Chapter 7

"Ty, can you help me a minute?"

Ty came to the doorway between their bedchambers, wearing only a crimson-colored linen shirt adorned with bands of royal blue embroidery on the narrow neckband and cuffs. Ky was wearing an identical shirt, but had already covered it with a soft suede leather tunic dyed a rich royal blue. Its deep armholes and v-neck were decorated with crimson embroidery to match the shirt. As Ty entered the room, Ky was twisting and turning, trying to see his butt.

"I can't tell," he craned his neck and tried to look down his back. "Is my hair longer than my tunic?"

Ty moved behind his gyrating younger brother and grasped his shoulder, holding him in one place. "If you'll stand still for a minute, I'll measure it for you." Kneeling behind his twin, he tugged on the long ebony braid, measuring it against the hem. Frowning at the result, he asked, "Can you braid it any tighter?"

"No," Ky winced and pulled the heavy plait from his brother's grasp. "It's hurting my scalp now. Is it too long?"

"About an inch," he confirmed, then looked up questioningly. "You think he'll notice an inch?"

"From a mile away." The younger twin almost stamped his foot with frustration. "Damn it, why are they so obsessed with the length of our tunics, anyway? I wanted to wear this!"

Ty's sapphire eyes sparkled with mischief as he reached up and pulled the short dagger from his brother's crimson suede belt. Taking the braid in his hand again, he judiciously chopped about an inch and a half from the end, then measured it against the tunic again. "There. Your tunic is now longer than your braid." He rose to his feet and turned his back. "Can you take that much off mine?"

Using the shorn end of his own braid as a measure, Ky whacked an equal length from Ty's hair, then looked at his brother's bare legs. "Why aren't you dressed?"

"I can't find my hose. They aren't in my chest. I thought you might have them."

"I don't have them. Are you sure they aren't in your room somewhere?"

"Of course I'm sure," the older prince retorted. "Come look for yourself."

He followed Ky back into his room. The wardrobe was flung open, clothing draped over the ornately carved doors and spilling from it in wild disarray. A matching wooden chest had been dragged into the center of the room and more clothing was thrown over its gaping lid and hung haphazardly over its sides.

Ky poked through the tangle of hose strewn across the floor. He found burgundy hose, jade hose, saffron, indigo, violet... every color of the rainbow except crimson.

"Where else could you have left them?" he asked impatiently. "We're going to be late."

"*I* left them in the middle of the floor," Ty replied irritably. "Joris is the one who's supposed to-" he snapped his fingers. "Joris has them. I remember him saying they needed to be washed and mended."

He hurriedly pulled his tunic over his head and fastened his belt, then looked around for the soft suede boots that had been dyed to match the dark blue tunic.

"What are you doing?" Ky protested. "You can't go out like that!"

"If I ring for Joris, he'll have to come up to see what I want. Then he'll have to go back for the hose and then come up here again. We don't have time for all that. You go ahead down and wait for me. I'll go down to the servants' quarters, get my hose on, and meet you in the stableyard." He located the knee-length boots and pulled them onto his bare feet.

"But what if someone sees you?" Ky asked. "David isn't going to like it. Haven't you been in enough trouble with him in the last week?"

"No one's going to see me. That section of the castle is empty at this time of day. And even if someone does, it'll only be lines or corner time. I can handle that."

Ty hurriedly left on his errand and Ky shook his head at his brother's daring, then went back to find his own boots.

"This section of the castle should be empty at this time of day," Ty thought resentfully, eyeing the knot of servants between him and his goal. "Why are they standing around gossiping when they should be working?" Now he'd have to go back up the stairs, through the wing reserved for the bachelor gentlemen, down the other stairs and approach Joris' chamber from the opposite direction. He ran up the stairs, then hugged the wall and peered around the corner cautiously. It would be just his luck to have someone see him roaming around the gentlemens' wing half-dressed. David would have a fit, and, despite what he'd told his twin, he was getting really tired of examining the cracks in that corner. They didn't even form an interesting pattern.

Luck seemed to be with him for once; the upstairs corridor was deserted. All the men must have left for the hunting party already. He made a mad dash through the hall, his soft boots making a hushed slapping sound against the stone floor. He had almost reached the other staircase when he heard his lover call his name.

