Courtesan 7, Supernatural RPS, R~ish

[phantisma]

Fandom: Supernatural RPS
Title: Courtesan 7 ( all of Courtesan can be found here)
Pairing/Characters: Jared, Jensen, mention of JDM
Rating: R~ish
Word Count: 2917
Summary: Total AU. Jensen gets a surprise visit.

A/Ns & Warnings: Alas, no sex in this piece.

Art, from apieceofcake...




The news from the kitchen boy confirmed Lord Jeffrey's words. Jared had won his fight, and was ready to fight again. Prince Fallon seemed to appear in his door every day, as if by being there, he could prevent Jeffrey's return.

Jensen did his best to serve him, as always, but he was difficult to please. He showed up at all hours, often drunk. He ranted about Jeffrey and his father, and fell asleep before Jensen could bring him all the way to orgasm.

A week passed this way, then two. Jensen heard of several fights, but all too often the prince was still with him when the kitchen boy came, and Jensen could not speak to him.

Prince Fallon left him early one morning and Jensen took the opportunity to bathe properly, relaxing in the hot water knowing that Fallon would be required at royal functions through the day. He would bathe and sleep and be ready when he returned.

As the water grew chill, Jensen climbed from the tub. He was exhausted. Little more than a few hours of sleep at a time had been managed in the last few days. He stumbled from the bath to his bed and fell into it, still damp. Sleep claimed him quickly and when he woke several hours later he was disoriented.

It was close on to the noon meal, judging by the light coming through the garden window. He needed to prepare his face in case Fallon returned. He lit the lamps on his vanity and sat, his eyes falling on the small wooden rose that hid amongst the clutter of pots of rouge and brushes.

Jensen pulled a brush through his hair, making a note that it was time to request the dyes that would keep the long strands colored their bright red and dark orange. Fallon liked them that way. He braided the colored streaks quickly, better to hide their fading and pulled them back in a dark clasp.

He made equally quick work of his face, lightly dusting his cheeks and eyes with powder to set the rouge. He lined his eyes with black and rubbed red into his lips. It was not elaborate, but it would prevent him from getting disciplined if Fallon returned before he could do more.

That done, Jensen pulled on a silk robe, plain red with little adornment. There would be time for jewelry and such later. For now he had to clean up the remains of Fallon's breakfast and set out his order for the kitchen for dinner. Maybe the kitchen boy would have word of Jared or even Jeffrey.

He was just returning from the kitchen to the sitting room when the door opened. He stopped, holding his breath, fully expecting Fallon. Instead, Lucia stepped through the door. She held a finger to her lips and reached into the hall. A large figure in a dark cloak stepped in beside her and the door closed.

Jensen seldom saw the young princess, but he was always pleased when he did. She was gentle and generous and she had whispered to him the last time he had seen her of Jared, his gladiator and how he fought for love. He didn't understand this however. Royalty never came to him cloaked and hidden, and no one who wasn't royalty was allowed to see him.

Lucia crossed to take his hands. "Jensen, we must be very quiet and speak of this to no one. Ever. Do you understand?"

Jensen nodded, wide eyed. "Your Highness, who is this? Who do you bring to me?"

She licked her lips and glanced over her shoulder. "No one must know. Fallon will not be coming here tonight. I have seen to it that he is occupied. Lord Jeffrey has challenged him to a competition, and we know how Fallon hates to be challenged."

"Highness?"

She drew him toward the tall figure, and as two big hands emerged from the cloak, Jensen started to shake. "Highness?"

The hood dropped and Jensen involuntarily stepped backward. Lucia's hand on his was tender, her smile soft.

Jared looked scared, unsure of himself, but his eyes never left Jensen. "Jensen."

Jensen couldn't make his lungs work. Tears burned down his face. "J-Jared." He turned his face to Lucia, though his eyes stayed on Jared's face. "Highness, what have you done?"

"I thought you would be pleased to see him."

Jensen nodded raggedly. He was pleased and terrified, aroused and ashamed. "He must not be found. Prince Fallon will kill him."

Jared took a hesitant step forward. "Jensen, I've missed you."

Lucia patted his hand. "No one will know. Just us three. I have the only key. You have a few hours. I will come back for him then."

Jensen's heart raced. She couldn't leave him there. They would be found out. She kissed his cheek and went to Jared. "Mind what I have told you. Keep quiet and follow the rules."


She stood on tiptoes and kissed Jared's cheek and then she was gone. Jared bit his lip and looked awkward and lost. "You look beautiful."

Jensen felt himself blushing. "You…you look strong."

Jared untied the cloak and set it aside. Under it he wore only fighting shorts and his boots. His bare arms were tan and big. Bigger than Jensen remembered and marked with scars. Jared crossed the room in two big strides and Jensen's breath caught in his throat. "We can't touch."

