The Compassionate Kidnapper Pt. 1
Part 1
The hunting trip started like any other. So far Adam had felled the largest deer, fox and quail. It wasn't due to his ability, he knew. He was the prince of Dosser. No one dared kill a larger animal than he did, too afraid they would be hanged if they bested him. This idea of theirs wasn't planted by Adam, but rather, his father, King Eber. The King liked to cultivate fear in the minds of his subjects. He believed it would lead to their obedience. Adam vowed that when he was king, he would be much more kind.
Adam quickly grew bored of hunting the stag his party was after. He wanted a real hunt without the men making it easier for him, so he turned his horse and galloped off into the woods by himself. No one noticed he had left. He spotted some tracks in the dirt and decided to follow them. They led him to a clearing, where they suddenly stopped. Adam had just enough time to realize he had been led into a bandit's trap before he was struck from behind. He fell off of his horse and saw a masked man standing over him before blacking out.
* * *
Adam came to on a bed. He tried to rise, but his left hand was chained to the bedpost. He reached his free hand up to the back of his throbbing head and felt an egg-sized lump where the Masked Man had hit him. He glanced out the window and saw that night had fallen. That meant he had been unconscious for a long time. No doubt the hunting party was already out looking for him. He looked around and saw he was in a one room hunting cabin. There was the bed he lay on, a table, some chairs, and an ice box for food. Missing was the Masked Man. Maybe if he could figure out a way to get free from the chain, he could escape before his kidnapper returned.
He had no luck, however, for as soon as he began tugging at the chains, the door to the cabin flew open. The Masked Man walked in with a handful of logs for the fireplace in the corner. “We can't have you freezing to death, now can we?”
“Who the hell are you? Where am I? Do you know who I am?” Adam burst in outrage.
The Masked Man chuckled. “Well, I'm your kidnapper. You're in an abandoned cabin I found in the woods. And I do know who you are, Prince Adam.”
“Then you know my father will have your head for this!” Adam rattled the chain in warning.
“We're at the base of Spirit Shade. No one will look for us here.”
Adam groaned. Spirit Shade was the largest mountain in Dosser. There were rumors that the spirits of the damned haunted the mountain. No one was brave enough to venture deep into the woods to the base. The stranger was right. They would never be found.
After starting a fire, the Masked Man headed out into the night. “I'll be back in the morning,” he said as words of parting. “I wouldn't try to get free. That chain is the strongest I could find. You should save your energy and get some rest. Tomorrow you can help me write your ransom note.”
“Wait!” Adam exclaimed. The Masked Man stopped and turned to look at him. “Why are you doing this to me?”
The Masked Man looked down to the floor and muttered, “You wouldn't understand,” before leaving and closing the door behind him.
Adam, of course, was never one to follow orders. One time when he was little, his nurse told him that he was never allowed to leave the castle. There were scary people out there, she had said. But Adam didn't listen and went wandering anyway. He liked to disobey. He had managed to make it all the way to the gates of the courtyard before he was spotted. The spanking he had gotten from his father that night was not enough to deter him. Each time he snuck out again, he managed to get farther and farther.
That's why, instead of resting, he spent the entire night pulling at the chains. He figured if he couldn't get the chain loose, then he would pull the entire bedpost off. He pulled and heaved and rammed the post until his entire body felt like one giant bruise. It was all to no avail. It seemed that not only had the Masked Man acquired a strong chain, he had also managed to find a strong bed. He gave up as dawn lit up the sky.
* * *
The Masked Man returned to the cabin not long after Adam stopped attempting to break free. “How are you this morning,” his kidnapper asked cheerily.
Adam just yawned loudly at him.
“See, I told you trying to break free would be of no use. Now you're going to be tired all day.” The Masked Man sat down at the table and set the supplies he had been carrying on top of it. “Time for your ransom note!” He took out a quill, an ink well, and some parchment. “This stuff was expensive, so we've only got one chance to get this right.”
