He was pulled short by his cloak, Keth clenching his jaw and doing what he could to remain calm.  Rijek met his gaze, gave him an almost imperceptible head shake, but remained as quiet as a mouse.<br/><br/>“You don’t<i>think</i>I saw you with your friend, you<i>planned</i>it,” he accused.  “There is a difference.  Just as there is a difference between you knowing I have a harem, and me parading them in front of you and feeling them up.  Not that I think you would particularly care, since you have such little interest in me.  But me… You<i>intended</i>to harm me in this.”<br/><br/>He paused there, still not turning around, barely looking at Ryland over his shoulder.<br/><br/>“All you’ve successfully taught me about the real you is that you can be vicious, ugly, and wicked.  Why would I bother courting<i>that</i>?”  He turned just enough to glance down at the small box, then faced forward again.  “Keep it, if you wish.  Or throw it out.  Burn it.  I have no use for it.”<br/><br/>He moved forward then, giving Ryland a sharp hand signal to keep them on the move.  Once they were in the elegantly designed chariot branlant that was to carry them back home, the king sighed and slumped against the plush seating.  That had gone… exactly opposite of how he’d imagined it.  Not that his first outing with his first husband had been much better, but those were much different circumstances, and this was not him chasing after a beautiful partner… this was political, strategic, and time was not on his side.<br/><br/>“You could’ve relented to him,” Rijek spoke, ever remaining the voice of reason.<br/><br/>Keth hated him for a moment.<br/><br/>“No.  He’d just see that as weakness and run with it.”<br/><br/>“Not everyone is as concerned with strengths and weaknesses as you are, Your Highness.”<br/><br/>“Yes.  Well, perhaps they should be,” he grumbled unhappily, turning his gaze past the half curtained windows to the land outside.  “I told you before, Rijek.  His only interest in me is seeing how well he can play me.”<br/><br/>“And he did an excellent job of it, my king,” Rijek teased, earning a glare.  “So, what is your plan, now?”<br/><br/>“Same as before,” Keth admitted, pulling the pristine white gloves from his hands and tossing them across to his man for safe keeping.  “Contract.  Marriage.  Strategic hold.”<br/><br/>“Ah.  And the prince?  What will you do with him?”<br/><br/>“Toss him in a tower and lock him up?” Keth mused.  Rijek gave him a disapproving frown.  Of course he wouldn’t do that, not unless Ryland became guilty of some crime.  The king drew in a sharp breath and let it out, frustration still there but slowly bleeding out.  He did have, after all, a plan B.  “He’d have to come back home with us.  He might be resistant in the beginning, but the palace is luxurious enough for someone of his status and upbringing.  We have more wealth and comforts there than he would know what to do with.”<br/><br/>“And where would he bed?” Rijek asked then, an amused smirk falling into place.<br/><br/>“What would I care?  He could sleep in with the harem, if he wished.  Might be a suitable place for him, anyway,” Kethaias chuckled.  There was really little humour there, however.  He was more exhausted from the stress of it all, the tension.<br/><br/>And it occurred to him that he wasn’t used to being so<i>unwanted</i>.  That was what really settled into place, and by the time they were arriving to his loaned chambers, he was in the mood for drink.  He was not dealing well with any of it, and he never did.  He could ride for days on end, put his body through whatever physical tortures, and make hard sacrifices for the good of his kingdom.  What he couldn’t do was suffer personal turmoil.<br/><br/>So he called first for drink.  Then second for more drink.  Third… more drink, and<i>company</i>.  A blond, he decided in a happily blissful drunkenness that were close to betraying his desires.  Someone young, but masculine… and the finest they could find, he insisted.<br/><br/>And the king was not disappointed with his companion for the evening, who insisted on commenting on his strength and stature, who fed him wine straight from his rose-stained lips until they tumbled into bed for an exhausting session that lasted until the sun was lighting the distant sky along the horizon.  It was a miracle that the man could leave under his own will after a night like that, though his walk might’ve been a little too revealing of the…<i>passion</i>of the evening.<br/><br/>Kethaias himself was left useless in bed, still half drunk and his head already beginning to hurt.  It had been worth it, just to have the stress relief.  He’d hate himself later for it, but it was better for his sanity in the long run.