A Blessing and a Curse

"It might be pathetic, it might only last a week before I get overthrown, but I'd enjoy that week immensely. Quit pissing on my bonfire, Dom. I'm allowed to have dreams. A servant like me can still dream big, hm? I have absolutely nothing else going on in my life otherwise," he tutted, moving up from his position perched on the floor to top the wine up, grimacing to himself at how much was being drunk without him even allowed a simple sip. He knew he was often treated surprisingly well for a servant, especially a demon one, but he still felt like he could be afforded small privileges here and there. He had the ability to kill most the people in the castle with ease, and the fact he hadn't done that for three whole years should have been rewarded, in his eyes.

"I would dream up something more creative, but I don't like to get my hands dirty. I have several good friends from neighbouring villages who I'm sure would love to bash your head in for me. Maybe I'll sit back with some wine, draped in some of your gorgeous coats, while you get your skull smashed. We'll see, though. Maybe I'll keep you around and make you my servant, wouldn't that be fun?" He cooed, sitting down beside the tub with his arms on it, his head rested on them contently. "...I'm teasing, obviously. This is what helps me with my anger. Teasing you, making you a little annoyed. I take enjoyment from that, and surely you'd prefer that than me breaking down your fancily decorated walls?"
 
"It might be pathetic, it might only last a week before I get overthrown, but I'd enjoy that week immensely. Quit pissing on my bonfire, Dom. I'm allowed to have dreams. A servant like me can still dream big, hm? I have absolutely nothing else going on in my life otherwise," he tutted, moving up from his position perched on the floor to top the wine up, grimacing to himself at how much was being drunk without him even allowed a simple sip. He knew he was often treated surprisingly well for a servant, especially a demon one, but he still felt like he could be afforded small privileges here and there. He had the ability to kill most the people in the castle with ease, and the fact he hadn't done that for three whole years should have been rewarded, in his eyes.

"I would dream up something more creative, but I don't like to get my hands dirty. I have several good friends from neighbouring villages who I'm sure would love to bash your head in for me. Maybe I'll sit back with some wine, draped in some of your gorgeous coats, while you get your skull smashed. We'll see, though. Maybe I'll keep you around and make you my servant, wouldn't that be fun?" He cooed, sitting down beside the tub with his arms on it, his head rested on them contently. "...I'm teasing, obviously. This is what helps me with my anger. Teasing you, making you a little annoyed. I take enjoyment from that, and surely you'd prefer that than me breaking down your fancily decorated walls?"
 
"Why don't you, then? See, this is what I don't understand. You babble on about how you're so powerful and you could snap my neck at any second and whatnot yet you won't. You go on and on and it's boring. If I want something, I take it. That's it. If I want some heartbroken demon to feed me and pamper me, I will get it. Doesn't it get boring, sitting idle all day just dreaming of my demise? Is the fear of punishment that strong? If so, then... we'll, I guess I've done my job," he hummed before taking another sip of wine.

"Me? Your servant? I'd rather slit my throatcthan work for you. See? I'm not going to just let you control me, I'd either kill myself or kill you, whichever comes first," he admitted with a chuckle before exhaling softly once sinking back into the warm water to counter the cold a tad. "Shut the window, will you? The draft is unbearable right now."
 
"...I'm not shutting the window. I'm too hot and the breeze is helping me. If you don't like it, maybe you should get your cute butt over there and do it yourself? I'm your servant, but I'm not a mindless followed like the human drones you have working for you. I assume their brains would ooze out onto the floor the moment they have an individual thought, they're so stupid," the demon snorted, pressing in closer once the urge to break the other's neck grew. He was basically getting prompted into doing something, and criticised for being all-talk... but it was far too easy to kill him. Dominique didn't know that his resistance was out of cowardice, after all. He had genuine reasons to keep him alive, knowing his eventual fate was far too entertaining and satisfactory.

"Death's too good for you, let's leave it at that. And if you were my servant, I'd treat you wonderfully, I don't know why you find the prospect so horrifying, Dom. I'd let you have baths, albeit in mud, and I'd give you hearty meals, though probably the scraps and gruel. I'd even let you have your own bed, rather than the pathetic mattress I have to sleep on. I'm not going to be a very good servant if my back gives out on me when I'm washing dishes, am I?" He continued slowly, his eyes all focusing on the human opposite him, his nose crinkling a little.

"You humans all smell weird, that's another thing. You reek, actually. Use more soap. It won't cover up how bad I think you smell, but it'll help-- and drown yourself in some aftershave, too. It might burn my nostrils, but that's probably for the best."
 
