A Blessing and a Curse

"Of course you're going to be there, you're my servant. Don't be stupid, Ambrosio," he replied flatly as he inspected the clothing and, once finding it suitable, offered a nod before sitting up again reluctantly. "You're there to serve, aren't you? It isn't like it's a particularly important birthday, just your standard celebration. I already know what people are going to say, they say it every year. 'Oh, look at you, so grown up! You know you look a lot like your father.... or mother. You've come so far from when you first became ruler, you're doing magnificent! You're so strong' blah blah blah," he drawled before moving to at least put on his pants by himself.

"Why does it matter? Like I said, it's jsut a normal birthday," he reminded with a roll of his eyes. "In fact, I'm not looking forward to it. I would rather just act as if everything is the same because it is the same. So boring..." he grumbled bitterly. "
 
"I don't think it's very normal. You'll be 20, won't you? That's a big milestone, I think. I remember when I turned 20. I think I spent the night completely drunk because I woke up the next morning with a totally gorgeous harpy. It was a birthday to remember-- and I want your birthday to be good, at least. You're less likely to grab me by my throat and threaten to toss me off a building when you're happy, Dominique," he pointed out smartly, folding his eyes as he observed the lavish clothing the man now donned, just about managing to hide his jealousy at the display. The only thing that really kept him going was the knowledge that, one day, he would get his hands on every item of clothing the King had.

"...I don't get to attend as your friend? That sucks. Here I was, thinking we were best buds," he pouted, leaning on the wall with his hand carefully brushing his hair from his third eye. "...Whatever. You need to go to the planning meeting at midday, don't forget. I won't attend, I have a lovely long list of chores to get to."
 
"Maybe I don't want to be happy," he proposed childishly as he took himself in the mirror, a small smile growing at how nice he looked. He wouldn't say anything, though, and preferred to simply offer a nod of encouragement. Adjusting the coat a tad, he chose to open the window just a tad to counter the heat of the coat. It was strange but it was what he wanted and if the King wanted it, he was going to get it. Glancing back over at Ambrosio, Dominique waved him away.

"Yes, you do have many chores. Unless you want to be up all night doing them, I suggest you get started," he dryly replied, slipping back into his role without effort as he moved to the balcony, taking in the kingdom while hiding his frown. "I expect a proper meal from the cook for my meeting and I'm trusting you with that duty, so.... hurry up." He ordered quietly.
 
There were, surprisingly, times when Ambrosio liked to be in the King's company. Hell, there were times he often forgot about the hatred he harboured for him and forgot about all the dreadful things the human had done because he enjoyed his company that much. Often, however, just when he thought he was on the verge of a breakthrough, the King would shut down and return back to normal, maintaining his superiority over the 'inferior' demon. This was such a moment and it took everything in Ambrosio not to bite and respond back to him. Instead, he somehow forced a smile and a bow, and headed off to complete the rest of the chores he had for the day.

By the time dinner came around, his hands were, like usual, rubbed red raw from the workload he had. It wasn't a rare sight to see his hands bloody and bruised at the end of each day, so much so that he often didn't feel any pain whatsoever because his body had acclimatised to it. Even though the chores he had were completed, he had no doubt that Dominique could conjure some more up for him if he was in a crappy mood, which he tended to be after his meetings. It made approaching his bedroom at night all the more tense - he wasn't sure what sort of mood the man would be in.

"...I have your hot milk, Dominique. I set your pyjamas out on the chair, I assume you don't need help with that," he began slowly, tiredly heading across to set the mug down whilst stifling a yawn, though the dark rings under his three eyes gave away how exhausted he was. "...How were your meetings? Did they go well?"
 
Despite the meeting only being a short few hours, Dominique was exhausted. He wasn't a social person like his parents were, after all, so something so simple tired him out easily. After the meeting, he had refreshed by staying in his room for a good few hours to read - probably not very responsible but that was what happened when he was forced into social situations.

When hearing Ambrosio enter, he glanced up from his plush chair before sighing heavily and reluctantly setting the book down. It a way it was funny, seeing Ambrosio so tired after a day of work while all he had to do was spend more than two hours with someone to be so exhausted.

"Your hands look awful, why don't you wear gloves?" He questioned in response as he motioned the other to sip it first as he always did. "You're supposed to be clever, right? Why not find less frustrating ways to clean? I'm disappointed by that, Ambrosio. You always poke at me for being dumb after all and now look at you."
 