Jared nodded tightly. "I know. I had to see you."

He was there. Right there. Only inches of air between them. Jensen could smell him, sweat and dirt, leather and oil. He breathed in, his eyes closing as he wavered on his feet. "Lord Jeffrey told me…told me you were here. That you were fighting." Jensen's eyes traced over Jared's face, over a new scar on his chin, down his neck to those broad shoulders and the mass of fine lines on his upper arm. His hand ghosted over it. "What…what is this?"

Jared grimaced and stepped away. "One for every victory. Each one a step closer to you."

"Jared--" Jensen breathed his name, still not fully believing he was there. He followed Jared, his eyes tracing now over his back. Here too the skin was marked. A long, thick scar cut across his skin diagonally, from his right shoulder down to the top of his shorts. All around that were others, smaller lines and clusters and teeth marks. Some were old and fading into the tan of his skin. Others were newer and white, standing out against the darker skin.

"My Lord." He lifted his hand, then pulled it back. He couldn't touch.

Jared turned, his eyes blazing. "I am not your lord Jensen. Not now. Not here." His nostrils flared.

Jensen looked away, then stepped as close as he dared. His hand lifted to cover his heart. "You are my lord here." He closed his eyes and remembered the taste of Jared on his lips. "You are my lord and my lover, my brave warrior. The only man who has ever seen me as I am."

Jared's breath was moist on his skin. Everything inside him screamed out for him to kiss Jared, to take away the tiny space between them and feel his skin. Jensen forced himself to take a step back.

"I…are you hungry?" Jensen swallowed his need and put some distance between himself and Jared.

"No…please." Jared followed him. "Just, come be with me. I don't want to waste our time." Jared stopped at one end of the low couch. "I'll sit here. Just, stay with me."

Jensen nodded slowly and sank onto the other end of the couch. The silence grew until Jared cleared his throat. "Tell me how you are."

"I am well. It was difficult at first, but I have adjusted."

"You must be so lonely." Jared looked away as soon as he'd said it, but Jensen felt it stab at him.

"Some days. It is very quiet." Jensen looked around him at the room that had been his home for the last year, home and prison. "I sit in the garden in the mornings when I'm alone. I see the roses and think of you."

"Are they…do they treat you well?" Jared swallowed, his eyes dark when he looked up at Jensen.

"I have no complaints. There is good food and I may have nearly all that I desire." All but Jared. "It is different, serving only the family. Easier in some ways. I have learned what each of them prefers and can please them better."

Distress and jealousy flitted across Jared's face, but he took a deep breath and when he spoke again, his voice was even. "And what of Fallon?"

Jensen pressed his lips together and considered how to answer that question. He was not permitted to speak ill of his lord. "He is…demanding, but not all together unkind." Jensen shifted uncomfortably. He did not wish to speak to Jared of Fallon or the others. "What of you, my lord?"

Jared sighed and nodded. "Me? I fight. Sometimes men, sometimes animals. Sometimes both at once. I fight and I survive. Some days I fight in the ring and fight for survival outside it as well. Other days soft, beautiful women ply me with baubles and trinkets to feed their notion of romance."

Jensen had heard that there were those noble women who would seek out warriors and bed them. It was his turn to fight down a wave of jealousy. He had no rights to it. Jared did not belong to him.

"Soon the king will call the tournament, and when he does Jensen, I swear to you I will fight as I have never fought before. When it is over, I will be free."

"So Lord Jeffrey has told me." Jensen still wasn't sure exactly how that was supposed to work.

Jared's hand fell on the couch between them. "And when I am free, I will challenge Fallon, and I will defeat him. And then, you will be free as well."

Free. It was a concept so foreign to Jensen that he couldn't begin to understand it. Jared obviously thought it meant they could be together. Jensen wasn't certain. "I have Lord Jeffrey's word, he is saving my earnings for us. When it is over we can go anywhere, live our lives away from the arena and the courts."

"What will that mean?" Jensen asked slowly. "How…" He looked up at Jared. "How will we live?"

"As long as it is together, I don't care." Jared responded, his hand moving across the couch toward him.

Jensen got up, his hands wringing. He knew nothing outside this life. It was all he had, all he had ever known.

"Isn't that what you want?" Jared asked, suddenly behind him.

"I want you." Jensen responded haltingly, turning now to let his eyes wander over Jared once more. "I dream of you. I just…" He shook his head. "I do not know how to be anything other than a courtesan."

Jared's smile was tentative. "And I am nothing but a gladiator. We will have to find our way together."

Jensen wanted to feel his arms, those big, comforting arms, fold around him and hold him against Jared's strong chest. He wanted to feel the solid weight of him, to believe he was real and not some dream. But touch was forbidden them. Somehow someone would know. And if anyone ever knew, Jared's life would end.