“Why do you keep saying 'we'?” Adam asked as he fought for his eyes to stay open.
“Because you're going to help me out, of course.” The Masked Man rolled his eyes. “Not all of us are rich enough to go to school. I've been helping my dad out since I was old enough to work. You don't need an education to make a living.” He looked down at the paper and muttered, “Not that it's much of a living anyway.”
“Is that why you kidnapped me?” Adam asked. “Because you need money? Just say what you want and I'll get it for you. Just let me go.”
The Masked Man jumped up angrily. “You know I can't do that! If I let you go now without getting far away from here first, you'll send your guards after me. I'll be hanging by sunset!”
Adam sighed. The man wasn't wrong. Even if Adam didn't want to see him hanging for kidnapping him, his father most certainly would hang him anyway. “Bring me the paper. The sooner I can get out of here, the better.” The Masked Man slid the table over to the bed so Adam could sit up to write. Luckily, it was his left hand that was bound, as he was right handed. “What do you want me to say?” he asked as he picked up the quill and dipped it into the ink.
“I...I don't know,” the Masked Man admitted. “I hadn't really thought ahead that far. Kidnapping you was a spur of the moment thing. I was just going to take your money at first.”
“But you realized you could get much more by stealing my parents' money.”
“I need as much as I can get.”
“Very well, how about we start with, 'Your Royal Highnesses'?”
The Masked Man nodded his head enthusiastically. “Sounds good to me.” He slid his chair a little bit closer to Adam. “I've never written a thing in my life,” he said, amazed as he watched the fluidity of Adam's hands making marks on the page. “When did you learn how?”
“They taught me how to read first. Then they taught me how to form the letters. I've had to write at least a paragraph every week since I was six. What do you want next?”
“Maybe something about me kidnapping you?”
“All right.” Adam began writing again.
“What else have you learned?” the Masked Man asked.
Adam looked up into his eyes and saw genuine curiosity. Something he hadn't expected from a kidnapper. “I learned the history of the kingdom, of course. They focused the most on that. If I am to rule someday, I have to know all about the place I'm ruling over. I also learned mathematics, philosophy, religion, geography, and I know five different languages.” Adam sat up straight, proud of his accomplishments.
“Oh my!” exclaimed the Masked Man. “What languages do you know?”
Adam beamed. No one had ever gotten this excited over his abilities before. His father always emphasized war and hunting as the important things. He didn't care about the frivolous studies usually reserved for monks. But Adam did care. He found joy in writing, studying great philosophers like Socrates and Plato, and reading anything he could get his hands on. “Dossarian is my first language of course. I also know Latin, English, German, and Russian.”
“Can you say something in them?” The Masked Man asked like an excited school boy.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Hmm,” the man thought to himself before replying. “Say 'I love you'. That way I can say it to my family.”
“Alright. In Latin, it's 'Amo te.' In English, it's 'I love you'. In German, it's 'Ich liebe dich'. And in Russian, it's 'Ya lyublyu tebya.'”
“Ya lyublyu tebya,” the Masked Man repeated. “That's beautiful.” He sighed dreamily.
“Yeah.” Adam stopped writing and watched the Masked Man. He hadn't noticed how pretty his eyes were before. They were a deep chocolate brown that sparked with life. The man seemed to be exactly his type. Adam didn't like girls like his brother and friends. They would go around talking about this girl's breasts or that girl's lips. Adam would always excuse himself from those conversations. He preferred hard over soft. Sturdy over delicate. The gentle curves of a woman could not satisfy him like the rigid lines of a man. And this man in front of him was perfect. He was short and thin. The lower half of his face, uncovered by the mask, displayed pouty, swollen lips. His muscles, which were not too big, were outlined by his tight shirt. He even had callouses on his hands from hard labor. Adam's own hands were soft. He hadn't had to work a day in his life. But this man knew what hardship was and was still bright and happy. Not to mention that brown eyes were Adam's favorite color. Blue eyes, like his own, were pretty, but brown were so much more earthy. They grounded whoever gazed into them. Then Adam remembered whose eyes he was admiring. This was no ordinary man, this was a man who had ruthlessly kidnapped him for money and who was making him write his own ransom note. “What do you want me to write next?” he asked gruffly, turning his gaze back to the note.
