| Chapter 10 |
| Lance awoke the next morning with a smile on his face, remembering that he was going to see Justin again today. He grinned and hopped out of bed, skipping to his closet and looking for something to wear. He turned when a maid came into the room to make the bed, and he smiled at her. "Good morning Martha!" he sang. "Isn't it a great day to be alive?" The older woman shook her head at him and chuckled. "Ay, that it is Prince. What have ya got there?" Lance grabbed two different outfits, holding them out so that she could see them. "I need your help here," he said. "I'm having trouble choosing something to wear. I want my clothes to say, 'I'm in love,' but not so much as to scare a person off ... more like, 'I want all of you forever,' instead of 'I want your sex.' What do you think?" Martha laughed and pushed past the young prince, rummaging for something in his closet. "Ah, here it is!" she said, pulling out a dark green silk shirt and a pair of light tan pants. "You should wear this, boy. Brings out your eyes!" Lance grinned and took the outfit, kissing Martha on the cheek. "Thanks girl, your a lifesaver!" He ran into the bathroom to change, and Martha chuckled. "Ah, to be in love!" ~*~ Justin rushed through his chores all morning and all afternoon, wanting to have everything done so that he could meet Prince Lance at Fatone's Bakery at 4:00. He washed Nick, Kevin, and Lou's clothes in record time, ignoring Nick's screaming to be careful with the silk shirts. He hung the clothes up on the laundry wire, and rushed inside to scrub the floors. By the time he had finished everything, it was 3:15. Justin smiled. 'Perfect.' He rushed excitedly into his room, not seeing the man in the shadows watching him. He rummaged through his closet, frowning at the selection. 'Lance can't see me in any of these rags,' he thought. He sighed and thought, grinning as he remembered Nick's closet and all of his lavish clothes. He rushed down the hall, thankful that Kevin and Nick had gone shopping in another town. Justin looked through the closet, trying to decide on one thing to wear. Finally, he grabbed a red, velvet shirt with long sleeves and a pair of tan pants. Admiring the beautiful clothes as he walked back to his room, he couldn't get rid of the excited grin off of his face. The shadow man also noticed his excited face, but was quiet. Justin stripped down to his underwear, and was extra careful when putting Nick's outfit on. After he was dressed, it took him another twenty minutes to get his unruly curls just right. "There!" He sighed happily at the perfectly round mass of curls on his head. "Prince Lance will love it!" The shadow man's eyes grew large, and he felt his face growing red. "So *that's* why you've been acting all love sick lately!" Justin jumped, his comb falling to the floor as he whipped around and was met with the enraged face of King Lou. Justin was speechless, and he stood frozen in place as Lou stalked up to him. "I should have known better than to trust a spoiled little brat like you," spat King Lou, punctuating each word with fat finger jabbing into Justin's chest. "I *knew* you were trouble right from the start. I should have gotten rid of you the second your old lady kicked the bucket." Justin's lips were moving, but only frightened squeaks were escaping his trembling lips. "I ... I'm not ... I never..." "Shut up!" yelled Lou, shoving Justin back onto his bed. "You are a worthless piece of trash! And you're a thief, too! Look at you! Wearing *my* son's clothes!" King Lou's voice was low and threatening. "How dare you." Justin didn't see what happened next because his eyes were shut tightly, but he felt the bed bounce and a loud ripping sound echo throughout the room. He opened his eyes, frantically pushing Lou's hands away from his clothes. "Stop!" he yelled, tears welling up in his eyes. "Just stop!" "This is *mine*!" screamed Lou, ripping the clothes from Justin's body. "This shirt is mine! These pants ... mine! You deserve nothing! You stole!" When he was finished, Justin was curled up in a ball on the bed, wearing only his underwear as silent tears rolled down his face. Lou picked up the pile of Nick's clothes, most of them torn to shreds, and headed for the door. He pulled out a key from his pocket, and locked the door from the outside. Turning to Justin, he smiled wickedly. "I guess Prince Lance will be missing you today. Aww, how sad," he laughed evilly, shutting the door behind him with a slam. Justin pulled the covers up over his head, allowing the pillow to soak up his tears as he cried. ~*~ "Joey, what time is it?" asked Lance. Joey looked at Chris worriedly as he stuck his head out of his store, staring at the sun for a minute before coming back in. "5:30," he said quietly. "I'm sorry Lance, maybe he got held up." Lance sighed and mumbled "yeah" before pulling the hood of his robe over his head so that neither Chris nor Joey could see the tears in his eyes. |