"You're going all out with the insults today, aren't you?" He murmured, having to emerge a tad to reply once having sunk into the tub just below his nose. "I don't care how 'well' you would treat me, I know what I would do and that's simple. I'd either kill myself or kill you - or both of us, if I have to. You think you know me and you can say that you do all you want but I'm well versed in your whole potion shit. I may not be as talented as your beloved witch but I know how to get things done when I need to," he continued omninously before pausing before sitting up a tad, grimacing at his own cracked back.

"Give me the shampoo," he ordered, his eyes landing on the fancy soaps that rested by the marble sink. "If you're too arrogant to wash my hair, the least you could do is get it for me. Speaking of beds, you seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find you much more interesting this way, Ambrosio. Now be a good boy and hand it over," he murmured, holding back the urge to roll his eyes.
 
"You find me more interesting... Well, isn't that fantastic? That's what I was going for, I crave your attention and acceptance, obviously," came the inevitably sarcastic response, though despite that, he obediently went to fetch the expensive shampoo. In fact, he went above and beyond the order, moving to place some shampoo in his palms and lean closer to rub the suds in the young King's hair.

It was true that he despised him, a fact that wasn't undisputed by anyone, but he also had a part of him that was naturally mischievous. It made up a lot of his personality, and so it made sense in his head to enjoy anything that involved teasing others.

He wasn't naive to Dominique's subtle glances at him. At first, he chose to ignore it. He wasn't afraid of his sexuality and often took every chance to enjoy it, but having the man that sent Luana to death look at him in that way disgusted him. Eventually, however, he saw the amusement in it, and a chance to tease the man with close proximity and suggestive purrs. He could always feign ignorance if he was callsd out in it, and the enjoyment he would have at seeing the man potentially grow bashful and embarrassed would be priceless.

Especially when he would be having those reactions to a demon, no less.

"You do have lovely hair though," he conceded with a small smile, having pressed in close to wash his hair. "And eyes, actually. I can pay compliments, Dominique. I just choose not to most the time."
 
"Giving me compliments won't lessen the boiling rage I have aimed towards you right now, Ambrosio, I hope you realize that," he replied quietly, thankful for the fact that he was facing away from the demon as he felt a bit of heat grow to his cheeks, though his pinkish ears weren't so easy to hide. Closing his eyes to enjoy the scalp massage, he decided to instead grow quiet in response.

Unlike Ambrosio, Dominique had the idea of marrying a woman to continue their family line implanted in his brain since he was born and especially after his mother's passing. If he was going to have any relationship, it was with another affluential woman from some other kingdom. It just so happened that, due to his lack of interaction with those exact sort of people, he often fell for his servants or lesser class. He never pursued those crushes, for the most part, thus the smallest sign of affection made him blush.
 
"Maybe that boiling rage will help warm you up, given you're too spoilt to close that window on your own. Keep feeling angry at me, it'll help," he cooed playfully, leaning back to ensure that every hair had been covered before smiling to himself in disbelief. He never wanted to even touch the man when he first came, other than if he wanted to hurt him, and here he was washing his hair and offering up flirty smiles. It was for his own entertainment, of course - he needed something to take his mind off his own anger, and this, surprisingly, helped.

"...You need to sit down and talk about marriage with some of your old fuddy-duddy advisers too. I'm sure that'll be fun, looking through files to see which perfect princess you could sweep up and take as your own," he snorted, carefully washing the shampoo out whilst shielding the King's eyes. Even though it would be funny for him to see him whine at how much it stung, he didn't want to deal with the eventual repercussions of it. "What's your type? Blonde bombshell, cute brunette-- adorable demon who puts his hatred aside to wash your hair for you~?"
 
"First of all, don't flatter yourself. Secondly, I don't have time to have a 'preference'. It doesn't matter either way, who I marry. As long as I have children , it doesn't really matter at the end of the day. As long as I don't have to spend time with her she'll be fine," he explained simply, his eyes rolling from under Ambrosio's cover. "It's both disgustingly easy and incredibly difficult at the same time, this whole situation. If it were up to me, I'd just run my kingdom on my own but apparently that isn't in our family's code, so..." he grumbled with a sigh.

"It doesn't matter, I don't want to think about it," he declared as he sank a bit further into the tub with a small pout. "I'll get to all of that soon, I've got more important things. I'm not impatient and neither should any of those desperate princesses."
 