“Now for the ransom part. I want five-thousand shillings to be paid for your release. They can bring the money to the messenger who delivers this note, and I'll pick it up from him. Then I'll let you go.”
Adam nearly dropped the quill. “What do you need five-thousand shillings for? Life isn't that expensive, even for a royal!”
“It's none of your business,” the Masked Man said angrily. “Just write the ransom note.”
"Alright, fine.” Adam could tell it was a touchy subject for the Masked Man and he didn't want to get into a fight. He could probably take the man, but he had one hand tied behind his back. He wasn't that good yet. He finished the ransom note and slid it over to the Masked Man. “There you go. One ransom note.”
“Thanks,” the man grunted. “Here's your food for the day, I'll be back tomorrow.” He dropped a glass of water and a plate of bread and cheese in front of Adam before snatching the note and nearly running out the door.
Adam glared at the plate in front of him. Bread and cheese for a king-to-be? It was insulting. Prisoners were treated better than this. He lay back on the bed and glared at the ceiling. Bread and cheese indeed! Eventually, his growling stomach got the best of him and he sat up to eat. The rest of the day he imagined all of the ways he would get back at that horrid kidnapper with his horrid attitude and his horrid food. As the sun set, he fell asleep to dreams filled with horrid things.
* * *
“Rise and shine!”
Adam was roused from sleep by someone poking his arm. He opened his eyes to see the Masked Man standing above him. “Do you even have a name?” he asked the man. “I keep referring to you as 'the Masked Man' in my head. It's exhausting.”
“Why would I tell you my name? I don't want to make it easier for you to find me when this is all over.” The man lounged in a chair with his feet on the table. “How about you just call me K for now?”
“K? What does that even mean?” Adam was too tired to play word games.
“Well, it could be a letter in my name.” K tapped happily on the table. “Or it could just be my favorite letter. Or it may just be a random letter I choose. You'll never know!” He laughed gleefully.
“Wait, I thought you said you couldn't read or write. How do you know letters?”
“We're all taught the very basics. I can recite the alphabet and write my name, but that's it. Everything else I've learned from work. That's all you need where I come from.” He leaned further back into the chair with a smile on his face.
Adam sat up blearily and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Why are you so cheerful this morning?”
K jumped up and danced around the room. “Today is the day I shall receive my money. Then you can be free, and I can have what I want.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what you need the money for?”
“Nope!” K exclaimed as he plopped down on the bed next to Adam. “You hungry? I got us something extra special to eat today. It is a day of celebration after all.”
“Sure, whatever.” Adam swung his legs onto the floor and waited for K to drag the table closer. He hadn't been lying. On the table today was a pitcher of wine, some bread, and a large, cooked fish. “You really are happy today.”
“Yes and no.” K sat down and avoided looking at Adam.
“What do you mean no? I thought you were getting what you wanted today?”
“That's the reason I'm happy.” K served the fish and bread, and poured the wine. “But this is also a sad goodbye. You're not all that bad to talk to. You talk of much more intelligent things than the people of my village. You're also not all that bad to look at either.” K's eyes widened in horror and a brilliant red blush bloomed across the bottom half of his face and his exposed arms.. “I didn't mean to say that!” he tried to cover. “What I meant was....”
“It's alright, K,” Adam replied kindly. “I don't exactly like girls either.” He didn't want to be nice to his kidnapper, but he did want to put the poor boy out of his misery.
“You don't?” K asked in wonder. “I thought I was the only one in the whole kingdom who felt this way!”
