It was the middle ages, a time of castles and kings and knights and such. Our story takes place in a small country, located near the coast of a continent. It was a somewhat powerful country, and the castle town was large and usually busy during the daytime. This country was ruled by King William, an old, wise lion. He was a fair, just ruler. His wife, the beautiful Queen Priscilla, died several years ago, but not before giving the king two handsome sons. Both were built very similar to their father -- all three were quite large and muscular, and very good looking, too. His younger son, Prince Ronald, was very intelligent, but was prone to having bad moods quite often, where he would become sour and mean to people. He wasn't a bad lion -- he was just easily irritable. His older son Prince Alfred, however, was a kind, caring lion. While not as smart as Ronald, he was a much nicer lion. He was kind and caring, wise, and patient with everybody. Most of the servants in the castle were glad Alfred would be the next king, and not Ronald...

     Unknown to everybody in the castle, even to each other, both Alfred and Ronald were bisexual. At the time, anything other than strict heterosexuality was considered quite improper and was punishable by imprisonment -- it goes without saying why they were both so quiet about it. While Ronald had nobody else that loved him, mainly because of his frequent mood swings, Alfred was secretly in love with a young fox peasant named Kevin, who was only a year younger than he. Kevin, unlike Alfred, had a very lean build, but was also quite handsome himself. They had met while Alfred was out in the marketplace, looking for trinkets to buy. They began to talk, and Alfred offered to help Kevin carry some of his purchases back to his house. They hit it off very well, talking for quite a long time. Alfred began to sneak out of the castle to visit Kevin on a practically daily basis, and the two fell deeply in love with each other, neither one confessing to the other. Kevin, however, became comfortable enough with Alfred to finally tell him that he was gay and found him extremely attractive, giving Alfred the courage to tell Kevin the same.

     From then on, Kevin and Alfred were madly in love with each other, and Kevin even worked up the courage to also tell Alfred he enjoyed some rather interesting activities. Being tied up and restrained, he told him, was one of his biggest turn-ons. He was afraid that Alfred would stop loving him or think he was some kind of freak, but Alfred understood completely, indulging Kevin with his fantasies and on occasion even allowing himself to be tied up, making Kevin extremely happy.

     Things didn't stay this jovial for long, though. Shortly after Ronald's 18th birthday (Alfred was 20 at the time), King William died. The country was saddened by his passing, but they were happy to know that the capable Prince -- now King -- Alfred would assume the throne. Needless to say, though, it would be much harder for him to sneak out of the castle to see Kevin, so his first task as new king before his coronation was to sneak out of the castle, going to Kevin's house, knocking on his door. Kevin opened it, surprised to find Alfred there.
     "Alfred! I'm so sorry to hear about your father! Please, if there's anything I can do..."
     "There is, Kevin. As your king, I place you under arrest, and order you to follow me to the castle dungeons!" Kevin blinked.
     "Under arrest?! What's the big idea, Alfred?!" Kevin cried. Alfred smiled.
     "It's a good kind of arrest. Now shut up and come on, I'll explain to you on the way." Kevin locked his door, and followed Alfred to the castle. "You see, once I'm king, I won't be able to visit you as much, if even at all. So I figure the best way to keep you close is to have you in the castle! And since I know that you like to be chained up, I figured the dungeons would be the perfect place to keep you," he teased with a chuckle. Kevin smiled.
     "That's not funny. But I do appreciate it." With that, Alfred led Kevin to the dungeons -- it wasn't hard to get him there unnoticed, as everybody was busy making arrangements for Alfred's coronation ceremony. Alfred quickly found a clean, empty, rather large cell with nothing but a pile of hay in the corner. He chained Kevin's wrists to the wall, and smiled, patting Kevin's crotch.
     "Don't worry, Kevin. I'll be back later tonight. Besides, I've got plans for you tonight..." With that, Alfred left, leaving Kevin to sit on the pile of hay in the corner, wondering with Alfred had planned for him.

