All he wanted was a night of mischief to himself, tired of his studies and tired of having to behave himself, he wanted to experience the life of a commoner. He visited the nearest village closest to the imperial palace, he dressed in all black to fit in and have fun.

Sitting at a table in a restaurant, he watched as the villagers danced, spoke and enjoyed themselves, he too was fortunate enough to join a conversation between men but then suddenly, piercing screams echoed in the night sky.

The joy diminished and some of the men went to look what the screaming was about. The young boy’s heart pounded in his chest. He wasn’t supposed to be here and now something terrible must be happening.

“Mercy!” One of the men came back yelling back.

“What is it?” The restaurant owner asked.

The man looked at the restaurant owner, pointing out to the outside, “The bandits! They’re here and taking slaves!!!”

Everyone in the restaurant immediately went into an uproar. The customers threw their food and wine to the side and ran for their lives. The young boy stood up and ran with them. When he got out of the restaurant he looked around and the whole village was a mess.

His heart beat faster. He ran in the opposite direction of the noise making it around a corner but the moment he turned he came face to face with a shadow. He stopped in his steps staring frightened at it, “It’s your lucky day boy,” said a menacing voice.

The man raises his hand and hit the boy over his head. The pain felt so sharp blanking him out in one shot.

°

[Rhiyaad’s POV]

Opening my eyes to a dimly lit room, I wince in pain. “Where am I?” I ask myself as I sit up on the bed. Looking down at my feet, I note that I’m sitting on hay that’s covered with an old rug and I have an old grey blanket hanging off of me.

Looking around, I see a bed of hay opposite me but it’s neatly laid out. Coughing, I feel the pain on the spot where my head was hit. A door I didn’t know was there opens giving me a fright.

“Oh, you’re awake?” asks a boy who comes in with a tray that has bread buns on it and something else.

I don’t answer him and just glare at him. I don’t know where I am and who he is.

He sits the tray down on a chair and lights up a second oil lamp, bringing it to the corner of my haystack. He turns and looks down at me with a smile. He kneels down at my feet, looking up at me he asks, “What’s your name? I’m Nari.” He introduces himself.

I move back and pull my legs up hugging them, “Get away from me,” I glare at him.

His eyes widen in surprise then turn amused, “You’re awfully full of energy for someone who was out cold for three days,” he says and turns to the stool which he sat down near my stack of hay.

“What nonsense are you speaking? I’ve been asleep for three days?” I yell at him.

He quickly gets up and hushes me while sitting down on my haystack, “Don’t be too loud, it’s almost lights out and we’ll both be in trouble if the rebels come in to punish us!”

“Rebels?” I ask shocked. I suddenly remember what happened and can’t believe it. I’ve been kidnapped, what will mother and father think? Oh, shoot, what about my siblings? My people?

Seeing that I’m silent he sighs relieved and looks at me with a worried expression, “Yes the rebels, you were brought here two days ago with the rest of the slaves to dig further into the oil well for Master Ameer.”

“You don’t mean Lord Ameer from Kumalu?” I ask suspiciously. He nods his head making me frown.

“Just behave okay? Nothing good comes from defying him or his goons and trying to escape will be useless since you don’t know where you are okay?” he warns me.

My body begins to tremble as my eyes start stinging. Sniffing, I hide my face from him. Crying into my hands I pray that I will make it, I’m supposed to ascend the throne as the heir apparent but look what’s become of me. All because I wanted to enjoy one day to myself but look what I got myself into instead, I’m a slave for one of the men working for my father!

My face is forced up to look at Nari who is frowning. He wipes away my tears with the pads of his thumb then to my astonishment, he kisses my lips. The warmth radiating off of his lips calms me down making me relax, for some unknown reason.

I whimper when I feel his lips no longer encasing mine. Fluttering my eyes open, I look into his eyes, “There, see? You’re no longer trembling and crying.”

His hands leave my face as he slips down to the ground and reaches for a plate of buns, he hands me the plate offering, “You need to eat, when morning arises you’ll be put to work.”

I nod my head and take a bun while he takes another, there are five buns on the plate, not enough for the both of us, “Take all of it,” he says.

“What about you?” I ask him out of concern. Nari shrugs his shoulders, “I don’t eat much, one bun and a bowl of broth are enough for me,” he says making me nod confused.