"That's boring. You know, I could never marry anyone. I don't think it's remotely fun to tie myself to someone I might fall out of love with. I've been engaged plenty of times though. You may not find me cute, but many people in my community think I'm desirable. I used to get sent all these gorgeous little baskets of presents from creatures trying to win my affection," he grinned, his eyes lighting a tad at the memory. He was narcissistic enough to believe that he would still get sent tons of gifts from admirers, but not when he was serving at a castle - he wouldn't be allowed to have them, and most importantly, it was too risky for anyone from the magic community to send presents in case they got tracked down. Still, it did hurt his ego a little not to have anyone desperately sending him gifts for three whole years, though he made do with the flirtation with other creatures serving in the castle.

"You don't want to think about it-- but you'll have to discuss it soon. Avoiding the topic is childish, but I suppose that's understandable. You're so young, you don't understand everything yet," he continued, knowing that the patronising ageism wasn't something he should do, but it was also something he took amusement from, and that came before anything else. "And your lifespan is so short, isn't it? You might never really... be as smart as I am, that's so sad."
 
"You say that as a pathetic servant who was captured by a simple child," he drawled in response before waving his hand for his robe. "You forget that, don't you? You're nothing compared to me, at least at the moment. Sure, when I die you can dance around my ashes and laugh over the fact that you've outlived me. Remember that you won't have anyone when I die. I mean, I killed that witch of yours so who else do you have?"

Once handed the robe, he carefully stepped out of the tub with a small smile when wrapped in the warmth of of the fuzzy robe. Wandering to the window, he gave it a hard slam as a not so subtle indication of his internal anger. He wasn't the type to show it until he was ready and many of the other servants were terrified by that fact. "Drain the tub, I'll wait. You can pick my outfit afterwards," he decided as he sat on his bed and crossed his legs carefully.
 
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"...You drain the tub, I'm not doing that. I'll pick you out an outfit because I enjoy that duty, but I'm not putting my hands in your dirty bathwater. Maybe it'll get me punished, but I don't care. I'm a glutton for punishment sometimes," he smirked, folding his arms sternly over his chest in the attempt to keep his fists from lashing out at the King. He would be cast as a coward for not acting on his anger, but he obviously had his reasons. He feared that he wouldn't be able to stop hitting him if he started, and he wanted to keep Dominique alive long enough to see him hit rock bottom.

"Have you actually kissed anyone? Is this why you're so stressed out and angry all the time? Is it sexual frustration-- You can talk to me, I won't tell anyone," he murmured, taking a seat on the floor with his legs crossed easily. "...God, have you ever had sex? I bet you haven't. Even I manage to find someone to have fun with, and that's not easy to do when I get about an hour of spare time per day."
 
"Drain the goddamn tub, Ambrosio." He demanded flatly, his brief moment of amusement ending at the other's blatant disrespect. "As for your curiosity on my sex life, you're such a freak, you know that? I've kissed plenty of people, sure. Those days are over, I have more important things to do than have sex. If I wanted to, I could find anyone I wanted and I'm not exaggerating. I'm handsome and if you say otherwise, you're a liar. I've had plenty of women praise my appearance, it's just... it sounds boring, if income going to be honest," he admitted.

"Why do you want to know about my sex life so much?" He questioned flatly. "That's weird. Very weird. Are you having any ideas of wanting to have sex with me? Is that why you've been so aggressive with me? "
 
"Considering you were blushing over a simple head massage, maybe you're the one who secretly wants to? I'm not going to say anything, but you're handsome and I'm happy to express my sexuality, let's leave it at that. If you're smart, you can work out my answer," the demon replied as he reluctantly moved to empty the tub, his tail swaying behind him in the effort to look like he was happy. He was fuming still from the insults and the derogatory way Luana was mentioned, but he also had to note just how... content he was, if only a little.

The idea of being intimate with Dominique disgusted him, but it was also something he wasn't entirely against. Lulling his enemy into a false sense of security might not be the worst plan in the world, and it would make his eventual downfall all the more amusing. If he was ever intimate, it didn't mean he forgave him for anything; it simply meant he was willing to go the extra mile to really bring the King down. For that, he ought to be commended.

"...Sure, I'd have sex with you. I don't think you're so smart to figure it out, so there's my answer, Dominique. It's been three years, I can't hold onto hatred for that long-- and we've had fun together sometimes, haven't we? You do get very bitchy when you've drank some wine and I happen to adore that. I love it when you gossip about other royals. It's hard to dislike that-- see? I'm not that bad a person, I can see the good in you. It also helps that you're beautiful, I suppose."
 