“There are a few of us around. You really think I'm pretty?” Adam's ego was always looking for a little stroking.
“Yeah,” K said to the table.
Adam smiled. No one had ever said he was pretty before. The men he had been with had all been with him because he was the prince, not because they were attracted to him. It felt nice to be wanted by someone, even if that someone was a kidnapper. “I'm sorry I can't extend the same compliment to you, but I have yet to see what you look like. For all I know, you could be scarred and covered in warts!”
That elicited a laugh from K. “I'm neither of those, though I'm also not pretty like you. I'm just sort of average looking.”
“Nonsense!” Adam exclaimed. “With eyes like yours, you must be beautiful.” It was odd, but his kidnapper seemed to be growing on him more by the minute.
“You really like my eyes?” K asked shyly.
“They're the most beautiful I've ever seen!” Adam assured.
“Thanks.”
They ate the rest of their meal in silence, each glancing happily up at the other after every bite. Adam felt something growing in the pit of his stomach with each gaze, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It was definitely something he had never felt before.
Nearly as soon as they finished eating, there was one knock...two knocks on the door. K stood up nervously and stood facing it. “Well,” Adam prompted. “Aren't you going to answer it?”
“Yeah, I...yeah,” K replied before walking stiffly to the door. “This is it. It's got to be the ransom arrived. I'll be saying goodbye to you in a moment.” K opened the door and looked around. The messenger was no where in sight. He leaned down and picked up the single rolled paper on the doorstep. “Wait, this doesn't look like five-thousand shillings.” He closed the door and returned to the table. “Will you read it for me?”
“Of course.” Adam took the note from K's outstretched hand and opened it. “To the kidnapper,” Adam read. “I am not one to give in to demands from petty thieves. I can assure you that the entire army of Dosser is out looking for you. They will find you, capture you, and retrieve my son. As you well know, the penalty for kidnapping the crowned prince is death by hanging. I will not show mercy. Signed, his royal highness, King Eber.”
“I can't believe it,” K sobbed into his hands. “That money was my last hope. Now my brother will surely die.”
Adam put his free arm around K's shoulder. “There, there,” he hushed. “What's wrong with your brother?”
“He's very ill. The doctors don't think he'll make it through the winter unless he gets help from the royal doctor. The trouble is, we don't have enough money to pay the royal doctor. That ransom was the last chance my brother had. Now he'll die for sure.” K turned into Adam's embrace and cried into his shoulder.
“Don't cry, I'll help you out. The royal doctor is my doctor after all. I can get your brother in to see him with no problem.”
“The only problem is I can't tell you who I am or who my family is. You may not want me dead, but your father does. If you know anything about me, he'll find me or my family and punish us all.”
“That's not true. I'll make sure he doesn't harm you.”
“That's fine. We'll be fine. Maybe God will grant us a miracle.”
“I'm so sorry.”
“So, I guess there's no longer any reason to keep you here.” K stood up and retrieved the key for the chain. “You're free to go. All I ask for ransom is a...,” K trailed off and looked away, embarrassed.
“Is a what, K?” Adam asked. “You can have whatever you want.” Adam wasn't a cruel man. He may have been upset with K for kidnapping him, but as soon as he found out K was only concerned with his family, he felt sorry for him. Adam had always been a champion of the peasants in the kingdom. He was appalled at how the poorer masses couldn't even get proper medical care. He was forgiving because he knew if he had been poor and his brother had been sick, he would have done anything to save him. He could not begrudge K's concern for his family's well-being.
K unchained Adam from the bed and sat down beside him. “All I want is one kiss from the most spectacular man in the whole kingdom. I mean, if you want to.” K looked hopefully up into Adam's eyes.
Adam leaned toward K. “Then you shall have your kiss.” Their lips came together softly. K sighed and parted his lips just enough to let Adam's tongue through. Adam pressed closer and drew K against him, savoring the feel of the man's body against his own. They drew apart with a sigh. “If you want more than a kiss,” Adam started.
