Oil and Water Traveling Down a Ravine

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Note: Just one short paragraph 
of implied nsfw at the very end
so I didn't mark the whole chapter
but still wanted to give a warning
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     From dawn until dusk and dawn again, Linias walked until his legs could walk no further and only then did he set down Haetia and rest. Where they were going, he hadn’t the slightest clue. It would take some asking around to figure out where the Ivory Shore was, or even what it was in the first place.

His whole life he’d been defending Haetia from potential assassins but only now did he think about the why more thoroughly. He was taught not to ask questions early on and so he never did. Now? If whoever was pursuing them was willing to burn down an entire village and kill countless innocent people to get to Haetia, he had no choice but to think about the why.

Haetia was undeniably unique, from his appearances to the internal functionality of his mostly feminine body. But was that really worth trying to kill him over?

It was no use wracking his head about it. If answers never crossed his mind after all these years they surely wouldn’t come to him now. For now, their only choice was to follow the vague directions of going to the Ivory Shore; that was the only place he could guarantee would provide answers.

Every time he attempted to rest and recover he could only see the thrashing flames of Haetia’s home under siege. The frantic and frightened people, the decomposing foliage. He held the locket against his chest, trying to push the memory and all of his fears to the depths of his being.

Linias didn’t rest his eyes for more than a handful of minutes before Haetia finally arose from his unwilling slumber without sparing any fury.

Immediately he scurried over, slapping his retainer clean across his cheek, leaving a sting and a palm print in its wake. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!! Who said you could knock me out!!”

“You would’ve been a liability to yourself.”

“Wha–! How dare you speak to me like that! If I tell–!” Haetia paused. There was no one to tell, not anymore.

Tensing up, Haetia clicked his tongue and turned on his heel, begrudgingly sitting across from Linias.

“Well what are we waiting for now!?”

A hard close came to Linias’s eyes as he held back another one of his desirable sighs. “Nothing, if you would like to go now, My Lord, we can.”

“Then get up! I can’t stand sitting in foresty areas like this, it gets my clothes dirty! Carry me.”

The servant forced himself onto his aching feet, throwing his Master over his pleading back and pressing on through all the exhaustion and pain.

“Where are we going now? The Ivory Shore? I wanna see other cities before that.”

“I’m not sure, Sire. We don’t even know where the Ivory Shore is, so it’s possible that we’ll have to pass through other cities in the first place just to get there.”

“Whaaat? I thought you knew where it was!”

“No. They never told me.”

“Huh! And here I thought your whole job was to know things for me. Well that brings me back to my question then.”

“I said I don’t know.” Linias’s miniscule frustration almost slips past, but he manages to say it in a neutral tone. “To the nearest town aside from the immediate closest, since they’re probably checking all immediate neighbors of your hometown as well. Then we’ll likely go to the closest city. There should be someone there that would be able to give us some information about the Ivory Shore.”

“So I guess you do know some things then, liar.”

Liar? He questioned to himself but quickly brushed it off as Haetia.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After a few more hours of traveling, Haetia began kicking and screaming all over again.

“I want to eat I want to eat I want to eat I want to eat I want to EAT!!!! When are we gonna get to this supposed town?!”

Linias set down Haetia, leaning against a tree in order to discreetly rest and try and regain some strength as well as ask the surrounding forest. He tapped the bark as to ask and the tree replied, Where sky meets land. Over the horizon then, so maybe another half an hour to an hour.

“Close, but still a good walk away.”

“Ughhhhhh, can’t you just go then and I wait here? I’m tired, all these trees look the same to me, I feel like we haven’t moved at all!”

Leaving Haetia alone again especially so far away didn't really sit well with him. If something were to happen, camouflaged or not, Linias wouldn’t be anywhere near close enough to get to him in time.

“Can you push yourself–” As soon as the words left his mouth, Linias wished he hadn’t said them.

“Push–Push myself!? Fuck no! I’m tired, I said I’m tired didn’t I?!”

“Yes, Sire, but please–”

“I said no! Just go get something to eat and come back! That’s an order!”