I take the plate from him and watch as he opens two bowls of white steaming broth that smells deliciously like lamb. My stomach growls at the aromatic tease making me look down at it embarrassed and Nari chuckles.

“Sit,” he says patting the floor beside him. I climb off the hay and sit opposite him instead where the bowl of deliciousness is.

We eat in silence but I can’t help thinking of how worried my parents are. I’m sure my mother is crying herself to sleep because of me especially since it’s been a couple of days already.

“Don’t cry, you have me now to keep you company. Like I said before, if you behave, you won’t be punished or killed,” Nari says pulling me out of my miserable thoughts.

“How long have you been held captive here?” I ask him as I wipe my tears away. He takes a sip from the bowl and swallows with a pleasurable moan.

“I’ve been here for almost seven months,” he answers cheerfully.

“How can you be happy?” I ask him with a frown.

“Because I’ve made peace with it, you see, there are some others who get sold to the wealthy that end up as sex slaves, both young and old, male and female, whereas you and I got lucky. I work in the kitchens while you will work outside digging and when this is all done, you might move to the building site,” he says and this, to me really sounds better.

I’ve heard stories from the servants who work for us that men, especially the wealthy buy male slaves to use for their sexual desires, some of them get raped and tossed around. Just thinking of myself as a sex slave makes me shudder and clench my butt cheeks.

We return to eating in silence and after a while I say, “My name is Rhiyaad.”

Nari hums and looks at me from under his eyes lashes, “From the skin on your body I can tell you were brought up in a wealthy home. When you are asked tomorrow by the guards, don’t give them your real name because you might just end up dead. It’s a way of them tying up loose ends because as you know, it’s illegal to kidnap people and use them as slaves. The royals say it’s illegal but do nothing about it so, just think of a new name for yourself,” he warns me.

I gulp and mentally take note. “How old are you?” he suddenly asks me.

“Fifteen, you?” I ask him and he beams at me. For some reason, he keeps smiling and his smile makes me feel at ease.

“Oh, I’m fifteen too,” he says excitedly.

A bell suddenly rings and Nari rolls his eyes, “It’s time to get to bed,” he says picking up the empty dishes. I get up on my stack of hay and close myself with the blanket. My eyes widen as my cheeks flush. I watch as Nari slips his pants off and pulls off his shirt.

With his back facing towards me, I get a good look at his perfect body that has meat in all the right places. I note that he has curved hips and juicy long legs. I swallow my saliva and shut my eyes, turning around in my new bed.

Counting back from ten to one to make sure that my desires don’t spike. I’ve never seen a man with such a delicious looking body. I sigh realizing that I’m going to have to keep my guard up around him. I hear him chuckle and rustle as he gets in bed.

The door bursts open giving me a fright as I sit up. Nari sighs from the opposite side of the room as I stare at a man glaring daggers at me, “You have work tomorrow boy!” he states in his scruffy voice.

I vigorously nod my head making him scoff, “What’s your name boy?”

I gulp and lick my dried up lips, “M – My n – name i – is Sh – Shareed.”

He raises a brow after my answer then turns to look at Nari, “You better make sure he gets up bright and early.”

“Mn k, leave now so we can sleep,” Nari answers sounding seconds away from sleep. The man growls then slams the door behind him.

I turn my gaze to Nari who shoots up from the bed resting on his elbows with a wide grin on his face, “So your name is Shareed?”

I nod my head, “It’s my cousin’s name.” He gives me a thumbs up then blows out the lamp near him. I blow out the lamp near me and we go to sleep even though I can hardly fall asleep with all my thoughts.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

*Two years later*

Arriving back to their living quarters, Rhiyaad sighs exhausted. Today he helped build the foundation for three homes in the Sahari village but they were far from finished. Flopping down on his bed he turned his head to look at the empty bed opposite to his.

Groaning, he got up and went to the well out back and stripped out of his clothes. He took a quick bath and got dressed in his loosely fitted pants. Walking back to their room, he opened the door and smiled from ear to ear seeing Nari placing the food tray down on the stool.

Closing the door behind him, he walked up behind Nari and wrapped his arms around him. Kissing the side of his neck, he inhaled with a deep breath making Nari shudder. Turning around in Rhiyaad’s hug, he looked at the dashing man before him.