K's eyes grew wide. “I couldn't possibly ask for more. You've been too kind already. I kidnapped you, remember?”
Adam leaned in and kissed K gently one more time. “Only because you needed to take care of your family. I would do the same.” He ran his hand down K's arm. “I'll give you whatever you want.”
“I want...”
“Yes?”
K's blush grew even more impossibly red. “I want you.”
Adam smiled. “Then you shall have me.” There was something about K that got directly under Adam's skin. Even though they had not met under the best of circumstances, there was still a connection. Adam wanted this man more than he had wanted anyone. He reached up to take off K's mask, but K stopped him.
“I'll take my mask off for you,” K said. “But the lights must be turned off. You must never see my face.”
“Better lights out than nothing at all,” Adam conceded.
K rose and drew the curtains over the windows before making his way to the hearth to put out the fire. Once it was completely dark, Adam heard the gentle swish of the mask hitting the ground. He rose and walked to where K had been standing. Once he reached him, he began opening the threadbare shirt. As each button was undone, Adam placed a kiss on K's chest. K's hand tangled in Adam's hair and pulled slightly with each caress. When all the buttons were undone, Adam pulled K in for another kiss and slid the shirt from his shoulders. Next came his own shirt and the rest of their clothes. Adam took K's hand and led him to the bed.
K hesitated before laying down. “I've, um, never done this before,” he admitted.
Adam hugged K close. “Don't worry, K. I'll take good care of you. Promise.” He lay down and pulled on K's hand. “We'll go slow.” K climbed on the bed and lay on top of Adam. “We won't do anything you're uncomfortable with.” Adam flipped them both over so he was laying over K's lithe body. “You can tell me to stop at any time.” He kissed K and caressed his chest. “I'll do whatever you want.” He kissed K again and tweaked one of his nipples. K gasped and ground up against Adam. “Too much?” Adam asked worriedly.
“Not enough,” K groaned. Adam moved down to lick the nipple gently before sucking it into his mouth. K raked his fingers down Adam's back and pushed himself closer. Adam grinned against K's chest and reached down, down, down to K's growing erection. He stroked along with the pulls of his mouth until K was a babbling mess below him. Right before he felt K reach his end, Adam stopped and pulled away. “Why'd you stop?” K panted.
“I have something much better planned for you,” Adam promised. He gave K a burning kiss before turning him onto his stomach. “Lucky for you,” he whispered in K's ear. “I always carry a small jar of oil with me. Always be prepared.”
“What...what's the oil for?”
“You'll see,” Adam said before leaving the bed to rummage through his pants. Once he had retrieved the jar, he moved back to the bed and ran his hand over K's ass. He opened the jar and drizzled the contents over his fingers. “This may feel a little uncomfortable at first, but I promise it gets better.” He positioned his finger on top of K's hole. “Now, I want you to breath with me. Ready?”
“Yeah,” K sighed.
"All right. One...two...three and breathe.” As K inhaled, Adam slipped his finger past the tight ring of muscle. K's breath hitched at the intrusion. “It's alright, just keep breathing,” Adam instructed. He worked the finger in and out until K began to push back. “Are you ready for more?”
“Please,” K begged.
Adam poured out some more of the oil and added another finger. K groaned and pushed back to the rhythm Adam set. He added another and K pushed even harder into his hand. “Jesus, you're so hot like this baby,” Adam panted. “So beautiful.” K moaned and buried his face into the pillow he was clutching. “You ready for me?”
“Need you,” K replied. “Please, I need you.”
“You shall have me, K. You shall have me however you want.”
“Just do it. Please, Adam, I need you.”