     Late that night, Alfred -- now officially the king -- returned with a muzzle, a blindfold, a collar, and a set of handcuffs and leg shackles. He released Kevin's arms from the chains, and sighed, looking into his large green eyes.
     "Kevin. I have something important I need to ask you," Alfred said, extremely serious. "I need you to think carefully about this." Kevin nodded.
     "All right. What is it?"
     "People may start looking for you, wondering where you went. If they find you here, it'll be on me to explain why you're here, and I really don't want that. So I have a way to keep you here in the dungeons near me, and while I think you may like my idea, it is very extreme. So follow me, and think about what I'm telling you. When we get back, I'll have your answer on whether you want to go through with it then."      Kevin hugged Alfred.
     "I trust you and your judgment with my life, Alfred," said Kevin, "and I'm sure whatever your idea is, I'll be fine with it." Alfred sighed.
     "I certainly hope so. Now let's go."

     The two snuck out of the castle, and walked along the pitch dark town roads, their way lit only by the almost new moon. There were no lights in any of the windows of the houses in the town, except for one -- the one where they were headed. It was a house far on the outskirts of the town, near a lake, with the faint yellow glow of candlelight shining through the windows. Alfred and Kevin walked up to the door.
     "This is an extremely talented iron smith," Alfred whispered to Kevin as he cuffed his hands behind his back. He kneeled down to cuff his legs together, then stood back up, tying the blindfold over Kevin's eyes. "He's expecting us. He was a very good friend of my father's, and I had him make a bit of equipment for you."
     "Equipment? What are you talking about?" Alfred sighed, and slid the blindfold up a bit, taking one more look into Kevin's eyes. He smiled, and slid it back down, tightly buckling the muzzle onto his head, finishing by locking the collar around Kevin's neck.
     "You'll see. Just pretend you're trying to escape from this." Kevin nodded, and Alfred knocked as Kevin begin to struggle against the handcuffs and muzzle. A large, old brown bear opened the door, and smiled.
     "Ah, King Alfred, please, come right in. I see you brought him with you." Alfred nodded, grabbing Kevin roughly by the collar and dragging him inside.
     "Thank you, Dimitri. The sooner we can get him properly restrained, the safer we'll all be. I'm surprised these handcuffs have lasted as long as they have," Alfred said with a mock worried tone. He noticed a hook on the wall, and picked up a chain, hooking Kevin's collar to the wall with hardly any room for movement. "There. That should hold him for now." Dimitri nodded.
     "I had to work all night to get the equipment you specified ready for you, your highness..."
     "Please, just call me Alfred," Alfred said with a smile. "I hate formal titles." Dimitri chuckled.
     "Very well, Alfred. Yes, you're just like William. Your father was quite the king, he was. I'm sure you'll do us proud and be just as good as him. But first, let's get this little matter taken care of, shall we?"

     Dimitri first picked up two egg-shaped metal objects. They were the same size and shape, and each had a hole in the same place -- on the thin part of the "top" of the egg. He went over to Kevin, who was still struggling to get out of the restraints he was in, and turned him around to face the wall, closing one of the eggs around his left hand, closing it as a loud "click" sounded. Kevin used his right hand to try to pull it off, but Dimitri grabbed it, closing the other egg around that hand with another loud "click". Kevin shook his hands as hard as he could, but the eggs didn't even so much as move. Dimitri scoffed, and went back to the table, picking up a large, heavy iron boot. It was hinged at the back, split down the front and back of the boot.
     "Could you take off his leg cuffs?" Dimitri asked. Alfred nodded, and did so. Dimitri nodded, and fit the boot onto Kevin's left leg -- the boot fit him from just below his knee down -- and closed it, a loud "click" accompanying that, too. Dimitri got a similar boot from the table, putting it onto Kevin's right leg.