David finished lacing up his clean shirt and tucked it into his brown leather breeches. He had meant to go straight from the midday meal to the stableyard, but a clumsy serving wench had tripped and he'd ended up wearing most of somebody's lunch. He'd had no choice but to hurry back to his chamber to change, hoping that the hunt wouldn't leave without him. The queen would be sure he'd been hanging back, waiting for her. He was pulling on his leather jerkin and fastening his sword belt when he heard a strange sound in the hall outside his door. Curious, he looked out just in time to see a familiar figure dart past, ebony braid flying. What the hell? Physically there was almost no difference in the twins, but he could make a good guess as to which one had just gone by.

"Ty'lin!"

He was right. The diminutive figure stopped and slowly turned to face him; he could almost hear the cursing under the young man's breath. He leaned against the smooth stone wall and folded his arms across his chest, wondering what his brat was up to now. Whatever it was, he'd bet he wasn't going to like it. When he surveyed the young prince from head to toe, taking in the expanse of bare leg between the bottom of the tunic and the top of the boots, he *knew* he wasn't going to like it.

"Why don't you come in? I think we need to talk." He gestured toward the chamber behind him.

"Um, I can't right now," Ty demurred. "I'm in kind of a hurry. We'll talk later, all right?"

"We'll talk now!" David snapped.

Ty jumped and scurried into the room. Damn it! If it hadn't been for that group of chattering servants, he would have made it to Joris' chamber without being noticed. Now how was he going to explain this to David? He stood by the window, looking out, refusing to meet the big knight's eyes.

David closed the door behind him and surveyed the young man's rigid back. "Look at me," he commanded.

Ty turned to face his angry lover, keeping his back against the wall, his guilty conscience apparent in every move.

"Why aren't you wearing any hose?" David looked pointedly at the young man's bare legs.

"I was going to get them. Joris has them."

"And you only have one pair?" his lover asked dryly.

Ty flushed. "No, but Ky was already dressed and we didn't want to change. And it seemed faster for me to go get them than wait for Joris to bring them."

"Ty'lin," the knight's voice conveyed his irritation, "we've talked about this. You know Andronicus can't be trusted, and you know that he has spies everywhere. What if one of them saw you outside our chamber, dressed like that? How long do you think it would be before the wizard put two and two together? And once he knows our secret, we're dispensable. He can take you away from us. Is that what you want?"

The young prince shrugged uncomfortably. "No. You know it isn't. But I was careful. No one saw me."

"How do you know that? You took a big chance coming through this hall, looking like that," he chastised the young man. "And I thought we agreed that you were going to dress more conservatively. That tunic is too short."

"No, it isn't," Ty's demeanor was cocky now, as they moved to safer ground. "You said it had to be longer than my hair, and it is."

David's eyes narrowed. "Turn around."

The small figure pirouetted, and sure enough, the garment was a good half inch longer than his hair.

Ty faced him again with an impudent grin. "See? Can I go now?"

"Not without your hose," the knight replied absently, his mind still on the tunic. Damn it, he *knew* there was too much thigh showing under the edge of that tunic. If the young man bent over, the bottom curve of his ass would be showing. The phrase 'longer than my hair' echoed in his mind, and he had a sudden suspicion.

"Did you cut your hair?" he asked abruptly.

"Oh, shit!" Ty thought frantically. "How did he figure it out?" Suddenly his clever idea didn't seem so clever anymore.

His grin vanished and David's suspicions were confirmed.

"Take off your tunic," he ordered.

"What? Why?" the young prince asked defensively. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to spank you." He crooked his finger commandingly. "Now come here."

"No!" His lover was outraged. "You can't spank me!"

"I can't?" David asked calmly as he removed his sword belt and laid it aside.

"No." Ty backed toward the door, his hands covering his butt protectively. "You can't. I'm a prince."

"And you think that's going to save you?" The knight shook his head. "I'd advise you to come here, my small one. You're only making things harder for yourself."