Remembering the day the scrawny fifteen-year-old boy was thrown onto the empty bed in the early hours of the morning was now a handsome, bulky, sex god and he was all his. Standing on his tippy toes, he cupped Rhiyaad’s face and smiled up at him. Looking into his beautiful brown orbs he said, “Welcome home handsome.”

Rhiyaad chuckled. Sliding his hands down Nari’s back, he cupped his fat butt and squeezed it making Nari whimper. Looking into his now dilated eyes, his dilated equally bringing his arousal to wake. He slammed his lips against his lovers, suckling and ravaging it.

He cradled Nari’s head in his arms as he sucked and stuck his tongue deeper into his mouth. The bell rang making the two pull apart. Rhiyaad grinned as he looked down into Nari’s unfocussed gaze, “Thank you for the welcome Shanari,” he whispered into his ear seductively.

Sliding his hands down Rhiyaad’s muscled torso, Shanari smiled up at him, “We have to go to bed.”

Rhiyaad nodded his head and they went to their respective beds and blew out their lamps. The moment after things calmed down, Rhiyaad sat up against the clay wall with his back bare while Shanari sneaked into his bed. Opening his legs to let his lover sit comfortably, the two started eating and spoke softly about their day.

Feeling that it was enough, Rhiyaad undressed his lover who gasped at his charming touch. The two tossed and turned while trying to muffle their moans as Rhiyaad thrust deeply in and out of the channel he claimed as his with his head flung back. He thrust one final time ejaculating his seed in Shanari’s channel.

Circling his hips a few times, he pulled out and blanket his lover, “I love you,” he whispered into Shanari’s ear who sighed happily. Wrapping his arms around Rhiyaad’s neck he kissed him on the lips and whispered his love for him against his lips.

They fell asleep side by side waking to a new day.

Reluctantly leaving Shanari behind, Rhiyaad returned to work. The hours in the scorching sun made every one of the workers tired. When they returned to their home of captivity it was a mess. Slaves were running left and right making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

He quickly ran towards his room but stopped in his tracks hearing a booming voice call the name only his Shanari called, “Rhiyaad!!?”

His head snapped in that direction. His heart jumped for joy but dread as well. The man who called him was his uncle, the head of the royal guards and from the look of it, the royal guards were here.

He ignored his uncle and started yelling Nari as he made his way to the kitchen. When he arrived he saw that there was no one there and everything was upside down. His uncle grabbed his arm and pulled him along with him.

“What is wrong with you? I finally found you and you’re refusing to come with me?” His uncle reprimanded him. Rhiyaad turned a furious gaze to his uncle and punched him in the face shocking his cousin, second uncle and his best friend who was standing not too far from them.

“You have the wrong person!” he spat in his uncle’s face and darted off. Rhiyaad came to a stop when he saw the rebels then ran passed them after yelling that the royals were behind him around the corner.

Rhiyaad finally came to a stop when he saw Nari’s colleague, “Mirah! Where’s Nari?” he asked frantically.

“Shaheed, what are you doing here? The royal guards are here searching for someone,” she said instead of answering his question.

Mirah fell to the floor holding her cheek where Rhiyaad slapped her. He glared down at her and asked her in a frighteningly calm voice, “Where the fuck is Nari?”

She shook her head frightened, “I don’t know, when the royal guards broke in he ran off.”

“Fuck!” he cursed and spun around. His eyes darted around wondering where his lover could be in this mess. Before he could run off his best friend, uncles and his cousin stopped before him, “Rhiyaad, we’re not here to hurt you, your parents have been worried sick. Let’s go home before things get out of hand.”

Before he could say something, he was struck on the head by a royal guard. He fell down to the ground making everyone sigh because he looked like he was about ready to charge at them yet again.

From behind everyone, Shanari frowned as he was hiding in a corner. He saw that Rhiyaad was cornered and for a split second, they made eye contact, which was the very moment he got struck on the head. From the words spoken by the man who knew Rhiyaad’s name and the fact that he recognized the royal symbols on their attire, he realized that the person who he was involved with was a prince, one of royal blood!

He watched them drag him away with a heavy heart. Shaking his heartbreaking thoughts away, he ran in the opposite direction and disappeared.