     The next piece Dimitri got off the table was a large, chest-plate shaped piece with a built-in crotch. The piece opened along the sides, hinged there. The front and back of the crotch area also had metal mesh gates -- thick enough not to be able to see through, but they were able to be opened so Kevin could take care of bathroom business. Dimitri looked at Alfred.
     "You may wish to turn away, Alfred. You probably won't want to see this part." Alfred nodded, and turned away. Dimitri turned Kevin around to face him, and Alfred heard the sound of fabric ripping as Dimitri ripped Kevin's shirt, pants, and underwear off of him, leaving him standing nude in front of him. Before Kevin could even do anything, Dimitri pressed the piece against his front, pulled his tail through the hole for it in the back, and closed it, squeezing it tightly and making Kevin wheeze for breath as it closed with a click. Kevin began to breathe heavily, trying to catch his breath. Alfred spun back around and looked at Kevin, who was struggling to breathe.
     "Is he all right?" Alfred asked, concerned. "We just want to restrain him, not kill him!" Dimitri waved his paw as he went back to the table for one last piece.
     "Don't worry, Alfred. This is modeled after those corsets the women wear. This will compress his chest, so if he tries to run -- not that he'll be able to with those heavy boots -- but if he does, he won't be able to do it for long, since he won't be able to catch his breath. He'll get used to it." Dimitri finally picked up an iron full-head mask, with a hinge down the front. He removed the muzzle, collar, and blindfold from Kevin's head, and put the mask onto his head, snapping it shut. The hood had metal mesh over the eyes so Kevin could see out, but it was impossible to see in through the mesh unless you pressed your eye up right next to it, but even then only the vague outline of Kevin's green eyes were visible. There were open holes on the upper edge of the end of the muzzle part as nose holes, and the end of the muzzle was also a mesh gate so it could be opened to feed the wearer. There was also an adjustable iron loop in the muzzle to hold the wearer's mouth shut, keeping them unable to speak.

     Dimitri nodded as Kevin tried with all his might to get out of the restraints. Dimitri took the handcuffs back from Alfred, locking Kevin's hands behind his back again. "These restraints are nice and tight, but they don't cut off blood circulation. They won't be coming off until they're removed. Here." Dimitri went over to the table, picking up the last thing on the table -- a tiny gold key on a loop of chain. He placed it over Alfred's head, around his neck. "This is the only key in existence that can open the locks on those restraints. The locks are resistant to all types of lock picking, and they're made of the strongest forged steel. Nothing but that key can hope to release him. Although if you requested all this to hold them, he must be rather dangerous, so I don't see why you'd release him anyway." Alfred nodded as Kevin continued to struggle, starting to get rather worried by all the restraints that were on him.
     "Yes. He's quite dangerous." Dimitri raised an eyebrow.
     "Then why did you bring him alone? Shouldn't you have gotten guards to help you?" Alfred, however, was quick on his feet.
     "I didn't want to risk any lives unnecessarily. That's why I brought him at night alone -- I wanted to make sure as few people as possible were in danger in his transport." Dimitri nodded.
     "Again, your highness, I can't help but think how much like your father you are. Kind and thoughtful of your subjects to the end, even if it means putting your own life in danger." Dimitri walked over to Kevin, tightening the muzzle as Kevin whined. "Well, he's no danger to anybody now."
     "Thank you, Dimitri," said Alfred with a bow. "I'll make sure you're reimbursed by the castle." Dimitri smiled, shaking his head.
     "No, no, King Alfred. I insist, it's my pride as a subject of yours to help keep our castle and town safe." Alfred nodded.
     "Well, thank you very much. Good night to you!" Alfred said as he put the collar back on Kevin, dragging him out the door. Kevin moved extremely slowly, as it took quite a bit of effort to lift his feet with the heavy boots on now.