Ty found he had backed into the heavy oak door that David had closed earlier. He stood paralyzed against it, his hands behind him fumbling desperately for the handle. This couldn't be happening. David couldn't possibly be serious about spanking him!

The older man watched him for a moment, then sighed, shook his head again, and went after his young lover.

"When I give you an order, I expect it to be obeyed." He took Ty by the upper arm and removed the crimson belt, tossing it over the nearby chair.

"What are you doing? You can't do this!" Ty struggled uselessly against the implacable grip.

David held him easily with one hand while he unlaced the dark blue tunic with the other. "Now, do you want to finish taking off your tunic, or should I undress you like a child?"

"But I'm the crown prince, the heir to the throne!" Ty continued to protest incredulously. "You can't spank me!"

David silently reached for the tunic again.

"No! Stop that!" He batted the knight's hands away.

"Ty'lin, I've tried to be lenient with you the past couple of weeks, and you just don't seem to be getting the message. Now either you remove that tunic or I will."

Ty searched his face, looking for some sign of forgiveness or understanding, but there was only relentless determination. "Fine, then. I'll do it myself," he spat, his eyes glistening with tears of humiliation.

His angry lover frowned at the tone, but let it pass as the slender young man grasped the hem of the tunic and drew it over his head. Soon he stood before the big knight, clad only in his shirt and shivering slightly, both from the cool air and apprehension.

Sitting on the edge of the narrow bed, David pulled the diminutive figure face down over his lap. Ty forced himself to lie silently across his lover's knees, outwardly calm; the convulsive flexing of the pale taut buttocks was the only sign of his agitation.

"Tell me," David said, flipping the offending braid and shirt out of the way and resting his hand on the exposed bottom, "when I said that your tunics needed to be longer than your hair, did you really think I meant for you to cut your hair?"

Ty remained silent.

"Answer me," David commanded sternly.

"No," came the low-voiced reply.

"So why did you do it?"

"I didn't want you to scold me or make me stand in the corner again."

"You thought lying to me was better?"

"I didn't lie!"

"You tried to deceive me, to make me think your tunic is longer than it is. That's *lying*!"

Ty didn't speak, ashamed of himself now, but still unwilling to admit his perfidy.

"Well, Ty'lin?"

The strong hand on his bottom didn't move, and Ty relaxed, lulled into a false sense of security. Scolding, questioning, then reasoning; these were the tactics that had been used all his life, and he understood them. He knew that David hadn't meant it. The love of his life wouldn't really spank him.

David didn't wait to hear any more excuses; he simply lifted his arm and brought his open palm down forcefully on one perfect alabaster cheek, leaving a fiery-red hand print on the milky-white flesh.

Ty jumped, as much in shock as in pain. He was actually doing it! David was *spanking* him! The pain registered with the next impact and he twisted his hands in the bedclothes, fighting the urge to squall. By the third impact, he was reaching back frantically, trying to cover his butt with his hands, kicking frenziedly in an attempt to get away. The angry knight merely grasped his wrists in one large hand, pinned his legs between massive thighs, and continued the spanking.

"Stop, David! Please stop!" the young prince gasped. Tears ran down his face as he swallowed convulsively, trying not to sob out loud. "I won't do it again! I promise! Just stop, pleeease!"

David ignored the plaintive wail, concentrating his attention on turning the entire bottom an even shade of scarlet.

As Ty gave in and howled, his lover became vocal as well, punctuating his words with swats to the hapless bottom.

"YOU," a swat to the right cheek, "will NOT", a swat to the left one, harder this time, "run half-naked through the HALLS!" The smack to the center of his butt made Ty howl in anguish.

"I won't. I promise I won't!"

"You will NOT." David repeated as he relentlessly swatted the right side again, "CUT your HAIR." He smacked the left cheek once more. "And you WILL NOT LIE TO ME!" The accompanying swat nearly pitched Ty from the angry knight's thighs, and he collapsed, weeping copiously, all fight gone.

Lying limp across the older man's knees, Ty sobbed piteously, "I won't, David, I won't. I *swear* I won't ever do it again! Please don't be angry with me. Please don't spank me anymore. Please!" He buried his face in the already tear-soaked blanket, wailing pathetically, sure that his world was coming to an end.

