Untitled AU

This chapter was meant to be longer, but i devided it into two [insert evil laughter here] so i have something left to post incase i get another writer's block (why does that happen to every damn fic i start??)

Can anyone *please* leave a comment? I'd like to know what you all think of it...especially since i've worked hard on it for months, and i'm using more 'big words' in this than i've ever had in any of my old fics combined... ^^;
Suggestions for a title would be loved and adored.

It took slightly more than two hours in trot and canter without a break for rest before they arrived at the grande city of Westchester. Lord Shaw's horses had showed remarkable stamina, they were barely panting, but the army horses were white with sweat as most of them carried the dead-weight of the fallen soldiers.

The small party made their way through the cobblestoned main streets. Peasants that were walking by hurried to the sides to make room for them; they knew that some Lords didn't care if people were stomped down by their horses. To the mutants relief it didn't take long before the carriage came to an abrupt halt.

A young mutant fell to his knees as his shaky legs finally gave up on him. He panted heavily as the sweat poured down his face.

"Remy, you okay?" the mutant next to him whispered.

He turned his head to look at her and managed a grin, "Just need t' catch my breath, chere, but I'll be alright. You?"

The one-eyed female mutant known as Callisto nodded her head once. On the other side of her Synch, whom had a deep wound on the side of his face that was still bleeding slightly, and next to him… Remy had to close his eyes and turn his head away. The fourth captured mutant, Tattoo, hadn't been able to keep up with the intense running and from the looks of it, her dead body had been dragged along for the past hour.

Men came to untie them from the carriage, and took them towards the backdoor of a great building made of marble. People had gathered to see the horrible creatures, the spawn of the Devil himself, their eyes were filled with fear and hate as they started to shout things at them.

Remy LeBeau was unable to look away from their faces even though he could almost feel their disgust in his very bones. As they got near the backdoor of the marble building, his eyes locked with a pair of blue ones. Blue like the clearest of water. The eyes belonged to a handsome blond man whom stood a good distance away from the other humans, surrounded by guards. He stared back at the mutant's red on black eyes with his mouth slightly open.

Remy's head suddenly snapped to the side and an intense burn started to spread across his cheek.

"Don't you dare to look a Royal Prince in the eyes, piece of filth!" a guard sneered at him. The man was about to strike the young mutant again, when his arm was caught and twisted in the assailant's grip. The guard gritted his teeth as he realized their mistake; not having retied the mutants hands behind their backs instead of leaving them tied in front, which gave Remy a weak chance of fighting back against his captors. Remy's eyes flared dangerously as his grip tightened.

"I can look at whomever I want, flatscan", he said through clenched teeth as he twisted the arm out of its sockets. The man screamed in agony and Remy was punched in the face by another guard before roughly being forced to go on with the others.

Remy could feel the pair of blue eyes still on him, and he turned his head to look back. The man was looking rather amused at him.

Once inside, the three mutants were led down to an underground cellar, where there were rows of dark and moist cells. The only light source came from a few torches on the far-off wall. The mutants were shoved inside a small cell and left alone. Remy sat down on the dirty floor and leaned back against the cold stone wall with a heavy sigh.


***

The Great King had been occupied the entire day with socialising with all of the invited noblemen, as the good host he was, which left the blond prince irritated over the fact that he could not speak with his father in private during the past hours since he got back from his short trip into the central city. It wasn't until the king made his way towards the dining hall that he seized his chance.

He approached his father in the luxurious hallway that lead from the throne room to the just as large dining hall. He knew that his father would get irritated by being disrupted before dinner, but time was running out with each breath.

"Father, may I speak with you?"

King Charles looked at him for a moment before turning to his companions.

"Lord Shaw, Lord Drake, please go ahead."

The two lords bowed their heads in respect as the king turned to walk into an empty room nearby, followed by his youngest son.

"What is so important that it cannot wait until after dinner, Warren?" he asked as the prince closed the door behind them.

"I want a pet."

The king raised his eyebrows.

"You have been able to recieve a pet for the last eight years, yet you have always declined."

"No one has caught my eye until just now."

"Notify Doctor McCoy and the pet will be yours. Now if you excuse --"

"He's a mutant", Warren interrupted as his father made to leave. King Charles' eyes widened. "He's one of the mutants that Lord Shaw took as prisoners. I want him", the prince continued.

"A mutant pet?! And a robber and murderer at that! It's preposterous!" Charles sneered as he angrily turned his back on his son to walk over to the edge of the balcony overlooking the beautiful city below. He took a few minutes to let himself cool down before he faced Warren, and said with a calmer yet authoritive voice; "Do you have any idea what people will think if we bring mutants into our homes? Into our beds?"