"Because I'm not allowed to wear gloves, because everyone here hates me and wants me to suffer. Don't you think I'd wear them if I could? Last time I tried, two servants pinned me down and beat my head in with a saucepan. I don't fancy going through that again, Dom. It's not great being a creature in this place-- the other servants don't even have my back," he remarked, taking a careful sip from the cup to prove that he hadn't poisoned him, rolling his eyes as he did so. Three years of tasting the other's meals had grown tiresome, but he didn't expect Dominique to suddenly start trusting him. Besides, tasting proper food was always a treat, even if he only had a tiny spoonful from each of the King's meals.

"I don't think you're that dumb, I think you're smart. I just think you let your emotions rule you too much sometimes and that leads to disaster," he continued, flopping down at his usual spot; on the fluffy rug in the corner of the room. It wasn't exactly servant-like behaviour to get so casual and comfortable in front of the King, but Ambrosio hardly acted like a proper servant, and that hadn't been a major problem in the years he'd been at the castle. He was punished for it at first, but those punishments eventually dwindled away.

"I wish you invited me to your birthday meeting, I have so many ideas. You could have had a horror theme where you all dressed up as the creatures you hate-- only because I wouldn't need a costume, I already look scary."
 
"You're a demon, fight them back," he simply replied as he moved to sip the milk. "You always say you could kill me, why not fight them? I find that ridiculous. If I was you, I would show them their place. You're literally my head servant, use that to your advantage."

There was no real reason to give such advice and, while he could be incredibly cruel, he had moments sprinkled of kindness that he would never admit that kindness. Deciding to get dressed, he sighed contentlt once back in his robe and sat on the edge of the bed with the warm milk.

"I'll consider it," he grumbled.
 
"Oh shut the fuck up-- sorry, but that's bullshit. If I fought back, you'd be the first to use it as evidence against me and my kind. You'd tell all your subjects in the kingdom how vicious we are and that you have every right to go on with your little witchhunt-- I'm not an idiot, Dom. I won't do anything that'll give you more support in your disgusting war against us. I take the beatings because it's all I can do without making things worse," he mumbled, his good mood ending instantly. He was happy to chill out and gently prod and tease the other like he did most evenings, but simple remarks like that instantly set him off and reminded him that Dom wasn't a good friend or even someone he could just be comfortable with.

He was essentially the enemy who couldn't be trusted whatsoever.

"...Can I go to bed now? Not that it's actually a bed but I'm not worthy of actual comfort, am I?"
 
"Fine, go ahead," he replied, his brows raising in genuine shock. His words weren't meant to be malicious in any way, though clearly the sentiment didn't translate very well. Finishing his milk off, he handed it over before shimmying into the sheets.

"I'll consider you coming to the meetings in the morning," he added As he locked eyes with the demon, expressionless. "I'll get you a pair of gloves, too. Hey, and maybe if you get the guts to stand up for yourself a bit, I might reward you by not punishing you for your actions."
 
"Why are you going out of your way to be nice? You said you hate liars and you like honesty. This doesn't seem very sincere of you. You should be laughing at me and spraying perfume into my wounds to make them sting, you know? Not giving me suggestions to make my life easier, that's weird," he grimaced, pausing just before he headed out the door when the behaviour became too strange for him to just walk out and ignore. He wasn't unused to little bouts of kindness here and there, but they usually happened when the man was tipsy, not when he was completely sober.

"I don't like this," he repeated again, his eyes narrowed suspiciously and folded his arms for extra emphasis, being acutely aware that he didn't look that intimidating when he was so tired. "Are you dying or something, is that why you're being nice to me? Because you don't want to die with a guilty conscience? Or are you having some religious revelation? Either way, stop it. I'd rather you treat me like shit."
 
"Oh, I'm offended. I act nicely to you out of genuine care and you do this? I'm offended," he replied, hiding a small frown easily with the blanket. "If you want to go to bed all bitter and whatnot, I'm not stopping you. I just wanted to be honest without any jabs, is all. I'm too tired and looking at your hands disgusts me. Is that what you want me to say? Not every word that comes out of my mouth has to be full of vitriol, or does it?" He questioned quietly before exhaling.