"Arrange my outfit," he replied quietly as he sipped said wine. He wasn't an alcoholic, at least in his eyes. He had seen the affects of over drinking firsthand through his father, that of whom took to drinking to counter his grief. For him, a few glasses of wine was nothing compared to the abusive state his father would become behind closed doors.

"I don't know what you're doing but I know it isn't good," he admitted after a moment of silence. "For starters, you've never complimented me this much before, it's... creepy. Secondly, you're a demon with as much pride as me, I know you aren't being kind because you mean it."
 
"Ye of little faith~ Honestly, I can't win. I insult you, and you get mad. I compliment you, and you're suspicious. How do you want me to act, Dom? If I shut up and said nothing, you'd take it personally and demand I start talking, and I'm not sure how you'd prefer me to act. You don't know what you want, I'm just trying to appeal to you. I don't want to get punished, funnily enough. it's not high on my list of priorities," he muttered back, the smile fading as he feigned annoyance as convincingly as he could. He wanted Dominique to believe the compliments were real, hence the faux upset over his suspicious response.

"Whatever. I'll just be like all the other robots that serve you, who are too afraid to tell you how it is. I'll e like them, act all braindead and lifeless and boring, would you prefer that?" He questioned, wandering across to the large closet with a faint sigh. "I think we're similar in some ways, I just thought... we could at least try to get along. I don't like you, let's not pretend I do, but I can... recognise you're not all bad. If that makes me such a dreadful person, I won't bother finding elements of you to compliment."
 
"You have served me for the past three years, Ambrosio, I know that there isn't anything you like about me. While I think some of the things you say are wrong, I also understand. I'm not an idiot nor heartless enough not to realize that I killed your friend and that left you upset. If I had a friend and you set her ablaze in front of me, I would be pretty mad myself," he stated simply as he watched the other, resting his head in his hand as he leaned back in bed.

"I want you to be honest with me, sure, but don't expect me not to punish you when you yell blatant lies, Ambrosio. I don't like liars in my court," he explained with a small frown. "... I think I'll need a coat later, so I trust you to pick a nice jacket to match everything."
 
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"Fine. I think you're a horrendous human being with a heart of stone. I think you don't have any real friends; people are around you because you're King. They'd abandon you in seconds if you lost your position. I'm prideful and borderline narcissistic, but I at least recognise I have flaws, albeit small ones. You're delusional if you think you're perfect. That's honesty. I do think you're handsome, though. And I do like it when you get so drunk that you gossip to me like I'm your friend and not a servant, I enjoy those moments. That's how I feel," he declared truthfully, deciding that if honesty was desired, he may as well give him a slice of it. It was nothing compared to the amount he wanted to throw at him, but he had to rein himself in a little.

"If you had friends, I wouldn't hesitate to burn them. Like I said though, you don't. You won't ever have a friendship like the one I had with Luana. That's sad, Dominique. Even a miserable excuse of a human like you ought to have a friend to confide in," he hummed, wandering into the closet to pull out an outfit, setting it down on the bed. "...But you don't care, right? That's your whole thing. You don't care about friendship when you have power. It's super sad, actually."
 
"I don't have 'friends' because not only are they never going to be real with my position but because I'm too busy to focus on them. Friendship implies putting effort into each other and I don't want to do that, is all," he replied simply as he watched the demon before fully laying back on the bed with a heavy sigh. If it were up to him, he would sleep the whole day off but this was the price to pay for his position.

"See, that's the horrible demon I know and love. I don't like fake people, especially not amongst my staff. No, I'd rather terrify them into believing the truth," he explained with a yawn Ashe patiently waited. "... don't forget the coat. God, I get sick every time this time of year."
 
"You love me? Well, ain't that sweet?" The demon purred back in reply, if only to distract from the growing tension that had built up on his side. He didn't want to get so angry that he lost his temper. It wasn't because of the inevitable punishment that would be given to him as a result, but because he didn't want to kill the other accidentally, which would be very easy to do if he did get mad and use his power against the King. He wanted him dead at some point, but not until after his birthday. It would be a waste to end his life before everything around him came crumbling down, anyway.

"...Am I invited to your birthday party? I'd love to attend, even just as a servant," he cooed, turning back as he held a coat up for approval. "I mean, I'll be on best behaviour. I won't badmouth any of the other aristocrats, even that horrid old lady with the weird hair. I'll be good. One glass of wine and I'll even let you insult me to your buddies without retorting."
 
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