David's anger melted away as he listened to the heart-broken sobs. He used the formerly punishing hand to rub loving circles up and down Ty's back, murmuring soft, loving encouragement to the sobbing young man. Slowly the weeping died away to an occasional sniff and hiccup and he gently eased the small figure from his lap to a kneeling position on the cold stone floor.

Taking the firm chin between his fingers, he lifted it until he could look into the tear-drenched eyes. Tenderly cupping the flushed face in his large hands, he used his thumbs to gently brush the remaining tears away.

Ty sighed desolately and leaned into the comforting touch like a small child seeking reassurance.

"Are you going to obey me now?" David looked down into the woe-begone face.

"Yes, David." Ty whispered.

"You're going to be dressed any time you leave your quarters? Fully dressed?"

"Yes, David." He nodded humbly.

"And you're NEVER going to lie to me again!"

Ty jumped at the sudden harsh tone and almost burst into tears again, then shook his head vigorously.

"I love you." David's voice was gentle and loving again, and Ty relaxed against the strong thighs, smiling tremulously. Maybe it would be all right, after all.

"Where are your hose?" the beloved voice asked softly.

"Jor-, Joris has them," he gulped. "I have to go-"

"No." He stood and, lifting the young prince to his feet, led him over to a corner of the room and positioned him with his face to the wall. "I'll go get your hose. You stand right there until I get back. Don't move. You understand?"

Ty started to protest, but the knight placed a calloused index finger firmly over the pouting lips. "No talking while you're in the corner. Remember?"

The young man nodded mutely and was rewarded with a loving kiss to the top of his head. A gentle hand caressed the silky hair, then David was gone, leaving Ty standing alone to contemplate his actions and the consequences they had invoked.

After a moment, he reached back and cautiously felt his bottom. Even that tentative touch re-ignited the blazing inferno and he blinked back fresh tears of pain, feeling a new surge of defiance. David had no right to spank him like that! It hurt! And he didn't want to stand half-naked in the corner! It was humiliating! The lower lip trembled again, then settled into a full-blown pout. He should just leave! Go back to his chamber, show David that he couldn't-- The brief moment of rebellion ended as he sadly admitted to himself that he wasn't going anywhere. David had told him to stand here and he wasn't willing to risk incurring his lover's wrath again. He rested his damp forehead against the cool stone and waited dismally for the knight's return.

A few minutes later, the unhappy prince heard the door open again and straightened guiltily, unsure whether he should have been leaning against the wall. He heard David behind him and looked over his shoulder, wondering if the knight has been successful in getting his hose from Joris.

"Face the wall. No talking." The voice was firm, allowing no argument.

He turned his face back to the wall, sadly wondering how much longer the punishment was going to go on.

It seemed like an eternity before David spoke again. "All right, you can come here now."

Ty started obediently over to the bed where David sat, kicking the abandoned clothing out of his way without a thought.

"Ty'lin!"

"What?" He stopped, panicked. What had he done now?

"Do you always drop your clothes on the floor and kick them out of the way like that?"

"Yes."

Ty looked so confused by the question that David had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

"Pick them up," he said, trying to keep his voice stern.

A familiar mulish look appeared on the young man's face, and David flexed his hand suggestively.

"Do we need to have another 'talk'?"

Ty shook his head violently, sapphire eyes wide with dismay. He meekly bent and picked up the clothing, then looked to David for further guidance.

"Fold them and lay them over the chair," the knight instructed patiently.

The effort was clumsy and the folding untidy, but at last the garments lay over the back of the chair.

"Now come here and lay across my lap," he said as he patted his leg.

"No, David. I did it. Please don't spank me anymore," Ty pleaded even as he obeyed, awkwardly arranging himself over his lover's knees.

He got a firm grip on the blanket with both hands, took a deep breath, and braced himself. To his surprise, a cooling sensation spread over his bottom and he looked over his shoulder in puzzlement. David nodded reassuringly and continued massaging the rich cool gel over the burning flesh.

"I won't normally do this for you," David said conversationally, "but since it's the first time you've ever been spanked, and since you have to ride the rest of the day and behave as if nothing is wrong, I will. This once."