     When Alfred and Kevin were a safe distance away from Dimitri's, they stopped for a rest, standing near a tree to hide them in darkness just off the path. Alfred loosened the muzzle strap and took the handcuffs off of Kevin. Kevin, though Alfred couldn't see it, looked at him in fear.
     "Alfred! What is all this?" he asked, a hint of fear in his voice. "What did he mean it can't be taken off?" Alfred opened the end of the mask, sticking his own muzzle in to give Kevin a kiss. Alfred smiled at him and closed the door on the mask again.
     "It can be taken off, with this key," he said as he reached into his shirt, holding it up. "Kevin, I did this so nobody would recognize you if anyone came looking for you. That will keep too many questions from being asked. I can just have you write a note saying you left the town for personal reasons and post it on your door. I love you, and I want to keep you near me. But if you don't want this, I understand. I can just remove it all. This is why I said it's your choice earlier. If you don't want this, it's all right. But if you do, I'll make sure you get an excellent meal every day. You'll have to live in the dungeon, but there I can come down to see you nightly. What do you think?" Kevin, though Alfred couldn't see it, smiled and hugged and nuzzled Alfred as best as he could through the bulky, heavy restraints.
     "If it means I can stay with you, Alfred, I'll do anything. I love you so much! Besides," he said as his tail began to wag, "I think I could get to like these..." Alfred smiled, and the two set out again on their way back to the castle.

     Alfred and Kevin reached the castle, sneaking down to the dungeons, back to Kevin's cell. Alfred chained Kevin's wrists to the wall, and Kevin sat down on the pile of hay in the corner under the chains, panting as best he could through the mask.
     "These boots make walking really hard. And this chest piece doesn't help either."
     "Do you want me to remove anything," Alfred asked, worried. "If you're uncomfortable in any way..."
     "No, no, I'm fine," Kevin quickly said. He was extremely turned on by the amount of restriction being put on him, after all. "Make me a promise, Alfred."
     "Anything."
     "Promise you'll never take me out of any of this. Ever. Unless it's a life or death situation." Alfred smiled, and began to pet Kevin's exposed, soft chest fur gently.
     "I promise, Kevin. I promise." Kevin nuzzled Alfred carefully, still trying to get used to his new, now practically permanent, attachments. Alfred grinned, and opened the front hatch over Kevin's crotch, lightly rubbing Kevin's sheath with his paw. It didn't take much to get the heavily aroused fox to respond, his member quickly showing itself. Alfred stroked it slightly, getting Kevin excited, but quickly stopped, closing the hatch again. Kevin whined, and Alfred chuckled. "Such a naughty prisoner. I don't think he needs any of that. Perhaps a little sleep will do you good. Good night, my fox." With that, he tightened the muzzle strap, and left, locking the cell door behind him.

     The next morning, the two dungeon guards on shift that day found Kevin. One of them whistled.
     "Wow. Get a load of him. When did this one arrive?"
     "I don't know," said the other guard, "but he must have done something pretty bad. Look at that get-up he's in. Probably came in earlier this week from one of the other guard pairs." The first guard nodded.
     "He looks dangerous. Maybe we'd better steer clear of his cell..."

     As much as they hated to, the guards were forced to go into Kevin's cell to help feed him, allowing him to drink water though a straw and feeding bread to him. The guards, however, quickly found Kevin (or "the fox in the iron mask," as they would come to call him eventually) was rather docile for such a heavily restrained prisoner. It didn't take long before the guards would go into his cell with no fear at all, helping Kevin eat his bread and drink his water. Of course, Alfred made sure that Kevin didn't just subsist on bread and water alone. Every night after everyone in the castle went to sleep, he would sneak down, bringing Kevin food he saved from his meal with fine wine to drink with it. Quite often, food wouldn't be the only thing Alfred would bring to Kevin. He would open the hatches over Kevin's crotch and tailhole, making sure Kevin was never bored. Kevin had to admit, even though he was no longer a free fox and lived in the dungeon of the castle, he was living better than he ever was before.