Warren kept quiet, he knew better than to interfere with his father when he was angry. The king would come around eventually, like he always did when his sons wanted something.

"And a wild mutant at that…" Charles almost laughed. "A filthy dog that tried to rob a great Lord, and whom killed several men in that attempt, in fact. And it probably carries more fleas than there are in the entire poor men's quarters."

"Have you seen him?"

"I don't need to see it, wild mutants are all the same. Untamed, fierce freaks with horns and other oddities growing out of their skulls, completely inferior in mind and ability to the mutants kept in our service, not to mention absolutely inferior to us."

"I'll admit that he is not as submissive to us as our mutant slaves are", Warren said, "but that is to be expected as he has never been in civilisation until now. As for his looks…he is a sight to behold. One would think that his beauty were his mutant power." Charles snorted at this. "Believe me father, would I want him if he were an ugly beast? Atleast let me give it a try, let me try to tame him and claim him as mine."

"Mutants are not to be trusted", Charles said, looking straight into Warren's blue eyes to make him remember what had happened a few years back. "Our mutant slaves have grown up with our laws and discipline, this wild mutant has no idea of how civilised people act." He turned his face to look outside again. The sun was still pretty high in the sky, shining its warm life-giving light over the glorious land beneath it. "How will you properly care for a pet when you cannot even care properly for your own horse?"

Warren wrinkled his royal nose. "Brigador smells. You know that I'm not fond of being in the stables, father. I enjoy riding him, but why in heaven's name should I muck his stall or scrub him clean when I have servants and stable boys to do it for me?"

"And will your servants care for your mutant as well?"

"I won't let anyone else touch him."

Charles watched the setting sun for a moment as he thought things over, then bent his head in defeat. "I will let you have him." Warren held back a smile of victory. He knew the outcome even before he had approached his father; once the king had let him know that he was the one in charge, the one whose words were law, it didn't take long before he gave into his sons wishes. "But I'll only give you one week. If you cannot tame him until the next Friday…" Charles turned to stare strictly at the blond prince, "…I'll send him to the Bull he is to be spared from this night."

Warren's eyes widened for a moment, then he bowed his head, "Thank you, father."

He backed away, head still bent in submission, until he reached the door. He was about to leave when his father continued.

"Oh, and I want you and your new…pet…to attend the punishment of his friends tonight. That will help teach him what he has to face if he disobeys you."

"Yes, father."

With that, Warren left for the stables. He ordered the first stable boy he saw to prepare his horse, and once his chestnut stallion was led outside, he jumped up in the saddle. Accompanied by four of the Royal Guards, he made his way for the courthouse.

***


The prince entered the courthouse through its large front doors that were decorated in ancient patterns of kings and mighty warriors of the past defeating their wicked enemies and offering them to the Gods of Justice. He walked with long, authoritive steps to the back where the stairs down to the dungeon were located. A guard saluted him.

"Prince Warren!" the man said. "What may I do for you, my Lord?"

"There's a mutant down in the holding cells. I want him brought up here."

The guard looked confused, "But my lord, we have three mutants down there. Shall I bring up all three, sir?"

Warren looked irritated.

"No, just the boy with the red and black eyes."

"Yes, sir!"

The guard called for some of his comrades before hurrying down the steps. It didn't take long before they returned, all of the five guards held their own chains to make sure that the freak didn't try to do anything against the prince, even though his arms were tightly secured wrist to elbow behind his back, having learned their lesson from before when the freak still had his hands tied in front of him. He was gagged with a piece of cloth to keep him from insulting or spit on the Royal.

Warren smirked as recognition flashed in those exotic eyes of the mutant. Two of his royal guards stepped forward to take the chains from the other men who backed away from the prince and continued to do their own business. Without taking his eyes off his pet's, he adressed the guards that held him.

"Take him to Doctor McCoy, tell him to clean the boy up. I'll make sure a carriage will come for him when he's done." He raised his hand to let his fingers caress the soft skin of Remy's cheek. Remy's eyes flared with anger, but this only seemed to amuse the blond man even more. Warren was about to turn and leave, when he added, "Oh, and tell the good doctor not to castrate him; I want a fiery stallion, not a gelding."

He could hear behind him how the mutant swore the foulest words the prince had ever heard through the gag, and how he fought his hardest to get loose but to no prevail. The boy was weaker than the men that held him. Warren sat up on Brigador's back and made his way home.


Un-beta'd version of Chapter 3 is located here:
http://psylocke83.livejournal.com/2027.html

...oooh, lookie down there *points* it's a REVIEW link ^.^ *hint hint*