He ran to a secluded area that was just outside the town which was in ruins and went into a broken-down home. He opened a latch to a trap door and walked in. Swords were pointed in his direction but they settled at the waists of the three men in the room.

Shanari shook his head disapprovingly then beamed, “Thanks to your tip, the royal guards came and cleaned the place out,” he said to a woman seated at the table in the middle of the room.

Everyone nodded their heads and settled down. Folding his arms Shanari’s face turned serious, “Now, let’s get down to business, with Ameer down, we have Hakeem to take down and from there Malik.”

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**

[Rhiyaad’s POV]

I wake up with a massive headache. My body is bouncing up and down. Raising myself up, I note that I’m on a horse and it's blazing hot above my head. As I raise my head I see that I’m dressed in different clothes, those fit for a royal like me.

I glare ahead of me and turn my head, fuck, I’m surrounded by them. “Give me water,” I demand hoarsely.

“Ah, here you go Rhiyaad,” I get told and handed a water sack. I take it grunting a thank you and drench my throat with the water emptying it. I chuck it over my shoulder and glare down at the back of the horse.

Closing my eyes, the faint image of my Shanari just as I passed out pops up. I never got a chance to tell him who I really was, well I didn’t see the need to because I thought we’d spend our lives together as slaves – how wonderful that the place got raided and I’m heading back to the place I forgot.

I sigh deeply remembering that I have a girlfriend/fiancé waiting for me.

“You okay Rhiyaad?” My cousin calls for me.

I raise my head and look at him. His eyes widened when he sees the look of hate in my eyes, “Shut it,” I order and head back into the corner of my mind.

We stop for the night and camp near a shelter out of the storm. I ignore all their conversation starters headed my way but don’t forget to thank them for the water and food they give me. A mannerism Shanari smacked into me.

I smile and wipe away the tear that slips down my cheek. Sighing I lay on my side and close my eyes ignoring the worried and curious gazes the guards and my family are sending my way. My name is called a few times but I ignore it as my breathing evens out and I fall asleep to the thought of hugging my darling Shanari as I sleep.

I wake up with a fright from my dream to the early hours of the morning. Opening my eyes I sit up and rub the sleep away. Looking up at the sky, I see that the sun is going to rise soon.

Standing up I stretch my body and walk a short distance to where the night watch guards are posted. Looking down at my second uncle I hesitate to speak but do, “Wake them up, it’s time to leave,” I say.

He frowns at me, “Rhiyaad, it’s still early, we’ll depart when the sun is up.”

“You’re wasting my time,” I state bluntly and walk off. Walking around a boulder I found, I pull my member out and empty my bladder.

Shaking myself off, I close up and walked back to the camp. I’m happy to see that he woke everyone up but they all steal glances my way. Kamal, my best friend walks over to me with his hands up to show that he isn’t a threat, “We’ll be leaving soon, do you want anything to eat?” he asks me.

I nod my head with a grunt. He looks at me worried but doesn’t say anything and walks away. I rub my neck and walk in a circle unknowingly.

“Here,” Kamal hands me a bowl of soup. I take it and thank him; he watches me down it and asks if I want more but I shake my head.

We soon depart after everyone eats. We arrive at the capital where the citizen’s depart, making way for us. They are very curious as to who I am since I never showed my fucking face to anyone besides my family.

We arrive at the golden gates of the palace and it opens. The guards and servants around gasp and start singing when they recognize me. I climb off the horse and walk past everyone. The doors swing open and my parents and siblings stare at me in disbelief.

Sighing I walk up to them and the first to get to me is my mother who hugs me and starts balling her eyes out. My two brother Rakeel and Raheem along with my sister Shamirah hug me next and cry. Ah how my siblings have grown but I have grown too, I’ve become barbaric too and they don’t know it yet.

My father looks at me with pride, pity and happiness in his eyes. He comes over and hugs us too. I’m so sick already of this but I’ll leave them.

“Rhiyaad my boy, I’m glad you’re alright,” My father pats my shoulder. I look up at him and from the look in his eyes, my attempt to smile isn’t showing.

“Please get off me,” I say and he frowns. They don’t let go of me forcing me to push them off me. Taking in a deep breath I close my eyes and ball my hands into fists at my sides.