Once again, Ty'lin's eyes widened in dismay. The hunt! He'd forgotten all about it. There was no way he could go out and behave as if nothing were wrong.

"Can't I just skip the hunt today?" he asked David pleadingly. "Nobody will notice, we don't always go. I want to stay here with you. Please?"

David stopped the soothing massage and Ty found himself kneeling on the floor again. He whimpered, both because of the abrupt loss of contact and because he was bewildered and suddenly unsure. Was David angry at him again? Shouldn't he have asked to stay with him? Or was this more of the punishment, to make him feel so good, then take it away? He was unaware that he had spoken aloud until he was cradled against David's chest.

"No, oh no. My poor babe, I wouldn't be that cruel to you." David was appalled at the impression he'd unwittingly given. "I'm not angry at you, and the punishment is over as soon as you leave the corner. I need to take some clothes off, that's all. I want to lie down with you."

He quickly stripped off his clothes and pulled the rough woolen blanket back, then laid down and held out his arms for his young love.

Ty lay down and snuggled close, his head on David's chest, and his eyes drifted closed. A moment later, he muttered irritably and re-adjusted his position.

David tucked the ebony head under his chin and began rubbing circles on the young man's back, only to have Ty grimace and move again. He waited for Ty to settle down, then began once more, only to have him shift yet again. "Would you stop wiggling?" he asked irritably.

"I can't help it." Deep blue eyes peered reproachfully from under long, silky lashes. "Your blanket's too rough. And my butt hurts."

"It's supposed to," David said unsympathetically, even as he pushed the blanket away from the sensitive skin. "That's what helps you learn."

"That's easy for you to say." The lower lip crept out in a sulky pout. "Nobody spanked you and made you stand in a corner."

He felt David's laughter rumble deep in the older man's chest.

"Small one, if you only knew how many times I've stood in a corner with my butt looking like a sunset."

Ty raised his head to look into his lover's eyes, unsure whether he was being teased or not. "Really?"

"Really." David pulled him down for a kiss. "And Michael was usually in the opposite corner. I pity the knights in charge of us when we were squires. We were real brats in those days," he said reminiscently.

Ty blinked, trying to reconcile that image with the mature, responsible man he knew. Resting his head on David's chest once more, the long inky lashes settled on the creamy cheeks and he fell asleep thinking about it, his last sleepy sensation that of the beloved hands smoothing the tangles from his hair.

David stayed awake, holding him and thinking about the changes this young man was making in his life, wondering if he'd be able to let him go when the time came. He reacted immediately when the door opened, quickly flipping the blanket back over his sleeping lover, but not before Michael had glimpsed the rosy butt and assessed the cause.

"You spanked him?" Michael asked in surprise.

"You have a problem with that?" David challenged his partner.

Michael quirked one eyebrow, a twinkle in his deep brown eyes. "Not at all. He can compare notes with his brother."

"You spanked Ky, too?"

Michael nodded. "He has an impudent mouth. And he cut his hair. Ty?"

"I found him running through the hall half dressed. And he cut his hair."

"But you have to admit, it wasn't longer than their tunics." Michael tried to stifle his amusement, then burst into laughter.

Ty startled at the noise and David lovingly soothed him until he settled back into a deeper sleep.

"Sorry," Michael said repentantly. "But they're going to be a handful, aren't they?"

David turned sober. "I'm not leaving him."

"No, *we* aren't leaving *them*." Michael emphasized the plurals. "But do you think you could settle in one place like this? Even if the king would allow us to after he finds out what's going on."

"I don't know," David admitted. "I've never even thought about settling down before, and I don't think I could stand to be nothing more than a prince's concubine. But I can't imagine my life without him anymore, either."

"We'll figure it out later." Michael said philosophically. "First, we have to face the dragon and that damned wizard of their father's. I still don't trust him. But before that, I want dinner," he added, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'd better send him back to his quarters," David sighed reluctantly.

"I already told Joris they'd be eating there tonight. Everyone thinks they were taken ill before the hunt."

"I told Joris to say he wasn't feeling well when I went to get his hose. And would you mind?" he asked as Michael leaned back, bracing one foot comfortably against the wall and waited for David.

