it to the king. More scars.
Walking to the small desk that was sitting close to one of the tall windows, inside the desk drawer was a few thin books filled with poems that his etiquette teacher had recommended him reading. Taking out the books he slowly removes the bottom of the drawer where a small brown box could be spotted.
A few seconds later he swallowed two tablets laying inside the small box dry, putting his drawer back together again, though just as he started sneaking back he accidentally hit his toe on the desk's leg, the loud noise of the desk slightly moving made him suck in his breath, holding back a whimper that would just make more sound, he sprinted towards his bed, quickly laying down again and pulling the blankets over his head.
The big chamber door slams open, two guards walking in with a stern gaze, Izuku presses his body down on the mattress more, taking a deep breath and slowly starts sitting up.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asks with a tired voice, a fake yawn leaving his plump lips. "We heard a loud noise coming from your chamber," the guard simply ignores the thought of bowing before the prince, the second guard starts looking around the room as the first guard looks at the prince who was pretending to rub his eyes as if he just woke up.
"We'll make sure to report this in the morning," the two guards leaves the room, slamming the door just as loudly as they opened it, the king's closest guards had always been rude to him, throwing a few inappropriate comments that always made him feel disgusting and treating him as if he was on a way lower level than them. Which they probably were.
In the king's eyes, Izuku was simply someone he could form into the perfect offspring, he didn't want what was best for his son, he wanted what would benefit himself the best.
A sigh escapes his mouth as he lays back down, hoping that he could finally fall asleep.
~~~
"Izuku, I am simply preparing for my trip and what do I hear? You trying to sneak out of the castle once again," the king looks down at his son that was bowing in front of him, he was almost shaking in fear, he hadn't gotten in trouble for a long time.
"My king, I was simply sleeping, it could have been a rat running around," he bit his lip, hoping that the king would believe him though deep inside he had already lost hope.
"Sako-san, hurry up and pack my things for the meeting, guards, bring Izuku to the chamber," the prince's eyes widen, to any other servant, they would probably assume the guards would be sending him to the prince's own chamber for the king to later scold him, but to Izuku it was completely different.
Hisashi, rather known as the king of the Midoriya Kingdom, had something that could be compared to a torture chamber for his son when he disobeyed or got in trouble, the floor was covered in the prince's own blood and vomit, not wanting anyone to clean it up as it could be even more of an reminder why Izuku should stay obedient.
He made sure to just call it 'the chamber' so the servants wouldn't suspect anything too bad, he didn't want rumors spreading around the kingdom, the worst thing possible was for it to reach the other royals.
Ochaco looks at the prince worriedly, he had fear spread all over his face showing her that the words the king had just spoken weren't any good ones. The guards that were guarding him the previous night grabbed his arms harshly and started dragging him towards the chamber.
One hour later the king had changed his garments and was now sitting in the carriage together with his own personal attendant, meanwhile Izuku was laying on the cold stone floor, old dried up blood around him as well as a small pool of blood that was slowly dripping from the long marks on his back, his breathing shallow and eyes barely able to stay open.
His attendant hurried in, he was usually allowed to clean up the prince's wounds after the punishments, sometimes he would have to wait an hour or two, but seeing as this was a little lighter than the other punishments he was allowed in right away.
Holding a small towel and blanket, he ducked down beside the prince, pressing the towel against the poor boy's wounds to stop the bleeding at least a little bit. Wrapping the blanket around the poor boy he quickly but carefully picks him up, swiftly walking towards the boy's chambers.
~~~
"Oh god, my prince," her words were shaky as she saw the prince's condition, it was nowhere near how bad it had been previous times though still bad.
"Quickly, get the bandages," the quickly opens the small kit that Toshinori had ordered her to get. Taking out two rolls of bandages as well as a healing cream, and then turning around to see Toshinori laying Izuku down on the bed and unwraps the blanket only to see the prince's naked and scarred upper body, quickly turning around once again cursing herself for being so inappropriate.