"Just go. I can't sleep with you standing in the doorway, it's weird. Go and... I don't know, go and be all bitter when I'm trying to help you out," he grumbled before deciding to roll and face away from the door. "Good night."
 
For a long few minutes, Ambrosio stayed rooted to the same spot, so silent that it would have been easy to assume he had left. Instead, he stayed where he was, his lips pursed in contemplation. Eventually, that thought ended with him dragging a chair from the balcony outside and setting it down beside the other's bed, sitting down opposite the young King with his knees tugged close to his chest.

He knew that using magic wasn't necessarily encouraged -it was the reason Luana, and many others, were killed- but there had been times when he had been asked about what he could do, albeit during moments of tipsiness during wine tastings. However, he figured this was the perfect time to give an insight into the basic magic, if only as a little display to distract the man from questioning why he was lingering around, because he really didn't have answers to those questions.

"Pretty, huh? I know you hate magic or whatever, but these are pretty neat. Luana taught me, she said it helps get you to sleep," he commented, watching the luminous lights he had created hover between them, smiling to himself at the changing pastel colours. "...I don't mind you being nice to me, Dominique. It's just weird. I don't want to like you, I want to keep hating your guts, but when you act nice, it makes it difficult for me, you know? I hate that you're so charming sometimes-- I'm like all the other idiots who fall under your spell and gush about how charming you are, it makes me annoyed with myself."
 
"I'm known to be charming for a reason," he reminded as he watched, his hard expression seemingly softening under the pale light. He then quickly looked away, a soft blush on his cheeks that were hidden by the glow. "Would you really prefer I be even crueler? I can be, of course. It just gets so tiring, especially when I'm not actually mad. Not to mention you'll just use that to say cruel words to me and I don't much appreciate that," He admitted before deciding to wrap his blankets around him more, snuggling into the blankets.

"It's beautiful," he admitted, though with a tone of attempted dismissal. In reality, he was secretly incredibly fascinated with the whole idea. Potions had become a secret little hobby of his that no one else knew but magic would never be in his grasp and he knew that. "I don't see a practical point behind it, granted, but it is definitely magnificent."
 
"It's helpful if I can't find any candles to light, or when I get a nightmare and start freaking out in the dark. These can be really therapeutic, actually. And they remind me of Luana, so that helps," he commented quietly, his eyes locked solely on the lights to avoid glancing at the other, knowing that he'd only drop a compliment or two at how cute the whole scene was... and the last thing he wanted to do was make things anymore weirder by possibly emphasising the intimacy between them at the moment.

"I don't know why you treat us like crap, Dominique. People like me, I mean. If we're being honest, I don't... understand what we've ever done to have soldiers tear down our homes and kill us for being ourselves. I never hurt anyone; not one human was hurt by me. You're asking for trouble, you know. There are creatures out there who are waiting for the right time to pounce and kill you-- and hey, if you did die, who would I have to tease and insult?" He grinned, trying to bring a little amusement out of the situation, despite the heaviness of it. "...I just don't get it. You like me, right? You've been around me for three years and you must like me a little if I can sit this close to you without you freaking out. I... I'm sure other creatures would see what I see in you if you gave them a chance."
 
"I have my reasons," he replied simply with a grimace. "For starters, your kind isn't the only ones trying to kill me. I have other priorities outside of you creatures. Do you know how many kingdoms want to behead me and stick my head on a spike outside of their kingdom? Too many. My father and mother have debts with more people than you would expect and I'm here to clean up after that mess. I don't think you understand just how much I actually have to do for this place, I just prefer to do all of the real work to myself. You would never understand so I don't involve you," he explained simply with a sigh.

"Now it's my turn to ask why you're being so nice," he murmured before sitting up in bed a tad. If he wasn't going to be able to sleep, he should at least give the other focus. "I'm a terrible person, aren't I? I still don't understand why you haven't just poisoned me or slit my throat while I slept and that irks me to no end, I'm sure you understand that."
 
"Because I want you to see the mistake you made when I take over your kingdom, duh. Then I'll kill you. Maybe. We'll see how I feel," the demon taunted, resting back against the chair with his feet now comfortably propped up on the bed. The scene was surprisingly intimate, and he knew that, but he wasn't going to pretend he hated it. Intimacy was something he craved and there wasn't any denying that he felt that with Dominique, however poisonous their past was.