     Kevin wasn't the only thing on Alfred's mind during the day, of course. There was the kingdom to run, and his brother, Ronald. As time passed, the two began to grow closer in the absence of their father, both as brothers and as friends. Alfred began to ask Ronald more and more for advice on running the kingdom, since Ronald was considerably smarter than he, but Ronald still suffered from his nasty temper and terrible mood swings, all of this getting worse if anything. It seemed as if Alfred was the only one Ronald was actually comfortable around. One night several weeks later, the two sat at the dinner table. While they usually talked about several things, they were quiet that night.
     "You hardly ever eat your dinner anymore, Alfred," Ronald said as he finished his plate of food. Alfred shrugged.
     "I'm just not as hungry as I usually am, I suppose. You're kind of quiet tonight, Ronald. Any reason why?" Ronald sighed.
     "It's just... well... I'm lonely, I suppose," Ronald said. "I'm 19, Alfred. Am I not good enough to have someone to love me?" Alfred chuckled a bit.
     "You're being rather hard on yourself. It takes time to find love. It's not always something that just hits you. You'll find someone. I have, and I know you will." Ronald raised an eyebrow.
     "When did you fall in love, Alfred? I've never even seen you leave the castle." Alfred just smiled, and picked up his plate and glass, walking off to the kitchen with them. Ronald shook his head. "But what if I never find someone to love?" he sighed to himself.

     Almost a year and a half went by. Kevin still remained in the castle dungeon, still happy as ever. He hadn't seen daylight for almost two years, but he didn't care. Alfred came down to see him every day without fail, even when Alfred was extremely ill. That was all Kevin needed to be happy, knowing that he was controlled by his lover. Everything was fine... until one day when Alfred was awoken from a deep sleep one morning by his chief advisor.
     "Your highness, it's an emergency! Please, get up!" Alfred snapped awake, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
     "I'm up, I'm up! What's the matter?"
     "Our neighbor country, they insist you visit them immediately! Their king and queen have urgent issues they must meet with you to discuss regarding war!" Alfred blinked.
     "War? What for?"
     "I don't know, but the messenger said it was urgent! You must leave, now!" Alfred blinked.
     "I have several things I must take care of before I leave," he said. The first thing he planned to do was go down and release Kevin. His advisor, however, grabbed his paw, dragging him out of bed.
     "No time, no time! You must get dressed and ready, your servants already packed luggage for you! It is loaded on the carriage, and it will depart in five minutes!" Alfred gasped.
     "Five minutes? That's absurd! Tell him to wait!"
     "He won't, he won't! That was a minute ago, and I asked him already, and he says he leaves right then! He also said if he returns without you, that's as good as a declaration of war against their country! Hurry, you only have three and a half minutes now!" Alfred growled, and jumped out of bed, grabbing a set of clothes out of his wardrobe.
     "I'll be ready in a minute. Leave me." The advisor left the room, and Alfred quickly got dressed, his stomach tying up in knots. He had no time to free Kevin -- if he did, the carriage would leave him, and he would have bigger problems on his hands. His only chance was to try to get Ronald to do it for him. But how would he explain the situation, he wondered? There was only one thing to do. He had to find Ronald.

     As soon as Alfred was dressed, he ran around frantically, looking for Ronald.
     "One and a half minutes!" his advisor's voice rang out through the halls. Alfred growled, and was faced with no choice but to leave, hoping his visit would not last very long. As he walked out the front gates of the castle, his advisor was practically hopping up and down, and ran up to him. "Thirty seconds, your highness, thank goodness you made it! Quickly, aboard the carriage!" Alfred, however, noticed Ronald helping to load his luggage onto the carriage. He ran over, taking the key off his neck, and handing it to Ronald. Ronald looked at him.
     "What's this for, Alfred?" he asked. Alfred, out of breath, just put it in his paw, closing it around the key.
     "Promise me you won't lose this!" Alfred gasped. He caught his breath a moment more, then climbed aboard the carriage, beckoning Ronald over. The carriage started off, and Ronald ran alongside it. "The dungeons!" Alfred shouted over the noise of the carriage, but so only Ronald could hear. "The dungeons, please, go to the dungeons and..." Ronald, however, could no longer keep up with the carriage nor hear over the noise it made as it rolled down the streets, and Ronald looked down at the key in his paw, putting it around his neck.
     "Don't worry, brother. I'll figure out what you wanted me to do. You can count on me."