"Oh, you want me to leave while you get him up and dressed?" he asked in mock innocence.

"Out." David threw a pillow at his laughing partner.

Michael deflected it easily, still chuckling as he left David to the enjoyable task of waking his love.

Ty'lin was not happy about being awakened and moved from his warm nest, but David managed it with a minimum of fuss and threats. "Are you ready?" he asked as Ty pulled on his boots, still grumbling about rude knights and the injustice of life. At the young man's nod, he opened the door a crack and checked the hall. "It's clear." He kissed the full pouting lips, a kiss that was returned so long and enthusiastically that he had to check the hall again before letting Ty'lin leave. "Go on. We'll see you after dinner."

~~~~

Ty entered his chamber with a sigh of relief, intent on one thing, getting his hose away from his butt as fast as possible. As he crossed the room, he glanced into the adjoining chamber, then entered it.

Ky was lying face-down on his bed, a sheet loosely covering him from the waist down. His ebony hair flowed over his bare back, a stark contrast against the white of the sheet. He didn't roll over or acknowledge his twin's presence and Ty immediately forgot his own problems in concern for his little brother.

"What's wrong?" he asked, leaning protectively toward the younger twin. "Don't you feel well?"

Ky mumbled something unintelligible into his pillow.

"What?" Ty leaned closer, trying awkwardly to understand the muffled words and get his boots off at the same time. "Take your face out of the pillow. I can't understand you."

Ky lifted his head. "Michael spanked me!" he whispered in mortification and buried his scarlet face in the pillow once more.

"He figured out you cut your hair too, huh?" Ty chuckled.

"Are you *laughing* at me?" Ky asked in hurt dismay, awkwardly trying to push his brother away.

"Not at you. At us." Ty pulled his hose off with a sigh of relief and threw them across the room, followed shortly by his tunic and shirt.

"You too?" Ky'lin asked in astonishment as he saw his twin's butt.

Ty started to sit on the edge of the bed, then thought better of it. "Yeah," he sighed ruefully. "I guess cutting my hair and going after my hose wasn't such a good idea after all, huh?"

"And I guess I shouldn't have told him it was my hair and none of his damned business what I did with it."

"Not a good move, little brother." Ty agreed. "Move over, would you?"

He eased into the bed next to his brother and settled on his stomach, his thigh resting comfortingly against his twin's.

They lay side by side in companionable silence for a while, then Ky spoke again. "I don't want him to leave."

"I don't either," Ty'lin admitted. "But I don't think they'll stay. I can't picture them putting up with the court on a permanent basis."

"Neither can I," Ky'lin agreed gloomily. "But I still don't want him to go."

"We'll figure something out. As soon as we deal with that damned dragon."

They returned to a silence broken only when Joris entered the chamber.

"Dinner is served, Your Highnesses." He held out a short silk robe for Ty to shrug into, then repeated the gesture for Ky, tactfully ignoring their cautious movements and rosy butts.

They moved gingerly to the oak dining table in the solar, smiling gratefully at the sight of a soft cushion resting on each chair. Joris served them each course, moving quietly around the room, ostensibly straightening up as they ate, actually keeping a watchful eye on them.

Ty put his spoon down in his empty dessert bowl and looked at the nondescript man in a new light. He did so much for them, far more than was required by even the best servant, and he got so little appreciation for it. "Joris?"

"Yes, Your Highness?" He looked around the room, as if wondering what task he had left incomplete.

"Thank you."

"For what, Your Highness?" the servant asked in surprise.

Ty looked at Ky for help, unsure how to express his feelings.

"For picking up our clothes." Ky replied helpfully. He met Ty's eye and started chuckling.

Ty joined in, and soon they were laughing hysterically, tears running down their cheeks.

Joris smiled indulgently at the undignified picture they made. They were so much happier since the knights had come into their lives. He had taken care of them for so many years that sometimes they seemed like his own, and he would have attacked the dragon itself for them. Now if he could only figure out how to keep them with the knights after Rohannon was vanquished. He stacked the empty dishes back on the tray and carried them down to the kitchens, turning over plans in his mind as he went.