Adam groaned and pulled his fingers out of K's hole. He poured the remainder of the oil onto to his length and made sure it was entirely covered. “This may hurt a little. I'm a bit bigger than a few fingers.” He guided his length to K's hole and pushed in slightly. K tensed, causing Adam to not be able to push in further. “I need you to relax sweetheart. The pain will be over soon.” K exhaled and relaxed his muscles. “Very good,” Adam praised as he sunk into K's tight virgin body. He pulled out slightly before moving back in a little further. He did this over and over until he was fully sheathed within K.
“Don't stop.” K pushed his ass up against Adam, causing Adam to sink in even deeper. “Feels so good.” K started a rhythm. Adam followed his lead and soon they were rocking together back and forth.
“Wish I could see your face,” Adam moaned against K's skin. “Wanna see how flushed you get for me. Wanna see you all spread out and begging for me. See how you take me so well. So well, K.”
K moved his hand down to grasp his own erection. He stroked a few times before Adam took over for him. Adam stroked and twisted and pulled until K was screaming, “Adam, I'm gonna...” With that, K emptied over the sheets below him. Before he could collapse boneless into the mess, Adam maneuvered them to the other side of the bed. K lay there happily as Adam pounded into him once, twice, three times before emptying into K. He lay contentedly on top of K, still buried deep inside, until K began to wriggle. “You're squishing me,” he slurred.
Adam smiled against his back. “Sorry.” He turned onto his side and pulled K back against him, his erection still buried within. “You were great,” he said into K's neck. “Absolutely perfect.”
“You too. That was...amazing. Thank you so much Adam.” He yawned and snuggled back against Adam, shimmying slightly and making Adam groan behind him. He chuckled. “Night.”
“Good night, K.” Adam turned K's head towards his and kissed him lightly before closing his eyes. With a last contented sigh, he fell asleep with his beautiful kidnapper in his arms.
* * *
When Adam awoke, he reached out for K. His hand met nothing but the empty bed beside him. He opened his eyes and saw K sitting at the table, mask back on. “Hey,” he said, smiling at K.
“Hey,” K smiled shyly back.
Adam sat up, stretched, and yawned. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Fine.”
“Just fine?” Adam winked, and K blushed. Adam stood and walked over, pulling K towards him and kissing him good morning. “I really like you K.”
“I like you too.” K reached up to kiss him again. “But I have to say goodbye. I'm letting you go today.”
“Please come with me. I can get help for your brother and I promise I'll protect you from my dad. You'll be fine.”
“I really want to, but...”
“But?”
K buried his face in Adam's chest. “You deserve better than me anyway. You don't need to go through all that trouble.”
“Oh, K. At least let me help your brother. I don't want someone to die when I could have done something to save them.”
“We'll be fine. You really don't need to do anything for me. You've done too much already. I'll find another way to make the money, I won't let him die.”
“Please,” Adam begged.
“No, I really...did you hear that?” K pulled away from Adam.
Adam listened and heard the clip clop of horses' hooves approaching the cabin. “They're here for me, aren't they?”
K moved to the window and peeked outside. “I need to get out of here.”
Adam looked around the cabin for an escape. “Quick, you can climb out the back window!” He ran over and opened it.
K rushed over and clambered through. He stopped on the other side and turned towards Adam. “I guess this is goodbye.”
“I guess so.” Adam pulled K halfway back in. “One last thing.” He kissed him for the final time before letting him go. “Goodbye, K. Hopefully we'll meet again.”
“Maybe someday our paths will cross. Goodbye, Adam.” He turned and ran off into the woods.
Adam waved before turning around to open the door. He found the surprised faces of his hunting party on the other side. “Prince Adam!” his personal bodyguard exclaimed. “We've been looking all over for you! Where's that worthless kidnapper?” He pushed past Adam into the cabin, sword drawn. “Don't worry sir, we're here to save you.”
“No need, Brock. He's long gone by now.”
“Well, at least you're safe. Let's get you back to the palace before he comes back.”
With that, they headed outside, where Adam's horse was waiting for him. He mounted the animal and the group set off for the castle.