     That night, however, Kevin knew something was wrong. It was getting late -- much later than when Alfred usually came in. He had been late before, but never this late. Kevin sighed, and wriggled up against the wall, figuring Alfred had important business to attend to. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep. He was awoken the next morning by the sound of the two guards talking -- the next day's guards. Kevin's stomach tightened. He definitely knew something was wrong now, and secretly hoped that Alfred would come tonight and hadn't forgotten about him. His eyes watered up, but his mind fiercely stopped him. "No," he told himself. "Alfred loves me. He'd never abandon me and forget about me..."

     Later that day, Ronald came down. He wasn't in a particularly good mood -- ever since he had assumed the duties of king since Alfred left the previous day, it seemed like more things happened in that period of time just to irritate him than anything else. Ronald stormed down into the dungeons, looking around.
     "Hrmph," Ronald grunted to himself softly as he looked around, pacing up and down the corridors. "What could possibly be down here that's so important to him? I don't see anything but a bunch of law-breaking subjects." As Ronald looked in each of the cells, he came across Kevin's cell, seeing Kevin laying against the wall. Ronald blinked -- he had never seen anyone quite as restrained as Kevin was in his entire life. He opened the door to the cell, going in, and closing it behind him. The noise woke Kevin up, who looked up, hoping it was Alfred. He began to get happy, since the figure looked like Alfred, but as Ronald neared, Kevin could tell it wasn't him. He laid back against the wall again.
     "Excuse me, fox," Ronald said, "but what crime exactly did you commit to be put in such strict bondage?" Kevin remained silent -- he had committed no crimes, but he certainly couldn't tell him the true reason he was here, lest he get Alfred or himself in trouble -- or both. He simply did not answer him. Ronald growled, grabbing Kevin's head and forcing him up on his feet, causing Kevin to yelp. "You are to answer me, prisoner! I asked you what crime you committed!" Kevin still said nothing to him. Ronald grew angry, and yet he couldn't help but notice he was beginning to get rather aroused by the sight of Kevin chained up the way he was, able to be taken advantage of so easily... Ronald could resist the idea no more, and spun Kevin around, opening up the hatch in the rear, savagely sticking his already-erect member into his tailhole. Kevin yelped, not used to being treated so roughly. Out of habit, however, Kevin could not help but enjoy being treated the way he was. Ronald continued to pump in and out, until he finally exploded inside of Kevin. Kevin tried to catch his breath as tears built up in his eyes, now frightened by his unknown assailant.
     "Who are you?" Kevin finally asked, his voice quivering slightly. "Who are you?" he demanded. Ronald growled and spanked Kevin's rump rather hard, causing the fox to yelp again. He slammed the hatch shut, not even bothering to clean Kevin up.
     "I am your new king!" Ronald growled.
     "King?" Kevin gasped. "What happened to King Alfred?" he asked, terrified.
     "My brother had to go to a neighboring country to discuss business with them. No telling when he'll be back. He could be there for months." Kevin's eyes began to water again -- Alfred left, and just left him there in his cell, not even bothering to come down and say goodbye? "So now I, King Ronald, am now in command." Ronald looked at Kevin, and an almost evil grin crept across his face. "I'll make you a deal, prisoner," said Ronald. "I can pardon you and set you free, no matter what the crime was that you committed. But only if you promise to be my lover." Kevin immediately shook his head, backing up to the wall.
     "No! No, I won't! I already love somebody else, and I'll never be unfaithful!" Ronald's eyes narrowed -- he wasn't used to not getting his way, and he wasn't about to start now.
     "Is that so? Well, I'm sure whoever it is that loves you doesn't now. How could they love a disgusting criminal like you?" With that, Ronald left the cell, calling over the guards. "Guards! Guards, come here, right now!" The two guards on duty ran over, their spears at the ready.
     "What is it, your highness?" Upon seeing no danger, they relaxed a bit.
     "This prisoner -- see to it he gets no food and only water until I give you further instructions. Understood?" The guards saluted.
     "Yes, your highness!"