Now, Linias sighed. He hated having to say it because it always led to a tantrum on Haetia’s part. “I can’t leave you here this far away. It would jeopardize—”

“My fucking safety! Right!” Haetia completed the phrase, having heard it countless times before. “My safety this, my safety that. ‘Oh My Lord, I have to protect you by making you do things you don’t want to do because it’s my duty!’ UGH!” He threw his hands in the air, his maroon nail polish blazing in fury. “Fine then!”

Sighing again, the retainer rolled his shoulders back and picked up his Master once more.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Once they were in sight of the town, Linias let Haetia down and put on his sternest yet most uncommanding voice, “Please, Your Majesty, don’t move from this spot, alright? Just stay quiet and stay still. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Why do you get to go in? I wanna check out the town too!”

“Your appearance is too memorable. If that group comes here the townsfolk are likely to out our whereabouts.”

“Tsk.” Haetia clicked his tongue and rolled his lavender and scarlet eyes then shooed Linias away.

Holding back a head shake, Linias walked off, growing some vines and branches and asking the surrounding foliage to warn him if something were to happen.

The village looked no different from the one Haetia grew up in, aside from the fact that the townsfolk didn’t seem to mind outsiders. Linias located the nearest stable he could find – which they luckily had in the first place – and knocked on the door.

A woman answered, probably around his age if not a little younger. Her eyebrows raised at the sight of him, likely because of his scarred right eye yet otherwise attractive features. That much, he could tell after all his time spent with Mitsuyo.

“Y-Yes? How can I help you?”

A little flustered, that was good. He could use that.

Linias changed faces, putting on a soft and innocent travel-weary smile, “Hello! I’m a traveler, and I was passing through when your horses caught my eye. They’re well-cared for and it really shows, you’re a breeder I take it?”

“Y-Yes I am!” She excitedly responds, “It’s been a family tradition to breed and care for our horses ourselves.”

“I don’t blame you, buying them from other stables or getting wild ones is usually not worth the price you pay.”

“Hahaha yep! My father had once tried it–buying a horse from others that is–and it was absolutely terrible to try and tame! Wouldn’t listen to anyone and we don’t like to use violence all that much to teach our horses. We ended up having to sell it again! Can you believe that?”

The two exchanged a lighthearted laugh before the stablekeeper gleefully shook her head.

“Sorry, hah! Really, how can I help you? You’re interested in buying I take it?”

“Yes, any of them will do. The problem is, as a traveler you can imagine that funds get tight sometimes. I was wondering if there was anything else I could do to repay you? I’m a jack of all trades, really, so if you have something you’d liked fixed, or some creatures you’d like me to chase away…”

The stable keeper eyes the full length of Linias’s frame. He already knew the answer before he asked, but it was all about setting it up.

“Well…Why don’t you come inside and we can talk about it?”

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     He didn’t too much like the idea of having sold his body for a horse and some vegetables and fruits, but whatever it took to get by. They didn’t have too much in the realm of money, that much wasn’t a lie, and in all honesty he should’ve remembered to try and get some when he was procuring Haetia’s cosmetics and contraception but that was all in the past now.

At the least, she provided more than he originally asked for. On top of the produce he was also able to get a robe to cover Haetia as well so that they could both enter cities and towns in the future rather than having to leave him outside all the time. Plus, if that group of black and red armored soldiers came down this way, she’d be too shy to admit to any strange activity since that would require her to fess up to having slept with said strange activity.

Haetia jumped onto his feet the moment his servant came into view, running at him with expectations already set at an all time high. “Please tell me you got food and that we’re not just gonna eat this horse!”

“NO!” Linias unconsciously raises his voice, then immediately dials it back in a quick clearing of his throat, “--I mean–No. I brought some fruits and vegetables as well. We’re going to have to ration them out to preserve them for as long as possible.”

Making a fuss about the sudden act of disrespect didn’t even cross Haetia’s mind as he was too occupied by the thought of a meal. “That’s it?! No meat or anything?!!”

“No, we can’t afford that right now.”

Haetia swung his head around in annoyance, mumbling to himself some frustrations before throwing his snow white hands in the air once again. “Fine, fine. Just give me something.”

Linias rummaged through the bag attached to the horse’s saddle and as soon as he pulled out an apple Haetia snatched it from his hands. Then he rotated it about, then shoved it back in Linias’s hands.

“Cut it.”

To be expected.