Tilting my head, I open my eyes as the singing stops behind me, “Just because I’m back doesn’t mean I’m back, now if you will excuse me…” I say and puff out a breath of frustration and walk past them.

“Rhiyaad?!” my father yells and I hear my uncle call him to not chase after me. I make it to my room that looks exactly how I left it, it’s really sickening to the bone! I fall asleep soon after II threw myself on the bed due to exhaustion both mentally and physically.

*

Waking up later on due to habit, Rhiyaad got up out of bed with a sigh. He felt a sting in his heart seeing that his loved one wasn’t beside him like usual and forced himself to get out of bed. With heavy steps, he made his way to his private bathroom and washed his face with the cold water in a bucket to the side.

Relieving himself in the toilet, he rinsed out his mouth and undressed. Adorning simple garbs, he went out of his room passing the lounging area where his parents and family members were. When they saw him enter they put on happy smiles but immediately frowned when they saw that he only spared them a glance and left.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Rakeel and Raheem were outside discussing something when they saw their brother walking towards them in the garden. They immediately beamed and made their way over to him, “Brother, did you sleep well? Are you feeling better?” Rakeel the second son asked.

“Mn, what are the two of you up to?” Rhiyaad asked instead. The brothers looked at each other then Raheem nervously said, “Well brother, the thing is, during this time that you’ve been gone, I fell in love with someone but I’m too afraid to tell mother and father.”

“Oh… you can start by introducing her to me then we’ll take it from there and introduce her to the family,” Rhiyaad said as he sat down on the bench.

Raheem looked at Rakeel with a constipated expression to help him out. Rakeel was at a loss for words. Seeing the interaction between the two, Rhiyaad’s suspicion rose. After a moment he asked in a low voice, “Male not female?”

Raheem’s eyes widened, “Brother y-you?!” He started panicking. Rhiyaad smiled at him, “What? Is my guess correct?”

Raheem immediately knelt down in front of him with his hands held together, “Brother please don’t tell father, you know he despises uncle for leaving his wife to be with a man.”

Rhiyaad looked at his brother with a lazy expression, “It’s okay, I won’t let him do you anything.”

*-*-**-**-*

A young woman ran through the palace gates. Entering through the doors, she had tears in her eyes and immediately when she saw the young man she hadn’t seen in two years she broke down and ran towards him. “Rhiyaad!!” she yelled as she cried.

Rhiyaad was taken aback by this girl’s untimely visit and stood frozen with many pairs of eyes on them. His body almost slumped after being embraced but the second her scent enveloped him, his eyes hardened and he pulled her arms off him and stepped back.

He looked at her wretchedly and almost smacked her. His second uncle who was near quickly stopped him, “Calm down, she is Sanjana, remember? She’s your fiancé, your future wife!”

Rhiyaad looked at his uncle. Unamused, he pushed him away and left the living room. Sanjana looked at his parting back and wanted to run to him but she was stopped by Rhiyaad’s second uncle, “Miss Sanjana, please be patient. Prince Rhiyaad isn’t himself since he returned.”

*

After his majesty the king heard about what happened, he went to his son to see if he was okay but when he entered Rhiyaad’s room he was completely taken aback! Rhiyaad’s room was a mess and there was blood all over the walls.

The ceramics and mirrors were broken and so was the bedposts, the tables too. He saw his son leaning over the window in his room looking outside while his hands were flat on the windowsill holding him up.

Before he could speak, Rhiyaad spoke, “I’m not marrying her and you can’t change my mind. If you don’t want her dead then you’ll listen to me.”

His Majesty the King was stumped for words! What was going on?!”

*

A week later, Rhiyaad was in Lord Ameer’s home with the soldiers of the royal palace. The soldiers were completely shocked and scared to the bone. Rhiyaad’s best friend, cousin and his two uncles were also completely shocked by what they witness; Rhiyaad had slaughtered all of the bandits and decapitated Lord Ameer all for a slave that he couldn’t find.

-

Word had already spread through all of the Kingdom of Sahira that the missing prince had returned and that he was slaughtering people like a savage trying to find a slave that was with him. Details of the slave weren’t made public so all the citizens of Sahira could only hope that they wouldn’t be involved in the young prince's tyranny, on the other hand, the person in question, Shanari was stunned that his lover was going through so much just to find him but if he found him, what would he do?