     Ten days passed -- Alfred was still in the neighbor country discussing peace negotiations with the king and queen there, and Ronald returned to Kevin's cell to find the poor fox laying down as far as he could on the floor, his wrists being held up by the chains on the wall, moaning in misery. It was obvious by what parts of him Ronald could see that he had lost quite a bit of weight, which is saying a lot considering he didn't have much on him to begin with. Kevin weakly lifted up his head, seeing Ronald, and let it fall back again with a loud clang as the iron mask hit the wall.
     "You see I can make your life hell. All you have to do is say the word, and I can free you and give you the best life you've ever had." Kevin, however, shook his head.
     "Forget it. I'd deserve to be in this cell if I were to be untrue, especially now that I know it's just a matter of time before my love returns to me. I know my love will come back... soon..." Ronald was furious now, but was also rather impressed.
     "You're quite devoted to your girlfriend, you know that? How can you be so sure she'll come for you?"
     "Because I heard," Kevin said. "I heard the news, and it was straight from your mouth!" Kevin realized he made a rather stupid mistake in his weakness, and resigned himself to remaining silent. Ronald, however, stared at him.
     "What the devil are you talking about?!" he growled. "I said no such thing to you! Who is this love of yours?" Kevin said nothing. "Answer me!" Ronald growled. He flipped Kevin over, opening the rear hatch, spanking him quite hard. "I demand an answer!" Kevin yelped, and Ronald continue to spank Kevin until his rear was red and sore, visible even through his fur. Kevin remained silent except for his whines, however, and Ronald slammed the hatch shut, storming out of the cell in a huff.

     That night at dinner, Ronald was absolutely consumed by trying to figure out what Kevin meant. "I didn't tell him anything," he thought. "What did he mean, he heard the news from my mouth? I can't even remember what I said to him." This thought bothered him all night, until he finally decided to forget about it as he got ready to go to bed. He crawled under the sheets and closed his eyes, and that's when it hit him. The only thing he told Kevin was that Alfred was away and would be back soon. Ronald put two and two together, realizing that Kevin wouldn't speak of anything in case it got Alfred in trouble, and he was what Alfred wanted him to take care of in the dungeons while he was away. Ronald, now struck by guilt, quickly hopped out of bed, throwing his clothes on, and first snuck into the kitchen, preparing a plate of leftovers, then went down to the dungeon.