"Is it so hard for you to believe that I actually might... hold some nice feelings for you? Trust me, I hate to admit that after the shit you've done, but I'm no liar; at least not all the time. I don't lie about feelings. Maybe I'm desperate and I'm starting to see you in a new light because of that, or maybe you've just somehow wormed yourself into my heart. Who knows," he shrugged, pressing forward with his chin in his hands, calmly analysing the King's face. "...I do think you're stupid, though. You want to fight off these other kingdoms, yet you don't try to appeal to creatures who could help? We're strong, we have magic and we'd be valuable assets. Nobody would help you now, obviously, but that's not just your fault; your ancestors have all been assholes too."
 
"I don't need the help of your kind," He scoffed with a roll of his eyes as he looked away, his lip twitching into a grimace. "All you would do is use my trust to your advantage and kill me. No matter what I do, I'm destined to be killed somehow and I know that. If not from you creatures than through my acquaintances. Maybe I'll have an heir and they'll kill me, karma will hit me like a pile of bricks," he admitted, though was seemingly unfazed by it. After all, he had been told very young that his family had enemies and the chance of him being killed while still on the throne was a possibility. He didn't want that, obviously, but he was being realistic.

"Your threats don't scare me, Ambrosio. Besides, I'm going to fight to save my kingdom from your kind as long as possible. That's my job and while it seems everyone things I'm some dumb child, I... know what I'm doing. Now can we stop having this discussion?"
 
"...Why are you such an asshole? Serious question. I'm being nice to you and you still feel the need to be so derogatory and cruel about me-- what's so wrong with us that you'd fight to keep us away unless we're used as servants? What have I done to you to make you hate me that much that you'd refuse me equality? I've been fucking... nice to you, simply by keeping you alive and being obedient. But I'm still scum in your eyes?" He questioned fiercely, his own smile dropping the instant Dom went off on the usual digs and insults. He naively assumed that they were building some sort of understanding, but clearly they weren't. It reaffirmed to him that nothing would ever change until Dom did; maybe then he would see just how awful it was to live as a creature in a human-dominated world.

"You blush around me all the time; you clearly think I'm cute. I bet that disgusts you, doesn't it? That you find me attractive. Goes against every bigoted little thing you were taught," he continued, resting back against the chair with his arms folded. "Shame that you're so caught up in what you think is right that you can't accept how you feel, that must be sad-- but you don't care, do you? You're the big tough guy who refuses to acknowledge his own feelings, I've got it. Now, get to sleep because I'm not going to hang around being your servant. I think I'll go and find some friends in the kingdom to chill out with."
 
"I don't know why you haven't left already," he murmured, his fists clenched as his cheeks ignited red in embarrassment. He could easily lash out but the fact that he didn't at least proved that he was willing to be civil... despite the stress growing in his stomach. "Go make friends, yes. Enjoy the night, even if you should be sleeping. I don't care either way as long as you're back here in the morning."

Scooting a tad, he returned to his position in the bed and covered his blush childishly. After all, nothing could be more degrading than to be picked on for the very thing the demon called him out for. It was embarrassing and that wasn't something he want held over his head.
 
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"If you gave a simple apology for once in your privileged life, I'd stay here. I'm desperate to spend the night with a strong orc, sure, but believe it or not, I enjoy your company sometimes, Dominique. I've put you before myself for a long time, you just don't realise it," the demon replied, folding his arms again as he tried to calm himself. The urge to blurt out everything he knew about the curse was tempting - seeing Dominique panic and freak out would be the highlight of the demon's life, but he also wanted it to come as a shock to him the moment it happened. Even though he wanted to show the man that he was much smarter than the King gave him credit for, he was happy to wait just a few more weeks before he could gloat.

He did like Dominique a little, there was no denying that, but he didn't like him enough to inform him of the curse and help put a stop to it. Dominique hadn't shown him enough to warrant him going through the effort to help him out. He deserved his punishment and Ambrosio wasn't going to stand in the way of that.

Besides, a small part of him was curious to see how it played out. He thought Dominique was already cute. Seeing him with a third eye and a sharp pair of horns would be adorable.

"Do you want to kiss?" He offered casually, speaking as openly as he dared. If he got shot down and threatened for the bluntness, he would simply head out and use the energy with someone who had no problem kissing him; he wasn't solely reliant on the human, even if a kiss would solve a lot of the sexual tension he felt around him. "Or would that make you vomit in disgust?"
 
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