"Come, our time wanders away from us. Sit and tell me of your battles, of your life. Tell me everything." Jensen sank back onto the couch. Jared smiled and nodded, returning as well and launching into a tale of the battle that had marked his back so violently.

All too soon, the door was easing open and Lucia slipped inside. They both stood. "Our time is over." Jared's voice made the statement nearly a question. Lucia nodded.

"I'm afraid so, any longer and your absence will be noticed."

Jensen could feel tears building in his eyes. To have Jared here and so close, only to have him taken away again. It was nearly cruel. He pulled in a shuddering breath.

"Don't cry, Jensen." Jared whispered, stepping in close with his back to Lucia. "I will come for you. I will win this tournament and I will come for you."

Tears spilled unbidden down his cheeks. "I will wait for you my lord."

Jared's hand lifted as if to wipe the tears away, but froze less than an inch from Jensen's face. "I love you." His voice was but a breath, barely audible, but Jensen heard the words with his whole body.

"And I, you, my lord." Jensen murmured back.

Jared stepped back, lifting his cloak and settling it around his shoulders. Jensen didn't move, watching Jared lift the hood to hide his face. Lucia offered a gentle smile, then slipped out the door. Jared hesitated, only a moment, with his hand on the door. Then he was gone.

Jensen's knees buckled as the door closed and locked. He gasped for air, holding his stomach. Jared. Jared had been here, in this room, this prison. His hand slid over the couch, over the spot where Jared had been sitting. The smell of him clung to the seat. Jensen lay his face against the fading warmth, breathing it in as tears slipped down his face.

Jared. The whole room smelled of him. Fallon would notice. Jensen jumped up. He had to hide the smell. He had to clean his face and reapply his make up. He had to be perfect when Fallon returned.

He could start by putting the bread in the oven, the smell of baking bread could cover nearly anything. He hurried into the kitchen to do that, and put away the food he'd heard the kitchen boy deliver. His eyes fell on a vase. Flowers, for the sitting room. He put a small amount of water in the vase and went to the garden, filling the vase with roses. They would smell beautifully and remind him of Jared at the same time. Jensen set the vase on the table behind the couch.

Now, he had to prepare himself, wash his face, adorn his body, reapply his makeup. By the time he was finished, Jensen felt much calmer. He settled in with a book of poetry to wait.

When Fallon did come, he was clearly intoxicated. Jensen stood, setting the book aside. "Good evening, Highness."

Fallon waved at him and shut the door. "You look good tonight."

"I prepared for you, Highness. I wish to be pleasing."

Fallon weaved away from the door and collapsed onto the chair. "You do please me…come help me."

Jensen knelt at his feet and eased his shoes off. He was dressed for court, royal colors and finery. His hand slid over Jensen's head, drawing him closer. "He thinks he can beat me in my own house…thinks he's going to turn my own father against me…"

Jensen ignored his ramblings and worked at undressing him, a task made more difficult by Fallon's position and inability to sit still. Suddenly Fallon pushed him away and stood up, stalking across the room.

"Who does he think he is?"

Jensen didn't move or speak, watching the prince. "And my sister. How dare she?"

Jensen's heart fluttered. If Fallon knew…

"Lucia. She put him up to it. I know she did." Fallon came back to him. "Why do they hate me so?"

"I'm sure no one hates you, Highness," he murmured. He got to his feet. "Come, let me massage you, help you relax." Jensen held out his hand and waited. Sometimes Fallon let him lead. Sometimes it only got him into trouble.

Fallon's shoulders sagged and he put his hand in Jensen's. Jensen smiled and led him to the bedroom, finishing the job of undressing the prince and laying him down on the bed. "Rest here a moment, Highness. I will bring oil."

Jensen went into the bathing chamber for a bottle of oil, and when he returned, Fallon was snoring lightly. It wasn't the first time the prince had fallen asleep before Jensen could render service. Jensen set the bottle aside and arranged the blankets, covering the prince gently.

He would sleep for several hours, and wake up ready for Jensen to serve him. In fact, his desire for pleasure would be greater when he woke. Jensen sighed and slipped from the bedroom.

The sitting room seemed more lonely than it had before Jared had walked through his door. Jensen crossed to the door, laying his hand against the wood. He hadn't seen the world beyond that threshold since coming here. Somewhere out there Jared was preparing to fight. Somewhere out there Jeffery was probably slipping into bed.

In here nothing had changed. Jensen rested his head against his hand and sighed. In here he would serve Fallon when he woke and he'd bathe and make up his face. In here he would pretend he'd never seen his warrior, pretend his heart hadn't left with him.

He would keep his hope in check, because hope would lead to mistakes and if it showed in his face, Fallon would see it. Slowly, Jensen turned his back to the door and crossed back to his chair. He sat delicately and lifted his book. Soon Fallon would wake and desire his courtesan.