     Kevin lay in the same position he had been in earlier that day. He was asleep, and Ronald went over, unlocking his wrists from the chains in the wall. His arms fell, and Kevin quickly snapped awake, looking up. He saw Ronald, and whined, shrinking back into the corner. Ronald sighed and sat down next to Kevin, opening his muzzle hatch and feeding him small bites of the food.
     "What... what is this?" Kevin asked weakly.
     "Leftovers. From dinner. Please, eat, you must regain your strength." Kevin warily took the bite of food, chewing it and swallowing. "What is your name?"
     "Kevin," he finally answered.
     "First, Kevin, I want to apologize to you," Ronald said quietly. "I just realized before I fell asleep. You love my brother, Albert, don't you?" Kevin just nodded as he ate the food, happy to get something to eat after ten days of having nothing but water. "I can't find any way to apologize to you. I know my brother wanted me to take care of something, but I didn't know that it was you he wanted me to take care of. Can you ever forgive me for everything I've done to you?" Kevin sighed.
     "You did some pretty horrible things to me, you know. And you didn't seem too sorry about it then."
     "I know, I know. I'm trying to change, really I am. I can't help but be mean to others sometimes, and I'm sorry. But... speaking of horrible things, why did my brother leave you in prison like this?" Kevin blushed, even though Ronald couldn't see it through the mask.
     "I wanted it," Kevin admitted. "He kept me down here like this, because I like to be chained up. That way he could always have me close instead of having to sneak out of the castle to see me. He would bring me food every night."
     "That would explain why he never finished his food... and since he rushed off that morning, he didn't get a chance to free you. Oh! Please, let me take all that stuff off you! You must be so sore and stiff..."
     "You get used to it after a while," Kevin said. "Besides, only Alfred has the key to unlock all these things."
     "Is it a small gold key that he kept around his neck?" Kevin nodded. "Then I have it. He gave it to me before he left. Would you like me to release you? When was the last time this was all taken off of you?"
     "Not since it was put on, almost two years ago." Ronald was speechless. "Although could you please take it off of me? I'm feeling quite weak from hunger, and this isn't helping me any." Ronald nodded, and took the key from around his neck, first unlocking the boots, then the chest piece, then the hand restraints, the collar, and finally the mask. All the restraints fell to the floor, and Kevin blinked, his eyes adjusting to the candlelight in the room. He stood up, and took a deep breath -- his fur was quite matted and his expression blank -- but he yawned and stretched, unable to believe how good he felt to be free from it all for the first time in a long time.
     "How does it feel to be free again?" Ronald asked with a smile.
     "Thank you, thank you very much. After I regain my strength I think I can manage to get in it again by myself." Ronald looked at the restraints, surprised that he would willingly get into them again. However, he realized he was becoming quite interested by the thought. He looked at the gear one last time, then at Kevin.
     "Before you do, Kevin... do you think you could try locking me into them?" Kevin blinked.
     "Well... I don't see why not. Are you sure?" Ronald nodded.
     "I can't help but be interested by the idea. Just for a minute, though." Kevin giggled, amused that Ronald was actually interested in being put into the equipment.
     "Certainly." Ronald handed Kevin the key, and Kevin helped Ronald into the restraints, first putting the mask on, locking it shut. He then put the chest piece on, then the hand restraints, the collar, and finally the boots. Ronald began to squirm around, attempting to get out of the restraints, but found he was quite stuck.
     "This is... wow, I just feel so... this is amazing!" Ronald stammered, as he tried to walk around in the extremely heavy boots. Kevin, however, grinned, dragging him over to the wall and chaining his wrists to the wall, Ronald's back to Kevin. "What are you doing?" Ronald gasped, and Kevin pulled the muzzle loop tight, gagging him.
     "Just a little payback," Kevin growled. He opened the rear hatch, and it didn't take long for his unit to become excited after weeks of non-use. He rammed it harshly into Ronald's tailhole, and Ronald yelped in pain as Kevin thrust in and out of his rear. "It's not so fun when you're on the receiving end, is it?" Kevin asked. He suddenly stopped as Ronald whined pitifully, and Kevin sighed. He unchained him from the wall, and unlocked all the restraints. Ronald looked at Kevin, tears welling up in his eyes. Kevin looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry. It's just... I got a little carried away."
     "No, no, it's all right really. I deserved it," Ronald said. He then smiled slightly. "It's just... I don't know how to say this, but I kind of liked that. Perhaps I'll come down and I can try it a little longer some other time, but right now I must go before anyone notices my absence." Kevin nodded.
     "I understand, your majesty. Please, don't let me keep you." Ronald smiled.
     "However, I do give you my word that I will take care of you as my brother had before he left, Kevin. Can you forgive me?"
     "Of course. And thank you."

     Ronald left Kevin in the dungeons, but returned just minutes later. Kevin looked up.
     "Did you forget something?"
     "I have come to tell you two things," Ronald said. "First, may I put you back into your restraints?" Kevin nodded.
     "Sure, I guess." Ronald fastened all the equipment back onto Kevin, and chained his wrists to the wall again. "What was the other thing?" Kevin asked.
     "I will not, in fact, be taking care of you any longer. Perhaps I will visit you every so often, but feed you daily? That's just not my job." Kevin gasped.
     "You two-timing liar! How could I have ever trusted you?" he growled. Ronald just smiled.
     "Oh, calm down, fox. I've found someone better to do the job anyway." The cell door opened and Alfred walked in, running over to Kevin and hugging him.
     "Kevin! I'm so sorry I had to leave you! Can you forgive me?" Kevin, overwhelmed with emotion, began to cry, nuzzling Alfred.
     "Of course I can, Alfred. I'm just happy you're home." Alfred, still hugging Kevin, looked at Ronald.
     "Now that I am back, Ronald, you can go to bed."
     "What about you, Alfred?" Alfred just smiled, looking at Kevin.
     "I have a prisoner I need to tend to before bed..." he said with a grin.