The retainer removed the small piece of bark attached to his hip, turning it into a small knife and preparing the apple just the way Haetia preferred it: some – not all – of the outer layer removed and little slices about the size of half of a pinky but still attached to the stem. All in such a way that it could be eaten with just a toothpick straight from its roots as it was just loose enough to dislodge but not loose enough to fall out on its own.

“Can you eat and ride at the same time? It’d be better for us to make it to the next town before it gets too dark. If we leave now we should be there by sunset.”

His Master rolled his eyes and groaned—his way of reluctantly agreeing.

After lifting Haetia onto the horse (both legs on one side since he couldn’t stand sitting on horses the normal way) he handed the apple to him which he re-snatched in a flash.

“Fork.” The Young Lord beckoned immediately, to which Linias obeyed.

Growing a small branch, he formed it into a petite fork and broke it off; and once again Haetia snatched it from his hands the moment it was available, not that it really bothered him.

He patted the horse's neck, gently whispering, “Take care of him, Summer.”

Judging by the way she looked back at him, Linias could already tell that Summer, the horse, didn’t like Haetia in the slightest, hence his way of indirectly asking her to try her best.

Haetia popped another slice into mouth, a dash of its juices splashing onto Linias’s face. “You and your stupid animals. Can we just get going already?”

Linias held back one of his usual tempting sighs then tapped the horse to motion for her to follow. It was undeniably going to be a long trek until they ever reached the Ivory Shore, and all Linias hoped was that his Master could bear with it and stay focused.

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     Once they had reached the next town over, Linias threw the long robe over Haetia, pulling the hood down as far as he could and closing the front.

“Don’t lift your head up, just follow behind me. And stay quiet.”

“Since when were you the Master huh?”

Linias blinked hard. “Sire. Please.”

Haetia rolled his eyes and groaned. Sometimes, Linias thought to himself why he was chosen to supervise him of all people, but it was likely because of that very patience that was instilled into him from day one.

After they stowed the horse outside of the inn they headed inside, to which there was luckily a mostly human and likely mage crowd with the strange and few exceptions of a werewolf and harpy which wasn’t too surprising considering how chilly the area was.

The pair approached the counter, retrieved a room key, and headed upstairs without any trouble. According to the stable keeper of the previous village, travelers in these parts were few but not few enough that people would ask questions, luckily for them.

There was only one bed in their room for the night but Linias didn’t sleep much anyways let alone on a bed.

As per usual, Linias undressed his Prince without being told yet once he tried to carry him into the bathroom, Haetia shooed him away.

“I’ll wash myself this time.”

The servant could count on one hand how many times Haetia said those rare words to him but he wasn’t complaining. That gave him a few moments of peace.

“If you need me, please call.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

Haetia nearly slammed the bathroom door behind him as he entered. He’d been with Linias his whole life and whether he liked it or not he was stuck with the hollow blank-faced statue of a person for whatever time he had left in this world. Especially in times when he needed privacy did he hate having that brute around, like now.

His naturally cold hands matched the iron of the shower handle in temperature. It always took him forever to get the water to the exact climate he wanted (hence why Linias always did it for him), but today he didn’t fiddle with it too much.

The mostly frigid water ran down his snow-dyed skin, not even sending a chill down his spine. As the water inched lower, so did his fingers. It’d only been a week since the last time he was touched by another but it still left his body in a fever yearning for more. Yet, he knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with just pleasuring himself. It was always just a temporary fix until he could find someone to fill the hole—his hole that is.

For whatever the reason he’d always been of the lustful sort and he just believed it to be part of his personality, though never did he think he’d end up having trouble trying to find someone to sleep with. As much as he wanted to travel outside of his hometown, if he knew that this would be an issue he might’ve reconsidered. Only slightly that is.

The orgasm was weak and unfulfilling like it usually was when he masturbated. Heaving a sigh, Haetia grimaced at the sight of his own sperm, washing it off his hands and down the drain as quickly as possible.

Maybe he could seduce one of the travelers in the inn…Nooo, he already knew Linias would chastise him.

“What if they try to kill you or whatever dumb shit he always says. Ugh.”

He turned off the shower water, watching the thin spurt struggle to go down the drain.

It really was going to be a painful journey.