"Uraraka-san, it's alright, will you help me please?" she reluctantly turns around again, walking over to the prince's who had passed out by now due to stress. Handing the bandages to Toshinori she starts to carefully apply the cream to his wounds watching him whimper slightly under her touch.
After she was done, the attendant starts wrapping the bandages around his torso, making sure to apply the right amount of pressure.
"What kind of father would do that to their son?" she looks at the prince who was now laying in his bed, seemingly sleeping peacefully now.
"That man is no father, if he wasn't the king I would have saved the young prince a long time ago," Toshinori looks down at his hands mad at himself that he cant do anything to save the young prince, he had been his attendant since the prince was a small infant but he still couldn't do anything.
He had proposed the idea of the prince sneaking out and leaving the castle for forever, though Izuku would never leave his mother, it didn't help that the young prince thought of himself as selfish for even thinking of leaving such a grand castle, many others would kill to be him, others having to suffer much worse abuse every day, he only had to take the punishments the times where he had been bad, only some lasting over a day.
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you want me to help? I've only worked here for a few days, and wouldn't the king want the servants to stay unbeknownst towards this?" she bites her lip and looks down at her hands, hoping she didn't say anything wrong.
"Let's just call it a hunch," the attendant smiles gently at the young servant, who's cheeks were tinted red, she quickly nods and glances at the young prince who laid there, he looked youthful laying between the many pillows and blankets.
"Uraraka-san, would you be so kind and please go bring the young prince's morning meal," the young girl nods quickly and stands up makes her way over to the large wooden door, after a small bow she is hastily out the door.
~~~
"Young prince, you're awake," Toshinori quickly stands up and walks over to Izuku a glass of cold water in his hand.
"Your morning meal will arrive shortly," the young boy drinks his water, his back felt numb while his mouth was coated with a horrible taste. "What time is it Toshinori-san?"
"About two hours after sunrise, you were brought in and treated by me and Uraraka-san about twenty minutes ago," the prince stops drinking his water, almost choking on it in the process. "Uraraka-san?" a horrified looks was present on his face, though the calm look on his attendant's face seemed to calm his nerves.
"Please don't worry young prince, I believe you can trust her," the prince's features slightly softens, he was still not sure but his attendant's judgement was often spot on, if not always.
Their conversation gets disturbed by a quiet knock, after getting the okay, the door opens revealing the short brown haired girl with a small tray in her hands. Her gaze lands on the prince who was wide awake, quickly bowing she walks over to his attendant and hands him the tray.
The normally big morning meal he ate every morning was now cut in half, probably the work of the king. The attendant places the small tray on top of the prince's lap, picking up the chopsticks he start to pick at his food.
Ochako bows again though this time with a small smile, pleased to see that the prince had woken up and didn't seem to be in any pain, at least he didn't show it if he was. She walks out the door closing it after leaving the two in privacy.
"Young prince, don't pick on your food, eat," the attendant states in a rather demanding voice, he knew the prince as if he was his own son and if he hadn't used a more demanding tone of voice the prince would surely not have begun eating and continued picking on his meal.
"Is the king on his way to the royal meeting?" he drinks some of his tea, looking down at the small tray while biting his lip. "Yes, the king took his leave about an hour ago."
Izuku nods slightly and takes a small bite out of his grilled fish that was cut in half, it hurt to move his arms though he tried to ignore it to the best of his abilities, which usually worked well though in front of his attendant he always failed.
"Let me help you," the attendant starts reaching out to the young prince though soon stops as the prince violently shakes his head, his grip on the chopsticks tightening as he stills his head, rubbing his temples lightly. "I can do it myself," he says lightly, giving his attendant a small smile as he continues eating, ignoring the now throbbing pain in his head.
"Young prince, there is always a horse ready in the stable," Izuku abruptly stills his hand, looking out one of the large window's inside his chambers.
~~~
Thank you for reading and I hope this was to your liking.
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